"I, Frankenstein" Brings You Up To Date On The Creature

I, Frankenstein (2014)

Rated PG-13

Starring Aaron Eckhart, Yvonne Strahovski, Miranda Otto, Bill Nighy, Jai Courtney

Directed by Stuart Beattie

The Story:

The Creature (Eckhart) is immortal. He buries Dr. Frankenstein in a graveyard but is attacked by demons. He is rescued by Gargoyles who are actually angels on earth to help keep the demons at bay. They ask him to join their ranks to fight evil, but the creature refuses. Centuries pass and now the demons are working on perfecting Dr. Frankenstein's formula to create an army of the immortal dead. It's time for the creature to choose a side.

Well, that was something alright.

You think you're getting a tale of the Creature, and he falls smack dab into a centuries old battle of good vs. evil with demons and angels.

Not a bad direction, really.

It's reaching for the stars and trying to tell an epic tale.

However, it plays it too straight to be B-Movie horror fun yet not epic enough to be a sweeping fantasy tale.

It winds up as an average film that fine for a viewing, but the odds of watching it again or hoping it's the start of a franchise diminish before the credits are over.

But, at least I went the entire review without commenting on Jai Courtney's lack of charisma.

Oops.

:)

Available to stream on Amazon Prime as of this writing.

Final Grade: C

I Spy With My Little Eye... "Chuck"

Chuck (2007)

TV PG

Starring Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Adam Baldwin, Joshua Gomez, Sarah Lancaster

The Story:

Chuck Bartowski (Levi) is a member of the Nerd Herd at the local Buy More.  When he receives an email from an old college roomate, he opens it and subliminally absorbs all of the nation's defense secrets from the INTERSECT device.  With the INTERSECT offline, only Chuck holds the key to American defense.  So the CIA sends Agent Walker (Strahovski) and the NSA sends Agent Casey (Baldwin) to watch over Chuck while they attempt to bring their computer back online.  Meanwhile, Chuck can't divulge anything to his sister (Lancaster) or best friend (Gomez) and he keeps flashing on unsavory people or things which keep getting him one step closer to danger in being part of the spy business.

You know when you see the commercials or hear about those shows that you think, "hey, yeah, I'd probably enjoy that one?"

Well, Chuck was one of those shows for me.

It looked like a fun show with an interesting premise.

A comedy-action show, much like Psych, how could I go wrong?

But, I never got around to watching it.

Until now.

Scrolling through Netflix, and there was Chuck staring back at us, almost begging for us to watch it.

So we watched the pilot, directed by McG (!!!) himself.  Well, I've never been one to shy away from McG material...

He didn't disappoint.

It was fun, funny, filled with action, great dialogue, and fun characters.

The relationships all run through Chuck.

Chuck with his sister.
Chuck with his best friend.
Chuck with Agent Walker.
Chuck with Agent Casey.

Each one is different, and each vital to the show.

As the season moves along and each of the supporting characters grows and has interaction with one another, it's a balancing act between actual spy cover that they must maintain.

Looking forward to seeing what is in store for the gang next season! 

Sadly, unlike Psych, the house is divided over this one.  One half is really enjoying it, and one half is wondering what the heck we're watching it for.

:: sigh ::

Can't win 'em all...


Available to stream on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Won't need to own it, at least not yet.  One season down, 4 to go, we'll see if it jumps the shark or if it stays this much fun.