Hellboy rocks. This may be the coolest movie to feature a Barry Manilow song. Ever. Very entertaining. This flick has cool creatures, monsters, grotesques... it has swashbuckling swordplay, arresting visuals and some snappy dialogue. Both this flick and Iron Man made me laugh. It's exciting too and contains some scenes that would probably give little kids nightmares. It is rated PG-13 after all. So I'm not sure how the 4- or 5-year-old a couple rows ahead of me felt about this flick. But I can tell you what I think of parents who bring kids under six to movies that are rated PG-13 and begin after 8:00pm — I could give you an earfull on that. But I dug this. It's a worthy sequel and a good time.

Krauss, Abe, HB, and Liz face some baddies.
[13 july 2008]

Will Smith stars as Hancock, a drunken, amnesiac, ill-mannered oaf, dressed as a bum who also happens to have super powers (impervious to bullets, super strong, can fly). When he "helps" the cops, he ends up causing millions in needless damage to property. Most people call him "asshole" to his face. This part of the movie is pretty funny. Then things get a little more serious when Hancock gets involved with a family headed by Jason Bateman as a PR executive who tries to rehab Hancock's image. There's a nice twist in the middle of the flick and the movie never gets boring. I think this flick could've benefitted from a stronger villain and more laughs in the second half. Regardless, I was entertained.

Will Smith and Jason Bateman discuss proper behavior.
[7 july 2008]

I saw this flick last Sunday night and it was pretty entertaining. Stylishly done. The protagonist, Wesley (James MacEvoy), is a self-described pussy (yeah, it's rated R) and learns that his father was a top-rated but recently killed assassin working for an organization called The Fraternity. A skeletal Angelina Jolie is the assassin who brings him in and begins to train him to not be such a pussy. Jeez, she really needs to put on a few pounds, she looks a little scary and weak in this flick. Maybe she'll keep some of her recent pregnancy weight for a while. But I digress. This flick heavily promotes her involvement but she is not the main character. James MacEvoy carries this flick nicely. And the movie moves along briskly unhampered by reality, which is to say, there are several key plot points that really stretch your suspension of disbelief. But once you get over that, it's a charged action flick. I hear the sequel is already in development.

A ghoulish Jolie shows displeasure.
[29 june 2008]

This was fun. We can all forget about the other Hulk movie directed by Ang Lee now. This one replaces it and is a lot more entertaining. Edward Norton plays Bruce Banner, hiding out somewhere in Brazil, his whereabouts are unknown even to his lady love Betty Ross (Liv Tyler). But her dad, General "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt) is looking for him. Aiding General Ross is the experienced soldier Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) who will eventually become more than human himself. This flick has small dose of humor and could've used more, but that's a small criticism. For a comic book movie, this one delivers pretty much what a fan would want. And it moves briskly besides. It never gets dull.

Hulk smash.
[16 june 2008]

The buzz is on target, it's good, not great. It plays much like the previous Indiana Jones movies, except Dr. Jones is definitely older. And Harrison Ford seems a little tired too. I thought it was great that Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) was brought back for this outing. It's refreshing that a love interest for a guy in his sixties is age appropriate for once. (Remember in Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones in Entrapment? Puh-lease!) The villains leave a little to be desired though. It's set in 1957 so the Russians are giving the Nazis a break. Cate Blanchett's Russian agent Irina Spalko has got a great accent but not much in the way of charisma. Shia LaBoeuf adds some youth into the mix and handles himself well. The story, though, is not all that surprising. Many plot twists are easily foreseen and some of the elements seem ripped off from the first movie (my favorite). It's got some great action sequences, though. It's fun.

Harrison Ford versus the Russkie.
[27 may 2008]

Redbelt stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as a jiu-jitsu instructor named Mike Terry. A series of events gradually gets Mike caught up in a web of deception and betrayal (good ol' Mamet stuff). It all eventually leads to a fight. This movie is probably best enjoyed by people familiar with David Mamet movies, as it features his signature terse and mysterious dialogue, character actor Joe Mantegna, magician and sometime actor Ricky Jay, Rebecca Pidgeon (in a small part) and a plot with a few surprises. I'm a big fan and I was captivated by all the machinations. There are some baffling elements though. Maybe that's why the noisy idiots behind me left early. Maybe they thought they were going to see a Rocky movie. Ah-hahahaha!

Chiwetel Ejiofor
[12 may 2008]

Boozy, billionaire playboy Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), a weapons maker, gets abducted by baddies in Afghanistan and is ordered to build them a missile while jailed in a cave. He builds his first Iron Man suit instead and opens a can of whup-ass on the baddies. This annoys them. But then you'd know all this if you've seen the trailers. First of all, Downey is perfectly cast, second of all, this flick delivers a very enjoyable, occasionally funny epic superhero movie. The scenes where Iron Man flies are way cool and the dialogue is often witty and never corny. This flick is big fun.

What was probably not a good idea was eating a chicken pesto sausauge and garlic fries before seeing this flick. It was even more of a bad idea for the people sitting next to me. Mu-ahahahahaha!

Oh, two more things, 1) stay for the end of the credits for the coda (although, it may be more meaningful for fans familiar with Iron Man). And 2) Iron Man 2 is already scheduled for April 30, 2010.

It's a bird, it's a plane...
[4 may 2008]

This heist movie is based on a real-life 70's era caper and stars Jason Statham as the chief bank robber who's recruited by his attractive friend Martine (Saffron Burrows). It's a very well-done flick with mounting suspense and interesting complications. It also earns its R rating several times over and at times it gets pretty intense. (My wife was hiding behind her hair during a couple scenes.) I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and besides, I'm relatively inured to some of the violence that was depicted. But really, the worst of it is implied only and the camera cuts away. Exciting flick.

Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows look cool in 70's era garb.
[29 march 2008]

The whole family went to see Horton Hears A Who this weekend. They happily munched on candy necklaces and popcorn while watching this flick. It's made by the Blue Sky studio which also made the Ice Age movies (which I love). They did a great job with it. Luke was sitting to my left giggling away. Kajsa sat through the entire thing without being a fidget (practically a first). Jim Carrey voices Horton and doesn't overdo it. The same can be said for Steve Carell who voices the mayor of Whoville. And the whole look of the movie stays true to the Seuss universe. And it's only a hour and a half long, perfect length for the little ones. (By the way, if you pay attention, you'll see a Who carrying a delectable tray of green eggs and ham.)

I especially liked Vlad, the vulture (voiced by Will Arnett).
[16 march 2008]

I read the book this was based on fifteen years ago. This flick shares some similarities but then comes up with a new villain and more succinct plot. Either way I was a sucker from word go since it features my favorite fantasy power of teleportation at will. This movie handles it well and was a fun 90-minute sci-fi thriller. Hayden Christensen does a good job as the protagonist (and face it, he can only improve on his past more famous role). Samuel L. Jackson plays the villain with oddly-shaded silver hair. And he's not as over-the-top here as he's been in some other recent flicks. Plus, I'm just a big fan of the director, Doug Liman. He's pretty consistently turned out some exciting movies.
[19 february 2008]

This flick is getting hyped pretty big but delivers the thrills. The flick is mostly associated to J.J. Abrams, the producer of the moment but as you can see it’s directed and written by others. It also stars a cast of young unknowns and the whole flick is shot as though seen from a hand-held video. This doesn’t detract from the movie at all, and in fact it’s kinda clever in spots (I liked the moment they turn on the night-vision). The first 20 minutes establish the characters and the one holding the camera for the bulk of the movie is mostly a dull-witted eejit who can get pretty annoying. Otherwise, it’s nice not being distracted by known faces. And the flicks moves along at a good clip (it should since it only runs under 90 minutes). And make no mistake, this is a monster movie and it is not alone. Good stuff and some good surprises and some arresting visuals.
[20 january 2008]

First of all the book (and the trilogy) is a fun, exciting, and imaginative tale. There are several characters and themes from the book that the movie is trying to cram into it's two-hour running time. I think it'll confuse people who haven't read the book. There's a lot to take in and the episodic plot seems to be rushed. Many of the other characters motivations are hard to discern. But the movie looks good and has some slick (computer-assisted) imagery. But I wouldn't recommend it to anyone not already familiar with the trilogy. I will say this though, Nicole Kidman makes a wonderfully creepy, glamourous villain. The story takes place in an alternate world where peoples souls are manifested as talking animal "daemons." Kidman's character's daemon is a creepy-looking golden monkey. She is an agent of the Magisterium, a religious organization out to suppress the truth and control the population. Young Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) is given a golden compass, properly known as an alethiometer, which, when properly used and read, can reveal the truth behind any question. Naturally, the Magisterium want it. There's really too much to explain about the premise... you're better off reading the trilogy.

Some people will tell you that the book's aims are to inspire atheism and hatred of God. I generally ignore these people and continue walking along the street. Many of the "Christian" organizations counseling people to avoid this movie are probably the same people who get worked into a lather over Harry Potter steering all these kids towards witchcraft. Do these excitable Catholics realize what the word "fantasy" means, or do they all believe in witches, elves, fairies, and the like? I wonder. Regardless, I didn't view one of the themes of the book as direct attack on Christianity. As one reviewer has mentioned, the author's "fundamental objection is to ideological tyranny and the rejection of this world in favor of an idealized afterlife, regardless of creed. As one of the novel's pagan characters puts it, 'Every church is the same: control, destroy, obliterate every good feeling.'" Whatever, I think you're capable of making up your own mind. [more info here]

By the way, the boxed-set trilogy is currently Amazon's sixth top seller.

Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Coulter
[12 december 2007]

This is adult animation using "motion capture" technology — a lot like Polar Express but with greater detail. And the PG-13 rating? I guess, but it's really closer to R. Angelina Jolie plays Grendel's mother and yeah, she's a digital creation with some hidden bits, but she's essentially naked and a more perfect version of herself — she's a digital naked goddess monster based on Angelina Jolie. Likewise, Ray Winstone as Beowulf doesn't really have ripped abs, and upon watching the movie, Anthony Hopkins was surprised to see that he was bearded. It's all really pretty cool. And the action is gory, bloody, larger-than-life, and exciting. The climactic scene with the dragon was particularly awesome. But for kids? No.

Here's Grendel's mommy, just before she shows off some pinup curves. Yow!
[25 november 2007]