Sunday, July 13, 2008

Random Thoughts and Musings: Hellboy Edition


Last night we went and saw Hellboy: The Golden Army. I thought it was okay, but I have to admit that there were parts that dragged for me, which surprised me. The movie is visually stunning and well done, but it felt subdued. From watching the trailer, I thought the Golden Army itself would be more involved, and I thought that action would lead the day. I was wrong. There was a great deal of attention given to the story and the overall emotional tone of the characters, with action taking a back seat. If I had to give the movie a grade, it would be a solid "C".

In breaking celebrity news, the Brangelina twins were born yesterday, sending the media into a frenzy. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are the parents of a brand new baby boy and girl. Hence the speculation ends.

I looked at the San Diego Comicon programming and part of me really wishes I could attend. The other part of me knows that between financial and family concerns, there is no way in hell. Maybe next year.

Nick had a good question yesterday- did I pick up Captain America: White. I did not, but I wish I would have. It may have generated some excitement in these tired bones of mine!

What about you? Anything interesting or exciting to share?

6 comments:

Eaglewing said...

I was looking forward to Hellboy 2, but it seems to be getting mixed reviews. Guess I'll wait for rental and save my money for The Dark Knight.

Know what you mean about general lack of excitement these days. I blame the dog days of summer heat. On the upside, my excitement is setting up my new (well, refurbed) 24" iMac, and that is great fun for me (yeah, I know I'm a geek :) Hope you get some rest and find some excitement.

Saranga said...

Did you pick up the free hellboy comic? My shop said they'd been supplied as part of the hellboy film promo, but for soem reason there hadn't been much publicity in america.
I got a copy. It's ok, considering I'm not a hell boy fan. good read but won't make me pick up the monthly.

Nick said...

Saw Hellboy last night, they spent a lot of time on story true but, not enough for my taste. Some scenes in the movie just seemed really outta place and Hellboy was not nearly as likeable this time around.

Captain America : White #0...was pretty good...haven't gotten a chance to read #1 yet....check out issue #0 though, you'll dig it, the back part of it has an interview with Loeb and Sale on their past Marvel collaborations and it's an interesting read.

Unknown said...

I saw Hellboy II over the weekend, and came to pretty much the same conclusion as you did.

James Meeley said...

Mark:

That was a well-written review. And I agree with much of it. You should check out the one I wrote at IMDB (along with lots of others I've done recently): http://www.imdb.com/user/ur18682357/comments-expanded?order=date

Carl said...

Welp, I saw it tonight. Yep, it was more subdued butttttttttt, here's what I think happened:

1. We already know Hellboy now, at least movie-wise.

2. It spent more time on the 'family' surrounding Hellboy now and further character development not seen before.

3. The threat was while huge, not up-close and person like monsters and a Cthulhu-like critter in the middle of NYC about to devour the world. It was behind-the-scenes and no one but the BPRD knew what was happening.

4. The threat was also too too big really, the fight of Hellboy vs. legions of The Gold Army was just too impossible to win on its face. It would be like the Hulk vs. The Entire Universe.

5. The look and style were totally different too. The original was down'n'dirty fighting in the sewers. The look of this movie reminded me a lot of Del Toro's other movies, "Pan's Labrynth" and "The Orphanage".

So, I still liked it a lot and hope for a 3rd movie, but perhaps one a bit more hardcore and some uber-nasty villains like the first one...