Sunday 9 May, 2004
Van Helsing
Despite several warnings, we decided to go and see Van Helsing. You see, it's about Van Helsing - father of all vampire slayers - directed by Stephen "Mummy" Sommers and stars Hugh "I'm really hot" Jackman and Kate "broody" Beckinsale, and the trailers kicked arse. So it should have been really good, it really should have. But alas, everyone who's seen it so far has pretty much regretted it, so I didn't have my hopes up.
And that's the best way to see movies, for me anyway. Because I ended up kind of liking it despite all it's faults... and let me just confirm to those who haven't seen it yet, they were numerous: biggest problem was probably the weird plot that kept jumpin back and forth and sideways and up and down. Some people have complained that it was too long - I say it was too short: it was clearly missing about 20 minutes of plot development that might have made a difference.
On the good side though - I thought it was pretty funny, in a very light sort of way. And it was incredibly pretty, there was much nicely animated CGI, and the wardrobe was to die for. Hugh Jackman was very easy on the eye, and so was Kate Beckinsale (although I'm less and less sure about whether she can pull of any other roles than this kind of moody heroic beauty). Then there was Dracula, the last of the Brunnen-G (sorry, it's the hair... and the make-up... but wasn't that guy just Michael McManus' long lost twin brother?). But seriously, I thought he was pretty good too - unlike what I thought initially, I didn't really have anything against vampire babies, or werewolves, or Frankenstein monsters or other mythical creatues being in the mix: that's what Sommers does.
So all in all, I didn't regret time or money spent.
Posted by kolibri at 9 May 21:27, 2004I also saw Van Helsing today. Kind of regret spending the money. It really was all over the place and didn't adhere to any kind of universal vampire rules at all... But! I really thought the Dracula was hot! I don't know what it is about me -- I really have the hots for Dracula!! Scary! ;)
# 2 - Kolibri (on May 10, 2004 10:02 AM):
I was slighly annoyed about the vampire mythology changes too, but think about it this way: story of Dracula and vampires has been done million times over, so if the director wants to suprise the audience he has to come up with something new. There's nothing wrong in itself about coming up with new stuff and changing the mythology to tell a story - I would just wished there had more to the story itself.
# 3 - Mikki (on May 10, 2004 02:41 PM):
Mm. Generally speaking, the "universal vampire rules" tend to be anything but. Vampires have been interpreted and reinterpreted over and over again for a good while now; the old Christopher Lee stereotype (sunlight, crosses, garlic, etc.) that most people recognize just isn't all that definitive. Not that I've seen Van Helsing.
Actually, I had tickets to a free showing but had a previous engagement, so I gave it a miss. I very much doubt that I ever find myself in such a twisted mindset as to be willing to pay money for yet another movie that, in all likelihood, turns out to suck wet farts out of dead pigeons. I'm sick and tired of empty, meaningless and soulless "fun rides" designed for fucktards who think that the Matrix is a pretty clever movie. If I want a fun ride, I know a fairly decent amusement park nearby, goddammit.
Whoo!
# 4 - Chu (on May 11, 2004 10:26 AM):
Recommendation from a long time fan:
For a different kind of Kate Beckinsdale, forget about Pearl Harbor and such, go back to the older stuff. "Shooting Fish", a charming, warm-hearted story of two professional swindler lads and a girl, comes particularily recommended. Delightful, definite feelgood material.
Also, you might want to check out her version of Austen's "Emma".
Kate is just _lovely_.
# 5 - RelFexive (on May 11, 2004 06:16 PM):
And let's not forget, your actual Dracula book has him walking around during the day... bereft of most of his powers, but even so...
If you look at the actual legends that came before the gothic tales, there was a (sometimes)subtly different version of what a 'vampire' was in every country. So different versions in the modern tales should not seem so surprising.
# 6 - ;) (on May 19, 2004 03:09 AM):
Van Helsing (the movie) was okay, even though I kept suspecting that Hugh Jackman could have done a lot more with his character. The best part of the entire thing was Richard Roxburgh, the guy who played Dracula... *sigh* so hot...
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