views: Blade II, Evolution, From Hell...

[mr. henry]

caught up on some more flicks...

BLADE II - 2002 (R). (DVD) Directed by Guillermo del Torro. Wesley Snipes again efficiently stars as Blade, the half-man half-vampire "daywalker." He's hired to eradicate troublesome mutants when the Reaper Strain, a new mutation of the vampirism-inducing infection, creates competition for the Vampire Nation. It ain't easy; they're immune to silver and garlic, have hearts encased in bone, and have one hell of of an underbite. Some cool new ninja-type characters are briefly introduced but, unfortunately, this flick drags due to a ho hum script. After watching the same kung-fu moves for the umpteenth time, you'll be more than ready for the end when it finally rolls around like a severed head. Hopefully, if there is a third installment, the fat will be trimmed and the story will be worthy of Snipes' cool character. NOT RECOMMENDED.

EVOLUTION - 2001 (PG-13). (DVD) Directed by Ivan Reitman. David Deuchovny, 7-Up spokesman Orlando Jones and Julianne Moore act as scientists combating a colorful pluthra of alien life. Spawned from a meteor crash, the extraterrestrial life forms quickly overtake suburban Arizona in the forms of intergallactic flatworms, space alligators, mutant pterodactyls, blue razor-toothed monkeys, and more. Basically, this is an old school alien infestation flick with new and oh-so-nifty computer effects. It's all very similar to Reitman's 80s hit "Ghostbusters." WARNING: this flick contains the largest flatulent orifice gag to end all large flatulent orifice gags. Sorta RECOMMENDED---a little long and not stunning, but it is an entertaining addition to a classic genre.

FROM HELL - 2001 (R). (DVD) Directed by Albert and Allen Hughes. Johnny Depp stars as the opium-smoking Inspector Abberline, a psychic on the trail of the Jack the Ripper. Clues and Abberline's mysterious drug-aided visions lead him along a bloody trail twisting from the brothels of london to the mysterious freemason underground. This film, based on a story co-written by comic master Alan Moore, has beautiful cinematography, dark atmosphere, and impressive performances all around. RECOMMENDED.

-mr. henry

[Mofo Rising]

BLADE II - I was greatly impressed with BLADE II.  Made me a great admirer of Guillermo del Toro, who also directed the excellent DEVIL'S BACKBONE.  I liked it better than the first.  Incredibly gory, over-the-top fight scenes and, hey, pathos.  The only thing I didn't really liked is where Blade broke from his unrelentingly grim persona and seemed to be having fun.

I'm hoping del Toro's HELLBOY turns out good enough to be worthy of the comic.

EVOLUTION - Fun film to watch.  I don't feel the need to ever see it again.

FROM HELL - Bit of a disappointment, but only because I was coming off the mammoth graphic novel.  Much of the conspiracy and bizarre theories on occult architecture were cut to make the movie into a mystery.  Recommended if you haven't read the book.  Sort of recommended if you have, for comparison's sake.

The book, highly recommended.  Definitely not for everybody though.

[Flangepart]

Evolution---- "No, no government types. Trust me, i know these people."  Its no "Tremors", but its a good pizza and beer flick.

[Dano]

I hated From Hell.  Murder by Decree (i.e. Sherlock Holmes goes after the Ripper) was the best Jack the Ripper movie.  I thought From Hell's slanderous assertion that Queen Victoria was in on the Ripper murders was another example of Hollywood's tiresome assault on all things British.  And as much as I like watching her, Heather Graham sucks as an actress (which I suppose is why she keeps getting parts, ba-dum-bump!).

[J.R.]

Blade II- Better than the first. A movie this horror-action cool was a mainstream blockbuster? Wha-wha-what??!!

Evolution- I'm still waiting for it to get interesting.

From Hell- Great design and cinematography, worth watching for style alone. Who gives a crap about Queen Victoria or any monarchy? Slander them to hell, I say. Maybe someday the Brits will realize how much of a waste these jobless, in-bred nittyhammers are and finally overthrow them.

[Dano]

Slander them to hell, I say. Maybe someday the Brits will realize how much of a waste these jobless, in-bred nittyhammers are and finally overthrow them.
*****  Hey, I'm no fan of royalty either... I just think it's pretty weak to accuse someone of complicity in murder (brutal murder) wih no evidence whatsoever just because you think they're a nittyhammer.  The mystery surrounding the case and the legitimate suspects (one of whom was Prince Edward by the way) were interesting enough without trying to make some political statement about brutality and antisemitism aimed at a queen who can be considered one of the less egregious monarchs history has seen.  Victoria was an active abolitionist for one thing - and she saw to it that the slave trade in East Africa was kept on the run while England influenced that part of the world.  She also made sure English assistance to the Confederacy was kept at a minimum.  That has to earn her some points, doesn't it??

[Evan3]

I must say, Blade and Blade 2 are great. The bad guys in Blade 2 are really fascinating  but no one is better than Deacon Frost  the villain from Blade. As far as I can tell it is Stephen Dorff's only decent role. And Wesley Snipes turns in a good performance too. Although Blade 2 does drag, the special effects are good and it is more interesting than most movies. Plus it is based on a Marvel comic as well, what more do u want?

Evolution I thought was a little zany. It is fun once, but never again. How can you not like Orlando Jones???

From Hell I thought was an interesting theory. The theory of Jack that they propose is much better than the movie. What is wrong with government cover ups, it happens all of the time, and it is plausible that the queen hasd the power for such a mass cover up.

[Funk, E.]

Blade II - It had that damned Matrix bullet FX in it. I liked it casually, but it really lacked real flow and I really didn't like the Reapers I thought they were a lame concept.

Evolution - I enjoyed. It was fun in the 8 legged freaks vain.

From Hell - If you don't give a flying f**k about the actualities of the case it was an interesting movie though there is no way in hell a known opium addict would not be on the police force for long.

[Dano]

From Hell - If you don't give a flying f**k about the actualities of the case it was an interesting movie though there is no way in hell a known opium addict would not be on the police force for long.
*****  Maybe that was my problem.  I find the case really interesting and have learned a lot about it.  

I really enjoyed both Blade movies because I wasn't expecting much with the first one and was expecting less with the second.  Fun movies.

[Funk, E.]

Yeah, it was especially annoying because they (the movie and the Graphic Novel) both kept to a lot of facts. The location of the murders, the particulars of each victim state of mutilation. The erasure of the writing on the wall. The name of and some of the decissions of the lead investigator.

So you've got half the movie following the facts fairly closely and half of it off in deep space. Which is fun. I personally take the facts as I know them on various issues and then rampently speculate to see what sort of story I can tell around them. So from the author's POV I can understand the fun they're having, but playing fast and loose with a historical event is going to alienate the avid historian.