If you want to see people torn to pieces by a frenzied animal, you've found your movie. If you're hoping for a thoughtful horror movie that utilizes atmosphere and character development to forward the creepiness of the story, you're going to have to look elsewhere.

The main issue with the production is that it doesn't go anywhere. Yes, there is a werewolf...and..? Once Lawrence Talbot is bitten there is the expectation that there will be violence, of course. There is also the expectation that Talbot will be dropped into a moral quandary where his ferocious nature does battle against his more civilized sensibilities. The story here fails to ignite that kind of turmoil in Talbot. Instead the story becomes a series of attacks where the victims are quickly and brutally eviscerated.

I was constantly reminded of Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula. This is partly because it is a period monster movie with Anthony Hopkins in a prominent role. I was also reminded of this movie because they both struggled to remain coherent. Like Dracula, this film feels like it was created to be far grander than it eventually became. The story, the script just doesn't have enough power to create a great film. So, like Dracula we are left with a great cast fumbling through what seems to be a first draft script in front of impressive scenery.

The lacking storyline becomes evident in the final confrontation. What should be an exciting battle is just another fight sequence. There are no surprises, no suspense and no horror. It is just a bunch of poor saps being ripped up until the credits roll.

For a more successful and interesting werewolf movie, I suggest An American Werewolf in London. It is a tad dated, but the script is well thought out and the tongue-in-cheek elements somehow manage to heighten the frightening aspects of that production. Here, even the transformation scene, the bread and butter of werewolf movies, isn't that impressive.




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Labels: Anthony Hopkins, Benico Del Toro, Emily Blunt, film, horror, Hugo Weaving, movie review

Love the period music.

Like all other wolfman movies, a great deal of attention will be paid to the transformation sequences. I think its safe to say they will be interesting. Let's hope the script has something to it.






Screenwriters: Andrew Kevin (Sleepy Hollow) and David Self (The Road to Perdition)
Director: Joe Johnston (Hidalgo)
Actors: Benicio Del Toro (The Usual Suspects), Anthony Hopkins (Meet Joe Black), Emily Blunt (Charlie Wilson's War) and Hugo Weaving (Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers)

Labels: Anthony Hopkins, benicio del toro, Emily Blunt, film, Hugo Weaving, movie trailer

Adapted from Cornelius Ryan's 1974 novel, this film tells the story of the Allied failure that was Market Garden. While it meanders a bit too long, taken as a whole this is a solid war film containing good performances from it's impressive cast. Like other war films made during this time (The Eagle Has Landed, Midway, Tora! Tora! Tora!, etc.) this is deeply influenced by The Longest Day and follows its production template: it is loaded with brand name actors, has a narrative that forks in a dozen directions and sports a run time that is nearly as long as the war itself.


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Labels: Anthony Hopkins, Elliott Gould, film, Gene Hackman, James Caan, Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine, movie review, Robert Redford, Ryan O'Neal, Sean Connery

A rich guy and a photographer get lost in the woods. The wrinkle is that the rich guy believes the photographer may have slept with his wife. All of this and than a big ol’ bear begins to track them. This could have been interesting but the film never really takes off. They Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin star in this tepid bore.


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Labels: Alec Baldwin, Anthony Hopkins, film, movie review