*** Official VAN HELSING Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[RobertR]

And Sommers was? He had the resources to make something much better (poor Ed Wood had the excuse that he didn't have the resources), but instead deliberately chose to spend a lot of money to reach down to the Ed Wood level? I'm reminded of a line from the Andromeda Strain, where a character asks if they spent a lot of time and money putting in the potholes.

Such a waste does indeed rankle.

 

[RobertR]

Yesterday's estimate is a 66.4% drop from the previous Friday.

 

[Ernest Rister]

"And Sommers was? He had the resources to make something much better (poor Ed Wood had the excuse that he didn't have the resources), but instead deliberately chose to spend a lot of money to reach down to the Ed Wood level?"

Hey! The resources reference again! Always about the money.

DRACULA
Igor, why must you torment that poor creature so?

IGOR
It's what I do.

If you hadn't clued in to the fact that this was an intentionally cartoonish and silly movie by the time Van Helsing had battled Shrek (er...Mr. Hyde) and had reached the Underground Secret Weapons Lab underneath the Vatican...I don't know what else I can say. The movie was intetnionally silly and I had a great time laughing along with the filmmakers.

 

[Paul Case]

So this was a comedy then? I guess it was just marketed wrong...

 

[Ernest Rister]

I guess so. Maybe there is something to be said for waiting for the reviews to come in, after all. If I had shown up looking for a serious "Dark Knight"-esque treatment of horror-lore, I would hav walked out hopping mad. Instead I read the thing was loopy and silly. I walked in expecting that, anticipating that, and therefore, had a fine time.

 

[Steve Christou]

Sommers made The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, I knew going in what to expect, what were you guys expecting, Bram Stoker's Dracula? It's Indiana Jones meets Dracula and the Wolfman. By next weekend it would have made over $200m worldwide, hardly a flop. I hope he makes a sequel.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

It sure is, but it's just done poorly.

If I ever make a lousy movie, I'll be sure to tell everybody it's *supposed* to be silly and poorly done, that way I can get a pass on it.

 

[Steve Christou]

There are people who enjoyed it, accept it and move on, just going in circles, someone pops in and says they liked it than one of you guys jump back in, saying no it's shit and on and on, ad nauseam.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Is this the right moment for a "practice what you preach" comment?

 

[Ernest Rister]

"I don't think it's so odd. It's difficult not to notice that the resources committed to this movie far outstrip the result, and seeing that so out of whack is disconcerting."

ROFLMAO! Man, if you find budgetary waste disconcerting, I hope you haven't planned a future career in the motion picture industry.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Uh, I haven't. But, geez, are you saying you don't find it peculiar when one aspect of something is vastly different quality than another?

 

[Ernest Rister]

HOW TO REVIEW A MOVIE

Questions to Ask Before Writing:

1) What Were The Filmmakers Trying to Achieve?

2) Did They Achieve It?

Answer Both Before Writing Review.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Of course, the answer to the first is just as subjective as the second. You're assuming Sommers was trying to make a goofy comedy, and that he wasn't trying to make a good action/adventure movie at all.

 

[Ernest Rister]

"Of course, the answer to the first is just as subjective as the second."

DRACULA
Igor, why do you torment that poor creature so?

IGOR
It's what I do.

You want to call THAT subjective? What does Sommers have to do, spray paint the word "camp" on Dracula's Castle?

 

[Malcolm R]

Perhaps he should have CGI'd Divine as one of the Vampire Brides.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

Since it's not a funny line of dialogue, how can we divine his intent?

If he was trying to be funny, he failed. If he was trying to be campy, he failed. If he was trying to make a competent action film, he failed. If he was trying to make a bad film, he succeeded. In spades.

Glad you can look past the flaws and enjoy it, I wish - sincerely - that I could, since I grew up loving monster pictures, but this one makes House of Frankenstein look like Hamlet.

 

[Ernest Rister]

"If he was trying to be funny, he failed."

Tell that to the audience that cracked up at the line. He failed FOR YOU.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

True, the audiences here are laughing at - not with - the film, too.

Yes, it failed for me, but about 90-95% of modern Hollywood films fail for me. I grew up watching too many good films to be tolerant of intentionally bad junk like VH.

I think we've spent more time on this subject than Sommers did writing his screenplay !

Have a good weekend, Ernest!

 

[Ernest Rister]

No kidding.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Finally went to see VH tonight. Loved it. It was one of the few times I've gone to a movie and the audience actually applauded at the end.

Everyone there seemed to have no problem figuring out that this was an action-adventure-horror-comedy, and had a great time.

I noticed that Igor (Kevin J. O'Connor) used the same accent in this that he used in The Mummy, and was also playing pretty much the same kind of character.

I was glad that the Frankenstein Monster survived, hopefully we can look forward to VHII!!