The Bride of Frankenstein

Last weekend, my nephew and I sat down to watch the Bride of Frankenstein. His younger brother scuttled away upon seeing Boris Karloff's monster. My nephew stayed glued to the tv set watching the movie. I would not blame My eyes were also fixed to the tv set. It probably is the one of the best films of all time and it is ,at least for me the best Frankenstein movie of all time.

The movie begins with a conversation between Lord Byron, the Poet Shelley and his wife Mary Shelly, Elsa. Amidst, the thunderstorm besieging the castle Mary Shelley, Elsa Lanchester, is more than willing to continue her tale of Frankenstein and his monster.

After a brief recap of events the tale continues. A reformed Frankenstein, still played by Colin Clive, recovers from the fall from the burning windmill and is set to marry. However, unknown to him the monster, Boris Karloff, has survived and his mentor Dr Pretorius has come to visit him. Pretorius played by Ernest Thesiger has also been conducting experiments and needs Frankenstein to give life to his own creation.

The movie seems to have a more meatier story than the first. It develops the story of the monster his pain and the development of his personality. In fact the monster has several poignant scenes in the movie. This is in term off-set by the scene-stealing and devilish scened of Pretorius. My nephews favourite was the scene where Pretorius showcased his creations. And the introduction of Pretorius' penultimate creation, the Bride, is a scene beyond words and deserves to be etched into the immortal hall of cinema history. Add to this the garnishing of intelligent dialogue between the characters.

The first dialogue between the Monster and Pretorius -

Dr. Pretorius: Do you know who Henry Frankenstein is, and who you are?
The Monster: Yes, I know. Made me from dead. I love dead... hate living.
Dr. Pretorius: You are wise in your generation. We must have a long talk, and then I have an important call to make.

Several critics have further lauded the film because of its sexual undertones and its dance with taboo topics, like homosexuality. This has been explicity explored in the critically acclaimed movie Gods and Monsters, a movie where Sir Ian McKellan essayed the role of Frankenstein and the Bride of Frankenstein's director Frank Whales. Maybe it is valid and maybe its not. One thing will not change and that this is a fine movie.

Both Frankenstein and the Bride of Frankenstein is actually based on Shelley's single novel. Whales may have tweaked with the story a bit, but he did it in such a fine way that it is a movie one should not be ashamed of. My nephew and I agree on this.

As the delightfully sinister Dr Pretorius would say, "To a new world of gods and monsters!"

Kenneth Branagh's version is a bit more faithful to the book, but for sheer cinamtic pleasure, I guess, nothing beats James Whale's cinematic opus.

It is a nice movie to watch on Halloween Night.

Bride of Frankenstein:
Directed by James Whale. Adapted to the screen by William Hurlbut and John L. Balderston (as John Balderston).Written by Mary Shelley novel Frankenstein
Cast: Boris Karloff as The Monster, Colin Clive as Dr. Henry Frankenstein, Valerie Hobson as Elizabeth Frankenstein, Ernest Thesiger as Dr. Pretorius, Elsa Lanchester as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and ? as The Monster's Mate.

What is your choice of horror movie?

I wonder what will be on the telly for the next few days considering that it will Halloween, Feasts of All Saints and Feast of All Souls in the following days. Well, for sure there will be the telefantasiya or fantaserye on at the regular time.

Will there be anything special? I am quite sure there will an endless parade of ghosts, creaturesm, fortune tellers and spirit-mediums doing their regular round in the talk-show circuit. But what about entertainment, films? Well one's best source would still be video, at least in video you can choose the right stuff. Unless, you collect the wrong stuff and end up having a fit like Dr Frankenstein's monster upon seeing his face on the mirror. Well, again its a matter of taste really.

As for me I do not mind seeing some of the old films. Still waiting the movie The Island of Lost Souls, a 1933 movie adaptation of HG Well's story Island of Dr Moreau. Or even Blacula or Darna vs the Impakta. Again its a matter of taste. It all a matter of taste.

Darna and the Darnies versus the Anti-Darnies

I think the watchers of Darna can be divided into two set of people the Darnies and the Anti-Darnies.

My family are fervent watchers of Darna the Fantaserye. It is their regular show during dinner. As a result I have become a Darnie as well. I have said this before and I will say it again my family's power to suspend disbelief when it comes to this show is legendary. They have the intestinal fortitude to swim across the show's Sea of Inconsistency. Me, I just rely on the updates. I do not need to watch but I need to get an update on Darna's plight, Valentina's new dress or the nth time Braguda died. SO I just ask them and I also ask my friend. So I guess you can call me a Darnie.

I have two friends at the office who like to condemn Darna and criticize the show. I must admit I like to hear the complaints about the show and its storyline. In that way the show is funny. And I do enjoy the list of criticism my friends of the show. It is evident though that like the Darnies they cannot escape the allure of the show. Perhaps, intellectually they cringed at the plot, twirls, turns and occasional flip flop of the show. Ironically, they still watch it. I enjoy it, The feeling is similar to watching the Muppet show alongside their resident muppet critics, Stadler and Waldorf.

Here is to the Darnies and here is to the Anti-Darnies!

Wallace and Gromit

My nephews and I were finally able to watch this movie last Saturday at Gateway Cinema. It was everything we expected.

The nephews and myself have been fans of Wallace and Gromit ever since we got hold of the DVD and VCD copies of its animation shorts (some of which are critically acclaimed). We were able to watch the following:

Adam
Wat's Pig
Not Without My Handbag
A Grand Day Out - Wallace and Gromit
The Wrong Trousers - Wallace and Gromit
A Close Shave - Wallace and Gromit
And of course the movie Chicken Run and their latest project Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

It is always a thrill to watch Nick Park's clay animation. My personal favourite is Not Without My Handbag - a tale about a child her aunt, the devil and a handbag.

Perhaps, The comedy of Aardman animation, like any good comedy, entertains at two levels – physical and the subtle. The theatre where we went to had children, teenagers and adults laughing at the jokes and gags of the movie. Some were physical (the zaniness of Wallace’s inventions) and the double-take/reactions of Gromit to situations and events. Still others were phrases and innuendos placed in the movie that would illicit a chuckle from the adults.

Actors who lent their voice to the film included Peter Sallis as Wallace, Helena Bonham Carter as Lady Campanula Tottington and Ralph Fiennes as Victor Quartermaine. Sallis is the original voice of Wallace. Fiennes, who will be appearing next as the main enemy of Harry Potter, is a delight as the snobbish baddie gold digger Quartermaine and his just rewards at the end of the film is…shall we say appropriate. And Carter was last seen or more precisely heard as the Corpse Bride in Tim Burton’s latest animation flick.

Still, one or two bits did not translate well, perhaps because of the language euphemisms or jokes familiar to English culture and society. Wallace and Gromit is an English comedy. It pokes fun and showcase the different characteristics of English culture - the fascination with gardening, the snobbery of the gentry, and the naughtiness of the humor, which likes to poke at a lot of the stereotypically stuffy characters. Yes, the film is as British as a Spotted Dick, Mr Bean and the Beatles.

The movie includes a short from Pixar’s involving the Psychotic Penguins from Madagascar the movie and it was also a delight to watch.

I liked it. We liked .

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit:
Directed by Steve Box & Nick Park. Written Nick Park, Bob Baker,Steve Box & Mark Burton. Featuring the voices of Peter Sallis as Wallace, Ralph Fiennes as Victor Quartermaine, Helena Bonham Carter as Lady Campanula Tottington and others.

Masahista

Another movie that has been generating lot of interest and awards as of late is the critically acclaimed movie Mashaista. The movie started its commercial run in the Philippines the same time W&G started its run, it should be clear that unlike the W&G movie this movie caters to a more mature audience.

Questions that bugged me on my way to the cinema house were:

Why did this win several awards abroad?

What makes it different from the usual local movie?

These questions could only be answered by watching the movie.

It was a disaster. After watching the film for an hour I went out of cinema and went home. I was on the point of regurgitating my lunch on the cinema floor. So to spare the cinema from cleaning the mess and myself from public humiliation I went out.

It was not the movie; it was me. I sat so close to the screen that I started exhibiting signs of motion sickness.

What I saw though was good. I was intrigued by the film that I resolved to watch the movie the next day. This time around I sat comfortably distanced from the silver screen.

The movie is about a day in the life of masseur of gay massage parlor. This was not your typical gay Filipino movie that promotes itself as a social commentary of Filipino society and on the way show an ample amount of male flesh. First, the movie shows what happens and does not preach; the viewer is shown the social condition as it happens raw and with no political comments. Second, the plot of the film follows a non-linear way of developing a storyline; It is quite effective, the viewer is compelled to watch and to see what happens to the character. Third, the director and the writer were faithful to the story. No unnecessary scenes were included in the movie. Everything included was used to build and make effective the story.

A few rows above, I overheard one or two of viewers deconstructing the movie. Luckily, their gabbing was not that loud. It is rude to deconstruct a movie while its being watched by others, there really is no excuse for boorishness. Deconstruct the movie after you watch it. Let the other people watch it in peace.

One thing I did not like in the movie was the inconsistency of the wall clock in between the scenes. A close look at the wall clock revealed that walking from one side of the room to the other side took around five hours. Despite this the movie was unique and an interesting film.

Maybe it’s a step into the right direction.

Shows on local television

Is there anything good on local television today?

I am not really a big fan of reality tv shows. More so of clones that present nothing new on it, not even a local spin. The shows from Brightminds seemed to have promise, my favourite was the adventures of Ariel and Maverick. Somehow, I lost track of the show when channel 5 moved it to a new time slot.

A lot of people are into the fantaserye - Darna and Enkantadia. I admit I get to watch it once in a while and I do get updates from the people at the house and two of my friends in the office.

It is an interesting study in contrast. Most of the people at the house, really suspend their disbelief when watching the show and they seemed to have the patience of Job, especially when the storyline becomes streched like butter over a slice of bread two feet long. I admire their will power I can never watch those particular shows for that long. I usually get summaries from them as to what happened to who etc etc. My friends on the other hand seemed to have developed an affinity for the show similar to what communists have to capitalist. Still they watch.

The cheesiness and the plot of the shows that seem to have gone the logic of the absurd is entertaining. In Darna you have an Evil villain who has conquered the whole of Earth and still lives in a derelict house. And as another friend pointed out she does not even have a proper throne. And in Engkantadia you have one of the heroes journey to an enchanted land with his yaya.

Love it or hate it these fantaseryes have a got a number of people hooked. And despite the storyline having as much holes as a summer guy's shirt it is interesting. One way or the other you end with a smile.

A semi-spotless comedy

In cinema there three types of "virgin" movies - movies about Elizabeth I (England's Virgin), religious virgins (the Virgin Mary and the Greek Vestal Virgins) and there are the movies about sexual virgins often euphimistically called coming of age films. Where the devirginization of the protagonists or one of the protagonists takes on a symbolic role; a symobolic manifestation of socio-cultural change the protagonist will transform to with the completion of his or her oddysey. Then there are movies that just look at the funny side of it all.


And this movie is one of them.

It was bound to happen. The commercial success of Porkey's direct descendant American Pie and commercial acceptance of the Farrely Brothers movie paved the way for sex comedies. Moralists, Archons of Political Correctness and certain types of intellectuals might object to such movies but they cannot argue against the commercial success of such movies. I have only one thing to say such esteemed groups of individuals. Bullocks!

I think its fine that people learn to laugh and enjoy themselves at the movies or in any art form. One cannot just watch a thought provoking or moving film or a profound film or an abstract film every time you watch a DVD, go to a cinema or watch tv. Can you imagine what will it do you. You might end up as a prig and from there just make everybody's day miserable. It is just like being to obssessed with national politics you just might kill yourself from the stress and the over-worrying.

The movie is about the comic oddysey of forty year old appliance store employee to sexual divirgination. The movie has ample amounts of physical gags, sexual jokes and almost every politically incorrect statements that can be think of between a man and a women. Yet, still it works - because unlike serious social commentary movies you knew its a joke. Movie goers will find several scenes amusing and at the same time chillingly familar for viewers approaching their 40s. I am sure the toy collection of the 40 year old virgin made a lot of toy collectors drool and laugh a little bit uneasily. Its characters are mostly stereotypical - The virgin who still has his action figures in mint condition and who has thrown away his money to purchase toys. But what comedy is not?

Some of the scenes and gags though seem to be worn-out. This was however positively counter-balanced by uniquely funny scenes. Looking back a few hours after watching the movie it would seem to me that scene with the bikini-wax lady, the trip to the health centre and the final scene was truly unforgetable. Plus the movie had a nice soundtrack using music anyone nearing their forties would be familiar with. The movie did put a new spin for the song taken from the musical Hair. And I just cannot stop humming that final song when I left the movie house, which by the way was a full house.

Like the 40 year old virgin, the movie is a rare gem among the present crop of comedy movies (possibly with exception of Napoleon Dynamite) in that it is genuinely funny.

The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
Director: Judd Apatow
Writers: Judd Apatow & Steve Carell
Cast: Steve Carell,Catherine Keener,Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen,Elizabeth Banks,Leslie Mann, Jane Lynch, Gerry Bednob, Shelley Malil,Kat Dennings, Jordy Masterson & Chelsea Smith

Is as useful as cupping a corpse

I have never outgrown my interest in animation. If I can I try to watch all cartoon films shown. The only cartoons I stay away from are the uber-saccharin ones. They have never been my cup of tea. No Care Bears and no Care Bear Stares for me, no thank you.

Last night, I found myself queuing to get a ticket for Tim Burton’s The Corpse Bride. The film ticket cost me around ninety-nine pesos, a sign that the movie houses will not extend the film’s commercial run. It would be probably lucky if it goes beyond Sunday.

Tim Burton is one director fond of using stop motion animation. I believe his best work in this field of animation was his film A Nightmare Before Christmas.

The present movie does not stray away from the previous work animation of Burton. The setting is still Gothic with a thin overlay of the operatic. Actually it reminds me of a set from any of the films from Hammer, except that this was in cartoon version. The hero of this movie is a rake thin groom who got himself in a pickle by accidentally marrying the corpse bride. Most of Tim Burton’s heroes are rake thin anti-heroes cut from the mold of most characters by Vincent Price, although with a less than sinister bent. Burton did use Price in his movie Edward Scissorhands as the creator of Edward, who was played by Johnny Depp (the stellar star of what is increasingly becoming the Tim Burton’s acting troupe, which include Helena Bonham Carter and Christopher Lee). Depp was in Edward Scissor Hands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, and played Willy Wonka in Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.

Burton likes his horror icons, you have to give credit to the guy. If Tarantino is well-versed in Asian films and films from the 1970s Burton is probably the lore-master of horror movies from the 1930s to the present. He has in a way treated gently and well maybe venerated a lot of the old actors from Roger Corman’s and Hammer Films production. People like Vincent Price and Christopher Lee. If Peter Lorre and Peter Cushing were alive he probably would have made films with them as well.

I like nearly all of Tim Burton’s movie, with the exception of his take on the Charlton Heston classic Planet of the Apes.

Unfortunately, the movie does pales before Burton’s other similar-veined enterprise, the film A Nightmare Before Christmas. The story of the Corpse Bride was predictable; one could see where the story would go ten minutes into the film and the film’s music was weak; it tended to be repetitive, established no character and ultimately boring – clearly the touch of Danny Elfman was needed in this picture. There were nice moments in the film, I personally like the use of a Peter Lorre voice for the worm character and the use of Christopher Lee’s stentorian voice to that of the Preacher/Priest in the story, the role reversal for Lee, who is known for playing Count Dracula in the Hammer Horror films, was an utter delight. And visually of course it was flawless. Plus, the homage with the Harryhausen piano was nice. Ultimately though, the film’s lack of panache and theatrics did it in and became as animated as the first word in its title.

It is a technically competent made film handicapped with an ultra-mundane storyline and plot. An interesting look-see for animation fans but not much for anyone else.

Full Cast and Crew for
Corpse Bride (2005)

Directed by
Tim Burton
Mike Johnson

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John August, Pamela Pettler & Caroline Thompson

Cast(Voice):

Johnny Depp .... Victor Van Dort
Helena Bonham Carter .... Corpse Bride
Emily Watson .... Victoria Everglot
Tracey Ullman .... Nell Van Dort/Hildegarde
Paul Whitehouse .... William Van Dort/Mayhew/Paul The Head Waiter
Joanna Lumley .... Maudeline Everglot
Albert Finney .... Finnis Everglot
Richard E. Grant .... Barkis Bittern
Christopher Lee .... Pastor Galswells
Michael Gough .... Elder Gutknecht
Jane Horrocks .... Black Widow Spider/Mrs. Plum
Enn Reitel .... Maggot/Town Crier
Deep Roy .... General Bonesapart
Danny Elfman .... Bonejangles
Stephen Ballantyne .... Emil
Lisa Kay .... Solemn Village Boy