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Film Review: “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”

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Starring: Benjamin Walker
Directed by: Timur Bekmambeto

Today, I just went out and saw the film, “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”, and here is my review…

Plot/Synopsis: Explores the secret life of the America’s greatest president, Abraham Lincoln, and the untold story that shaped their nation. The president discovers blood-thirsty vampires are planning to take over the United States. Lincoln makes it his mission to eliminate them, becoming history’s greatest hunter of the undead.

This film is getting mostly positive reviews, surprisingly, but did they see the same film that I did? I absolutely hated it! HATED IT! HATED IT! HATED IT! The film was a mess all the way through. I was bored, and almost fell asleep lots of times. The book and the movie is of course, way different. The acting was okay, I’m not knocking that, but the cinematography and visual effects were really bad. The novel was a strict, “horror”, but the film turned out to be an action movie. I thought the script was a mess, and I never liked how the vampires looked in the film. Not scary enough.

I’ll keep this review short ’cause there is not much to say about it. I was expecting the movie to be something serious and insightful like the book but instead we get a popcorn flick. Typical of Hollywood. *yawn*

Score for “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” = * (1 star as in “poor”)

Kev

movies

I forgot how great the first, “Underworld”, movie really is…

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Forget about the overrated, “Twilight” series, the “Underworld” series is the real deal. Last night, I just watched the first, “Underworld” film. May have seen it like once or twice in the past before but couldn’t remember, so I decided to re-watch it. I thought the movie was excellent. Told a great story, and the action scenes were a blast to watch too. Kate Beckinsale is a badass. I’ve only seen the first, “Underworld” movie. I haven’t seen the other three. It was a Netflix DVD rental. I have the other three “Underworld” movies on my Netflix rental que, so I should be getting, “Underworld: Evolution”, the second one in the mail next week. If I love the sequels just as much, I might start collecting this series on Blu Ray. I feel the need to catch up with the other movies.

Usually, mixing action movies with horror films never works, but the action & horror genre works for “Underworld”. I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of ’em. Kate Beckinsale is one of the greatest action movie heroines, in my opinion.

Kev

Celebrity news, movies

Man, who cares if John Travolta could be a closet homosexual…

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Can John Travolta go through so much drama? Sometimes, I just feel bad for the guy! Ever since Travolta’s son, Jett, died, it seems that Travolta’s life quickly turned into a negative direction with all this drama. Right after his son’s tragic death, he went through all this extortion bullshit, and now he’s being accused of being a homosexual. I don’t think he touched other masseur’s dicks because they dropped charges at the end so that kind of shows that John is innocent. Now he is being sued by an author who writes about celebrity sex encounters.

Even if it’s true that John Travolta could possibly be gay, it’s all up to him if he wants to come out publicly. His personal life is nobody else’s business but his own. He seems like a good guy and he’s a decent actor as well. I like a lot of his films. The guy is a talented actor that he can play just about everything. Yes, he’s a Scientoligist, but at least he keeps the Scientology topic out of the media and doesn’t promote it like, Tom Cruise.

Even though all this drama and misinformation keeps coming about John, he keeps working on film, staying above it. He continues to work ’cause that’s what he is, an actor. When people come after him like this, it’s pretty obvious they do it in a jealous rage because of his fame and fortune. John is a pretty successful actor, and a billionaire, and these guys just want to see him fail. This is the price of fame, folks. It may sound like a cool world, but at the same time, it can be dangerous. Fame can destroy you as a person if you’re not careful. I wish those jealous assholes would just leave him alone and let him live his life how he wants to. People just go after him for 15 minutes of fame and hoping to get rich off of him. Period!

Kev

movies

Defending Abraham Lincoln in horror…

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People in facebook and other forums in the movie world are questioning Hollywood’s way of bringing Abraham Lincoln into horror films. They brought Honest Abe in two horror films already, “Abraham Linoln: Vampire Hunter” and “Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies“. A lot of people are hating this idea. Some people find it silly and they think they ruin Honest Abe’s real history of things.

If you really think about it, mixing Abe Lincoln with horror makes a lot of sense. Seth Grahame-Smith the author of “Vampire Hunter”, his original idea was to bring history and horror together. Horror started off from the past. The horror genre has been around for years. I think the whole idea is that Hollywood wants more young people to learn about Abe and his presidency. It’s part of an educational thing. Yes, I’ve read, the “Vampire Hunter” novel, and there are actual facts about Abe’s life in that book.

On top of all this, mixing Abe with horror is all just for good fun and laughter. Humor. Plus, Steven Spielberg still has his own Abe Lincoln biopic coming out, and these Abe horror films will help hype up Steve’s biopic about Abe. When Seth first wrote the novel, “Abraham Licoln: Vampire Hunter”, did you think people supported his idea? HELL NO. He got a lot of shit for it. I’m sure he’s still getting shit for it because of that movie, (he wrote the script too).

The story of Honest Abe deserves more attention and mixing him with horror is a good way to do it. When Spielberg’s, Abe biopic comes out, I know it’s going to be a hit ’cause Abe in horror films will be partly responsible for that success. I would also think that Abe make a bad ass axe swinging vampire killer. I can easily picture that in my head, so I can understand why Seth can’t resist in writing that story.

I wish people wouldn’t slam Abe in horror films when not even seeing it or even reading the book. Give it a chance. Read the book before seeing the film in theater, and you would actually find the story intriguing. I certainly did! When I first heard about Abe in a vampire story, I too was like, “WTF”, at first, but then I read it and LOVE IT. I can’t wait for the movie and WILL see it in theater.

Kev

movies

Report: Hans Zimmer, officially signed to score, “Man of Steel”, still doesn’t rule out the iconic John Williams theme though…

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Well, Warner Bros. has finally announced the score composer for the upcoming new, Superman movie, “Man of Steel”. It’s no surprise that they were going to get Hans Zimmer, and most everyone predicted they were gonna get him anyway. Hans Zimmer scored for all three “Batman” films and, “Inception”, all Christopher Nolan directed flicks.

One thing to keep in mind though, this still doesn’t rule out the John Williams theme song. They’re still being tight-lipped on whether or not Warner Bros. is planning to use the iconic Superman original theme. Questions you have to ask. Will they ditch the original theme for good and create something new? Will Zimmer still use bits and pieces of the original theme and create a new version? Will they still use John Williams original track for the opening credits, and Zimmer will score the rest of the film?

Keep in mind guys, that the earlier Superman movies had different score composers. John Williams only scored the first Superman movie, “Superman: The Movie”. All the other Superman movies still used the original score, but they had different versions and styles of the theme. Is Hans Zimmer planning to do the same? I’m sure we’ll hear from him soon about the John Williams theme.

I still say that the original theme should be used for the movie. Why? Because there can’t be a Superman movie without it. James Bond has used it’s same theme song for years but they had different versions of the theme for every film. “Star Trek” used the same theme for every movie and TV episode, but used different versions and styles.

If Hans Zimmer snubs the John Williams theme completely, then people won’t get used to the Superman character. It may not sell as well in the box office. I’m sure, “Man of Steel”, will do well in the box office, but without the JW’s score, the Superman franchise may lose some of it’s fanbase. I still think they should use the score in some way. If Zimmer, decided to do something completely different, he’s never going to be able to top it and he will NEVER make it better than the original theme. Superman is pretty well known to have the JW’s theme ’cause the track is who Superman is.

There are still a lot of fans with mixed opinions on the theme song for, “Man of Steel”. Some do want the original theme and some want something totally new. I still support this theme song in the video below and can’t see a Superman movie without it.

See the report, here.

Kev

movies

Report: Paramount pushes back Ninja Turtles reboot to May of 2014…

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Michael Bay’s planned, “Ninja Turltes” re-boot is being pushed back by Paramount Pictures to May of 2014, instead of the original release date of Dec. of next year. The reasons being, is the script. Maybe they just want to take their time with the script and make it good?

I love the Ninja Turtles, I just don’t like Michael Bay being in charge of this movie.

I haven’t been that impressed with Michael Bay’s movies over the years. I only like very few of them, although, I will admit, that the 3rd “Transformers” film, “Dark of the Moon” was actually really really good, so much improvement there. I just hope Bay doesn’t fuck up the Ninja Turtles.

I was a big Turtles fan as a kid. Used to read the comics, watch the cartoons, played their video games, saw all the original movies, etc. I hope they won’t make the Turtles CGI characters, which I have a feeling they will be anyway.

See the article, here.

Kev

movies

Report: “Man of Steel” footage will be shown by Zack Snyder at this year’s San Diego Comic Con, possible teaser trailer too???

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Over the years at San Diego Comic Con, both Superman and Batman has never made appearances to do some marketing for the yearly film conventions. Well this year, Superman will finally be at SDCC, while Batman continues to not want anything to do with it. Look like Zack Snyder got the permission by Christopher Nolan and WB’s to do it. Yes, Snyder will be there to show footage from the film, “Man of Steel“. Will the teaser trailer be revealed as well?

At the Superman, “Man of Steel” panel at the Las Vegas Licensing Expo, they showed the Superman, Jor-El, and Faora costumes out on display. See the pics, here.

I’m not sure why Warner Bros. is still NOT letting us see what Michael Shannon looks like as General Zod, yet? Maybe they’re saving that for SDCC. Hope so. I’m dying to see what the new General Zod looks like.

I’m still praying that “Man of Steel” will be a really good movie. I know Zack Snyder is not everyone’s favorite director, and I know he’s controversial with his “slo mo” scenes, but I truly believe he has what it takes to make an amazing Superman movie. I’m hoping “Man of Steel” will be an action packed ride, it probably will be from the looks of things. I’ve seen some of the Behind the scenes photos that were leaked to the web.

Can’t wait to see a trailer. The trailer should be out later this summer. Hopefully it’ll be a good teaser, and not just the S symbol on the screen.

Kev

movies

Film Review: Prometheus

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Starring: Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace
Directed by: Ridley Scott

So last night, I finally got around to checking out, “Prometheus” in theater. I actually went with 4 other people instead of going to the movies alone this time.

Here is my review:

Plot/synopsis: A team of scientists journey through the universe on the spaceship “Prometheus” on a voyage to investigate Alien life forms. The team of scientists becomes stranded on an Alien world, and as they struggle to survive it becomes clear that the horrors they experience are not just a threat to themselves, but to all of mankind.

If you’re planning to see this film and expecting this film that will have something to do with the earlier, “Alien” films, then you’ll be pretty disappointed. In early 2000, Ridley Scott originally planned this movie to be a “prequel”, of the first “Alien” movie, but due to the “Alien Vs. Predator” movie just started development, Ridley had to scrap the project. Later on in the years, Ridley picked up interest in this so called, Alien “Prequel”, and decided to make it a totally different film. That’s when Ridley decided to hire Damon Lindelof, to re-write the script.

I saw the film last night, and immediately noticed, the whole movie had nothing to do with the Alien franchise. Yes, “Prometheus” does, have aliens in the film, of course, but they are different forms of aliens. You will not see any of the original aliens from the Sigourney Weaver films. They call the film, “Prometheus”, for a reason. If the film was about the other Alien movies, then the title would have had, “Alien” in it.

This film is getting mixed reviews from critics and movie fans. Some say the script was badly written, but I didn’t think so. I thought the writing was perfect. It was intelligent and insightful. I can understand that “Science Fiction” can sometimes confuse people. I would also say that this film was true science fiction. Watching this film made me think of science fiction writers, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Orson Scott Card, and others. While, this film is science fiction, there is also some reality to this film as well.

The film wants to question us of why us humans were made. Why are we living here on this Earth? Where did we come from originally? That’s the main focus of the film. The film is about archaeologist, Elizabeth Shaw, trying to save humans from going extinct. Where did the word, “Prometheus” originally come from? It was a Greek mythology story, probably where, Ridley inspired the film from. It’s not just science fiction, the film will give you a bit of a history lesson as well.

Of course, I was very impressed with the visuals and special effects of the movie. I’m usually not that impressed with visuals and special effects of movies, ’cause most of that stuff looks cartoonish and silly to me. The visual and special effects in “Prometheus”, just blew me away. I liked the casting of the film. I thought, Charlize Theron and Noomi Rapace, did a great job, but I was most impressed with Michael Fassbender, who played David the Android. That was some brilliant acting by Fassbender, and I think he should get an Oscar nomination for that role.

The entire movie was entertaining. I wasn’t bored, the story kept you hooked all the way through. Yes, there are action scenes. You will also see some scary scenes and get a few jumpy scenes. You will also get some gross out scenes just like the earlier Alien films. I was very impressed with, “Prometheus”, and so far, it’s the best film of 2012, other than, “The Avengers”. It really is nice to see people interested in science fiction again. I’m hoping “Prometheus” will help give the science fiction genre a huge comeback in Hollywood. I think Ridley Scott can help bring science fiction back in a huge way as he has plans of making a sequel to, “Blade Runner”, as well. “Prometheus” was a phenomenal film, I loved it, and the film works.

Score for “Prometheus” = (**** = 4 stars as in Excellent)

Kev

movies

In honor of Johnny Depp’s birthday today…

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As of today, Johnny Depp turns 49. He’s one year away until the big 5-0. Whether you love him or hate him, I’m sure you at least love a few of his movies. We’ve all seen his flicks. He made his film debut in the original, “Nightmare On Elm St.” which Freddy Krueger helped launched him into world wide fame. I also liked him in, “Edward Scissorhands”, “Ed Wood”, “Donnie Brasco”, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”, “From Hell”, the first “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie (I didn’t like the sequels), “Sweeney Todd”, “Public Enemies”, and “Dark Shadows”, were some of the movies, that I liked of his.

I’ve always respected Johnny. Kudos to the man for having such a positive career, and he’s a pretty successful and legendary actor, no matter what you think of him. I think Tim Burton is responsible for making him so famous. Without Tim Burton, there would be no Johnny Depp. I’m not a fan of all of his movies, he had a handful of movies that I never cared for, I only like the good ones, like the ones I listed above.

Happy Birthday to Natalie Portman too.

Kev