Movie Review - The Dark Knight

"Why so serious?"

Intro:

The Batman franchise was rekindled with a vengeance in 2005 with Batman Begins, a whole new take on Batman and his origins which was a hit and took out all of the elements of campy, cheesy, Tim Burton feel of the older ones and put in a dark, gritty and more true to life story. Then in 2008 we are treated to one of the most complex, exciting, dark superhero movie to ever cross the big screen.

Story:

Under the increased presence of Batman, Gotham City is a different place with the city's criminal element fearfully avoiding him whenever possible, creating a void that's filled by the new menace called The Joker (Heath Ledger) who targets both the gangsters and the city's law officials alike. When the Joker challenges Batman, threatening to kill a person a day unless he unmasks and gives himself up, the caped crusader and Gotham's new D.A. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) must find a way to deal with this violent new form of killer each in their own way. At the same time, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) must contend with Dent's interest in his childhood sweetheart Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and his own feelings for her.

What Worked:

Ok, lets get one thing straight, this movie rocks! The cast is perfect. The Joker will get into your mind and scare you, Batman is still the protector of the city, Lt. Gordon has a bigger role this time and is another hero to root for, and the D.A. Harvey Dent is well played in his transformation (we all know who he becomes). The director, Christopher Nolan did well also because he went for character and story over big explosions.

The movie may be call "The Dark Knight" referring to Batman, but this story will leave you remembering The Joker character above all else. As soon as he comes on the screen he will leave an imprint on your mind with his scary laugh, his freaky voice, his scars and make-up. Ledger deserves a Oscar for his complete transformation into the character of The Joker.

Pretty much everything worked which include the story, action, suspense, acting, and score. This movie will require multiple views because the story is long and complex and very interesting.

What Didn't Work:

The only problem I had with the movie was that is got kind of long toward the end, but I still enjoyed it. I mean 150 minutes is a long time to sit down, but it is worth it. Also you might think this is going to be a light superhero movie, but it is not. This is a very dark and grim story filled with scary parts and is not a light movie. I enjoyed it, but leave the kids home.

Conclusion:

Go see the movie and pay attention.

4 stars out of 4

"The Dark Knight" is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and some menace.

The Family is in town!

Most of my family is in town for a week or so and we are going up to Loon Lake next week for a couple of days. We are going to do some water skiing, tubing, Rail Baron and just having having fun! Its going to be grand!

Most incredible fight scene ever!

I wish I was this fast...

Movie Review - Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

Intro:

I remember sitting around one Friday evening living on 1098 SE Clarey Ave. in small house right beside the river in 2004. Jesse and I were bored and we were looking at the movie reviews for Hellboy which looked kind of interesting because it was a comics superhero story. So, Jesse, Paddy, and I went and saw it and we enjoyed it. A pretty fun movie.
Now for those who don't anything Hellboy, maybe you are already put off by the title. The first movie is more of supernatural thriller which starts in 1944. The German Nazis work with Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin on an isolated island off the coast of Scotland to build a dimensional portal. They intend to use it, with Rasputin's help, to awaken the Ogdru Jahad (the Seven Gods of Chaos), monstrous entities that have been imprisoned and asleep since an undisclosed time, to destroy their enemies. But Rasputin secretly intends to use the entities to bring about the destruction of the entire Earth.
The United States sends a small Army team to destroy the portal, guided by a young doctor, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, who is well-versed in terms of magic and sorcery. In the ensuing battle, the German scientists and soldiers are killed and the portal is destroyed, killing Rasputin. As the Army team surveys the ruins for anything that may have sneaked into their dimension through the portal, they discover a bright red infant demon whom they name Hellboy. Hellboy later joins with group of other different characters which include fish-like person named Abe Sapien who has advanced psychic abilities, and Liz Sherman, a pyrokinetic with firestarting abilities. The group later becomes known as the Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense.
The first movie showed off hellboy's skills at fighting a different amount of offworld and fantasy like creatures.
Fast forward four years and here comes Hellboy 2.

Story:
Hellboy 2 starts on Christmas Eve with the professor telling Hellboy of an ancient tale of a battle between humankind and mythical creatures. The king of the mythical creatures makes a deal with a certain race, that are his slaves, if they build him an army that will destroy the humans he will let them go free. This race agrees and makes him the indestructible golden army along with the command tool, a golden crown. This race of fantasy creatures tell him that whoever has control over the crown will have control of the army. The golden army is so strong that it destroys most of the humankind. The king of the mythical creatures is sorry that he made the golden army and declares a truce with the humankind. They split the crown in to three halves and give one to the humans and two to the mythical creatures, one for the king and his daughter. The prince does not agree with his fathers decision and believes the humans should be destroyed. He is then sent into exile.
The story then goes on to tell the prince's return from exile and his search for all three pieces of the crown to command the golden army which Hellboy and his friends try to prevent.

What worked:
The one thing about this sequel compared to the first is that everything was taken up a notch. The humor, fun, action, suspense, drama, character development. I think this story was better then the original because the first dealt more with the supernatural side of the hellboy story, while this dealt more in the fantasy realm of the hellboy story. The characters were really fleshed out more and the evil prince was really cool as the bad guy with his great sword work. Also the director Guillermo del Toro did a better job this time around with the story and pacing, maybe because this time he wrote the whole screenplay and was given more freedom then the first one. Now for those who don't know about del Toro is that he is a visionary director with a great imagination. He is like the George Lucas of today. There is a scene in Hellboy 2 in the Troll market which is like the bar scene in A New Hope with Luke meets Han Solo. Both those scenes featured many weird and cool characters. Del Toro also directed Pan's Labyrinth another fantasy adventure with alot of interesting ideas and characters. He is also attached to do The Hobbit in 2011.

What didn't work:
I don't have anything really bad to say about the movie. Some minor things in the middle got the story kind of slow and bogged down. Also you might be put off by the whole nature of the story about a demon who comes from another portal and fights alot of weird creatures. Also for some the ending could be kind of predictable.

Conclusion:
This is great sequel to the first Hellboy movie and a fun summer flick. Prepare to see some amazing creatures and have alot of fun. You probably don't have to see the first one to see this one, but it would help with the back story.

Hellboy II is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and some language
3 1/2 stars out of 4

It Came to Mind

Still and quiet canine form

In the Sun, asleep and warm.

His tail is limp, His

Whiskers drooped

Man, what could make

This dog so pooped?

My July 4th Interview

Mr. Fourth: What did you do for July 4th?

Me: Well Mr. Today, it is really a honor for me to chat with you today about my daily routine for July 4th. Well you see this day I had was kind of looking forward to, a day where I could enjoy the sun for little and watch the stars fly by. I got to go play softball at 10 with my church in the morning and went 1-3 with a fly out to center field and fielders' choice. Then I quickly had to drive over to Subway with my shades on, my window down, and Jimmy Eat World sounding from the speakers. Worked for a couple hours in the front of the store asking the same questions over and over. I can handle it though. Got sent home around 2:15 and relaxed for an hour, watched a Star Trek episode from Netflix. A really lame episode that made me wish that they had never made it, but its Star Trek. I love it! Then, just as had finished three peanut butter and honey sandwiches I had to go back to Subway for another shift. By this time I was ready to call it quits and relax the rest of the day, but it was time to make some more money. When I came home from Subway I traveled over to my good friend Davy's house for a time a watching UFC videos, with some unfortunate incidences in these fights (laughs!). Watched a very long and kind of boring documentary on the classic boxing fight between Ali and Foreman. Afterwards when headed outside and lit off some firecrackers with lighters. That was was very fun an entertaining evening. Any other questions?

Mr. Fourth: Why did you eat three peanut butter and honey sandwich's? Couldn't you find something healthier to eat?

Me: I guess I could have, but I didn't feel like it and I was hungry.

Mr. Fourth: Did anyone get hurt while you guys were lighting fireworks?

Me: Well some of us got our thumbs burnt from try to light the fireworks with the liters, but they were only minor burns.

Mr. Fourth: What was the most entertaining part of the Day?

Me: The most entertaining part of my 4th would have to be the softball game in the morning, even though I didn't get to play all that long it was still a lot of fun. Just to feel the dirt beneath your shoes and the smell of the leather from your glove and how the competition to win keeps everyone on their toes.

Mr. Fourth: Was it a good July 4th?

Me: Yes it was a well rounded day of having fun and working.

Mr. Fourth: What kind of plans do you see in your up coming schedule?

Me: Well I see more work at Subway and more working out in the morning and more summer fun!

Mr. Fourth: Well thanks for spending some time with us today, Sir

Me: Anytime.

Movie Review - Hancock

The other day I was looking forward to this movie called Hancock.
I had seen previews in the cinema and looked like a pretty funny action superhero movie. It was interesting because a lot of the trailers I saw didn't really give anything away about the plot of the story. I also really wanted to see it because it has Will Smith in it.

The story is centered about the main character named, John Hancock(Will Smith), a superhero who is shall we say a bum on the streets. He lays on park benches and drinks beer from the bottle and acts really different for a typical superhero. Hancock is the kind of guy that everyone hates rather than loves. He produces more damage when he tries to save the day and pretty soon everyone is out to get him to put him in jail. One day Hancock saves a man's life who in return desires to help Hancock restore his lost image. The salesman played by Jason Bateman takes Hancock under his wing and sort of teaches him how to be a superhero. Ray(Bateman) lets Hancock into his life and he meets his wife(Charlize Theron) and son. Ray teaches Hancock how to land when coming to fly into a situation, how to tell the cops a good job for keeping a situation under control, and so on. Hancock doesn't like it at first but eventually comes around.

Eventually Bateman's character, Ray, convinces Hancock to spend some time in prison (there has been a warrant out for Hancock's arrest since his latest do-good debacle) to make the public miss him. Sure enough, it works. But just when it looks like Hancock will sail happily into a Santa Monica sunset, a major twist throws his life for a new loop.

The major twist, I thought, was pretty cool and indeed made the story more interesting. The last half of the movie got really dark and intense which really differed from the first half which was pretty light and funny. This sort changed the feel of the movie, even though I didn't really mind, it might have worked better if that didn't happen.

A major complaint I had was that they didn't explain it well enough the origins of Will Smith's character. It got kind of confusing and it was sort of rushed near the end. I wish they had made the movie longer with a better explanation of the characters. The story also seemed kind of choppy. Maybe they are setting it up for the next sequel.

All and all I enjoyed the movie with some minor set backs and storytelling. In terms of themes, Hancock deals with standard superhero fare: reluctant heroism, the burden of power, fate vs. choice, etc. On the technical level, Hancock does everything it needs to do, though nothing more. The cast was really great with Will Smith as the great lead and Bateman has the pretty funny PR man.

Hancock is rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence and language.

3 Stars out of 4

In the near future...

I am going to post very soon. :)