Kate Beckin-whats-her-faceAll images in this article are clickable to larger sizes. Enjoy ;)
I just saw the Underworld Evolution trailer on Yahoo. Oh my...
But I'm getting ahead of myself. She's never been drunk, she's never taken drugs, she's never had a one night stand, and she thinks Hugh Jackman is the pin-up queen of Fantasy/Sci-Fi & Horror films, despite her turn as the voluptuous Anna in Van Helsing. I'm getting ahead again. Let's go back to the beginning and do a brief tour of some of the films Kate has starred in. It's not a complete list, but rather a salute to history. 
Kate was still studying French and Russian Literature at Oxford University when she landed the acclaimed role of Hero in Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing (released 1993). She made a fine first impression with international audiences.
Then into Cold Comfort Farm (1995), set in the 1930's about 20 year old orphan Flora who has limited income and tries to raise the spirits of gloomy relatives on a distant farm. The film had a fabulous cast including Stephen Fry, Joanna Lumley, Ian McKellan and Eileen Atkins. The trailer stated "...and introducing Kate Beckinsale"
Memorable Lines from Cold Comfort Farm 
Reportedly one of the best unknown ghost stories ever, Kate starred in Haunted (1995) when she was only 22. The story revolves around a debunker of mystics who travels to Cambridge to calm the fears of an elderly nanny who is "seeing things". He meets beautiful Christina (our Kate!) - It has romance, sexual tension, drama and horror in all the right proportions.
In Shooting Fish (1997), Kate playes the beguiling role of Georgie in a film about two con men - Dylan has the gift of gab, Jez is a technical wizard. If there's a way to make a fast buck, they know it. Georgie gets involved in a complicated love triangle.
Memorable Lines from Shooting Fish 
The Last Days of Disco (1998) centers around a group of friends who frequent the disco and each other. All the characters are searching for something to make their lives more fulfilling. Some are searching for everlasting love and some are just wanting something different.
In Brokedown Palace (1999), Kate stars as one of two women who are arrested for smuggling whilst vacationing in Thailand. They're sentenced in a show-trial to 33 years in prison and in desperation they contact 'Yankee' Hank Green (played by Bill Pullman). Kate magnificently portrays an extraordinary vulnerability that reflects her character's sense of being overwhelmed by circumstances that are out of her control.
In Pearl Harbour (2001), two friends (Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett) are caught up in the events that draw the United States into World War II. One of them enlists with the U.S. Army Air Corps and the other flies for the British Royal Air Force, but they both find themselves in love with the same woman. You know who!
In Serendipity (2001), two shoppers spend the evening wandering around Manhattan, all the while not knowing the other’s name. But, when the night reaches its inevitable end, the two are forced into determining some kind of next step. She proposes that fate is allowed to take control of the future. If they are meant to be together, she tells him, they will find their way back into one another’s lives.
A Gothic Metropolis is the scene for a Vampire vs Werewolf showdown in Underworld (2003). The balance of power is upset when a beautiful young Vampire and a nascent Lycan – deadly rivals for centuries – fall in love. Kate takes her first stab at firearms and hand-to-hand combat as the deadly but stunning Selene.
Costarring with Hugh Jackman in Van Helsing (2004), the story tells the tale of a monster hunter who hunts deep in the mountains of Carpathia -- a world where evil is ever-present, where danger rises as the sun sets, and where the monsters that inhabit man's deepest nightmares take form. Kate plays Anna, a member of a family committed to ridding the world of evil.
Memorable Lines from Van Helsing 
In The Aviator (2004) Kate plays Ava Gardner, occasional partner to the eccentric billionaire industrialist and aviation pioneer Howard Hughes (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) who was also a Hollywood film mogul famous for romancing some of the world's most beautiful women. The Aviator flew high at Britain's prestigious Bafta awards - scooping an impressive four prizes.
Released very soon, Underworld Evolution (2006) revisits the saga of war between the aristocratic Death Dealers and the barbaric Lycans. Traceing the beginnings of the ancient feud between the two tribes, Selene and Michael try to unlock the secrets of their bloodlines.
Article by: Dave Lowry |
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