Review: Meet Bill (2008) [Reviewed By Kelsey Zukowski]

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Elizabeth Banks, Jessica Alba, Logan Lerman, Timothy Olyphant
Directed By: Bernie Goldmann, Melisa Wallack
Written By: Melisa Wallack
Released: 2008
Grade: B

Meet Bill gives us the story of a man fairly well off at life; nice house, beautiful wife, and yet is completely miserable. This is a story we have heard countless times before and the trailer makes it look decent, but overall pretty average. The trailer really doesn’t do the movie any justice though. Meet Bill had me pleasantly surprised. Sure it takes a plot that has been done before and doesn’t necessarily accomplish that much with it, but is still smart and enjoyable along the way.

Meet Bill: he works in a dead end job at a bank working for his father-in-law and the rest of his wife’s family. His job is of no importance and his title was pretty much just created for him to have a paycheck to support his wife, Jess (Banks). He deals with it day after day though for her. Soon Bill gains suspicions that it might all be for nothing. Jess is giving him reason to believe that she is having an affair with a local, arrogant, self-indulgent news caster, Chip (Olyphant). The worst part is that she isn’t distant, but friendly towards him as if everything is perfect when that is far from the truth of the situation. Bill plants a camera in their house pointed at his bed. When he watches the video, his doubts in Jess are confirmed. The video captured Jess and Chip having sex on the same bed that Jess and him sleep on every night. Not to mention, during sex, Jess is constantly putting Bill down and describing all of the ways how he is the lesser man compared to Chip. For awhile, Jess won’t even admit that this is true and actually tries to make Bill out to be the bad guy for not giving her enough privacy and trust even though she has abandoned that trust.

Seeing the video himself and it not even doing much for him is bad enough, but than it managed to get leaked on to the internet and sent to every person that Bill works with on a daily basis. Since Bill is only human, he naturally has to put up a fight. By attacking Chip, this only ends up making him look bad. These attacks are all caught on camera and pin him as the “deranged fan”, as if he is some sort of an obsessed fan of Chips, not even acknowledging how he has been wronged. This is where it is most clear that Bill’s life is falling apart. His marriage is dwindling and most likely is over at this point. He is forced to continue going to work and even to have dinner with Jess’s family who have all seen the proof that she is no longer loyal to Bill. Bill is desperately trying to find a way out of his job as he feels more imprisoned now than ever. He decides a good way out would be too open a store that is part of a national donut chain. He has to be approved to do this, which ends up being a longer process than he would have liked. Plus they want to meet his wife, which is not really an option right now. Meanwhile, Bill has been assigned to be a mentor to a 15 year-old student at a private school known as “The Kid”. The Kid really helps Bill with everything he is going through and does everything he can to make sure his future is more enjoyable than his present is. He even pays off an older crush of his, Lucy (Alba), who works as a lingerie salesperson, to make Bill look more impressive and to pretend to be his wife in order to get his donut shop and have a chance at a new start.

Aaron Eckhart does wonderfully as Bill and a big part of the reason why the film worked as well as it did is because of him. Bill could have easily been a sad, pathetic character. Sure it would get sympathy, but that wouldn’t mean that we liked him or could really care for him or what happened to him in the future. Eckhart added a certain intelligence to him. He showed his struggle very well and had a very subtle way to how he carried and brought the character to life. Eckhart utilizes some of the sarcasm in the film, showing us some background and substance. With this style that he brings to Bill works off of a great struggle trapped inside a very unknown and unmotivated life. Elizabeth Banks did well as Jess, the disloyal wife. She wasn’t a flat out un-relatable character though. She contributed to Bill’s unhappiness and we looked down on her for that somewhat, but there was still a level of humanity that we saw in her. She was used and wronged to an extent too and ultimately she showed that she did genuinely care for Bill.

Jessica Alba did have noticeably bad acting in areas, but her part in the film was very limited. Her films that are good are the ones where she has a smaller part in them. The ones that end up being terrible are the ones that has a big part in. She is not good at conveying depth, her strengths are in being able to sell a film and to just look pretty. That is why her role in this film works. She is playing the hot girl and that is pretty much it. Since this isn’t asking a lot from her, we are able to accept this and can enjoy the finer actors in the film who luckily are the ones with the bigger roles. Logan Lerman played The Kid very well. He offers great youth, liveliness, and boldness that makes him stand out. He brings hope and life back in to our story and works wonderfully alongside Aaron Eckhart. Lerman is bursting with energy and potential and he deserves to be able to challenge himself further. Timothy Olyphant really brought forward the typical news caster. He was more in love with himself, and of course the hair, than anything else. Just the way he obsessed over his reputation was hilarious.

The low point of Meet Bill is that it takes a story that has been done before and not only doesn’t go anywhere new with it, but doesn’t even come to any real conclusion. Luckily, the rest of the film is impressive enough that we are able to accept this and let it go, remembering the many high points the film has to offer. The dialogue is very reach and highlights a certain sarcastic flair that works perfectly with Eckhart’s strengths. This really helps us see things from his point of view and to not be subjected to being someone we feel sorry for, but someone that has a spark in them that is only very subtly let out. Some of the jokes from the public viewing Bill as the “deranged fan” are pretty priceless too. In a fight Bill gets in with Chip, he demands that he apologizes for mistreating his wife. ‘Apologize’ becomes a punch line in itself to the entire community. There is one particular user of this word that seems to always be around Bill making it random and entertaining whenever we see him. There is a scene where Bill and The Kid get high and shop, terrorizing the stores, but having a ton of fun doing it, utilizing the goofiness within themselves, which is pretty refreshing considering Bill’s general negative take on his life at the time. While Meet Bill could have gone farther and done more with the story, it still takes a great cast and conveys sarcastic very subtle comedy that ends up working very well to give us a thoroughly enjoyable film.

Review: The Dark Knight (2008) [Reviewed By Cliffor Kiyabu]

Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Written by: Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
Genre: Action / Crime / Drama
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and some menace.
Released: 18 July 2008 (USA)
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Monique Curnen, Cillian Murphy, Chin Han, Nestor Carbonell, Eric Roberts, Anthony Michael Hall

Plot: Batman and James Gordon join forces with Gotham's new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, to take on a psychotic bank robber known as The Joker, whilst other forces plot against them, and Joker's crimes grow more and more deadly.

Review: 10/10

My Thoughts: Since his debate in the late 1930’s Batman has been a world-renowned icon that has been said to be second only to Superman, people both love him and hate him on all corners of the planet, and rather you like him or not you cannot deny the fact you still know of him and, what he stands for. In truth more people like him than hate him (even the ones who say they dislike him like him) why is that? Is because he has cool gadgets? Or is it because he’s a billionaire playboy who is never seen without one or more hot women around his arms at once, and never the same women twice? The answer is none of the above, because if you take away the money, the power and the gadgets you’ll see what he really stands for and what we’ve come to love him for, justice, being able to go where no one else can, and doing what others can’t to maintain a balance between good and evil, the fact he does this completely at his own free will and is nothing more the a mere powerless mortal is what makes him truly great in my opinion. Now fast-forward throughout the years the Batman has had a live action TV show and many animated one too, which fallowed by four live action films made throughout the 1990’s fallowed by even more animated shows, however after the franchise suffered a serious low blow (Batman Forever, Batman & Robin) which had taken the franchise to such a low degree that both critics and fans alike said the Batman was dead and unable to be revived from the ashes that it had been cast down to,

Even the film studio themselves decided to slap R.I.P. over the franchise and call it quits. However, nearly eight years would pass before director Christopher Nolan would come along and bring us Batman Begins, a delighted film which not only served as a reboot for the franchise, but also give a further insight at how Bruce Wayne becomes the man behind the mask, in other words, it showed how he begins. Something that the Burton/Schumacher films never did, they’d show his parents get killed and he suffers growing up without a family left but his trusted butler, but what about how he learned how to fight, or when he decided to become a symbol of hope. We got that very thing with Christopher Nolan, which during the film’s production got pretty bad press, but in the end the film was soon the victor out of it all. Now in 2008 the long wait is over, and the highly anticipated sequel arrives with nothing but high praise from fans and critics alike. I personally fell in love with this film within the first five minutes of the film, so much that I told myself I didn’t have a choice in it if I wanted to review it or not, that it was a must, if not I wouldn’t , it was an order from within myself to do so, so by the time the film was over I walked out of the theater room and walked right back in line and bought tickets to the very next showing, yes, I saw it twice back to back without a minutes break from each other.

The tone The Dark Knight brings on screen is nothing short of amazing! The plot is solid, and even more so greater than the first film, not to mention with Batman’s arch nemeses The Joker in the lead this time around, the story couldn’t be any more epic then shown in the trailers, or so I thought, I went into this with very mixed feelings, the first being the fact that no comic book movie till this date had been able to fulfill the expectations they normally get everyone hyped up for, I being a fan of a great deal of them can honestly say that there has always been one or two things that left me more or less unsatisfied with everyone comic book film, rather I loved it or not none has been able to get a soled 10/10 out me, the second reason for these mixed feelings was the fact that since the lost of beloved actor Heath Ledger, I knew a part of me would feel both sadness and at the same time anger, sadness because we’ll never see him play the Joker again, and anger because I did not want them to screw up the character or mistreat the last film of such a talented actor such as Mr. Ledger.

That is until the lights dimmed and I saw what director Christopher Nolan was able to bring to an audience that is both highly anticipated this film and morning the lost of a great talent, what he brought was a real gut ranching mind turning spectacular that never stop for a single moment, from the moment it starts it blow my mind away, the bank robbery in the beginning of the film was a real mouth opener for starters, and that’s not even counting the fact we are shown Mr. Ledger as the Joker for the first time in the film ether, no sir, after witnessing the Joker’s first appearance in the movie I was of complete lost for words, never in a 100 years would I have guessed how mad someone can go before they are not a man anymore, and this film showcases that very thing showing us why the Joker is Batman’s nemeses, much in the same way Batman is an incorruptible symbol, the Joker stand for anarchy in its most purest form, he doesn’t want money nor power, he just wants to see the world burn and everyone in it suffer, much like Chinese philosophy, he is the yin to Batman’s yang. They are both in a way, a form of balance, without either the balance would tip too much to the other side, so in a way, they or both a necessary in the world.

So as the film goes on it seems the more and more they go into the film the more and more epic it gets, not to mention slowly showing the devilment of Harvey Dent, showing how he slowly falls from the grace of good and into the darkness which ultimately turns him into the name he’ll forever be feared as…Two-Face. Now with the introduction of Harvey Dent becoming a villain is a slow one indeed, but good, not rushed or badly handled in anyway what so ever, the film shows him as the White Knight Gotham City deserves, and unlike the character’s previous portrayal by Tommy Lee Jones in Batman Forever, Two-Face is not depicted as a murderous madman who kills out of pure fun or enjoyment, but rather as a scared soul that has endured so much pain and suffering both interior and exterior from playing by the rules, that a part of him has died, unfortunately for Harvey, that part of him was his humanity, now all that remains is a shell of the man he once was. This is exactly how he is supposed to be, it’s exactly how he’s in the comic and I’m glad that Nolan saw this and want with it, because it showed the even the most good of men can be corrupted in the end, and be driven to do unspeakable things.

Also this time around Batman himself begins to question his own motives and considers breaking his one rule for once, this shows that the Batman is not a superman or someone who is above all, but rather a man who is trying to do his best at saving his city from madmen like the Joker. Also the film shows us just how truly psychotic the Joker really is and how chaotic his true nature is, now I’m going to make this simple, everything you’ve ever seen of the Joker or heard for the matter, is merely child’s play to what is witnessed in The Dark Knight, he isn’t just crazy, no sir, he’s something else, something much more worse, he’s a symbol for pure evil, one that embraces his insanity, and drives to be more psychotic, more beyond saving, why, because he can, because he wants to and because it’s what he strives for, it’s what makes him the most fearsome villain to the good the people of Gotham city, and I guess the main reason why he’s loved by some much people despite being pure evil is deep down inside we envy him, we envy him because he is not bound by rules and plans, he does what he wants as he wishes, and I think deep down inside we all wish we could do the same. Over all I loved this movie, the first time I was in awe, the second time I was wowed beyond the point of no returned, [Laughs] and I really want to see it again real soon.

The story is about after the events the happed in Batman Begins, Batman (Bale) is trying to repair the damaged that had be done to Gotham City, however it seems thing are only getting worse by the day, with more and more copycats coming out of the woodworks trying to claim they are the Batman, however things start to look up for both Batman and Gotham City, when the newly appointed District Attorney Harvey Dent (Eckhart)cleans up new York by cracking down on police corruption and the big time mob bosses, teaming up with Lt. James Gordon and Batman, they become a force that can finally bring an end to Gotham City’s problems. The is however until a new form of evil arrives in Gotham, The Joker (Ledger) promising the Mob that their money and well being will be in safe hands if they agree pay him half of everything they have collected over the years running their drug operations, however money seems to be the last thing on the Joker’s mind as he seems to be more concerned about the Batman and his true identity, now giving Gotham City an ultimatum, have Batman reveal himself or one person will die every day, and he’s a man of his word, sure enough madness breaks out as none is safe from the Joker’s madness, and the Joker has targeted everyone may have had contact with Batman, this causes Gotham City’s White Knight, District Attorney Harvey Dent to fall from the justice he represented and into the injustice. They say it’s always darkest before the down but can Batman or Gotham be able to survive to see the down.

As for the acting, Christian Bale was amazing; I had my doubt about him back they chose him to play Batman, but after seeing him in Batman Begins, I was amazed with how good of a job he’d done that I saw he was by far the best actor to take on the role of Bruce Wayne / Batman. Heath Ledger was a pure masterpiece! I enjoyed seeing him play the joker, and I think his one of the best to take on the role, now I’m not saying that other actors weren’t as good, no, not by a long shot, all the actors who’ve played the role have done good, however none of which could capture the true psychotic Joker, Ledger not only shows it, he becomes it, he is the Joker in every way possible, I really hope he gets a Oscar nomination for this role, however it will be sad not seeing him act ever again. Aaron Eckhart was great, I personally didn’t care for him being picked for the role of Harvey Dent at first because I felt he wouldn’t be a great Two-Face, however he’s proven me wrong, and man am I glad for that. Michael Caine was very pleasing as Alfred Pennyworth, much like the last film, he gives the character wisdom and experience, and charisma to be Batman’s moral supporter.

Maggie Gyllenhaal was good, some have said that they didn’t like her as much as Katie Holmes, but I disagree, she does a much better job than Holmes, and even proves to be more committed to the role too. Gary Oldman was outstanding, he is one of the most talented actors out there now, and he’s played the role as James Gordon better than anyone who’s taken on the role. Morgan Freeman was fantastic as Lucius Fox, I was glad that they introduced his character in to the films this time around, his character has always played a role in the comics but was never shown in any of the Burton/Schumacher films, which was a disappointment for me, however I’m glad that Nolan did not make the same mistake. Eric Roberts was really good as Salvatore Maroni, in my opinion he may not look the part of Maroni, however he sure did play the part right, which is more than enough for me. Cillian Murphy was great as The Scarecrow, I really like him as The Scarecrow in the last film because he proved to be a more realistic The Scarecrow then the one in the comics or cartoons, and I will say his part was a little too short and I wanted a little more than five minutes or so, but I liked the fact he was still in this film because it leaves the way wide open for second reprisal by him in another sequel.

Final Say: I really enjoyed myself watching The Dark Knight it’s one of those rare films that must be seen in a theater room if you want to fully enjoy every bit of it, it’s got to be one of my all time favorite films ever seen, I swear I could see it over and over again, and can’t wait to see what Christopher Nolan can do next with this magnificent franchise. I highly recommend it.

Copyright 2008 TCWreviews.com
All Rights Reserved

Exclusive: Interview with Author/Artist David McAdoo and Producer Steve Kozak

TCW’s Administrator Clifford Kiyabu sits down with Author/Artist David McAdoo and Producer Steve Kozak for an exclusive interview on their debut graphic novel Red Moon! As children we always fantasize of growing up doing something we love for living. However this never quite comes to pass for most of us. Usually we end up at a dead end job, hating it and always having the thought of, what if? But for some, the dream does in fact come true. David McAdoo has always had a strong respect for animals alike. Some would say a respect as strong as his love for comic books. Now combining them together, what was once a dream is now a reality. David wishes to share his dream with everyone as its being created, which is a rare thing indeed. Most artist and writers will not show one bit of their work until it’s done. And while David may not show us the entire story just yet, he still gives us the glimpses we need to keep us in the loop until Red Moon hits the shelves. You can check out his work as its being created at redmoongraphicnovel.com

CK: David, as a child you were very fond of studying and learning the different types of animals and insects, why is that?

DM: It's really just the artist in me, I think. I always felt very close to nature and animals & insects were (still are) fun to draw.

CK: What was your biggest influence growing up?

DM: I'd have to say my dad was my biggest influence. He drew, painted, wrote poems, wrote songs, played the guitar and built things. True Renaissance man/Jack of All Trades. Professionally, probably Frank Frazetta, Neal Adams or John Buscema.

CK: Are any of the characters in your graphic novel based off anyone close to you?

DM: None of the people but the main character was a pet I had growing up. A few of my other pets from my childhood & the present might make appearances too.

CK: How’d you and Steve Kozak meet?

DM: Steve was the boyfriend of a friend I had when I first moved to California. We're so much the same interests-wise that we kept in touch even after he and my friend broke up and he moved back to Florida.

CK: I’ve read in your online bio you grew up reading comics, what comics did you mostly read?

DM: Mostly just the staples: Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Conan, X-Men. I followed artists more than storylines, though.

CK: Who was your favorite comic Superhero?

DM: Growing up, it was Superman. It would be impossible to pinpoint, now, my tastes and exposure are so much broader.

CK: Are any of the characters in your graphic novel influenced after anyone in your life?

DM: Not really but if there were any parallels it would be the main character, Mox, is me as I am and the supporting lead, Daeden, is who I wish I could be like. Too deep.

CK: You’ve got a few webcomic prequels to your graphic novel up on the Red Moon official website for free, why?

DM: It's really just to show what the book will be like when it comes out. I had a few stories floating around that I didn't put in the main storyline that I liked and thought would work well as prequels.

CK: Do any of the stories in the prequels play a big role in the Red Moon graphic novel?

DM: They all lead up to the main story and give a basic background to some of the situations but they're not integral.

CK: Can you tell us when Red Moon will be on sale?

DM: Don't have a drop date but it will be in the first half of 2009.

CK: Will the webcomic prequels be added into the graphic novel or eventually put on sale for those who did not read the prequels online?

DM: They won't be in the graphic novel, but there's a possibility of them being printed as a compilation at some point.

CK: What would you say you’re a bigger fan of: DC comic Or Marvel Comic?

DM: See answer #6.

CK: So DC fan it is. [Laughs]

CK: I'd like to play to your fantasy for a moment if you will. If you were given the opportunity to take on one comic of your choosing to write for in the comic book industry, what comic would you pick?

DM: I have ideas of what I would do with a run on Superman, but I'd probably have more fun with a Spidey run.

CK: Steve, about two years ago both you and David got together to create Movie Battle Royale (MBR) which really took off on the social networking site MySpace, which got you guys really noticed on the internet. So how exactly did the idea behind MBR came about?


SK: I was driving home (from a movie) and there was this talk radio show on pitting comedy films against one another. Like, which one was better. I thought, this would make a great interactive blog!

CK: Have you always been a fan of comics?

SK: Since I was a teen, yeah. I started reading Batman comics when the Tim Burton movie came out, but I'm not so much into superhero stuff anymore. In college I started reading "Stray Bullets", "Milk and Cheese", more indie stuff. These days I'm into Doug Tennapel, Jefferey Brown, "Mouseguard", "Korgi", the list goes on and on...

CK: How long would you say the two of you planned on Red Moon and getting it off the ground and into motion in becoming a reality?

SK: David showed me an early draft of the Red Moon script about 3 years ago just to get my opinion. There were no plans for a book. He'd been trying to get Red Moon made into an indie animated film. But then this past September he showed me the final draft of the script and I asked him if he wanted to do Red Moon as a graphic novel if I funded the project. I'm glad he said yes!

CK: How did your addiction for movies come about?

SK: Am I addicted? [Laughs] I probably am. You know, when I go running in the morning, I have a special playlist on my iPod: tracks from "Run Lola Run", the "Rocky" theme, the "Chariots of Fire" theme, etc. So if that's any indication...Anyway, my love for movies comes from the fact that my Dad had a friend in the Cleveland area (where I grew up) who opened one of the first video stores, WAY before Blockbuster. My family had a VCR really early. I watched ALOT of movies growing up.

CK: Where David is known best as a master artist in drawing, would you say you’re a master of movie knowledge?

SK: Master? No. I listen to that podcast, Movie Geeks United. Jerry and all those guys put me to shame. They're awesome. I have a bunch of movie information in my head, that's for sure though. I'd do pretty well on The World Series of Pop Culture on VH-1. Oh man, I just mentioned VH-1. That means I'm getting old and unhip, right?

CK: Well if mentioning VH-1 means you’re old, then I’m just as much an old fart as you are [Laughs]

And that concludes my interview with David McAdoo and Steve Kozak, we had a great time doing this interview, and probably will do another sometime before the book is realesed, we continue to remain in contact with each other on a day to day bases, I’ve also been informed that David McAdoo will be at this year’s San-Diego Comic-con passing out flyers and advertising Red Moon, however he won’t have an official booth or anything for this year, but if you’d like to meet this magnificent Artist than keep an eye out for him at Comic-con, also you be able to help him out in advertising if you're free for an hour or so at comicon. If you’d like to see more his work go to their website at; redmoongraphicnovel.com or check out their official MySpace page by clicking Here. You can also contact David McAdoo directly by e-mailing him at: dmac77@verizon.net or his producer at: stevenjkozak@yahoo.com

Review: Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) [Reviewed By Tony-D]

“Hellboy II: The Golden Army”
Release: 2008
***½ out of ****
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones


I remember the first time that I watched the first “Hellboy” film, which was distributed by Sony and Revolution Studios, that I didn’t really like the film all that much. I just found it boring, stupid, and not even the least bit interesting. What I saw instead of the comic book movie I paid to see, I saw one ugly ass guy painted in red try to save the world. If I wanted to see someone red save the world, I could watch “Spiderman.”

There was just one problem – Ron Perlman is the fucking shit.

I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t heard of a man named Ron Perlman. His name is so unknown that he relies on his characters just to get his name around. “Hellboy” is probably his most famous character, not because of the name, but because it shows the true Ron Perlman. A true badass Ron Perlman.

He’s the only guy that could not look like a fool in an Uwe Boll film. He’s the only guy who can kick someone’s ass or get his ass kicked and still laugh about it after it is all said and done. He’s the only guy who can get a girl while looking like a hideous fucking chode. He’s the only guy in the business that can rule Hollywood and you will never know.

Why?

Because he’s Ron Perlman. He can do anything.

And that was the biggest problem with “Hellboy.” Here is a fantastic and underrated actor who puts on the performance of his life, and for a film as boring as “Hellboy,” he is the only thing that stands in the film’s way of making it a terrible movie. In this particular discussion, I will be the first one that will say, “Well you’re acting like you’re so fucking surprised,” but I can’t this time. “Hellboy” was supposed to be excellent. “Hellboy” was supposed to kick major ass. But it falls down like a crippled version of David Hasselhoff.

Guillermo Del Toro saved himself after “Hellboy” with the hit film “Pan’s Labyrinth.” I don’t think that never in my time I’ve watched such a dark film and had the audacity to call it beautiful. Not only were the visuals amazing looking, but they looked sexy as hell. It had a real villain, a real hero, and the obstacles that the hero had to take to achieve were excellently set up. It was the perfect fantasy film, and I dare you to go against me on that one.

Around this time, “Hellboy II” was being thrown around back and forth while Revolution and Sony were having their disputes. The rights for the film were eventually on sale, and Universal took hold of the project. With everyone from the first film returning for the second, Del Toro had to make a choice – make a shitty film like the first one, or keep the fans that he received from “Pan’s Labyrinth.”

I’ll give you a hint, it wasn’t the first one.

Because “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” is a MAJOR improvement of the first one. It has everything that you want from a “Hellboy” flick – a true badass who has to face a true villain, while trying to look good for the media and everyone else. There was plausible character development, great action sequences, and excellent dialogue. I’m telling you, it is freaking awesome!

Ron Perlman returns as Hellboy. While looking good and making his superiors asses for the media, he is having problems with his girlfriend Liz. (Selma Blair) The two of them and Abe (Doug Jones) arrive to an auction house where a bunch of tooth fairies (creatures that eat you from head to toe, starting with the teeth).

Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) unleashes these tooth fairies while he gets the first of three pieces of a crown. If the next two pieces of the crown are found and put together by the Prince, he has total control over The Golden Army, an elite force that could never be stopped. With Hellboy aware of this, he, Abe, Liz, and newcomer Johann Krauss, (Seth McFarlane) the four of them must stop the Prince before he finds the last two pieces.

Other complications arise though. Abe has fallen in love with Prince Nuada’s twin sister. (Anna Walton) The problem is that Hellboy wants to get his hands on the Prince and possibly kill him, but whatever happens to the Prince, it will happen to the Princess. This subplot brings possibly the funniest scene in the film. Abe is aware what could happen to the Princess once Hellboy does something to her brother, and he begins playing Barry Manilow. Hellboy and Abe (drunkenly) sing together. It’s so out of place yet so hilarious.

One of the main reasons why I loved the “Fantastic Four” movies that everyone dreads was because they were so involved with the media. When they went into costume, they were targets of the media. When they weren’t in costume, they were targets of the media. The problem that the character of Hellboy is that he can’t change the way he looks. The government wants to keep him secret from the public media, but Hellboy would rather be liked by others while being hated and feared by the people he works for. It takes a true badass to take it to those bastards.

“Hellboy II” brings on the excellent direction of Guillermo Del Toro back on the screen. Fresh off of “Pan’s Labyrinth,” many creative thoughts had to be put into this new film. He had to make sure that he wasn’t making a film in the style of “Pan’s Labyrinth,” yet try to create a world similar to the world that “Hellboy” lived in. Some of the characters looked similar to the ones in “Pan’s Labyrinth,” but their personalities and movements are the complete opposite. Del Toro is the best fantasy director working today next to Peter Jackson.

Which leaves us with Ron Perlman. Something tells us that he got the better end of this deal because not only is he starring in a truly awesome movie, but he is the best part of this truly awesome movie. I could only make one complaint – the script tries to focus too much on his feelings. Hellboy doesn’t need feelings to be badass. All the character needs is a good and very badass actor to play him.

Ron Perlman has it.

Review: Kung Fu Panda (2008) [Reviewed By Clifford Kiyabu]

Directed by: Mark Osborne and John Stevenson
Written by: Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger
Genre: Animation / Action / Comedy
MPAA: Rated PG for sequences of martial arts action
Released: 6 June 2008 (USA)
Starring: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane , Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Randall Duk Kim, James Hong, Dan Fogler, Michael Clarke Duncan.

Plot: Po the Panda is the laziest animals in all of the Valley of Peace, but unwittingly becomes the chosen one when enemies threaten their way of life.

Review: 8/10

My Thoughts: It’s no secret that since the mid 90’s DreamWorks has been competing for dominance over their highly successful competitor Pixar in the “Animation War”, but with every successful film they have produced, Pixar has always been able to do twice as better and end up on top in the end, it would seem that if it wasn’t for the “Shrek” films, DreamWorks would surely lose the fight, and even though the last instilment in their Shrek franchise prove to make a ridicules sum of money it still lacked in story telling that the last two film had provided quite nicely, for me this was a low blow for DreamWorks because it’s competitor Pixar has yet to overdo with the same jokes repeatedly to make up for a weak plot, this of course had cause me to pre-make up my mind on this film and want to avoid it in theaters. However I still got to see it because a few fellow moviegoers offered me a free ticket as long as I tagged along as company, the only thing I’d have to do is pay for my own popcorn, now how can someone like me refuse such an offer? [Laughs], so with that I was well on my way into seeing this movie, know I went into it with low expectations and already doubting the film’s success to entertain me in my mind.

So with the lights coming to a dim I said to myself “oh boy, here we go” while rolling my eyes at the screen. But then after about five minutes into the film had passed, something completely unsuspecting and quite remarkable happened, I found myself laughing, I than realized that I’m actually enjoying what I’m viewing on screen, and found the film had a very good plot that is able to be understood by kid, while very much enjoyed by adults, and the comedy itself is also to a level that both children and adults will enjoy. Now once I knew I liked how the film was going my only concern was that small children wouldn’t ruin the film by, yep you guessed it, making loud noise in the theater room. As most already know children screaming and making noise is inevitable in a theater room, and can be the ultimate mood killer for any moviegoer, but to my surprise the only sound kids were making was of cheer and laughter alongside everyone else in the theater room, the experience was a one of kind for me, not ruined and completely entertaining, my only problem was the tagline the plot carries, the whole “you can do it if you just believe in yourself” method.

Which as you know is so overly used in Hollywood that there isn’t a year that goes by that we get bombarded by films with such an ideology that one might think that the powers that be in Hollywood is trying to brainwash people into thinking a certain way. but with all things set aside it did not ruined the film one bit for me, in fact what I found was the film introduced some very important morals to the youth on today’s times, like hard work, discipline and a humble mind is the perfect combinations for achieving your goals, also the film deals greatly on the subject of discrimination, from hints of racial discrimination, to obesity discrimination, see our main characters, “Po’ (Jack Black) is an overweight Panda who is picked to become the chosen one, now in the story Pandas are not looked at as fighters and because of him being somewhat heavy he is looked downed on by both his peers and his teacher, however he must overcome all their negativity to become what has been foretold and become what many doubt to ever being possible, the film has quite a few touching moments which is heartwarming the very core of one’s heart. It also introduces the same cinematic feel that the old fashion Kung Fu movies had with a taste of its own brand of martial arts, overall it is worth the view, and rather you have kids or not, or just a kid at heart, and I will say it may not be able to compete against a powerhouse film like Pixar’s WALL·E, however it’s still greatly disserving to be right up there among the other fantastic film in it’s genre.

The Story is about, Kung Fu Panda is the story of Po, (Black), a sweet, but clumsy Panda who has dreams of fighting with the legendary Furious Five and protecting the city against all threats. The only problem is that Po has no real life experience of kung fu, and his real job is serving noodles at his dad's noodles shop. News of selecting the Dragon Warrior is sent out from the Jade Temple, and the whole city along with Po, go to the celebration. The competition is between the Furious Five: Tigress (Jolie), Viper (Liu), Crane (Cross), Monkey (Chan), and Mantis (Rogen). Po accidentally enters the contest and is named the Dragon Warrior. Master Shifu (voice Dustin Hoffman) must find a way to train Po and make him a Kung Fu Master, especially, after they learn that the snow leopard, Tai Lung (voice Ian McShane), is headed their way.

As for the acting: well I can’t really say that this is acting, after all this movie is an animated adventure, and the only acting that is done by the actors is their voice work, however I’ll still judge them in the best way that I can. Jack Black was great, I must say his voice matched Po the panda to such a degree that it’s unimaginable to even think of anyone else voicing this character, you could say he gave the character that extra fuel to light it’s fire even brighter. Dustin Hoffman was a very interesting mix to the cast, because I never would have thought him acting a film such as this, but boy was I wrong, not only did he do the voice of Master Shifu good, but he did so that I didn’t even recognized it was him at first until I saw the credits. Angelina Jolie was great as Tigress, she gave the character the stability and drive that was needed to make it work. Ian McShane was magnificent, he’s an actor that in my opinion has always had this sinister tone of voice, and adding that to his evil character Tai Lung made it spot on! Jackie Chan was wow! He completely surprised me with this role as Monkey, and left me satisfied to the fullest. Seth Rogen was great, I must say this isn’t exactly the type of film I’d normally like to see him in, he still did a great job, and I give him kudos for it. Lucy Liu did a wonderful job as usual. David Cross was also great, and the fact that he’s an actor I don’t really care for all that much, mean by me saying he’s did a great job means a lot coming from me. Randall Duk Kim was outstanding as Master Oogway, he gave the character kindness and wisdom that will touch the hearts of viewers all around. It was nice to see James Hong in this, I tell you, no matter what the film is, may it be good or bad, he always bring a bit of enjoyment to me when his on screen. sadly I can’t say the same for Dan Fogler, an actor I can’t stress enough I don’t care for at all, and don’t fimd funny in anyway no matter what film you put him in, however he did do a somewhat okay job in this, I won’t say good, but not bad, just okay. Michael Clarke Duncan has a small, but very satisfying role in this.

Final Say: Kung Fu Panda prove to have heart, and the ability to show that DreamWorks has what it takes to make something wonderful that can amount to what the mighty Pixar can dish out, I had a great time at the movies with this diamond in the rough, I look forward to DreamWorks next film to see what they can come up with next, and of course I will certainly be looking forward to Kung Fu Panda 2. I highly recommend.

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