stephenv2 Reviews

Frankenstein (2007 TV Movie)

Fans of Shelley look elsewhere

[3/10 · 31 December 2023]

There are lots of things that don't work, but the biggest it's claim to be modern re-telling of Mary Shelley's novel. Very little of the novel is present beyond some surface details but the plot of mix the 1931 film and generic monster of the week type stuff.

It would have worked better to forget the Shelley/Frankenstein angle and just turn it into a generic creature feature. Then is might be passable and the many plot holes and lack of tension would be less painful.

There are good actors here but that's about it. Big letdown overall and not recommended for Frankenstein fans, especially of Mary Shelley's genius.

Erzulie (2022)

Erzulie is a creative, impressive low-budget indie from an up and coming filmmaker

[6/10 · 16 May 2023]

Full disclosure, I provided DCP services to the film, so did see the film in a full theatrical screening. However, I'm not affiliated with the film production and my review is my honest take.

As I work on a lot of indie film, Erzulie stands out of from the crowd with a creative, cool take on the mermaid myth. It takes the basic monster in the wild story and gives it an authentic and female-centric approach that is both engaging to watch and nice meta commentary on how this myth has played out in other films.

The strengths of the film are the quality cast, both leads and supporting characters, the nice design of the mermaid and the quality direction that moves the story along, builds the characters and maintains tension.

The technical quality exceeds the budget range and it's devoid of the often found failings of low-budget films: cinematography, edit, sound, music and color are all well executed and don't distract from watching. While I would not call one of the best films ever made, it's better than almost films in this budget range and better than a lot of big budget flicks.

If you like female-centric films with a fresh twist on a classic film genre, it's a solid choice.

Don't Look Up (2021)

Terrrible analogy and only occasionally entertaining

[2/10 · 2 January 2022]

I watched this without knowing anything except satire and comet hit. My impression was a vague scattershot satire at the Zeitgeist of our times that as a hit and miss glancing weakly funny comedy with no bite neither plausible enough to take seriously or nor absurd enough to rise to comedic heights.

Imagine my surprise when reading it was supposed to be satire specifically of climate change. First, a comet is a terrible analogy for climate change. Secondly, Dr. Strangelove, the masterpiece of global destruction does not use an analogy, it goes for the jugular and satirizes it's target directly.

It's got big budget, A list talent but most of that is wasted. Unless you are starved for satire about the current times and will tolerate C grade material from A listers, skip it.

Under the Skin (I) (2013)

The modern sci-fi masterpiece - big screen recommended

[10/10 · 25 November 2018]

I saw this film first on a DVD from friend on a 42"TV with a cheap sound bar. I thought it was cool, cool enough to pick up a blu-ray but did not consider it great or a masterpiece.

Until we re-watched it on 110" 4K projection with 7.1 sound. The film is layered with details in picture, sound, story, acting, subtext and highly rewards re-watching. Just watched it again tonight. Get's better each time and new aspects of the film reveal itself so you can see the careful construction and mastery of the cinematic form at display here.

Ignore the bad reviews - this is modern sci-fi classic. I can't think of any post 2000 sci-fi film that is this ground-breaking, spell-binding and likely will influence a huge amount of films going forward.