Victor Frankenstein (2015) | Film Review

(First viewing via VOD) - A horrible trapeze accident leads to a chance encounter between a mad scientist and a nameless hunchback clown at the circus. When the nameless hunchback saves the woman with a pocket watch, the mad scientist decides to free the hunchback and make him apart of his grand experiments. What experiments you ask? To render death a temporary condition.

I don’t know how this one got by me back in 2015, but I have no memories of Victor Frankenstein ever coming out. So when I stumbled upon it while looking for something to watch, and noticed it featured Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter, Guns Akimbo) and James McAvoy (X-Men First Class, Split) in the lead roles, I figured it would be worth a watch. Then I  noticed it was written by Max Landis (Chronicle, Bright), and my intrigue was tainted a bit. I decided to press on thinking this would either be a pleasant surprise, or a total train wreck. In a way, Victor Frankenstein wound up being a bit of both.

The Three Stooges (2012) | Film Review

(Originally published on Letterboxd on February 26, 2014) - I grew up with the Three Stooges. While they weren't a constant, I definitely had knowledge of them as a child, and enjoyed what I saw. Then I grew up and sort of forgot about them.

Fast forward many years later and I find myself watching a film that I can't quite wrap my brain around. Part remake, part continuation, it's both a respectful homage and yet largely unfunny. 

Wild Card (2015) | Film Review

(First viewing via VOD) - Wild Card is a by-the-numbers action flick starring Jason Statham as Nick Wild. Wild is a man with an extensive history of world traveling, actioneering, and apparent escapades that have made him somewhat famous. So how does a man like this end up stuck in a place like Las Vegas? He’s a degenerate gambler.

Wild Card has a paper thin plot. The majority of the film features Statham acting as a sort of Mr. Fix-It in and around Vegas. He’s the sort of guy you hire if you need to impress your lady, of if you’re looking for some extra security for a night on the town. He’s also well-respected by all, including the local mob. He stays out of their way, they stay out of his.

The Brass Teapot (2012) | Film Review

(Originally published on Letterboxd on Feb 6, 2014) - What would you do if you found a teapot that produced money every time you suffered pain? If you're anything like Alice and John (Juno Tempe and Michael Angarano), you'd go to extreme lengths to obtain endless wealth that stretched far beyond physical pain and extended into potential moral ruin. You know, just like investing in the stock market!

The Brass Teapot is a strange film the tiptoes down the line of comedy and thriller, while never fully embracing either. It tells the story of a young couple--the aforementioned Alice and John--struggling to make ends meet, and altogether underachieving. John is tormented by Alice's ex-boyfriend who keeps trying to get back with her through bullying him, and Alice is haunted by the purity and seeming perfection of her sister's marriage and family. Through it all they seem resilient, determined not to let the other succumb to their own personal fears. But when a car accident results in Alice discovering a little brass teapot with an unusually strong allure, the two lovebirds soon find themselves hurting each other in more ways than one, all in the pursuit of what they think they want: Financial success and stability.

It’s a Girl! (2012) | Film Review

(Original published on Letterboxd) - It's a Girl! examines the practice of gendercide--the wholesale killing or aborting of girls--currently rampant in the countries of India and China. As explained in this documentary, having and raising little girls is considered a hardship for many families, mostly having to do with wealth. 

This film discusses the consequences of India's dowry system, and China's expectations on boys to continue family lines and supporting their parents as they get older. In both situations females are often looked upon as burdens, and executed in favor of having boys. For India, its the fear of having to pay a dowry to the families of the husband, and in China its the one child household law (intended to control the population).