Micitype Pretty Good

Hulkeasexo it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Beulah Bram A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

lasttimeisaw This superb biographical film of the B-movie director James Whale (Frankenstein 1931, Bride of Frankenstein 1935, The Invisible Man 1933 and Show Boat 1936) has been put on my shelf for many years after my first viewing almost 10 years ago. I have no background information about the director and his works neither, but the worldly- famous Frankenstein franchise has no international barrier here, the interlinked amalgamation of the monster in his film and the director's own later years is a magic maneuver, which includes the identity reversal of the creator and the monster, its sociological overtone reflects vividly in our epoch. The strong cast is the cornerstone of the film, Ian McKellen finally has achieved the performance of his lifetime, he has devoted himself whole-heartedly as the wrenched director on his preordained destiny and emancipated an empowering dominance all over his scenes, his skillful theatre experience enhances both the pathos and the momentum of his tragic fate, which come so strong as to leave me unprepared for an emotional thrust. Brendan Fraser as the opposite drop-dead gorgeous gardener, exudes an angelic attractiveness which has lost in all his subsequent films. Alongside with Sir McKellen, the late Lynn Redgrave also received her second Oscar nomination for her role, the trustworthy maid who annotates the most sophisticated human emotion mixed with unrequited passion, admiration, jealousy, desperation and many others from a rather plain character, which is a textbook epitome of interpretation a supporting role. Another linchpin of the film lies firmly in its Oscar-winning script, full of witty remarks which could be a tug-of-war between sardonicism and sympathy, by comparison Bill Condon's directional capacity is being overshadowed. Anyway, Gods & Monsters has become one of my all-time favorite now.

evanston_dad Ian McKellen gives a triumphant performance as film director James Whale in this biopic about Whale's later years.The film focuses specifically on Whale's mental and emotional struggles with his own homosexuality and his obsession with a young hunk of beefcake, played by Brendan Fraser. But the most interesting part of the movie for me were the glimpses of old Hollywood peppered throughout, including appearances by George Cukor and Elsa Lanchester, and the incorporation of Whale's best-known film, "Frankenstein."Director Bill Condon won an Oscar for the film's screenplay, and McKellen and Lynn Redgrave, who makes much of a teensy-tiny role as Whale's maid, received nominations.Grade: A

Robert J. Maxwell This was better than I'd thought it would be, a story of the final days of James Whale (Ian McKellan), director of the original Frankenstein movies and several others, focusing on his relationship with his gardener (Brendan Fraser) and especially on the memories dredged up by Fraser's presence.I know that sounds pretty turgid and I can't say there's a lot of action in the movie. Nobody wraps a speeding car around a telephone pole or dives off a cliff or wrestles King Kong. And it's not really even about making movies or being queer, but rather about being old and being "overcome by nostalgia," as McKellan puts it. It's a thoughtful and even daring film.I didn't see much in the way of gods, but monsters abound, not only in flashbacks to "Frankenstein" and "The Bride of Frankenstein." It's the early 1950s. As Whale, McKellan lives a life of comfortable isolation, tended by his brusque housekeeper Hanna. One sunny afternoon he asks Fraser to knock off clipping the hedges and sit for a charcoal sketch. Only gradually does the innocent Fraser realize he's dealing with an old-fashioned unreconstructed British pouf. It terrifies and repels Fraser but, as we see later, Fraser's life is pretty arid as well, and a bit on the phony side. If at first he claims to have been a Marine who saw combat in Korea, it's later revealed that he never finished boot camp.The two attend a party for Princess Margaret given by director George Cukor. Whale and Cukor exchange a couple of catty remarks, and then McKellan is called away to meet his "monsters." Both Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester are at the party but they aren't monsters at all, but rather two old friends who are cheerfully aging.The real monsters, as McKellan tells us, are "up here" -- tapping his temple -- but he might as well have said "down here" and tapped his groin. The monsters that plague both James Whale and his gardener are bleak presents and shameful pasts.There are also intimations that Fraser is McKellan's monster brought back to life. The last scene shows us Fraser, years later, wandering down an alley in the rain, holding his arms out, stumbling awkwardly, in imitation of the original. I suppose a case could be made that Fraser, in reminding McKellan of one of his early and never-forgotten lovers from the trenches during World War I, does precipitate a certain anguish in the ailing man, but here the director/screenwriter is stretching the analogy, or maybe just fell for a picturesque final shot. There is the occasional anachronism too -- "You creep me out" -- but they don't glare at us. Otherwise the period detail is accurate enough. Fraser smokes cigarettes and has an attack of what's called homosexual panic when McKellan puts some moves on him.Fraser is adequate as the somewhat dim gardener, but Ian McKellan is splendid as the slim and elegant James Whale, the sham gentleman. What a performance.I won't describe the end of the relationship between the two men. It's not tragic but pretty sad.

Martin Onassis Gods and Monsters is an independent movie in the best sense of the word, in that it really engenders thought and emotion, and on many tracks simultaneously.The movie is a parable on the end of life, and the desperate need for love when all one has is memories. By extension, its about the importance of friendship as a support when romantic love is not available. In addition, the film is one of the frankest looks at homosexuality I've ever seen, dealing with the dynamics of a young straight man dealing with a gay man whom he wants to befriend, and an old gay man who has nostalgia both for a life of hedonism and a young true love lost, in the most terrible of circumstances.The movie also covers the notion of war, gallows humor, and the way they instructed Whale and his Frankenstein movies. All in all, its amazing the multiple intents of this film, but they're all woven together into a tight script derived from a fictionalized account of Whale's last days (the author gives his full blessing in the DVD special features).I'm surprised I missed this film in 1998, especially with the incredible cast. I expected a low-budget docudrama, possibly campy, moderately engaging, but its far more than that. The topic of homosexuality is dealt with extremely frankly, but lovingly and honestly, while not playing it safe either. It's a tribute to the director that the plot line of Whale's sex life opens briskly, but then illustrates the greater point that this is a man with a spirited past who is breaking down. Gay or not gay, his sexuality was part of him being alive, and its role as both recreational fun, and deep love, are both acknowledged.McKellan proves why he gets the raves, not just covering the gamut of wit, sadness, irritation and anger, but nailing the idiosyncrasies of a man hallucinating with nostalgia, and steadily losing his mental faculties.Redgrave creates a character close to a cartoon, but she does not waver from that character's reality, and is somehow instantly inviting.Fraser is convincing as both the attractive draw to McKellen, but also the lost young man, and the empathetic innocent who just wants to find something tangible in life.In the midst of all this, they give tribute to the amazing story of Frankenstein, and the film flashbacks are where the film loses some balance. The turn of McKellen/Whale being haunted by his own creation, his life, is very thought-provoking. The story McKellen gives about his young male lover dying in the trenches and it becoming a dark joke for everyone is particularly heart-breaking. In a sense, the dark humor that was supposed to help with the monster of war became the monster in and of itself. As convoluted as this may seem, it actually really provoked me to think deeper about the entire Frankenstein parable, which is, of course, a masterpiece of story and character.Finally, the film makes a very compelling point about the critical importance of friendship and human contact. You get a lot in 106 mins, and the climax is purely emotional. Fantastic.