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Island of Lost Souls, a review by Danae Cassandra

Island of Lost Souls
Year of Release:  1932
Directed By:  Erle C. Kenton
Starring:  Charles Laughton, Richard Arlen, Leila Hyams, Bela Lugosi, Kathleen Burke, Arthur Hohl
Rating: Not Rated

Overview:Island of Lost SoulsThe Island of Dr. Moreau. In one of his first major movie roles, Charles Laughton is a mad doctor conducting ghastly genetic experiments on a remote island in the South Seas, much to the fear and disgust of the shipwrecked sailor (Richard Arlen) who finds himself trapped there. This touchstone of movie terror, directed by Erle C. Kenton, features expressionistic photography by Karl Struss, groundbreaking makeup effects that inspired generations of monster-movie artists, and the legendary Bela Lugosi in one his most gruesome roles.

My Thoughts:
What a great film!  Great source material, of course, but also well adapted.  The performances are really what carry the film, most especially Charles Laughton's magnificent turn as Dr. Moreau.  He is so arrogant, so sociopathic, and so creepy - a perfect mad scientist!  I was also impressed by how well Kathleen Burke channels a cat's body language as Lota.  Everyone else was also great.  The technical aspects are just as impressive as the performances.  The makeup is extraordinary, especially when you consider what they had to work with in 1932.  It really exposes the dual nature of the beast-men, their innate animal nature; their innate human nature.  The lighting and camera work are equally well done.  Truly horrific in its ideas and implications, with more than a little to say about what it means to be human, I would highly recommend the movie for anyone who enjoys old films and classic horror.

Bechtel Test:  Fail

Overall: 4.5/5

(From Danae's 2012 Horror on October 2nd, 2012)

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, a review by Danae Cassandra

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy
Year of Release: 1955
Directed By: Charles Lamont
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marie Windsor, Michael Ansara, Dan Seymour, Richard Deagon
Genre: Comedy

Overview:
Bud and Lou stumble upon a sacred medallion that holds the key to a legendary treasure.

My Thoughts:
Bud and Lou are always fun to watch, but this isn't up to the same level as ... Meet Frankenstein.  A number of the skits Bud & Lou do are funny - the hamburger routine and the shovel/pick routine are good, and I enjoyed the recurring gag of Lou piping up the snakes out of the pots.  I enjoyed Marie Windsor's determined villainess quite a bit as well.  On the downside, there was a completely unnecessary musical number in the middle of the film, and for all the movie's title, there's very little of the mummy here, and he's very cheap looking and hardly threatening. 

Recommended if you like Abbott and Costello - you'll enjoy this film.  If you aren't familiar with their work, I wouldn't start here - go for ... Meet Frankenstein instead.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 3/5

(From Within My (Mom's) Lifetime Marathon on November 13th, 2015)

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season marathon, a review by Achim

15. Desert Cantos
The Connors investigate the company town connected to the destroyed factory and find something startling. Weaver searches for a survivor of the explosion.

My comments:
The fist half of the show had me bored to tears; too much funeral, too little plot. Around mid-point however the story picks up pace (Cameron finds that the girl John's been talking to is lying, Sarah finds an "evil underground lair"). At the end our party of four realizes that Skynet is way ahead of what they could have possibly imagined, leaving me the viewer quite amazed about that as well. I'll agree with Matthias' review that there is a (relatively) a lot of plot covered and some questions answered, but all that got ultimately in the way of the character development (in an unhealthily unbalanced fashion, I mean).

There is however two lovely bits in there regarding Weaver. The first one when she is having a conversation with Ellison and she gets a little upset because he uncovers her lack of sensibility on the anniversary of "her husband's" death (since it shows her she is is not maintaining a good cover). The even better one is when she interacts with "her daughter", trying to bond and creating an emotional connection. This is something she obviously lacks ability and is therefore an important issue to her. I found the exchange regarding her daughter sitting on her lap a very nice touch!


(because boring us for half of the show)

(From Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season marathon on February 21st, 2010)