Get the hell out!

Hey folks,

When it comes to adapting comics into movies, there are the good, the bad and then of course the real ugly. This summer we have had a lot of comic book based movies ranging from Iron man to Wanted. Now before Dark Knight destroys them all of course, one of the big comic films that many geeks as well as movie goers were looking forward to was the new Guillermo del Toro directed flick, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army.

Honestly, I could write a very nice long review for Hellboy 2 and go on about how much fun the movie actually is. But at this point in time, I think many people pretty much already made up their mind on if they plan on seeing the film or not. Many will go see it since they saw the first one and actually liked it like myself. Others who may not of even seen the first one, but will go check it out since Guillermo directed a little film called Pan's Labyrinth between Hellboy 1 and 2. Either way though, I think many people will dig this movie as long as they will know what they are getting into off the bat and know this is a sequel film.

In the original Hellboy, we got a glimpse into the Mike Mignola world of Hellboy and the film was more or less a condensed origin story for Hellboy. Guillermo really could of made a better film I think for the first Hellboy film, but he was still a dark horse director, Hellboy was a bit of a under ground comic and Sony didn't want to loose a lot of money making the film. So you could tell Guillermo had to hold back a fair amount and even had to include a new human character not in the Hellboy comics because Sony execs were worried that audiences "wouldn't relate to the freaks". The film was still really good I thought, but we only got a glimpse into the Hellboy world as well as the directing and imagining skills of Guillermo.

Now with Hellboy 2, and thanks to the folks over at Universal now paying the bill, Guillermo's brain is basically on display here and he can really stretch his creative muscle. You can tell after the huge success of Pan's Lab., Universal just gave Guillermo tons of cash and told him to go hog wild here. Now of course that can be a bad thing sometimes since there are many films that could of been good went south due to the director deciding he was doing everything his way. Hellboy 2 on the other hand is the opposite of that and shows that there really are some insanely imaginative directors in Hollywood still.

You can really tell that Mignola and Guillermo had a great time with Hellboy 2 which in turn makes the audience have a great time as well. All the amazing monsters, sets and even the Danny Elfman soundtrack were all top notch and no other director could of brought us all this except Guillermo.

Of course what is a good director without a good cast? All the usual folks are back from the first film of course and Ron Pearlman once again really brings Hellboy to life. Everyone else does a great job like Selma Blair as Liz Sherman, Doug Jones as Abe Sapien and even Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane as te voice of newcomer Johann Krauss. And unlike in the first film, all these great characters get a lot more screen time and Abe even has a bit of a love story instead of just being a small side character line in the first Hellboy. Hellboy is of course still the main character, but its nice that all we get more from the other characters as well since they all have some great personalities and stories.

Now many folks may criticize the film as only being a visual spectacle with nothing else behind it, but the movie does actually have some real heart in it. I will admit I don't feel that Hellboy 2 wasn't as story driven like the first film was, but there is still a better story here then in most other films that came out this year. I think the main reason behind this feeling is that there isn't a real main villain in the film. There is some bad guys of course, but even they have a good reason for what they are doing and there is a bit of a moral message as well along with why they do what they do. I think to many audiences and critics may miss that message and thats why they are saying there isn't a whole lot to this movie. Still, its actually cool to see a villain that isn't just a corny, over the top bad guy, but actually a person who has real reasons for what he is doing and many may relate to. Like I said though, there really something great behind this film and hopefully many get a chance to see what it is.

Anyway though, I really do recommend people check this film out. I give Hellboy 2 a 9/10 without even blinking. Guillermo gives us a really amazing visual piece of film making here as well as a story that will have you smiling, cheering and has a ton of heart behind it. Pretty much everything about this film works really well despite a few small story flaws here and there. Even if you have never read the comics and barely remember the first film, go check Hellboy 2 out. Everyone will have a hellishly good time I would say.

-P. Knight

Footpenis

Hey folks,

So I decided to bite the bullet and check out the new Will Smith money making superhero summer flick, Hancock. Now I know many critics haven't really dug the film and there has been mixed feelings with most audiences who saw the film. Honestly, I can see why people haven't been to thrilled with the film. The movie is scattered all over the place and feels more like a trailer for a greater film then an actual film itself.

In Hancock, Will Smith plays a sullen and often drunk superhero who wants to help save the world but doesn't care how much damage he does in order to do it. This premise is actually a very good one in all honesty. Most the time we see superheros who are goodie goodies or all around good people. But in Hancock, we see what would happen if a Superman type superhero actually acts like a real schlub, drinks a ton and has some horrible people skills. The problem though is that after about the first 30 mins of the film, things get a little weird. The story starts jumping really fast, the characters are never really flushed out and all the scenes are like 2 mins long.

A few months ago, Hancock was tested with some live audiences and many didn't seem to like the film. Due to this, you can really tell that the executives had a major hand in reshaping the film to appease more people with a fair amount of last minute reshoots. The movie started as a light hearted comedy and went to a dramatic hero film really fast. The general story went to shambles really fast and it seemed like not a lot was really flushed out. Everything felt a bit forced and that these executives thought audiences would like something that even a 2 year old could understand. Even the general tone of the film goes from a bit comedic and lighthearted to a more dramatic, nearly emo type film that just never went anywhere.

Acting wise, Smith is decent at best. He has very little lines, not much of a personality and they never really flush Hancock out to much. They give him a small back story and we only get to see him fight crime a little bit. This is one of the few Will Smith movies where he actually doesn't have a lot of lines and doesn't really act. I usually like Will Smith and think he is a great actor, but all his acting in here just seemed forced and underdone.

Along with Smith we have Jason Bateman who plays a marketing guy who wants to change the way people look at Hancock and make him more of a hero. We also have Charlize Theron who plays Bateman's wife in the film. Both do the best they can with the material they are given, but the material is just really lacking. Bateman has the most lines in the film and is the heart here really. He pretty much plays the normal goofy guy who is more or less the comic relief of the film and is what makes Hancock act more like a hero then a ass. But even with that, you feel like Bateman could of done a lot more with the character if given the chance.

There is also Charlize Theron of course who was just a little too one dimensional most of the film. Once again, she doesn't really show any acting chops till the end of the film and even then it seems a little half hearted. She plays a major part in the film at the end and is part of the twist in the film as well. Much like Bateman and Smith, I think Theron is a great actress, but just wasn't given anything to work with in Hancock.

I really think Hancock could of been a great film. There were a lot of great ideas and concepts in the movie including Hancock's true identity and the big twist at the end , but none of them really panned out or came to fruition in a good way. Everything ended up just being forced and you can almost tell that that the actors stopped caring half way through the film. Even the big super villain of the film wasn't really a villain and more of a joke of a bad guy. There were some good moments here and there and the first half 30 mins of the film were actually really good and had some cool action to boot. To bad it just goes from hitting the pavement running to turning into a old man with a walker half way through.

I had some high hopes for Hancock and maybe they can redeem themselves with a sequel, but I don't really have high hopes there either. Overall I give Hancock a 5/10. This is really a rental film I would say. Its worth checking out when it comes out on DVD, don't get me wrong, but there are far better movies in theaters right now to check out. Forget kryptonite, tt really seems that a superhero's true weakness is movie execs gone amok.

-P. Knight

Feel wanted by Angelina Jolie

Hey folks,

I got a chance to check out the comic turned film, Wanted, last weekend and thought I would toss up a review on here for anyone who is thinking about checking it out. Off the bat, let me say that all the people who are saying that Wanted is a cross between Fight Club and the Matrix and pretty much spot on. Take the inter-monologuing, pathetic loser from Fight Club and mix it with the world altering, high action story of the Matrix and you have Wanted. With that out of the way, lets get on with the review.

First off all, we got the story. As I said above, the story is basically about a pathetic office jocky who one day finds out he is the son of a legendary assassin, has these crazy adrenaline skills which allow him to slow down time inside his mind and that he has been tapped to be trained and take out the man who killed his father. Now the story has sort of been done a few times now, more so in the martial arts films then American ones of course. Still, this is nothing all to new really. As usual, the loser is trained to become a major badass and does so in only a few weeks time. The training though is a ton more brutal then I have seen in awhile and you actually feel bad for the main character, Wesley Gibson. He takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Still, in only a few weeks, he is turned into a huge badass and racks in a few kills before being able to go after the guy who killed his father.

I could cover more of the story like some of the weird story elements such as the "Loom of Destiny", the cure all wax treatment or the stereotypical side characters. But this is a summer popcorn movie folks and its not a flick that is suppose to be story driven. All you need to know is a guy becomes a killer and is sent to kill his father's murder. Thats about it. There are a few surprises of course and you will actually look back throughout the film to spot some things they talk about later in the movie and you will go "Ah, they are right!". But other then that, you can switch your brain off and have a good time.

As for the acting, I was actually a bit surprised. James McAvory does a solid job as Wesley Gibson and plays off the loser type really well. Even once he becomes a total badass, he doesn't act like previous big action stars who tend to throw out acting skills for more guns and action. Towards the end I think he plays up the badass type a little to much, but it still works. Till then though, you actually do believe this guy is Joe Schmoe who ends up having tons of crazy stuff happen to him and put in a situation where he has to seek vengeance.

Sidelining McAvory we have Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. In Wanted, Jolie plays the insanely sexy Fox who has been assigned to train Gibson and make sure he kills his father's killer. There isn't a whole lot to her other then to be eye candy and to drive Gibson to make sure he is a killer, though you get a little glimpse into why she does what she does. I wish they would of fleshed her out a bit more, but I guess its good they didn't cause sometimes you don't need to dive into side characters. There are just there to push along the main character and thats what you need from time to time. But with Fox, it did seem like she could have some cool stories to tell. Plus, you get to see Jolie naked. Despite looking like a 1940's cartoon skeleton now a days, seeing Jolie naked is always a plus in my book.

Morgan Freeman though pretty much plays Morgan Freeman in Wanted. He is in charge of the major assassins group , called The Brotherhood. He is the one to gives the killing assignments to everyone and watches over Gibson. He doesn't have a huge amount of screen time and just pops up time to time to offer some advice much like with any other recent movie that had Freeman in it. It isn't till the near end Freeman actually opens up a bit and starts acting like a cool son of a bitch.

Now of course there is the action in Wanted. Sadly though, unlike the Matrix, Wanted doesn't have anything all to new or awesome in the action department. Don't get me wrong, there is some really cool action scenes in the film, but nothing that will really change how we look at chase or fight scenes. Gun-fu takes on a bit of a new meaning in the flim though since all these assassins can "bend" bullets and make them curve around objects including people. So some of the fights actually will have you sitting on the edge of your seat.

Overall, Wanted was actually fun for me. This is what a real popcorn summer movie should be and I think Wanted is worth checking out in theaters. It won't change how we look at action movies nor does it make you question everything around you. Still, I think most people will walk out of the film with a grin and have a bit of action buzz going when they do. I give Wanted a 7/10 and Angelina Jolie can bend my bullet anytime she wants.

-P. Knight

Robots are people to!

Hey folks,

Honestly at this point in time, I really don't think Pixar can make a bad film. A few years back, they announced that they wanted to do a new movie every summer and stop making people wait 3-4 years for a new film to come out. With that announcement, many wondered if Pixar could keep up the same quality of film as they had with Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo and all the rest. Since that announcement, we have had Cars, Ratatouille and now Wall-e. Safe to say, Wall-e was able to meet the Pixar gold standard and is a bit better then it's two predecessors.

The general story of the film is about a little trash compactor robot named Wall-e who, 700 years in the future, is the last of his kind of earth which is now a giant trash bin which he is suppose to clean up. Over the years, Wall-e started to wonder about the things in the world he lives and now collects all kinds of items that gather his interest. The biggest problem for him though is that he is lonely and only has a pet cockroach to keep him company. Out of the blue though, a spaceship lands on earth and lets loose a brand new I-pod looking robot who is there to see if there is any signs of growth on earth. With this, Wall-e falls for the new robot, named Eve, and does everything he can to swoon her. Of course just like with my previous girlfriend, the giant spaceship returns to collect Eve and take her back to the main ship where all humans are living now in space. So Wall-e now must chase after her and ends up finding himself in a adventure that could effect all of earth and the human race.

Even though the story behind Wall-e is a bit simple, reviewing the film is a bit tricky. Much like other Pixar films, Wall-e has two layers to the film which will appeal to both adults and kids. The tricky part though is that there isn't a whole lot to this movie content wise. With other Pixar movies, there is always a lot going on, lot of talking, a good amount of characters and or a really in-depth plot. But with Wall-e, you feel like you are eating a big piece of cotton candy. It looks good, it tastes good, but there isn't a whole lot there.

Honestly, that is what amazes me the most about this film. Despite very little spoken dialog in the film, there is a lot of emotions and concepts expressed in the movie that will hit home with many viewers. The two basic concepts though are a cute love story about a goofy robot falling for a high tech, cutting edge robot and his adventure to save her while the other concept is about how humans are becoming total pigs and couch potatoes. The love story will make everyone from the youngest to the oldest smile while the social commentary will only stick to those over the age of 12.

No matter what you take from the film though, you will like it. I am not saying you will walk out and love it nor do I think its the best Pixar film to date, but its still one of their stronger films and is tons of fun to watch. There is a lot of great comedy in the film while the adventure part is fun to watch and the romance stuff is very cute. I think they get a little heavy handed with the social commentary type stuff, but its still done very well and makes a very good point about how humans now a days are really becoming giant slugs and letting everything around them do their work for them. But even with that, I really did like Wall-e and I give the film a 9/10. My only advice though is to catch a late show if you check it out in the theaters or wait till the DVD release so you don't have a billions kids in the audience always talking. Either way though, go see this film because I think its one of those ones everyone should see.

-P. Knight

The future looks bad

Hey guys,

So far we have had two new Futurama movies thanks to Comedy Central picking the series up from Fox and Adult Swim. The first film, which came out late last year, was the somewhat sub-par Bender's Big Score. The movie had some good moments and some of the old school Futurama smart wit that made the original series good, but overall it was just lacking and was more about fan service the anything.

Now the second movie recently came out, called The Beast with a Billion Backs, and all hope that the second movie would be better then the first flew out the door in a loud dry sucking sound. Actually that isn't fair, the second movie was a little bit better, but not by a lot really. The second movie takes place right after the first and the events that ended the first movie are what lead to the big events in this new flick.

Just like int he first film, the story in Beast could of been really cool but ended up being played out and way to hackney in the long run. The first movie dealt with time travel and cosmic events while the second movie deals with a giant cosmic creature who wants to unite everyone. Like I said, both sounded good on paper, but weren't implemented all that well.

Fan service one again seems to be the real drive of this movie just like the first since both movies are purposely trying to address things that happened in the original TV series and are using nearly every fan favorite character they can fit in the movies to give fans a smile. Now I do love nearly every Futurama character there is, but cramming them all together in this manner is like a elephant trying to fit in a Mini-Coop. They try to use every character they can and use them for to many forced jokes and you actually end up getting sick of seeing these great side characters since they become to played out and stale.

As usual though, Fry plays the main character in this movie as well and he seems to be getting stupider and stupider in these two movies. Much like with Homer in the recent Simpsons seasons, Fry seems to be loosing his main drive as well as character type. Instead of being the lovable happy go-lucky goof who is still getting use to the year 3000 and has many weird adventures, he has become a pathetic sap who wants nothing but love and acts so insanely emo when he can't find love. All the other characters of course act the way they normally do but tend to be there for more one liners then normal. But it just seems that in order to drive the story for these movies, they made Fry into this total one dimensional character who seems to have only one goal in life now and isn't the same guy from the original series.

Overall, I would give this film a 6/10. For those fans who have been watching Futurama since the beginning, its still worth watching of course. Just like in Big Score, there are some great comedic and funny moments that make me miss the old TV series writing even more and shows how could this movies could of bin. I honestly have no idea what happened in these years the Futurama crew was off, but it really seems to have taken a toll. Hopefully they can get over this comedic slump they are having and remember how to write the kind of comedy gold that made the original series so great. We still have 2 more movies as well as a new half season that Comedy Central will be airing next year I believe. So finger's crossed that the rest of the Futurama movies and episodes pick back up and regain the same wit and geeky humor that the original series had.

-P. Knight

So does he have a green thumb as well?

Hey folks,

Recently I checked out the new Incredible Hulk movie in theaters and I must admit, I was pretty impressed by the film. Right off the bat I will say this is not a sequel to the the Ang Lee Hulk movie which was released a few years back. This is a brand new retelling of the story. So basically a restart. I know some thought the Lee version was decent, but pretty much most didn't like it and thought it was to "emo" and ato wordy for a Hulk movie. Well the good news is that Incredible Hulk actually delivers and is a good adaptation of the Hulk character.

As soon as the opening credits kick in, you know this is a retelling of the story since the entire credits are showing how Bruce Banner became the Hulk and that he is now on the run and that General Ross is now chasing him around the world and that he left his girlfriend in a hospital after the Hulk nearly killed her. Once that little intro is shown, we jump 5 years into the future to see Banner now living in Brazil, working at a bottling plan and trying everything to keep the Hulk from reappearing. The rest of the movie is spent with Banner trying to find the "cure" to get rid of the Hulk as well as avoid being caught by General Ross and his newly formed squad of hired guns that are hunting him down.

Since I don't want to ruin the rest of the story, I will talk about the actors for a second. Pretty much the entire cast in this new film is spot on. The biggest issue people had about casting though with this movie would be Edward Norton as Banner. Eric Bana played Banner in the last Hulk movie and looked more like the comic book version of Banner then Norton does for sure. But to be honest, Norton really pulls it off. Instead of being a wimpy emo scientist with parent issues like in the previous Hulk movie, Norton's Banner is more a Jason Bourne type scientist who actually thinks on his feet, learns karate and is actually pretty bad ass. Like I said, I like this Banner a whole lot more. He is still a little wimpy and is human, but he isn't the total self-loathing pathetic Banner from the previous flick which is good.



The rest of the cast is all very solid all around from Tim Roth as a hired military trained gun who is on the hunt for Banner to Liv Tyler who plays Banner's ex-girlfriend, Betty Ross. Everyone does a great job with Tyler probably being the weakest of the cast but still doing a solid job none the less. And yes, they set the movie up to have sequels due to some of the characters they introduce in this movie.

Now whats a comic book movie without action? Thankfully Incredible Hulk has tons off good action. There are about 3 massive fight scenes in this film with each being a little different. One being Hulk vs some humans in a dark building, one with Hulk vs a mini-army that has tanks, helicopters and even sonic guns,and then the final fight between Hulk and the new bad guy in the streets of New York. All three fights are really cool cause they aren't all the same and they are all how Hulk fights should be. So seeing this in theaters is really worth it since any good sound system will make these fights even more bad ass. Also of note is the CG in the movie is really spot on as well. I was afraid during most of the Hulk action scenes, the Hulk would look a little unrealistic or campy. But my hats off to the company behind the CG for the movie cause all the action and especially the Hulk flowed very well with the rest of the movie.

Overall, I give this movie a 8/10. Its not as good as Iron Man was of course, but its still really up there and definitely worth checking out for any comic book fan out there. So far Marvel is two for two with their new movies now and we still got another four more coming out in the next 3 years. And yes, Tony Stark does show up in here and I really wished they would of waited till after the credits to show him. Still, its cool to see Marvel setting up the Marvel universe in these films and actually connecting them all. I just really hope they can keep Norton on as Banner cause the guy does a great job.

-P. Knight

Getting Smart

Hey kids,

So this weekend I decided to go see the new movie remake of the classic TV series, Get Smart. I decided to see it because I did like the original series and Steve Carell is always funny in these sorts of rolls. Plus my only other option was the Mike Myers abortion, the Love Guru.

In both the series and new movie of Get Smart, its the basic story of good vs. evil. After reading the reviews of Love Guru, I think the whole good vs. evil thing can apply to these two movies as well since they both opened this weekend and were both being named "Comedy of the summer".

Despite being a TV remake, the Get Smart movie was actually good. Not The Office good of course, but it still had me rolling and laughing most of the movie. There are a lot of throwbacks to the old series, but this is still revamp and origin movie. We find out how Maxwell Smart becomes a agent of Control and see him and his partner 99 first pair together to stop the agents of C.H.O.A.S.

As per normal Carelly, we get his very spot on dry humor and wit as he plays Smart in a bit of a different way then Adams did in the original show. I think thats good really since it means Carell wanted to make the character his own and give it his own touch then be a Adams clone. He does a spot on job and really pulls off the over confident goofball agent who always messes up, but manages to get the job done in the end.

The rest of the cast includes Anne Hathaway as Agent 99, Alan Arkin as The Chief and The Rock as Agent 23. Arkin does his usual great job as the Chief and you honestly want to see more of him since he is just does a great performance. The Rock plays the ladies man, super badass Agent 23 who Smart looks up to. Surprisingly, he does a pretty decent job in the movie and is actually funny. After making The Rundown, I wish we would of seen him in some better movies then all the kid friendly ones he did. The guy can act and is funny. He should really drop the Disney crap and start doing more flicks like this.

As for Anne Hathaway. Its Anne fricking Hathaway. She is hot, cute and sexy all at once and is great as Agent 99. Hathaway can actually act and pulls off sex appeal like no other actresses from her generation. Thats all I really need to say.

As for the rest of the movie. Its the typical good guys vs. bad guys story. Nothing groundbreaking, but its not suppose to be. Its suppose to be easy to follow and fun to watch and it was. Lots of great other actors in the film as well as a few celeb cameos as well.

So overall, I would give this movie a 7.5/10. Its worth seeing in the theaters since it has some good action as well and pretty much everyone in the family will find something to laugh at including your crazy drunk uncle who hugs you a little to long at family reunions.

-P. Knight