40Cent @ the movies

[JasonPratt]

I didn't get around to seeing Dracula Untold in the theater -- wanted to go with my Dad, schedule never worked out right -- but we watched it Monday night on PPV.

I had thought I'd be pretty happy with it, though realistically I tried to keep my expectations low; and my happiness was well exceeded. Tight story, with some real historical nods (I only caught two or three plot holes for moving the plot forward, and/or possibly dropped in editing); good sfx; didn't waste time on bloat, clicked right along at 90 minutes; gorgeous photography and interesting directional flourishes (from a guy I've never heard of); decent acting.

Sure, it was rather Castlenvaniaish, but I didn't care, I was grinning happily the whole way through.

I should disclose here that I was pretty happy with Joe Johnston's Universal Wolf Man, too -- maybe because I only ever saw the director's cut -- except for the gore levels which I thought got out of hand. I can understand them not wanting to use that as a springboard for a modern Universal Monster series (and really they shouldn't lead with the Wolfman anyway). I guess I can understand them not wanting to use their modern Mummy movies either, though I hugely love the first one. (Not so much the second and I never got around to watching the third.) I don't hate Van Helsing as much as many people do, but I have to agree that movie jumps around from mediocre to terrible a lot, though (as a friend of mine back in college used to say about The Shadow "it keeps threatening to be cool'.)

This movie? -- I legitimately do not understand why it wasn't a bigger hit. Though given that it apparently wasn't the smash Universal was looking for (will any of those properties ever be Marvel Universe sized smashes? I seriously doubt it...), I can understand them semi-abandoning it and trying for a more distant reboot with a new Mummy movie.

If they decided to include this movie (and maybe even a PG-13ish cut of the Wolf Man) retroactively as canon for a new series, though, I'll be happy. I'm very fuzzy on how they think they can proceed with a Monster Universal series (so to speak) from this point if they regard Drac and the Wolfman as failures: they could ignore this prequel Dracula I suppose, but any attempt to remake the 'original' Dracula story is going to falter in the face of Coppola's gung-ho grand guignol, and how could they possibly remake the same Wolfman story again and expect it to do better??

Oh well. Easily 800,000 bats out of a fist of a million.

[Martok]

Thanks for the review Jason.  I was interested in Dracula Untold, but never got around to seeing it while it was in theaters.  Definitely sounds like one to follow up on. 

[BanzaiCat]

My daughter had a friend over to spend the night, and today they both wanted to go see Pitch Perfect 2.

No, I did not take them. (Thank Fat Baby Jeebus.) My wife took them. But I suddenly decided I was going to take my son to see Mad Max.

Holy hell, that was a FUN movie to watch. The last time I had so much fun with a movie was Guardians of the Galaxy, in all honesty. And before that, it's been a long, long while.

I am not a fan of Charlize Theron at all. Sure, she's kinda cute, but that waifish blonde look doesn't do it for me, and she's been in some pretty mediocre movies and even more mediocre roles. I SURE didn't ever picture her as being a good fit in an action movie. Boy, was that an incorrect assumption. She rocks in this one. And she has a certain physical attribute that makes her even more interesting (no spoilers here).

At the start of the movie, I was kind of left with the impression that this was more an extension of the original movies than an outright reboot. Max has some issues from his past and those translate directly into the movie at several points. It's difficult to fathom exactly what these interludes mean, but one could easily extrapolate a connection to the first Mad Max and the third Mad Max movies. Perhaps the second one too, though I can hardly recall it. And it still manages to stand on its own as a reboot, too. I really liked that they kind of left that open. Maybe that's just my interpretation and nobody else would see it that way.

The action was more or less non-stop, but it was not dizzying nor was it too much. It was a perfect balance of continuing the story and of having some real 'holy crap' moments. There were some jaw-dropping moments too. Perhaps it's just me. In any case I won't spoil it by telling you about them, but a lot of those moments were indeed over the top - but they did not feel at all out of place for this movie. It was just an absolute fun time all around.

I can't give a movie a 40/40 on this scale in this thread, but this one is damn close. I'd say 38/40. There was one moment that was kind of eye rolling and a bit much, but it didn't last long fortunately. In any case, I HIGHLY recommend you go see this flick.

[Gusington]

^Yesterday Mad Max had a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 100+ reviews in...I gotta see this in IMAX...pun intended.

[BanzaiCat]

My son told me on the way there it had a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, which I thought was just an opening reflection and few had seen it thus far...I don't know if it came out this weekend or last or what. I only got the idea when I got online to buy the tix for my wife, daughter, and her friend. I didn't know it was that highly rated until, like I said, we were almost there. It is definitely living up to that expectation.

[Gusington]

A few reviewers even claimed they enjoyed it more than any of the originals!

[BanzaiCat]

A few reviewers even claimed they enjoyed it more than any of the originals!

I was thinking the same thing.

I hate to go that far, but it's the truth. Not to take anything away from the originals. But.

[Gusington]

I am secure in saying that Beyond Thunderdome sucked. Mad Max and The Road Warrior are very good.

[Staggerwing]

I approve of the above statement. And, yes, I will have fries with that. And a diet coke.

[BanzaiCat]

If you take Beyond Thunderdome too seriously, you're not going to have fun with it. I didn't, and I enjoyed that one. I didn't see the original Road Warrior movie for a long time, which is kind of funny as I was a huge Car Wars player back in the 80s.

Regardless of whether or not you've seen any of the originals, or which ones you like or don't like, you should see this one.

[Gusington]

Just to clarify, Mad Max is the original. The Road Warrior is Mad Max 2. Beyond Thunderdome is Mad Max 3 co-starring Tina Turner and is the birthplace of "Two men enter, one man leaves!"

I don't often turn movies off (or quit books or games in the middle) because of OCD. But while binging on Mad Max movies, I go to the third one and had to shut it off an hour in. I just couldn't take it.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

I had never seen any of the Mad Max movies.

Just rented the first one on google movies. Not bad. It kind of fits my idea of some cultural elements that may have been created by the movie. I think i will watch the second tomorrow.

[Gusington]

That's my favorite.

[mirth]

That's my favorite.

+1 I do want to see the new one though. Only heard good things about it.

[Staggerwing]

Is the new film primarily inspired by The Road Warrior? How is Max's backstory handled?