checkmate

Classic Burton; riveting Affleck

Two weeks ago, all these movies I wanted to watch came out at the same time: Frankenweenie, Argo, Looper and Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles.


It’s an absolute luxury to get around to all four so I’ve started with the first two: Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie and Ben Affleck’s Argo.

If you love Tim Burton, misfits, Halloween, gothic things and your pet, you will be thoroughly satisfied with Frankenweenie. It is full of all the ingredients you want in a Tim Burton film (except for Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter—they’re busy with Gore Verbinski now), it’s got excellent gothic art direction; it’s done in black and white; it’s in stop motion; and it’s available for your full appreciation on IMAX 3D.

The animation style is similar to Corpse Bride. You’ll have your fill of the Danny Elfman soundtrack, which brings back shades of his previous work on Dark Shadows, Batman, Edward Scissorhands and Alice and Wonderland. The grade school science teacher, Mr. Rzykruski is an homage to Vincent Price, and he’s voiced by Martin Landau who won an Oscar for his role as Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton’s Ed Wood.

Winona Ryder (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands) is back, voicing a character named Elsa Van Helsing. There are so many Easter eggs as well to tickle the Burton fans, like footage of Christopher Lee in a Dracula movie playing in the Frankenstein household.

You may debate about whether it was a good idea to have Sparky the dog come back to life as a result of young Victor Frankenstein’s experiments with electricity, but at some point it is hard to argue too vehemently against that feeling of just wanting our beloved four legged friends to be with us forever.

* * *

For those who want something smart, well made and gripping, then look no further than Ben Affleck’s Argo.

“Carter’s shitting enough bricks to build the pyramids,” says Jack O’Donnell (Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston) as he gives Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) a heads up on White House sentiment regarding the hostage crisis that unfolded in Iran in November of 1979.

Up until the late ’90s, the world was unaware that a parallel situation was unfolding with the lives of six other Americans in Iran at stake. They escaped the siege and sought refuge with Canadian diplomats and it was up to Tony Mendez and the CIA to get them out alive.

In the words of Tony Mendez, “The Argo Operation was the only successful undertaking run by the US government during the Iranian Hostage Crisis. We rescued six innocent Americans without firing a gun, without bloodshed, using only classic espionage tools. It has become a model for others to emulate. We would change nothing.”

All I can say is, “Argo f***ing see it.”

Argo, Frankenweenie, Looper and Tiktik all opened October 12. Apparitoin, A Secret Affair and Lawless opened on Wednesday.

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