The good... the bad... and the worst.
I went to the first showing of Hellboy II: The Golden Army today...
Loved the Tooth Fairies, the very steampunk feel of everything and the Troll Market under Manhattan. Props to Guillermo del Toro all around. He continues to be one of the most original filmmakers out there right now. The intricate, lavish costumes of the elven kingdom took my breath away and I kick myself, yet again, that I didn't pursue a career in costume design.
I was, however, sad that Abe Sapian was not voiced by David Hyde Pierce (I knew this ahead of time but it was still weird to not hear David's subtle nuances of ol' Fish Stick.) Selma Blair continues to be quite possibly the most wooden performer outside of Harrison Ford. Her whiny, "Oh, Red" grated on my nerves in the first flick and continued to do so in this one. Meh.
The biggest surprise of the whole movie for me was Prince Nuada (see pics below), which, in my opinion is heavily based on Michael Moorcock's eternal champion: Elric of Melnibone, Emperor of the Ruby Throne and wielder of the black sword Stormbringer. Hellboy II's elf lord might not need magic and the power of Chaos to keep him alive... but, yeah.... if that ain't Elric then I'm the Queen of England, folks.
Sigh. Maybe someday someone will have the balls to turn Moorcock's series into a movie.
Loved the Tooth Fairies, the very steampunk feel of everything and the Troll Market under Manhattan. Props to Guillermo del Toro all around. He continues to be one of the most original filmmakers out there right now. The intricate, lavish costumes of the elven kingdom took my breath away and I kick myself, yet again, that I didn't pursue a career in costume design.
I was, however, sad that Abe Sapian was not voiced by David Hyde Pierce (I knew this ahead of time but it was still weird to not hear David's subtle nuances of ol' Fish Stick.) Selma Blair continues to be quite possibly the most wooden performer outside of Harrison Ford. Her whiny, "Oh, Red" grated on my nerves in the first flick and continued to do so in this one. Meh.
The biggest surprise of the whole movie for me was Prince Nuada (see pics below), which, in my opinion is heavily based on Michael Moorcock's eternal champion: Elric of Melnibone, Emperor of the Ruby Throne and wielder of the black sword Stormbringer. Hellboy II's elf lord might not need magic and the power of Chaos to keep him alive... but, yeah.... if that ain't Elric then I'm the Queen of England, folks.
Sigh. Maybe someday someone will have the balls to turn Moorcock's series into a movie.