MOVIE: Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Lisa FrankensteinYear: 2024Rating: PG-13Length: 101 minutes / 1.68 hours I can appreciate when movies try to do something a little different. Like how Warm Bodies (2013) made Romeo & Juliet into a zombie movie. Often, there's some element of the public domain involved, but a good remix doesn't negate the source material. Lisa Frankenstein (2024) takes its obvious inspiration from Mary Shelley, but with a 1980s John Hughes teen comedy slant similar to Sixteen Candles (1984) or Pretty in Pink (1986). The combo somehow works, even if its plot seems to paint itself into a corner. Kathryn Newton kills it (har har) as the titular Lisa, giving those loner vibes that all girl protagonists from the 1980s seemed to exude before "finding themselves" and having a big glow-up. The entire premise that she's trying to build a boyfriend with pieces of other people is grotesque, but played for laughs due to the PG-13 rating. I don't say this often, but I think...
Read More

MOVIE: Poor Things (2023)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Poor ThingsYear: 2023Rating: RLength: 141 minutes / 2.35 hours To the people who complain that Hollywood doesn't have any original ideas, I'd argue that the bizarre films of Yorgos Lanthimos more than make up for this lack of unoriginality. Look no further than his latest Oscar-nominated piece, Poor Things (2023). A fever dream-like take on both the Frankenstein mythos and feminism, this movie succeeds at providing deeply thoughtful critiques of society while also being strange enough to have me wonder "what the heck did I just watch?" Considering the similar sentiments I had for The Favourite (2018), this tracks. The real crux of this film was Emma Stone's performance as Bella Baxter. Her evolution from infant to enlightened woman—all while in the same body—was spectacular. It was as if her character experienced all the benefits of her rapidly developing mind, but without the regression seen in stories like Flowers for Algernon. If you're uncomfortable with sex (either depictions of or discussions of),...
Read More

BOOK: The Essex Serpent (2016)

by benmweilertNo Comments
The Essex Serpent Year: 2016 Author: Sarah Perry Length: 464 pages ***THIS BOOK WAS RECEIVED FROM A GOODREADS GIVEAWAY*** It’s been a while since I’ve read a book as profound as The Essex Serpent. Perhaps it’s because they don’t write books like this anymore. While written in the last few years, the style of The Essex Serpent is distinctly Victorian. It holds callbacks to the greats of gothic literature, including the physiological studies of Frankenstein and the back-and-forth letter writing of Dracula. All the while, the ever-present gloom of the muddy and foggy Essex shoreline hides the eponymous serpent just outside the reader’s view, providing anticipation of its reveal. Is the Essex Serpent real or is it a figment of so much imagination? Of course, in staying with the Victorian style, the book does suffer somewhat in readability. The vocabulary and description are certainly more voluminous than modern volumes, but my biggest qualm seems to be more along the lines of the seemingly endless talk that occurs in the first half of...
Read More