The Man Who Laughs

Not a total horror movie by most's estimations but when the hell am I gonna be able to talk about this again?

The Man Who Laughs is a wonderful movie and can definitively be put in the Universal classics collection in my mind. Centering on a performer who was horrifically disfigured as a boy who garners a healthy reputation in 17th century England as a sideshow, while royal machinations interfere with his quite beautiful romance and the best of both worlds he cannot achieve. The first thing I really gotta point out is these performances...holy shit balls! Even as someone who champions silent cinema, who has seen my fair share, I'm kinda stunned how everything fit so well. Conrad Veidt is a marvel in this film as Gwynplaine (or as I affectionately called him, Gwyn) which says a lot considering he had to wear dentures with metal hooks in him to achieve the ghastly grin, but his eyes and his mannerisms convey so much you almost kinda forget it's a silent film! He shows heartbroken sadness, joyous love, nervous apprehension, and even prideful dismissal all with a smile on his face. Good God he deserves every shred of praise and recognition for this role. Do I even have to say I love Mary Philbin as Dea in this? She's only one of the most gorgeous women I have ever seen and the sheer just brightness and love she brings to this made it impossible for me not to be heavily invested in this character, and hey this might be the beginning of the trope where a blind girl falls in love with a slightly monstrous figure so how could I hate it? On the opposite end of the spectrum Olga Baclanova as the Duchess Josiana kinda gives me Maria vibes from Metropolis just not on as grand as scale, as this life loving, wild, slightly seductive woman who drifts into Gwynplaine's orbit is fascinating to watch. Literally from the first time she sees him you can read like this mix of morbid fascination and budding attraction on her face, and I didn't really know where her story was gonna go. Cesare Gravina as self proclaimed philosopher and sideshow manager Ursus while a minor role is prominent throughout and is a stalwart supporter of Gwyn and Dae's romance, has some standout moments too near the end that actually feels quite real in the desperation and heartache so bravo to him! We even get Brandon Hurst back as Barkilphedro and wow it is night and day between Hunchback and this, in Hunchback it was a very dry performance with enough to make you dislike Jehan but here he is eating this role up as this confidant servant to the royal family, and my God he is such a slimy son of a bitch in this movie and it is glorious to see cause you can tell he's relishing every second he gets to play this conniving swine. Like rarely have I seen a main cast of a silent film this spectacular across the board, you can read so much emotion through their faces alone and it perfectly encapsulates why silent acting has to be respected and appreciated. Production wise it's not as expansive and flashy with it's sets as Hunchback yet I'll be damned if I said they weren't good either. What more caught my eyes beyond the period costuming was the camera does some interesting stuff, it's not your typical early cinema shots, they do exteme close ups and place the camera at interesting angles and even does some crossdissolves that you really just don't see in movies even 20 years after the fact. And I'll admit to you straight up this movie had a loooot of pull on me, damn near cried not once but twice, was smiling like a fool, I even had a moment where I covered my dropped jaw in both shock and joy. I can't even recall the last movie to have those kinds of reactions from me but hey I'm older than the hills, I can't remember what I did three days ago. And on that distressing bombshell it is time to end, I give this 4 stars, 8/10, and next time we get foreigny.

The Dead Don't Die

May be missing some bone in my skull but hey new movies, new reviews.

And in the case of The Dead Don't Die, see it. Just see it. If you can catch this movie in the theatre, do it. It is a lot of fun, it's friggin' weird for a zombie movie, and I really digged it. I almost expected a non-zombie movie because it takes awhile for the dead to rise and even then the movie's not centered on it. It's centered on a small town where there is some weird shit going down, days and nights stick around way too long, watches are frozen in time, the moon is glowing, only one song is heard constantly on the radio, it has a bit more of an apocalyptic feel almost. And there is indeed a reason for the dead rising, and I'm pretty sure it would take 20 minutes of Star Trek technobabble to explain it. But in the meantime we hang out with Bill Murray and Adam Driver as they drive around town and do their normal duties as police officers, and the funny thing is even when the zombies are shambling around they don't hop into action. Also free tip, Adam Driver knows what's up. Like this movie I swear has chronic self awareness, meaning they point out that this song which is also the title of the movie, is the theme. And I was like okay so we're self aware now? But thennthe movie keeps rambling on doing it's thing and it is so odd. I really like this movie, I enjoyed it but even then I can't deny it's weirdness. But you should see it regardless, and draw your own conclusions. I know I didn't divulge much beyond basic plot, and it's for the best trust me. When you watch it, you'll get what I mean, and maybe hopefully enjoy it.

Well that's all for now, but next week is no joke and we are going deep into nostalgic love.

Hotel Transylvania 2

You know if we follow this trend I seriously think Hotel Transylvania 3 could be the best of the series.

I had a major blast watching Hotel Transylvania 2. It is a fantastic, highly entertaining, very funny movie that does what any great sequel should do. So Mavis and Johnny get married, we fast forward a year and they have a son Dennis and speculation starts on whether he will be more on his mother's side or not. Drac of course, wants a vampire grandson so he tries his best to bring out the fangs in the kid before Mavis and Johnny move away. For a basic plot, very much like the first with no real conflict, it is surprisingly entertaining and holds your attention from beginning to end. It's more about the adventure than a central conflict, which is one of many reasons why I love this series. I'm already a sucker for monsters, but you add in very good comedy, fun characters, and just this sort of ramble on story with no real problems, and you got a movie that could not be up my alley more. I especially love the true sense of love and family between Mavis, Dracula, and Dennis though Johnny is there he is surprisingly more in the background. I don't know, it's very easy to experience the movie and enjoy it so much and yet very intangible to explain why I love it so much. It's just fun, and there is much to enjoy whether a horror fan or not. I love the relationship between Dennis and Winnie, it is so friggin' cute I can barely stand it, I love the sort of underlying I guess situation where old school parenting meets modern parenting, for some weird reason I crack up when the gps has the voice of Peter Lorre, seeing Mavis experience human culture is a lot of fun, there's just so much to love. The animation style is still energetic and fast, the colors are vibrant with my own special favorite being California at dusk, the jokes are fun and hardly ever crass, and it just makes me excited to see the 3rd movie this Friday. I of course highly recommend this series and this movie, 2 thumbs up, and I will see you this Friday.