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Young Frankenstein, a review by Dragonfire

Young Frankenstein



Mel Brooks' monstrously crazy tribute to Mary Shelley's classic pokes hilarious fun at just about every Frankenstein movie ever made. Summoned by a will to his late grandfather's castle in Transylvania, young Dr. Frankenstein (GENE WILDER) soon discovers the scientist's step-by-step manual explaining how to bring a corpse to life. Assisted by the hunchbacked Igor (MARTY FELDMAN) and the curvaceous Inga (TERI GARR), he creates a monster (PETER BOYLE) who only wants to be loved.  CLORIS LEACHMAN, MADELINE KAHN, KENNETH MARS and GENE HACKMAN co-star in this inspired vision of lunacy.

My Thoughts

I did get a review posted on Epinions a few years ago.

Young Frankenstein

(From Dragonfire's Halloween/Horror Marathon 2009 on October 22nd, 2009)

Black Swan, a review by Dragonfire

Black Swan

I ended up going to see Black Swan last week.  Even once I started hearing more about the movie, I still wasn't completely sure what to expect.  This is definitely a different movie.  It did take me a while to get a review done because I had to do a lot of thinking on it.  I do think this is a good, well done movie that deserves to be seen.  I'm just not sure how much I actually liked the movie.  I'm also not sure that I want to see it again.

The movie is dark and twisted in many ways.  It is a psychological thriller with a decent amount of suspense in a few scenes.  Nina is already rather fragile emotionally when the movie begins.  Everything that happens just pushes her closer and closer to the edge until she goes over.  With the way things are presented, it isn't always clear what is really happening and what is a hallucination or dream.  That will probably bother some viewers.  Some of what happens may offend some viewers.  The movie really isn't that violent, though a bit of violence turns up in a few scenes that are a bit graphic.  some of what happens is shocking. 

Most people have heard about the lesbian scene between Portman and Kunis.  The scene really isn't that graphic and it doesn't last that long, though it probably is too long for some people.  In some ways, that happening fits for the development of Nina.  In other ways, it sort of seems like it is added in just to shock viewers. 

There are only a few characters, and all of them are tied to the world of ballet in some way.  The cast, especially Natalie Portman, is absolute amazing.  Portman is wonderful and she deserves the awards she is starting to win for the performance.

Overall, Black Swan is a very well done movie.  It just isn't going to appeal to everyone.



I did get a review posted on Epinions.

Black Swan

(From Black Swan on January 20th, 2011)

The IT Crowd: Version 3.0 - (mini) marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Jen has a builder in her home and Roy is quite sure (99% ... 60/40) that he's seen him on "Builders from Hell". Now Jen can't let him out of her eyesight. Meanwhile Moss is bullied by some guys in the park and Douglas shoots himself in the leg with his father's service revolver.

My Opinion: A great start to the new season. Love to see Jen getting more and more paranoid and Roy re-evaluating his surety. And I loved Moss' role-playing and trying to find a snappy comeback. I never cared much for Douglas though. I liked his father better.

Synopsis: Moss has found a website that allows him to use the right sentences about last night's football game. Roy tries it, too and gets them both to hang out with a bunch of real men. But these new friends are not what they appear to be. Meanwhile Jen is dating a guy that looks like a stage magician.

My Opinion: I am a German and I never cared much for football either. This week a player returned from FC Barcelona to the VfB Stuttgart and a friend of mine couldn't be happier about it - I couldn't care less, the only thing I found interesting was that the player's name is "Hleb" which is a transcription of the russian хлеб* and means "bread". Back to topic. I enjoyed to watch Roy panicking in the car after the robbery and also in their hideout. And I found it hilarious that Moss took the money just to count it.

* Remember when Christopher Plummer said "to be or not to be" in klingon? The "Х" letter sounds pretty much like the "H" in taH pagh taHbe'.

Synopsis: Jen is applying for a new job in a different company but fails to explain what "IT" stands for. Meanwhile Roy crashes a minute of silence for a dead colleague and lands himself on the streets not even having a shirt anymore. And Moss is in his "happy place" while Douglas gets tasered every time he gets aroused.

My Opinion: What I liked about this episode was Roy's "walkabout" in the streets and Jen's attempts at not having to say what "IT" actually stands for . But I didn't really like the entire harassment storyline and Moss' part in it.

Synopsis: Jen was awarded with the "Employee of the Month". But now she has to give a speech to the shareholders. And the speech is about her area of expertise - meaning IT. Roy and Moss are so generous and lend her "the internet", a black box (wireless of course, everything is wireless nowadays) that what demagnetized by Stephen Hawking himself.

My Opinion: One of my favourite episodes of the show. I simply love the entire scene when they let Jen borrow "the internet" (Youtube). And I love it when their prank totally backfires on the shareholder assembly.

Synopsis: Jen has joined Friendface, a social networking site where you find all the people you never wanted to see again. Roy and Moss join also and soon Roy has to face a woman he dumped because she looks like Batman's Joker. And Jen is invited to a class reunion where she can't show up without her husband - Moss.

My Opinion: An obvious pun on Facebook which I really liked, especially the part about persons you'd rather not see again. Especially the "Joker" and Roy's attempts at "winning over" Jen made me laugh so hard.

Synopsis: In order to organize a charity fundraiser the girls of the seventh floor want to make a nude calendar and Roy gets to photograph them. But Jen sabotages it and convinces the girls that it would be a far better idea to photograph their grannies - until she becomes responsible for the success of that calendar.

My Opinion: The Geek Calendar shooting was so funny, how Roy had to convince Moss and the others to get into certain poses was so hilarious.

The Season - My Opinion: Too bad that UK seasons are always this short, I am quite certain that the writers would have no problem to come up with more ideas. But it is as it is.

(From The IT Crowd: Version 3.0 - (mini) marathon on July 31st, 2009)