The Golden Boy's Golden Army

Guillermo del Toro is in his element with Hellboy II: The Golden Army. The creation of mystical creatures and fantastical worlds is definitely one of his strengths. The movie is definitely an improvement on the first movie but it is not the masterpiece of Pan’s Labyrinth (2007).
The movie is slick and fun but it lacks in its pacing. There is so many interesting things going on, but we never really get to take it in. The Goblin market and the creatures in it are unbelievable but the action never stops so we can appreciate it. The mystical world and the Golden Army are stunning also. Ron Pearlman as Hellboy is the heart and soul of the movie. He does a great job; it was as if he was born for the role. It is nice to see a superhero movie with a heart. It is not just action but back-story. Without Pearlman the movie would fall apart, his portrayal of Hellboy makes the movie. Doug Jones is also brillant as Abe Sapian and a number of other mystical creatures.
Hellboy II, is the worth the watch for a cool story and beautiful completely breathtaking imagery. It seems that del Toro can do the big budget Hollywood movie, so I think we should all be excited for his version of the Hobbit.

Futurama Movies

Benders Big Score (2007)
The first movie to continue the Futurama series was admittedly a bit of a disappointment. It has an interesting story and a lot of Futurama’s famous wit but it tries too hard. The creators must have felt that they needed to show every character since it was the return of the series.
There was potential in this movie and I just cannot help but feel that it was underutilized. If they would have stuck to the brilliant story and stayed away from the unrelated tangents, it would have been a much better movie.
The bottom line is that if you watched and loved the series, you will enjoy the movie but it is not what it could have been. One has to wonder if Futurama stretched itself too far, perhaps it is better as a 30-minute show.

The Beast of a Billion Backs (2008)
The second try at a Futurama movie is far better than the first. They stopped trying to work every character into the story and let the story play out. While the story is as interesting as the first one, it falls way out of the mythology of the Futurama world. It lacked the flow that the series contained.
Yet the movie still has the same biting satire, and it does an excellent job lampooning religion. It is hilarious to see Fry as the tentacle pope. The writing maintains its trademark edge and is very hilarious.
As always, the voice acting in the movie is beyond excellent. David Cross does a great job as Yeva.
We can hope that the Futurama movies continue their upward trend and the next one will be even better.

He isn't Superman - Hancock (2008)

Rail Crossing Crowd #2: Your breath smells like alcohol!

Hancock: That's cause I've been drinking bitch!

Hancock is a brilliant concept and while it doesn’t quite live up to its full potential, it is still an interesting and fun movie.
Hancock is the story of a superhero that is more hated than loved. He tries to save the day but along the way leaves a trail of destruction and mayhem. He is an alcoholic and an asshole. Yet, there is more to him. It just takes someone to care about him to bring out the human side.
Will Smith plays the role beautifully. You can really see the pain and hurt in his eyes as he gets jeered and laughed at. The role of Hancock is quite a change from the charmers that Smith usually plays and he shows us again that is a criminally underrated actor.

Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron, do and excellent job as the PR man who reinvents Hancock and his wife. Theron has a secret and her looks just seethe with back story, but I’m not going to give it away.
The movie is full and exciting in the beginning and with the arrival of Bateman’s character has some heart. It manages to run a fine line, a lesser movie may have fallen into farce or just an action movie, but Hancock manages to toe the line. Admittedly the twist did not work for me, this is where the movie loses it way. It loses all its flow, but luckily, it finds itself near the end.
A lot of the credit must go to the writers for the excellent concept and to the director (Jason Berg) for holding the movie together when the story gets all jumbled up.
It is interesting to note that Hancock, the character, fits perfectly with Hancock, the movie, it starts off great, loses its way in the middle, but finally redeems itself in the end.

The Journey of Clair's Le Million (1931)

Renè Clair’s Le Million (1931) was at one point considered one of the greatest movies of all time, over seventy-five years later the movie is not masterpiece it once was, but it remains a terrific movie.
Le Million was made just a few years after the advent of movie sound and is one of the early movie musicals. The movie is one of the truest examples of the idea that it is more about the journey than the outcome, you know the end of the movie almost right from the beginning, but that does not make it any less enjoyable. The movie is a mixture of drama, comedy, romance, and music. It is the story of a man deeply indebt who wins a million florin in the Dutch lottery. His fiancé then gives away his jacket with the ticket in it to a man who is in need. The movie is about the quest to retrieve the coat with the ticket in it. Le Million is the precursor to It’s a Mad Mad Mad World and Rat Race.
Clair keeps his camera relatively stable and lets the story place out. The movie is touching and beautiful, the scene of Michel and Beatrice’s moment in the background of the opera is unbelievable. This is where you see the legacy of the silent movies, they say so much with a single word. The movie is a fun romp through Paris and while it is clearly dated but it retains much its charm.