Atomic Blonde: Be Prepared to Be Blown Away

Movie Review: Atomic Blonde (2017)
Version: Library borrow

If you see Atomic Blonde, strap in -- it's going to be a wild ride. My wife said, "This is more amazing than John Wick!" I'm not sure it's more amazing, but it certainly has as much action and the plot has as many twists and turns. There are fewer changes of ammo and fewer dead bodies left by the end of the film, but Charlize Theron is deadly and packs just as powerful a punch. If you liked either or both of the John Wick movies, you'll like Atomic Blonde, too!

The Atomic Blonde is Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron), a sensual but savage MI6 secret agent sent by London to cold war era Berlin to track down a list of compromised double secret agents. An asset called Spyglass (played by Eddie Marsan) has it and local MI6 agent David Percival (Played by James McAvoy) hasn't been able to secure the list yet, so London sends in their best to intervene. Overlooking the interests of MI6 is Eric Gray (played by Toby Jones) and for the CIA is Emmet Kurzfield (played by John Goodman). The Soviets and East Germans want the list, too, and there are several crossings into and out of East Berlin, aided by the underground. But there are also double crossings and crossed allegiances. This story will have your head spinning by the end.

This is a great cast, from the electrifying Theron, to the stoic Jones, to the smarmy Goodman, to the intense McAvoy. The second string is equally good, rounding out the telling of this exciting spy thriller. And set decoration should get high kudos for creating every inch a dramatic backdrop for a dangerous city under siege.

From beginning to end, this film keeps you guessing about who are the good guys and who are the bad guys -- and who will win in the end. James Bond has nothing on Atomic Blonde for action, drama, thrill, or good versus evil. My advise: See Atomic Blonde and be prepared to be blown away.

Victor Frankenstein: Campy, Hokey - Still, Not Your Typical Frankenstein Remake

Movie Review: Victor Frankenstein (2015)

Enough already of the movie remakes! Victor Frankenstein is one of those. Hollywood is hurting for good scripts - I get it. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Victor Frankenstein features James McAvoy as the named character, now as the rich-kid medical student who doesn't feel fulfilled by his medical studies and is failing, so he decides to go off on his own and research bringing the dead back to life. Daniel Radcliffe is his sidekick, a bumbling but brilliant hunchback picked up from the circus, who creates chaos during an act that results in a death. Hunted down for that murder, Frankenstein gives the Radcliffe character the name of his "traveling" roommate, Igor, and invites him to be his assistant. Turns out the hunched back comes from an abscess along "Igor's" spine, which Frankenstein removes and then straightens his spine. Lame excuse to give Radcliffe the Igor name to fit in with the Frankenstein franchise (sorry, pun not intended, but we'll keep it).

What is unique about this version is that instead of just working on a re-animating a human, this story begins with Frankenstein attempting to reanimate other dead animals first. Also new, Frankenstein and Igor are pursued by a policeman driven by evidence from the death at the circus that leads him to believe someone is toying with nature, against his puritan beliefs. In some ways, he is almost a caricature of Sherlock Holmes in his methods and his intensity. It isn't until Frankenstein presents his findings before the royal medical society, fails, and is driven out of London that he moves to a remote location that Frankenstein pursues the re-animation of a human. Igor has given up on the effort for moral reasons, but then suddenly has a change of heart and seeks out Frankenstein again.

All of the elements of this story converge at the coastal location as a strong storm approaches from the sea and Frankenstein attempts to bring a human form back to life using lightning. Igor arrives in time to assist, while the police officer arrives in time to try to stop him. I won't spoil the ending other than to comment that the closing was hokey.

There is a love interest in the story, Lorelei. Instead of being for Frankenstein, Lorelei is for Igor. That's totally different, as is the entire story being told from Igor's perspective.

I've never been a fan of "monster" stories, of which I would label any Frankenstein story. This version was sufficiently different to make it a diversion, but parts of Victor Frankenstein were so campy or hokey as to make them a distraction. So I can't recommend this film wholeheartedly. Perhaps come Halloween, if you want a silly monster movie for the fun of it, this one would make a good chuckle.