The Island of Dr. Moreau

When the great John Frankenheimer released this version of the H.G. Wells classic in 1996 he was damn close to being burned at the stake by both the critics and the movie going public and truth be told, back then I would have joined them. A little over ten years later I'm of a different opinion. As a fine little Saturday afternoon matinee this baby does just fine with some wonderful overacting from Marlon Brando (who once again shows off his proud Rolex watch!) and David Thewlis. Poor Ron Perlman yet again has to don a ton of latex and fur and Fairuza Balk...well...I'm not sure she needed any make-up at all for her role. Val Kilmer looks like he might have been stoned right out of his skull for real here but still adds his charm to the overall mix. Also worth mentioning is Nelson de la Rosa as one of Moreau's "children". He was in fact certified by the Guiness book of world records as the smallest man on earth so I found it quite a treat to watch him in action. What all of this boils down to is time has been kinder to this Frankenheimer piece than the world was back in the day which means you may want to pick this one up form the local shop for another looksee if for no other reason than to once again see Brando's watch.