Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (2050)

Content

Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) rated Van Helsing (2004) in Movies

Aug 19, 2019

Van Helsing (2004)

2004 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

6.8

(87 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Cast, acting, graphics/SFX, story (0 more)

Occasional under acting via dialogue. (0 more)

The original beginning of the Dark Universe

In the early 2000s we saw a drop in great movies, even good ones and was left with the occasional sleeper hit and the obvious box office hits.

In 2004 universal released 'Van Helsing', with pretty decent promoting, and some neat casting with rising stars Hugh Jackman & Kate Beckinsale at the helm - with Richard Roxburgh as Dracula (also Robbie Coltrane as Mr Hyde)

The Story:
Van Helsing is on a mission from God, to rid evil from the world. After a 'paris job' goes wrong, Helsing returns to the Vatican to be briefed on this next assignment which sees helsing and his ally and friar named carl heading to Transylvania, to hunt down and kill count Dracula.
Joining forces with a Gypsy Princess named Anna who also seeks to kill Dracula in order to break her family's curse before her bloodline ends allowing her family to enter the kindom of heaven.

Kudos

Ross (3284 KP) rated Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun in Books

Aug 19, 2019

Thrilling and eerie film adaptation

*I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
It has been a number of years since I watched Pan's Labyrinth, but remember it as being a dark, twisted fairy tale set during the second world war. The book keeps that feel, we are introduced to Ofelia, a quiet bookish young girl who is moving with her mother to live with her stepfather, as he tries to break a group of Spanish rebels, ahead of the birth of her half-brother.
Ofelia sees some unusual statues and artefacts in the woods and soon meets the Faun, who sets her a mission to return to take her place as the princess of the Underground Kingdom.
There follows a brilliant mix of Ofelia's real life, the despicable exploits of Franco's army, and the fairy tale world she steps into.
This is a very short, immersive fairy tale with lots of nice side-stories that all weave into the book in some form.