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Reviews
The Wolfman (2010)
The Wolfman: Triumphant return of the legendary monster!
Going into this film, I had serious reservations, mostly due to the well publicized production troubles that seemed to plague it from the start. Having seen it three times now, I can tell you that any criticisms are undeserved. This film is a serious monster masterpiece. The settings and production design are top notch, as is the incredible updated Wolfman makeup by master Rick Baker. The cast all do an admirable job of maintaining the feel of a classic horror film throughout. Benicio Del Toro is exceptional as Lawrence Talbot, the doomed Wolfman, and at times seems to be channeling Lon Chaney Jr. through his performance. It really is uncanny. Anthony Hopkins and Hugo Weaving make for interesting characters who each move the story along in their own inimitable way, and Emily Blunt is wonderfully cast as the perplexed Gwen Conliffe. I found Joe Johnston's directorial style to be exhilarating. He doesn't waste time going over old territory we're already familiar with, and instead moves the story along with such force that you feel helplessly caught up in this tragic chain of events, just like the participants. Every major event in the film coincides with a full moon, with scarcely any time in between. This further amplifies the feeling of dread, as the viewer is never given a chance to "relax" during the 28 days until the next appearance of the beast. The month flies by, as I'm sure it would for the afflicted werewolf. Some really nice nods to the monster movies of old include terrified villagers scrambling to bolt their doors and windows as the Wolfman's hideous howl fills the night, and the creaky, fog-shrouded forest of Blackmoor, it's trees black and twisted under the silvery light of the full moon. Topping all this off is an exceptionally creepy score by Danny Elfman, with a distinct European and Gypsy flavor. This is a great movie, full of scares, and a fitting tribute to those Universal masterpieces of the 1930's and 40's. So what are you waiting for? Dim the lights, grab some popcorn, and if it's a full moon...well, you might want to bring along that silver-handled cane...just in case!
Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)
Terrible film based on DC's greatest heroes...
The New Frontier looks good, but that's just about it. Flamboyant eye-candy with no substance. On visuals alone, I give it a 3 out of 10.
The story tries to be compelling, but it isn't. It tries to be complex, but ends up a muddled mess of seemingly unrelated scenes leading up to a very anti-climactic climax.
The characters are all interchangeable cookie cutter super-heroes ala the Superfriends, and none of them are given sufficient screen time to do anything, with the exception of Hal Jordan. To a person who hasn't read the graphic novel, the whole thing must seem unbelievably confusing. Adam Strange, Blackhawk, and Green Arrow are never explained, they just show up. Who's the guy with the jet-pack? Why is Aquaman in it for three seconds? How Darwin Cooke ever won any awards with this story I'll never know...I would suggest to DC that the next time they want to make an animated movie, use some better source material.
John Byrne's Man of Steel, or Frank Miller's Batman: Year One come to mind...or even The Killing Joke.
Any of those would make excellent films. The New Frontier, sadly, does not.
Count Dracula (1977)
Very disappointing version of Dracula, only for the nostalgic.
After waiting years to see this, I was expecting something incredible with all the rave reviews here on IMDb. I suspect that anyone giving this 1977 film more than average compliments must be remembering it from their childhood, or have very poor taste in film. There are so many flaws, it is hard to list them all, but one should start with the Count himself. As Dracula, Louis Jourdan exhibits little to no personality. He brings absolutely nothing to the role, and appears to simply be reading his lines from a teleprompter, which brings us to the second problem. Exterior shots are filmed, while interiors are shot with video cameras. The lack of consistency here really is distracting. The weird special effects are also very intrusive. The film repeatedly shifts from color to black and white, and then to some bizarre Andy Warholesque effects in bright red, orange and blue. The rest of the cast do an admirable job, but nothing to write home about. Overall very disappointing. If you want to see a GOOD Dracula film from the 1970's, I recommend the 1979 version with Frank Langella.