Official Site: HellboyMovie.com
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Writer: Guillermo Del Toro
Producer: Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, Mike Richardson, and Joe Roth.
Starring: Ron Perlman as Hellboy, Selma Blair as Liz Sherman, Doug Jones as Abe Sapien, Seth Macfarlane as the voice of Johann Krauss, James Dodd/John Alexander as Johann Krauss, Luke Goss as Prince Nuada, Anna Walton as Princess Nuala, and Jeffrey Tambor as Tom Manning (IMDb) Rated PG-13.
In this sequel Hellboy and his gang are back to fight Prince Nuada, an other worldly being who decided to violate the truce made between man and the creatures of the forest. Prince Nuada made his return to the world of man at an auction that was selling pieces of a crown from his world that would help him control the indestructible golden army enabling him to destroy human civilization, and the red dude with the big hand was mankind's only hope at stopping him.
Needless to say this film was visually impressive. The special effects, the make-up, and the production were amazing. Collectively, that aspect of the film was great, and Del Toro's fingerprints were clearly evident, at least to those who are familiar with Pan's Labyrinth. However one aspect of the film that I thought lacked potency was the dialogue. I thought the dialogue was somewhat dry, and simple, and perhaps it was written that way intentionally. The comedic value of the film was retained it seems without any decrease in potency from the first to the sequel. For the most part Hellboy 2 was fun to watch, and the film lived up to the advertisements. There was plenty of action, but the ending of the film was somewhat anticlimactic, although there was an act of commendable sacrifice from one of the supporting characters. According to Metacritic.com the film received generally good reviews. Rottentomatoes.com indicates the film received 115 fresh tomatoes to 16 rotten ones thus far. It was a great popcorn movie, I'll grade it a B. Stay tuned, Movieporium.blogspot.com.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Hancock: Frankenstein
Official Site: Hancock
Director: Peter Berg
Writer: Vincent Ngo, and Vince Gilligan
Producer: Akiva Goldsman, James Lassiter, Michael Mann, and Will Smith.
Starring: Will Smith as John Hancock, Charlize Theron as Mary Embrey, Jason Bateman as Rey Embrey, and Jae Head as Aaron Embrey(IMDb). Rated PG-13.
What I expected Hancock to be was a funny superhero movie involving a beatnik character who lacked the grace of traditional superheroes, and we see this absence of finesse in the way Hancock captures the evildoers, and even in his somewhat crash landings. And to some extent Hancock was a exactly that. Hancock does not know who he is or where he comes from; he can only recall waking up in a Miami hospital, and when the nurse in the hospital asked him for his "John Hancock" he kept that name, but after meeting Mary Embrey, he later gained an understanding of who and what he is, and this makes Hancock more than just the average superhero.
Hancock was very entertaining but unexpectedly dramatic. The dramatic element seemed to balance well with the comedic element of the film. The transition between the funny parts and the dramatic parts were great, and it's commendable how those two key elements of the film were managed nicely, equaling to a film that had more than just action, but emotional content as well. However, because Hancock was unexpectedly dramatic, it may disappoint those who were expecting a hardcore comedic action movie; while there was action in this film there was also a fair degree of drama. Even though this movie was primarily advertised has an action comedy, the dramatic element was not bad at all. In closing, the immortal and historic twist in the film made Hancock somewhat of a distinct superhero movie.
The major problem with this film is the absence of a clearly defined plot. Hancock did not have a well defined goal in the film. Hancock was a crime fighter, but he was not going after a certain villain that was threatening to destroy the human race. Although the film did not have a well defined plot, it did have closure. At the end of the film, movie-watchers understood who Hancock was and why he was so grumpy. Metacritic.com indicated this film received mixed reviews, and Rottentomatoes.com indicated 57 fresh tomatoes to 102 rotten ones. This film was entertaining; I give it a C+. Stay tuned, Movieporium.blogspot.com.
Director: Peter Berg
Writer: Vincent Ngo, and Vince Gilligan
Producer: Akiva Goldsman, James Lassiter, Michael Mann, and Will Smith.
Starring: Will Smith as John Hancock, Charlize Theron as Mary Embrey, Jason Bateman as Rey Embrey, and Jae Head as Aaron Embrey(IMDb). Rated PG-13.
What I expected Hancock to be was a funny superhero movie involving a beatnik character who lacked the grace of traditional superheroes, and we see this absence of finesse in the way Hancock captures the evildoers, and even in his somewhat crash landings. And to some extent Hancock was a exactly that. Hancock does not know who he is or where he comes from; he can only recall waking up in a Miami hospital, and when the nurse in the hospital asked him for his "John Hancock" he kept that name, but after meeting Mary Embrey, he later gained an understanding of who and what he is, and this makes Hancock more than just the average superhero.
Hancock was very entertaining but unexpectedly dramatic. The dramatic element seemed to balance well with the comedic element of the film. The transition between the funny parts and the dramatic parts were great, and it's commendable how those two key elements of the film were managed nicely, equaling to a film that had more than just action, but emotional content as well. However, because Hancock was unexpectedly dramatic, it may disappoint those who were expecting a hardcore comedic action movie; while there was action in this film there was also a fair degree of drama. Even though this movie was primarily advertised has an action comedy, the dramatic element was not bad at all. In closing, the immortal and historic twist in the film made Hancock somewhat of a distinct superhero movie.
The major problem with this film is the absence of a clearly defined plot. Hancock did not have a well defined goal in the film. Hancock was a crime fighter, but he was not going after a certain villain that was threatening to destroy the human race. Although the film did not have a well defined plot, it did have closure. At the end of the film, movie-watchers understood who Hancock was and why he was so grumpy. Metacritic.com indicated this film received mixed reviews, and Rottentomatoes.com indicated 57 fresh tomatoes to 102 rotten ones. This film was entertaining; I give it a C+. Stay tuned, Movieporium.blogspot.com.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Wall-E: Pizza Plants
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| Disney Pictures |
Director: Andrew Stanton
Writer(s): Andrew Stanton, and Jim Capobianco
Producer(s): Jim Morris
Starring: Ben Burtt as Wall-E, Elissa Knight as Eve, Jeff Garlin as Captain, Fred Willard as Shelby Forthright/BnL Ceo, John Ratzenberger as John, Kathy Najimy as Mary, and Sigourney Weaver as Ship's Computer(IMDb). Rated-G, 103 minutes.
Wall-E is a lone surviving member of a class of robots left to clean the earth. After seven hundred years, Wall-E has developed what us humans would call a personality. Furthermore, from watching a couple singing, and holding hands from an old video tape of a musical he gathered from the prodigious amount trash left on planet on earth, WALL-E became curious about love. And one day a probe named Eve entered Wall-E's life, and he fell in love, but Eve was not looking for love. She was looking for something else, on a classified mission, but she ended up caring for Wall-E regardless.
I was not excited about seeing this film, but I am happy I gave it a chance, because I enjoyed it immensely. Wall-E is an adorable character, who is innocence incarnate. Wall-E loves his girl Eve and he will chase after her, and protect her, to the far destinations of space. As I watched this movie, I eagerly wanted Wall-E to reunite with Eve. Besides Wall-E, I also felt favorably toward the Captain as well, who was perhaps the hero of the film.
This is a heart warming story that will induce emotions in a Vulcan. There is no lag, and the pace of the film keeps one interested in the occurrences that were pertinent to the multiple plots. One plot of course, was Wall-E's quest to earn Eve's affection, and the other plot was for Eve to execute her directive, and the third plot was for the Captain to return to earth.
These plots were clearly outlined, and that provided for an easy perception of the story. This is a marvelous tale of love, deception, and triumph. Metacritic.com indicated the film generally received good reviews, and Rottentomatoes.com indicated the film received 133 fresh tomatoes to 5 rotten ones thus far. Great film. A classic. I will grade it an A-. Stay tuned Movieporium.blogspot.com.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Wanted: Curve The Bullet
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| Universal Pictures |
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Writer(s): Michael Brandt, and Derek Haas
Producers(s): Jim Lemley, Jason Netter, Marc E. Platt, and Iain Smith.
Starring: James McAvoy as Wesley Gibson, Morgan Freeman as Sloan, Angelina Jolie as Fox, Terrance Stamp as Pekwarsky, Thomas Kretschmann as Cross, and Common as Gunsmith(IMDb).
Rated-R.
Wesly Gibson is an account manager who hates his life, and one day while buying a prescription for his anxiety attacks, a woman named Fox stands next to him, and tells him that she knew his father as a great assassin. After telling Wesley about her knowledge of his father's work, she ends up saving Wesley from the same assassin who tried to kill his father, and afterward Wesley's life changed; he joined a secret society of assassins, "The Fraternity", who trained him with the aim of killing the same rogue assassin who shot his father, or so it seems.
This film definitely delivered on its promises; there was plenty of mind blowing action that made you say " cool". As a very stylish action film, what movie goers witnessed are semi-plausible stunts that could perhaps happen, but highly unlikely, but none the less the action scenes were officially off the charts. For example, the train scene was incredible. This is a scene that has to be viewed on the big screen to truly appreciate its scope, and catastrophe.
The story was interesting. Perhaps the most interesting part of this story was how The Fraternity chose who they planned on assassinating. It was a fate based procedure that made me wonder about the validity of the procedure. Me and Wesley Gibson shared something in common because the procedure concerned him as well. There was a dichotomy in this film; The Fraternity operated on fate, but Wesley ultimately learned to gain control of his life.
From another perspective, both Wesley and The Fraternity decided that people are in control of their lives and fate is just a passive unknown, but one could also argue that it's fate that people gain control of their lives, but that argument suggests that it's fate that determines how people control their lives, but if people are in control of their lives, how can it be fate ? The argument of fate versus existentialism seems to have no end, so let us move on. Metacritic.com indicates this film received generally good reviews, and Rottentomatoes.com indicates the film earned 100 fresh tomatoes to 34 rotten ones thus far. This was a great action film, and I will grade it a B+. Stay Tuned Movieporium.blogspot.com.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
The Love Guru: The Elephant Hump
Official Site: www.lovegurumovie.com
Director: Marco Schnabel
Writer: Mike Myers, and Graham Gordy
Producer(s): Michael De Luca, Donald J. Lee Jr., and Mike Myers.
Starring: Mike Myers as Guru Pitka, Jessica Alba as Jane Bullard, Justin Timberlake as Jacques Grandes, Romany Malco as Darren Roanoke, Verne Troyer as Coach Punch Cherkov, Ben Kingsley as Guru Tugginmypudha, and Meagan Good as Prudence Roanoke(IMDb). Rated PG-13.
Guru Pitka is the #2 guru in the world after Deepak Chopra; the opportunity for Pitka to be #1 presents itself when Darren Roanoke, the best player on the Toronto Mapleleafs, has broken up with his wife, and as a result his game has been affected. To help redeem Roanoke's skills, Pitka has been offered 2 million dollars, by Jane Bullard, a big follower of Pitka, and the head of the Toronto Mapleleafs. In the processes of trying to help Roanoke Pitka learns a valuable lesson.
This movie was silly and delightful, and it had a great plot. Mike Myers wrote the script excellently, as all the acronyms were very creative. Granted this movie was not flat out hilarious but the laughs were consistent, and there were some absolutely surprisings parts. Myers has not lost his touch, and he has kept his trademark of interacting with movie watchers by winking when his character commits an outlandishly unrealistic act. The punch lines are relentless through out the film, and one wonders how does he invent them. As funny as this film was, I thought it was missing something, but it is difficult for me to conclude what the missing ingredient was. In any event, I laughed, and I was not disappointed. According to Metacritic.com, the film received generally bad reviews, and Rottentomatoes.com indicated 17 fresh tomatoes to 90 rotten ones thus far. I disagree with the bad reviews, and I'll grade a B-. Stay tuned, Movieporium. blogspot.com.
Director: Marco Schnabel
Writer: Mike Myers, and Graham Gordy
Producer(s): Michael De Luca, Donald J. Lee Jr., and Mike Myers.
Starring: Mike Myers as Guru Pitka, Jessica Alba as Jane Bullard, Justin Timberlake as Jacques Grandes, Romany Malco as Darren Roanoke, Verne Troyer as Coach Punch Cherkov, Ben Kingsley as Guru Tugginmypudha, and Meagan Good as Prudence Roanoke(IMDb). Rated PG-13.
Guru Pitka is the #2 guru in the world after Deepak Chopra; the opportunity for Pitka to be #1 presents itself when Darren Roanoke, the best player on the Toronto Mapleleafs, has broken up with his wife, and as a result his game has been affected. To help redeem Roanoke's skills, Pitka has been offered 2 million dollars, by Jane Bullard, a big follower of Pitka, and the head of the Toronto Mapleleafs. In the processes of trying to help Roanoke Pitka learns a valuable lesson.
This movie was silly and delightful, and it had a great plot. Mike Myers wrote the script excellently, as all the acronyms were very creative. Granted this movie was not flat out hilarious but the laughs were consistent, and there were some absolutely surprisings parts. Myers has not lost his touch, and he has kept his trademark of interacting with movie watchers by winking when his character commits an outlandishly unrealistic act. The punch lines are relentless through out the film, and one wonders how does he invent them. As funny as this film was, I thought it was missing something, but it is difficult for me to conclude what the missing ingredient was. In any event, I laughed, and I was not disappointed. According to Metacritic.com, the film received generally bad reviews, and Rottentomatoes.com indicated 17 fresh tomatoes to 90 rotten ones thus far. I disagree with the bad reviews, and I'll grade a B-. Stay tuned, Movieporium. blogspot.com.
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