The Wolfman (2010)

The 2010 remake of "The Wolfman" will not be remembered as fondly as the original. It may not contain the awkward forwardness of Don Chaney Jr's character towards the the women in the film, it may use state-of-the-art special effects and make-up (which won an Academy Award), and it may indeed star the usually amazing Anthony Hopkins, but somehow this film still comes up short. Benicio del Toro does look a bit like Don Chaney Jr in this film but I don't think that he was a good fit for the role. It's difficult to care for his character or for the other characters that directly interact with him. Anthony Hopkins doesn't fully own his character in the same way that he owned Van Helsing in "Bram Stoker's Dracula". And Emily Blunt's role just feels too forced, not by anything that she does herself, but just by being there for no other reason than as a story device. The ending is different and somewhat satisfying but it isn't enough to save the movie. The strongest part of this production is the performance delivered by Hugo Weaving, which really doesn't come as much of a surprise; it's a shame that he enters the film so far into it. An uncredited and brief appearance by Max von Sydow is a pleasant surprise.

The world renown Shakespearean actor Lawrence Talbot returns to his childhood home of Blackmoor, England after he receives news that his brother has been violently killed. Lawrence has an uneasy reunion with his father, Sir John Talbot, who still resides at his grade estate with his assistant Singh and his brother's grieving fiancee Gwen Conliffe. Being back at his old home causes Lawrence emotional distress, including dreaming flashbacks of his mother's suicide and his former mental issues. Lawrence tries to find out what happened to his brother on his own and while visiting a gypsy camp near-by, he is attacked and mauled by a wolf-like beast. With Gwen's help, Lawrence is nursed back to health incredibly fast which makes the locals very uneasy. When Inspector Aberline arrives in town to investigate a recent string of murders, he comes to suspect the odd acting Lawrence. Unfortunately the timing is right for Lawrence to change in to the Wolf, and discovering that his father is one and has locked himself away, Lawrence falls under the power of the beast and goes out into the night to kill. The next morning, Aberline arrests Lawrence and brings him back to London where he is admitted to the haunting asylum that he spent his childhood after his mother died. With vengeance in his heart and a hatred for his father, will Lawrence be able to control the Beast within when the full moon rises once more?

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

And another take on the famed story of Dracula, "Bram Stoker's Dracula" is the vampire film that follows the novel the most. I have yet to see any filmed version of Dracula where the old Dracula is walking around with a long white mustache like he does in the book. Besides this oversight, and a few additions made by Coppola, this version most resembles the novel about the vampire and his adventures in London. The casting choices are all over the place for this film with some poor choices (Keanu Reeves?) to proper (Carly Elwes and Tom Waits) to outstanding (Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins). The musical score is one to remember as well and it's not like don't have much choice as it's still used in other movies' previews still to this day.


There's no need for a synopsis, you know what the story is about by now! But I will go over some of the small details that were added for the film

1. The opening where Dracula goes off to fight the Turks and his wife kills herself when she hears that he has been killed in battle. Upon his return and finding her dead body, he curses God and stabs the stone statue, drinking it's blood. Not in the book but it's a super cool scene.

2. It's revealed that Renfield was originally working as the solicitor for Dracula before going crazy. In the book when never hear of any past dealings with the Count.

3. The entire section where Dracula meets Mina in London and takes her to the cinema, where they encounter the white wolf. This is added to make the this version more of a love story.

There are other minor bits missing from the novel but this version is the truest that I've seen and is still fun to watch twenty two years later!