10. helmikuuta 2015

Dracula Untold

Dracula Untold (previously known as Dracula: Year Zero) is a 2014 American epic dark fantasy action horror film directed by Gary Shore in his feature film debut and written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. Rather than focus on Irish novelist Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, the film creates an origin story for its title character, Count Dracula, by re-imagining the story of Vlad the Impaler. Luke Evans portrays the title character, and Sarah Gadon, Dominic Cooper, Art Parkinson, and Charles Dance appear in supporting roles.

Principal photography began on August 5, 2013, in Northern Ireland. Universal Pictures released the film on October 10, 2014, in theatres and IMAX. Universal intends the film to be a reboot of the Universal Monsters franchise.Despite mixed critical reviews, Dracula Untold was a box office success grossing over $215 million worldwide.

Plot:
In the Middle Ages, Vlad the Impaler is the prince of Wallachia and Transylvania. As a child, he was a princely hostage of the Ottoman Empire and trained to be a soldier in the Sultan's elite Janissary corp, where he became their most feared warrior, nicknamed the Impaler, after slaughtering thousands. Eventually sickened by his acts, he put aside his past and returned to rule his domains in peace. One day in the forest, Vlad and his soldiers discover a helmet in a stream, and fear that a Ottoman scouting party is preparing the way for invasion. They follow the stream to a high mountain cave called Broke Tooth Mountain, they enter the cave, the ground of the cave is carpeted in crushed bone, and they are attacked in the dark by an unknown creature. While his men are killed, Vlad cuts the creature of the cave with his sword and the creature throws Vlad on the ground. The blood on the sword he used to cut the creature started to melt and the creature does not follow because he does not like sunlight. Returning to his castle, Vlad finds out from a local monk that the creature is a vampire, once a man who summoned a demon from the depths of hell and made a pact with him for dark powers but was tricked by the demon and was cursed to remain in the cave forever until he is released by someone who has seen him, escapes, and returns to the cave a second time. The person is welcome to share his power for him to be free from staying in the cave forever.

The next day, as Vlad celebrates Easter with his wife Mirena, his son Ingeras, and his subjects, an Ottoman contingent arrives unexpectedly at the castle. Vlad offers them the usual tribute payment of silver coins, but the emissary notes that a battalion of Ottoman scouts has gone missing, implying that Vlad has had them killed, Vlad voicing out that he had not killed them. The emissary demands an additional tribute of 1,000 boys to be trained as Janissaries, through the devşirme system. Vlad refuses, but his army is small and no match for the Turks. He approaches the Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed II to convince him by offering offering himself in place of the boys, but the Sultan refuses, and demands Vlad's son in addition. The sultan sends the emissary to bring Vlad's son. Vlad has argument with his wife as he is sending his son to meet the emissary and some Ottoman soldiers who were waiting for him to present his son. Vlad tells his wife to trust him, leaves his wife and son and goes to meet the emissary and the soldiers alone. He took off the weapons he had on him, his son was afraid for him, so his son run to him holding his hand telling him that he is ready to join the sultan's army, as Vlad got closer to the Turks the emissary was smiling, he told Vlad that he thought there would be some kind of difficulty. Vlad tells his son to run back to his mom, then takes the emissary's sword, kills the emissary and his small entourage of soldiers.

In desperation, Vlad returns to the Broke Tooth Mountain cave to seek help from the vampire. Once inside, the vampire starts running around Vlad with speed. Vlad draws his sword and the vampire appears in front him, frightening him. The vampire asked Vlad why he returned. Vlad replies by saying he needs the power of the vampire so that he can defeat the Ottoman army. The vampire tells him there are consequences. The vampire offers him some of his blood, which will temporarily give Vlad the powers of a vampire. If he resists the intense urge to drink human blood for three days, he will turn back into a human. Otherwise, he will remain a vampire forever, and will one day be called upon to help his maker. Vlad accepts the offer and drinks the vampire's blood.

Waking up in the forest afterwards, Vlad discovers he has been granted heightened senses, increased strength, and the ability to transform into a flock of bats, but his skin slowly burns in direct sunlight. When he returns to Castle Dracula, the Ottoman army attacks, but Vlad single-handedly kills them all. He then sends most of the castle's subjects to Cozia Monastery, which is situated on the edge of a mountain. During the journey, Mirena learns of Vlad's curse, but accepts that he will regain his mortality once the Ottomans are defeated. A Romani named Shkelgim, who knows Vlad is a vampire, proclaims himself as his servant and offers his own blood, but Vlad resists. As they near the monastery, the Valahs are ambushed by Ottoman soldiers, and while Vlad and his men successfully repel them, Vlad's sudden increased strength arouses suspicion among his subjects. The next day at the monastery, a monk learns of the curse and leads the the prince's subjects to turn on Vlad, trapping him in a burning building. Black smoke blocks out the sun, allowing an outraged Vlad to escape the fire, and he angrily reveals that he became a vampire for the sole purpose of protecting his people from the Ottoman suzerainty.

That night, the Ottoman army marches on the monastery. Vlad commands an enormous swarm of bats to repel them; however, the soldiers are actually a decoy force, allowing a handful of Turks to infiltrate the monastery and kidnap Ingeras. Mirena tries to defend her son, and falls from the edge of the monastery wall. Dying, Mirena pleads with Vlad to drink her blood before the sun rises to give him the strength to save their son. Vlad reluctantly drinks her blood, triggering his final transformation into a full-blooded vampire and granting him even greater powers. Vlad returns to the monastery and turns a small group of survivors into vampires as well. At the Ottoman camp, Mehmed prepares for a massive invasion of Europe through the Balkans and Hungary. Vlad's vampires arrive and massacre the soldiers, while Vlad himself goes after Mehmed, who is holding Ingeras captive. Aware that vampires are weakened by silver, Mehmed has lined the floor of his tent with silver coins and fights Vlad with a silver sword. He overpowers Vlad and prepares to impale his heart with a wooden stake, but Vlad turns into a flock of bats and evades him. Taking the name "Dracula, Son of the Devil", he kills Mehmed and drinks his blood.

As they leave Mehmed's tent, Dracula and Ingeras are confronted by the other vampires, who demand that his son be killed because he is human. The monk who had previously led the Valahs against Vlad appears and keeps the vampires at bay with the Christian Cross. Dracula orders the monk to take Ingeras away, then uses his power to clear the black clouds in the sky. The sunlight burns the vampires into dust, while Dracula collapses into a charred corpse. With Europe saved from invasion, Ingeras is crowned the new Prince of Wallachia, and Vlad the Impaler is presumed dead. However, Shkelgim secretly takes Dracula into the shadows and revives him with his blood.

In the present day, Vlad meets a woman named Mina, who strikingly resembles Mirena, in the streets of a modern city, and they have a conversation about a line of poetry they have in common. The vampire who cursed Vlad watches them from afar, and anticipates what he has planned for Dracula in the future, saying, "Let the games begin."

Jinn

Jinn is a 2014 American action-horror-thriller film written and directed by Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad, starring Dominic Rains, Serinda Swan, Ray Park, William Atherton and Faran Tahir.

Plot:
The film has been said to "introduce the accurate mythological concept of the jinn to Western audiences".

In the Beginning, Three were Created...

Man made of Clay.

Angels made of Light.

And a Third...made of Fire.

From the beginning, stories of angels and men have captured our imaginations and have been etched into our history crossing all boundaries of culture, religion, and time. These two races have dominated the landscape of modern mythology for countless centuries, almost washing away the evidence that a third ever existed. This third race, born of smokeless fire, was called the jinn. Similar to humans in many ways, the jinn lived invisibly among us and only under dire or unusual circumstances were our paths ever meant to cross.

As humans became the dominant force on Earth, contact between man and jinn steadily decreased.

Modern man has all but forgotten the jinn.

It's Kind of a Funny Story

It's Kind of a Funny Story is a 2010 comedy-drama film written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, an adaptation of Ned Vizzini's 2006 novel of the same name. The film stars Keir Gilchrist, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Roberts, and Viola Davis.  It was released in the United States on October 8, 2010.

The film received generally positive reviews.

Plot:
After contemplating suicide by jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge, 16-year-old Craig Gilner (Keir Gilchrist), decides to go to the hospital to seek help. Craig tells Dr. Mahmoud (Aasif Mandvi) that he needs immediate help to which Dr. Mahmoud registers Craig for a one week stay in the hospital's psychiatric floor. It is revealed that Craig has a lot of pressure at his high school, Executive Pre-Professional (based on Manhattan's Stuyvesant High School), stressing over the need to turn in an application for a prestigious summer school, his shortcomings in the shadow of his best friend, Aaron (Thomas Mann), who he considers to be great at everything, and his dad who pressures him to do well. At first, Craig is uncertain if he made the right choice to stay, mostly due to the fact that his friends might find out when he misses school, especially Nia (Zoë Kravitz), his crush and Aaron's girlfriend. He is placed in the adult ward with a few other teenagers because the teenage ward is undergoing renovations.

Craig is introduced to Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), an adult patient who claims he is only there on vacation, as he takes Craig under his wing. During a group discussion, Craig learns that Bobby is stressed about an upcoming interview in hopes of moving to a group home. When Bobby states that all he'll have to wear for the interview is the sweater he is currently wearing, Craig offers Bobby one of his dad's dress shirts to wear, and Bobby accepts. Craig's kind offer to Bobby is witnessed by Noelle (Emma Roberts), another teenage patient who is in for self-mutilation. She is impressed by Craig and leaves him a note to meet with her that night. Later, Craig and Noelle attend a painting session for the patients. Craig paints a picture of an imaginary city map which he describes as "like my own brain".

Throughout his stay, Craig forms close bonds with various patients, including Bobby and Noelle. Bobby reveals to Craig that he is a father of a little girl and that he is actually in the ward for attempting to commit suicide six times. As Craig tries to help Bobby with his problems, Bobby, in return, helps Craig to gain the courage to ask out Noelle. One night, Nia suddenly stops by to visit Craig, revealing that she and Aaron have broken up. Craig asks Nia to his room, where she tries to seduce him. However, the two are caught by Craig's roommate Muqtada (Bernard White), an older patient who has not left the room during his stay. As Nia runs out of the room, Craig chases her and calls out that he loves her, unaware that Noelle is standing behind him. Upset, Noelle storms off leaving behind a self-portrait that she had planned to give Craig.

Craig eventually wins Noelle's forgiveness, and the pair sneak out of the ward in scrubs and run around the hospital, ending up on the roof. There, while Craig is trying to finally work up the courage to ask her out, Noelle takes the initiative and asks him, then they kiss afterwards. Later, when Craig has an interview with the head physician, Dr. Minerva (Viola Davis), he explains that he wants to become an artist, and says he should be thankful that his problems aren't as bad as those of the others. That night, Craig arranges with one of the staff for a pizza party, promising to pay the cost, so the patients can say goodbye to him and Bobby, both of whom are being discharged the following day. He calls Aaron asking him to bring a record. When Aaron delivers the record, he tells Craig that he and Nia are working out their problems. At the party, Craig plays the record, which is Egyptian music, bringing Muqtada out of his room. Craig tells Bobby that they should meet again after they are discharged, which Bobby considers, and thanks Craig for changing his outlook on life.

In the morning, Craig asks Smitty where Bobby is, but discovers Bobby had left earlier that morning. Craig is a little disappointed, but is happy that he and Bobby had left an impression on each other. After Craig leaves, it is shown that he starts dating Noelle, becomes better friends with Aaron and Nia (who are still together), begins pursuing his goal of becoming an artist, and has broke the news to his dad that he isn't going to follow his path, which his dad understands. The movie ends with saying that while his stay didn't cure his condition, it helped him a lot, and he can get through the rest of his life with the help of his family and friends. The final scene shows how he spends the rest of his life with his family, friends, and Noelle.

Dead Snow

A ski vacation turns horrific for a group of medical students, as they find themselves confronted by an unimaginable menace: Nazi zombies.

Age Of Ice

When sudden and massive earthquakes open the Arabian tectonic plate, the result is unstable weather and freezing temperatures that will be unsurvivable by nightfall. Attempting to reach safety, a vacationing American family in Egypt, the Jones', must battle the rapidly cooling temperatures that usher in a new Ice Age, covering the Sphinx, Pyramids, and Sahara Desert with mountains of snow.
- Written by The Asylum