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Underworld
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Directed by Len Wiseman.
A young man who has pledged his life to helping others finds himself in a pitched battle between two gangs of supernatural villains in this blend of horror story and action thriller. Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman) is a medical student who is heading home after a long day of school and work when he unexpectedly finds himself in the middle of what appears to be a rumble between two well turned-out street gangs. What Michael doesn't know is he has witnessed a skirmish between two deadly underground communities, unknown to the mortal world, who are battling for supremacy -- the Death Dealers, a tribe of vampires, and the Lycans, a band of werewolves. Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is a leading member of the Death Dealers who hears through the grapevine that the Lycans have plans to capture the aspiring doctor who witnessed their battle. Certain something is in the air, Selene begins following Michael around the city, and she finds herself growing emotionally attached to him. As Selene becomes more attracted to Michael, she becomes more convinced that the Lycans are planning a major attack against the Death Dealers, although vampire kingpin Kraven (Shane Brolly) is certain she's crediting the Lycans with more intelligence than they can muster. As Selene shadows Michael, she finds herself wanting to protect him, but her longing becomes a handicap when he's attacked by Lucian (Michael Sheen), the leader of the werewolf community, and the man she wants to save has now become a sworn enemy. Underworld was the first feature film from music video director Len Wiseman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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SpoutBlogSpoutBlog Comic-Con 2008: Underworld: Ris ...
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com
hasn't rated it.
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"9:00 - Q: “Will William and Marcus be in this movie?” A: “Well, we talk about them. They won’t be actively part of the story, but they are the roots of it.” People are starting to get bored, and new folks are filing in. We keep getting asked, “Has the Pineapple Express part started yet?!” 8:58 - Rhona Mitra is going on and on about how strong her character Celine is. She’s been talking for quite awhile now, and someone shouts “YOU’RE HOT!” Rhona explains that she wears an extremely skimpy outfit in this movie, “I think you’ll all be satisfied… I know the crew were.” 8:55 - Bill Nighy is being praised for all of his work, including The Girl in the Cafe… nice! I sincerely suspect that hardly anyone in this massive hall has even seen that movie. If you haven’t, go out and rent it right now.” The little kid from earlier today is back… seriously, did Comic-Con hire this guy? He wants to know if the movie is all story, or all action, or a balance of both. Director Patrick Tatopoulos sai ... " [More]
SpoutBlogSpoutBlog Summer of the Actionless Female
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com
hasn't rated it.
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"Discussion of this summer’s heroine lack is in full throttle. Last friday, New York’s Vulture blog asked, “Where are the Roles for Superwomen?; Stu at Defamer jumped off from there, ultimately suggesting an X-Men spin-off for Ellen Page; John at The Movie Blog listed reasons “Why Most Female Lead Action Films Don’t Succeed” (shocker: men can’t identify with or believe in strong — and strong — female characters). Now, adding to the conversation in the least noble way possible, USA Weekend presents the appropriately titled “Girls Want to Have Fun, Too”, a cover story (with the least flattering photos I’ve ever seen) from its summer movie preview that spotlights Gwyneth Paltrow, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Liv Tyler as the “leading ladies” of the season’s three big comic book adaptations. Of course, each of these three actresses are only secondary figures to their superhero counterparts (in Iron Man, The Dark Knight and The Incredible Hulk, respectively). But that’s not the worst of it: the ... " [More]
leeroy711leeroy711 Night Watch review
by leeroy711 in leeroy711 Blog
liked it.
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"**** stars (out of 5) Directed By: Timur Bekmembetov Starring: Konstantin Khabensky, Vladamir Menshov & Valeri Zolotukhin Language: Russian with English subtitles Synopsis: Since the dawn of time, vampires, witches, and shape-shifters (known in this film as "others") have been fighting each other over mankind. The two groups are called the "light others" (the good) and the "dark others" (the evil). Thousands of years ago, the two sides called a truce. The primary condition of the truce: that every human must be free to choose between light and dark. The protectors of this truce are called Night Watch (light others) and Day Watch (dark other). They are constantly policing each other in search of violations of the truce. We enter this story in present day Moscow in the midst of a prophecy fulfillment. This film is the first part of a trilogy based on Sergei Lukyanenko's best selling novels: Night Watch, Day Watch and Dusk Watch. Review: Th ... " [More]
kickstandsupkickstandsup Underworld - Bite Me!
by kickstandsup in kickstandsup Blog
hasn't rated it.
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"If you like vampire and werewolf movies, this is one of the best I have seen. Kate Beckinsale is absolutely one of the most stunning vampires I have ever seen. Great special effects, definitely kept me on the edge of my seat and, although I would never admit it, I did jump a few times. It is kind of like a werewolf and vampire Romeo and Juliette movie. Except now they bite. Excellent movie. Wish I could have seen this in the movie theatre. What's that? Underworld Evolution - the sequel? Hmmmm.... " [More]
indieabby88indieabby88 Re: Top 5 Movie To Suprise You ...
by indieabby88 in Top 5
hasn't rated it.
"I'm actually coming to your defense on this one...sort of. I do think "Batman Begins" was leagues better than "Hellboy," but then, "Batman" was a different sort of movie. I was also pleasantly surprised by "Hellboy." I watched it before I knew anything about Mike Mignola, the comic book's creator, and now, after having read some of his stuff and re-watched the movie, I think it really stuck to Mignola's offbeat style. It works. I also know a comic book inker who cites the movie as one of his favorites, and a great example of comic-to-film adaptation. That, for me, gives it pretty good status.My four other pleasantly surprising movies:2. Henry Fool- I didn't know much about Hal Hartley before watching this, and I didn't really know what I was in for. I figured I was going to get bored, and set out with middling-to-low expectations. I ended up totally enamored.3. Delicatessen- I like Jeunet, but although his style is consistently great, his films are not. I wasn&# ... " [More]
MovieBabeMovieBabe Underworld
by MovieBabe in MovieBabe Blog
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"By Tricia Olszewski Selene, Hollywood's latest female ass-kicker, seems a bit familiar. Raven-haired and British, she dresses in shiny black cat suits and is well-endowed in the weapons department. She takes easy command of the simple-minded men she must work with to save the world, petulantly explaining—though she really doesn't have time for this—how things need to be done. She fights with agility and grace, often in drippy subterranean environs, and when these sequences really get going, you might just think, This is the best Tomb Raider ever. It's not, of course. It's Underworld, a Gothic tale from first-time director Len Wiseman about vampires and werewolves and the love that's been long lost between them. Selene (Kate Beckinsale, Wiseman's fiancée) is not an adventuress but a vampiric "death dealer" charged with spotting and dispatching "Lycans." When, after one particularly messy battle, Selene notices that the Lycans she was after had been pursuing a hu ... " [More]
FroggyBaBe15876FroggyBaBe15876 Re: I WISH My Sister Was a Were ...
by FroggyBaBe15876 in HORROR MOVIES 101
hasn't rated it.
"Ah, yes, Doc. You are quite correct about not having the ability to control who you kill. However there have been SOME movies in which the werewolf WAS able to control itself and not rip someone's throat out. For instance, I mentioned Ginger Snaps. As Ginger completes her transformation into a full werewolf, she does not go after her sister, even though her sister has to prove to werewolf Ginger that she wants to be a werewolf by drinking that one guy's blood. Another movie in which this sort of happens is The Company of Wolves, which seems to be popping up repeatedly now. In the end, the unibrow werewolf fellow seems to only want to turn the Little Red Riding Hood like girl into a werewolf because he is infatuated with her and wants to be with her. He does not rip her throat out. Underworld, also, presents the vampire/werewolf Scott Speedman who does NOT, in his transformed state, try to hurt Ms. Beckinsale. He only kicks the other bad vampire's asses in an ef ... " [More]
RisseladaRisselada Re: Let's Talk about Horror Act ...
by Risselada in HORROR MOVIES 101
liked it.
"How about one you just named in the CinLit forum? Jurassic Park.Underworld is basically an action movie with a lot of the traditional horror monster characters and lore updated for an urban action style. " [More]
RisseladaRisselada Re: Top 5 Movie To Suprise You ...
by Risselada in Top 5
liked it.
"Just a couple to pop into my head. Hellboy and Underworld. They both looked like that kind of movie that was really uninspired, horror action type thing. But for some reason I ended up watching both of them and enjoyed them more than I expected. Especially Hellboy which I think think is a better comic book movie of recent years than X-Men, or Batman, or Spider-Man, or any of all that.Come and argue me. " [More]
Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
lost interest.
Pitting werewolves and vampires against each other is something that every movie monster-lover can appreciate any day of the week. In Len Wiseman's stylish, but flawed directorial debut Underworld, this concept is explored and fleshed out with epic intentions, but not so epic results. First off, anyone expecting monumental battle scenes between the two creatures better stop where they are, because there will only be a full plate of disappointment here. Moments of bloody hand-to-hand monster brawling are fleeting, with all of the action relegated to quickly cut, lame John Woo-style gunfights. It's a problem that lies at the heart of the film -- instead of embracing the horror elements of these two iconic creatures, the filmmakers opt to sweep it under the rug and dress the modestly-budgeted 23-million dollar flick up as an action-fest whose explosive elements and style are as derivative as they come. Unfortunately, it seems that most of the money went straight into the gothic production design, while other sections were greatly hindered by the budget restraints -- namely, the creature effects. Created and crafted by Patrick Tatopoulos (the same hack behind 1998's Godzilla redesign), the werewolves (aka: lycans) are a lame bore, with huge muscular necks and little hyena heads with no fur to be seen, the design is awkward and unapologetically ugly, save for the few imaginative transformation scenes. Surprisingly, the film shines in the one place no one would expect -- the script. With the endless amounts of vampire lore floating around, Underworld's inventive approach is refreshing and far more interesting than the bullet-ridden shoot-'em-up scenes -- though the style of the flashbacks leaves much to be desired. In contrast, the acting is strictly a mixed bag, with lithe star Kate Beckinsale and clan heads Lucian (Michael Sheen) and Viktor (Bill Nighy) bringing class and freshness to the piece, while others like Shane Brolly as Kraven stink up the screen with their semi-Euro trash accents and laughable diction. There is a well-developed base here that will serve the sequel Underworld: Evolution well -- but as it is, this one will forever fail to live up to the concept it built for itself. Too bad too, because the world needs more werewolf vs. vampire films! ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
 



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davisfreeberg
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