Movie Talk | Book Chatter

Young Frankenstein

I managed to sneak another movie in this weekend and it also counts for R.I.P X!

RIP X

Young Frankenstein came out in 1974 so it’s been out for awhile and includes such greats as Gene Wilder, Terri Garr, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn and Cloris Leachman.

Shot in B&W, it’s just gorgeous to watch. The lighting, the extreme close-ups and the subtle humor is what makes this film a fave. I’ve never seen it in its entirety so it was a pleasure to finally sit down to it this weekend.

Gene Wilder plays Dr. Frankenstein, the grandson of the famous doctor we all know. He inherits his grandfather’s castle and repeats the experiments of the past with hilarious results. It’s a movie for the entire family, but it should be noted, that many of the jokes went over the nearly twelve-year-old’s head. As I said, the humor is quite subtle.

The film was directed by Mel Brooks and it’s a classic, must-see film. If you haven’t see it, you really should. It’s great that the entire family can watch it too. The Girl is at the age where she wants to be scared and watch all the Halloween movies we do, but I know her and this is definitely more her speed. Plus, classic movie buffs will eat this one up.

Aliens-movie-poster

Has anyone NOT seen this movie? It came out in 1986, several years after the first movie, Alien and it was one of those kick-ass movies that you could not get enough of. I’ve seen it many, many times but recently The Girl asked to see it. I did a “no-no” and had her see this one first. Mainly because it also stars a young girl and I thought she’d be able to relate to it better and perhaps, not be so scared while watching. I was right, The Girl literally cackled over Newt’s high-pitched screaming and in my opinion, this one has a lot more action than the first one.

Why am I even talking about this?

Well, I have been recording movies to watch this fall. Movies that count towards the RIP VIII challenge that I signed up for. And although this is not a horror movie per se, it’s definitely a thriller and full of suspense. There is a lot of action and chase scenes involving, small, tight spaces which really add to the tension. Plus, the acting is not bad. Bill Paxton is hysterical in his role as Pvt. Hudson. It’s a fast-paced roller-coaster of a ride and it’s always been a fave of mine.

And maybe it was just me, but when I first saw this movie, I felt sure that we’d see Newt in another installment. Without giving anything away, there were opportunities for her to be, ahem, tampered with. That could have been the plan but it never panned out. Alien 3 was horrible, in my opinion. They should have just left it on a high note.