Hey everyone! I'm back again with some coverage from this year's Fantastic Fest. If you've read my past reviews, you may recall that I like to keep it short and sweet- I'll gladly leave the 2000 word diatribes to my colleagues. So on that note...
FRANKENWEENIE
So I know this movie is getting a ton of coverage around here, but I just had to chime in as well. Many geeks have been complaining that Tim Burton lost his mojo. Now, while I never drank the Dark Shadows or Alice hater-ade, I have to admit that those films (among a few of Burton's more recent outings) did lack that lightning-in-a-bottle he so perfectly captured in his earlier work. That being said, I've always been 100% in love with the universe he lovingly creates with each and every one of his films. There are only a handful of directors whose stylistic stamp permeates every frame with such gusto, and to me Burton's wondrous world just never gets tiresome.
FRANKENWEENIE is about Victor, a loner kid whose home movie-making, loving parents, and loyal dog Sparky amply make up for an apparent lack of friends or "normal" childhood interaction. Even when he is approached by a classmate who wishes to partner up for their school's science fair, Victor shuns the advance preferring his solitude over camaraderie.
When a rude twist of fate results in a tragic accident that takes the life of his beloved Sparky, Victor takes a cue from his creepy science teacher and sets out to reanimate his aptly named dog. Oh, and did I mention that the boy's last name is Frankenstein? With a name like that, its no big surprise that Victor's experiment is a smashing success. His pup once again barks and plays, though confined to the secrecy of the family's attic. Soon enough, however, Sparky ventures out into the world revealing himself to one of Victor's classmates, setting in motion a series of events that culminate in the films' monstrous climax.
From beginning to end, FRANKENWEENIE is an absolute delight. Shot in stark black and white with gray scale puppets the stop motion animation is incredibly captivating. As in all Burton films, the cast of characters range from endearingly bizarre to the downright macabre. While every player has the signature ashen skin and wide-eyed weirdness of the Burton universe, each personality exudes a kind of wholesomeness that balances his or her grim facade. The story is perfectly complete with nary a loose end, hole, or unnecessary aside distracting from the overall arc. There's a reason why formulas work, and Burton has once again embraced this fact to terrific, heartwarming effect.
FRANKENWEENIE is such great fun. The festival audience here at Fantastic Fest positively ate it up, but I am very interested to see how the general public responds. I think the timely fall release just before Halloween definitely sets the right tone for such a dark-ish family film with its lovely yet strange aesthetic. Like many others have trumpeted, Burton is back to fine form and FRANKENWEENIE is not to be missed. I know I can't wait for my kiddo to check it out.
DREDD 3D
Though I do hang with the comic book nerds, I have never really been an avid follower myself. As adaptation after adaptation hit the big screen, I rely on my comic book guys and gals to inform me as to whether or not the film is true to the text. So far, word on the street says that this Dredd adaptation accomplishes this feat. For me, it succeeds simply as a terrifically bloody shoot-em-up.
Right off the bat, it becomes apparent that this is only one installment in the Judge Dredd saga. If you're unfamiliar with the Dredd stories, they take place in the "Mega City" of the future where the cops also serve a judges, handing down instant sentences ranging from incarceration to swift death. One of the gargantuan housing structures in Mega City One is being controlled by a crime boss who recently dropped the skinned corpses of three of her adversaries from from an upper level balcony to their bloody demise on the floor of the building's atrium. Oh yes, I did say "her", and MaMa (pronounced Maw Maw) is an ex-hooker who rose through the ranks of the underworld and now controls the biggest manufacturing and distribution outfit for a new narcotic named Slo-Mo. When Dredd and rookie enforcer Anderson arrive to investigate, MaMa intends to take them out but soon discovers that she has picked the wrong duo to mess with.
The simple storyline provides a perfect backdrop for some crazy violence. As the blood and bullets continually fly, the imagery is just as stunning as it is graphic. Director Pete Travis utilizes some epic visual effects to demonstrate the influence of Slo-Mo, and luckily for us, some serious splatter happens during those sequences as well. I must refer to Harry's lovely Yoko here who compared the Slo-Mo effect to a kind of nightmarish Lisa Frank (ask a girl) world where everything appears super shiny, sparkly, and intensely colorful. Oh yeah, and super slow. Again, this provides a vehicle for some of the most fun and gory kills I've seen in a long time.
Lena Heady's performance as MaMa is completely ruthless. She is one mean baddie. Karl Urban's perpetual frown and throaty delivery capture Dredd's seriousness. The standout performance, however, belongs to Olivia as the rookie Anderson. Thirlby imbues a sort of raw innocence in Anderson, but allows her to be a total badass as well. Though there are a few light moments sprinkled in, neither Urban or Thirlby ever betray the utter grimness of their chosen plights to provide justice in their crime ridden mega city.
Even though I had heard raves about DREDD 3D, I am still a bit surprised by how much I really liked. So many times I feel like adaptations are made (rightly so) specifically for the fanboys, but DREDD 3D was a ton of fun for me too.
I'll be back soon with more coverage from Fantastic Fest '12.
Annette Kellerman
