Frankenstein

2025 Netflix

Rated: R

Length: 2 hr 29min

Epic ~ Gothic Drama ~ Fantasy ~ Gothic Horror ~ Sci-Fi

Starring: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, David Bradley, Lars Mikkelsen, Christian Convery, Charles Dance, and Christoph Waltz.

Life sparked. Death unleashed.

Only Monsters Play God.

In 1857, the Arctic ice traps a Danish expedition vessel whose crew discovers Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) badly wounded on the frozen wasteland. Victor warns them of a powerful Creature (Jacob Elordi) hunting him relentlessly. Inside the warmth of the Captain’s cabin, Victor begins to tell his harrowing story, a tale of ambition and loss that led to this desperate moment.

Victor grew up under the stern hand of his father, Baron Frankenstein (Charles Dance), and the death of his beloved mother (Mia Goth) left deep scars. Encouraged by grief and driven by an obsessive desire to conquer death, Victor pursues radical medical experiments. With funding from an arms dealer, Henrich Harlander (Christoph Waltz), Victor creates a gruesome but brilliant new life form, hoping it will change humanity forever.

Victor’s creation, part man, part monster, is awakened amid a storm and darkness, but the being’s emergence unleashes consequences Victor had never imagined. The Creature struggles to understand its own existence while Victor wrestles with guilt and fear. Around them, loyalties and betrayals form, as Elizabeth (Mia Goth), Victor’s love interest, and William (Felix Kammerer), his brother, navigate the tangled web Victor’s ambition has spun.

As Victor’s world spirals into chaos, the bond between creator and creation becomes more complicated and threatening. The story explores themes of family pain, societal rejection, and the dangerous thirst for power, all set amid the haunting grandeur of Victorian-era landscapes. This is not just a monster story, it is a deeply emotional and dark journey of both man and what he dares to create. Del Toro’s Frankenstein stands as a towering epic in monster cinema, a visually stunning and emotionally resonant reimagining of Mary Shelley’s classic tale. Del Toro’s signature style shines through in every frame, blending dark gothic horror with profound humanity and complex character dynamics.

Oscar Isaac delivers a commanding and layered performance as Victor Frankenstein, capturing the scientist’s obsessive brilliance and profound torment. Jacob Elordi’s Creature is both terrifying and tragically sympathetic, bringing depth to the monstrous figure beyond mere horror iconography. Mia Goth impressively anchors dual roles with nuance and intensity, embodying pivotal influences on Frankenstein’s psyche. Christoph Waltz’s portrayal of the calculating Henrich Harlander adds a sinister sophistication to the narrative. Overall, the ensemble cast elevates Del Toro’s monstrous creation, making this Frankenstein an unforgettable cinematic journey that balances spectacle with deeply felt performances.

Turn off the lights and devices,

Make some popcorn,

Grab a beverage,

and Stream This Movie

on Netflix!

Companion

2025 Warner Brothers

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 37min

Fantasy ~ Horror ~ Sci-Fi ~ Suspense ~ Thriller

Directed by: Drew Hancock

Starring: Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén, and Rupert Friend.

Find someone made just for you.

The Movie starts with this scene in a grocery store. It is when Iris and Josh first met…..

Iris is shopping in the grocery store pushing a grocery cart, when she sees peaches displayed in the produce department. She stops and picks up a peach, smells it, and looks up to see a guy named Josh smiling at her. He walks around to the front of her cart near an orange display, and attempting to make small talk, grabs an orange. All the oranges in the display fall onto the floor…..He sheepishly starts to laugh and Iris starts to laugh too. Josh says, “Well That was smooth..” and laughs. Iris agrees as she laughs and smiles at him, “Yeah…So smooth.

As this voiceover from Iris plays:

Most the time it’s like, I don’t know, it’s like there’s this thick black cloud covering everything.

Like we see the world but, we don’t really see the world, you know?

We’re all just stumbling around. Directionless. No sense of meaning. No sense of purpose.

I know that might sound super depressing but honestly, I think it’s a good thing.

Because it makes us appreciate the other times.

Those brief transcendent moments when the lights flicker on, the black cloud parts and you see the world for what it really is.

And suddenly there’s meaning. Suddenly there’s purpose.

If you’re lucky you’ll experience this once in your lifetime.

For me, it happened twice.

The first was the day I met Josh.

And the second…..the day I killed him.

“Iris, Wake Up” Josh says. Iris wakes up, yawns and asks Josh, “How long was I out?” “You’ve been out for awhile now, what were you dreaming about?” Iris answers, “I was dreaming about when we first met.” They are driving in Josh’s self driving autonomous car to a friend’s house out in the countryside for a weekend getaway. They are meeting with some other friends to spend the weekend together and have some fun. The house belongs to Sergey, a shady Russian business man “whose hands are in some dirty business”, so he says.

Eli and his lover Patrick have already arrived and Josh and Iris pull up and park next to their car. As they enter the house they are greeted by Kat, who Iris is convinced doesn’t like her very much. Patrick is cooking, Sergey is drinking and making drinks for everyone else and Eli comes downstairs to greet Josh and Iris. And the weekend begins! There is food, there is drink, there is dancing, a fun time for all, let the good times roll!

But not for long! Soon things spiral out of control and not in the way it was intended! For there is more to this little planned getaway than meets the eye, as there is to Iris, Patrick, Josh and Kat. Sometimes the bad guy isn’t who you think it is, or is it. Just when you think you know what is going to happen, it goes in a completely different direction. And when you think you have that figured out, guess again. Nope, you’re wrong!

There are shades of Subservience and M3GAN in this movie. Yes, there are A.I. Robots, but you think they turn bad and run amok. Not nese-celery! New word I made up! Anyway, I thought Sophie Thatcher was great as Iris. I really liked her in this. Great job I say. And Jack Quaid as well, I just found out he is the son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, how about that! I love the story and the twists and turns, and I am fond of the Sci-Fi AI Robot genre of things. I am a big Bladerunner fan and love both of those futuristic AI Robotic humanoid filled movies. It is a twisty turny thrilling Sci-Fi Movie that leaves you rooting for who you thought was the bad guy in the end.

Yes, yes and yes on Companion.

I am a Sophie Thatcher and Companion Fan now!

Two Thumbs Up!

The Watchers

2024 Warner Brothers Pictures

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 41min

Horror ~ Fantasy ~ Thriller

Directed by: Ishana Night Shyamalan

Starring: Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Olwen Fouéré and Oliver Finnegan.

“You can’t see them, but they see everything.”

Dakota Fanning stars as Mina, an American Artist working in an exotic pet shop in Galway, Ireland. A customer has bought the Golden Conure Parrot and the owner asks Mina to deliver the parrot to the zoo that bought it in Belfast. The GPS takes her through an uncharted forest in western Ireland and on a narrow one lane dirt path, her car and the GPS suddenly quit working. Thinking she saw someone, she grabs the birdcage and heads into the woods to find help. She comes across a woman who suddenly takes off running and Mina follows her. Mina catches up just in time to see the woman in the door of a large concrete bunker say “You better hurry, it’s almost dark and they will be coming.”

Mina makes it inside safely as the woman closes the huge metal door and locks the numerous bolts that secure the door. Mina looks around at the concrete bunker and notices that one wall is completely glass, floor to ceiling. There is also a young man and a girl with the woman Mina had followed. The Older woman introduces herself as Madeline (Olwen Fouéré), and the young woman and man as Ciara (Georgina Campbell) and Daniel (Oliver Finnegan). She tells Mina that they must hurry and line up in front of the window, they will be here soon. “Who? Who will be here soon? What is going on?”, Mina wants to know, but then she hears them. The Watchers have come….

Who are The Watchers you ask? I dare not tell you for it would ruin it for you. I can’t say anymore without giving anything away except maybe….It is an uncharted spooky forest in Ireland and there is a bit of Irish Folklore at hand. I am fond of Ireland, I have American and Irish ancestry. Although given the current state in America it might be time to leave and go to Ireland, but that is political talk not meant for a movie review. I liked the scenery and the way the forest was portrayed as a very spooky forbidden place. Lots of fog creeping in amongst the trees as the night comes. There are a lot of twists and turns you don’t see coming, and you don’t put it all together until the end. I think Dakota Fanning and the rest of the cast did a good job. I think the parrot could have had a bigger role. I can see how he might have been put to more use to add some suspense after finding out he could talk.

I liked the story, it is based on the book The Watchers by A.M. Shine. A bit of Irish Folklore with a Horror twist. It was directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan, the daughter of M. Night Shyamalan who also produced the movie. It is Ishana’s Directorial debut, after reading the book she thought that it would translate well to the screen and decided to direct it with the help of her father. I think that it is a good first attempt, it kept me going right up until the end. The end was kind of anti-climatic for me. I haven’t read the book so I don’t know if the book is that way as well. It felt like a bit of a let-down after the build-up to the end.

So to sum everything up, I liked it. I thought it was a great first attempt for Ishana. Could it have been better, I think so. There were some obvious things that could have given it more depth and to tie things together a little better. The ending was a bit of a let-down, I think that could have been handled differently to really make the ending zing.(You know….ZING!) I will say I liked it more then her father’s movie Knock At The Cabin. I think it is worth a watch, give it a go and tell me what you think.

Barbie

2023 Warner Brothers Pictures

Rated: PG-13

Length: 1 hr 54min

Comedy ~ Fantasy

Directed by: Greta Gerwig

Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Michael Cera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell.

“Barbie has a great day everyday, Ken only has a great day if Barbie looks at him.”

Barbie opens with a scene of little girls playing with baby dolls, narrated by Helen Mirren. She explains the history of dolls for little girls and how there were only baby dolls in the beginning. You could only take care of the baby dolls and they never grew up. Then along came Barbie, designed and created by Ruth Handler and manufactured by her Toy Business Mattel she owned with her husband Elliot. Barbie hit the market in 1959 and changed the toy doll market. There have been over a billion Barbie’s sold and over 125 different models. Barbie was named after Ruth Handler’s daughter Barbara, and Ruth got the idea after watching her play with paper dolls and role-play adult scenarios. After a brief history we land in Barbie Land where……..

Barbie (Margot Robbie) is waking up to her best day everyday, in her pink bed, in her pink playhouse, in her pink neighborhood, in her pink world. All the other Barbie’s wake up and wave to each other as they go about their jobs and lives in the Barbie dominated Barbie Land. Where Ken (Ryan Gosling) and all the other Ken’s try to get Barbie’s attention, feeling inadequate if they can’t. Ken was introduced by Mattel in 1961 and was named after Ruth Handler’s son Kenneth. Ken is starting to have serious doubts about his life and his role in Barbie’s female Barbie dominated land, as she hardly ever wants to spend time with him. All Ken wants is to get close to Barbie and be her boyfriend but she is always too busy being spectacularly Barbie.

When Barbie starts to have mortal feelings about death and notices uncharacteristic changes in her appearance, she decides she needs to go see Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) and get her advice. Weird Barbie has been abused by her owner and her hair is chopped, her face is painted weird colors and she is in a permanent “split” position. Weird Barbie tells her that she has to go to The Real World and find the human that is playing with her in real life or that things will get worse for her, she might end up disfigured like Weird Barbie. Barbie decides that that is what she must do, says goodbye to all the Barbies and set out in her pink Corvette.

As she leaves the Barbie Land border she is surprised by Ken who was hiding in the back seat. She agrees that she might need his help in the real world and lets him come with her as they travel by Corvette to Speedboat to Rocket Ship to Tandem Bicycle to VW Camping Van to Snowmobile, which is the only way to get to the real world from Barbie Land. They emerge roller blading in Venice Beach in brightly colored outfits and quickly get into trouble as they are unfamiliar with the workings of the real world. Barbie is uncomfortable with all the male attention and wolf-calling while Ken is basking in all the attention he never got in Barbie Land.

And what follows is the journey through the real world trying to find her owner as Barbie deals with feelings she never had, and Ken discovers that men have the upper hand in the real world. He decides that that is the way things should be in Barbie Land, that Barbies should be there for Kens and not the other way around. Which leads to pure turmoil in Barbie Land as Barbie is trying to right things with her owner so she can return to normal as Normal Barbie. It is an interesting look at the Barbie phenomenon and culture, and also the role of men and women in our society. And how that role is changing and how we perceive each other as men and women.

I am a guy and was never into Barbie or Ken but it was part of the culture growing up. It is not something I would have watched, but given my new role as Movie Reviewer I felt it necessary. I am glad I did, it is an interesting story and is thought provoking on the whole Male/Female stereotypical roles in society aspect. One woman’s desire to build a toy doll more realistically adult for her daughter changed the toy doll industry and helped transform women’s roles in societies by their portrayal of Barbie’s different professions and material success by Jobs previously held only by men.

And you have to love the star power. Margo Robbie did a great job as Barbie, and Kate McKinnon as weird Barbie was humorous but great, but Ryan Gosling as Ken, awesome! I felt his pain, he made me laugh, he must have had a great time playing Ken because it shows in his performance. So yes, I’d say even if you hate Barbie it’s worth a watch.

There is a Netflix Documentary about the addition of Black Barbie to the Mattel Barbie line in 1980. Thanks to three black women who worked at Mattel and were instrumental in making Black Barbie become a reality. It is Titled BLACK BARBIE.

There is a “Selfie” generator on The Official Barbie Website where you can take a selfie with Barbie, just for fun.

Two Thumbs up.

Hot Frosty

2024 Netflix

Rated: PG-13

Length: 1 hr 32min

Christmas ~ Comedy ~ Fantasy ~ Romance

Directed by: Jerry Ciccoritti

Starring: Lacey Chabert, Dustin Milligan, Katy Mixon Greer, Lauren Holly, Chrishell Stause, Joe Lo Truglio, and Craig Robinson.

“You’ll never find the warmth unless you venture out into the cold. Good things happen to you when you venture out into the cold.”

Lacey Chabert stars as Kathy Barrett who lives in the small town of Hope Springs, New York. It is Christmastime and there is snow on the ground, cold in the air and Christmas decorations all around town. Her husband, who was a handyman, died of cancer two years ago. Her heating furnace is broke, the roof leaks and there is a broken step on her staircase. Every morning when the alarm goes off she deals with the cold in her empty house, the broken step as she goes down the stairs and empties the bucket catching the snowmelt from the leaky roof. Then she heads downtown where she owns a little diner named Kathy’s Kafé.

Her Chef Isaac looks out for her making sure she is well fed and runs the Diner in her absence. After the breakfast rush, Kathy delivers lunch to her friends Theo and Mel across the street who own Reclaimed Rags, a clothing shop. Mel tells her she has something for her, she had just gotten in a red winter scarf and it reminds Mel of the night she met the love of her life Theo. Mel thought of Kathy and wants her to have it. Kathy passes the snowman display in the center of downtown and notices one of the snowmen doesn’t have a scarf. She decides that’s where the scarf belongs and places it around the snowman’s neck.

Later that night as the town has gone to sleep, the snowman comes to life. Seeing himself in a store window and realizing he is naked, he breaks the glass on Reclaimed Rags storefront and steals clothes to wear. The next morning as Kathy arrives downtown to work at her Diner she notices a man (Dustin Milligan) wearing only coveralls talking to the other snowmen. Concerned about his well-being she talks to him and he tells her that after she placed the scarf around his neck last night, he came to life. Kathy is convinced that he is a drifter that is not quite right and invites him into the diner to warm up and get some hot food. She is concerned about him as she realizes his skin is ice cold to the touch and might have hypothermia so she takes him to the town Doctor.

Kathy takes him home with her while she tries to figure out what to do with him. Over the course of the next several days he grows on Kathy as Jack (the name she got from the coveralls he was wearing) continuously shows his gratitude at her saving him from being a snowman. Meanwhile the town Sherriff Nathaniel Hunter, who has delusions of being a great crimefighter and law enforcement man, vows to bring the culprit to justice for breaking the Reclaimed Rags storefront window. Jack Snowman causes quite a stir around town with the women who see him, and can’t seem to stay out of sight as Kathy has instructed.

So Jack the Snowman is hot because his inner core is ice, hence the name Hot Frosty. He is slowly melting (sweating) as the days pass and Sherriff Hunter hunts down the new criminal in town. It is a Christmas Movie, a Holiday Rom-Com complete with a love story, a snowman come to life, an over achieving Sherriff and a town full of people who believe in the Christmas Spirit. There are shades of the movies Jack Frost and It’s A Wonderful Life in Hot Frosty. In Jack Frost a man becomes a snowman, in Hot Frosty, a snowman becomes a man. Similar to It’s A Wonderful Life, the towns people come together to raise money to help free Jack from the mean old Sherriff who tries to control the town.

It is everything you would expect from a Christmas movie, it is Cheesy, Campy, Goofy, Funny and Heartwarming. Lacey Chabert is very likeable as Kathy, Dustin Milligan grows on you as he warms up on screen, and Craig Robertson is hilarious as the overachieving Sheriff trying to “catch his man”. There is a scene right after the end as the credits roll where Craig Robertson and Joe Lo Truglio are outside singing and playing a keyboard in the snow….

Crime doesn’t pay

not in here, not today

here in Hope Springs.

Don’t try and break the law

It’ll be a tragic flaw

here in Hope Springs……

As they show clips of outtakes and bloopers from the set. Don’t miss it, it’s hilarious.

Definitely worth a Christmas watch.

Two Thumbs up!