GuillermoDelToro – Credits Rolling

From the creative mind of Guillermo del Torro comes a new adaption of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The story follows Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), a mad scientist, who attempts to bring people back from the dead. When he successfully gives life to a new type of creature (Jacob Elordi), nothing will never be the same again.

This film has been in the works for many years and I have to say it was well worth the wait. Coming in at two and a half hours seemed daunting at first, but every single one of those minutes is warranted. There have been quite a few versions of this story told and this one breathes new life into it while still staying true to the source material.

With del Torro saying he wanted real sets built for authenticity he truly brought his point across. Not only were they expertly crafted, they were so otherworldly that I was left speechless at times. All of a sudden it felt like I was transported into this place with its vibrant colors and cool locations. Each one just kept getting better. The beautiful set designs paired brilliantly with the costumes and the haunting score that played throughout.

The casting was spot on and the performances well done. Isaac was perfect as the titular character. You root for him at the beginning because he wants to prove himself so badly, but by the end I couldn’t help resenting him for the choices he made. Elordi, however, stole the show for me. I was so impressed with the way in which he approached his role. Not only was he unrecognizable, he also had to change his voice and mannerisms to match those of a monster. While Christoph Waltz and Mia Goth did not have a lot of screen time, they were so present every time we did see them and their character’s were just as integral to the story.

I loved the idea of splitting the film into three separate chapters. This gave the audience a chance to experience the events that were unfolding from different perspectives. You know the saying there are two sides to every story and then there’s the truth? That seemed to ring true here. Each part helped build all the important plot points and didn’t leave anything out. In most reiterations of Frankenstein, the Creation is usually depicted as an evil monster. This time around he was given some proper human qualities. I really appreciated this change and felt like it added so much more.

Overall Frankenstein really is as epic as everyone has been saying it is. From the performances, to the brilliant sets, costumes and the world building itself, it is truly a treat. Although I wish I had had the chance to see this in the cinema, I am glad that it exceeded my expectations and I can’t wait to see how it does come awards season.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

By now we should know the story of Pinocchio, a wooden puppet, who was magically brought to life. After all, this is the third adaption that we’ve had this year alone. And how can we forget the original 1940’s Disney classic? So I won’t bore you with the plot details. What I will say is that there was a lot of hype surrounding Del Toro’s version as it was considered to be the most unique of them all. I can’t say that I disagree!

The best part, hands down, has to be the way in which this was filmed. Stop motion animation is something that we don’t get to see all too often anymore. To have this featured throughout was so refreshing and interesting that it kind of took my breath away at times. Seeing each character, location and object come to life in this way was really cool.

All the characters that we know and love were brought to life by some wonderful voicing talents. Ewan McGregor as Cricket was by far my favorite, who served not as Pinocchio’s guide and conscious, but also the narrator of the story. Alongside him were David Bradley as Geppetto, Cate Blanchett as Spazzatura, Christoph Waltz as Count Volpe and Tilda Swinton as Wood Sprite. Each brought something special to their roles.

Before settling in to watch, it is important to keep in mind that this version of Pinocchio is very different than anything we’ve seen before. There is a much darker element that I wasn’t quite prepared for. In some ways it worked – for example, learning about Geppetto’s life with his son Carlo and the horrific way in which he died added some oomph to the story and broke my heart into a million pieces. But there were other areas in which I thought it was overdone.

I don’t know what I expected going into Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, but it wasn’t what we got. There were some aspects that I really enjoyed and overall I do believe it’s the best adaptation we’d had this year. That being said, I spent a lot of the movie feeling confused. Who was the target audience supposed to be? At times it felt it was geared towards children, but then there were scenes that even I’m sure will give me nightmares. I also don’t think setting it in fascist Italy worked as well as it could have.

My opinion may be an unpopular one, but oh well. Maybe I’m just ready for an entirely different Disney classic to be adapted.

Rating: ♥♥♥