The notorious monster hunter is sent to Transylvania to stop Count Dracula who is using Dr. Frankenstein's research and a werewolf for some sinister purpose.
Director: Stephen Sommers Writer: Stephen Sommers Stars: Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh
Storyline
Van Helsing is in the world to rid all evil, even if not everyone agrees with him. The Vatican sends the monster hunter and his ally, Carl, to Transylvania. They have been sent to this land to stop the powerful Count Dracula. Whilst there they join forces with a Gypsy Princess called Anna Valerious, who is determined to end an ancient curse on her family by destroying the vampire. They just don't know how!
Van Helsing Movie Review
Silly but Fun
Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale. Were it not for these two gifted performers, this movie would be beyond silly. As it is, the plot is almost pretextual for the special effects.
The Eye Candy factor is high, though. Hugh Jackman as the tortured hero, filmed in the dark all of the time, makes us weak in the knees. Kate Beckinsale does magnificent physical feats while squeezed into a corset.
The story: Van Helsing (Jackman) is essentially a bounty hunter of supernatural monsters, a job he took on at the request of the church as apparent penitence for sins he cannot even remember. As a reward for his centuries of service, he hopes to make his way to Heaven instead of Hell.
Anna (Kate Beckinsale) is the last survivor of a family of Transylvanian vampire hunters. Her brother has become a werewolf and she is conflicted about whether he should live or die.
Naturally Anna and Van Helsing team up to rid Transylvania of the evil vampire overlord. Van Helsing has a tool kit Batman would envy, and Anna maintains an arsenal of monster-killing weapons that would make a survivalist proud. Between the two of them, the monsters don't stand a chance.
Put your mind on hold, suspend disbelief and intolerance for the occasional leap of reason, enjoy a slightly randy friar (Van Helsing's sidekick), and go along for the ride. Van Helsing is a great Sunday afternoon video.
Hellboy (2004)
A demon, raised from infancy after being conjured by and rescued from the Nazis, grows up to become a defender against the forces of darkness.
Director: Guillermo del Toro Writers: Guillermo del Toro (screenplay), Guillermo del Toro (screen story) Stars: Ron Perlman, Doug Jones, Selma Blair
Storyline
In the final days of World War II, the Nazis attempt to use black magic to aid their dying cause. The Allies raid the camp where the ceremony is taking place, but not before a demon - Hellboy - has already been conjured. Joining the Allied forces, Hellboy eventually grows to adulthood, serving the cause of good rather than evil.
Hellboy Movie Review
Quite stylish but somewhat disappointing movie.
Director Guillermo del Toro already showed with his previous movies that he has a great visual style. "Hellboy" is no exception and it has a great dark comic book atmosphere. Too bad that the story and most of the characters don't really work out the way they're supposed to.
The character of Hellboy self works out just great! This is thanks to mainly Ron Perlman but also to the very convincing make-up effects. The rest of the characters feel like they are only put in the movie to fill up the screen. Selma Blair is very boring as Liz Sherman and it never became clear to me in the movie why professor Bloom, out of all people picked John Myers. Not really a good character either. The two characters Abe Sapien and Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor is wonderful!), who were about the two most entertaining characters, disappear way too soon out of the movie. But most disappointing are the villains which are often the most important in 'super-hero' movies like these. Having Rasputin as the main villain of course is already a ridiculous idea itself but on top of that he simply isn't a very good and convincing villain. Uber-Nazi Karl Ruprect Kroenen is a way more interesting villain. He is the kind of villain I love in movies, cool outfit, awesome weapons, he can't seem to die and he has no lines. Excellent, scary, cool and mysterious all in one. Not bad for a 107 year old. He also was way more better than the most of the time, special effects monsters.
The special effects were at times good, mediocre and just at times unconvincing.
The action also was somewhat disappointing. I think this is due to the wrong offbeat pace in the movie. Everything is happening way too fast. One moment Hellboy is giving away some great, fun and cool one-liners and the next he's fighting a monster in the subway. Because everything is happening so fast, the story also isn't always easy to follow. The movie wasn't as entertaining as I had hoped and expected. I'm sure that when I read the script I would like the story better than I did while watching the movie.
It still is a somewhat entertaining movie to watch but not one that I would recommend to everyone. However I'm still looking forward to "Hellboy 2" also because 'superhero' sequels are only getting better and better these last couple of years ("Spider-Man 2", "X2"). Hopefully the title will be; "Hellboy 2: The Return of Kroenen"? One could only wish for...
6/10
The Notebook (2004)
A poor and passionate young man falls in love with a rich young woman and gives her a sense of freedom. They soon are separated by their social differences.
Director: Nick Cassavetes Writers: Jeremy Leven (screenplay), Jan Sardi(adaptation), Stars: Gena Rowlands, James Garner, Rachel McAdams
Storyline
In a nursing home, resident Duke reads a romance story for an old woman who has senile dementia with memory loss. In the late 1930s, wealthy seventeen year-old Allie Hamilton is spending summer vacation in Seabrook. Local worker Noah Calhoun meets Allie at a carnival and they soon fall in love with each other. One day, Noah brings Allie to an ancient house that he dreams of buying and restoring and they attempt to make love but get interrupted by their friend. Allie's parents do not approve of their romance since Noah belongs to another social class, and they move to New York with her. Noah writes 365 letters (A Year) to Allie, but her mother Anne Hamilton does not deliver them to her daughter. Three years later, the United States joins the World War II and Noah and his best friend Fin enlist in the army, and Allie works as an army nurse. She meets injured soldier Lon Hammond in the hospital. After the war, they meet each other again going on dates and then, Lon, who is wealthy and ...
The Notebook Movie Review
Prior to watching "The Notebook," I was not familiar with the work of the actress Rachel McAdams. She made an indelible impression by sustaining an outstanding performance in this film. Her character Allie is the pivotal role in the film, as she must make the crucial romantic decision on which the story turns. There are few performers capable of evolving the complexity of characterization as achieved by Rachel McAdams.
The film recreated effectively the world of the 1940s in America, including the parental pressure exerted by the well-to-do family of Allie on whether to allow their daughter to pursue a young man from the other side of the tracks. As played by Ryan Gosling, the character of Noah could have revealed more emotional layers. There was only one scene in the film where he really showed that there was something at stake in his love for Allie. He apparently wrote her a passionate letter every day for a year. Especially in the film's early scenes, Gosling could have shown more of the passion.
The other cast members were outstanding, including James Garner and Gena Rowlands in the parallel story. In the two plots, "The Notebook" merits comparison with another outstanding romantic film, "The Bridges of Madison County." As the two subplots of "The Notebook" come together, one of the key characters is Allie's mother. As always, Joan Allen delivers a convincing and complete character portrayal, as the well-intentioned, but conflicted mother. In one of the most moving scenes in the film, the mother opens up to the daughter and tells her story of youthful love and a fateful choice similar to the one Allie herself must face.
My favorite scene in the film: a wonderful sequence where Noah and Allie are in a boat in the backwaters of South Carolina. The waterway is simply filled with white geese. It is a stunning and picturesque moment, among many in this well-crafted film. If there is such a spot in South Carolina, then I want to go there!
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Peter Parker is beset with troubles in his failing personal life as he battles a brilliant scientist named Doctor Otto Octavius.
Director: Sam Raimi Writers: Stan Lee (comic book), Steve Ditko (comic book) Stars: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina
Storyline
Peter Parker is an unhappy man: after two years of fighting crime as Spider-Man, his life has begun to fall apart. The girl he loves is engaged to someone else, his grades are slipping, he cannot keep any of his jobs, and on top of it, the newspaper Daily Bugle is attacking him viciously, claiming that Spider-Man is a criminal. He reaches the breaking point and gives up the crime fighter's life, once and for all. But after a failed fusion experiment, eccentric and obsessive scientist Dr. Otto Octavius is transformed into super villain Doctor Octopus, Doc Ock for short, having four long tentacles as extra hands. Peter guesses it might just be time for Spider-Man to return, but would he act upon it?
Spider-Man 2 Movie Review
Two years on from defeating the Green Goblin, Peter Parker is having a harder time meeting the ongoing expectations of the public. On top of this the double life is taking its strain on his job, his personal life and his ability to even cast webs. Parker decides enough is enough and throws it all in – after all, he is only one man. Meanwhile, A brilliant scientist, Dr Octavius sees his life's work on a fusion reactor explode – killing his wife. Wife the protective device on his computerised arms broken, Dr Octavius loses his grip on sanity and starts to rebuild his reactor using money and materials from crime. With him seemingly intent on destruction, Parker must decide if the needs of others outweigh his own.
With many blockbusters falling at the opening weekend this summer, the title of 'summer's best' was still up for grabs when I arrived at the cinema to watch Spiderman 2 (having only the week earlier given it the miss in favour of lighter fare). Two hours later I emerged having enjoyed one of the most entertaining popcorn films I'll probably see all year. The plot is more than able to fill the running time and, although the action scenes often havelarge gaps between them, there are no moments where I was bored – even if there are a few moments where the film slightly slows. The complexity of the hero is the main thing – he is an unwilling hero and the strain shows well on him. Even the potentially ponderous thread with Mary-Jane plays pretty well for the most part.
The villain of the piece is similar to the Green Goblin of the first film in that he is a scientist driven to madness by 'voices' who we want to lose as well as feeling for – moretragic than evil. Where Dafoe was great as the Goblin, the silly costume hindered the actor, here Molina has no such obstacle and does very well – carrying off the 'voices' scene without it looking silly – it is only a shame that he has so little screen time as a person (he has little time anyway – but the vast majority of it is throwing cars around). With these complex people as the fronts it is any wonder that the script has no problem being surprisingly strong for a summer action movie. You could read meaning into most of it but it is hard to not see the New York people on the train carrying the prone body of Spiderman backwards as having a bigger significance – a surprisingly poignant movie after a big effects-driven scene. The script also throws in a real mix of emotions – perfect for a film that is more about being an exciting ride than a piece of art. Plenty of it is very funny, some of it is touching, some of it is about character and some of it, well, some of it is about cars being thrown through windows! And of course the latter is what we have come for.
In terms of action, the several big action sequences are very enjoyable and put the skirmishes from the first movie very much in the shade. Part of this is down to the increased intensity of the fights due to the close combat nature of the character but it is hard not to be impressed by the impact of the vastly improved effects. In the first movie I struggled occasionally to get past the fact that some of it (not all but some) looked very much like an average playstation game. Here the effects are great; sure, you can still tell when a mid-shot of a character is real or CGI but they are much more convincing and they are used a lot better – making it easier to accept them as real for the purposes of the film. Of course what really makes the action sequences is Raimi's great direction. He is very able in the smaller moments but he is fantastic in the massive action scenes that he pulls together. At times his direction is very clever and my favourite 'reference' scene is also the one that surprised me that it was rated PG. In a very clear reference to Evil Dead, doctors are hammered by Dr Octopus' arms for the first time – dragged screaming (ED's trees) and tackling it with bone saws (Ash's chain saw). It was a very intense scene and, with it being in a PG, it acts as proof that the BBFC are not as strict as the moaners would have us believe.
Working with this direction, the cast all do really well. Maguire takes the pratfalls, the moral questions, the romance and the action equally as well. He is very much the likable everyman that the film needs Spiderman to be and he is good throughout. Dunst has talked about her desire to do more than just this type of film and, from this, I can see why. Although she has some good scenes, generally she is sidelined and it is to her credit that she does as well as she does with comparatively little to work with. Molina is given too little time and lacks a really strong scene of emotion in the same way that Dafoe did in front of the mirror but he still does well. I didn't feel his pain as much as I really should have done but that was more down to his low screen time rather than his performance. Franco is good but a bit too one-dimensional; given that the third film will be very dependent on him I'm hoping he can step up to the plate more than he did here. Of the support cast, once again it is a wonderfully OTT Simmons who steals every scene he is in – he is so good that I never once saw him as his Oz character – an association I never thought he'd be able to break but he did – and he did it hilariously. Cameos from Campbell, Raimi and Dafoe are all enjoyable and add to their scenes.
Overall this is not a perfect film and I am bemused by its appearance in the top 250 list here but it does basically everything it sets out to do and does it in a manner that puts this years' other blockbusters in the shade. The script is clever, interesting and involving; the characters are complex and pretty well drawn while the film delivers laughs as frequently as it does action. With improved effects and some very impressive action scenes this is definitely the movie to sue in a summer full of misses and average thrills.
