Who doesn't HATE Van Helsing?

[Mark Chance]

I watch films, then decide. I like doing it that way. But whatever works for you.

After being slapped in the face, Mystery Man is given permission to not watch a movie.

 

[Dougal DeKree]

I was responding to somebody who said that an over-the-top premise like Van Helsing's meant that you didn't need a plot or consistency.QUOTE]

Takyris, i think you seperated that part from the context of my post. As I explained in the next paragraph, in that particular context, i expected to see a fun movie with nothing else to it. The movie met that expectation and i had fun with it. Your issue seems to be that you expected something from that movie that it didn't provide und thus you feel the movie is crap. We are on the same side here: I like a movie if it meets my expectation and i don't like it if it doesn't, too.
But please don't push me into a corner or generally accepting crappy movies as soon as they are "over-the-top", which i don't.
An example: Many people out there love Troy. They expected some sandal-movie and got what they wanted (a love story, some fights, good guys and bad guys), which is fine. I excpected to at least see historically correct costumes, like those in some really good technicolor movies. What I saw were units with every soldier bearing a different spear, obviously borrowed from several movies and respectively several time periods. That made me hate it. It's a nice movie _apart_ from that, but i can't watch it another time.
I hope my point is clearer now.

Dougal

 

[JediSoth]

My wife and I enjoyed it. Sure, it wasn't Oscar-material, but I found it more than suitable for an afternoon of turning off my brain and just being entertained. I don't think it tried to be more than just simple popcorn-entertainment, and I didn't have any expectations for it to be the best action/horror/fantasy movie ever.

JediSoth

 

[Mystery Man]

After being slapped in the face, Mystery Man is given permission to not watch a movie.

Call me crazy, but sometimes I like to make up my mind based on information I recieve before I actually waste my time.

 

[Viking Bastard]

Call me crazy, but sometimes I like to make up my mind based on information I recieve before I actually waste my time.

Y'mean, like if everybody's praising it?

It's fun!

 

[Captain Tagon]

Do you also mean that anything you do not like can not be great art to someone else who does like it? Cause thats what I think Captain Tagon was refreing to.

Yeah, that's basically what I meant. Of course, on a bigger scale I believe there is such an absolute concept as "good art". However in our day to day examinations of art, personal preference comes into play a lot more than an objective standard.

 

[Mystery Man]

Y'mean, like if everybody's praising it?

It's fun!

Not so much that...see now you're forcing me to treat this seriously...

I'll almost never go by what other people say about a movie or a book and base my desicion on that. I'll take the overview, or the description and using that I'll base my decision on it. I'll know if it fits my tastes. Based on (and we'll just use it as an example) Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter's description from a couple different resources that I've found I know that I would find this film not only offensive but irritating 15 minutes into it. Being 36 years old, I pretty much know what I like and what I don't. Granted there are times when I'm pleasantly surprised that I'm wrong but I'm usually not. I had a hunch I wouldn't like The Day After Tomorrow, 15 minutes into it I was right, thank goodness I didn't front the money for the rental on that one. So I've learned to trust my instincts!

That is to say I would never say that Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter is a bad film, or put it down, or say that it sucks etc., nor would I recommend that folks not see it. I just know that I would not like it.

 

[DonTadow]

I actually thought hte movie was ok, but I couldn't hate it because I saw it after the last Harry Potter movie and after seeing the HORRIBLE werewolf transformation and potrayal in that movie, van helsing looked like star wars special effects.

 

[sniffles]

I certainly don't hate it, or even dislike it. I hadn't heard of people hating it, though of course there's always going to be someone who hates any movie - the world is full of Mikeys (Let's get Mikey to try it! He hates everything!).

I liked it even better than I thought I would. It was funny and entertaining. I liked Van Helsing's gadgets. I was glad that Karl wasn't a comedy relief buffoon, and it was fun seeing David Wenham playing a character entirely unlike Faramir (so much unlike him that at first I didn't recognize the actor). Kate Beckinsale's character was a little silly, but not so much that it annoyed me, and it was amusing to see her as a vampire hunter just after seeing her as a vampire in "Underworld". I really loved Frankenstein's monster; he was just great, and the action scenes with him were a hoot even if they were completely ridiculous. I also liked the guy who played Vlad - he was appropriately creepy in my opinion.

But I realize it probably wasn't everyone's cup of tea. Que sera, sera.

 

[David Howery]

uh... I didn't recognize Wenham either... which part did he play?