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While in LA I was able to add 3 new films.
DVD projected by Universal for the HTF meet...
Van Helsing
1 of 10
Very likely one of the 3-4 worst scripts of the last 5 years. I heard a vampire say "Too bad. So sad," for chrissake. Sommers must be stopped before he can outdo Michael Bay.
I appreciated that Universal took some time to spend on us, but it was pretty clear that they totally misunderstood what the HTF group was about. They should have presented their latest classic monster DVD box efforts and briefly tied that into Van Helsing, rather than trying to win us over with one of their worst film efforts in years.
Then I wanted to see a film at Grauman's, but we got off the wrong subway stop and by the time we walked back we had to settle for Mann's 6 instead. Better than stuff in Indy, but crap compared to the really top theaters I've been to.
So that didn't help me enjoy...
Sky Captain...
7.5 of 10
I liked the art direction/FX of the film, but generally speaking the script was just terribly thin. There is almost nothing to the film, as though it was lacking scenes to fill out and space the film better. The hurried "highlights" version that was presented just didn't feel like a full script. It looked good and the general premise was great, it just needed more time and perhaps less settings/situations for a better story pace.
But we ended the week hitting the Arclight. I messed up and thought it was on Hollywood instead of Sunset which cost us the first 5+ minutes (and normally they might not seat you then) but we had good reserved seats so it was still worth it. BTW, the place was sold out which made those reserved seats even better.
Theaters of similar quality that I've seen - Cinerama in Seattle, Grauman's (classic style), Astor in Times Square (now closed)...and that's it. Add in the reserved seating and general presentation attitude and it's got to be the best theater in America.
That made it all the more fun to enjoy...
Shaun of the Dead
8.5 of 10
The first 2 acts are stellar, even though I missed several of the more clever references the first time around. The only thing that keeps it from rating higher is that it gets a little to into being a zombie flick in the final act which dilutes the humor. However it does come back strong for the final few minutes. It also features one of the most impressive scenes of gore I've seen even in serious horror flicks, for what that's worth.
The national meet was great and was filled with a lot more activities this time than it was in 2000, which cut into my planned film viewings. But as of now I swear that any LA trip in my future will involve as many runs to the Arclight as I can manage.
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