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From the darkened and twisted mind of co-writer and director Tim Burton comes the stop motion animation story of young Victor Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan), a reclusive but creative and talented young man fond of science and homemade movies. When a freak accident takes the life of Victor’s beloved dog, Sparky, his scientific brain is engaged. Encouraged by his science teacher (Martin Landau) Victor sets out to reanimate Sparky. Success breeds jealousy and curiosity of the townsfolk of New Holland as Victor appears to be onto an award winning science experiment. As classmates all try their hand at Victor’s discovery the results are varied and downright dangerous. Now it’s up to Victor to set things straight, but at what cost? Intricate and impeccably well thought out in its writing, art direction, and execution, Burton and his team have created another gem. Musical scoring by Burton’s go to guy Danny Elfman again provides the perfect backdrop to texture the film with just the right amount of whimsy, tension, and everything else in between. Additional vocal performances from Winona Ryder, Martin Short, and Catherine O’Hara add more classic Burton flavour to this love letter aimed at classic sci-fi and horror cinema. Perhaps not able to dethrone The Nightmare Before Christmas from my list, still lots of laughs for all ages, this one’s worth your attention. Frankenweenie is rated PG.

Years after rescuing his daughter (Maggie Grace) from a group of Albanian sex traffickers, retired CIA operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is a wanted man by thugs out to avenge the deaths of their relatives. Now in Istanbul with his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) and daughter the entire family is kidnapped and separated, it’s up to Bryan to use his unusual skill set to break free and track down his loved ones before time runs out. Perhaps in the running for the best incidental comedy of the year, it’s a little hard to take this one seriously. While action sequences seem interesting and Neeson brings an elegant gravitas to the way he downs his opponents, the dialogue is otherwise laughable. Practically demanding a suspension of disbelief the actual plot feels thinly concocted meanwhile the actual cinematography has its redeemable merits leaving the film as an odd blend of quality production with underdeveloped writing. Knowing this, the film is still entertaining in its own simplistic way and maybe a matinee but really sings more rental. Taken 2 is rated PG-13.