Rise of the Lycans - Watch it this 22nd Jan 09

This MUST BE my best movie review ever. Haha. Read on to see why.

(Load the whole video while you read the rest of the post. It should be done by the time you reach the end. :-P)

I just got back from the premier screening of Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans at Damansara Cineleisure, all thanks to Nuffnang for selecting my annoying/distracting/blinking effort to promote the screening on my blog for the past few days. :-)

When i got there, it was waay too early. So i met up with my buddy Elroy, and grabbed a bite from Kim Gary@The Curve. It was my what... 1st time, in 6 months? ZOMG, i tell you... So the complicating can!! ONce they sat us down, the waiter handed us what seemed like 3 different menus! Then just to order, we had to fill in like 5 different order sheets!! Wah laueh!! @_@

I think you really need to actually study the menu thoroughly before making your order. Crazi-ness.

But their saving grace is that the food is actually edible. ;-)

It was 9pm when we got the bill. And by the time we got to the cinema, there were a heap of people lining up for ticket collection while some others mingled around. Besides the usual Nuffies, Tim the boss was also there to 'rise with the lycans', so to speak. Haha.

Oh, remember to get a pair of tickets, you have to display the phrase 'Rise Of the Lycans Tis Jan 09' creatively on your blog? Yeap, my blink blink texts got me a movie merchandise, these

A pair of mini glasses. (i was told its for drinking alcohol @_@) i was supposed to get a blade letter opener, instead. Nevertheless, im always grateful for the little thing in life. :-D

I also met some poeple who i never thought of meeting!! I meant in a good way, of course. There was:

Sasha, my buddy buddy from the Viennese Ball;

Shaun(nie), my colleague turned best logger buddy buddy :-P;

And for the first time: Sue Tan Chee (sorry got your name wrong, paiseh. 1st time meet mah. LOLx) who writes her mind - interestingly and as-a-matter-of-factually- on her blog at , Hitomi, a blogger whom i wanted to meet earlier, but i cudnt find the Starbucks she was in, and finally, Huan Bin, who blogs at sixthseal.com. Heard loads about him, finally met him in person. =/ Haha. I oso met Celine, my teammate from paintball! All of whom were either busy chatting away or taking pictures that I didnt get a photo with them. =/

Oh, each blogger were also given big white envelopes containing the official press kit of the movie..

That's why i said, this review MUST BE the best ever. haha. Two movie cards -- Terminator 3: Salvation and The Pink Panther 2: Duex -- and the CD was the entire press kit for Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans, complete with synopsis, movie info, and get this, MOVIE STILLS!! woohoo!!

Okay okay, enough about the unrelated, now about the movie. ;-)

...

Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans is actually the prequel to the earlier two franchised movie: Underworld and Underworld: Evolution. This movie delves into the origins of the century-old blood fued between the aristrocratic vampires, known also as the Death Dealers, and the barbaric Lycans (warewolves).

A young Lycan, Lucian (Michael Sheen), emergers as a powerful leader who rallies the warewolves to rise up against Viktor (Billy Nighy), the cruel vampire king who has persecuted them for hundreds of years. Lucian is joined by his secret lover, the beautiful vampire Sonja (Rhona Mitra) in his batle to free the lycans from their brutal enslavement.
(src: press kit)

Brief synopsis (dun worry, no spoiler.) LOL


More than a thousand years before the events of the original Underworld, two races of preternatural beings came into being, each springing from the bloodlines of a different son of the original Immortal, Alexander Corvinus. Vampires, arising from the Markus line, became elegant, aristocratic, cunning blood drinkers. Werewolves, from the William line, became savage beasts, with no trace of humanity left - and an insatiable appetite for violence.

The Vampires came to dominate the local region – the wild lands in what is now western Hungary - with their superior intelligence, strength, and political skill. But even they feared the werewolves, who, though incapable of organization and higher thought, were capable of immense strength and savagery. And then another genetic fluke transformed the balance of power again: a female werewolf, captive in the Vampire stronghold, gave birth to a seemingly human child. This was Lucian (Michael Sheen) – the first Lycan, born into slavery in the house of Viktor (Bill Nighy), the supremely powerful Vampire leader.

Unlike “William’s Kind”, the original werewolves, this Lycan was able to take the form of either man or beast at will. Lucian’s bloodline was used by Viktor to create an entirely new breed of slaves, abused by the Vampires as laborers and guards during the vulnerable daylight hours, and prevented from transforming by the silver-spiked moonshackles kept locked around their necks.

Viktor reigns over his slaves, his court and his domains with an iron hand. He loves only two things: power, and his beautiful but willful daughter Sonja (Rhona Mitra).Each night, Sonja rides with the Death Dealers, an elite squad of Vampire soldiers that protect Viktor’s domain against the marauding werewolves. But unknown to her father or any of her peers, Sonja has fallen in love with Lucian, now a skilled blacksmith and weapons-maker in the Vampire castle. Their affair must be conducted in the utmost secret, since if discovered, it would mean certain death for both of them.

When Lucian reveals that he has found a way to remove his moonshackle and gain his freedom, Viktor resolves to destroy him like a disobedient animal. In a thrilling sequence, Lucian manages rally the other Lycans and escape from the Vampire dungeons - with Sonja’s help. Refusing to abandon his beloved, Lucian assembles a ragtag army of escaped Lycans, slaves and werewolves, returning to challenge Vampire rule and rescue Sonja. The attack and its aftermath ignite an all-out war that will burn between the races for centuries to come. Incredible battle scenes, astonishing stunts and cutting-edge creature effects make Underworld: Rise of the Lycans an epic adventure that stands proudly on its own.
(src: press kit)

The movie may get fuzzy along the way, you may get a mix up on who is who, but apparently, everything falls into place at the end of the movie... terra eh? LOL. I also just realized (after the movie) that the Kate Beckinsale's character, Selena, is TOTALLY DIFFERENT from the Rhona Mitra's, Sonja. All through the movie, i thought they were the SAME PEOPLE. Wahahaha.. OMG. (for the record, i loved the Kate Beckinsale's Selena more.. XD)

But if you got mixed up too, don't feel bad. That happens to people who didn't watch Underworld 1&2 (or watched, but have forgotten) LOL. Now that, for me, was like... "Fwaahh!! Like that wan izit.... 0.o... " XD

What i liked about the movie:

#1. It had its own story to tell. So even if you may get the characters alil mixed up, you won't leave the cinema going, "What the heck just happened?!" :-)

#2. The fight scenes weren't as massive as the War of the Ring over the Pelennor Fields, but the effects were rather well done. It was gory because you see blood squirting everywhere, vampaires slicing Lycans in half, and warewolves literally biting off vampires heads!! (not that im a sadistic person, mind you. :-P)

#3. Loved the language spoken throughout the movie! Better than the Queen's English, i felt. Haha. It was all good and more -- the way they spoke through those fake fangs they installed in their mouths damn intriguing lor! XD

#4. The whole concept of vampires and warewolves damn chun! Esp. the ending where Viktor escaped and got back into his... (opps... kenot spoil hor..?! tsk)

What i didn't quite like:

#1. I felt the entire story line focused on Sonja and Lucius' secret love affair. At times, i felt it was kinda draggy.

#2. The plot brings you up, then tears you down, then brings you up again.. that's what i personally felt. Unexpected deaths and unprecedented decisions wrecked my heart.. I kept whispering to myself, "Don't die.. don't die.." haha

#3. Although im head over heels about the vampire-warewolve concept, in this movie, the vampires looked kinda helpless and fragile. They kenot fly, they don't have superpowers, they kenot be in the sun -- they can oni suck blood and see the past. @_@ haha
*i swear, at one part of the movie, you'll say to yourself, "haa... this is it lar.. all sure DIE wan.."*

Oh, waddaya know?! Like=4, didn't like=3. So i guess i DID like the movie!! haha

...

Movie info:
Director: Patrick Tatopoulos
Cast: Michael Sheen, Bill Nighly, Rhona Mitra, Steven Mackintosh, Kevin Greviux.
Runtime: 92 minutes
More info here: www.imdb.com & wikipedia.org

Rhona Mitra
L: Can you see she's trying very hard to keep her mouth closed? LOL
R: Before the execution

Bill Nighy He did a awesome job as Davy Jones on The Flying Dutchmen, he pulled it off as Viktor here as well!! Again, intriguing speech and facail expression! XD

Michael Sheen
L: He looks like Brandon Lee in 'The Crow", minus the hideous make up :-P
R: Not really handsome hunk material, but pulled off his role well!

L: Kevin Greviux
Just look at the body! If he fell on you, you could suffocate! XD
R: Steven Mackintosh
Don't vampires just look.. WOW?!

...

Some movie stills for you :-)

At an attempt to free Sonja. The crossbows damn chun, and the arrow heads are mad of SILVER! O.0

The Eldars. Do nothing but deliberate and walk around everywhere following Viktor's tail. =/

The Lycans. Notice the two warewolves in the middle? haha.

...

Certainly a movie to watch! Especially, IF you're a fann of the Underworld franchaise. :-)
But remember, be original, see original! Haha.
Hope you enjoy the movie ya'all! XD

ps. Cineleisure's Hall 9, DON'T HAVE row I... its row G,H --> J,K,L. Weird. 14 ppl no seats. Haha. Read Sawanila's ordeal. :-P

pps. DO NOT cut and paste from MS Word 2007. Dam blardy irritating because it has tonnes of useless HTML codes that is copied with your texts, and blogger doesn't recognize them, and you can't publish your post. =S