Dracula 2000.

Review #2114: Dracula 2000.

Cast: 

Jonny Lee Miller (Simon Sheppard), Justine Waddell (Mary Heller / Mary Van Helsing), Gerard Butler (Count Dracula / Judas Iscariot), Jennifer Esposito (Solina), Christopher Plummer (Matthew / Abraham Van Helsing), Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick (Lucy Westerman), Danny Masterson (Nightshade), Jeri Ryan (Valerie Sharpe), Lochlyn Munro (Eddie), Sean Patrick Thomas (Trick), Omar Epps (Marcus), Tony Munch (Charlie), Shane West (J.T.), and Nathan Fillion (Father David) Directed by Patrick Lussier.

Review:

The story goes that when Wes Craven's Scream 3 (2000) was approaching post-production, Bob Weinstein of Dimension Films approached editor Patrick Lussier (who had edited a handful of Wes Craven films but had not directed a feature before) about making a film titled "Dracula 2000", with an understanding that, well he didn't know what it would be about. Lussier and Joel Soisson came up with a draft by the turn of 2000. Apparently though, the script required rewrites, because according to Scott Derrickson (who had his writing partner Paul Harris Boardman there), Weinstein called him to see if he could do rewrites due to the script being "terrible" and approaching filming in two weeks (while saying he was doing it because it was called Dracula 2000). Ehren Kruger was also used for script polishing. Wes Craven's name is used quite a bit in the credits and the promo materials as executive producer, although obviously he didn't have that much involvement with the film. Filming came together by the end of June (after a search to cast Dracula that apparently dragged all the way until the very eve of what came to be a rushed production) and apparently the final cut, after reshoots, came just a few days before release in late December 2000. While the film was not a major success for Dimension, Lussier would end up directing two direct-to-video sequels with Dracula II: Ascension (2003) and Dracula III: Legacy (2005), both of whom have different casts than this film (somehow, Rutger Hauer was recruited to play Dracula in one of them to go with Roy Scheider being in both sequels).

Do I really need to tell you that the film is not particularly good? Beyond a 99-minute runtime that drags its one weird twist to the Dracula story, not only have you seen this kind of film before in previous adaptations, but you have also seen it done with better gusto and better interest as opposed to this amusingly terrible piece of fluff. There are no actors here that seem to do anything with the material that wasn't treaded from even the lesser Hammer Dracula films, and it goes without saying that having one noted name in Christopher Plummer among a cast of "hey, it's the guy or girl from X" makes for a highly silly time indeed. Butler (a Scottish actor with a few film credits) is mostly left to play the role with characteristics that somehow make Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) seem serious in comparison (complete with hair curlier than the female lead). There is no allure present here, and it especially is amusing because of the idea that Dracula is actually also Judas, adding baggage that never really goes anywhere. The presence never lurks for any sense of doom or any sense of lingering hatred for being alive so long anyway. Miller and Waddell might as well be chasing ghosts with how noncommittal they seem to be making either of the roles interesting, as if they meant to be playing second fiddle to a vampire hunter like, say, Hammer's 1958 Dracula film, but you don't get the pleasure of Plummer getting out of second gear. I have to admit, the idea of a long living Van Helsing that tries to stay alive for the day when Dracula may return so he could kill him is at least semi-interesting, maybe because one never thinks they would see Van Helsing inject himself with blood (as filtered by leeches) from Dracula to stay alive. But one doesn't see any juice there for conflict, especially since one is also supposed to believe that Van Helsing decided "well, I have this blood in me, let me play with my wife anyway" along that. Mardi Gras in New Orleans seems listless here, especially since Dracula is only interested in, uh, whatever he wants from the lady that he has this "connection" to. You've seen the story before, but at least those had the semblance of not looking like a rushed cash-in to a year that makes Dracula A.D. 1972 look legitimate. It is highly amusing to laugh at, such as the vampire flunkies that range from Ryan to Epps in foolhardy level of threat or the climax that involves the image of Christ and a conveniently timed revelation about releasing folks (Dracula, who couldn't hang eons ago, can now hang here because, uh, God wanted him to do so now). I can't recommend it for serious viewing, unless you like to laugh at bad horror.

Overall, I give it 4 out of 10 stars.

next: Frankenhooker.

Juice.

Review #1641: Juice.

Cast: 

Omar Epps (Quincy "Q" Powell), Tupac Shakur (Roland Bishop), Khalil Kain (Raheem Porter), Jermaine Hopkins (Eric "Steel" Thurman), Cindy Herron (Yolanda), Vincent Laresca (Radames), Samuel L. Jackson (Trip), George O. Gore II (Brian), Grace Garland (Q's mother), Queen Latifah (Ruffhouse MC), and Victor Campos (Quilez) Directed by Ernest Dickerson.

Review: 

"A lot of the people said that 'Juice' was another 'Boyz N the Hood,' but it wasn't. Just because you have a story dealing with young black males of the same age group doesn't mean you have the same story. The forces that are working in L.A. with the kids are different than the forces at play in Harlem with the kids."

Directors can come from anywhere, so it should not be a surprise to see a cinematographer step right into doing filmmaking on their own. Ernest B. Dickerson had an interest in movies from a young age (such as David Lean's Oliver Twist), but his first line of study was architecture at Howard University. After a row of work in photography, the New Jersey native soon shifted to film study with the Tisch School of the Arts (New York University's film program), and it was through studying with film viewings such as Passing Through that helped shape his desire to take the craft of filmmaking very seriously. One fellow student at the school that he met was Spike Lee. Dickerson would do the cinematography from Lee's student film Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983). Dickerson would move on to shooting a variety of media such as music videos, television, and films (including Lee's first few films as director), but his interest in doing his own films was never away from his mind, and it eventually resulted in his first chance to make his own film, for which this served as his debut. He and Gerard Brown had wrote the script together when at film school in 1984, but it gestated for a couple of years and even went through more than one film studio (The Donners' Company wanted to lighten the tone). Inspired by works such as Claude Brown's Manchild in the Promised Land and films like White Heat (1949), he aspired to make a worthwhile noir with a group of mostly unknown leads.

It certainly fits the mold one might think of with a noir-like film involving trying to earn respect in the streets, even as a growing man. It is the story of people trapped in a situation that warps beyond their control until all that is left is a withered use of what seems like respect. It does so by moving through the routines of a group of four individuals with careful pacing that eventually makes for a powder keg of tension involving the damage caused through one decisive action that creates a web of nightmares that can't be solved by a simple phone call. In short, it makes for a pretty good film that rides the wave of moral greyness with a fair share of terror to go with a useful quartet. Among the quartet, Hopkins had the most acting experience of the group, since he started acting at the age of 13 with Lean on Me (1989), while each of the actors were making their first feature appearance. Epps is the primary key of focus, and it is easy to see why he would garner further roles in future years, because he pulls off a soothing lead performance, one with conflict and persistence that sells the moments required through collected charm - one highlight involves him forging a chance at being a DJ that mixes with the conflict of keeping alliance with his friends, where his moment of pride is followed by the looks on the faces of the quartet into what has to be done. This was the first starring role for Shakur, who proves to be just as magnetic on the other side of the coin. A student of the Baltimore School for the Arts (studying acting, poetry, and ballet), he had started in music with Digital Underground as a roadie and backup dancer and soon after made his impact known on the rap scene in 1991 with the release of his first album. This would be the first of just six films with him in a main role before his death in 1996. One can't take their eyes off him, mostly because he proves quite spontaneous in what you can and cannot see coming from him, menacing but still on one's mind with the soul of a poet in his own way. Kain and Hopkins accompany them with useful charm, never falling into the background because of their dutiful warmth. Others fill the moments in between, such as a caring Herron that pairs with Epps for two scenes, or figures in the grey area like Laresca and Jackson. At any rate, the film does well with its 95 minute run-tie in setting up a mosaic of life within Harlem without being trapped into too many clichés or absorbing itself too much.

Of course not all films can end easily. Upon doing test screenings, the studio insisted upon changing one detail about the ending - the primary moment still happens as it (namely, someone falling off a building), but the nature of the moment was changed by having it resemble an accident (with an added scream) rather than being a calculated move, much to the regret of Dickerson (imagine Paramount Pictures thinking "a measure of hope" was needed to be reflected, as if somehow noirs of the past needed to be a bit more jolly). With a budget of $5 million, the film made four times its budget back, and it is easy to see why. With a fresh cast that makes the most of their gun morality tale, Juice makes for a fine time to sit through in curiosity for what it wants to say about respect and youth that proves worthy nearly three decades later.

A side note. I do apologize for the delay these past five days. Honestly, the cold rush didn't look as bad on Friday compared to the days that would come next...particularly Sunday night, as I was hoping to avoid a power outage at all costs. My thoughts go out to folks affected by the winter storm across my state of Texas alongside all the folks affected across the nation, since no one should be dealing with a lack of power at a time like this. In any case, I am going to make sure these next few reviews are pushed out with care and hopefully without a hitch. 

Next Time - A basket case of stars that really could've inhabited two movies. In any case, it's time to swing around with Boomerang.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: Major League II

Review #444: Major League II.

Cast
Charlie Sheen (Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn), Tom Berenger (Jake Taylor), Corbin Bernsen (Roger Dorn), Dennis Haysbert (Pedro Cerrano), James Gammon (Lou Brown), Omar Epps (Willie Mays Hayes), Bob Uecker (Harry Doyle), David Keith (Jack Parkman), Takaaki Ishibashi (Isuro Tanaka), Margaret Whitton (Rachel Phelps), Eric Bruskotter (Rube Baker), Alison Doody (Rebecca Flannery), Michelle Burke (Nikki Reese), and Randy Quaid (Unnamed Fan) Directed by David S. Ward (#426 - Major League)

Review
Major League had its shares of laughs, and while it could've been better, it was a good comedy, arguably a classic. Five years, they made a sequel. This isn't as good. It feels like a rehash at times, and while it does have its moments, it's an okay comedy, as it eventually seems to win down in the same way the first film went, but at least this film doesn't get too sappy, which I guess helps...sort of. The film even retains the same "villain" from the first film, though I do wonder if she would've been allowed to own the team again, what with her deliberately trying to sabotage the team last season and all but oh well. The actors do fine, and Omar Epps does an okay job replacing Wesley Snipes from the last film, not too bad. It's an okay film, having some laughs, but not rising above the first film, inspiring more comparisons to the first film than praise for it. But hey, at least Cleveland got to win something, and that's always nice to see I suppose. I love the fact I've reached 444 reviews, and on my first day back at school. Countdown to 450 Reviews: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6...

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.