A Biased Review of Frankenweenie

With a title like that, first of all, shame on you for clicking on this article. Of course, let me get all philosophical on you and turn things around by saying there is no such thing as an unbiased review of a movie. You don't read someone's opinions on art to exclude bias, but there's a lot leading to this particular bias. First of all, you've got the Tim Burton bias. Burton was once considered one of the great new minds in Hollywood, then 2001 happened and he spent a decade working on movies that were heartless and came off more like a Tim Burton impersonator than Burton himself. Then, this year, things changed and we're now seeing that old Burton that used to actually tell amusing and entertaining stories through his warped mind. Perhaps it's no coincidence that it's now that his films have finally stopped making money as well.

Pictured above is the guy, a weirdo if there ever was one. I don't mean that in a bad way at all. His weirdness was much of what made him such an interesting filmmaker in his early days, and Frankenweenie brings the heart back to his fantasy world. This is the Edward Scissorhands filmmaker we once loved, back with more to say. Frankenweenie is a stop motion film about a young boy named Victor Frankenstein (voiced by Charlie Tahan). Victor is one of many strange children in his class, but he's probably the least social. He's a genius and aspiring filmmaker, making stop motion disaster films in his basement with his one true friend, his dog Sparky. When Sparky gets tragically run over, Victor's world is all but ruined. He is saved only by the inspiration his kooky science teacher Mr. Rzykruski (voiced by Martin Landau) to do exactly what you'd expect given his name and the name of the film. With the power of lightning and science, Victor resurrects the corpse of Sparky. From here, things play out in a rising tension as things get quickly out of hand and things fall into a climax that serves as a perfect conclusion as well as a wonderful homage to the early horror films of Hollywood.

There's a lot this film says actually, though I'm not entirely convinced Burton was reaching for a whole lot more than simply telling a poignant and entertaining story. I suspect there's a lot of personal emotion brought into the story. This is a complete hunch, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that young Tim, an aspiring filmmaker, was forced to play sports by his father, and his dog got run over. It also wouldn't completely catch me off guard if Tim Burton spent his free time playing with corpses, but that's just because he's really into having his characters look either pale and emaciated or completely obese. Death clearly has been an inspiration to his strange visual style throughout the years. The personal aspect of the film was no doubt intentional, but this brings me to my second bias as I sit down to write this review. My own dog, which I'd had for 16 years, died the day after I saw Frankenweenie.

To some extent, the way Burton's animation managed to capture the realistic movement and actions of a dog in Sparky, both alive and dead, makes the heartbreak so much more intense during the death and the subsequent pain Victor goes through. Burton's characters, for the first time since the early 90s, aren't quite realistic, but the emotional core of the film is easily to relate to, whether you've had a pet die or not. It's sad when it needs to be, but it doesn't wallow in despair. Victor is not the Victor Frankenstein of Mary Shelley's famous novel; as a result, he reanimates his dog out of love, not because he wants to be a god. This contrast is not lost in the film, however, as some competitive members of the community do follow the wrong path here, creating for the sake of creating, to disastrous but ultimately funny consequences. The love of a pet and the love of scientific exploration are hardly deep themes, yet I couldn't help but feel the film is just as much about capturing the emotions a young child has upon seeing the classic monster movies.

There are overt references to Frankenstein, Frankenstein's Bride, Dracula, The Wolfman, and even Godzilla to name the main ones. Like the above films, Frankenweenie is a black and white film about monsters, though it's certainly not a monster movie. These films inspired Burton not just on this film, but in the creation of his own Gothic cinematic style, and seeing this manifest here is quite fascinating. A twisted cinephile may consider this the companion piece to Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master, a film also about a dog and his master and the love they share for each other, though not quite as overtly.

Though the sum of Frankenweenie's parts may not add up to some great statement about the human condition or society, it's a wonderful look into the brain of Tim Burton and a very sweet story, even if it is full of strange people and monsters. My personal loss will probably end up leaving a much more emotional connection with the film that I'd otherwise have, but there is a lot to this movie that is absolutely wonderfully put together. It contains perfect performances, great black and white animation, and a story that's got something for everyone. If nothing else, I hope this becomes a regular Halloween favorite for youngsters who aren't quite ready for the real scary movies that paved the way for Frankenweenie to exist.

8/10

The Master: A Mesmerizing Drama

Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson is considered about the cream of the crop of modern filmmakers. He's often referred to as The Next Stanley Kubrick even, which is, as far as I'm concerned, a silly statement. PT Anderson is one of the freshest, most talented voices in cinema, but he has certainly developed his own voice. He's not the next anyone, he's PT Anderson. As a cinematic master, he last graced cinemas with his magnum opus, There Will Be Blood five years ago. Now, he's back with a film that has a similar intensity not present in his earlier work. PT Anderson returns with The Master, and period drama shot on 65mm film that is every bit as captivating as its predecessor, if not quite as satisfying.

That's not how a film should be reviewed, though, is it? On so many sites, I see this film getting downgraded simply because it's not There Will Be Blood 2. The simple truth of the matter is The Master is a very, very different film from Blood. They share a few stylistic things in common, but in the end, here we have a much more intimate and smaller story about troubled people. It's not about huge character arcs or a complicated story; it's a glimpse into the lives of these flawed individuals.

Our protagonist is Freddy Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), a man returning from WWII with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder who is attempting to have a normal life, only that's not as easy as it seems. His mind is very messed up now, presumably a result of his devotion to the nation by serving in the war. Now, he cannot hold a job, has a major drinking problem, and has no direction in his life. One drunken night, he wanders aboard a yacht where he meets Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seamour Hoffman), the founder and head of a new religion known as The Cause. Dodd and Quell are opposites - a driven man who has devoted his life to leading others, and a seemingly hopeless drunk with no prospects or friends. The two become dependent off of each other, which leads to unexpected outcomes for the both of them.

It's best to leave the plot description vague because the plot itself is rather vague, not in an ambiguous sense, but rather because this is no more than a character study about complicated characters. What's perhaps the most fascinating decision behind the scenes here is how PT Anderson scaled back his filmmaking style quite a bit, moving the camera infrequently and avoiding the huge tracking shots he's known for. This is not to say that the cinematography was anything less than stunning, however. There is a strong style, but a much more subtle one than we've come to expect from the man. This subtlety also extends to the development of our two main characters.

From the script alone, these characters are developed to a point, without revealing their full complexities, which is where the absolutely flawless performances of Phoenix and Hoffman add considerable complexity to the characters. Anderson made an interesting choice; he let the performances create the complexity, and he just let his direction serve what was necessary to watch these two completely believable actors do what they needed to do. In a smaller role, it's also necessary to point out the amount of power Amy Adams brought to her role as Dodd's wife Mary. Unlike the other two, she has no scenes where she loses her calm or gets to be completely unhinged, but the subtleties of fantastic acting tell us quite a lot about who this woman is and why she's here.

Of course, if you've read any other reviews for this film, you're probably wondering why I'm not going off about how amazingly complex and hard to understand this film is. Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm dull but The Master doesn't come off like a terribly cryptic epic at all to me. There is symbolism and great thematic work, but none of it is terribly complicated. There are a few things that leave room for interpretation, but this is not a puzzling watch. One thing I've certainly taken away from it is how little respect Paul Thomas Anderson seems to have for religious institutions. Between this and his previous film, we see despicable men running religious groups to serve their own egotistical purposes, because they want to rule, spirituality in both cases is not even present. Here, we see this very blatantly, and even get the metaphor of a dog and his master through Freddy and Dodd as their relationship develops.

Paul Thomas Anderson has described this film as a love story between two men, but I really think it's just a tragic tale of a man who does not have the function of being normal who wants to fit in. We see the characters in The Cause partaking in their makeshift family because it makes them feel good to fit into something that's bigger than themselves. Characters see (or invent) meaning in the universe for a sense of belonging, but Freddy's mental state makes him stick out even from this basic opportunity. This is a tragic, intimate tale that's remarkably well put together and something that will no doubt improve with age. 

9/10