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Today was a great double feature at the movies, where I saw both Hellboy II and The Dark Knight. Honestly, I am glad I saw both even if I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day. Both movies were overall quite good, but each left me with the small feeling that something was missing... I still recommend both to anybody interested ^_^
First was Hellboy II which I had been looking forward to for quite a while. I have to make the disclaimer that the audio was messed up where I saw the film, so that the characters' dialog was turned down or the sound effects were turned up so when things picked up I probably missed a one-liner or two. In any case, I enjoyed it mostly as another opportunity for Guillermo Del Toro to come up with some amazing creatures and visuals and basically go crazy on screen. To be honest though, I was a little underwhelmed, but that's probably due to expectations. I loved the characters from the first Hellboy movie, but didn't like the main plot and villain, so I was hoping that the sequel would be something really amazing. It turned out to be quite good, so I recommend it to anyone who's interested... though I'm sure most people who would like this movie don't need to be convinced :)
After a dinner break we caught The Dark Knight, or more accurately, were enveloped by it. The mood of the film was unremittingly intense and powerful, and both villains were performed extremely well. Heath Ledger, of course, will be the runaway crowd favorite as The Joker, pretty much the center of the film. I miss the man terribly, but I feel like the character here bore no resemblance to anything I've seen Ledger do before. It's amazing how little of the actor you can see in the performance, and how convincing he is simply as an entity of evil. But don't ignore Aaron Eckhart as Two-Face... it's a less showy performance, and a lot more human. You can really feel for the poor man, and since you get to know him so well before his inevitable transformation, it hurts all the more to see him fall from grace.
I had to appreciate how well made The Dark Knight was, and there's little I would change that I can think of. The scariness of the film surprised me, though the fact that it most of the gruesome bits occur offscreen mutes it... but only a little. But I really missed Bruce Wayne as a character. Sure, he was in the film, but not nearly as much as in Batman Begins (which I loved). The focus of that film was on Bruce, and what drove him to put on the mask. The Dark Knight, however, is more about Batman, what he stands for, and his role in Gotham. This means that Christian Bale spends his most intense scenes in the Bat-suit, and honestly, I liked him better as Bruce (his Batman growly voice is a little distracting). Still, it's a very good film, though it's so dark, frightening, and unsettling that you wonder where they'll go from here.
First was Hellboy II which I had been looking forward to for quite a while. I have to make the disclaimer that the audio was messed up where I saw the film, so that the characters' dialog was turned down or the sound effects were turned up so when things picked up I probably missed a one-liner or two. In any case, I enjoyed it mostly as another opportunity for Guillermo Del Toro to come up with some amazing creatures and visuals and basically go crazy on screen. To be honest though, I was a little underwhelmed, but that's probably due to expectations. I loved the characters from the first Hellboy movie, but didn't like the main plot and villain, so I was hoping that the sequel would be something really amazing. It turned out to be quite good, so I recommend it to anyone who's interested... though I'm sure most people who would like this movie don't need to be convinced :)
After a dinner break we caught The Dark Knight, or more accurately, were enveloped by it. The mood of the film was unremittingly intense and powerful, and both villains were performed extremely well. Heath Ledger, of course, will be the runaway crowd favorite as The Joker, pretty much the center of the film. I miss the man terribly, but I feel like the character here bore no resemblance to anything I've seen Ledger do before. It's amazing how little of the actor you can see in the performance, and how convincing he is simply as an entity of evil. But don't ignore Aaron Eckhart as Two-Face... it's a less showy performance, and a lot more human. You can really feel for the poor man, and since you get to know him so well before his inevitable transformation, it hurts all the more to see him fall from grace.
I had to appreciate how well made The Dark Knight was, and there's little I would change that I can think of. The scariness of the film surprised me, though the fact that it most of the gruesome bits occur offscreen mutes it... but only a little. But I really missed Bruce Wayne as a character. Sure, he was in the film, but not nearly as much as in Batman Begins (which I loved). The focus of that film was on Bruce, and what drove him to put on the mask. The Dark Knight, however, is more about Batman, what he stands for, and his role in Gotham. This means that Christian Bale spends his most intense scenes in the Bat-suit, and honestly, I liked him better as Bruce (his Batman growly voice is a little distracting). Still, it's a very good film, though it's so dark, frightening, and unsettling that you wonder where they'll go from here.