The ALVH reviews and articles thread

[wills]

Ha. I have been tracking the numbers. Here's the link www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=daily&id=abrahamlincolnvampirehunter.htm So far it has only made 58,750,910 worldwide (click on foreign).

With a Production Budget of $69 million it has a ways to go. They always say they need to make way more than that to break even, too. And notice it dropped from 2,757 theaters to only 1,657 theaters this last weekend. With 3,109 theaters that first week. It's not looking good.

[voiceover]

Other films that don't quite make a breakeven budget frequently rally with DVD sales. I think ALVK will be a cult vampire film and such [forgive the expression] oddities often do well with additional sales and being re-discovered several years down the line. I think we are wrong to believe it doesn't have a future. Look at other RS films enjoying second time around - CCfarm springs to mind. But thanks for posting BO results Boxofficemojo is usually reliable. Meantime note they are bringing DVD sales out on Sept 18th

[kygal]

Dark City also comes to mind.

[rueful]

Here's a review that, overall, liked the book better than the film, but had high praise for Rufus:

southtownstar.suntimes.com/entertainment/movies/13462308-421/book-vs-movie-abraham-lincoln-vampire-hunter.html


Book vs. movie: ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’

As an unabashed history buff and horror aficionado, my geeky heart leapt with joy when I first heard about “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.”

Not only did the plot sound creative, but it also pandered perfectly to an America that has adopted a cultural obsession with vampires.

Seth Grahame-Smith, author of the renowned “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” (Quirk Books), capably transformed Honest Abe into a male, 19th century Buffy the Vampire Slayer in both the “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” book (Grand Central Publishing) and movie screenplay.

But one version proved better than the other. While we can (and will) list reasons why, there was one fact that made both the book and movie works of good quality: Mr. Lincoln never encountered one vampire that sparkled a la the “Twilight” series.......

In the film, Abraham Lincoln (played by Benjamin Walker) is still a vampire hunter seeking vengeance for his mother’s vampire-induced death, and he still requires help from Henry Sturges (Dominic Cooper).

But that is about all that remains the same.

Grahame-Smith adds a villain to the screenplay: evil vampire Adam (Rufus Sewell), leader of the bloodsuckers.

Now Lincoln can do inhuman things, like chopping down a tree with three swings of an ax or surviving a train ride over a pit of fire, that would put superhero Iron Man to shame.

The movie is entertaining enough and more worth the price of the ticket than anything Adam Sandler has produced within the past five years.

Unlike the book, however, the film does not succeed in convincing audiences to fully eat what they are served.

Most of director Timur Bekmambetov’s action scenes, with the exception of the final battle, look cheesy on-screen and prevent viewers from fully immersing themselves in the experience....

With regards to the actors, Walker plays a sufficient, believable Lincoln and Cooper holds his own as Henry.

The underrated Sewell gives the standout performance of the movie, basking in every moment he is on-screen.

He seems to have a ball playing dastardly evil roles, and in this case he makes viewers glad that Grahame-Smith added his character to the plot.


I would recommend the “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” film to general moviegoers who like action flicks with plenty of blood and gore.

The movie is entertaining in its own right, and the overall premise is still different from the same ole plots about aliens or actor Vin Diesel’s fast cars.

[kissmekate]

Very nice, thanks!

I found a rather scathing review somewhere online that said the only good thing about the movie was Rufus (I'll see if I find the link again).

[GreenEyesToo]

I've seen a few where they call his a stand-out performance. So if nothing else, Rufus is certainly getting noticed!

[voiceover]

It' that coat!

[kissmekate]

Jul 16, 2012 19:02:35 GMT GreenEyesToo said:

I've seen a few where they call his a stand-out performance. So if nothing else, Rufus is certainly getting noticed!

That can't be bad! Hopefully it will inspire scriptwriters and directors to give that man a really good role in a really good film

GE2, what did you think of the movie, by the way?

[kygal]

I agree. RS did give a stand-out performance. BC was pretty good as well. Yes, love that coat! I am so silly that I kept the 3 D glasses...not sure why. The Spiderman 3 D glasses ended up in the recycle box.

[kissmekate]

Jul 17, 2012 10:40:09 GMT kygal said:

I am so silly that I kept the 3 D glasses...not sure why. The Spiderman 3 D glasses ended up in the recycle box.

Oh well, who cares about Spiderman!?

[robela]

Thanks for posting that last review Rueful! I agree entirely with the article. I felt the very same about the book and then felt let down by the film. Having said that Rufus was excellent as Adam and saved the film from being mediocre.

[voiceover]

Kygal, I kept my glasses too not sure what that says about me but they are still sitting on top of my bookcase.

[dovescorpio]

Thanks all for the reviews and articles info. its always nice, if expected, that Rufus' own performance is found to be as impeccable, and standout brilliant as we have all come to know that it will be. But I am a little sad too. For him as well as all the others, a standout brilliant response from the audience at large, to mee his own level of general standout brilliance would have been rather good. Am looking forward to seeing it, when it gets to a cinema near me as am sure it will.

[GreenEyesToo]

I loved this post on the IMDB messageboard for ALVH:

In Texas, there is a group of people dressing up as both vampires and victims and going to see the show. This reminds me quite a bit of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and its following.

It's clear to me that this very quirky and oddball film is slowly, but surely finding its audience!

www.imdb.com/title/tt1611224/board/nest/201664455?d=latest&t=20120716191643#latest


;D I can easily see this having the same sort of cult status as Rocky Horror. (ALVH: The Musical - heading for a stage near you soon? )(actually, if they ever did turn it into a musical, it would probably run for years, just like TRHPS!)

Jul 17, 2012 8:18:03 GMT kissmekate said:

GE2, what did you think of the movie, by the way?

Not enough Rufus!! Mind you, there's never enough Rufus, whatever he's in.

(There may be spoilers ahead)


I enjoyed it more than I expected (vampires not being my thing at all) - beautifully filmed, not too much gore despite what was shown in the trailers, but disappointing that certain lines of dialogue in the trailers aren't in the film. One scene made less sense with those lines out, so I'm not entirely sure why it was done.

I liked Benjamin Walker's performance, and Dominic Cooper's was better than I expected (I thought in some of the trailers his delivery of lines seemed rather too flat) but Jimmi Simpson was the real revelation - brilliant performance.

Rufus's, of course, was the best! I don't think the film could have worked without a central villain, and he played it very restrained yet still quietly menacing when he needed to be. In other hands it wouldn't have worked, but Rufus always knows how to pitch a character so it's believable. Just not enough of him - Adam needed more of a back-story and we just didn't get it.

So, overall, not a brilliant film, but nowhere near as bad as some people (not here, obviously) are trying to make out!

[kygal]

Thanks GE2. I agree that Adam needed more of a back- story. Maybe they should just make a movie about Adam. Works for me!

LOL Voiceover. Glad I am not the ONLY one. Not sure what that says about us. I just blame it one Rufusitis.