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Crikey, the Summer Movie Season is officially here! I'll attempt to keep up with all the movies that will be released this summer and give a little review/rundown, but since work's been fluctuating between busy and slow for the last couple of weeks, it may be sidetracked in the future.

Since the movie season actually started a couple of weeks ago, you'd think the reviews would be behind, but NO. I managed to catch two movies this weekend, and I'll dispense with them in the order seen:

Starting on Saturday, a group of us saw Troy at the luxurious Grove Theater. Settling ourselves into the supremely laid-back seats, I first grabbed some refreshments from their quite modern EZ pick-up concession system. A great system as I didn't even have to wait in line! Back to the movie, it started out with promise and delivered on all counts. The performances by the actors (including Brad Pitt) were quite good. More Sean Bean as Odysseus would have been great, but the distinct portrayals by both Pitt and Eric Bana, as Achilles and Hector respectively, anchored the film. The film's divergence of the Iliad was obvious since the gods were excluded from the action, but I think it served to make a better film. It would have been less serious, and campier as a result, I think. With the right actors, though, it could have been pulled off grandly. I will say, however, that the movie's old soundtrack is an improvement. 4 out of 5 stars.

The day afterwards, I saw what some have described as "The Worst Film Of The Decade": Van Helsing. To tell the truth, I disagree with that statement, it was surprisingly a lot of fun. My main gripes were with the actors playing Frankenstein and Dracula. The monster was too weepy, and the vampire had a generic accent and was not menacing at all. Effect-wise, I was impressed. It may have had something to do with the digital presentation I saw though, which was in itself very impressive. Big Newport never fails to deliver. Hugh Jackman was serviceable, but should stick to Wolverine. Kate Beckinsdale, on the other hand, can do no wrong in my eyes. Well, except for her over-the-top accent as well. 3 out of 5 stars.

More to come...