Van Helsing

Released Year: 2004

Directed by Stephen Sommers

Casted by:

Hugh Jackman as Gabriel Van Helsing

Kate Beckinsale as Anna Valerious

Richard Roxburgh as Count Vladislaus Dracula

David Wenham as Carl

Kevin J. O'Connor as Igor

Will Kemp as Velkan Valerious

Silvia Colloca as Verona

Josie Maran as Marishka

Elena Anaya as Aleera

Story:

In 1887 Transylvania, Doctor Victor Frankenstein creates a monster with the anticipated aid of Count Dracula, who reveals that he plans to use the creature for his own evil plans and kills the doctor as his castle is raided by a mob of villagers. His assistant Igor escapes, but the villagers chase the monster to an old windmill and set it ablaze. The villagers are scared off by Dracula and his brides, who witness the monster and the doctor's research apparently destroyed by the fire.

One year later, after killing the elusive Mr. Hyde at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, monster hunter Van Helsing returns to the Vatican in Rome. He learns his mission to destroy Dracula and his amnesia are penance for past, unremembered sins that cause nightmares. He is tasked with helping the last of bloodline, Velkan Valerious and his sister Anna, who must kill Dracula before their ancestors may enter Heaven. Carl, a friar provides Van Helsing with aid and weapons. Meanwhile, in Transylvania, Velkan is apparently killed during an attempt to trap and kill a werewolf, and Anna is attacked by Dracula's brides shortly after Van Helsing's arrival. He saves her life and kills Marishka, one of the brides, but as the last of her line Anna becomes more determined to kill Dracula. In order to protect her, Van Helsing knocks her out to prevent her from leaving. Later that night, she awakens and encounters Velkan, who reveals Dracula has a dark secret, but to her horror, he becomes a werewolf and attacks. After she and Van Helsing track him to Frankenstein's castle, they discover that the vampires are attempting to give life to their born-dead children, using Velkan as the source of the power. Van Helsing, dubbed "Gabriel" by Dracula, realizes they had ties in the past. Van Helsing refuses Dracula's offer to return his memory and escapes. The experiment fails however, and the vampire children die, but Velkan turns on Anna as he becomes completely consumed by his curse. The pair then escape together.

Under the remains of the old windmill, Van Helsing and Anna encounter the monster. Because he is not evil, Van Helsing cannot allow it to be killed, even though he claims to be the key to the failed experiment. The werewolf witnesses this and escapes to inform Dracula. Meanwhile, Carl discovers a painting that comes to life, depicting a werewolf and a vampire battling. They travel by carriage to Budapest, successfully luring the remaining brides into a trap and killing Verona. Velkan ambushes the real carriage and bites Van Helsing before being shot and killed. Anna is captured and held as a bargaining chip to exchange her for the monster. They hide the monster in a crypt, but he is taken by the count's undead underlings while Van Helsing and Carl rescue Anna from the count's trap. Returning to the Valerious' castle, Carl discovers an inscription, part of which Van Helsing received in Rome and creates a doorway to the castle. After failing to free the monster from his imprisonment, he lets them know of a cure to lycanthropy that Dracula possesses. Carl determines that the bite of a werewolf is the only way to kill Dracula. He and Anna take Igor to find the cure while Van Helsing goes to free the monster. Igor escapes while the final bride, Aleera, assaults Anna as Carl tries to deliver the cure to Van Helsing. After escaping, the monster saves Anna and urges her to help Carl and Van Helsing. She kills Aleera and arrives at the castle. Meanwhile, the werewolf Van Helsing and Dracula battle. Dracula tries to reason with the werewolf, but Van Helsing bites Dracula, who dissolves into a skeleton. Anna bursts in and is attacked and killed by Van Helsing, but not before she delivers the cure. Van Helsing returns to normal, stricken with grief over what he has done.

At a pyre funeral, Van Helsing witnesses the spirits of Anna and her family ascending into the clouds while Frankenstein's monster rows away on a raft out to sea. Van Helsing and Carl ride off into the sunset.

L² Scored: 9.5/10

L² Comment:

Finally its time for me to re-watch this movie after so many years. I don't quite remember this movie which I have watch in cinema many years ago, seems like a lot of the scenes were censored off in my country. My favorite part of coz is the scene which vampire battle against the warewolf... I think its the peak of this movie, but too bad Beckinsale was killed at the end of the movie by the one she loved... so sad...

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

 Released Year: 2009

Directed by Stephen Sommers

Casted by:

Channing Tatum as Conrad S. Hauser / Duke

Marlon Wayans as Wallace A. Weems / Ripcord

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Rexford G. "Rex" Lewis / Cobra Commander

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Hershel Dalton / Heavy Duty

Dennis Quaid as General Clayton M. Abernathy / Hawk

Rachel Nichols as Shana M. O'Hara / Scarlett

Ray Park as Snake Eyes

Christopher Eccleston as Laird James McCullen XXIV / Destro

Sienna Miller as Anastasia DeCobray / Ana Lewis / The Baroness

李炳憲 Lee Byung-hun as Thomas Arashikage / Storm Shadow

 Story:

In the near future, weapons master James McCullen has created a nanotech-based weapon - nanomites designed to devour metal and other materials, capable of destroying anything from tanks to cities. The nanobots can only be stopped by activating the kill switch. His company M.A.R.S. (Military Armaments Research Syndicate) sells four warheads to NATO, and NATO troops led by American soldiers Duke and Ripcord are tasked with delivering the warheads. Their convoy is ambushed by the Baroness, whom Duke recognizes to be his ex-fiancee Ana Lewis. Duke and Ripcord are rescued by Scarlett, Snake Eyes, Breaker and Heavy Duty. They take the warheads to The Pit, G.I. Joe's command center in Egypt, and upon arriving rendezvous with the head of the G.I. Joe Team, General Hawk. Hawk takes command of the warheads and excuses Duke and Ripcord, only to be convinced to let them join his group, after Duke reveals that he knows the Baroness.

McCullen is revealed to be using the same nanotechnology to build an army of soldiers with the aid of the Doctor, planning on using the warheads to cause worldwide panic and bring about a new world order. Using a tracking device, McCullen locates the G.I. Joe base and sends Storm Shadow and the Baroness to retrieve the warheads, with assistance from Zartan.

After a fight, Storm Shadow and the Baroness retrieve the warheads and take them to Baron DeCobray, the Baroness's husband, for him to weaponize. Making their way to Paris, the Joes pursue the Baroness and Storm Shadow, but are unsuccessful in stopping them from launching one of the missiles. The missile hits the Eiffel Tower and releases the nanomites in it, destroying the tower and some of the surrounding area before Duke manages to hit the kill switch, but in doing so he is captured and taken to McCullen's base under the Arctic.

The Joes locate the secret base and fly there, as McCullen loads three missiles with nano-warheads, which are aimed for Beijing, Moscow and Washington, D.C., the world's three most important cities. He intends to do this to strike fear into the hearts of every man, woman, and child on the planet, after which they will turn to the person with the most power in the world, the President of the United States. After Snake Eyes takes out one missile, Ripcord destroys the remaining two using a stolen M.A.R.S. prototype Night Raven jet, while Scarlett, Breaker, and Snake Eyes infiltrate the base. Snake Eyes duels and prevails over Storm Shadow. Duke learns that the Doctor is Rex Lewis, Ana's brother believed to have been killed by a mistimed airstrike during a mission led by Duke (also the origin of the alienation between Duke and Ana). Rex had encountered Doctor Mindbender in the bunker and was seduced by the nanomite technology, taking too long to retrieve the data and getting caught in the bombing, which disfigured him. After freeing Duke, the Baroness is subdued, as the Doctor reveals he has implanted her with nanomites, which has put her under his control for the past four years. Attempting to kill Duke, McCullen ends up being burned, so he and the Doctor flee to an escape vessel. Duke and the Baroness pursue him while the Joes fall back, when the Doctor activates the base's self-destruct sequence; which involves 'blowing the ice cap' to create blocks of ice which then nearly crush the Joes.

The Doctor assumes the identity of the Commander, having healed McCullen's burned face with nanomites, encasing it in silver and naming him "Destro", which places McCullen under the Commander's control. They are captured by G.I. Joe soon after. On the supercarrier USS Flagg, the Baroness is placed in protective custody until they can remove the nanomites from her body. Meanwhile, Zartan, having had his physical appearance altered by nanomites, infiltrates the White House during the missile crisis and assumes the identity of the President of the United States of America, thus completing a part of McCullen's plan to rule the world.

 L² Scored: 4.5/10 

L² Comment:

Seriously, i'm not sure why i don't really this movie, no matter when i watch it in the cinema or even rewatching it now. Beside Channing Tatum, there's nothing really attracted me, of course ByungHun too haha... Overall this movie is so so, won't consider to rewatch for the 3rd time~

The Mummy Returns

Released Year: 2001
Directed by Stephen Sommers

Casted by:
Brendan Fraser as Rick O'Connell
Rachel Weisz as Evelyn Canarhan / Princess Nefertiri
Freddie Boath as Alex O'Connell
Arnold Vosloo as Imhotep
Patricia Velasquez as Meela Nais / Anck-su-Namun
Dwyane Johnson as The Scorpion King
Story:

The Scorpion King is losing his war and one by one the army died on the desert of Ahm Shere. To survive, The Scorpion King swore an oath to the God of the underworld, Anubis, in exchanging his soul for the power to defeat his enemies. Anubis granted the wish and created an oasis to hide the Scorpion King pyramid and provided the army of Anubis to exact his revenge. But when the war is won, Anubis claimed the Scorpion King's soul.

5000 years later in 1933, the O'Connell family is exploring the pyramid and found the bracelet of Anubis. When they went back to London, Alex put on the bracelet and provided him the direction to oasis of Ahm Shere. Alex has only 7 days to reach the oasis before the sun rise on the 8th day, or else he will be burn to death. But Alex was caught by Imhotep, the high priest who knows black magic with Meela Nais, his reincarnation lover, Anck-su-namun. Rick and Evelyn together with Ardeth Bay, Jonathan and Izzy came to rescue by a gas-balloon.

Cleverly, Alex has been leaving clues for his parents where the bad guys are bringing him. During the journey, Evelyn has been having a lot of vision and found out her past life. Evelyn was the daughter of Pharoah Seti I, Princess Nefertiri and the protector of the bracelet while Rick is a Medjai who protect the princess. While Imhotep is the high priest who has an affair with Anck-su-namun, the woman of the pharoah. When the affair was found, Imhotep killed the pharoah with spears of Osiris. Princess Nefertiri has always been fighting with Anck-su-namun to get the attention of pharoah, she was sad about the death of his father. In the meanwhile, Imhotep has summon and brought back Anck-su-namun's soul back into Meela's body.

While they are in oasis, mummified pygmies attacked and Rick managed to get Alex away from the bad guys. While rushing before the sunrise, Rick managed to bring Alex into the pyramid just in time and get rid off the bracelet. But Meela appeared and stab Evelyn to death. Rick race after Imhotep and Meela into the pyramid leaving Alex and Jonathan with Evelyn's death body. Alex discover that Meela has the death book which can summons the dead to alive again, so both Jonathan and Alex race into the pyramid as well.

Imhotep loss his magic power when he enter the pyramid and has to fought like mortal. The Scorpion King was called to alive and his army of Anubis appeared in the dessert again, fighting with Ardeth's armies. In the meanwhile, Alex managed to get the death book and summons Evelyn back to life. Evelyn faught against Meela and won this time. A half human-scorpion Scorpion King appeared and fought with Rick but was killed by Rick with the spear of Osiris which has been carrying along by Jonathan.

The Scorpion King was killed, and the pyramid is about to collapsed. Both Rick and Imhotep hold on the edge of the hell crack. Evelyn risked her life to safe Rick while Anck-su-namun ran away leaving Imhotep alone. Feeling sad and dissapointed, Imhotep let go of himself to drop into the hell. While running out, Meela accidentally drop into the pool of scorpion and was swallow alife. The pyramid has been sucking everything in from the oasis. The gang climb out and reach the top of the pyramid and luckily get hop onto the gas balloon and ran away.

Finally, everything on the oasis is gone and remain as desert again.

L² Scored: 7/10

L² Comment:

Watched this few years ago, was amaze by how great the movie is. But you know, some movies might make the big hoo-haa during the cinema time, but after a few years when u watch it again, its kinda like so so only... and i found it quite stupid in some of the scene.

Rachel Weisz was so dumb and acted badly back then, just a pretty face and that's all. And i don't understand why i fancy so much about Brendan Fraser at those time, he looks so silly~ lolz... The whole movie is quite ok, i should not say its bad, but definitely not as good as the first movie and the mummy 3.