Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Rating: R
On 4K Ultra HD: December 13, 2022
Running Time: 117 minutes
Cast: Christopher Lambert, Roxanne Hart, Clancy Brown, and Sean Connery
Written by: Gregory Widen, Peter Bellwood, and Larry Ferguson
Directed by: Russell Mulcahy
Produced by: Peter S. Davis, William N. Panzer
Executive Producers: E.C. Monell
Associate Producers: Eva Monley, Harold Moskovitz, John H. Starke
Director of Photography: Gerry Fisher
Production Designer: Allan Cameron
Edited by: Peter Honess
Casting by: Diane Dimeo, Anne Henderson, Michael McLean
Costume Designer: Jim Acheson
Synopsis:
The original Highlander, in electrifying 4K! When Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) is slain in battle in the Scottish Highlands, his kinsfolk don’t mourn the tragedy of his death – they mourn the seeming witchcraft that’s brought him back to life. But MacLeod can’t die, and neither can Juan Ramírez (Sean Connery), who befriends Connor and shows him what it means to be immortal. Time dissolves,...
Rating: R
On 4K Ultra HD: December 13, 2022
Running Time: 117 minutes
Cast: Christopher Lambert, Roxanne Hart, Clancy Brown, and Sean Connery
Written by: Gregory Widen, Peter Bellwood, and Larry Ferguson
Directed by: Russell Mulcahy
Produced by: Peter S. Davis, William N. Panzer
Executive Producers: E.C. Monell
Associate Producers: Eva Monley, Harold Moskovitz, John H. Starke
Director of Photography: Gerry Fisher
Production Designer: Allan Cameron
Edited by: Peter Honess
Casting by: Diane Dimeo, Anne Henderson, Michael McLean
Costume Designer: Jim Acheson
Synopsis:
The original Highlander, in electrifying 4K! When Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) is slain in battle in the Scottish Highlands, his kinsfolk don’t mourn the tragedy of his death – they mourn the seeming witchcraft that’s brought him back to life. But MacLeod can’t die, and neither can Juan Ramírez (Sean Connery), who befriends Connor and shows him what it means to be immortal. Time dissolves,...
- 10/12/2022
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
Where do I get my Big Brother campaign pin and yard poster? Michael Radford's elaborate Orwell adaptation sticks closely to the original book, even after decades of deriviative dystopias have stolen its fire. John Hurt is excellent as Winston Smith, and Richard Burton is his inquisitor. Nineteen Eighty-Four Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1984 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 111 min. / Ship Date December 8, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring John Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton, Cyril Cusack, Gregor Fisher, James Walker, Phyllis Logan. Cinematography Roger Deakins Production Designer Allan Cameron Art Direction Martin Hebert, Grant Hicks Film Editor Tom Priestley Original Music (2) Dominick Muldowney / Eurythmics Written by Jonathan Gems, Michael Radford from the novel by George Orwell Produced by Al Clark, Robert Devereux, Simon Perry, Marvin J. Rosenblum Directed by Michael Radford
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
George Orwell's pessimistic 1948 novel 1984 is probably the most important political book of the last century.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
George Orwell's pessimistic 1948 novel 1984 is probably the most important political book of the last century.
- 1/16/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
No James Bond fan will want to pass up adding "Bond By Design" to their collection of coffee table books about Agent 007. Written by Meg Simmonds, the archivist for Eon Productions, this volume presents a wealth of ultra rare original art concepts, story boards, costume designs and much more ranging from "Dr. No" through the new film "Spectre".
Here is the official description:
"Bond By Design: The Art of the James Bond Films gives an exclusive tour of Eon Productions’ James Bond archives and is available to buy from October 1. The book includes set, storyboard, vehicle, gadget and costume designs by legendary designers including Sir Ken Adam, Syd Cain, Peter Murton, Peter Lamont, Allan Cameron and Dennis Gassner.
Written by Meg Simmonds, Eon Productions’ Archive Director, Bond By Design reveals each movie’s design approach as well as the stories behind individual items. From Dr. No (1962) through to Spectre...
Here is the official description:
"Bond By Design: The Art of the James Bond Films gives an exclusive tour of Eon Productions’ James Bond archives and is available to buy from October 1. The book includes set, storyboard, vehicle, gadget and costume designs by legendary designers including Sir Ken Adam, Syd Cain, Peter Murton, Peter Lamont, Allan Cameron and Dennis Gassner.
Written by Meg Simmonds, Eon Productions’ Archive Director, Bond By Design reveals each movie’s design approach as well as the stories behind individual items. From Dr. No (1962) through to Spectre...
- 10/15/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Director of The Jackel and Memphis Belle joins $30m fantasy epic.
Michael Caton-Jones has been confirmed to direct $30.9m (£20m) children’s fantasy film The Giant Under The Snow.
The film will be an adaptation of a 1968 adventure novel by John Gordon, which centres on three school friends who discover an ancient treasure and become embroiled in the final act of an epic battle of good against evil.
The live-action feature is intended to act as the first in a trilogy, with shooting planned at Pinewood and Shepperton Studios as well as on location in the UK from October 2015. Theatrical release is planned for Christmas 2016.
VFX will be handled by London-based CineSite, which worked on the Harry Potter franchise and more recently handled Tom Cruise’s Edge of Tomorrow.
Caton-Jones is developing the screenplay with Tom Williams (Chalet Girl, Kajaki).
Ralph Kamp, former Icon Productions CEO, will likely be global sales and distribution agent through his outfit...
Michael Caton-Jones has been confirmed to direct $30.9m (£20m) children’s fantasy film The Giant Under The Snow.
The film will be an adaptation of a 1968 adventure novel by John Gordon, which centres on three school friends who discover an ancient treasure and become embroiled in the final act of an epic battle of good against evil.
The live-action feature is intended to act as the first in a trilogy, with shooting planned at Pinewood and Shepperton Studios as well as on location in the UK from October 2015. Theatrical release is planned for Christmas 2016.
VFX will be handled by London-based CineSite, which worked on the Harry Potter franchise and more recently handled Tom Cruise’s Edge of Tomorrow.
Caton-Jones is developing the screenplay with Tom Williams (Chalet Girl, Kajaki).
Ralph Kamp, former Icon Productions CEO, will likely be global sales and distribution agent through his outfit...
- 2/23/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
London, August 16: Children, as young as three, have got warning letters from police for playing outside their homes.
One 3-year-old girl's parents were stunned when they heard that their neighbours had complained about 'intimidating behaviour.'
An official letter sent by the police seems to accuse Caidence Leadbetter of antisocial behaviour while playing outside her house, Metro.co.uk reported.
Her friends - seven-year-old Ellie-Louise and sister Isabel, four - also seemed to have been implicated.
Their mother, Claire Cox, from Solihull, West Midlands, said that the letter implies that the kids could be given Anti-Social Behaviour Order (Asbos).
Police Community Support Officer (Pcso) Allan Cameron.
One 3-year-old girl's parents were stunned when they heard that their neighbours had complained about 'intimidating behaviour.'
An official letter sent by the police seems to accuse Caidence Leadbetter of antisocial behaviour while playing outside her house, Metro.co.uk reported.
Her friends - seven-year-old Ellie-Louise and sister Isabel, four - also seemed to have been implicated.
Their mother, Claire Cox, from Solihull, West Midlands, said that the letter implies that the kids could be given Anti-Social Behaviour Order (Asbos).
Police Community Support Officer (Pcso) Allan Cameron.
- 8/16/2013
- by Abhijeet Sen
- RealBollywood.com
The Art Directors Guild (Adg) tonight announced winners of its 17th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards Presented by BMW in nine categories of film, television, commercials and music videos during black-tie ceremonies at the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. The awards took place before an audience of more than 700, including guild members, industry executives, and press. Adg Council Chair John Shaffner presided over the awards ceremony with Paula Poundstone serving as host for the fourth consecutive year. Due to an illness, Production Designer Herman Zimmerman was an absentee recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award Presented by BMW. Hall of Fame inductees were Preston Ames, Richard MacDonald, and Edward Stephenson. The Production Designers behind the James Bond franchise, including Sir Ken Adam, Peter Lamont, Allan Cameron and Dennis Gassner were honored for Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery. The 17th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards...
- 2/3/2013
- by vmblog@hollywoodnews.com (Vitale Morum)
- Hollywoodnews.com
Skyfall and James Bond were the big winners tonight as the Art Directors Guild handed out its 17th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards for 2012. Unlike the Academy, the Adg divides production design for film honors into in three distinct categories — Period Film, Fantasy Film, and Contemporary Film — allowing Oscar rivals Anna Karenina and Life Of Pi to both take home top trophies. Meanwhile, Skyfall and its production designer Dennis Gassner took the Contemporary Film honors during the awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton hosted by Paula Poundstone, who kept the stylish below-the-line crowd rolling with trade-oriented zingers throughout the night. (The Adg loves her — it’s Poundstone’s fourth consecutive year doing her outsider stand-up comic routine as emcee.) Earlier in the evening, the Bond franchise’s production gurus Gassner, Ken Adam, Peter Lamont, and Allan Cameron were honored with the guild’s Cinematic Imagery Award, recognizing the longest-running...
- 2/3/2013
- by JEN YAMATO
- Deadline TV
I never thought I would be so bothered when it comes to technical awards at the Oscars, but I am already preparing myself for what I expect will be three snubs for a certain film. The Art Directors Guild has all but confirmed one of them will be Moonrise Kingdom's absence from the Production Design nominees by not nominating Adam Stockhausen and Gerald Sullivan's profoundly excellent work. I expect the same to happen at the Oscars and I'm sure Moonrise will be overlooked for Cinematography and Costumes as well, even though everything I'm describing went into what makes it such a great movie. So what did get nominated? Well, in the Contemporary Film category you have Flight, Skyfall, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Impossible and Zero Dark Thirty. Of that group The Impossible and Zero Dark Thirty sound about right. Skyfall is a bit of a stretch,...
- 1/3/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The Art Directors Guild (Adg) today announced nominations in nine categories of Production Design for theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials and music videos competing in the Adg’s 17th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards Presented by BMW for 2012. The nominations were announced by Adg Council Chair John Shaffner and Awards co-producers Greg Grande and Raf Lydon. Deadline for final voting, which is done online, is January 31. The black-tie ceremony announcing winners will take place Saturday, February 2, 2013, from the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills with Paula Poundstone serving as host for the fourth consecutive year. Production Designer Herman Zimmerman will be the recipient of the Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Hall of Fame inductees are Preston Ames, Richard MacDonald, and Edward S. Stephenson. The Production Designers behind the James Bond franchise, Sir Ken Adam, Allan Cameron, Dennis Gassner, and Peter Lamont will be honored for Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery.
- 1/3/2013
- by vmblog@hollywoodnews.com (Vitale Morum)
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Art Directors Guild (Adg) today announced nominations in nine categories of Production Design for theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials and music videos competing in the Adg’s 17th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards Presented by BMW for 2012. The nominations were announced by Adg Council Chair John Shaffner and Awards co-producers Greg Grande and Raf Lyndon. Deadline for final voting, which is done online, is January 31. The black-tie ceremony announcing winners will take place Saturday, February 2, 2013, from the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills with Paula Poundstone serving as host for the fourth consecutive year. Production Designer Herman Zimmerman will be the recipient of the Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Hall of Fame inductees are Preston Ames, Richard MacDonald, and Edward S. Stephenson. The Production Designers behind the James Bond franchise, Sir Ken Adam, Allan Cameron, Dennis Gassner, and Peter Lamont will be honored for Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery.
- 1/3/2013
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
Give ‘Em Hell Malone, Sean Connery holding umbrellas in Highlander, remaking Teen Wolf, fainting zombies and 3-D sharks in a supermarket. It's Mr Russell Mulcahy...
We had the pleasure of talking to Australian born director Russell Mulcahy, best known to most of us as the director of Highlander, The Shadow and, more recently, Resident Evil: Extinction. (I've also just managed to get hold of a copy of his film Ricochet, which I remember being a solid and underrated 90s action-thriller, starring Denzel Washington and John Lithgow, but more on that soon.)
The interview was to promote his latest film, Give ‘em Hell Malone (released on DVD today), which stars the ever dependable Thomas Jane as an old school private eye, living in a bizarre setting of the past and present. But we were fortunate to have time to discuss his career at length too and get some great stories in the process.
We had the pleasure of talking to Australian born director Russell Mulcahy, best known to most of us as the director of Highlander, The Shadow and, more recently, Resident Evil: Extinction. (I've also just managed to get hold of a copy of his film Ricochet, which I remember being a solid and underrated 90s action-thriller, starring Denzel Washington and John Lithgow, but more on that soon.)
The interview was to promote his latest film, Give ‘em Hell Malone (released on DVD today), which stars the ever dependable Thomas Jane as an old school private eye, living in a bizarre setting of the past and present. But we were fortunate to have time to discuss his career at length too and get some great stories in the process.
- 5/15/2010
- Den of Geek
The 14th Annual Art Directors Guild Excellence in Production Design Awards, hosted by Paula Poundstone, will be presented Saturday, February 13, 2010 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles, celebrating accomplishments of Production Designers and Art Directors, recognized in eight categories of Feature Films, Television, Commercials and Music Videos.
This year's feature film nominees include best Period film contenders, “A Serious Man,” Jess Gonchor, “Inglourious Basterds,” David Wasco, “Julie & Julia,” Mark Ricker, “Public Enemies,” Nathan Crowley and “Sherlock Holmes,” Sarah Greenwood.
For best Fantasy film, nominees are “Avatar,” Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, “District 9,” Philip Ivey, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” Stuart Craig, “Star Trek,” Scott Chambliss and “Where the Wild Things Are”, K.K. Barrett.
For best Contemporary film, nominees are “Angels & Demons,” Allan Cameron,
“The Hangover,” Bill Brzeski,“The Hurt Locker,” Karl Juliusson,“The Lovely Bones,” Naomi Shohan, “Up in the Air,” Steve Saklad.
Established in 1937, Adg represents nearly 2,000 members who work throughout the Us,...
This year's feature film nominees include best Period film contenders, “A Serious Man,” Jess Gonchor, “Inglourious Basterds,” David Wasco, “Julie & Julia,” Mark Ricker, “Public Enemies,” Nathan Crowley and “Sherlock Holmes,” Sarah Greenwood.
For best Fantasy film, nominees are “Avatar,” Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, “District 9,” Philip Ivey, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” Stuart Craig, “Star Trek,” Scott Chambliss and “Where the Wild Things Are”, K.K. Barrett.
For best Contemporary film, nominees are “Angels & Demons,” Allan Cameron,
“The Hangover,” Bill Brzeski,“The Hurt Locker,” Karl Juliusson,“The Lovely Bones,” Naomi Shohan, “Up in the Air,” Steve Saklad.
Established in 1937, Adg represents nearly 2,000 members who work throughout the Us,...
- 1/21/2010
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Obvious picks were Sherlock Holmes, Star Trek, And Avatar. Once again, no love for Nine, but I was pleased to see an embrace from this guild for The Lovely Bones. Now that Art Directors, Producers, Directors, and Screen Actors guilds have announced their nominees, the only other “countries” to be heard from are the Writers Guild and American Cinema Editors. We’ll hear from the WGA on Monday and the Ace on Tuesday.
From THR by way of Awards Daily, here are the nominations announced earlier on Friday by the Art Directors Guild. The Adg will hold its 14th annual Excellence in Production Design Awards on Feb. 13 at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Feature Film Nominees
Period film:
“A Serious Man,” production, designer, Jess Gonchor “Inglourious Basterds,” David Wasco “Julie & Julia,” Mark Ricker “Public Enemies,” Nathan Crowley “Sherlock Holmes,” Sarah Greenwood
Fantasy film:
“Avatar,” Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg “District 9,” Philip Ivey...
From THR by way of Awards Daily, here are the nominations announced earlier on Friday by the Art Directors Guild. The Adg will hold its 14th annual Excellence in Production Design Awards on Feb. 13 at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Feature Film Nominees
Period film:
“A Serious Man,” production, designer, Jess Gonchor “Inglourious Basterds,” David Wasco “Julie & Julia,” Mark Ricker “Public Enemies,” Nathan Crowley “Sherlock Holmes,” Sarah Greenwood
Fantasy film:
“Avatar,” Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg “District 9,” Philip Ivey...
- 1/8/2010
- by Michelle
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Posted to Hollywood Reporter Feature Film Nominees Period film “A Serious Man,” production, designer, Jess Gonchor “Inglourious Basterds,” David Wasco “Julie & Julia,” Mark Ricker “Public Enemies,” Nathan Crowley “Sherlock Holmes,...
- 1/8/2010
- by Sasha Stone
- AwardsDaily.com
The lush and iridescent forests of "Avatar," the sooty Victorian London of "Sherlock Holmes" and even the trashed, morning-after Vegas suites of "The Hangover" all caught the collective eye of the Art Directors Guild, which announced its nominations Friday.
The Adg, which will hold its 14th annual Excellence in Production Design Awards on Feb. 13 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, unveiled noms in nine categories, covering movies, TV, commercials and music videos.
In the category of fantasy film, "Avatar" will do battle with two other sci-fi titles -- "District 9" and "Star Trek" -- as well as the book adaptations "Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince" and "Where the Wild Things Are."
The nominees for period film range from "Sherlock Holmes," set in the 19th century, to the Depression-era America of "Public Enemies" to the World War II France of "Inglourious Basterds" as well as the post-war France of "Julie & Julia" and...
The Adg, which will hold its 14th annual Excellence in Production Design Awards on Feb. 13 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, unveiled noms in nine categories, covering movies, TV, commercials and music videos.
In the category of fantasy film, "Avatar" will do battle with two other sci-fi titles -- "District 9" and "Star Trek" -- as well as the book adaptations "Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince" and "Where the Wild Things Are."
The nominees for period film range from "Sherlock Holmes," set in the 19th century, to the Depression-era America of "Public Enemies" to the World War II France of "Inglourious Basterds" as well as the post-war France of "Julie & Julia" and...
- 1/8/2010
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
One could make the case that any movie starring Penelope Cruz or William H. Macy can't be all bad. And "Sahara", which stars both Penelope Cruz and William H. Macy, proves the point: It isn't all bad.
What it is is a big summer action movie that would have been hot stuff about 30 years ago but looks tired and worn today despite a perky, attractive cast that refuses to wilt in the desert sun. Star Matthew McConaughey can draw female audiences just as Cruz draws males, so the film should do enough boxoffice so as not to cause the new Paramount regime any anguish. It might take video and DVD to put the film in the black.
Although shot in Morocco and Spain, the movie is set vaguely in sub-Saharan Africa, mostly Nigeria and Mali. "Sahara" is based on one of novelist Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt adventures, whose intrepid hero is a deep-sea expert and treasure hunter with a nose for trouble and lovely women. In movie terms, Dirk is something of a cross between James Bond and Indiana Jones.
Unfortunately, McConaughey is a little too light to step into the kind of role Harrison Ford or Kevin Costner would have played it a decade or so ago. And Steve Zahn is likable but forced as Al Giordino, Dirk's happy-go-lucky sidekick with a quick quip for any situation. The division of labor between these two is best summed up by Zahn's line: "I'll find the bomb! You get the girl!"
Cruz doesn't have much to do other than look ravishing while jumping from a camel onto a moving train or leaping out of a helicopter to escape the villain. And Macy gets sidelined with a character, nominally Dirk's boss, who hears about all the action over the telephone. Still it is fun to watch the two actors turn nonsense into watchable nonsense.
So what is a deep-sea expert doing in the Sahara? Actually he is searching for a Civil War Ironclad battleship that he and he alone believes somehow drifted from Virginia to Africa 140 years ago. Cruz's Dr. Rojas is a World Health Organization doctor determined to locate the cause of a baffling new plague in Mali. Her search has no real connection to Dirk and Al's quest, yet they keep running into one another in the vast wilderness so that Dirk can rescue her from certain death. (In fairness, she rescues him too.)
The trio's escapades come to the attention of evil French entrepreneur Massarde (Lambert Wilson) and Mali strongman General Kazim (Lennie James) who send the entire Mali army after them to cover up the source of the rapidly spreading illness. Four writers struggle to give the plot any sense of plausibility without much success. Leaps in logic and locations abound as our heroes wisecrack their way through fights without a scratch.
First-time feature director Breck Eisner -- he has directed a TV film -- does a respectable job in maintaining forward momentum and brisk byplay among the actors. The film's action set pieces, including a battle between boats on a river, breaking into a mysterious power plant in the middle of nowhere and various skirmishes between our heroes and the general's faceless soldiers, come off effectively.
There is nothing to them though we haven't seen before, and the use of old pop songs on the soundtrack contributes to a strong feeling of Deja Vu. The film's otherworldly locations and sets that neatly blend into the startling vistas spruce up the formulaic happenings. Production designer Allan Cameron has, after all, designed a Bond movie, and this is his fourth movie in Morocco. Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey makes the most of the locations to give them a haunting beauty. No, it isn't all bad but it isn't very good either.
SAHARA
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures and Bristol Bay Prods. present in association with Baldwin Entertainment Group a j.k. livin production, a Kanzaman production
Credits:
Director: Breck Eisner
Screenwriters: Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John C. Richards, James V. Hart
Based on the novel by: Clive Cussler
Producers: Howard Baldwin, Karen Baldwin, Mace Neufeld, Stephanie Austin
Executive producers: Matthew McConaughey, Gus Gustawes, William J. Immerman, Vicki Dee Rock
Director of photography: Seamus McGarvey
Production designer: Allan Cameron
Music: Clint Mansell
Costumes: Anna Sheppard
Editor: Andrew MacRitchie
Cast:
Dirk Pitt: Matthew McConaughey
Al Giordino: Steve Zahn
Dr. Eva Rojas: Penelope Cruz
Massarde: Lambert Wilson
Dr. Hopper: Glynn Turman
Carl: Delroy Lindo
Admiral Sandecker: William H. Macy
Rudi: Rainn Wilson
MPAA rating: PG-13.
Running time: 123 minutes.
What it is is a big summer action movie that would have been hot stuff about 30 years ago but looks tired and worn today despite a perky, attractive cast that refuses to wilt in the desert sun. Star Matthew McConaughey can draw female audiences just as Cruz draws males, so the film should do enough boxoffice so as not to cause the new Paramount regime any anguish. It might take video and DVD to put the film in the black.
Although shot in Morocco and Spain, the movie is set vaguely in sub-Saharan Africa, mostly Nigeria and Mali. "Sahara" is based on one of novelist Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt adventures, whose intrepid hero is a deep-sea expert and treasure hunter with a nose for trouble and lovely women. In movie terms, Dirk is something of a cross between James Bond and Indiana Jones.
Unfortunately, McConaughey is a little too light to step into the kind of role Harrison Ford or Kevin Costner would have played it a decade or so ago. And Steve Zahn is likable but forced as Al Giordino, Dirk's happy-go-lucky sidekick with a quick quip for any situation. The division of labor between these two is best summed up by Zahn's line: "I'll find the bomb! You get the girl!"
Cruz doesn't have much to do other than look ravishing while jumping from a camel onto a moving train or leaping out of a helicopter to escape the villain. And Macy gets sidelined with a character, nominally Dirk's boss, who hears about all the action over the telephone. Still it is fun to watch the two actors turn nonsense into watchable nonsense.
So what is a deep-sea expert doing in the Sahara? Actually he is searching for a Civil War Ironclad battleship that he and he alone believes somehow drifted from Virginia to Africa 140 years ago. Cruz's Dr. Rojas is a World Health Organization doctor determined to locate the cause of a baffling new plague in Mali. Her search has no real connection to Dirk and Al's quest, yet they keep running into one another in the vast wilderness so that Dirk can rescue her from certain death. (In fairness, she rescues him too.)
The trio's escapades come to the attention of evil French entrepreneur Massarde (Lambert Wilson) and Mali strongman General Kazim (Lennie James) who send the entire Mali army after them to cover up the source of the rapidly spreading illness. Four writers struggle to give the plot any sense of plausibility without much success. Leaps in logic and locations abound as our heroes wisecrack their way through fights without a scratch.
First-time feature director Breck Eisner -- he has directed a TV film -- does a respectable job in maintaining forward momentum and brisk byplay among the actors. The film's action set pieces, including a battle between boats on a river, breaking into a mysterious power plant in the middle of nowhere and various skirmishes between our heroes and the general's faceless soldiers, come off effectively.
There is nothing to them though we haven't seen before, and the use of old pop songs on the soundtrack contributes to a strong feeling of Deja Vu. The film's otherworldly locations and sets that neatly blend into the startling vistas spruce up the formulaic happenings. Production designer Allan Cameron has, after all, designed a Bond movie, and this is his fourth movie in Morocco. Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey makes the most of the locations to give them a haunting beauty. No, it isn't all bad but it isn't very good either.
SAHARA
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures and Bristol Bay Prods. present in association with Baldwin Entertainment Group a j.k. livin production, a Kanzaman production
Credits:
Director: Breck Eisner
Screenwriters: Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John C. Richards, James V. Hart
Based on the novel by: Clive Cussler
Producers: Howard Baldwin, Karen Baldwin, Mace Neufeld, Stephanie Austin
Executive producers: Matthew McConaughey, Gus Gustawes, William J. Immerman, Vicki Dee Rock
Director of photography: Seamus McGarvey
Production designer: Allan Cameron
Music: Clint Mansell
Costumes: Anna Sheppard
Editor: Andrew MacRitchie
Cast:
Dirk Pitt: Matthew McConaughey
Al Giordino: Steve Zahn
Dr. Eva Rojas: Penelope Cruz
Massarde: Lambert Wilson
Dr. Hopper: Glynn Turman
Carl: Delroy Lindo
Admiral Sandecker: William H. Macy
Rudi: Rainn Wilson
MPAA rating: PG-13.
Running time: 123 minutes.
Van Helsing reminds you of the NBA All-Star Game, where basketball superstars take turns scoring with flashy three-pointers or slam-dunks, no one plays defense, and coaches rotate players in and out of the game so fans can see the entire rosters. Van Helsing is, of course, an all-star monster mash featuring Universal's prized horror-film megastars of the '30s and '40s -- Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolf Man and -- for good measure, though strictly speaking he was originally a Paramount monster -- Mr. Hyde.
Writer-director Stephen Sommers' idea to bring the studio's triumvirate of classic monsters together into one epic adventure film is, like an All-Star Game, a mixed blessing. The purposes of the original, high-atmospheric movies get distorted in the struggle to involve all the monsters in a credible tale. And the digital age encourages Sommers to leap from one elaborate sequence to the next without so much as a pause for a glass of blood. Nevertheless, this creature feature is exhilarating fun, a richly designed and often quite funny re-exploration of the movie past.
Sommers, who brought the Mummy back to life for Universal with his past two films, has delivered exactly what the studio wants in this reportedly $148 million production: an event movie capable of attracting a wide audience that could send domestic boxoffice gross north of $150 million and make viable plans already under way for a sequel, TV show and video game.
Ruggedly handsome Hugh Jackman plays the title character with a steady gait and confident demeanor. Originally an aging Amsterdam professor specializing in exotic diseases in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, Sommers has turned Van Helsing into a 19th century monster hunter. He wears a cool broad-brimmed black hat and a sturdy body-length leather coat and carries an implausible rotary-magazine crossbow. (As in The Wild Wild West, Van Helsing's weaponry is both retro and futuristic.) He takes his orders from a secret organization composed of all religions to rid the world of nightmarish creatures but is uncertain and even conflicted over why he does so. For he has no memory of any past life.
In the film's opening in Transylvania, cinematographer Allen Daviau and designer Allan Cameron pay tribute to James Whales' dazzlingly beautiful 1935 Bride of Frankenstein when a frenzied, torch-lit mob armed with pitchforks and scythes surges toward Dr. Frankenstein's castle against a huge night sky.
This sets the tone for the movie's look -- a respectful homage to the Universal classics that contemporary technology trumps with demonic creatures, sets of misshapen weirdness and a fantastical Eastern Europe of such cold darkness that the movie clearly takes place in a world ruled by evil forces.
Val Helsing is sent to Transylvania to confront 400-year-old Count Dracula (a mesmerizing Richard Roxburgh). He aligns himself, after initial and mutual resistance, with Anna Valerious (a luminous Kate Beckinsale), the last of a royal family line nearly eliminated by the vampire. Her brother Velkan (Will Kemp) has already been bitten by a werewolf, so he is fated at the next full moon to turn into the Wolf Man, who will act under Dracula's orders to destroy his own sister.
Dracula and his three vampire brides (Elena Anaya, Silvia Colloca and Josie Maran) desperately need Frankenstein's patched-together Monster (Shuler Hensley) to bring to life thousands of vampire children the three have sired. All, of course, were born dead.
Thus, the all-star matchup begins. There are two attacks on the village by the vampire brides, who can fly and swarm like bats. Van Helsing and Anna rescue Frankenstein's Monster, leading to a chase involving two six-horse coaches with Van Helsing thrown and landing in between two horses. The two monster hunters fight ambivalent battles with the Wolf Man, who after all is still partly Anna's brother. They crash an amazing All Hallow's Eve vampire costume ball with jugglers, flame throwers and circus performers.
Side battles between Anna and the three vampire brides lead to a climactic duel between Van Helsing, now bitten himself by a werewolf, and the Count. Comic relief comes from Carl (David Wenham), a nervous friar who supplies Van Helsing with his gadgets and weaponry, and sneering Igor (Kevin J. O'Connor), a misshapen doer of evil because, in his own deadpan words, It's what I do.
Visually, Van Helsing is a stunner. The morphing monsters -- vampires who assume bat bodies with huge, muscular wings and humans who turn into creatures of the night -- magnificently blend digital with human forms. (Viewers even get a peek at the butt crack of CG creature Mr. Hyde.)
There is more wire work in this movie than any circus as nearly every creature either flies or swings on ropes. The sets add drama but also humor. Consider the half-finished Eiffel Tower in the Paris sequence or Dracula's lair all electronically wired like a huge cappuccino machine to transform his pod "children" into legions of vampires.
Alan Silvestri's music merges choral with symphonic bombast and even a hint of '70s disco. Only the damn soundtrack booms ceaselessly. Which brings up the movie's major drawback: Sommers fears a moment of quiet or a scene dominated by dialogue. Introspection is somehow equated with storytelling weakness, and subtlety is banished. Sommers wants his monster mash to rock nonstop at high-decibel levels. So bring your earplugs.
VAN HELSING
Universal Pictures
A Sommers Co. production
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Stephen Sommers
Producers: Stephen Sommers, Bob Ducsay
Executive producer: Sam Mercer
Director of photography: Allen Daviau
Production designer: Allan Cameron
Music: Alan Silvestri
Costume designer: Gabriella Pescucci
Editors: Bob Ducsay, Kelly Matsumoto
Cast:
Van Helsing: Hugh Jackman
Anna Valerious: Kate Beckinsale
Count Dracula: Richard Roxburgh
Carl: David Wenham
Frankenstein's Monster: Shuler Hensley
Aleera: Elena Anaya
Velkan: Will Kemp
Igor: Kevin J. O'Connnor
Running time: 132 minutes.
MPAA rating -- PG-13...
Writer-director Stephen Sommers' idea to bring the studio's triumvirate of classic monsters together into one epic adventure film is, like an All-Star Game, a mixed blessing. The purposes of the original, high-atmospheric movies get distorted in the struggle to involve all the monsters in a credible tale. And the digital age encourages Sommers to leap from one elaborate sequence to the next without so much as a pause for a glass of blood. Nevertheless, this creature feature is exhilarating fun, a richly designed and often quite funny re-exploration of the movie past.
Sommers, who brought the Mummy back to life for Universal with his past two films, has delivered exactly what the studio wants in this reportedly $148 million production: an event movie capable of attracting a wide audience that could send domestic boxoffice gross north of $150 million and make viable plans already under way for a sequel, TV show and video game.
Ruggedly handsome Hugh Jackman plays the title character with a steady gait and confident demeanor. Originally an aging Amsterdam professor specializing in exotic diseases in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, Sommers has turned Van Helsing into a 19th century monster hunter. He wears a cool broad-brimmed black hat and a sturdy body-length leather coat and carries an implausible rotary-magazine crossbow. (As in The Wild Wild West, Van Helsing's weaponry is both retro and futuristic.) He takes his orders from a secret organization composed of all religions to rid the world of nightmarish creatures but is uncertain and even conflicted over why he does so. For he has no memory of any past life.
In the film's opening in Transylvania, cinematographer Allen Daviau and designer Allan Cameron pay tribute to James Whales' dazzlingly beautiful 1935 Bride of Frankenstein when a frenzied, torch-lit mob armed with pitchforks and scythes surges toward Dr. Frankenstein's castle against a huge night sky.
This sets the tone for the movie's look -- a respectful homage to the Universal classics that contemporary technology trumps with demonic creatures, sets of misshapen weirdness and a fantastical Eastern Europe of such cold darkness that the movie clearly takes place in a world ruled by evil forces.
Val Helsing is sent to Transylvania to confront 400-year-old Count Dracula (a mesmerizing Richard Roxburgh). He aligns himself, after initial and mutual resistance, with Anna Valerious (a luminous Kate Beckinsale), the last of a royal family line nearly eliminated by the vampire. Her brother Velkan (Will Kemp) has already been bitten by a werewolf, so he is fated at the next full moon to turn into the Wolf Man, who will act under Dracula's orders to destroy his own sister.
Dracula and his three vampire brides (Elena Anaya, Silvia Colloca and Josie Maran) desperately need Frankenstein's patched-together Monster (Shuler Hensley) to bring to life thousands of vampire children the three have sired. All, of course, were born dead.
Thus, the all-star matchup begins. There are two attacks on the village by the vampire brides, who can fly and swarm like bats. Van Helsing and Anna rescue Frankenstein's Monster, leading to a chase involving two six-horse coaches with Van Helsing thrown and landing in between two horses. The two monster hunters fight ambivalent battles with the Wolf Man, who after all is still partly Anna's brother. They crash an amazing All Hallow's Eve vampire costume ball with jugglers, flame throwers and circus performers.
Side battles between Anna and the three vampire brides lead to a climactic duel between Van Helsing, now bitten himself by a werewolf, and the Count. Comic relief comes from Carl (David Wenham), a nervous friar who supplies Van Helsing with his gadgets and weaponry, and sneering Igor (Kevin J. O'Connor), a misshapen doer of evil because, in his own deadpan words, It's what I do.
Visually, Van Helsing is a stunner. The morphing monsters -- vampires who assume bat bodies with huge, muscular wings and humans who turn into creatures of the night -- magnificently blend digital with human forms. (Viewers even get a peek at the butt crack of CG creature Mr. Hyde.)
There is more wire work in this movie than any circus as nearly every creature either flies or swings on ropes. The sets add drama but also humor. Consider the half-finished Eiffel Tower in the Paris sequence or Dracula's lair all electronically wired like a huge cappuccino machine to transform his pod "children" into legions of vampires.
Alan Silvestri's music merges choral with symphonic bombast and even a hint of '70s disco. Only the damn soundtrack booms ceaselessly. Which brings up the movie's major drawback: Sommers fears a moment of quiet or a scene dominated by dialogue. Introspection is somehow equated with storytelling weakness, and subtlety is banished. Sommers wants his monster mash to rock nonstop at high-decibel levels. So bring your earplugs.
VAN HELSING
Universal Pictures
A Sommers Co. production
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Stephen Sommers
Producers: Stephen Sommers, Bob Ducsay
Executive producer: Sam Mercer
Director of photography: Allen Daviau
Production designer: Allan Cameron
Music: Alan Silvestri
Costume designer: Gabriella Pescucci
Editors: Bob Ducsay, Kelly Matsumoto
Cast:
Van Helsing: Hugh Jackman
Anna Valerious: Kate Beckinsale
Count Dracula: Richard Roxburgh
Carl: David Wenham
Frankenstein's Monster: Shuler Hensley
Aleera: Elena Anaya
Velkan: Will Kemp
Igor: Kevin J. O'Connnor
Running time: 132 minutes.
MPAA rating -- PG-13...
- 6/10/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.