like

A young woman wants to propose to her girlfriend whilst visiting her family’s home this festive holiday discover that her partner hasn’t yet come out to her parents : There’s something warm and snuggly about this time of year when the annual Christmas tree burns brightly, the decorations go up and the collection of Festive Movies are dusted off, ones that make you believe in all things good and Santa Claus once more : will HAPPIEST SEASON join those festive few, those films that make your heart swell, your eye’s water and bring a big smile to your face? : there’s so many touching and funny moments in Clea DuVall’s first movie behind the camera that I left at the end credits with a beaming smile and the hope of a sequel a year down the line : the chemistry between the onscreen couple of Abby and Harper played respectively by Kristen Stewart & Mackenzie Davis is believable and utterly adorable, they made me smile from the get go, gripping me from that opening rooftop scene : I loved it’s refreshingly original soundtrack, the in-house jokes one featuring a Josh Hartnett photo that made me chuckle and it’s familiar yet relevant story that may not be packed with your typical Christmas jingle but is heartfelt and funny nevertheless : it’s cast is perfection from Garber & Steenburgen’s terrific parents, Alison Brie’s competitive sister that ice skating scene is hilarious, Mary Holland’s fun loving Jane, Daniel Levy’s scene stealing best friend…. and I know you were all thinking the same as me awww I hope Abby falls for Riley played by the delightful Aubrey Plaza there scenes together in the bar were electric : Clea DuVall’s Happiest Season is a charming festive romp, with a delightful message of coming out, love and friendship at it’s fore : a most enjoyable festive cracker that should not be missed and watched several times this Christmas ★★★★

Woody Allen : Our Top Four

Posted by absolutebadasses on December 1, 2020

Posted in: Views. Tagged: academy awards, annie hall, bananas, blog, cinephile, film, film geek, film night, film website, films, geek, hannah and her sisters, like, love, love movies, movie, movie blog, oscars, photography, the purple rose of cairo, woody allen, woody allen movies. Leave a comment

Born on the 1st December 1935 in Brooklyn New York, Woody Allen is one of the most prolific American Filmmakers, his work has spanned decades, won numerous awards and been the topic of conversation since What’s Up, Tiger Lily back in 1966 : for me what makes a Woody Allen picture so special is his ability to direct a film from his own written material, he has more Oscar Nominations (16) for writing than anyone else and has also starred in most of them too : I’ve seen each of his movies multiple times and could write a different Top Four for each day of the week : his career has been an absolute joy to watch over the years and I’m so thankful that I’ve been here to enjoy the ride…..

One of my favorite Woody Allen quotes : My sets are boring. Nothing exciting ever happens, and I barely talk to the actors

Number 1 of My Sean Connery James Bond Movies : While investigating a gold magnate’s smuggling ring, 007 uncovers a plot involving the Fort Knox gold reserve : Guy Hamilton’s GOLDFINGER is the embodiment of every James Bond movie that followed, from Connery’s exquisite self assured turn as British Secret Agent 007, the entertaining set pieces, Lois Maxwell’s familiar Miss Moneypenny, it’s wonderful & catchy John Barry score, those infamous Bond puns, recognisable villains, in Goldfinger it was Harold Sakata’s Oddjob and of course those marvelous Bond Women and in 1964 it was Honor Blackman’s iconic Pussy Galore that clawed the screen : in the Sean Connery 007 era Goldfinger has no equals, it’s an exciting spy thriller from start to finish and one that still holds up well today ★★★★★

Number 2 of My Sean Connery James Bond Movies : 007 goes head to head with an eccentric scientist, Dr No, who is determined to ruin the US space programme : DR. NO will always hold a place dear to my heart, it’s the first movie in the Bond franchise but it also has this incredible Jamaican backdrop including a place I’ve visited Dunn’s River Falls, Jack Lord’s best screen portrayal of Felix Leiter, the gorgeous Ursula Andress who’s scintillating turn as Honey Ryder and her infamous beach scene made quite the impression on a much younger me and of course it’s memorable music including Three Blind Mice that was used during it’s opening scene ★★★★★

Number 3 of My Sean Connery James Bond Movies : 007 heads to the Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads stolen by S.P.E.C.T.R.E. : THUNDERBALL is the fourth film in the franchise and won an Academy Award for it’s special effects : the film itself is quite exhilarating containing all the trappings of a great spy thriller : Claudine Auger’s Domino dazzles, Adolfo Celi who plays Emilio Largo makes for a good 007 adversary, his eye-patch gives him added menace and those underwater assault scenes are truly magnificent to watch ★★★★★

Number 4 of My Sean Connery James Bond Movies : 007 gets involved with a naive Russian beauty in order to retrieve a Soviet encryption device that was stolen by S.P.E.C.T.R.E. : Robert Shaw’s Red and Lotte Lenya’s Colonel Rosa Klebb are just two of many reasons I love revisiting Terence Young’s highly entertaining FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE : the fight scene between 007 and Red in the carriage of the train is certainly amongst the film’s highlights and upon it’s release in 1963 the movie was a box office hit, almost doubling the takings of Dr. No that was released in the previous year ★★★★★

Number 5 of My Sean Connery James Bond Movies : 007 and the Japanese Secret Service must work together to stop a series of space hijackings, before war is declared between Russia and the US : YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE was written by Roald Dahl and directed by Lewis Gilbert who later delivered the superb Moonraker & The Spy Who Loved Me : primarily filmed in Japan and with a volcano set that could be seen from three miles away You Only Live Twice is one of those movies that took me a while to warm too and now I just love revisiting : I find it’s story one of the more interesting Bond outings that sees James team up with the Japanese Secret Service, the characters are interesting and at times the action is breakneck with one of my favorite moments coming 25 minutes in when Bond finds himself fighting this huge henchman in Osato’s office, it’s one helluva scene : although he would later hunt Michael Myers in Halloween what came before was a magnificent Donald Pleasence performance as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Pleasence capturing the calculating madness of this iconic Bond Villain and putting his own stamp on the Bond franchise ★★★★

Number 6 of My Sean Connery James Bond Movies : A diamond smuggling investigation leads 007 to the bright lights of Las Vegas, where he uncovers an evil plot involving the Evil Mastermind Blofeld : don’t ask me why but growing up DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER was easily my most watched of the Sean Connery 007 movies : maybe it was the enchanting and sadly underused Plenty O’Toole played by Lana Wood or maybe it was Blofeld’s henchmen Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd who stole all the scenes they were in or possibly it could have been the Las Vegas backdrop that wowed me growing up…. but whatever the reason Guy Hamilton’s second Bond movie is a crazy mixed cocktail containing beautiful women, menancing & attractive villains, a Shirley Bassey intro song and Sean seeming to have fun with his last official outing as 007 ★★★★

Number 7 of My Sean Connery James Bond Movies : A S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Agent has stolen two American warheads, and it’s down to 007 to track their targets before they are detonated : not only is NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN a blotch on Sean Connery’s career it was also a terrible movie to direct by Irvin Kershner who had previously directed the great Empire Strikes Back : for Bond fans this unofficial outing of 007 is still a stinker with Connery looking old and disinterested, it’s humor & action incredibly bland, an awful & frankly quite annoying film debut by Rowan Atkinson and the movies villains are poorly written and carried out by their respective actors with a whimper : the only positive in the movie was the fight scene between Bond and Lippe played by Pat Roach : a huge misfire ★★★

To save his declining business, Chris Cringle, also known as Santa Claus, is forced into a partnership with the U.S. military : There’s something strangely wonderful watching the legendary Mel Gibson play Santa in a Hitman Christmas movie that’s insanely dark yet mighty festive, filmed with lots of heart, a teeny-weeny bit of tongue in cheek and a wickid mind by those Nelms brothers who gave us Small Town Crime a few years back : along for the Sleigh Ride is the sublime Walton Goggins who collects authentic Santa pressies whilst filling out his calendar carrying out hits for anyone who requires his demented service, the stunning Marianne Jean-Baptiste who’s crazy good as Ruth Cringle, Santa’s devoted wife and Eric Woolfe aka: Elf 7 the foreman in Santa’s workshop : EVERY scene between Marianne and Mel is an absolute delight, talk about chemistry, the film’s finale is bloody and Goggins Skinny Man is central to all the mayhem and Chance Hurstfield who’s spoilt and cruel Billy is fantasic : so if you love your festive movies to include a side dose of Christmas magic featuring elves, cookies and that ever so sweet naughty or nice seasonal message mixed with a rather dark and brooding evil tone then FATMAN should be earmarked as a must watch this Festive Season : IT’S BRILLIANT ★★★★

Run (2020) : Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on November 23, 2020

Posted in: Movie Reviews, Reviews. Tagged: Aneesh Chaganty, cinema, cinephile, film blog, film direction, film night, film score, film stills, homeschooled, hulu, Kiera Allen, like, love, movie pictures, movie reviews, movie website, photos, pills, run, run hulu, run movie, run movie 2020, run review, Sarah Paulson, wheelchair. Leave a comment

A homeschooled teenager who is confined to a wheelchair begins to suspect her mother is keeping a dark secret from her : After enjoying 2018’s Searching I’ve been waiting for Aneesh Chaganty’s latest movie and let me say the wait was worth while : RUN is a messed up psychological thriller with two fabulous performances in Kiera Allen & Sarah Paulson, a terrific pace that quickens to white knuckle time early on and a premise in many ways that’s similar to Reiner’s epic horror Misery : Kiera Allen is remarkable in her film debut, she captures the torture her character Chloe endures throughout the movie and that scene when she attempts to escape through the window to reach another part of the house is anxiety racing, jaw dropping brilliance : and what can I say about the AMAZING Sarah Paulson, a wonderful character actress who’s roles in American Horror Story and Ratched have shown her depth as a top class performer, in RUN her psychotic side comes out to play, cruelty spilling from every pore and those moments in the pharmacist and nearing it’s finale in the hospital will have you on the edge of your seat : needless to say I highly recommend RUN and can’t wait to see what it’s filmmaker Aneesh Chaganty delivers next ★★★★

Bodies are discovered, mutilated after each full moon so it’s upto the local sheriff and his deputies to find the killer before they strike again : Firstly let me say how visually stunning the introduction is to THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW almost like The Shining the camera follows the mountainous backdrop of the films location, at times it’s scenery is cleverly reflected above as the camera reaches it’s destination….. a big old grisly moon, what a terrific intro and the perfect mood-setter for what’s to follow : I personally LOVE everything about this bat shit crazy slasher from it’s director & star of the movie Jim Cummings who’s nutty sheriff is having the worst few days of his fucked up life and boy this guy loves to SCREAM : I found the dialogue really witty and at times I didn’t know whether to laugh, console or shout at this poor guy loosing his shit with everybody who crosses his path : the snowy Utah backdrop and action scenes are well shot by Natalie Kingston, it’s quirky Lynch-esque characters are somewhat adhering, we get to share in the great Robert Forster’s final screen outing, a stand out performance from the delightful Riki Lindhome and it’s Agatha Christie keep you guessing narrative The Wolf of Snow Hollow is an absolute riot that tackles addiction, dealing with your demons, marital separation and a killer on the loose : it’s so much movie goodness wrapped up in the smallest of run-times with a bunch of character’s I hope we get see more of….. some time soon : IT’S SO GOOD ★★★★½

To be honest I still find it hard to choose between Taxi Driver and Goodfellas as my favorite Scorsese movie so I have decided to pick the film that I watched first and although it came out in 1976 I didn’t get to watch it till the mid 80s and you know something? it hasn’t aged one bit, if anything it’s got better, it’s still as compelling and shocking as it was when I first loaded that VHS tape into my video player back then and pressed play : everytime I’ve revisited Taxi Driver since I drool over the way the film’s dark narrative takes you on this emotional rollercoaster that ends with a sharp jolt, relief and in some ways sadness, the way the seedy, dark streets of New York are captured, the innocence of Jodie Foster and the power & excitement a certain Robert De Niro brings to Travis Bickle, a complex character and a role that may just be his finest….

Born on the 17th November 1942 in Queens New York Martin Scorsese has directed some of my favorite movies of all times, he’s part of My Mount Rushmore of Movie Directors and is still one of only a handful of filmmakers that I would pay good money to watch his movies numerous times play out on the big screen : his pictures tend to use camera moves that are huge in scale, fill the screen and engulf you with this wonderful creation, some of his films use voice-over narration to only enhance the experience, my favorite’s include Goodfellas and Casino and he always uses the cream of the crop to bring his work alive, getting the very best out of stars such as De Niro, Keitel, DiCaprio and Day-Lewis : he’s been nominated 9 times for Best Director at the Academy Awards sadly only winning once for his 2006 remake of The Departed, and although I enjoyed it for me it’s bottom tier Scorsese : his next film Killers of the Flower Moon comes out next year and is a 1920’s crime thriller based on David Grann’s book of the same name and star’s Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro

One of my favorite Martin Scorsese quotes : I have a desire to tell stories. And I’m never quite satisfied

On a secluded farm, a man is slowly dying. His family gathers to mourn, and soon a darkness grows and a sense that something evil is taking over the family : I really LOVE scary movies and Bryan Bertino’s THE DARK AND THE WICKED does not disappoint : it’s an unsettling rather loathsome horror film that reeks of EVIL at every turn, from it’s deliberately slow start that peels back the layers to it’s grim, nightmarish finale with grisly scene’s such as the knitting needle, dad on the cealing, the slaughtered cattle and those chopped mushy fingers The Dark and the Wicked is certainly in keeping with the filmmakers twisted horror style : I really love the farmhouse at the centre of the film’s bleakness, from those bottles, horseshoes and hooks that hang from the rope ends in the cattle pen to it’s nerve jangling interior including it’s dimly lit kitchen and dad’s death surrounding bedroom Bertino manages to get under your skin early on, not everything is what it seems and the emotion pouring from it’s cast including Michael Abbot & Marin Ireland who play siblings and Lynn Andrews who plays the nurse is compelling yet disturbing to watch : the scenes when Michael returns home to his wife and kids is wickedly upsetting and Louise waking up with lipstick drawn on her face is draining : so if like me your a fan of Bertino’s work that includes The Strangers and most recently The Monster then wait till you see The Dark and the Wicked it’s a movie that mirrors it’s title and one of the BEST horror movies of the year ★★★★½

Number 1 of My Top 31 Horror Movies : A research team in Antarctica is hunted by an alien that assumes the appearance of its victims : Why don’t we just… wait here for a little while… see what happens? everytime I revisit THE THING my excitement levels soar and my blood runs cold, it’s a MASTERPIECE, the single most terrifying horror movie of all time, from it’s gripping suspense, gruesome practical effects to it’s terrific character driven cast and it’s slow beating Ennio Morricone score, it truly is a gift from the filmmaking gods : the beauty with The Thing and the reason why I believe it’s such a great horror movie is the overall intensity level does not drop, it’s relentless and there’s so many scary, atmospheric moments that really catch you off guard such as the dog pen scene, from the time MacReady pulls down the Alarm cord, the howling of the dogs to the cruelty of what happens next is horrific, Blair’s meltdown with the axe in the control room is scary because paranoia mixed with fear has truly set in and actor Wilford Brimley executes his part perfectly well, the scene when the head of Norris turns into this freaking head-spider is shit your pants time (my god the effects are awesome), that moment when Copper’s arms are bitten off during the chest defibrillation scene is frankly insane and of course the main course of suspense during the films last quarter when MacReady is testing the blood whilst the rest of the team are tied to their chairs is an exciting, adrenaline fueled nail biter, like a violent version of Miss Marple when she gathers up the suspects in the cocktail lounge to tell them her findings, I can still hear the noise the wire makes when it sizzles against the plastic tray and your just waiting to see which one of the team the alien has infected next : along with it’s creepy score all of John Carpenter’s movies have a distinct lightening and visual look and The Thing is no different, I really found Bottin & Cundey‘s work on the eerie, cold exterior to be quite exquisite capturing the desolate icy tomb of Outpost 31 to chilling perfection, the film’s sparsely lit, rather mundane interior was pretty darn good too, I loved the way the guys created light at times by using the fiery orange haze of Childs flame thrower, the odd stick of dynamite and of course the color of the alien turning into it’s next nasty, gruesome form : so if you like your horror with a huge dose of intense who goes there suspense, side portions of tummy churning squelch, the odd dash of humor and one of the finest horror endings put to film then check out John Carpenter’s great scifi horror THE THING ★★★★★

Sean Connery (1930-2020)

Posted by absolutebadasses on October 31, 2020

Posted in: Views. Tagged: 007, Big Tam, cinema, edinburgh, film fan, film legend, film still, first knight, highlander, hollywood, indiana jones, james bond, like, love, marnie, movie, movie collector, movies, robin and marian, robin hood, scottish, Sean Connery, the hunt for red october, the rock, the untouchables. Leave a comment

Sean Connery was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1930 and died in The Bahamas this morning in 2020 : the film world has lost a legend, a hero to many including myself and an actor that spanned a 60 year career….. he escaped from Alcatraz, was a British Secret Agent, an Irish-American cop, a Soviet Submarine Captain, an Immortal Swordsman, was King Arthur, Robin Hood and Indiana’s dad….. may you rest in peace Big Tam…..

Number 5 of My Top 31 Horror Movies : The film follows a group of friends who fall victim to a bunch of psychopaths whilst travelling to visit a family grave : The very first adult horror movie I watched was Tobe Hooper’s THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE : I was twelve years of age and I remember sneaking over a friends house, inserting this battered video tape and being terrorised by these cannibalistic serial killers led by Gunnar Hansen’s terrifying Leatherface and the house of horrors he lived in : I’ve since watched Texas pretty much every year since and although it’s suprisingly not that bloody it’s the look of authenticity of what takes place in that farm house, especially the infamous dinner scene that really did a number on me : watching Marilyn Burn’s Sally tied to that chair screaming hysterically, the extreme close up of her twitching eyeball, the manic laughing of the depraved family sat around the table and the total insanity of what’s happening is incredibly unsettling : it’s the only horror movie on the list that makes me feel queasy, uneasy & downright afraid right from the gecko, from the creepy hitchhiker & his antics, the bringing down of Grandpa played by John Dugan and that hammer scene to Pam played by the brilliant Teri McMinn who stumbles into the room full of feathers & bones mostly human but some are animal, the camera taking us on a tour of the carnage that Pam sees before her, the big chicken housed in the smallest of cages, the skulls & tools that were used to mutilate it’s victims, this is nasty, unflinching horror at it’s sweet mercy best : due it’s very low budget the cast was mainly unknown and Gunnar Hansen wore the same Leatherface outfit for the film’s four week shoot, the lack of a score as such and Daniel Pearl’s low angle, handheld at times raw photography gives The Texas Chain Saw Massacre it’s realism and makes Tobe Hooper’s influential horror one of the fines low-budget exploitation movies that’s ever been ★★★★★

Number 7 of My Top 31 Horror Movies : A wealthy socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small town on the coast that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds begin to attack the town folk : the film premiered in 1963 and for me THE BIRDS is the jewel in Alfred Hitchcock’s crown of suspense, imagery and pure dread, from it’s story which is loosely based on a short by Daphne du Maurier, the confidence, beauty & fear of it’s star Tippi Hedren, it’s breathtaking backdrop of Bodega Bay and the way Hitchcock builds up the story, slowly allowing you to know a little about each of the characters before the chaos rains down and The Birds attack which is utterly frightening to watch : there’s also very little music during the movie which also adds greatly to it’s atmosphere, just the screeching, scratching and calling of The Birds : although they lacked the chemistry the leads in the majority of Hitchcock movies had I did feel Rod Taylor was a fabulous leading man and gives a strong protect what I love at all cost performance alongside Hedren and the scenes at the bird shop between the two are fun to watch, there’s also a great Jessica Tandy performance who catches the eye in a supporting role, playing the distressed and over protective mother and a young Veronica Cartwright and the terrific Suzanne Pleshette both fleshing out the cast and doing fine jobs in their respective roles : The Birds has so many great scenes but I really love that moment around 85mins in when Hedren’s character finds herself stranded in a phone box and watches in panic, spinning around almost hypnotized in terror as The Birds cause mayhem around her, the gas station and cars lit on fire and people running for their lives, it’s perfect and not only one of the most chilling moments in the movie but possible the best shot also : there are certain horror movies that I revisit that could be placed higher on my list and Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds is certainly one of them, I can only imagine how shocked the audiences must have been back in the 60s when it was released : it’s a well structured, ALARMING ride into FEAR and a Hitchcock MASTERPIECE that deserves it’s place amongst the Greatest Movies of all time ★★★★★

Number 9 of My Top 31 Horror Movies : One year after the brutal murder of her mother, Sidney Prescott and her friends are terrorized by a new killer : Written by Kevin Williamson & directed by Wes Craven SCREAM is the BEST HORROR MOVIE in the last 25yrs : From that shiver inducing Dimension Film logo before the film starts, it’s smart edgy blood soaked script, the BEST opening to a Horror Movie of ALL TIME…. it’s like WTF just happened….. and the great Homages to scary movies of yesteryear Wes Craven’s film always delivers and to this day continues to blow my mind : Scream totally re-invented the genre from a director who already owned the scares in the 80s with his freaking great horror A Nightmare on Elm Street but unlike Elm Street Scream uses horror cliches and a whip smart script that’s incredibly funny yet utterly terrifying at times : The way Craven used horror films as the backdrop to Scream is a pure joy to watch, pictures such as Elm Street, Friday 13th, The Exorcist and of course Halloween get nods and even the great filmmaker makes a brief cameo as a school janitor dressed in that iconic Freddy Sweater, that small moment alone made me smile sooooooo much : Also let’s not forget the contribution it’s young exciting cast made, stars that were not household names such as Neve Campbell, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, Jamie Kennedy & Skeet Ulrich all helped Craven’s blood lust come to life and create a new horror franchsise : The scene in the movie when Randy explains to his drunken friends about the Rules on How to Survive a Horror Movie whilst watching Halloween is one of my favorites, he pauses the film stands before the TV and tells his audience….. No.1 : Never have Sex…. No.2 : Don’t drink or do drugs…. and finally never ever ever say “I’ll be right back…” it’s sheer brilliance : I remember watching SCREAM in New York when it was released in the cinema, I didn’t know anything about the movie – I came out 2hrs later shouting, laughing and looking over my shoulder for the rest of the night : WHAT A BUZZ ★★★★★

Number 11 of My Top 31 Horror Movies : An unearthly fog rolls into a small coastal town exactly 100 years after a ship mysteriously sank in its waters : the movie starts on a beach, a group of kids sat around a burning fire as an old fishing captain tells the story about a shipwrecked clipper boat named the Elizabeth Dane….. : after the success of his 1978 horror Halloween, and turning his back on filming a more lucrative sequel filmmaker John Carpenter turned to a story he had written after finding inspiration from a 50s movie The Trollenberg Terror and also by visiting the infamous and some say mystical Stonehenge : THE FOG is both riverting and utterly hair-raising and unlike many of it’s contemporaries it’s not violent or gory yet there’s something quite unsettling lurking deep down in the belly of this 80’s ghost story : from the chilling synth score that accompanies the whiteness of the fog drifting up the coast and into Antonio Bay sweeping across the horizon into churches, underneath doorways, shrouding everything that it comes into contact with, in a death cosuming way to it’s terrific cast that includes Jamie Lee’s drifter, Tom Atkins townie, the wonderful Hal Holbrook as Father Malone and the gorgeous Adrienne Barbeau as DJ Stevie Wayne who broadcasts a local radio show from the lighthouse on the coast (filmed at Point Reyes) : there’s many ingredients to a great movie but for me apart from it’s director the person responsible in how the film looks & feels to the viewer is the DP and they don’t come more impressive than Dean Cundey, I mean talk about LEGEND, from Halloween, The Thing, Escape from New York to Romancing the Stone, Back to the Future and Jurassic Park here’s a guy who has managed to capture moment on film like no other and with John Carpenter’s The Fog Cundey creates this ghostly, chilling atmosphere one of dread and unpleasantness that resonates from the very start of the movie to it’s finish : If you’ve never seen John Carpenter’s THE FOG then your missing a trick, it’s the perfect antidote for those dark & rainy nights when a good old fashioned horror is required, a scary movie that will engulf, unnerve and creep you down to your bones ★★★★★

Number 12 of My Top 31 Horror Movies : Mary Shelley recounts how the main characters of her novel survived and how Frankenstein, goaded by an even madder scientist, builds a Bride for his monster : James Whale’s 1935 monster movie BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN is one of the greatest sequel’s in movie history, a wildly unpredictable horror full of incredible sets, wonderful acting by the less talked about duo of Una O’Connor & Dwight Frye and of course the introduction, although it be short of the Monster’s Bride iconically portrayed by the ravishing Elsa Lanchester : the lavish sets filmed in gorgeous black-and-white are sensational and one of my favorite scenes in the movie is in Pretorius’s lab, where the mad Doctor shows Frankenstein several miniature creatures he has created including a King, Queen and Mermaid, the sinister atmosphere, these tiny abominations & both Doctor’s manic expressions as they discuss their work is both scary & facinating : of course the Bride of Frankenstein is filled with so many moments of sheer jaw dropping brilliance, like when the Monster comes across the old blind hermit (of course you think of Young Frankenstein which brings a smile) but the scene is shrouded in dread and you just know that it won’t end well, I love the moment when the Monster looks at a reflection of himself in the water, such a great moment and you just can’t help feel pity for this hideous creature but of course the highlight is ten minutes from the end of the movie when the Bride is brought to life… and Frankenstein’s words “she’s alive…alive” echoes round the chamber as the bandages are removed and Elsa Lanchester’s imposing monster is released to the world : a Scary, Atmospheric Monster MASTERPIECE ★★★★★