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Awix (3310 KP) rated Dracula Untold (2014) in Movies

Jan 10, 2021

Dracula Untold (2014)

2014 | Action, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi

7.0

(26 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Untold, uninspired, and underwhelming take on a Dracula origin story, very much in the style of a comic book movie. Historians look away: Vlad Tepes is a client king of the Turks, who is forced to rebel against them and seeks out demonic, blood-sucking powers to help him defeat his opponents. (Charles Dance, playing his mentor in evil, is the best thing in the movie.)

Mildly diverting as an empty spectacle (gasp as Superdrac uses his FIST OF BATS power to squish the Turks!) but essentially useless: the film fails to engage with either the historical Vlad the Impaler or the iconic Dracula. Luke Evans fails to communicate any essential darkness lurking in his character, just coming across as a nice guy who makes a bad decision under pressure. If Dracula's not going to be a properly evil monster, what's the point of him? Good effects and reasonable art direction, but misses the point in every narrative sense.

Kudos

CHILLFILTR (46 KP) rated Cool City by Cary Brothers in Music

Jul 11, 2019

My old buddy Matty D used to play bass for him; Cary's been around for a while. This is how I heard this song at first: Oh really, that's the whole chorus? I mean he gives so little to start out; this whole song is a crescendo, coming from the arrangement, the production, how the chorus keeps getting slightly longer - and then you realize it's all been a set-up for the bridge.

Cary Brothers is quintessential Los Angeles. He's talking about cigarettes and easy parking, he looks good but not too good; the tie is not done. But the production is as good as it gets, and the voice is California all day long.

“I got her number
but she was so smart
I’m feeling stupid
at least it’s a start”
— Cary Brothers

This is a snapshot, a production relic, a grab-and-go musical fast-food. And it is delicious. Cool City indeed.