Van Helsing

“We went to see Van Helsing last night, and we were a bit tired and worried about falling asleep during the movie. On top of that, it would end after our normal bedtime. Those who know me, know I can't stay up late.....

Not to worry with this one. It kept us entertained for the whole time. The movie starts off with our hero, Van Helsing, tracking Dr. Jeckle/Mr. Hyde. He dispatches this evil foe, looking very much like the same character out of the League of Extrordanary Gentlemen. The movie very quickly reminds you of this film, although it is obviously a darker movie than TLOEG. It is very reminiscient of the old horror films.

After completing this assignment, he returns to the underworld of the Catholic Church that is charged with dispatching the demons of the underworld. They steal a scene right out of James Bond with Q's gallery of inventive weaponry. There is a multi shot crossbow and various exploding weapons.

Van Helsing heads straight to Transylvania, and meets the heroine, the last of her bloodline, who battles the marauding vampires who must feed monthly on a citizen or two, and look to wipe out her bloodline.

The special effects for these vampires is amazing and very well done. The vampires flight is very believable, and their actions are quite ....vicious; worthy of our hero's interest. Killing these vampires takes much more effort than Buffy ever displayed.

At this point, your interest is piqued. Then it moves on. There are vampires, A benevolent Frankenstein and werewolfes, both good and evil. The battle scenes and midevil weaponry are intense. There is a mass birth of vampires resembling the cave exoduses of bats in Mexico. All these foes need vanquishing, as the team battles together for good.

Deception and otherly world weaponry add a spice to this movie. There is, of course the chase scene, as horsedrawn carraiges race through the woods with vampires in pursuit.

Hugh Jackman plays Van Helsing, a man with no memory of his past, similar to his Wolverine roll. When he meets Dracula, he learns they have history, as demonstrated by Dracula's missing ring finger, and the ring on Van Helsing's finger.

Our hero faces his greatest challenge as he is turned to the evil side in a bittersweet ending.

The movie comes to the end, and a local radio station has a reporter asking about the movie for their theater clips. As we are leaving, we are commenting, "it has been 2 1/2 hours already!!!" A sign of an entertaining movie in my opinion.”

“I know you and your early bedtimes, so this movie must have really kicked butt! Cool, I'll probably see it sometime soon.”

“I saw it last night too and really liked it.

Cool effects.”

“Fun flick; saw it with Mrs P as we celebrated our anniversary.”

“Happy Anniversary to you and the Mrs.”

“Thanks...16 and counting.”

“No Professa Vanessa van Helsing?

No cheap charm bracelets?

No pictures of Lloyd Bridges?”

“im not even interested in seeing this movie...seems to fall too close to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen...didnt see that cheesy ass movie either...”

“Perhaps The Disco Beaver From Outer Space would be more to your taste?”

“vampires, werewolves, and Frankenstein,

OH MY!”

“well to be honest yes the NL movies are usually worth the time you spend watching them ..if not for anything but some cheap laughs...actually i am wanting to see The Butterfly Effect again...despite what some critics said i thought it was a great movie about life and how drastically i can change from moment to moment based on your descisions...also waiting to get the extended version of LTR RoK...those movies are great...classics from the day they came out...”

“lmao! man, i never even heard of that one. An MST3K would-be candidate, i am sure..


Van Helsing looks really cool. Thanks for the review, MB!”

“It was a National Lampoon thing done for HBO.... late 70s, early 80s.

What looks like a large beaver dam lands in Central Park and this guy in a huge beaver suit gets out and explores the city.

At the same time a different kind of vampire awakes from the dead: "Dragula, Queen of Darkness"... a gay vampire. So whenever Dragula bites some guy, he turns gay, LOL

I can't remember who played 'Dragula,' but Vanessa Redgrave was 'Professa Vanessa van Helsing'... and instead of garlic and crucifixes to repel the vampire, she used cheap charm bracelets from Woolworth's, pictures of Lloyd Bridges, and 'the great smell of Brut'.

In the end, Dragula and the giant beaver cross paths with disasterous results.”

“Surprised I never heard of that one, Tilt. Cheesy movies are sooooo memorable!”

“Thanks for the review Moneyboy I want to see this movie but I was still torn between seeing it or not. I will probably see it now. thanks”

“Treebeard -- if you ever see a tape of it anywhere... Grab it! <G>”

“will do, T!”

“My wife and I went to see Van Helsing this past Saturday--opening weekend. Critics weren't too kind to the movie, but we thought it was great for what it was meant to be--a thrill ride.”

“Nice review monkeyboy.
My step-son saw it this weekend and loved it, too.”

“I saw "eternal Sunshine of the Unpoiled Mind" - good, but not great with some excellent performances - for example Jim Carey,”

“Hey! Great to see you posting again, Mr. Xing --- <GRIN>


I got an interesting email the other day about the new disaster movie... "The Day After Tomorrow" from a buddy at NASA. Apparently, the PR guys sent a notice around saying that any requests for comments on the movie by climate researchers from the press should be directed to Them.

Then they caught bunch of flack for what was seen by some as a gag order. Now they're issueing a 'clarification' saying there isn't any such recommendation from HQ... 'It was all a misunderstanding'. Researchers should feel free to comment if asked.

Hmmmmmmm.”