Scifi 411 - Movie Guide: V

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Van Helsing

Release Date: May 7, 2004
DVD Release Date: October 19, 2004
Studio: Universal Pictures
Director: Stephen Sommers
Screenwriter: Stephen Sommers
Starring: Hugh Jackman as Abraham Van Helsing, Kate Beckinsale as Anna Valerious, Richard Roxburgh as Count Dracula, David Wenham as Carl, Shuler Hensley as Frankenstein's Monster, Will Kemp as Velkan/The Wolf Man, Kevin J. O'Connor as Igor, Elena Anaya as Dracula's bride, Silvia Colloca as Dracula's bride, Josie Maran as Dracula's bride, Sam West as Victor Frankenstein
Genre: Action, Horror
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for nonstop creature action violence and frightening images, and for sensuality)
Official Website: VanHelsing.net
Reviews by: Chicago Sun-Times (3 out of 4), Coming Soon! (7 out of 10), Scifi Weekly (D+)

Plot Outline: It’s the late 19th century and monster hunter Dr. Abraham Van Helsing (Jackman) has been summoned to a distant part of Eastern Europe to vanquish the evil forces of Count Dracula (Roxburgh), the Wolf Man (Kemp), and Frankenstein’s Monster (Hensley). He is assisted by Anna (Beckinsale), the heir of a family committed to destroying Dracula.

The fabled monster hunter, Van Helsing, first appeared in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Van Helsing first appeared onscreen in the seminal 1931 Universal classic Dracula.

The Village

Release Date: July 30, 2004
DVD Release Date: January 11, 2005
Studio: Touchstone Pictures
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Screenwriter: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix as Lucius Hunt, Sigourney Weaver as Alice Hunt, Adrien Brody as Noah Percy, William Hurt as Edward Walker, Bryce Dallas Howard as Ivy Walker, Judy Greer as Kitty Walker, Jayne Atkinson as Mrs. Walker, Michael Pitt, Cherry Jones, Celia Weston, Fran Kranz
Genre: Drama, Romance, Supernatural, Thriller
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for scenes of violence and frightening situations)
Official Website: TheVillage.movies.com
Reviews by: Rolling Stone (3 out of 4), Scifi Weekly (B), USA Today (2 1/2 out of 4)

Plot Outline: Set in rural Pennsylvania during 1897, the film revolves around the small close-knit community of Covington, with population of just 60, surrounded by woods believed to be inhabited by a mythical race of creatures. Romance blossoms between Kitty (Greer), the daughter of the town’s leader, and Lucius (Phoenix), but their relationship and the entire village is threatened when Lucius questions the policy of keeping Covington’s citizens confined in the village.

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