Tag: Mel Brooks

It’s Not Easy to Stay In Hotel Transylvania 2, A Movie Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Hotel_Transylvania_2_poster

Adam Sandler does a better job at being a second banana than a helmer in Hotel Transylvania 2. He does share some co-writing credit with Robert Smigel and is an executive producer, and thankfully it ends there. Fans of this franchise can be thankful he’s not exercising huge control over this movie like the vampire he’s playing. In a story that is basically about learning how to compromise, the other talents are the ones who get to shine on like a pretty diamond.

When Genndy Tartakovsky is directing this film, maybe he exerted more control towards maintaining a consistent vision where Dracula is not in every frame. This movie is far more enjoyable than the first. When Sandler is providing a voice, he has a lot to concentrate on to maintain consistency in his performance instead of influencing what’s being rendered on-screen. In this CGI film, it’s easy to snap out of a master vampire’s mesmerizing gaze.

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[Vancouver, B.C.] Young Frankenstein: Poster Boy for Transylvania Tourism

YoungFrankensteinOctober 4-6, 10-13, 2013
Waterfront Theatre

Ed Sum: Who doesn’t love the oh so misunderstood monster? Young Frankenstein, directed by Chance Newman (Evil Dead: The Musical – Northwest edition), is a classic film by Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder; they playfully gave the original Mary Shelly tale a comedic spin that many audiences adored. And Brooks gave the story a great re-imagining that even works on the Broadway stage on a burlesque style level. Although the show began its run in 2007 and it received mixed reviews by bigger name critics, that did not deter James and I from traveling to Vancouver to see a version done by the performers of Last Chance Productions.

In what we saw was a toe tapping romance and I thought this musical was a tribute to the era when Gershwin was hugely popular. To see it played in a smaller venue, I thought people sitting in “Laboratory Row” (the first seven rows) can get intimate with the performers.

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