Denis Villeneuve’s sweeping “Dune” and Disney’s Golden Globe-winning animated musical, “Encanto” each scored six nominations Tuesday to lead the 20th annual Ves Awards nominations (awards ceremony details are in pandemic flux). Marvel’s trippy “Loki,” meanwhile, led the broadcast field with four nominations for the Disney+ series.
Competing for feature visual effects are the frontrunning “Dune,” “Godzilla vs. Kong,” “The Matrix Resurrections,” Daniel Craig’s Bond finale, “No Time to Die,” and Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” All have been shortlisted for the VFX Oscar, with “Dune” as the heavy favorite, in which Dneg supplied windblown sand, raging sandstorms, flying insect-like ornithopters, and the iconic CG sandworms.
Supporting visual effects nominees include “Candyman,” “Last Night in Soho,” “Nightmare Alley,” “The Last Duel,” and “The Tragedy of Macbeth.”
The animated feature visual effects race pits “Encanto” against Pixar’s “Luca,...
Competing for feature visual effects are the frontrunning “Dune,” “Godzilla vs. Kong,” “The Matrix Resurrections,” Daniel Craig’s Bond finale, “No Time to Die,” and Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” All have been shortlisted for the VFX Oscar, with “Dune” as the heavy favorite, in which Dneg supplied windblown sand, raging sandstorms, flying insect-like ornithopters, and the iconic CG sandworms.
Supporting visual effects nominees include “Candyman,” “Last Night in Soho,” “Nightmare Alley,” “The Last Duel,” and “The Tragedy of Macbeth.”
The animated feature visual effects race pits “Encanto” against Pixar’s “Luca,...
- 1/18/2022
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
The Visual Effects Society unveiled nominations Tuesday for its 20th annual Ves Awards, with Warner Bros’ Dune and Disney’s animated Encanto leading all nominees with six apiece, followed by the Disney+ Marvel series Loki which has four noms to lead all broadcast series.
The group, celebrating its 25th anniversary, recognizes the year’s best in outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation across film, animation, television, commercials and video games. With the Omicron variant surging, the Ves Awards ceremony does not have a date or format yet; those decisions are still to be made and tickets are not yet up for sale.
Last year, the Ves Awards went virtual in a ceremony hosted as per usual by Patton Oswalt. Netflix’s The Midnight Sky, Disney/Pixar’s eventual Animated Feature Oscar winner Soul and Disney+’s The Mandalorian were among the marquee winners.
Overall, this year’s nominees in 25 categories...
The group, celebrating its 25th anniversary, recognizes the year’s best in outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation across film, animation, television, commercials and video games. With the Omicron variant surging, the Ves Awards ceremony does not have a date or format yet; those decisions are still to be made and tickets are not yet up for sale.
Last year, the Ves Awards went virtual in a ceremony hosted as per usual by Patton Oswalt. Netflix’s The Midnight Sky, Disney/Pixar’s eventual Animated Feature Oscar winner Soul and Disney+’s The Mandalorian were among the marquee winners.
Overall, this year’s nominees in 25 categories...
- 1/18/2022
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
The Visual Effects Society (Ves) announced the nominees for the 20th Annual Ves Awards, with Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” leading the feature film field with six nominations. Disney’s “Encanto” also landed six nominations and led the animated contenders.
This year marks the Visual Effects Society’s 25th anniversary. Ves recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation across 25 categories in film, animation, television, commercials and video games, plus the VFX supervisors, producers and hands-on artists who bring the work to life.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the Ves is still considering the format and timing for this year’s show.
“As we celebrate the Society’s 25th anniversary and 20th Annual Ves Awards, we’re honored to keep shining a light on remarkable visual effects artistry and innovation,” said Lisa Cooke, Ves Chair. “In all of our nominees, we see best-in-class work that elevates the art of storytelling and exemplifies...
This year marks the Visual Effects Society’s 25th anniversary. Ves recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation across 25 categories in film, animation, television, commercials and video games, plus the VFX supervisors, producers and hands-on artists who bring the work to life.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the Ves is still considering the format and timing for this year’s show.
“As we celebrate the Society’s 25th anniversary and 20th Annual Ves Awards, we’re honored to keep shining a light on remarkable visual effects artistry and innovation,” said Lisa Cooke, Ves Chair. “In all of our nominees, we see best-in-class work that elevates the art of storytelling and exemplifies...
- 1/18/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
I’m sometimes in the mood for a bad movie. In the middle of the Chicago Critics Film Festival, weighed down with stress related to producing it and the serious subject matter of our films this year, I felt a need for a bit of movie fast food and popped in “I, Frankenstein,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD. This movie cheeseburger will give you food poisoning.
It’s a horrendous, baffling film, the kind of release that makes you wonder what the heck people were thinking when they made it. There’s not an interesting character, the action is poorly choreographed, and the dialogue is laughable. It’s one of those films that makes you wonder if they Knew it was bad. They had to, right?
Rating: 1.0/5.0
Poor Aaron Eckhart, who really looked on the verge of a career uptick in the era of “The Dark Knight,” “Thank You For Smoking,...
It’s a horrendous, baffling film, the kind of release that makes you wonder what the heck people were thinking when they made it. There’s not an interesting character, the action is poorly choreographed, and the dialogue is laughable. It’s one of those films that makes you wonder if they Knew it was bad. They had to, right?
Rating: 1.0/5.0
Poor Aaron Eckhart, who really looked on the verge of a career uptick in the era of “The Dark Knight,” “Thank You For Smoking,...
- 5/19/2014
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
This isn’t Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. That much should be made immediately clear by the “3D” tacked onto the title of this CGI-fueled fantasy actioner, but any lingering doubts are quickly dispelled moments into I, Frankenstein, when the famed creature (given the name Adam and played by the far-too-handsome Aaron Eckhart) is forced to defend himself against sharp-toothed demons whilst burying his creator.
He just about has time to “descend” those demons, sending them back to Hell in pillars of flame, before being scooped up by two gargoyles and brought before their queen, Lenore (Miranda Otto). Turns out, Adam is a missing link of sorts, and both the demons and the gargoyles, who’ve been warring for centuries, want him. Showing surprising intelligence for a recently reanimated corpse, he backs away from both species, opting for a life of eternal solitude until he’s discovered and dragged back into the fray.
He just about has time to “descend” those demons, sending them back to Hell in pillars of flame, before being scooped up by two gargoyles and brought before their queen, Lenore (Miranda Otto). Turns out, Adam is a missing link of sorts, and both the demons and the gargoyles, who’ve been warring for centuries, want him. Showing surprising intelligence for a recently reanimated corpse, he backs away from both species, opting for a life of eternal solitude until he’s discovered and dragged back into the fray.
- 5/13/2014
- by Isaac Feldberg
- We Got This Covered
On May 13, the movie based on the graphic novel, I, Frankenstein, will be arriving on Blu-ray and DVD, but for those of you who cannot wait it will also be available on early VOD on May 2! To celebrate it's arrival we have an exclusive clip from the special features for you cats.
From the Press Release
Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) portrays one of the most iconic horror legends of all time in the gripping adventure I, Frankenstein, available on 3D Blu-ray (plus 2D Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD UltraViolet), along with DVD (plus Digital UltraViolet), Video On Demand, and Pay-Per-View, May 13 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. This film will be available on Digital HD May 2.
From the producers of Underworld, I, Frankenstein follows Frankenstein's monster (Eckhart) as he becomes involved in a war between two immortal clans. Also starring Bill Nighy (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest...
From the Press Release
Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) portrays one of the most iconic horror legends of all time in the gripping adventure I, Frankenstein, available on 3D Blu-ray (plus 2D Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD UltraViolet), along with DVD (plus Digital UltraViolet), Video On Demand, and Pay-Per-View, May 13 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. This film will be available on Digital HD May 2.
From the producers of Underworld, I, Frankenstein follows Frankenstein's monster (Eckhart) as he becomes involved in a war between two immortal clans. Also starring Bill Nighy (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest...
- 5/1/2014
- by Steve Barton
- DreadCentral.com
Digital Release Date: May 2, 2014, Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: May 13, 2014
Price: DVD Tba, Blu-ray 3D Combo $39.99
Studio: Lionsgate
I, Frankenstein takes one of movies’ greatest misunderstood horror villains and modernizes him to the likes of Aaron Eckhart (Battle: Los Angeles).
Eckhart’s chiseled face is covered in scars to play Frankenstein, who’s named Adam in this story.
The horror film takes place 200 years after the monster was created. Celestial forces arm Adam with weapons to defeat the demons that are constantly seeking his destruction. Soon he’s dragged into the middle of a war over the fate of humanity and discovers that he has the key that could destroy humankind.
I, Frankenstein is based on The Darkstorm Studios graphic novel by Kevin Grevioux, but the movie version didn’t sit well with critics. They felt the film took itself too seriously and gave it a dismal 4% approval, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Price: DVD Tba, Blu-ray 3D Combo $39.99
Studio: Lionsgate
I, Frankenstein takes one of movies’ greatest misunderstood horror villains and modernizes him to the likes of Aaron Eckhart (Battle: Los Angeles).
Eckhart’s chiseled face is covered in scars to play Frankenstein, who’s named Adam in this story.
The horror film takes place 200 years after the monster was created. Celestial forces arm Adam with weapons to defeat the demons that are constantly seeking his destruction. Soon he’s dragged into the middle of a war over the fate of humanity and discovers that he has the key that could destroy humankind.
I, Frankenstein is based on The Darkstorm Studios graphic novel by Kevin Grevioux, but the movie version didn’t sit well with critics. They felt the film took itself too seriously and gave it a dismal 4% approval, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
- 3/14/2014
- by Sam
- Disc Dish
Here’s everything you need to know about Lionsgate Home Entertainment’s release of I, Frankenstein starring Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy, Yvonne Strahovski, Miranda Otto and Jai Courtney. I think the most intriguing part of the release is going to be all the from-graphic-novel-to-big-screen featurettes.
From Lionsgate Home Entertainment I, Frankenstein
From the producers of Underworld, Aaron Eckhart stars in the dark fantasy action thriller, I, Frankenstein, arriving on 3D Blu-ray (plus 2D Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD UltraViolet), along with DVD (plus Digital UltraViolet), Video On Demand and Pay-Per-View, May 13 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The film will also be available earlier on Digital HD May 2
Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) portrays one of the most iconic horror legends of all time in the gripping adventure I, Frankenstein, available on 3D Blu-ray (plus 2D Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD UltraViolet), along with DVD (plus Digital UltraViolet), Video On Demand and Pay-Per-View,...
From Lionsgate Home Entertainment I, Frankenstein
From the producers of Underworld, Aaron Eckhart stars in the dark fantasy action thriller, I, Frankenstein, arriving on 3D Blu-ray (plus 2D Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD UltraViolet), along with DVD (plus Digital UltraViolet), Video On Demand and Pay-Per-View, May 13 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The film will also be available earlier on Digital HD May 2
Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) portrays one of the most iconic horror legends of all time in the gripping adventure I, Frankenstein, available on 3D Blu-ray (plus 2D Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD UltraViolet), along with DVD (plus Digital UltraViolet), Video On Demand and Pay-Per-View,...
- 3/11/2014
- by Jess Orso
- ScifiMafia
Following the I, Frankenstein‘s theatrical release in January, Lionsgate Home Entertainment has announced a Blu-ray, DVD, and digital release this May:
“Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) portrays one of the most iconic horror legends of all time in the gripping adventure I, Frankenstein, available on 3D Blu-ray (plus 2D Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD UltraViolet), along with DVD (plus Digital UltraViolet), Video On Demand and Pay-Per-View, May 13 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. This film will be available on Digital HD May 2. From the producers of Underworld, I, Frankenstein follows Frankenstein’s monster (Eckhart) as he becomes involved in a war between two immortal clans. Also starring Bill Nighy (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest), Yvonne Strahovski (TV’s “Chuck,” TV’s “Dexter”), Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, TV’s “Rake”), Jai Courtney (upcoming Divergent,...
“Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) portrays one of the most iconic horror legends of all time in the gripping adventure I, Frankenstein, available on 3D Blu-ray (plus 2D Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD UltraViolet), along with DVD (plus Digital UltraViolet), Video On Demand and Pay-Per-View, May 13 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. This film will be available on Digital HD May 2. From the producers of Underworld, I, Frankenstein follows Frankenstein’s monster (Eckhart) as he becomes involved in a war between two immortal clans. Also starring Bill Nighy (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest), Yvonne Strahovski (TV’s “Chuck,” TV’s “Dexter”), Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, TV’s “Rake”), Jai Courtney (upcoming Divergent,...
- 3/10/2014
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
A few short months after failing to impress the majority of horror fans, the action-packed I, Frankenstein heads home with multiple means of consumption. Read on for full details!
From the Press Release
Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) portrays one of the most iconic horror legends of all time in the gripping adventure I, Frankenstein, available on 3D Blu-ray (plus 2D Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD UltraViolet), along with DVD (plus Digital UltraViolet), Video On Demand, and Pay-Per-View, May 13 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. This film will be available on Digital HD May 2.
From the producers of Underworld, I, Frankenstein follows Frankenstein's monster (Eckhart) as he becomes involved in a war between two immortal clans. Also starring Bill Nighy (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest), Yvonne Strahovski (TV's "Chuck," TV's "Dexter"), Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,...
From the Press Release
Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) portrays one of the most iconic horror legends of all time in the gripping adventure I, Frankenstein, available on 3D Blu-ray (plus 2D Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD UltraViolet), along with DVD (plus Digital UltraViolet), Video On Demand, and Pay-Per-View, May 13 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. This film will be available on Digital HD May 2.
From the producers of Underworld, I, Frankenstein follows Frankenstein's monster (Eckhart) as he becomes involved in a war between two immortal clans. Also starring Bill Nighy (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest), Yvonne Strahovski (TV's "Chuck," TV's "Dexter"), Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,...
- 3/10/2014
- by John Squires
- DreadCentral.com
‘I, Frankenstein’ box office: Frankenstein reboot is second domestic box office bomb of 2014 (photo: buffed up, shirtless Aaron Eckhart in ‘I, Frankenstein’) Made for a reported $65 million (not including marketing and distribution expenses), the Lionsgate-distributed I, Frankenstein is surely not about to become a movie franchise. Directed by Stuart Beattie and starring Aaron Eckhart as the "I" of the title, I, Frankenstein collected a dismal $8.3 million from 2,753 North American theaters this weekend, January 24-26, 2014, according to studio estimates found at Box Office Mojo. The weekend’s only new wide release in the United States and Canada, I, Frankenstein landed in sixth place on the domestic box office chart. I, Frankenstein, in fact, is the second major 2014 domestic box office bomb, following the $70 million-budgeted Renny Harlin-Kellan Lutz effort The Legend of Hercules, which debuted with $8.86 million at 2,104 locations a couple of weeks ago. To date, The Legend of Hercules...
- 1/27/2014
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
Kate Beckinsale is back as Selene in the latest installment of Screen Gems and Lakeshore Entertainment’s Underworld Awakening. Check out the latest trailer below.
Underworld Awakening brings a stunning new dimension to the epic battle between Vampires and Lycans, as the first film in the franchise to shoot in 3D. The fourth installment stars Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley and Charles Dance.
Kate Beckinsale, star of the first two films, returns in her lead role as the vampire warrioress Selene, who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.
The action/horror film is directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, produced by Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Len Wiseman, Richard Wright, executive produced by Eric Reid, David Kern, David Coatsworth, James McQuaide,...
Underworld Awakening brings a stunning new dimension to the epic battle between Vampires and Lycans, as the first film in the franchise to shoot in 3D. The fourth installment stars Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley and Charles Dance.
Kate Beckinsale, star of the first two films, returns in her lead role as the vampire warrioress Selene, who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.
The action/horror film is directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, produced by Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Len Wiseman, Richard Wright, executive produced by Eric Reid, David Kern, David Coatsworth, James McQuaide,...
- 11/2/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
When you head to the theatre for an Underworld movie, you are going for an experience. An action-packed experience. It seems not only appropriate, but fitting that Underworld Awakening be shot in 3D. As the first in the franchise to get that extra dimension, naturally we wanted to know what went in to the process. So who better to ask than the visual FX supervisor, James McQuaide? On a recent visit to the Vancouver set, he told us about working in 3D - and 5K resolution, to boot. How is Underworld Awakening different from previous installments in the franchise? 3D is obviously a huge difference from the other pics. We're dealing with some of the same kind of creatures, but we have a creature now...
- 8/23/2011
- FEARnet
Scheduled for release on January 20th, Underworld: Awakening is the upcoming fourth entry in the successful action/horror franchise that has so far grossed nearly $300 million worldwide. Shot in 3D and boasting the return of Kate Beckinsale to the role of Selene, the film is being directed by Swedish duo Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein, representing their first outing at the helm of the series. Back in May I visited the Vancouver set of the film to get a look at some of the action and interview cast and crew including Beckinsale, Marlind & Stein, new cast member Michael Ealy, and visual effects supervisor James McQuaide. In the process I was given a look into the relatively fraught production, which began principal photography without a finished script and was allegedly operating on a rather tight shooting schedule.
- 8/22/2011
- bloody-disgusting.com
Photo By: Joe Lederer
From Screen Gems and Lakeshore Entertainment, check out this first trailer from Underworld Awakening.
Underworld Awakening brings a stunning new dimension to the epic battle between Vampires and Lycans, as the first film in the franchise to shoot in 3D. The fourth installment stars Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley and Charles Dance.
Kate Beckinsale, star of the first two films, returns in her lead role as the vampire warrioress Selene, who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.
The action/horror film is directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, produced by Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Len Wiseman, Richard Wright, executive produced by Eric Reid, David Kern, David Coatsworth, James McQuaide, Skip Williamson, Henry Winterstern with a screenplay by Len Wiseman,...
From Screen Gems and Lakeshore Entertainment, check out this first trailer from Underworld Awakening.
Underworld Awakening brings a stunning new dimension to the epic battle between Vampires and Lycans, as the first film in the franchise to shoot in 3D. The fourth installment stars Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley and Charles Dance.
Kate Beckinsale, star of the first two films, returns in her lead role as the vampire warrioress Selene, who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.
The action/horror film is directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, produced by Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Len Wiseman, Richard Wright, executive produced by Eric Reid, David Kern, David Coatsworth, James McQuaide, Skip Williamson, Henry Winterstern with a screenplay by Len Wiseman,...
- 8/18/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Photo By: Joe Lederer
From Screen Gems and Lakeshore Entertainment, check out this first still from Underworld Awakening.
Underworld Awakening brings a stunning new dimension to the epic battle between Vampires and Lycans, as the first film in the franchise to shoot in 3D. The fourth installment stars Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley and Charles Dance.
Kate Beckinsale, star of the first two films, returns in her lead role as the vampire warrioress Selene, who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.
The action/horror film is directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, produced by Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Len Wiseman, Richard Wright, executive produced by Eric Reid, David Kern, David Coatsworth, James McQuaide, Skip Williamson, Henry Winterstern with a screenplay by Len Wiseman,...
From Screen Gems and Lakeshore Entertainment, check out this first still from Underworld Awakening.
Underworld Awakening brings a stunning new dimension to the epic battle between Vampires and Lycans, as the first film in the franchise to shoot in 3D. The fourth installment stars Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley and Charles Dance.
Kate Beckinsale, star of the first two films, returns in her lead role as the vampire warrioress Selene, who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.
The action/horror film is directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, produced by Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Len Wiseman, Richard Wright, executive produced by Eric Reid, David Kern, David Coatsworth, James McQuaide, Skip Williamson, Henry Winterstern with a screenplay by Len Wiseman,...
- 7/18/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The first thing that came to mind while watching Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans (now on DVD from Sony Pictures) was that I had just seen Michael Sheen the night before in the excellent Frost/Nixon, and that an actor has to have a pretty good range to go from essaying the famous English interviewer/TV personality to playing a werewolf with a Spartacus complex. The second thing that crossed my mind was that while I’m not a fan of the first two UNDERWORLDs, and wasn’t eager to see this prequel, Rise Of The Lycans is an Ok movie and the best of the trilogy.
The first Underworld was a slick-looking werewolves-vs.-vampires flick that was light on character and heavy on CGI and Matrix influences. I felt the same about the follow-up, which I liked less. Trying to build on the original’s slim premise, Underworld: Evolution...
The first Underworld was a slick-looking werewolves-vs.-vampires flick that was light on character and heavy on CGI and Matrix influences. I felt the same about the follow-up, which I liked less. Trying to build on the original’s slim premise, Underworld: Evolution...
- 5/13/2009
- Fangoria
ShockTillYouDrop.com visited Luma Pictures--a visual effects house nestled in Venice, California--this week to get an early look at Screen Gems' Underworld: Rise of the Lycans with special effects artist-turned-director Patrick Tatopoulos and executive producer/visual effects supervisor James McQuaide on hand to guide the site through a few scenes. Opening January 23rd, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans delves into the origins of the centuries-old blood feud between the aristocratic vampires, known as Death Dealers, and the barbaric Lycans (werewolves). A young Lycan, Lucian (Michael Sheen), emerges as a powerful leader who rallies the werewolves to rise up against Viktor (Bill Nighy), the cruel vampire king who has persecuted them for hundreds of years. Lucian is joined by...
- 1/8/2009
- Comingsoon.net
In Untraceable, the ever-capable Diane Lane plays an intrepid agent in the FBI's cyber-crime unit who is on the virtual trail of a psychopath who broadcasts his grisly torture killings on the Web.
Although the plot might feel as if it's made up of borrowed bits and bytes, thanks to Lane's typically committed performance and Gregory Hoblit's usual intelligent, brisk direction (Fracture, Primal Fear), the picture remains sufficiently compelling.
Toss in a killer who is sick and twisted enough to satisfy the "Saw" set, and you've got yourself a marketable Screen Gems release that should download solid midrange numbers.
Lane's Special Agent Jennifer Marsh is a single mother by day who works nights in the FBI's Portland, Ore., bureau trolling the Internet for fast-moving sexual predators and identity thieves.
It's a particularly intense game of cat and mouse that requires lightning-quick decisions and even quicker fingers on the keyboard, but Marsh and her partner, Griffin Dowd (Colin Hanks), usually nail the perps.
Trickier is finding a way to extricate herself from her high-tech, wired existence.
Driving home from work, she presses the OnStar button in her car to find out just how bad the traffic tie-up is in front of her, but she'll soon discover the annoying rubber-neckers checking out an accident is nothing compared to the growing millions logging onto a disturbing Web site offering real-time killings.
The first victim is a kitten, but the ante is upped considerably on killwithme.com, showing the systematic torture of kidnapped human prey whose ultimate time of death is hastened by the numbers of visitors to the site.
Initially the victims appear to be randomly snatched, but it soon becomes apparent that the killer is actually closing in on Marsh and her loved ones.
Hoblit, whose father was an FBI agent, maintains an effectively tense pace while making unpleasant observations about society's voyeuristic impulses, but it still can't cover one glaring character implausibility in the script -- credited to Robert Fyvolent and Mark R. Brinker along with Allison Burnett -- that lands Marsh in major hot water.
That misstep aside, Untraceable is highly watchable, anchored sturdily by Lane's convincing performance.
In addition to displaying an impressive dexterity with all that technical jargon, she really gets under her character's skin, struggling to establish some kind of division between work and home.
She gets solid support from Hanks, who shares his dad's easy affability and vocal quality, along with Billy Burke as a Portland police detective who joins forces with her, and reliable Mary Beth Hurt as her supportive mother.
Tech specs are all high res, with cinematographer Anastas Michos giving those unpleasant visuals a fittingly chilly, clinical appearance; while editor David Rosenbloom, a frequent Hoblit collaborator, cuts effectively to the bone.
UNTRACEABLE
Screen Gems
A Lakeshore Entertainment production in association with Cohen/Pearl Prods.
Credits:
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Screenwriters: Robert Fyvolent & Mark R. Brinker and Allison Burnett
Story: Robert Fyvolent & Mark R. Brinker
Producers: Steven Pearl, Andy Cohen, Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Hawk Koch
Executive producers: Richard Wright, Eric Reid, James McQuaide, Harley Tannebaum
Director of photography: Anastas Michos
Production designer: Paul Eads
Music: Christopher Young
Costume designer: Elisabetta Beraldo
Editor: David Rosenbloom
Cast:
Jennifer Marsh: Diane Lane
Detective Eric Box: Billy Burke
Griffin Dowd: Colin Hanks
Owen: Joseph Cross
Stella: Mary Beth Hurt
Running time -- 100 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Although the plot might feel as if it's made up of borrowed bits and bytes, thanks to Lane's typically committed performance and Gregory Hoblit's usual intelligent, brisk direction (Fracture, Primal Fear), the picture remains sufficiently compelling.
Toss in a killer who is sick and twisted enough to satisfy the "Saw" set, and you've got yourself a marketable Screen Gems release that should download solid midrange numbers.
Lane's Special Agent Jennifer Marsh is a single mother by day who works nights in the FBI's Portland, Ore., bureau trolling the Internet for fast-moving sexual predators and identity thieves.
It's a particularly intense game of cat and mouse that requires lightning-quick decisions and even quicker fingers on the keyboard, but Marsh and her partner, Griffin Dowd (Colin Hanks), usually nail the perps.
Trickier is finding a way to extricate herself from her high-tech, wired existence.
Driving home from work, she presses the OnStar button in her car to find out just how bad the traffic tie-up is in front of her, but she'll soon discover the annoying rubber-neckers checking out an accident is nothing compared to the growing millions logging onto a disturbing Web site offering real-time killings.
The first victim is a kitten, but the ante is upped considerably on killwithme.com, showing the systematic torture of kidnapped human prey whose ultimate time of death is hastened by the numbers of visitors to the site.
Initially the victims appear to be randomly snatched, but it soon becomes apparent that the killer is actually closing in on Marsh and her loved ones.
Hoblit, whose father was an FBI agent, maintains an effectively tense pace while making unpleasant observations about society's voyeuristic impulses, but it still can't cover one glaring character implausibility in the script -- credited to Robert Fyvolent and Mark R. Brinker along with Allison Burnett -- that lands Marsh in major hot water.
That misstep aside, Untraceable is highly watchable, anchored sturdily by Lane's convincing performance.
In addition to displaying an impressive dexterity with all that technical jargon, she really gets under her character's skin, struggling to establish some kind of division between work and home.
She gets solid support from Hanks, who shares his dad's easy affability and vocal quality, along with Billy Burke as a Portland police detective who joins forces with her, and reliable Mary Beth Hurt as her supportive mother.
Tech specs are all high res, with cinematographer Anastas Michos giving those unpleasant visuals a fittingly chilly, clinical appearance; while editor David Rosenbloom, a frequent Hoblit collaborator, cuts effectively to the bone.
UNTRACEABLE
Screen Gems
A Lakeshore Entertainment production in association with Cohen/Pearl Prods.
Credits:
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Screenwriters: Robert Fyvolent & Mark R. Brinker and Allison Burnett
Story: Robert Fyvolent & Mark R. Brinker
Producers: Steven Pearl, Andy Cohen, Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Hawk Koch
Executive producers: Richard Wright, Eric Reid, James McQuaide, Harley Tannebaum
Director of photography: Anastas Michos
Production designer: Paul Eads
Music: Christopher Young
Costume designer: Elisabetta Beraldo
Editor: David Rosenbloom
Cast:
Jennifer Marsh: Diane Lane
Detective Eric Box: Billy Burke
Griffin Dowd: Colin Hanks
Owen: Joseph Cross
Stella: Mary Beth Hurt
Running time -- 100 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 1/18/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Screened
Toronto International Film Festival
TORONTO -- Kate Beckinsale has finally found a role she can really sink her teeth into -- that of a leather-clad, butt-kicking vampire warrior whose aristocratic blood-sucking race is under attack by the vicious lycans.
Conducting herself with a no-nonsense combination of toughness and grace that would give a certain tomb raider a run for her money, Beckinsale delivers even if "Underworld" doesn't quite manage to follow through on its initial promise.
While problematic pacing and bits of unintended silliness ultimately rob the British-German-Hungarian-U.S. co-production of its intriguing potential, it should still be regarded as fresh blood to the "Buffy" crowd, who'll likely generate enough boxoffice to ensure that Beckinsale returns to fight the good fight.
Unlike so many other entries in its genre, "Underworld" started out as neither a video game nor a comic book, but rather as a conversation between director Len Wiseman and friend Kevin Grevioux that led to a story of Shakespearean proportions that recast the Montagues and Capulets as werewolves and vampires.
Engaged in a centuries-old struggle, the future of both the sophisticated vampires and the feral lycans is about to be threatened by a nefarious scheme that would see the creation of a new interbred species that would combine the strengths of both underworld races.
Selene (Beckinsale), a top-ranking member of the Death Dealers, an elite vampire warrior class committed to hunting the lycans into extinction, stumbles onto that ulterior motive after she uncovers a lycan plot to kidnap a human doctor (Scott Speedman).
But her efforts to intervene are being thwarted by Kraven (Shane Brolly), the arrogant vampire leader who's rather jealous of the increasing attention she's paying to the mortal, as well as by ruthless lycan leader Lucian (Michael Sheen).
It turns out that the unwitting doctor has a connection to both clans, but let's leave it at that.
Director Wiseman, who started out in the art department on such films as "Men in Black" and "Independence Day", lends the picture an unmistakable "Matrix"-like sense of style, while Danny McBride's script shares a similar mythological construction, minus most of the psychobabble that overloaded "The Matrix Reloaded".
But despite the added filmed-in-Budapest atmosphere created by Tony Pierce-Roberts' dense cinematography, Bruton Jones' stylized production design and creature designs by Patrick Tatopoulos that favor prosthetics over CGI excess, "Underworld" keeps getting held back by an uncertain pace and a too-tight-lipped tone that elicits a few inadvertent snickers.
Hopefully they'll get it right for the sequel.
Underworld
Screen Gems
Screen Gems and Lakeshore Entertainment present a Lakeshore Entertainment production
Credits:
Director: Len Wiseman
Screenwriter: Danny McBride
Story: Kevin Grevioux, Len Wiseman, Danny McBride
Producers: Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Richard Wright
Executive producers: Skip Williamson, Henry Winterstein, Terry A. McKay, James McQuaide, Robert Bernacchi
Director of photography: Tony Pierce-Roberts
Production designer: Bruton Jones
Editor: Martin Hunter
Costume designer: Wendy Partridge
Music: Paul Haslinger
Cast:
Selene: Kate Beckinsale
Michael Corvin: Scott Speedman
Viktor: Bill Nighy
Lucian: Michael Sheen
Kraven: Shane Brolly
Singe: Erwin Leder
Kahn: Robbie Gee
Erika: Sophia Myles
Raze: Kevin Grevioux
Running time -- 121 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Toronto International Film Festival
TORONTO -- Kate Beckinsale has finally found a role she can really sink her teeth into -- that of a leather-clad, butt-kicking vampire warrior whose aristocratic blood-sucking race is under attack by the vicious lycans.
Conducting herself with a no-nonsense combination of toughness and grace that would give a certain tomb raider a run for her money, Beckinsale delivers even if "Underworld" doesn't quite manage to follow through on its initial promise.
While problematic pacing and bits of unintended silliness ultimately rob the British-German-Hungarian-U.S. co-production of its intriguing potential, it should still be regarded as fresh blood to the "Buffy" crowd, who'll likely generate enough boxoffice to ensure that Beckinsale returns to fight the good fight.
Unlike so many other entries in its genre, "Underworld" started out as neither a video game nor a comic book, but rather as a conversation between director Len Wiseman and friend Kevin Grevioux that led to a story of Shakespearean proportions that recast the Montagues and Capulets as werewolves and vampires.
Engaged in a centuries-old struggle, the future of both the sophisticated vampires and the feral lycans is about to be threatened by a nefarious scheme that would see the creation of a new interbred species that would combine the strengths of both underworld races.
Selene (Beckinsale), a top-ranking member of the Death Dealers, an elite vampire warrior class committed to hunting the lycans into extinction, stumbles onto that ulterior motive after she uncovers a lycan plot to kidnap a human doctor (Scott Speedman).
But her efforts to intervene are being thwarted by Kraven (Shane Brolly), the arrogant vampire leader who's rather jealous of the increasing attention she's paying to the mortal, as well as by ruthless lycan leader Lucian (Michael Sheen).
It turns out that the unwitting doctor has a connection to both clans, but let's leave it at that.
Director Wiseman, who started out in the art department on such films as "Men in Black" and "Independence Day", lends the picture an unmistakable "Matrix"-like sense of style, while Danny McBride's script shares a similar mythological construction, minus most of the psychobabble that overloaded "The Matrix Reloaded".
But despite the added filmed-in-Budapest atmosphere created by Tony Pierce-Roberts' dense cinematography, Bruton Jones' stylized production design and creature designs by Patrick Tatopoulos that favor prosthetics over CGI excess, "Underworld" keeps getting held back by an uncertain pace and a too-tight-lipped tone that elicits a few inadvertent snickers.
Hopefully they'll get it right for the sequel.
Underworld
Screen Gems
Screen Gems and Lakeshore Entertainment present a Lakeshore Entertainment production
Credits:
Director: Len Wiseman
Screenwriter: Danny McBride
Story: Kevin Grevioux, Len Wiseman, Danny McBride
Producers: Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Richard Wright
Executive producers: Skip Williamson, Henry Winterstein, Terry A. McKay, James McQuaide, Robert Bernacchi
Director of photography: Tony Pierce-Roberts
Production designer: Bruton Jones
Editor: Martin Hunter
Costume designer: Wendy Partridge
Music: Paul Haslinger
Cast:
Selene: Kate Beckinsale
Michael Corvin: Scott Speedman
Viktor: Bill Nighy
Lucian: Michael Sheen
Kraven: Shane Brolly
Singe: Erwin Leder
Kahn: Robbie Gee
Erika: Sophia Myles
Raze: Kevin Grevioux
Running time -- 121 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 9/29/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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