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

[Steve Christou]

Your honour, I rest my case.

 

[RobertR]

Makes sense to me, Peter. It simply confirms that VH is an example of Hollywood conforming to Sturgeon's Law:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon's_law

And apparently some people won't dislike something if it's merely stupid:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor

 

[Brent Smith]

Hi,

I don't read the comments of the naysayers of any film that was designed to be what I believe was pure escapist FUN. In my town there is this reviewer that has an obvious dislike for any movie that isn't "Citizen Kane" or it's ilk yet they'll let him review it and thrash it and wonder why he gets so much hate mail later. I enjoyed VH for it visuals and it slightly different interpretation of the horror movie creatures I grew up with as a kid. I went expecting to be able to divorce myself from the outside world's reality for a couple of hours and for that task it succeeded very well, I went not expecting "Citizen Kane", but just to be entertained, which I was, which is all that matters.

Thank you,

C. Brent Smith

 

[Jason Seaver]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH HHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[RobertR]

Some interesting fallacies used here:

1. All movies fall into one of two, and ONLY two, categories: Citizen Kane and non-Citizen Kane.

2. Any film that falls into the non-Citizen Kane category is bad.

The use of the word "ilk" to describe the Citizen Kane category is rather pejorative.

 

[Ernest Rister]

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH HHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

What's wrong with watching something just to be entertained? That's the reason many people go to the movies to begin with. Sealab 2021 and Aqua Teen Hunger Force on the Cartoon Network are both moronic - they won't win any awards...ever...but those two TV shows are a riot.

The world of film is vast and wide, with something for everybody. I love cinema - the whole damn thing - and I have affection for almost every genre...even intentionally silly, over-the-top movies concerning the Vatican CIA, stake bombs, and bat babies.

 

[Paul Case]

I don't have a problem with silly, over-the-top movies. Except when they are really bad movies. Like Van Helsing.

 

[Alex Spindler]

I went in hoping for the same kind of blend of adventure, special effects, minor horror, and light comedy as I found in The Mummy. What I found was more in line with The Mummy Returns only progressively less involving (from an already uninvolving flick).

Heck, I went in wanting to like it. I was even defending it in that silly The Village vs Van Helsing thread. It was just a disappointment considering who the filmmaker was.

 

[Quentin]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with asking for little more than uninvolving, silly fun out of cinema. That's pretty much where the term "popcorn movie" comes from.

But, there is equally nothing wrong with wanting or hoping for more from traditional genre fare.

What do "Die Hard", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Star Wars", "The Matrix", "Gladiator", "Aliens", "Tombstone", "Terminator", "T-2", "X-Men", "Hunt for Red October" (and the list could go on...) have in common? They are all genre flicks that extend beyond silly, uninvolving, shallow popcorn fare. Whether you like them all or not, they are all considered to be a cut above most genre flicks. Why? Because, like them or not, they all contain some level of characterization (beyond "I've never seen the sea") , drama, believable conflict, and depth. They are all fun, but none of them is considered (by a vast majority) stupid either.

"Van Helsing" will not be added to this list. Not by most people, and possibly not even by people who liked it! "Van Helsing" is what it is - but, that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with knocking it or asking for something more.

 

[Ernest Rister]

"Van Helsing" will not be added to this list.

It sure won't, but it made me smile and laugh for two hours. Nothing wrong with that - I surely don't see why such an inconsequential trifle has inspired such passionate condemnation in certain circles.

 

[Chad R]

I would say that the fear of this movie doing well, might preclude more thought being put into another popcorn movie. If the standards are lowered for these types of movies, then studios will put more effects and less thought into a story thinking that this is what audiences want.

I think the point of many here is that just because it's a popcorn movie, a big splashy entertainment, doesn't mean it has to be as mindless as this one. There have been many great, big movies that do more than provide eye candy.

However, with Van Helsing 60+% drop-off--I think this may be an unfounded fear. The drop-off wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that Troy didn't light up the box office as much as hoped for--meaning that people just stayed away from theaters this weekend more than usual.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I drove by several of our local megaplexes yesterday and the parking lots were all notably less full than usual, so I think you've made a good point.

The midsize complex where I saw VH was not showing Troy, and we parked within 40 feet of the entrance. A similarly sized theater near where we had dinner was showing Troy, and it's lot was similarly half-empty. Both of these theater's parking lots are normally overflowing on summer weekends.

I don't think Troy will come anywhere near meeting b/o expectations this weekend if this is any indication of conditions nationwide, and suspect this also will contribute to a larger than normal dropoff for VH.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Because I spent money and time on it that I won't get back unless Universal is plowing their profits into research on cardiovascular disease.

And it's not just Van Helsing itself, though it deserves almost every bit of vitriol it gets - it's the attitude that someone who finds it wanting is some sort of effete intellectual who can't have fun at the movies. Every summer there's (at least) one stupid movie that half the posters savage and half say is fun if you just turn your brain off. And every summer the latter group says "not every movie has to be Citizen Kane", and every summer the former says they're not looking for Citizen Kane, they get the whole different genres and purposes thing, but that doesn't mean these things have to be lazy or stupid, because, look, here are examples of the genre that aren't. And every summer, it seems like no-one gets this, because the next summer, people are saying "not every movie has to be Citizen Kane, you snob" like that's what's being demanded.

 

[RobertR]

Followed several months later by comments along the lines of "this movie rocks! I always go straight to subwoofer/surround demo scene 1B when I put it in! You can't do that with boring old Citizen Kane!"

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Well said, Jason.

I certainly don't think any less of a person who enjoyed what I consider to be a rather awful movie. I hope they wouldn't think any less of me for honestly despising a movie they consider "good popcorn fun".

For the record, I'm a fan of both Ananconda and The Relic. Obviously I'm not immune to certain pieces of junk, either.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

You'd be surprised.....or depressed.

Saw it this afternoon finally. Pretty damn disappointed. Dracula sucked. Okay, that was an unintentional bad pun.

Anywho, the movie was very sloppy. Very very sloppy.

Edit: Oh another one. I wish every film was like Citizen Kane. An interesting narrative with interesting characters you either care for or want to follow. Besides the eye candy that was Kate Beckinsale and the three brides (pre-transformation), I really didn't care much for VH.

 

[EricSchulz]

I havenb't followed the entire thread, but I did see an interview in the current issue of Fangoria. Steven Sommers said that he "gets bored" when two CGI characters battle for more than (and this is a quote) EIGHT SECONDS! Yet one of the biggest complaints I hear about is the scene with the CGI Jackman and some monster (also CGI). It sounds like he didn't produce the movie he apparently wanted to.

 

[Ernest Rister]

Anaconda is a riot. It's a piece of crap, like Van Helsing, but Voight's accent alone is side-splitting.

"Every summer there's (at least) one stupid movie that half the posters savage and half say is fun if you just turn your brain off."

Well, I prepared the group I went to see the movie with by telling them the reviews were awful, that the film was supposed to be terrible, etc. I think I used the words "Scorpion King" once or twice...another stone cold piece of junk that we had a great time making fun of.

So that's what we were expecting, and we laughed at the film and had a great time (I actually applauded with glee over the absurdity of a horse-drawn carriage jumping a fifty-foot chasm). It was fun. Too bad it wasn't worse

 

[RobertR]

Ugh, Ernest. Since Anaconda is one of the worst movie watching experiences I've ever had, comparing VH to it is truly the er, final nail in the coffin.

 

[todd s]

I don't have time to go through 8 pages of threads. But, can anyone explain why Van Helsing lost his memory of who he was?

Thanks.