Snap editorial decision: henceforth, I shall only issue "Movie Recommendations" of movies I actually enjoyed, at least to some degree. Actually it wasn't exactly a "snap" decision, but one I have been thinking about for a while. I want to talk about what I liked and what I didn't like in any particular movie that may play its way across my big screen, but the problem is whenever I schedule a "recommendation" of a film I did not care for, I end up putting it off to the point where I can't remember what it was all about well enough to write about it...then I just let it drop off the schedule. Case in point: The Men Who Stare At Goats. I watched it, I thought it had tremendous potential but squandered it in the final half hour and I was left with an overall bad taste in my mouth about the movie. I had it on the Tiki Bar schedule since August, but never got around to it writing about it and kept kicking it down the road to the next week...and the next. So the point is, if that ends up happening, why bother writing at all about that film? Why bother making a "recommendation" one way or the other about a film you did not like?
No such problem with The Wolfman, though. This movie was a winner on many counts. Acting? Benecio Del Toro (you can actually understand what he is saying!), Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving, and Emily Blunt all do a fantastic job. Script and storytelling? Believable...well, as believable as any tale of werewolves. This film does not play for laughs or nostalgia. It is visceral, bloody, and at times shocking. The special effects and CGI are for the most part understated and fluid; the sets, interior and exterior, are breathtaking and highly detailed, making the suspension of disbelief very easy: this really is late 19th century England.
When the classic Universal monsters started to be resurrected for modern audiences, the first result was Van Helsing, a movie that was all camp and all action without any real scare factor. I enjoyed watching that movie once or twice, but on repeated viewings it starts to break down and become more laughable than anything else. This is the true heir to the Universal monster-movie throne: gut-wrenching drama, gut-spilling action and brilliant acting. Is it the best werewolf movie ever? Probably not, but it is a great start. I would love to see some of the other Universal monsters get this same treatment.
What do you think? Did you see this film or decide to avoid it? If you have an opinion on it, speak up! The Comments section is open!
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