"Dracula Untold" Was Worth Telling

Dracula Untold (2014)

Rated PG-13

Starring Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon, Dominic Cooper, Art Parkinson, Charles Dance

Directed by Gary Shore

The Story:

Inspired by the true story of Vlad Tepes (Evans), this take on the legend of Dracula shows how the ruler became a legend in order to save his wife (Gadon) and son (Parkinson) from the cruel leader of the Turks (Cooper) who was going to enslave 1000 of the children under Tepes rule, including his son. Vlad found a way to get the power he needed to thwart the enemy, and it would last for 3 days unless he gave in to the hunger of the blood.

Oops.

:)

Well of course he gives in, he's Dracula after all!

However, it's the struggle to avoid being consumed by the power that is the heart of the story of Vlad who seeks only to save his family, and his kingdom from the tyrannical Turks.

Evans remains one of my favorite "B movie actors" who is finally getting a chance to work in "A Level material", undoubtedly thanks to the success of his turn in Fast 6. I welcome his arrival as the star and hope he lands more leading roles in the future.

Dracula Untold shies away from a lot of the bloodshed and violence that a movie like this seemingly demands.

However, I don't think that was a bad decision. We don't need to be drenched with blood to get the point of the film, sometimes not being shown allows us to think of the horror in our own minds, which usually is way scarier, and cooler, than the effects on screen.

Plus, bonus points for the creative way in which Dracula was shown to move in this film. Visually stunning, and very creative to the legend.

I enjoyed it, your mileage may vary.

Final Grade: B- (like the blood type)

Need For Speed Weekend "Fast and Furious 6"

Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
Rated PG-13 - Language, violence, car crashes galore!

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson

Directed by Justin Lin

The Story:

Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) is an evil man.  His band of car terrorists are robbing military convoys to obtain parts that could destroy a country.  Agent Hobbs (Johnson) realizes he needs to fight fire with fire, so he recruits Dom (Diesel) to reassemble the crew to help him take down Shaw's gang.  The kicker?  It appears that Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is alive and working with Shaw.  With their crew reassembled for one more run, Brian (Walker) asks for one thing: full pardons for everyone.  Hobbs relents, and the game is on!

Buckle up!


One of my Top 10 Films of 2013 (Best Films of 2013) holds up as well, possibly even better on a repeated viewing at home.

If You Can't Beat Them... Join Them in the Sequel!

The bar that was elevated with the 5th film is possibly surpassed ever so slightly with this 6th installment of the Fast and Furious franchise.

The heist elements are still there, though to a lesser extent as now the team is working on the side of The Man, though they are still willing to bend as many laws and rules as possible to get the job done.

Lin returns to helm his final installment of the series, and he goes out with a bang.  A lot of bangs.

I Believe I Can Fly...

He amps up the  car chase from 5 with a tank chase in this movie.  It's amazingly destructive and just an adrenaline rush to watch.

All of the players are given ample opportunity to shine, and that's saying something for a cast this size.

Aside from the obvious chemistry that Diesel and Walker have accumulated over the life of the franchise, it's always  hilarious whenever Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (Ludacris) share some screen time.


The only flaw from the film, aside from the Rock's disappearing and reappearing goatee... ;)  is the massive, 800 mile runway at the end of the film.

Just Sayin'...

Suspend your disbelief (like you haven't already with this franchise) and it won't bother you too much.

Finally, for those that like to turn off a movie as soon as it is over, sit through the credits for about a minute.

There is a scene for the setup of Fast 7.

It also shows you that Tokyo Drift is really Fast & Furious 6.5, not 3.

Also, kudos to Universal for however they did it, whether it was scrapping the initial release and redoing all of the discs or what they did, but they included a beautiful tribute to Paul Walker that is really a nice recap of the franchise, focused on Walker's involvement.

It's still hard to believe he's gone, or how emotional that made me, and I would assume other Fast & Furious fans.

As I mentioned in my In Memoriam post about Walker, fans feel strongly when celebrities pass because next to family, friends or co-workers, these actors, musicians, authors, etc. bring us together as a collective audience.  Any friends of mine who enjoyed this franchise will mourn what could have been with 7 or beyond.

Heck, I've let the entire family gather around and watch this franchise at home with Dad, so we've lost someone that's been in a lot of movies the family has enjoyed for the last 13 years.

So thank you Paul Walker for the fun body of work that you've left for us to enjoy.
You will be missed.

And thank you Universal for the Fast and Furious franchise.  What started as a movie focused on street racing has blossomed into a wonderful franchise that has simply gotten better every time a new one comes out.

That's impressive.

Checked last year's review (Fast 6 Theater Review) and the film gets a slight bump between theater and DVD release.

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor:   Without a doubt, in fact it was under the tree for Christmas, so I'm quite the happy guy! ;)

The Best of 2013...Part Four...The Best Movies of the Year!

Happy New Year!

But before we get too far into it, let's take a look back at the best of what I saw and reviewed around these here parts.

Ready?

Set...

Go!


First, let's give some Honorable Mentions.

These movies are good. 
Really. Good.

However, they aren't "Great", and I put great in quotes to say that one viewing was probably enough.

These are the Schindler's Lists...Saving Private Ryan...etc. etc... the big epic dramas that one viewing was enough.  Powerful viewing, enjoyed it a lot, but can't see myself wanting to sit down and watch it again.

Through no fault of their own, sometimes that's just how movies are. 

First-

Django Unchained -



I officially no longer hate Quentin Tarantino films.  This movie was amazing on many levels.  Hilarious. Heartbreaking. Disgusting.  Sometimes at the same time.  It's a powerful movie that is definitely worth a viewing if you have not seen it.

Argo -




Why I no longer give Ben Affleck any grief on anything.  He's really a good actor, and his tenure behind the camera has helped him hone his craft in front of it.  It's a gripping drama, and well worth a viewing.


Now, on to the ones that I want to sit down and watch again.

And again.

;)


These are 10 of the Best Movies I Watched in 2013:


 Here Comes the Boom-




Every list should have some "What the heck?!?" candidates.  My entire list could qualify in many critic circles.  However, that's okay.  I like what I like, and I'm fine with that.  Leading off the list is a comedy that shouldn't work with Kevin James a high school teacher who goes into Mixed Martial Arts to make some money to help his school.  Again, there's a heart in this film that you're not expecting when you go into it, and it sneaks up and grabs you.  You leave the movie feeling good, and that's a wonderful way to feel after any movie.

Dredd-

The best comic book adaptation of the year that you may have missed.  Gone is Sylvester Stallone.  Insert Karl Urban, a great actor who, again, if memory serves, never has one minute of screen time without his helmet on.  That's impressive, and note-worthy in Hollywood where actors insist that their mug be shown as much as possible.  Urban owns the screen as Dredd, and I would love to see a sequel with him donning the helmet once again.

Pitch Perfect -

 Yep, I admit it.  This movie was hilarious, and I just watched it again recently, and I still found it incredibly funny.  The songs are well done.  The dialogue is crackling.  There's very little that I don't like about this movie.  Except that my wife doesn't enjoy it as much as I do.  But I get that a lot. ;)

Iron Man 3-

A Marvel movie in the Top 10?  This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who knows me.  We cap off the Iron Man trilogy with a Christmas present that wraps up Robert Downey Jr's tenure as Tony Stark in his own films...at least for now.  Things go out with a bang, as the many armors of Iron Man are put to rest.  This is both a good and bad thing.  I understand that the point of this movie was to show that Tony Stark IS Iron Man, whether he is in the suit or not in the suit.  A little forced and clichéd throughout, but overall, I enjoyed it.  Yes, including the Mandarin. :)

42 -

A baseball movie?  I don't even like baseball! Except when it is well done in movie form.  This is one of those instances.  However, it is so good, it couldn't just get an honorable mention, it deserves to be put into rotation with Field of Dreams and other cinematic masterpieces that celebrate America's pastime.  Also, an important look at how America used to be, and how far we've come (and how far we've yet to go) as a people.

Rise of the Guardians -

How about that, Rise of the Guardians wound up cracking the final list after all.  So you've had 3 opportunities to hear that this was the best animated movie of the year.  Hopefully you've managed to believe me on at least one of those occasions and have watched it for yourself.  You're in for a visual treat.

Fast and Furiou 6 -

What a bittersweet moment this is.  Losing Paul Walker puts this franchise into a tailspin.  I have some ideas on how they should proceed with # 7 to write him out of the storyline and allow the franchise to grow and evolve with this loss.  Back to # 6 though, and this was a great romp that built on the incredible Fast Five and took it to the next level.  Setting up # 7 with the closing moments of this film just built on how great this franchise has become.  The change in directors was going to be something different, and now that the entire tone is going to shift, it will be interesting to see what Vin Diesel and company have in store for us.

Now You See Me -

I love a good heist film.  At its center, that's exactly what this film about magicians truly was: a heist film.  It was very well done and I enjoyed every twist and turn that the movie took us on.  Even the predictable plot twists were enjoyable, aided by a remarkable all-star cast that didn't doom the movie to failure.  The inevitable sequel is coming, and it's got some big shoes to fill, but I'm certainly looking forward to them trying.

Life of Pi -

You could stop and say that this was the most beautiful movie that has been shot in years, and that could be enough.  When you factor in the story that goes along with it, that's the icing on a great cake.  Some people may not like the message that the film delivers, but it's a message that people haven't liked for a long, long time.  I liked it, and the movie has gotten better with repeated viewings.

Thor: The Dark World -

The best movie of the year, and it happens to be a Marvel film.  My bias must be showing. :)  That's okay, this movie was an amazing triumph for the franchise.  It's the sequel that is superior to the original, which bodes well for the future of Marvel films.  Iron Man was unable to pull that off.  Whether there will be a third Thor movie or not, the franchise at least goes out on a high note, but hopefully  it's not done yet.  And if the studio is taking notice, they will realize that what the fans want is more Loki. 

Possibly even a Loki movie?

Yes please!


So that concludes 2013 in movies.

I'll be back tomorrow to begin tackling the 300 + movies that will add up to the best and worst, and everything in between for 2014.

As always, thanks for reading!

R.I.P. : Paul Walker, 1973-2013

Well, that's the very definition of Hollywood irony...

: /

So by now everyone's heard the news that Paul Walker died in a fiery car crash as a passenger.  His driver?  A professional race car driver.

:: sigh ::

I suppose, sadly, in the day of the internet and fake death hoaxes, the first thing you have to do when  you see these kinds of news stories, you need to verify with several reputable news sites first.

However, even those can be duped rather easily.

When you see it reported on Twitter though, especially by Paul's representatives and all of his co-stars, it's real.

And it's sad.

The only positive I take from his passing is at least he didn't take his own life.  I grow weary of stars that take their own life, throwing away whatever potential future they had for themselves and years of entertainment that they had for their fans.

An accident?  Those happen.

Still tragic.

So then why do fans mourn when celebrities pass away when hundreds die everyday?

I would imagine it's the sense of connection.  These stars brought friends and family together, for 2 hours at a time while we enjoy their movies.

Looking over the movies he's made, there's quite a few good movies on the list.

Naturally, the Fast and Furious franchise is first and foremost the obvious place to point for a career retrospective.

I had the great pleasure to introduce the family to the franchise earlier this year as I had them watch the first 4 movies and then re-watch Fast Five.

Sure, Paul was probably never going to win an Academy Award, but he gave 100% in his movies, and at the end of the day, I was entertained.

That's doing your job, and for that he should be commended!

Other favorites over the years:

She's All That ~ Playing the villain that bets Freddy Prinze Jr. that he can't make Rachel Leigh Cook a prom queen.

Timeline ~ An underrated Richard Donner time travel movie.  Recommended if you've never seen it.

Eight Below ~ A Disney film based on a true story of a team that is forced to abandon their sled dogs to the elements.

I suppose the question now becomes...

What will Universal do with the Fast and Furious franchise?

Was 7 set to be the last?  Were they going to retire and turn the franchise over to some new crew members?

No easy decisions to be made for a franchise that was actually getting better with each new installment after the main characters all reunited.

Condolences to his family and friends and other fans.

:* (

You Will Believe A Lot of Things Can Fly... "Fast and Furious 6"

It's always been about family...

The Story:

The gang is enjoying their lives of luxury, when Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) comes calling to enlist Dom (Vin Diesel) and the crew to help take down Owen Shaw (Luke Evans).  It seems that Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) isn't as dead as everyone thought, and she's working for Shaw to steal some military technology.  Brian (Paul Walker) says that they'll help catch Shaw and save Letty... if they can get full pardons and get their lives back.

The little franchise that could.

For those that have never seen one, the opening credits pretty much catch you up on everything you need to know.

For those of us that have been around since the beginning, this movie is as satisfying as Fast Five had been.

Plus, my long-standing question of how did Han survive Tokyo Drift gets answered. 

The correct order for viewing the franchise is now: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 3, 7... coming to theaters next summer!?!

As for the movie itself, there are two moments that require a suspension of disbelief.  Diesel going Superman on the bridge... and the world's longest runway...

Other than that, Justin Lin goes out with a bang for the series.  Hopefully the new director keeps up Lin's vision and keeps the series both exciting and fun a the same time.

Fast Seven is set up, thanks to an ingenious flashback to Tokyo Drift.  While it's sad to see Han truly go... I've got to admit I'm really excited for the next installment.

Now playing in theaters near you this weekend...

Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Oh yeah, I'm all over this one when it comes to DVD! : )