»

[goodman]

Wow, i watched this special one hour preview for this movie the other day, its on the Sci Fi channell... I must say, im going to this movie Friday, it looks to be way good... Cinematics, super action, great actors, looks to be the ticket, could be the first extremely good movie ive seen this year, now im gonna post after i see it on Friday, so if you wanna wait till then, do so, but im a straight shooter, wont steer you wrong...

[007_JamesBond]

im definitely goin to see this movie when it gets to korea, i cant wait

[merylsilverburg]

Omg, I have been waiting for this movie ever since last year! Hearing that it's Steven Sommers who directed this one (the guy who did "The Mummy" which was a FANTASTIC movie, IMO), I am hoping this film will be as good. I saw the previews and behind-the-scenes and, like goodman, I thought the visuals, setting, costumes, and characters look great. The only problem I have is the vampire fangs...they were a bit extreme. I know it's suppose to be more "unrealistic" and trying to be more frightening, but they just looked silly instead (the ones in "Interview with a Vampire" were perfect...hell, that movie was perfect!). Aside from that, I am going to see the movie on Monday (my day off). So goodman, I can't wait to hear your review but please don't spoil it, okay?

[goodman]

Im not big on spoilers, Meryl, im more likely to give a thumbs up/ thumbs down type of response, and then say, well its still worth the time and money. Ive seen the previews enough to fairly well say its going to be entertaining. The efforts they went through in production were phenomenal, so i have a feeling it will very much show up in the movie...

[Piggle_humsy]

Hmm How surprising.
Everytime I see the advert for it here I think it looks unbelievably crap. But I think its just the way they've done the ad for it over here, They've made it look like one of those ultra flops that are trying to be a huge film but aren't, Im sure this will be succesful as its got the lovely Hugh jackman in it. I've read the synopsis and it sounds really cool, They should sack the person who did the trailer over here!

Piggle
x x x x

[Daniel Legge]

Iv seen the advert over here and i thought it looked quite good, might just be me, i think ill go see it anyway. does anyone know when it comes out over here.

[Dactrius]

Yeah I've seen the trailer over here too and it looked pretty good to me. Though I can see where Piggle is coming from, it could have been much better.

I'll definately be watching out for this, though I don't have a release date for it here. Better not be too long.

Bring on the review when it's done Goodman, I await with much interest...

[Meiko]

I don't know, this movie didn't look very good to me. I more or less think the same as Piggle, and I'm not that interested in watching it for this reason. Probably I'll go only if someone who has a great interest in it will ask me

[goodman]

The advertising here in the U.S. hasnt been that great, either, i will say, though, that after seeing the 1 hour special on Sci Fi, im looking forward to it. I grew up watching the original versions of Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolfman, so it will be interesting to see how the movie integrates everything. The cost of making the film was $175 million so no cost has been spared...

[merylsilverburg]

I also read that they're keeping the castle/area in Prague where they shot the film just in case they decide to make a sequel. There's also supposed to be a TV series (I'm a bit skeptical on how that's going to work).

Anyway, if the film is good, I'm going to go out and get the animated prequel to "Van Helsing".

[Redpyramidhead]

Television trailers are never really that helpful. On one hand, they can make a movie that is very mediocre look like the "must-see hit of the summer" and on the other hand, they can make incredible gems of movies not look interesting enough for a lot of people to want to go see. Certain movies will speak for themselves, no matter what kind of trailer you give it, especially if it is the sequel to an already well known franchise. You wish it were the same for films that are more importantly a successful example of fine film-making.

I am going to pull out a couple random trailers here from a couple of movies I should have made the effort to see last year, but didn't due to the trailers. The first one is Narc and the second one is Dark Blue. I think what went against them successfully pulling me to the theaters by watching these trailers was the unlikely coincedence that they came out at the same time and the two trailers were just vague enough that it made them both look somewhat like the same movie, therefore I could not decide which one to see. Well, they both came out at different times on video and I saw both of them and low and behold, they were completely different movies. Not only that, I proudly added them to my list of favorite new movies.

So, the point to this all being, is that you have to sort of catch yourself here. Sometimes when you are not impressed by a trailer enough to see a movie and you let that cause you to miss a fine peice of film-making, it is because something is happening on a subliminal level that you need to figure out and get over. In short, read up about it on the internet instead or talk to people who make suggestions for it based on what they have seen or heard about the movie themselves. psfantasy.com seems to be a great place for this sort of thing I have noticed over the past couple years

To me, Van Helsing looks interesting enough to check out for several reasons. I plan on going to see it, myself. I think I can thank goodman for his comments about it for that. Much more valuable than any trailor in many ways.

Plus, this movie reminds me of Castlevania *Shivers of Excitement*

_RED_ stuff

[merylsilverburg]

Originally Posted by Redpyramidhead

Plus, this movie reminds me of Castlevania *Shivers of Excitement*

Yes...this is definitely a movie for all vampire fans! Although the stupidest comment I heard was from a customer at the restaurant I work in: "Oh my God! I want to see "Helsing" so bad! I heard it's based off that Japanese cartoon "Hellsing"!" *faints in disbelief*

[Redpyramidhead]

OH NO, Meryl! That's sounds absolutely and positively awful! I would faint, too! You should have walked right up to them, taken their ice water, and proceeded to pour it mercilessly down their pants! Those moronic idiots! You and I both know how easy it is to be angry with people trying to sound all smart about something they know absolutely nothing about. Obviously, they probably did not hear that anywhere, haven't seen Hellsing in their life (not that I have but I'm not the one making claims,) and are one of those people who says "I heard this..." or "I heard that..." just for the sake of conversation whether they really hear anything or know anything or not.

OK, now that I have that out of my system. Actually, could somebody please pass me a glass of water?

_RED_ stuff

[merylsilverburg]

Originally Posted by Redpyramidhead

OH NO, Meryl! That's sounds absolutely and positively awful! I would faint, too! You should have walked right up to them, taken their ice water, and proceeded to pour it mercilessly down their pants! Those moronic idiots! You and I both know how easy it is to be angry with people trying to sound all smart about something they know absolutely nothing about. Obviously, they probably did not hear that anywhere, haven't seen Hellsing in their life (not that I have but I'm not the one making claims,) and are one of those people who says "I heard this..." or "I heard that..." just for the sake of conversation whether they really hear anything or know anything or not.

OK, now that I have that out of my system. Actually, could somebody please pass me a glass of water?

_RED_ stuff

Hehe, believe you me, I had to walk away from them as fast as my legs would carry me otherwise I'd probably would've poured their water down their pants! Actually, I thought about sneezing into their food...J/K LOL

Anyway, definitely can't wait for the film. I just hope it's as good as it looks...because the settings are just so gorgeous and the atmosphere...^_^

[goodman]

Here is a Van Helsing site, i figured i had mispelled the name, site looks neat...https://www.vanhelsing.net It corroborates some of what Meryl was saying about future plans...

[goodman]

Ok, the rating i gave this thread matches my feelings for the movie. That being said, if your into Gothic atmospheres, eery landscapes and structures, fairly fast paced action, some funny scenes (yes they are intentional), then you will like this movie fine. Is it great, NO, is it good, well yes, fairly good, not exceptionally good. So, this being said, the movie IMO is worth seeing, but dont expect to be overwhelmed. The movie is a mishmash of several different themes/characters from other stories, so expect to say to yourself, hmmm, ive seen that before somewhere, and you will remember where, also... But all in all, my hometown paper gave it a C+ grade, and i will give it a B- grade, close enough, though, in overall distinction... Ask questions if you want...

[Hyuuga Neji]

I just got back from the movie and i really enjoyed it, the plot was simple with alot of action, loved the ending and the employment of the different monsters.

Graphics - 10
Plot - 7

[merylsilverburg]

Well, I saw it yesterday and I would have to give it a grade B. (Entertainment Weekly gave it a D+....ouch!). Like goodman said, it a good film but it doesn't exactly shout "summer hit". The visuals are spectacular....sadly, that's the only main event. Van Helsing was a bit underdeveloped...actually, the whole cast is that way. I mean, you can kinda tell what their personalities are but there weren't much "depth" to them. It seems that Sommers lost focus on the story and character and paid more attention to the visuals and how good the film looks. The beginning half of the story was really slow...and the pace picked up later. However, there was action all the way through. Nearly every scene, there was something happening. Also, I think Sommers wanted to cram so many things in this film that he made it kinda "messy" and/or not long enough in certain parts. For example, the masquerade ball (which I would've loved if he put more into it and made it a bit longer) was all beautifully choreographed and decorated, but it didn't do much plot-wise (except to save Beckinsale but even so...). Anyway, I still liked this film regardless and I will still buy it when it comes out on DVD. I just can't help but feel a bit disappointed that this wasn't exactly developed like "The Mummy".

[Daniel Legge]

Im going to see it on tusday, i hope its worth it cos i gotta take a bus to go see it but if not then its an excuse to go for the day,lol. Ill go see it unless someone can sugest another film that is out at the min that might be more enjoyable, sorry if that dont make sense im rambling now..........

[merylsilverburg]

It's worth seeing if you don't mind a lot (and I mean, A LOT) of pretty, fancy CG visuals and a lot of action and not a very deep plot. If you do dislike these sort of things, then I'd suggest you stay away. This movie is getting love/hate reviews all over. If you go to Amazon.com you'll see many who hate the film with a passion and people who love it.