Let's take a look at the Batman DVD first off. This "movie" features 6 short episodes, each around 10 minutes or so, written by some of the best comic and television scribes, including Greg Rucka and Brian Azzarello. They pair up with some acclaimed anime studios to produce a neat little compliation of Batman stories that fits snugly between the two feature films, "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight." Now let me make this clear, I'm not a huge fan of anime at all. In fact, most of the time I just can't stand it. My favorite anime styled cartoon is The Boondocks, which is basically just a very Americanized version of anime in the first place. I'm no expert on who these directors are either, I think one of them did the "Ghost in the Shell" but that's about as far as my knowledge goes on who these guys are. Needless to say, I was a bit weary going into this DVD knowing my general distaste for the style of animation being used.
Thankfully, most of the animation didn't bother me. I only thought Batman and company looked ridiculous in a few of the stories and for the most part it was kind of cool to see how these anime directors interpreted the Caped Crusader. I won't spoil all of the fun and discuss each story, but I would like to briefly focus on the two I enjoyed the most. "Have I Got a Story For You" kicks off the film and "Deadshot" closes things out.
The former is written by Josh Olsen, who wrote the screenplay for "A History of Violence." His tale is a cute little one about a group of kids and their stories about the Batman. Seeing each child tell their friends what they saw when they encountered the Dark Knight was amusing, as these kids apparently have very healthy imaginations.
The final episode of the film, written by Alan Burnett of "Batman: The Animated Series" fame, features an action-packed battle between Bats and the titular character. It was pretty rad to see someone like Deadshot being used here, especially when considering the depth of Batman's rogues gallery. The only other bad guys from Batman's extensive group of villians who even appear in this film are Killer Croc and the Scarecrow. It's nice to see a C-lister like Deadshot get his moment in the sun, even if he does get his butt kicked.
"Gotham Knight" is a nice treat for the hardcore Batman set and also something worth checking out if you happen to be interested in anime or just would like to learn more about the Dark Knight. The two-disc edition is loaded with tons of really excellent features that should please rabid fans, including a look at Batman's rogues and a feature on creator Bob Kane. They are very well down and nearly worth the price of the DVD alone.
Four years have passed since the release of "Hellboy" and after several delays and a change of film studios, "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army" finally hit the silver screen on Friday. I might not be the first to say it, but let me emphatically state that this movie was 100% worth every single second of waiting. It took everything I enjoyed about the first film and cranked it up to 11. It might be a bit of a bold statement with "The Dark Knight" looming next week, but so far this is my movie of the summer.
Ron Perlman is perfect as Hellboy. If he ever decides to stop portraying "Red" then I hope they never make another Hellboy movie. He is that good at playing the cigar smoking, cat loving, right-hand-of-doom possesing hero. I honestly could not imagine anyone else stepping into this role and doing the things he does. Anyways, as you can probably tell Perlman was spot on again and the supporting cast from the original movie returns with top notch performances as well. Doug Jones nearly steals the show once again, this time lending his voice as well as his physical acting talents to "fishstick" Abe Sapien. Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane joins in on the fun, voicing the newest B.P.R.D. member, the ectoplasmic Johann Krauss. He also does a truly great job and his banter with Hellboy provides some of the film's many comedic moments.
The story this time around strays away from Hellboy's comic origins, something I actually found quite refreshing. Instead of a rehashed story, we get something entirely new for the $10 admission price. The main plot deals with Hellboy and his B.P.R.D cohorts trying to stop Price Nuada, an exiled elf warrior played by Luke Goss, from capturing the pieces of a powerful crown and awakening the ancient Golden Army to bring about the end of mankind. Nuada is obsessed with taking back the Earth for his elven bretheren and will stop at nothing to do so. Big Red and his posse naturally have a problem with this and several confrontations ensue.
Price Nuada has a twin sister, Princess Nuala, who does not share in his grand vision for Earth. He tries to sway her over to his side but she winds up with the B.P.R.D. One of the films many subplots features Pricess Nuala and Abe Sapien developing feelings for one another, leading to some tender moments. Perhaps the best scene of the film is between Abe and Hellboy. Abe goes to him for some advice on the Nuala situation, while Hellboy is dealing with his own relationship troubles with Liz Sherman. The end result needs to be seen to be believed and certainly provided the most laughs at the theatre. It is a shining example of what makes this Hellboy film universe so unique.
The wonderful thing about "The Golden Army" is director Guillmero del Toro's vivid imagination. Along with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, del Toro has cooked up a beautifully put together movie chock full of outlandish characters and stunning landscapes. I spent as much time looking at the surroundings as I did the main characters. You get giant forest god elementals, adorable yet vicious "tooth fairies" and of course Wink, who is Price Nuada's bad-ass sidekick. The "Troll Market" scene rivals the Mos Eisley Cantina from "Star Wars," no joke. It would be a travesty if the visual effects team doesn't find themselves in the midst of the Oscar talk for their work on this movie.
"Hellboy 2: The Golden Army" ends with the promise of another story to tell. Here's hoping the next one happens sooner than later.
No comments:
Post a Comment