Hey folks, Harry here... Domon Kasshu was in the right place at the right time to see a sample of a whole helluvalot of cool stuff. I'm probably most envious of his getting to see the VAN HELSING stuff, I'm dying for that movie. Getting a release date on ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO is nice, and I've seen the trailer he's mentioned... pretty damn sweet trailer, you'll see it on Sony's Big films this summer like BAD BOYS 2 and CHARLIE'S ANGELS FULL THROTTLE. Well, jump into it, lots to consider...
Hey Harry,
Domon Kasshu here... I once did a review of Ocean's 11 for your site. Well, I just got back from the National Organization of Theatre Owner's little "upcoming" show, in which each of the studios did a little presentation on their various up and coming projects. While a lot of it was stuff we knew, we got advance looks at some trailers, some "making of" goodies and even got a sneak peek at some fall releases. So, what are the highlights?
"I wanted to make a small movie about a guy and a girl on the beach, but then I thought, wouldn't it be cool if a werewolf was there?"
That quote by Stephen Sommers aptly sets up Van Helsing, which Universal is already giving the big push for. We got to see a behind the scenes snippet... I don't know if this piece is out there for the general public somewhere, but if it's not, the scope of this film is going to blow people's minds. The set designs are incredible looking, and wait until you see Castle Dracula. Very big, very cool looking. The piece also shows the prop and make-up shops, where we got a chance to see design sketches for Dracula, the Wolfman and Frankenstein. So, what's new? Well, the artwork that's floating around for Dracula... that's apparently going to be what vampires look like in flight. As far as Frankenstein's Monster goes, they've kept some of the traditional look, but it has a cybernetic feel to it as well(beyond what you can see in the promo art, he's also got cybernetic attachments to the sides of his face. The rough make up they displayed looked great). We also saw some development stuff of the werewolf's transformation. The new idea there is that the werewolves will literally shed their human skin, and emerge underneath as the werewolf. If it comes across as well as it did in the sketches, it will be a great visual.
As for Van Helsing himself... well, the design still seems perhaps a little close to Vampire Hunter D, perhaps a little too close for the tastes of some. The real highlight of the character, though, are the weapons the "original vampire hunter" will be wielding. From grappling hook guns to a handheld "sawblade" type weapon, even Batman would be envious. Van Helsing will have 18 different weapons, so hardware fans should go nuts. This will easily be one of next year's highest grossing films.
We also got a sneak peek at Bears(though this clip looked finished, it may already be on the market too). While some might not like the Phil Collins songs, the animation of this film looks to bring the world of Native American mythology to life in a way that's never really been done on the big screen. One of the real highlights.
Speaking of animated films, Dreamworks showed a small segment from Sinbad, and it's a film that might surprise some people. It appears that most of the mythological monsters will be computer generated, and the sirens that appeared in the segment we saw looked unique(they were creatures made of pure water, and had a pretty cool look). Some great voice acting and some good character designs. Dreamsworks will be bringing out more animated films in the future, which is good news for fans of 2-D animation.
One film that surprised a lot of people in the theatre with its humor was Will Ferrell's Elf, in which he plays a human raised as an elf who returns to New York to find his family. It's your basic fish out of water story, but Ferrell has some genuinely funny moments(getting into a brawl with a department store Santa after he exposes him as an imposter in front of all the kids got some of the bigger laughs), and the cast is interesting. It remains to be seen what kind of film it will end up being, but the trailer, at least, should produce some laughs.
We also saw the new 2 Fast, 2 Furious trailer... and it looks like this one will top the first film in terms of car stunts and insane action. The story doesn't seem to be much to write home about, but it was never the attraction of the first film. The highlights include an intense jump sequence over a drawbridge. Oh, and remember how the Civics ducking under the semis in the first film? A Mustang fails in this film, in spectacular fashion. If you liked the first film for the cars, you'll love this one.
Also got a sneak peek at the Once Upon a Time in Mexico trailer(September 12th is the new release date), and everything that's been said about this movie looks like it just might be true. Intense action that is a huge step up from Desperado(which, by no means, was a bad film). It looks to have a frenetic pace best compared to the anime Trigun(hmmmm... does Mr. Rodreiguez have his next project lined up? If not, this would be a good idea...)
And then there were two films that are later releases that haven't got a lot of notice from what I've seen, that I'd like to bring a bit of attention to.
First of all, Underworld. While I wish films that were influenced by Matrix didn't feel the need to dress their characters in much the same way, this is the kind of movie that may prove to be a sleeper, or at least a cult hit with fans. If you're not familiar with it, it's set around the war between vampire and werewolves, a war that's been going on for centuries. However, in the midst of it all, a vampire and werewolf fall in love(the studio described it as "Romeo and Juliet with vampires and werewolves", which drew a few snickers, but reaction to the trailer was positive). The action is definately Matrix inspired, though perhaps a little TOO close to Matrix. Still, an intriguing clip that makes the film look worth seeing.
The other film is Secondhand Lions, by Tim McCanlies and starring Robert Duvall, Michael Caine and Haley Joel Osment. I can't tell you how much I respect Duvall's work, and seeing he and Michael Caine as grumpy southerners is something to behold. Osment's character is left with his two great-uncles by his mom, and while this story has been done before(then again, didn't Heinlein say there were only really two stories anyway?), the talents involved and some of the scenes shown in the trailer(in particular, Duvall and Caine answering a travelling salesman's pitch with their shotguns) make this an intriguing film to watch for.
And two final notes to wrap up: Return of the King's first trailer will bow sometime in June or July, and NOT with Matrix, as some have reporter.
And finally, please New Line... cut together a new Freddy vs. Jason trailer. While the one shown appeared to be a teaser, it had one major fault... we don't see ANY interaction between Freddy and Jason whatesoever. We see Freddy walking, terrorizing, and Jason walking, terrorizing. Not a good way to build anticipation for the film, and almost everyone reacted with only laughter. That may not bode well...
Hopefully this will prove useful to you!
Domon Kasshu
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