Hellboy II and Other

I saw Hellboy II a little later than I usually do. Dylan and I discovered that the Metro shuts down at midnight on weekdays in DC – didn’t cause problems when I lived in Georgetown, but it certainly hampers any sort of mid-week nightlife if I’m anywhere that doesn’t have a movie theatre within walking distance!

So we went Friday. Barely made the showing, in fact, which resulted in our being stuck up at the very front. My neck is still sore. Was it worth it? Hell yeah.

This is not the same Hellboy as the first. Gone is the focus on super-secret supernatural badassery (mostly because Hellboy reveals himself to the press early on); but with that facade gone, the door is opened to a whole new identity crisis for our hero. He finds himself hated and feared by humans, rather than revered. Gee – raise your hand if you didn’t see THAT coming! Enter the bad guy: Prince Nuada, last scion of the “elves” (modeled after the Tuatha de Danann of Gaelic fame). He’s passionate, but ultimately not all that menacing on screen, prefering instead to dispatch nastier beasties to do his bidding. He DOES, however, prove to be quite a schemer – putting Hellboy, for instance, in the position of killing the last Forest Elemental, a being of great beauty and grace, just to torture Hellboy’s conscience a little.

The weakness of the main villain, however, lets the movie focus on the development of our heroes. We’ve lost Meyers, but gained Johann Krauss – a medium composed entirely of ectoplasm. Cool beans, right? Despite the vast potential for screw-ups, Del Toro actually manages to make the character believable; and even with his shorter screen time, we see the character evolve to become part of the team in a thoroughly satisfying way.

In fact, the whole movie is thoroughly satisfying. There is one scene in particular – around half-way through the movie – where Hellboy and Abe drink, and muse on life and love. It’s moving in its natural power, choreographed like a well-written symphony, all to the unlikely tune of “Can’t Smile Without You” (sung by Barry Manilow). It’s quite possibly one of my favorite scenes of all time.

For all that, however, the movie fails to truly wow. It meanders from plot point to plot point with very little tangible conflict; just one witty quip and fantastic monster after another. It’s a pleasure to watch, but hardly world-shaking. I recommend it to any fan of folk tales, lore, and the supernatural; as well as to anyone who just likes to watch a fun action flick; but don’t go in expecting anything profound. The first movie was probably better for that.

On the blog… For those of you who don’t know, tomorrow is my last day of freedom before I’m plunged into the “real world”. I’m sure it’ll go by quickly and without celebration: after all, I have to be in bed by 9 PM if I hope to get to orientation on time and still get a decent night’s sleep. That sucks, but I guess sacrifices must be made…

I expect the first week or so will be busy, and that this blog will suffer. I’ll write when I can, though – you know, for those of you who read it…

Hancock

After walking out of Hancock, I had a fierce desire to say… Something… About it. To be honest, though, my feelings are mixed.

I saw Hancock on the 2nd – arguably a day before it came out – and as I left, the crowd was clapping. They liked it that much.

I’ll say this for Hancock – it’s going to make someone a lot of money. Regardless of the art of the film, it’s a movie that is easy to enjoy. Will Smith gives a powerful performance as a hero who’s not so much an archetypal anti-hero as a man in need of a hug. Hancock’s transformation from a rude, alcoholic, anti-social “asshole” (uh-oh!) to a suave, considerate protector is believable and even enjoyable to watch.

Sadly, that is NOT what this movie is about. The director (or the writers?)’s attempt to cover not only his protagonists’ growth as a hero, but also his elaborate backstory and the accompanying angst and conflicting love interests that ensue feel like a little too much for one movie. Ultimately, it’s a movie that isn’t sure if it’s serious or comic. My understanding is that the original intent was for Hancock to be a dark comedy – this seems to have been largely misplaced over the unusually-long period of time this movie spent in limbo before being made. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the powerful performances given by Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman. Theron’s raw emotion and power make her role (which I won’t spoil for y’all!) believable and tragic. Bateman serves as the perfect ever-optimistic comic counterpoint to Hancock’s cynicism and begrudging sense of duty. Neither, however, really invades the others’ role, giving the rather odd impression of Hancock being involved in two movies at once, each telling a slightly different story.

I’m not sure if this effect is the fault of changing directions over intervening years, or simply of a director’s failure to properly balance two dominant plot threads, but it detracts from the film’s believability (and probably critical acceptance). Apart from that one gripe, though, the movie is a pleasure to watch and does a great job of peaking the viewer’s interest in Hancock’s origin and purpose. Definitely recommended.

Wanted

I just got back from seeing Wanted, and I’m feeling horrible.

Wanted is one of those movies that tries to spin a complex, dynamic plot around a constant, high-level hum of gore and death. It fits into the storied company of Shoot-Em-Up, Lucky Number Slevin, and Layer Cake – all movies that manage this delicate balance much, MUCH better than Wanted does. Certainly, there are more than enough slick bullet-time sequences to make any fan of cool action flicks drool, but the plot the movie is tied around fails to live up to the hype.

Wanted is the story of a “Fraternity” of assassins who “read the code in the loom” to determine who fate has decreed should die so that the balance of order is maintained. Find that hard to believe? So did the protagonist, Wesley (James McAvoy). He goes along with it, evidently, because his father’s killer is sure to be an eventual target. It doesn’t hurt, of course, that right before his first assignment Fox (Angelina Jolie) tells Wesley that a member of the fraternity refused to kill the man who went on to burn her father alive in front of her eyes. Good ol’ “kill one to save thousands” with a side of “sucker for the tortured romantic lead”.

In the end, of course, there are a couple of whirlwind plot twists that result in a showdown of truly epic proportions. The end is meant to be a crushing revelation on the order of those unravelled in Layer Cake or Lucky Number Slevin, but it feels flat; forced. We are left with no sense of change or accomplishment. Wesley is still the same Wesley, just with magical powers that allow him to “control his destiny”. So, what – only people selected to be superhuman assassins can control their destiny? What will he do now that the loom is destroyed? Why is he still alive if the loom said he should die? Did it say that?

It’s supposed to be some grand commentary on fate, I’m sure. It winds up, however, being just another loose thread in a barely coherent narrative. It’s a pity, too – the plot is BRIMMING with potential, and the powers and abilities of this fraternity are BEGGING for exploration. One can see why the likes of Jolie and Morgan Freeman would want to be attached to the project. It’s truly disappointing that their characters are left so two-dimensional, and that the movie really ends up being nothing more than an orgasm of badass fight scene after badass fight scene.

I liked it – but then, I like ANYTHING that’s vaguely entertaining. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of bringing a friend who is far less adjusted to such high levels of violence, and I’m worried I may have scarred him forever. Let that be a lesson: If you like violence and cool special effects, this is the movie for you. If you need plot, or if you can’t stand high levels of gore… Better to keep away. Watch Lucky Number Slevin or Layer Cake instead – far less violence, and far more plot to spin it around.

Moral Relativism

I went to see Prince Caspian tonight.

The movie, in my opinion, is definitely worth a watch. As expected, the Christian themes are out in force, but I feel like the movie has a lot to say about choice, pride, and all the usual feel-good American values, that it’s valuable entirely apart from that.

My room-mate did not agree. An hour later, I’ve learned something new about my room-mate – that he’s a moral objectivist – and had another of those discussions that I just know I’m going to miss after college.

(more…)

Oops, I seem to have disappeared!

I guess I’ll never really get used to blogging. Short list of changes since my last post:

1. My computer is better than fine. Turns out the wireless card driver was glitching.
2. I’m a year older.
3. I’m out like $800 on the geekiest (and best) weekend ever. No questions, please – even *I* have secrets. I’m debating reviewing some of my new acquisitions on the blog
4. I’ve been through the last class of my college career. I’m now struggling to muster the energy to care about finals…
5. Both my best friends are back on the horse. I’m not yet… Guess that’s what senior week is for!

I always kinda thought there’d be some great fanfare when college ended. Like some sort of marching band, or crack in the sky or something. I guess I should have expected that Georgetown would have a little bit too much dignity to make a big deal out of it. Of course, my last class WAS Advanced International Business, and it’s not like I haven’t spent the whole semester in that class checking my e-mail, updating my blog, and generally doing anything but paying attention to the professor. He gave a speech… And not one that really made sense. Oh well – that’s Georgetown for you.

My friends took me out for dinner/drinking on Friday to celebrate my birthday a little late. I had a fever going in, but I couldn’t tell by a few hours in and I had a lot of fun. Found a great place in Adams Morgan called The Blaguard. They have, I shit you not, shuffleboard. Which we suck at… But the Guinness was $6 a pint, and that more than made up for it. There’s also the close proximity of Amsterdam Falafel Shop for convenient drunk-munchies. We also managed to hit Wingos on the way back. I’d feel bad, except I’m up to running three miles a day these days.

I also got my grilling in for the weekend. Found around 4 and a half pounds of ground beef in the freezer that made for an excellent few hours of grilling (which I did instead of working on my paper on Organizational Change and Mountain Carvings). I think I’m declaring open-season on all food in the house on Wednesday. Maybe then my house-mates will finally eat some of the shit that’s been sitting around since September. Oh – and I saw Iron Man. God DAMN that movie was awesome.

I can’t believe it’s all over in a week.