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Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Dracula in TV

Jul 6, 2020 (Updated Aug 6, 2020)  
Dracula
Dracula
2020 | Drama, Horror
6
6.1 (14 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
Claes Bang as Dracula (1 more)
The Production Design
Doesn't Sustain to the End (0 more)
Smashbomb Giveaway Prize
This was a surprise treat for me in the early weeks of lockdown, and my first win of anything in the suburb Smashbomb giveaways. It was a very welcome distraction, and a very fun thing to do in a blitz over the course of one evening.

The DVD presents the episodes as three feature length chapters, as opposed to the six episodes as shown on the BBC.

The look of it all is superlative for the budget, and I would praise the production design, music and visual style above anything else. Claes Bang as Dracula is a revelation, at once funny and terrifying in just the right balance.

However, the adaptation, and attempt to update the story somewhat, doesn't always work. It begins very well indeed, the first hour being far more moody and of a high quality than I had expected. And then slowly, as it strays from the classic elements of the story into camp and unnecessary modernity it loses its bite!

The quality curve goes completely the wrong way, with all the best bits up front and the worst bits at the climax. Close, but nothing more than a disposable curiosity in the end.

Regardless, many thanks to Smashbomb for the giveaway! Appreciate it!
  
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Tommy Wiseau recommended Sonny (2002) in Movies (curated)

 
Sonny (2002)
Sonny (2002)
2002 | Crime, Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"You’d be surprised but, again, I put in parentheses, I’m not here to praise James [Franco]. Okay? But the reason I support his role, because we didn’t have a choice at the time. We picked him because originally… I don’t know if you knew the story here that The Disaster Artist is based on the great storybook Disaster Artist, right? And he basically optioned the book, optioned to produce the movie. But people ask me who are supposed to… Who would I like? Who’s supposed to play me? I don’t know if you heard about it, but long story short, I say Johnny Depp. But we had a conversation with James, and with Greg [Sestero]. And Greg, long story short, he said, “What about James?” I said, “Yeah, he’s good, because I like his movie Sonny.” Sonny is the movie directed by Nicolas Cage. I don’t know if you’re familiar with it or not. It’s about gigolo in New Orleans, Louisiana, etc. So we had a conversation with James, and Greg says, “Sure, whatever. James playing you.” I said, “That’s good idea, because he did the movie Sonny, and which, I like it.” And for some reason, the critics think differently, or public, whatever. But this is relate to my life as well, The Room, basically. Because you have all the flavors. So that’s basically your little quirky backstory."

Source
  
Everything Must Go (2011)
Everything Must Go (2011)
2011 | Comedy, Drama
Sterile and not funny, but more importantly yet another one of those mopey pity parties about a loathsome, middle/upper class, middle-aged white man who learns to love from those around him by first abusing them emotionally and wallowing in doldrums. The first stretch is pretty rough but that all being said, eventually turns into some serviceable sad porn. The Laura Dern scenes are pointless, and the direction barely rises above just adequate - but I feel the main problem is the very aspect that gets the most praise here; despite Ferrell's best efforts this character comes out as nothing much more than flat. It's clear they were going for like a Jim Carrey in 𝘌𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥 or Adam Sandler in 𝘙𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘦, but they fail to have those crucial catharsis scenes, those bursts of emotion which made Ferrell's turn in 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘍𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 come out unscathed. So instead we have this guy who comes across as more deflated than successfully melancholy and just sort of sulks around while the story does everything you expect it to, then it's suddenly all solved but who really cares by then? Anywho, he and Hall have some serious chemistry and their scenes are enough to make this not so bad even if it can't escape convention.
  
Tremors (1990)
Tremors (1990)
1990 | Comedy, Horror
As far as practical effects driven monster movies go, you can't get much better than Tremors.

It has a wonderful cast for a start - lead by Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward, and featuring the likes of Finn Carter, Michael Gross, and Reba McEntire, every character is likable (apart from that little shit Melvin) and you want them all to survive their ordeal, usually a rarity in this genre!
The chemistry between all of the actors is great, and makes for a frequently funny adventure. It has its fair share of bloodier moments that push into horror territory, and in that regards, the mostly daylit Nevada desert setting is something different to enjoy. The practical effects are extremely B-Movie, but it works so well with the overall tone.

The narrative takes a little while to set everything up, but when things get moving, it doesn't stop, moving from set piece to set piece, that are all memorable as hell, from pole vaulting from boulder to boulder, to fishing with homemade bombs, to a over the top l, laughable amount of guns being fired when a Graboid breaches an underground bunker.

Tremors is fucking great and deserves so much praise for what it is - it's own little pocket of comedy horror, with its own rules. Long live Tremors.