Frankenstein

Young Frankenstein – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1974 film Young Frankenstein.

Story

Shockingly close to the actual novel, possibly with more quotes from it than most movie adaptations. The story was pretty much a remake of the novel with a lot of Mel Brooks spin. It toes the line from serious to absurd and I personally wish it went further into the absurd.

Story: 0.5

Characters

Then entire cast was having a lot of fun and you can tell. They often over do it in the most delightful way, but at times the jokes fall flatter than I’d like.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Oscillating between dick jokes and monologues about beauty that could be pulled from the novel, the dialogue was all over the place and I mean that in the best way. The contrast is what adds an extra level to the humour.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The filming style is a perfect match for the old monster movies, which was a little discordant when I saw the background actors with seventies hair styles.

The music was like the dialogue, all over the place. Not sure it worked as well though.

Score: 0.5

Fun

I have a feeling that I could watch this movie yearly and enjoy it on my own. However, it is a very slow-paced and very talky movie sometimes to a self-indulgent level. The kids were bored, but I expected that.

Score: 0.5

Overall

There are glimmers of genius in the comedy of the movie, but it tries too hard to be too many things. Personally, I prefer Brooks when his movies are more absurd and frantic.

Final Score: 3 out of 5 Stars

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1948 film Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein.

Story

The story was definitely driven by the scenes they wanted to include in the movie. It was well set up and simple. Some of the build-up was slow and there were some awkward jokes, but overall pretty solid.

Score: 0.5

Characters

I’m not a big fan of Abbott, I find him bland, rude, and insulting. I know he’s the straight man, but I always end up feeling bad for Costello.

Costello’s physical comedy is spectacular.

The monster actors were fantastic and Glenn Strange is a great Frankenstein’s Monster. Although, I would have liked to see Karloff. Awesome mini cameo from Vincent Price at the end.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The wordplay is fantastic and the sound mixing is impressive.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The filming techniques were solid and I liked the cartoon transformation for Dracula.

The music was okay; a strange mixture of comedy and horror that could have been more exaggerated.

Score: 0.5

Fun

The movie is a classic for a reason, it’s funny and it’s a lot of fun. It is, however, much slower paced than I would have liked, and a few of the jokes seemed overdone.

Score: 0.5

Overall

Fun and exciting, a real treat for those that love older horror movies, but it does drag at times and isn’t one of my favourites. It’s worth a watch just for the fantastic faces that Costello makes.

My two year old’s review is, “Scary” followed by a shrug.

Final Score: 3.5 stars out of 5

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Igor – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2008 film Igor.

Story

A remake of My Fair Lady but with a Frankenstein twist. This could have been a wonderful satire of sexism, fat-phobia, classism, and racism, but instead they decided to ignore the messages of both My Fair Lady and Frankenstein to create a poorly executed adventure romance.

Score: 0

Characters

The titular character is the stereotypical nerd with a heart of gold. He triumphs by sheer brain power and luck. He manages to change his world without changing anything.

The monster is the most civilized and definitely the one that makes the difference in the story.

The only characters that weren’t bland and honestly saved the movie from being boring were Scamper, the immortal rabbit, and Brain. The sidekicks made the best jokes and insights.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The wry humour of the sidekicks and the referential jokes save this movie. If it wasn’t for those, the movie would get lost in it’s own blandness.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The animation is crude by the standards of it’s time and hasn’t aged well. The monochromatic world don’t help make it visually appealing.

The music is boring and the songs feel like they were chosen by someone who got a bad synopsis and didn’t understand the little amount of plot.

Score: 0

Fun

There were some fantastic jokes and some interesting moments and references to classic monster movies. That was fun but the fat-phobic jokes and constant tropes about beauty sapped the joy for me.

Score: 0.5

Overall

The movie could have used more Scamper and Brain, which are the only parts of the movie that are genuinely funny. Beyond that it’s mostly been done before and I wasn’t impressed.

Final Score: 2 Stars out of 5

Recommendation Thursday – We Shall Be Monsters – Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein 200 years on

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Hello,

There’s a fantastic anthology that is being Kickstarted. There are some great rewards and I can’t wait to read it!

Go check it out:

We Shall Be Monsters – Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein 200 years on

“It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account we shall be more attached to one another.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

As you may already know, Renaissance will be celebrating its fifth anniversary in 2018, and to mark the occasion, we’ve decided to launch a project celebrating another important anniversary.
In 1818, Mary Shelley published Frankenstein, sparking the genres of horror and science fiction. On this, the 200th anniversary of its publication, the narrative is more relevant than ever.

We Shall Be Monsters: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Two Centuries On will feature a broad range of fiction stories, from direct interactions with Shelley’s texts to explorations of the stitched, assembled body and narrative experiments in monstrous creations. We Shall Be Monsters is a fiction collection that will feature explorations of disability through Frankenstein, ace, queer, and trans identity, ideas of race and colonialism.

Seven-time Aurora Award winner Derek Newman-Stille and award-winning author and theatre artist Kate Story team up to direct this excellent collection.

This anthology is a huge milestone for us as a publisher, and we won’t reach it without your help.
Kickstarter works on an all-or-nothing basis, which means that if our campaign does not get fully funded, we will not get any of the funds. Please take some time to look at the campaign; I think you’ll find the rewards for this campaign are incredible. You can get this wonderful book, but also a selection of Renaissance novels, your portrait made as Frankenstein’s monster, you can participate to a writing workshop, and so much more!
If you can’t pledge, that’s OK! Sharing the link with all your friends is a great way to help!

Thank you in advance for your support. We take the success of our very first anthology to heart, and really believe it can be a great vehicle for emerging and underrepresented voices.

Check out the Kickstarter!