Frankenstein Unbound

Director: Roger Corman
Cast: John Hurt, Raul Julia, Bridget Fonda
Genre: Drama/Horror/Sci fi 1990
Running time: 85 mins.
Rating:★

Joe Buchanan (John Hurt) is a scientist in New Los Angeles 2031. When one of his experiments fractures the very core of time and space, he is thrust back in time to nineteenth century Geneva where he finds Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Raul Julia) desperately trying to cope with his own disastrous experiment. Impressed with Buchanan's advanced knowledge of electricity, Frankenstein enlists his help with his "creation," persuading Buchanan that the only way to stop "it" from killing is to create a mate. The outrageous endeavor could either save the scientists...or destroy them!

What a crack of shit!! A nice idea of what could happen, when a scientist unable to come to grips of his own disastrous invention is sucked into it and goes back to a time to meets with the infamous Dr. Frankenstein. But its too happy-go-lucky and over the top that you wish that you were watching the Power Rangers instead! Its not that its not that the story line isn't easy to follow, but the film must have had a low budget....a VERY LOW BUUD-GET!  What a fuckin' cheesy ending!!! Oh I am so scared and vulnerable about what could still happen, even though, it seemed to be a happy ending! Some one was blowing smoke up their asses!

LED lights, a laser show, and a bunch of wires does not constitute as an illustration of the future. Yes, the film throws in some beautiful landscapes and nineteenth century architecture, but that hardly makes up for this kid's show! What does (to no surprise), is John Hurt's performance. He brings intelligence, strength, integrity, and perseverace to the character of Dr. Joe Buchanan.

Far from the Madding Crowd

Director: John Schlesinger
Cast: Julie Christine, Terence Stamp, Peter Finch, Alan Bates
Genre: Drama/Romance 1967
Running time: 171 mins.
Rating:★★★★

Based on Thomas Hardy's 19th century novel, Bathsheba Everdene (Julie Christine) is a willful, passionate girl who is never satisfied with anything less than a man's complete and helpless adoration. And she captures the lives and loves of three very different men: Gabriel Oak (Alan Bates), a sheep farmer who is captivated by her beauty and proposes marriage; William Boldwood (Peter Finch), a prosperous man in his early forties and a confirmed bachelor; and Sergeant Frank Troy (Terence Stamp), a handsome, reckless swordsman given to sudden fits of violence.

Ahhh...back in the good ol' days when films would still begin with an overture score...mmm...You knew right from the start that this movie was going to be epic and the story would be deliciously well-told! And I like my share of film violence as much as the next person, but when there are scenes of animal cruelty or death, I can't handle it at all. It is interesting however that while Bathsheba toys with two of the men's affection, it does save her during each trial. Her headstrong, charms and independent nature are soon stripped away, when she's the one who is foolishly charmed into love with dangerous and disharmonious man. Through a world-wind of a journey does she break free of her naivety, realizes the joys of harmony, and of simplistic peace. 

Like The Collector (1965), Terence Stamp proves to be able to portray a fantastic asinine creep with great screen presence. You just love to hate him! The landscapes have a very Edgar Allan Poe and Vincent Van Gogh-esque quality, which absolutely perfect for the plot.

Voyage of the Damned

Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Cast: Faye Dunaway, Max Von Sydow, Oskar Werner, Malcolm McDowell, Orson Welles, James Mason
Genre: Drama/War 1976
Running time: 155 mins. 
Rating:★★½

This was not your standard passenger list. Some were concentration camp victims; others were well-to-do travelers. Most left everything behind to try and escape the Nazi terror. But none suspected the shocking course their voyage would take. As days became weeks, the passengers would unite in a heroic flight for freedom.

Though based on a true story and starts with a bone-chilling piano score and hauntingly beautiful Art Nouveau architecture, the film quality is only TV worthy. Perhaps it adds to the terror that lies ahead, but one is unsure in the beginning. But it is assured that it is indeed more of a BBC film or intended for theatre than the silver screen as the film continues. No one can deny that the performances were spectacular and the well-written script, guiding the illustration of how the war struggles took a great toll on everyone, on board, personally. This however, does create much tension on the passengers interaction with one another. One must ask why anyone would consciously allow passengers from opposite sides of the war on one ship? Propaganda, yes, but the film hardly holds my attention, so I don't really care.

Stranger than Fiction

Director: Marc Forster
Cast: Will Ferrell, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Queen Latifah, Maggie Gyllenhaal 
Genre: Comedy 2006
Running time: 113 mins
Rating:★★★

Harold Crick (Will Ferrell), a lonely IRS agent whose mundane existence is transformed when he hears  a mysterious voice narrating his life. With the help of Professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman), Harold discovers he's the main character in a novel-in-progress and that the voice belongs to Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson), an eccentric author famous for killing her main characters in creative ways. Harold must quickly track down Eiffel and stop her before she conjures up a way to finish him off.

I'll admit that Will Ferrell annoys me to no end. In each film that I've seen him in, he is extremely obnoxious and over the top-poorly acted comedy. I would rather listen to old school reggae or ska than watch him in a film. However, in this film, he finally shows that he can act in a serious role. In it is in this type of role that the comedy is refreshing and delightful. And what makes the comedy more organic and witty, is the wonderfully casted group of actors. Their beings and range is too magnanimously beautiful to describe that you wonder why they never acted as a group before! My love for Queen Latifah has grown immensely in the past few weeks, ever since watching The Secret Life of Bees. She is a powerhouse of an actress, showing both vulnerability, comedic wit, and strength.

Love the "boxy"ness of the set design to the numbers/calculations on the screen that helps illustrate how mundane his life and the feeling toward his work in the first half of the film. It isn't until he meets Ana (Maggie Gyllenhaal) that the set design transitions to a more chaotic-organic freedom of the same ol' same ol'.

Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Director: George Lucas
Cast: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid
Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy 1999
Running time: 136 mins.
Rating:★★

Two Jedi knights, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), escape a hostile blockage to find allies and come across a young boy, Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), who may bring balance to the Force, but the long dormant Sith resurface to reclaim their old glory.

Although, it may have been George Lucas to make the films that would lead up to the trilogy, we have come to love, this one is completely hokey and trying too hard to be "cool." It was almost as if Lucas was having a childish tantrum that the computer technology/graphics or whatever weren't available back when he made the trilogy, so he's tries to make up for it in this film. The rules of the power of the Force are too over the top and doesn't seem to stay true to old rules from the trilogy. Ja-Ja Binks character should have been deleted and destroyed. Star Wars is not suppose to be intended for just a child-based audience, but whatever.

The performances by Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, and Natalie Portman are spectacular! But that shouldn't come to any surprise.

Agnes of God

Director: Norman Jewison
Cast: Jane Fonda, Anne Bancroft, Meg Tilly
Genre: Drama 1985
Running time: 98 mins.
Rating:★★★★

When the infant of a young nun, Agnes (Meg Tilly), is found strangled, court appointed psychiatrist, Martha Livingston (Jane Fonda), must decide if the devout but troubled girl is fit to stand trial. In her quest for truth, Martha goes head to head with the intractable Mother Superior (Anne Bancroft), who assures her that Agnes has no memory of the pregnancy. But the probe uncovers mysterious aspects of Agnes' personality, which leads to a shattering climax. Is Agnes of God a hysterical young woman or is her ordeal divinely inspired?

How much does psychiatry or science really go together with religion? Though some argue that they don't, one has to remember that Galileo was both a very religious man, as well as a mathematician and scientist. Nevertheless, the film begins with a serene reflection on the convent, almost as if it were a painting, then delves into the nuns daily routines. The music score that follows the opening scene, is very haunting, as if to prepare the audience for the horror that lies ahead. The nuns silently circling a large cross in the courtyard doesn't help the eerie feeling lessen. Yet, it seem that it is always the one, who's had personal traumatizing events in their past relating to particular issue, are chosen to take on the issue head on, though seemingly unrelated. Jane Fonda's character is one of those, who is very hesitant on being assigned to evaluate this young nun. She portrays these emotions beautiful, as well as a desire to help uncover the mystery of Sister Agnes' (Meg Tilly) pregnancy and crime of manslaughter. In this journey, she is able to find some peace with her burden. Tilly embodies the sheltered and eternal child that is Sister Agnes.

Its weird, but amazing to see Anne Bancroft go from the seductress in The Graduate to the Mother Superior in this film. Really illustrates the range she had as an actress! Nevertheless, you are able to follow the personal struggle and desire to debunk the undebunkable with the three main characters. You start to question your own beliefs, whether you're religious or not. Its simply amazing and somewhat saddening!

The Secret Life of Bees

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Cast: Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo, Paul Bettany
Genre: Drama 2008
Running time: 110 mins.
Rating:★★★★

To escape her cruel, angry father (Paul Bettany) and discover the truth about her late mother's past, 14-year-old Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) flees with her caregiver and friend, Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson) to a South Carolina town where she's taken in by the bee-keeping Boatwright sisters (Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo). Surrounded by the unexpected love, grace, and spirituality she encounters there, Lily forms a bond with each of these uniquely gifted women and discovers you must leave home in order to find it.

A beautiful heartfelt film about what the swarm of hatred can effect people; who have changed from losing the love they once had and the desperation of wanting it to return, the lies to hide the pain, and the power of love to uplift the heart of the colony again. As Queen Latifah's character, August, magnificently says it, "Don't be afraid, as no life-loving bee wants to sting you. Still, don't be an idiot; wear long sleeves and pants. Don't swat. Don't even think about swatting. If you feel angry, whistle. Anger agitates while whistling melts a bee's temper. Act like you know what you're doing, even if you don't. Above all, send the bees love. Every living thing wants to be loved." It is definitely one of the main themes in the film.

And when the time comes, you must disburden the troubles on your shoulder and forgive yourself and believe. Also, to know it is not up to you to carry the weight of the world by yourself that you have a family (biological or not) to help too. Lastly, whether you are black, white, yellow, red, or green, there is beauty in us all, which makes us lovable, even when we feel we are not. Based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd.