About a year and a half or more ago, when the project Van Helsing was announced, I was really intrigued by the concept. Having read the excellent Dracula/Van Helsing series -- Covenant with the Vampire, Children of the Vampire and Lord of the Vampires -- by Jeanne Kalogridis, the notion of exploring the mythology of the ancient relationship between the vampire and his human nemesis had all the makings of a Great Idea. Throw in appearances by The Werewolf and Frankenstein's monster and Van Helsing seemed like a can't-miss prospect.

So why, then, does it now have the stench of failure about it? I like Hugh Jackman and I think the casting of Moulin Rouge!'s Richard Roxburgh as Dracula is pretty solid. And even if Kate Beckinsale's accent is a little too "Moose and Squirrel" for my liking, that's the kind of thing I can get past. The horrible dialogue and suspect special effects are just giving me a terrible vibe that is impossible to dismiss. I'll be thrilled if I'm proven wrong later today, though.

I'm actually much more excited to see the Morgan Spurlock documentary Super Size Me, which unfortunately won't be coming to my town for at least a couple of weeks. I've been reading a lot about the fast food industry lately and find the subject matter really fascinating, from the food preparation to the labor practices from upper level management to the second-level food suppliers. If you're at all interested in the topic and are waiting for the film to reach your city, you can bide your time by reading Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, by Eric Schlosser and/or Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World, by Eric Critser.