Kevin Hampton – Google

I will always believe that Bram Stoker intended for his creation to be vile and evil and monstrous as opposed to the sometimes charming, suave, hopeless romantic portrayed in much of popular culture. Without a doubt, this iteration of Dracula is every bit of his intention. A true horror film, The Last Voyage of the Demeter finally came to Prime as a rental for $5.99. Lean and mean, this version plots the doomed voyage of the Demeter carrying the eponymous vampire, his prisoner Anna, and his 48 other crates of Romanian dirt to London in search of fresh blood. There are plenty of jump scares and gory kills along the way. Strong work from Corey Hawkins and Liam Cunningham. Thoroughly enjoyed the movie.

Revisited this little gem after seeing it several years ago. Known sadly for James Gandolfini’s last role before his sudden passing, it’s an excellent film set in New York about a small time hood who’s bar was taken over by the local Chechen mafia. Tom Hardy plays the actual cousin of Cousin Marv (Gandolfini) who was once the owner of said bar. Based on a short story by Dennis Lehane, who also wrote the screenplay, the film takes its time to get where it’s going but is well worth the wait. Excellent support from Noomi Rapace and Matthew Schoenarts, with Gandolfini a joy to watch as always. But it’s Hardy’s laidback performance as the bartender that absolutely steals the movie. Enjoy!

A masterpiece. A criminally underrated masterpiece. Here’s the deal- watch the Ultimate Edition playing on HBO Max right now. 3 hours 3 minutes. Not the hacked up theatrical version. How in the hell does this thing have a 28% rating on Rotten Tomatoes?! What are they watching?? It’s a superhero movie that’s exploring deep themes such as religion and deities, childhood trauma, and the fall of man. Is it perfect? No. Is it well-acted and beautifully shot? Hell yes. Is the CGI top-shelf? Oh hell yes. Does it take it’s time telling the story?? Uh...yeah. Shouldn’t it?? A great film. Maybe 15-20 years from now, it’ll get its due. A very personal vision by a filmmaker who’s not interested in reminding you these were once comic book and cartoon characters. Bravo.

It’s good so this review isn’t to suggest you shouldn’t see it. But it’s muddled and not as good as the first WW. Gal Gadot is radiant as expected and Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, and Pedro Pasquale are all superb. As a child of the 80’s, it was great to see the nostalgia. In summary, there are scenes in the movie that are perfect and others that are not. The filmmakers have a message they are sending which is a bit heavy-handed. Still, worth your time. 3 out of 5 stars.