Alamo Drafthouse rolled out the black carpet for the world premiere of Tim Burton’s B&W stop-motion marvel, “Frankenweenie 3-D.” Burton, Winona Ryder and Martin Landau were there, and one theater was reserved for a pack of black-and-white lap dogs and their human companions.
“Frankenweenie” is the story of a boy named Victor and his dead dog, Sparky. The setting is New Holland, a seemingly placid town which boasts the highest rate of recorded lightning strikes in the world. Its citizens and quiet tract houses inspire both fondness and dread.
Yes, Victor’s an outcast, but the kids surrounding him in his Science class are an even freakier bunch. Wait until you meet the Weird Girl and Mr. Whiskers…
The concise screenplay, written with John August, incorporates many Burton hallmarks: suburban outcasts, sad-eyed waifs and homages to classic cult films. It’s also packed with brilliant comic speeches. The science lectures of Mr. Rzykruski (Martin Landau), and the earnest ode to compromise delivered by Victor’s dad — illustrated by Scottsdale, AZ and a plate of Surf & Turf — will live with me for some time.
It’s a return to form for Burton, and it’s a treat to see the film acknowledge Joe Dante’s shared suburban lunacy when events spin out of control. This is one of the most joyously anarchic and heartfelt films of the year.
I imagine that some programmer got a chuckle scheduling the “The Final Member”, a documentary about the Icelandic Phallological Museum, as the follow-up to “Frankenweenie”. After all, both films deal with the dream of a life after death for Men’s Best Friends.
“The Final Member” takes place in Iceland. With a population of about 300,000 people, almost everyone’s related and knows other people’s business. It was surely something of note when Professor Sigurður Hjaratson opened a museum featuring the world’s largest collection of mammalian penises. What began as a joke became a life passion. But with his health deteriorating, the Professor starts to worry he won’t live to see his legacy completed. The last and most difficult specimen he seeks to acquire is ironically abundant: the human penis.
In addition to the many legal and personal requirements that potential donors must meet, there is an added stipulation from Icelandic legend that the donor must reach the “Legal Size” of 5 inches.
Two men answer the call: an elderly Icelandic adventurer who was a renowned womanizer in his day, and an eccentric American named Ed, who so desires to see his member properly mounted that he goes to great lengths researching and developing display cases, preservation methods, etc.,
Matters get more complicated when Tom decides to maintain quality control by cutting off his penis while he’s still alive.
The situation is extraordinarily absurd, but this documentary becomes an unexpectedly moving and thought-provoking piece on men’s fragility, mortality and legacy. It views our strange lives with bafflement and respect and is simply one of the best docs I’ve seen this year.
