CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
Blu-ray Review: Mind-Numbing Franchise Continues with ‘Underworld: Awakening’
CHICAGO – How did we get to four “Underworld” movies? Sure, the first one is decent B-movie entertainment and there are even moments in the fourth one, “Underworld: Awakening,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, that find a bit of that glee but these are such products of a marketing machine. There’s nothing interesting, original, or exciting here. You watch ‘em and forget about it ‘em by the time your Blu-ray player has powered down. Don’t bother. There are better ways to spend your time.
Blu-ray Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
I know, I know. I’m being too harsh on a movie for which the main reason for its existence ie Kate Beckinsale in black leather. But why is “Underworld: Awakening” so boring? Anyone who’s played a video game in the last ten years has seen more inventive action and don’t get me started on the vampire/werewolf mythology and how it has been more interestingly used in about three dozen projects. There’s just nothing that makes a film like “Underworld: Awakening” stand out. There’s certainly no dialogue worth remembering and even the action fades by the time the next scene starts. For a very loyal audience, it’s a decent rental. Everyone else can do better.
For the record, “Underworld: Awakening” does come home with an impressive array of special features including five featurettes and a commentary track. The marketing machine keeps churning.
Underworld: Awakening was released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 8, 2012
Photo credit: Sony
Synopsis:
Kate Beckinsale returns as the ultimate vampire warrioress Selene in Underworld: Awakening, the stunning new installment of the epic saga. Having escaped years of imprisonment, she finds herself in a changed 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. Now Selene must battle the humans and a frightening new breed of super Lycans to ensure the death dealers’ survival.
Special Features:
o 5 Behind The Scenes Featurettes:
o Selena Rises
o Resuming The Action
o Awakening A Franchise, Building A Brutal New World
o Casting The Future Of Underworld
o Building A Better Lycan
o Filmmakers’ Commentary
o Blooper Reel
o “Heavy Prey” Music Video
o Cracking the Underworld: Picture-in-Picture Experience
By BRIAN TALLERICO |