“Underworld Awakening” Bloody OK ; Magical Melinda Reappears
Movie review: ‘Underworld Awakening’
Kate Beckinsale is back in fighting and spandex form in the vampire-werewolves series.
Kate Beckinsale stars in the fourth film in the long-running franchise.
By Glenn Whipp, Special to the Los Angeles Times
“Underworld Awakening” begins with a tidy, three-minute wrap of the series’ first two movies (the third, a 2009 prequel minus star Kate Beckinsale doesn’t figure into the equation) before revealing the current grim state of affairs for its clashing vampires and werewolves.
Humans, at least those oblivious to the charms of the “Twilight” movies, have decided to stop killing each other and focus on eradicating creatures possessing fangs. Our vampire antiheroine Selene (Beckinsale) finds herself cryogenically frozen in a laboratory before someone (or something) mysteriously breaks the glass, facilitating her reemergence. Conveniently, her captors have left her spandex suit and knee-high black boots right next to her pod, though you’d think wiggling into that get-up after a dozen years of slumber would require a dexterity beyond even her extraordinary skills.
And make no mistake, those superhuman skills receive a workout in “Underworld Awakening,” a brisk creature-feature that ditches the series’ dreary mythology in favor of a more direct, action-oriented approach. The “Underworld” movies could never exactly be called “fun,” but Swedish directing duo Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein manage to bring a bit of visual affair to the bloodletting along with another quality previously in short supply — competence.
That either makes “Awakening” the best movie in the burgeoning “Underworld” franchise or the worst, depending, I suppose, on how deeply you value the series’ previous strained attempts at myth-making. Here, the four credited screenwriters have created a workable (though easily solved) mystery surrounding the 12-year-old girl (India Eisley, Shailene Woodley’s little sister on the ABC Family series “The Secret Life of an American Teenager”) who was frozen along with Selene, while wasting little time setting up a scenario that pits vampires against steroid-pumped werewolves (or Lycans, if you must) in numerous CGI-aided scenarios.
Beckinsale, playing Selene as a memory-swiped Jason Bourne, finally manages to perfect the monotone delivery she’d been honing for the series’ first two entries. As if by explanation, she tells the girl at one point, “My heart’s not cold. It’s broken.” At least she has all that spandex and leather to keep her warm.
One of the outright pleasures of the “Underworld” movies has always been watching fine British thespians — Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Derek Jacobi — chew scenery along with various other body parts. “Awakening” gives us two new additions: Stephen Rea playing a mad scientist with all the relish of a man about to go into a sensory deprivation tank and, on the other side of the spectrum, a campy Charles Dance as the pragmatic leader of one of the last remaining vampire covens.
As to whether either will be around for the fifth film that this movie’s finale dutifully sets up, we can’t say. But that’s OK. Now that the “Harry Potter” movie franchise has come to a close, there are plenty of notable English actors available. Hopefully they can keep the costumes along with the paychecks.
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T
he First Lady of Magic reappears in Vegas
by Caroline Fontein
Read more on Vegas entertainment at www.blog.vegas.com
Almost every magician disappears as part of their act.
Most of them reappear within seconds, but not if you’re Melinda Saxe. Better known by her stage name, “Melinda – First Lady of Magic,” she was the only female magician to have her own headlining magic show on the Las Vegas Strip during the 1990s. In 2002, she stopped performing to start a family with her new husband in California. After a 10-year hiatus, the First Lady of Magic has reappeared in Vegas. Now she’s performing as a featured act in “V-The Ultimate Variety Show” at the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood.
“I was totally content just being mom, and that’s been the greatest joy in my life,” said Saxe.
Yet right after she had her first son Mason, who is now 8, Saxe said there were moments where she thought it was kind of sad in a way that her son wouldn’t get to see his mom perform. When her daughter Malory came along, she had those same feelings. Saxe didn’t think much of it until after showing Malory a video of her Disney magic special when Malory was only 2 years old. Afterwards, Malory was in awe of her mom’s talents.
“[Malory] said, ‘Mommy you have to go back to Las Vegas and do your magic.’ When she said that a light bulb went on, and I was like maybe this is a good thing for [my kids] to see what I do, not what I did,” said Saxe.
She contacted her brother, Vegas show producer David Saxe, and the two spent a couple years planning her return to the stage.
David first started working with Melinda when she was 19. After performing as a dancer in “Siegfried & Roy Show” at the Mirage, Melinda decided to create her own magic revue, and her brother helped produce it. The idea to create their own show seemed like a natural progression for them. Their mom was a dancer in “Les Folies Bergere” and their dad was a band leader for the Rat Pack. David, only 17 at the time, became the youngest show producer in Vegas. He worked on her show for 17 years and continues to produce shows on the Strip at his venues the V Theater and the Saxe Theater, both in the Miracle Mile Shops.
Deciding on which illusions to do and how to format a show that was appropriate for Melinda now, took some planning. She relied on David’s expertise on what would be the best fit for her return. She said being able to work with her brother again as opposed to an unfamiliar producer gives her a sense of security. He also continues to have success in Vegas, meaning that his ideas have merit.
“It’s fun working with him because we’re trying to continue to build on dreams and maybe down the road we’ll do a full show,” said Saxe.
As far as the physicality of performing a show goes, Saxe wasn’t worried about that or being in front of a live audience again. She was already used to running around all day from being a mom. The former dancer said that she doesn’t go to the gym or have a crazy workout routine. Instead, she stays in shape primarily from eating healthy and constantly being on the move with her kids. Her lean physique makes it hard to tell she’s been gone for 10 years.
What did worry her was relocating her family to Vegas and changing their schedule. Fortunately, everything has been working out. Her kids come to the show a few nights a week and living in Vegas means they’re close to more family.
In her show at V Theater, Saxe performs three main illusions. She’s joined by female back-up dancers. Because her act is part of a variety show, she has the flexibility of adding in new illusions or tweaking things when necessary.
“We tried to think of things that would be strong, powerful and capture the audience’s attention in the short time that I’m up there,” said Saxe.
For now she’s focused on enjoying being back on stage. Since she left, there hasn’t been another successful female magician like her to have their own show on the Strip.
“When I stopped I thought someone will step in and take my place. I really thought that would happen, but I guess I took it as a message when it never did… It just felt like my destiny was going back,” said Saxe.
V-The Ultimate Variety Show
When: 7 and 8:30 p.m. Nightly.
Where: Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood
Get Tickets from $34.99
