(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Adam Zacharias delves through the UAEs latest cinema releases
Dracula Untold
Everyone’s favourite bloodsucker gets an origin story – with the starring role going to Welsh franchise regular Luke Evans (The Hobbit trilogy Fast & Furious 6).
The tale sees Transylvanian prince Vlad Tepes (aka Vlad the Impaler) make a supernatural bargain intended to protect his family and kingdom from invading forces which ultimately leads to his transformation into Dracula.
The $100 million blockbuster has received negative reviews for plodding through well-worn territory with minimal panache.
“Much like the widely reviled I Frankenstein this misconceived project mainly signals a need to go back to the drawing board” said Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter.
“Evans handles the dramatic scenes as well as he does the action later on but ultimately this is a story nobody asked to be told” said Doug Whelan of The Irish Independent.
Dracula Untold currently has a 28% rating on rottentomatoes.com and a 6.4/10 rating on imdb.com.
Trivia
Avatar star Sam Worthington was originally attached to star in Dracula Untold which was filmed in Northern Ireland.
Decoding Annie Parker
Based on true events this drama follows both the incredible work of geneticist Mary-Claire King (Helen Hunt) in advancing breast cancer research and the life of Annie Parker (Samantha Morton) who contracts the disease that killed her mother and sister.
Despite the film’s noble and challenging subject matter as well as an impressive cast that also includes Rashida Jones Aaron Paul and Alice Eve it failed to make a dent at the box office and received lukewarm reviews.
“Decoding Annie Parker is a movie about resilience about staring doom straight in the face – with a smile with hope” said Steven Rea of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“Though uneven in its execution it has at its heart two remarkable women and one remarkable performance (from Morton)” said Moira MacDonald of The Seattle Times.
Decoding Annie Parker currently has a 52% rating on rottentomatoes.com and a 6.4/10 rating on imdb.com.
Trivia
The real Mary-Claire King also proved that human beings and chimpanzees are 99 per cent identical.
The Guest
Downton Abbey Actor Dan Stevens continues his rise to stardom in this critically lauded thriller.
When former soldier David shows up at the Peterson household claiming to be a friend of their son Caleb who recently died fighting in Afghanistan he is welcomed in.
However when people start dropping dead suspicions arise over the charming newcomer’s true identity.
“Stevens is mesmerising as the avenger helping director Adam Wingard turn The Guest into a blast of wicked mirth and malice” said Peter Travers of Rolling Stone.
“Completely ridiculous. And entertaining as hell” said Richard Roeper of Richardroeper.com.
The Guest currently has a 94% rating on rottentomatoes.com and a 7.7/10 rating on imdb.com.
Trivia
Dan Stevens stars in three other 2014 releases – A Walk Among the Tombstones The Cobbler and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.