Dead End County Monster

After much anticipation and excitement, I saw Jurassic Park in 3D this past Saturday and it was so much more than I had expected.

In 2012 I saw the re-release of Star Wars, Episode 1 in 3D and I was a bit disappointed. The characters looked like flat 3D pieces of cardboard pulled away from the background to give the effect of a dynamic environment. It looked rushed and thrown together, It was nothing like the newer films shot in 3D that look dynamic and incredible from the view of my theater seat.

Jurassic Park 3D was the absolute best 3D I'd ever seen at the show. From the first scene of the Raptor transfer from the transport container to the paddock shocked me. I felt as though I was in the scene looking at Robert Muldoon as he stood in the night jungle. I could almost smell the salty air and feel the wind heard on the stoundtrack. I uttered the words "Holy Shit" as the camera panned in to show the chunk of amber held by the prospector as he showed Donald Gennaro the mosquito within. Every bubble, imperfection and even the mosquito itself, was in perfect 3D. The most stunning were the shots from inside the explorer as the Tyrannosaurus Rex peered into the window as Lex and Tim feared for their lives. You feel as though you are in the car staring out at the beast outside. A shiver went up my spine.

If you are a fan of Jurassic Park at all and think that this re-release is just a gimmick to drum up money for universal as they toy with another franchise sequel, I can assure you right here and now, that it is. Of course it is, but the 3D quality of this film is astounding, they really gave this movie the time and care it needed to become the greatest possible 3D version. See Jurassic Park in 3D before it is no longer available in theaters.

It is awesome.

I was thumbing through a recent copy of HorrorHound Magazine I picked up at a local comic book store and came across several reviews of recent horror movies. I was surprised to discover a very recent Irish-British monster movie called simply 'Grabbers'. I only got several sentences through the article before becoming obsessed with somehow getting a copy of this movie to watch myself.

'Grabbers' begins as a depressed alcoholic island cop, Ciaran O'Shea, is assigned to train a new female recruit, Lisa Nolan against his will. He hates his life and his job, the only thing that seems to lift his spirits are the spirits he lifts at the local pub after a day's work. Together, he and his new partner uncover a series of strange murders that involve irish locals turning up, drained of blood, on the beaches. An island lobster trapper (Paddy), finds a small tentacled creature in one of his lobster cages and turns it into the local authorities with hopes gaining fame and fortune for the discovery. The animal is found to be an infant and may be the key to the recent strange murders surrounding their island.

'Grabbers' was excellent. The acting was superb and the dialogue was witty and very funny. The dialogue and writing was reminiscent of other Irish-british films such as 'Waking Ned Devine', 'Death At A Funeral' and 'The Full Monty'. The characters were so strong that the film would have been great even if there were no monsters. The creatures were animated fantastically, the giant Computer Generated tentacle monster at the movie's climax was very realistic and moved flawlessly. The story was well put together, the scene where Lisa Nolan gets drunk to fight the monsters (which are allergic to alcohol) was hilarious, and the bar scene featuring about thirty mini-monsters trashing the pub reminded me of the bar scene from Gremlins (1984).

This is a movie that I think went under the radar here in America because it's a foreign film with other great foreign-horror like 'Troll Hunter' and 'Black Sheep'. If there is any way you can get a copy of this online or through a huge DVD retailer, I would. I'm hoping it will come to Netflix soon. Usually movies like this do. However you can, grab a copy of grabbers. You won't regret it.

Just in case you avoided seeing Frankenweenie because the story of a dog brought back to life seems predictable and un-imaginative, think again. Frankenweenie is extremely entertaining to passionate horror fans and tributes the old classic Universal Monster Movies.

I assumed that this movie was a black and white love story between a boy and his dog, which turned me off and frankly, did not interest me. I usually love the darker stop-motion animated Tim Burton and Tim Burton-like films but this one didn't seem to have anything to it besides a Frankenstein's monster dog and a Igor neighbor kid. It finally took my mom to force me to watch the movie when I visited one weekend. From the beginning, I was very impressed with the comedy and unique characters. I ended up giving the movie all my attention a half hour in and was slammed with amazement when an explosion of action, various monsters and side-splitting humor had me wishing I had seen this when it was released in theaters.

Frankenweenie is very entertaining, funny and great for horror fans. The whole film references, tributes and acknowledges classic black and white horror throughout it's duration and leaves no monster fan behind. Complete with Frankenstein's monster, Bride of Frankenstein, Creature from the black lagoon monsters, a mummy, a werewolf, a vampire cat, an invisible fish and my very favorite. . . a giant Japanese Godzilla-style killer turtle. Frankenweenie is a monster/horror fan's dream.

I recommend this movie to watch on your own or with kids. It's great entertainment and the dark tones go over the heads of small children so as not to be too adult for their taste. The story of the boy and his dog is touching but does not overshadow the constant comedy and action.

Frankenweenie is awesome.