Timewaster's Guide Archive
Departments => Movies and TV => Topic started by: stacer on April 11, 2004, 02:36:03 AM
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So Wolvie's in a new movie. Just saw the preview on TV. Anyone know anything about this? Is it based on a comic or game or something?
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No, its more based on the old horror types. Like Frankenstien, Dracula, and the Werewolf. Along with others I'm sure. I'm not sure if there is any comic book relatedness to this. SE would know.
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It's based on... um... Dracula, loosely. Dr. Van Helsing being a main character in the novel. Van Helsing becomes Dracula's chief antagonist and the leader of the group that hunts Dracula down and destroys him.
I don't think there are any comics involved, but then I don't know much about comics.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338526/
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/dracula/
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no, this is not based on comics. It is purely based on pre-50's horror movie goodness. The ones where they ALL show up. The concept of the movie is nothing original, but I believe they have the potential done better than it's been done before.
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Oh, I don't care if it's comic based. It was just from the look of it, it looked to be another comic-book hero movie. Wherever its provenance, it looks like a fun movie.
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/me is ambivilant
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I assumed the movie is suppose to show Van Helsing before he meets up with the Harkers. Course with the inclusion of the other horror monsters I guess they aren't really going for any kind of literary accuracy.
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He is already part of a secret society it seems. That is what the trailer and site said.
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Also the moive is made by the guys who made the mummy and Scorpion King.
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Dracula makes some comment like 'You and I have much history" to Van Helsing. Made Tage and I think it might be a relative of the book Van Helsing, but not the actual one.
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That line made me think that Van Helsing re-incarnated and in every incarnation tried to take down dracula.
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Hum. That does sound like a good interpretation. The thing is, the movie obviously purports to be steampunk--which means it has to be set in the early 1900's at the very latest. Not much time for there to be incarnations after the book Dracula, which happened around 1890. Maybe it's supposed to happen before the book.
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Hum. That does sound like a good interpretation. The thing is, the movie obviously purports to be steampunk--which means it has to be set in the early 1900's at the very latest. Not much time for there to be incarnations after the book Dracula, which happened around 1890. Maybe it's supposed to happen before the book.
Steampunk? The only influence of that would be the spinning blade things. I see no clockwork robots!
And i dont think the book timeline applies to the film. Not like they are making a dedicated effort to preserve the story of the book. Another analysis is that before he goes to Translyvania he fights Draculas minions, and this is what Dracula is refering to.
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You're right stacer. This does look good. Sommers is directing it, and so I'm hoping that means that it will be rated PG-13.
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PG-13!!! Yee-haw!!
I'm officially very happy, and finally have a movie to look forward to for the summer.
/me does a happy dance
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Chu are not looking forward to Spider-Man 2? Shame forsoothed upon you! =P
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I want to see it, but the previews came out so long ago that I'm not looking forward to it anymore.
This may have something to do with the fact that Hugh Jackman is much cuter than Tobey Maguire.
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It's not off to a good start at Rotten Tomatoes, and industry people are saying it'll make back it's 200 million price tag. I hope the reveiw get better, I was looking forward to this. But if it dosen't get at least a 45%-50% I doubt I'll ever see it.
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But if it dosen't get at least a 45%-50% I doubt I'll ever see it.
Ha! This from the guy who loved Kung Pow.
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I saw Kung pow, and parts of it were funny. But over all it wasn't a very good movie.
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Hah, that is great Tage.
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It reminded me of movies like Frankenstein meets the Wolfman, Dracula Vs. Frankenstein, etc. I don't think it will have much in common with the Dracula novel, since there is such a mix of monsters from different books. Just to name some of the obvious things, Van Helsing is an old professer in Dracula not really a monster hunter (although he does study the paranormal). He also knew alot about vampires and how to kill them, but in a preview IIRC Van Helsing was asking how to kill Dracula. But Van Helsing has been used as a monster hunter almost as long as Dracula has been around, so even if its not really part of the original novel or character, its definatily in the mythos now.
I agree that the previews do have a comic-book feel to them. It reminds me a little of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen too. Hugh Jackman seems like a decent actor so far, he'll probably do a good job. I'm sure it will do fine at the box office.
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actually it looks like fun even if it does get a bad review or two...
nothing beats a high budget flop for camp value... Not that I think this will flop either...
I bet people like us will really like it.
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I saw Van Helsing on friday and liked it. Helsing was really cool, but they left a lot about him a mystery, I heard they might be making a TV series of Van Helsing so that could be why. I don't want to say more about him since it could spoil it a little. I also thought how the vampires shapeshifted was interesting, a lot cooler then I thought it would be.
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Ok, so the special effects were a bit on the dodgy side, and parts were hard to believe (unless vampire hunters are all trapezing supremos that is), but the awesome soundtrack, good action and the incredible cuteness of Kate Beckinsale all made it worth watching I feel.
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Steampunk? The only influence of that would be the spinning blade things. I see no clockwork robots!
Ha!
1) Spinning blade things.
2) Movie projector.
3) Stake-shooting machine gun crossbow.
4) Frankenstein's monster run by electricity with freaking STEAM-POWERED hydraulic legs.
That movie was totally steampunk. Not as much as, say, Wild Wild West (ug) or LXG (double ug.) But it certainly had steampunky elements.
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Wow, I hated this movie, it was too serious and unfunny to be a comedy, too stupid to be a drama and too boing to be an action movie. And predictable, (not that they left much to be predicted with the cast members who existed for exposition purposes.)
I sensed elements where the movie might have been good, (like the beginning homage to Frankenstein) if the dialog had been written instead of being swiped off the back of a box of Count Chocula cereal.
Otherwise everyone in the story behaved like an idiot.
A prime example of idiocy is when (SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Van Helsing drugs his burdgeoning love interest to keep her from going after Dracula and then leaves her in her room, alone in the ancestral castle that everyone knows she lives in, even when he knows Dracula and his brides want her dead.
Or the unexplained buddist monk and mullah wandering around the secret room in the Vatican.
Or draculas acting.
Way to shoot for the hammiest villan award Drac.
So whatever stuido it was that made it, I want my 2+ hours back.
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I have seen the movie and I think that it is O.K but it could have been better.
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Thank you for your truly magnificent display of critical analysis there.
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Wow.
Entropy, I think you actually scared him away. Looks like his account has been deleted.
I'm not sure if I should congratulate you or not....
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Nevermind, congratulations were too early. Looks like someone else deleted the account.
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no he deleted it and then posted a toipc in the news section about how he was leaveing. I asked JP to delete or move it since it didn't belong in the news section.
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Ah. I had a bit of trouble following this one.
Anyway, I guess I'll just congratulate TFO instead. I think he's officially survived the hazing. 847 just couldn't cut it, apparently.
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So I finally saw this movie. It's not bad but it makes serious little judgement errors.
***SPOILERS***
I agree with Jeffe, the buddists and muslims in the secret room in the Vatican was just stupid. It was such a blatent appeal to "multi-culturalism" and "religious tolerance" that it was almost insulting. The whole thing was just unnecessary, except I'm sure it was some guy-in-marketing's idea.
Speaking of unnecessary, let's talk about Van Helsing himself. I think he was just there for name recognition. I found Kate Beckinsale's character to be a lot more interesting, and her character was the only one with any emotional investment through the whole affair.
I kind of liked the monsters, even when they were being hammy. It made me want to see them die more, which was kind of the point of the movie.
So if I had any say in how this movie was made, I would have thrown out Van Helsing and the Vatican. Centered the whole store around Kate Beckinsale's character. Focus on family oaths, loyalty and personal obligations, and beliefs in eternal family bonds. So I guess the whole thing would have to be rewritten.
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Oh and maybe gotten a scary Dracula, as opposed to a lame one.
About the only monster I liked was Hyde... (although why he was in Paris I'll never know)
For a way cooler Idea for Van Helsing go no further than http://peginc.com/OurGames/SWRippers.htm
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Hyde was in Paris because they were doing a Hunchback/Hyde crossover. It was a clever little subtle pun. Too bad the rest of the movie wasn't equally smart....
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In the animated short for Van Helsing, Hyde is in London. He flees London when Van Helsing comes after him.
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Hyde didnt seem scared enough to have fled...
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http://www.arcanetimes.com/webcomic/backissues/2004_05_12_ATCbackissues.html
the next four strips are great too...
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I'm dredging this up to report that I've finally seen this movie (well, really, it's still playing), and I have to agree with those who have said it's supremely dumb, and cheesy to boot. Dracula and Igor both seemed to have stepped out of Young Frankenstein or a Mel Brooks film. I agree with Jeffe that it was too serious to be a comedy and too cheesy to be serious.
Oh well, it wasted a couple hours after a really bad day. In addition to the dumb stuff going on with my insurance (which, hopefully, will be resolved with the release of a generic next year of the antihistamine I need--still not sure on that information), my day started with the overflowing of my toilet, which involved some really disgusting cleanup, and ended with a satisfying but long open house in which we showed our local authors around, so it's been a bit of a rollercoaster, so the movie served its purpose, stupid and cheesy as it was.
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Sounds like this could have gone on the grumpy thread.
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You do realize that Young Frankenstein IS a Mel Brooks movie, right?
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You do realize that Young Frankenstein IS a Mel Brooks movie, right?
Uh... sure I did. ;)
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i think if they had stacer's icon in the movie as an actual scene the movie would have been better.