Lisa Frankenstein (2024) Review

 "That's really weird, Lisa."
-Taffy



Lisa (Kathryn Newton), a social outcast, accidentally brings the corpse of a young man (Cole Sprouse) from the Victorian Era back to life.  As Lisa helps put him back together, the re-animated creature falls in love with her and is willing to kill to prove it.


What Works:

This movie is an absolute vibe.  The music, lighting, and general style of the film are very specific and right up my alley.  Not everyone is going to appreciate the look and feel of this movie, but I'm one of the few that absolutely do. 

The performances are pretty bat-shit insane across the board.  You can tell from the trailer that Kathryn Newton gives a crazy performance, and she's really great, but it's not just her.  Even the "normal" characters are strange.  The dialogue choices are pretty wild.  That can probably be attributed to screenwriter Diablo Cody.  It's par for the course for her, but it helps make all of the characters memorable.  It's not just the Lisa show.

I have to give special mention to Cole Sprouse due to the Creature's inability to speak.  Using just his physicality, Sprouse gives an excellent performance.  He's sweet, funny, and relatable, even if he can occasionally be murderous.  It's very impressive work.

Finally, this movie really gets the blend of horror and comedy right, at least it's how I like my horror-comedies.  It's very funny and stays funny even when it gets dark.  It's the type of movie where sometimes it feels wrong to laugh.  It's a delicate tonal balance and when a movie pulls it off, I love it.  I know a lot of people don't think this movie gets it right, but I disagree.


What Sucks:

The writing and story structure of this film is insane.  Diablo Cody certainly does unique work and I think, a lot of the time, the insanity of the writing works to the movie's benefit, but not all of the time.  There are moments that are just so bizarre structurally that it hurts the movie.  Maybe that will change for me on the rewatch, but I think it's the main reason a lot of people aren't into this film.


Verdict:

I loved Lisa Frankenstein.  It's definitely getting a mixed reception, but it's such a bizarre vibe movie that I think everyone should check this one out and form your own opinion.  You might love it!  The performances are wonderful and it's very funny, even with the dark subject matter.  It's a fun time, even if the writing is all over the place.  So far, it's my favorite movie of 2024 and it has definitely got it going on.

 9/10: Great 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Argylle (2024) Review

Image
 "The human skull is shockingly brittle." -Aidan Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) is a very successful spy novelist.  She draws attention from the espionage community when plot points in her books come true.  When Elly is attacked on a train by a group of spies, she is rescued by another spy, Aidan (Sam Rockwell), who needs her help with his mission and to do that, she needs to write another chapter of her latest book. Spoilers Below.  Go ahead and read on because I don't recommend this movie, but either way, you've been warned. What Works: Argylle has a really fun premise that really works in the first half of the movie.  It's a fish-out-of-water, buddy-cop, spy movie, and it's a blast.  Watching Ellie predict where to go based on what the characters in her books would do is a lot of fun.  It's what the whole movie should have been. The opening sequence follows Agent Argylle (Henry Cavill) on another dangerous mission as he pursues the villainous LaGrang
Read more

Top 10 Movies of 2023

Image
2023 is finally over and it's time for me to put my Top 10 list together.  2023 was definitely a weaker year for movies.  There were definitely some great movies, but there were also plenty of disappointing and bad movies as well.  I still managed to put together a great Top 10 with a couple of worthy contenders that just missed the cut.  Let's take a look! #10. They Cloned Tyrone They Cloned Tyrone is a wild and fun sci-fi tale that takes place in the hood.  A drug dealer, a pimp, and a prostitute discover a cloning conspiracy and the results are intelligent and hilarious.  This is a really smart and funny movie with some amazing performances across the board.  This was a movie that kept me guessing the whole way through.  What an absolute blast. #9. Renfield I'm guessing Renfield will be the most controversial entry on my list as I feel like I'm the only person who liked this movie.  I love the old Universal monster movies and the fact that we get a direct sequel, whi
Read more

Madame Web (2024) Review

Image
 "When you take on the responsibility, great power will come." -Santiago Cassie Webb (Dakota Johnson), a New York paramedic, hits her head in an accident, which unlocks the ability to see glimpses of the future.  When she sees Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) attempting to murder three teenage girls, Cassie intervenes to save them.  As Cassie learns to understand her power, she also discovers the connection between her, the girls, and Ezekiel. What Works: I think the core idea at the center of this movie is a good one and has the potential to be interesting.  Cassie's superpowers are kinda lame.  It's not like they're going to help in a combat situation.  Ezekiel is basically evil Spider-Man.  He has legitimate powers and is a massive threat.  That's an interesting conflict.  How does someone with lackluster superpowers take on a supervillain.  It's a fun idea that I would like to see tried again with greater success.  What Sucks: This movie was embarrassing to
Read more