ultraviolet Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Since the weekend has come and gone and the only ones still talking about Crank: High Voltage are the critics who were forced to go to midnight and opening day screenings to write their reviews, it should come as no surprise that the sequel to the popular 2006 film did not perform exceptionally well at the box office. Indeed, it landed at sixth place in the weekend's Top Ten, grossing just shy of $7 million, while the number one film, 17 Again, raked in almost $24 million. But that's just the way that non sequitur cinema works: no matter what you hope or expect to happen next, there's no predicting how things will turn out.

Sorry, you don't know what non sequitur cinema is? Well, it's the action subgenre launched in 2000 thanks to the directorial style of filmmaker McG's Charlie's Angels which has since morphed into its own, thrilling, nonsensical entity which sometimes makes careers, but more often, claims them.

Not to be confused with real movies, these "experiences" function on a level of sensory overload that transcends such paltry objectives as character development or storytelling. Rather, they're most easily recognized by a preponderance of visual style that annihilates coherent thought, leaves eye sockets singed, and considers adrenal glands only slightly more valuable than Faberge eggs made from baby seal pelts and wrapped in bald eagle feathers. The original Angels collected enough on screen talent not only to earn it $264 million in worldwide grosses, but a sequel that made nearly as much despite making no sense at all and actually making the first film seem much, much worse than it actually is. (Ask McG how he feels about the reception of the two films if you don't believe me.)

I want you to think all the way back to February of '07 when Sony first announced that they would be making a feature film out of the best-selling game, Metal Gear Solid. Everything seemed on track, then the writer's strike happened and it seemed Solid was going to fade away to obscurity ... or then again, maybe not. Coming Soon recently got the chance to speak with producer Michael De Luca during a press event for 21, when they scored a little tidbit about the future of the big-screen Metal Gear. According to De Luca, the project is not only back on, but they are already on the lookout for someone to write the script – namely, Kurt Wimmer.

Metal Gear Solid is a stealth game released by Konami back in 1998. The story, or what little there was in the beginning, focused on a genetically enhanced soldier named Snake taking down the evil FOXHOUND. As the franchise continued, more attention was paid to the story in the game. By the third installment there was a much richer mythology surrounding political conspiracies and state of the art warfare included in the game.

When it comes to the feature film, Wimmer's involvement is far from a done deal. According to De Luca, Columbia Pictures will be meeting with Wimmer over the next few weeks to see if he is interested in taking on the script. Wimmer was the writer and director behind Equilibrium and Ultraviolet, both of which might as well have been video games, so he seems like a good fit. CS also hinted that Wimmer could be taking over directing duties for MGS as well, so stay tuned to Cinematical for any news that comes our way.

Recent Theatricals

• Annapolis (Buena Vista) -- James Franco and Tyrese Gibson invade the Naval Academy, blissfully unaware that An Officer and a Gentleman is still a fairly well-remembered film. (Filmmaker commentary, deleted scenes, two featurettes)
• Failure to Launch (Paramount) -- Professional floozy Sarah Jessica Parker is hired to seduce Matthew McConaughey right out of his parents' home. Of all the movies that show Terry Bradshaw's naked ass, this one's the finest. (Five blathering featurettes)
• Find Me Guilty (Fox) -- I don't care that it bombed and I don't care that it stars Vin Diesel; Sidney Lumet directed it! ("Conversations with Lumet" featurette)
• Madea's Family Reunion (Lionsgate) -- Tyler Perry is the Uwe Boll of urban melodrama. (Director's commentary, deleted scenes, four featurettes)
• Ultraviolet (Sony) -- Milla J. stars in a bunch of stand-alone action sequences that boast some pretty swanky set design. (Jovovich commentary, featurette, 7 minute-longer "extended" cut)

Hi. It looks like you and I are going to be seeing a lot of each other, now that this snazzy new weekly column deal is happening. If that's the case, we've got to lay down some ground rules so we know where we stand. Here's how it is going to be:

Rule 1 - The movie business is driven by opinion, not fact; and the geek business doubly so. I'm going to say some things you disagree with - and at some point I'll probably insult something you like. I'm an opinionated guy, and I tend to think I'm right about everything. But let's be fair, you know you do the same. If it makes you feel better, feel free to hate/make fun of things that I like if you ever feel slighted. I'll even provide a list of possible topics.

Rule 2 - A good relationship is built on open conversation. See that comment option down there? Use it. Use it like Popeye uses spinach. I want to know what you are interested in, and I want to know when you disagree with me. Sure I'm a writer - but I'm only one geek among millions - and you've all got opinions as legitimate as my own.

Rule 3 - I'm allowed to make new rules at any time, and break them at will. It IS my column, after all.

 

Ultraviolet is the latest entry in the Revisionist Vampire genre, where evil bloodsuckers are recast as a fashionable but oppressed minority in a world gone mad. Or as repressed supermodels. Instead of stalking innocent damsels in their bedrooms, they now stalk the runways of Paris and Milan, picking up aviator sunglasses and other accessories that match the exclusive-club nature of their blood type. The unfortunate need to inject a little blood now and then - so bourgeois - is handled with the discretion of a coke habit. The pointy canine teeth are retained by some of these new vampires for retro kitsch value, such as the character of Garth in this film, who is a model for a sort of English-Humanities Professor Vampire. As he paces the floor, fulminating on the existential problems of vampirism, the teeth make a nice contrast to his furrowed brow and unkempt hair. Not to get your hopes up. Ultraviolet is an ultra-careless action-vampire mash-up that will satisfy neither action fans or those who enjoy the typical Wikipedia-culled hodgepodge of vampire lore. It rarely even makes sense. After the movie informs us that vampirism was recently created by a viral mutation, for example, we see the vampires brandishing swords with ancient glyph writing burned onto the blades. Looks like they've been around for a while.

For the second week in a row, Madea's Family Reunion topped the weekend box office, earning an estimated $13 million. While that's less than half what the movie made last weekend, it nevertheless was more than enough to out distance all four of this week's debuts. The most successful of the four was 16 Blocks, Bruce Willis' latest actioner - apparently the old dude still has it, because the movie took in a little over $11.5 million, putting it just beyond Eight Below which, in its third week of release, was still the third biggest earner in the country with about $10 million.

Ultraviolet, meanwhile, despite no early reviews and an explosion of terrible ones the moment it was released, finished fourth with a respectable $9 million. (I sure as hell hope Milla's getting percentages on this one, because about $8.75 million of that is all about her.) Rounding out the weekend's top five was Aquamarine, also making its debut, which made $7.5 million. Block Party, meanwhile, finished seventh (just behind The Pink Panther, which just keeps holding on) with a very respectable $10 million on roughly half as many screens as Aquamarine and Ultraviolet. The complete list is after the jump.

Last time I wrote about Ultraviolet (I do it a lot - I'm sorry, I simply can't resist the Milla), I provided a detailed plot summary that involved vampires, a blood disease, and a little boy who need protection. Now, after watching the trailer, I realize that all of that was unnecessary: basically, what this movie is about is a chick named Violet (that's Milla) kicking the ass of pretty much the entire world. As far as I could tell, there really isn't much of a plot, apart from the fact that she hates everyone and would like to kill them all. Now, while this is possibly not a description likely to get butts in the seats, two things just might: 1)Milla's clothes are very tight, and 2)the action sequences look pretty fantastic. And, in addition to those two visceral thrills, the production design is awesome - lots of shiny white, set off by dark uniforms and whatever brighter color Milla happens to be wearing in the scene. Even the few minutes of the trailer make it abundantly clear where all the focus and money went on this one: the dialogue and acting are awful, but every shot looks amazing.

Ultraviolet comes out in the US next month, at which time I will be sitting in my local multiplex, popcorn in hand, surrounded by empty chairs. Of course, there's no way it can possibly do as badly as BloodRayne. And that's something, right?

[via Movies Online]

Again with the pictures? These things are just showing up like crazy lately. And as always, your diligent blogger is here to collect them all for you and assemble them together in one happy little list.

• The folks at Defamer bring you and interesting (and slightly unnerving) Christmas greeting card from the cast and crew of X-Men, featuring Ratner himself in the center. Personally, I'm not sure what to make of it. I think it sort of scares me, in that same way that the Santa at the mall who used to smell a little bit too much like Uncle Jack's* liquor cabinet scared me. Merry X-Mas. Ah-ha-ha. Get it? You can shoot me now...I know I deserve it.
• Brandon Routh on yet another magazine, you ask? Yes, I answer firmly. If you scroll down a piece on this strange (and appropriately titled) website Media Soup, you'll find your favorite Man of Steel (unless you somehow prefer Stalin to Superman, that is) on the cover of Premiere.
• Finally, on a slightly less box-office related note, the Sci Fi Channel has released some early images of their upcoming flick Ultraviolet. And despite my fingers' insistent efforts to the contrary, the film is in fact called Ultraviolet, not UltravioleNt. 

 

*No, I do not have an Uncle Jack. I created him for use as a very short lived literary device. The metaphor, however, remains strong.