Vampires

Another film based on the Hungarian legend. Julie Delpy doing the role of the Countess is rather intriguing. This is also her second attempt at directing a film I think and the script is wriiten by herself as well. Really wonder how this is going to turn out. I can't wait.

Too bad this got delayed though coz of another soon to be released similar big budget film titled "Bathory". Could understand why the producers wouldn't want to take the risk but I really hope they don't kill it off completely.

Visually stunning and the costumes and sets were great to say the least but it's as if Jakubisko couldn't decide on whether to go with a serious drama or a light hearted film. This has to be one of the most frustrating films I've watched in sometime coz it clearly had the potential to be much better but they really fucked it up with completely unnecessary and absurd humour.

24 July 2009

A truly magnificent remake of the 1922 Nosferatu film. However influential and innovative the original film maybe, you have to understand the fact that some things just weren't possible back then so I'd say this is actually better than the original. It's definitely one of the best remakes I've ever seen and quite possibly the best vampire film of all time as well.

Klaus Kinski's performance as Count Dracula is one of the film's strongest points and it's nothing short of phenomenal. As memorable as they come. Isabelle Adjani was perfect for the role as well. She's stunning and it's impossible to keep your eyes off her. As for Bruno Ganz, he did a fine job. Renfield's character on the other hand I think was played better in the original.

Above all, the one thing that got me instantly hooked is perhaps the haunting and evocative atmosphere which owes much to the cinematography and the bleak ambient music which was played throughout the film. It works like a charm. This film also has one of the best opening sequences I've ever seen and it really set the mood for what is to come and make no mistake, it's all about the mood here. You need to be in a right mood to appreciate this.

I'll have to say the only thing that even slightly disappointed me was perhaps the ending, but it's no deal breaker. Lastly I've gotta give credits to the writers. It was quite poetic writing without being over done and I really liked it. I think the film is well ahead of it's time and unappreciated much.

A seminal piece of work which has pretty much single handedly defined a whole genre of films and continue to be a huge influence to this day. A true classic.

I've never been a fan of silent films and I don't really intend to watch too many more but this is exceptional for it's time.

Josh Hartnet: We'll sleep in shifts. We'll ration our food, and then we'll figure out the next step. We have two advantages - we know this town, and we know the cold. We live here for a reason; because nobody else can.
Vampire: lol

What the fuck is with the vampires talking nonsense and why didn't Hartnett join the other zombie's like every other infected person in the town? I disagree with all the positive reviews. This film is awful. The ending was even worse. I mean horrible.

Now if you're wondering, half a star is for the cool poster, the other half for the decent acting and the other star is for the scene where the guy with the bulldozer kicks some vampire ass. That was pretty cool I must admit.

I was thinking about going to the cinema to catch this one but decided not to. Thank god!

/Click here for a hilarious thread on imdb regarding this film.

The animation is pretty outdated and it's understandable since this came out in 1985 but it's nonetheless quite good for it's time. Even now worth the watch for the storyline.

Not to be confused with Vampire Hunter D - Bloodlust which came out in 2000 and is quite a big improvement on this.

14 August 2008

Keanu Reeves was pretty crap (as usual?) and Winona Ryder and Hopkins (who's terribly miscast here) weren't any good either. Gary Oldman on the other hand was okay but not at all impressive by his usually high standards. What's with his hair while he was at the castle early on? I swear it reminded me of an Adam Sandler flick where the evil dude had tits on top of his head. Apart from that, this film is pretty stylish though with some great sets and costumes but the cgi looks outdated already.

So far I think I've seen three adaptations of Bram Stokers infamous novel and my favourite still has to be Werner Herzog's 1979 film Nosferatu.

6 Novemeber 2008

Had it's flaws but it's simply one of the best vampire flicks I've ever seen be it animated or live action. Hands down. Love the whole story or the idea and the dark art is brilliant. The ending could've been better though perhaps.

After watching the highly coveted Hellsing anime tv series, I was quite disappointed. It just wasn't good enough for me. It had a great storyline but the screenplay based on 13 episodes just had way too many plot holes and it was too short & unsatisfying, but I always thought the story had so much untapped potential.

This is where that potential finally comes to fruition. This is the original video adaptation (commonly reffered to as OVA) of the Hellsing story and from what I hear it's more faithful to the manga on which the series is based on. I don't read manga and honestly don't know if it's true or not and I'm not really bothered by that either way though. The only thing that matters to me is the fact that this kicks so much ass. One of the best Vampire stories out there I'd say without a doubt.

The quality of animation is simply stunning when compared to the tv series or even most other anime's for that matter. The Tarantino-esque music utilised in the tv series isn't there any more as well and is replaced by a more classical European orchesrtra inspired approach which works quite fine as well. Another big change is the story is no longer told from the veiwpoint of Seras and I like it a lot more now. The original voice cast is retained though and it's a good thing.

It still has some flaws though, atleast in the first film, which I could live with. For one thing, this first film of the new series has almost like a half of the 13 episodes (around 20 minutes or so each) from the original series compacted into one 50 minute film. So basically a lot happens in a very short amount of time and anyone new to it might find it a bit overwhelming. So even though the original series isn't too good, I'd probably recommend you to watch it before trying this out. A good thing though is there's a lot more comic relief in here and the characters all have much more depth in them and the quality of characters I think is one of the things that really makes this so good.

How a story could work with such a badass protagonist - an almost immortal vampire with a fine sense of dark humour, sarcasm and a craving for bloodshed - it's hard to imagine but believe me, this is brilliant. I fucking love that evil grin on his face. So far, upto Hellsing IV has been released and it's just getting better and better. I can't wait for more.

Pretty much as good as the first one and I love the dark style. Kate Beckinsale is hot.

The original anime was rather good but I doubt they could make a live action version of it work.

Love the whole look and feel of the Underworld series and this time even the special effects have improved quite a bit and it's a good thing coz these kind of films rely quite heavily on it.

This really turned out to be much better than I had actually expected. Even the casting wasn't bad at all with both Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy returning to deliver excellent performances and the newcomer Rhona Mitra did a great job as well.

Definitely want more of this. Perhaps a second prequel?

1 February 2009

A little bit overrated perhaps but hey I can't complain, it's a brilliant film really with an amazing atmosphere and some real fine young acting talent at display.

2 Match 2009