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Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

MaximumMadness The second of two animated features co-directed by Darkwing Duck creator Tad Stones, "Hellboy Animated: Blood & Iron" is a very fun and light adventure featuring everyone's favorite cigar-chomping, trench-coat wearing blue-collar demon-turned-good-guy. Produced by character creator Mike Mignola and "Hellboy" film director Guillermo del Toro, "Blood & Iron" is very much in every way a marked improvement over the previous animated effort, "Sword of Storms." With a more solid foundation for the story, the inclusion of new characters that compliment the returning leads, and a slower and more deliberate pacing, here we are given a glimpse of what could have been, should the "Hellboy Animated" series have been given a chance to continue on after these initial two installments.As part of a publicity stunt, the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense sends Hellboy (voice of Ron Perlman), Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) and Professor Broom (John Hurt) to perform a ghost-hunt in a massive mansion recently purchased by an eccentric millionaire who hopes to turn it into a hotel resort. However, things take a shocking turn for the worse when it appears the alleged haunting is indeed very real, and may be tied to a disturbing and dark chapter of Professor Broom's own past. And so, Hellboy and the others will need to fight demonic spirits, evil harpies and vampiric forces to save the day and right what once went wrong so many years ago.Part of what makes this particular feature work so well its the keen use of atmosphere and some really sharp storytelling. The dark, brooding and very Gothic visuals help lend an old-fashioned eerie feeling to the piece that's just creepy enough to make it effective but not so scary as to frighten older children. It gave me fond memories of growing up watching old, cheesy William Castle and Vincent Price horror flicks with my mom. It's very much fun first and frightening second, and the beautifully dreary and inky artwork helps set just the right mood. The writing is a far more developed and methodical as well this time around. Stones and co-writers Mignola and Kevin Hopps craft a very intriguing tale that cleverly utilizes a non-linear structure, with two separate story lines in past and present that feed off of one- another and help develop the over-arcing plot.The performances as always are a phenomena and Perlman continues to define the role of the big, red goof. I also really appreciated the inclusion of John Hurt this time around, after having been absent in the previous film. He adds a great sense of class and taste to the film, and his familiar voice as Broom- a role he played flawlessly in the feature length films, was invaluable to the experience. Supporting roles by the likes of Peri Gilpin and Rob Paulson also add a nice bit of scope to the cast. I especially enjoyed Paulson's role as Sydney Leach, the new junior agent sent along for the ride. I get the feeling he may have been a last-minute replacement for the character Russell Thorn, a similar character initially seen in "Sword of Storms." But he fares much better here than Thorn did in his film... he's a bit more grounded and played far less broadly, which I thought was a big benefit to the somewhat more serious tone of this entry.The film isn't without flaw, however. The biggest issues I had were the disjointed nature of the first act and some really bad corner- cutting later on in the film that was obviously the result of limited time and resources. The first ten or fifteen minutes, while admittedly a lot of fun to watch, don't quite feel as refined as the remainder of the film. In particular a sloppy opening "adventure" that feels beyond tacked- on and even a bit condescending in terms of pandering. Do we really need to manufacture excuses to have Hellboy say "crap" a dozen times in less than five minutes? It's also clear that the animation team had to do some sequences on the fly, especially during the climax, so be prepared for a few sloppy effects and even seeing lots of double and triple uses of the same character designs and elements. Not enough to ruin any particular scene, but just noticeable enough to become somewhat grating.Still, the better use of plotting, structure and pacing in comparison to the first animated adventure, in addition to the wonderful design work and vocal performances are able to distract from these minor issues and help craft and engaging and very fun little film. It may not quite measure up to the high standard set by the two live-action films, but as its own beast, "Blood & Iron" is more than serviceable and is a great way to get your "Hellboy" fix as the prospect of a third theatrical release seems less and less likely over time. It's a great deal of fun, and considering that you can pick up a double- pack of the two animated flicks on Blu-Ray for about $5, it's a worthy investment. It'll make for a very thrilling and sometimes spooky evening with your family!I give "Hellboy Animated: Blood & Iron" a very good 8 out of 10.

breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com When a live-action movie comes out and then an animated TV movie, this leads mostly to the popular character having its own television series. But for Hellboy (2004), the iconic character went in this direction but then kind of just floated around. How Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms (2006) did with viewings and ratings are a bit beyond my knowledge. After seeing it, it definitely did not feel like a total waste of time. It was by no means perfect with choppy animation, a confused demographic it was trying to attract and an undetermined setting of which it took place but it still had things to have fun in. If that warranted this second animated feature I'm not sure what the whole point of it was. Was it going to be a TV show or not? Or were they just made to hold over its fans for the upcoming sequel? I don't know, the reason seems unclear. So does this entry improve upon the last - not really. It's just more of the same brainless fun.The story to this entry is about when the owner of a mansion begins to suspect it's haunted. When in fact it turns out years before Hellboy (Ron Perlman) was kicking demon's butts, Dr. Broom (John Hurt) had visited the mansion once before vanquishing an evil vampire queen named Erzsebet Ondrushko (Kath Soucie). Now, Dr. Broom suspects someone might be attempting to revive her. As an overall story, it is certainly not as sluggish in its pacing as Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms (2006) was. It is a lot more straightforward with its execution. However, the timeline placement is now off. For the prior animated film, Dr. Broom was not seen, so it was assumed what was depicted was after Hellboy (2004). But for this viewing, Dr. Broom is around so this must be before the first live-action film. I guess the writer Kevin Hopps is just picking random stories.The only part of the writing that isn't clear is a subplot involving Hellboy confronting his destiny with some goddess named Hecate (Cree Summer). It's brought up first at the beginning and then flies in from left field right at the finale. It feels almost unnecessary with how little it has to do with anything else. The characters are still as likable as ever and there's a more of an exclusive cast of voice actors this time around as well. Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones and John Hurt all return as their respective characters and they do a fine job at it. Peri Gilpin as Erzsebet sounds convincing in her role as a deadly youth obsessed vampire. Even Cree Summer as the other goddess sounds fairly terrifying. But the fun part is when you can also pick out the characters that are voiced by Rob Paulsen and Jim Cummings. You just can't go wrong with such talents as those.When it comes to action, these sequences contain the required energy to keep the movie moving. And considering its Hellboy, there needs to be enough action. Hellboy's has to be punching something at some point and making a wisecrack. The interesting thing is, the violence in this motion picture is even more graphic and edgier than Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms (2006). There's animated blood all over the place in this entry. But this isn't the only thing that makes it edgy. There's also a slew grotesque imagery, dead people and a fair share of nudity with demons and voluptuous figures. Is it just me or did the animators really not think this through on who this feature film is designated for? The other animated film could be seen as a movie for both old and young ages, but this one totally denies any presence of a viewer younger than 13. The directors to this movie was Victor Cook (Dante's Inferno (2010) and Tad Stones (Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins (2000)) of which they direct it fine but represent two opposite sides of the demographic for animated films.The only thing worth picking on here is the animation, which is again choppy in areas. The only sections that look decently animated are the entertaining action sequences. Other than that, all other animated scenes have rigid character movement in body parts and mouth movement. It's a shame when you have animators like Kirk Tingblad and Andy Chiang who have worked on numerous animated projects and yet here it doesn't feel polished. The final component to the movie that does feel well put together is the film score composed by Christopher Drake. Just like Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms (2006), Drake maintains Marco Beltrami's main theme for the franchise and even uses some quite horrifically good sounding tunes to amp up the atmospheric setting at which the story takes place. It's still fun but not any different from before.This feature film is about the same compared to Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms (2006), with the same choppy animation (except for the action sequences), unclear timeline placement and an unfinished subplot. Yet, the voice cast is still fun to listen too, the edgy tone and violence is respectable along with the appropriate music. The demographic seems more adult focused here than the last one.

garlonuss In the end, the main thrust of the story is largely dealt with by Professor Broom while the rest of his team fights off the other evils in the area. Hellboy himself gets a much more spectacular fight, but it is with a monster that almost seems added as an afterthought when they realized they didn't have enough for him to do.Taking that into account, though, the story is fun enough to watch and Ron Perlman's wry delivery of Hellboy's lines is always fun. There is nobody who could give life to this character other than Perlman.The animation is well done and the story moves along with efficient pacing. One thing that could prove confusing to some (though I found it an intriguing story device) is the use of flashback in this episode. The main story moves forward, but the flashbacks move progressively backward. It has the effect of putting both a beginning and an end at both the beginning and the end of the movie.

Alec W I am a resounding fan of Guillermo del Toro's work and style, and was quite intrigued when I found out that he produced several Hellboy Animated features. It was not without a due sense of skepticism that I decided to pick up Blood and Iron as well as its 2006 predecessor, Sword of Storms. When I learned that these features aired on Cartoon Network, I even feared that the core of what made the Hellboy universe so interesting to me, the many invariant monstrosities that lurk within the caverns, ruins and precipices of a seemingly mundane world, would be diluted by censorship. Fortunately, I was wrong in these regards, and Blood and Iron may be considered a very worthwhile addition to the Hellboy universe as first put to film by Guillermo del Toro.In Blood and Iron, Hellboy and the other key members of the BPRD set out under the personal lead of Professor Trevor Broom - as he was first introduced in the live-action movie - in order to investigate a haunted house. At the same time, you are let known how in the past, the Professor had tasked himself with hunting an old and powerful vampiress, Erzsebet (very well voiced by Kath Soucie). At first, the film sprouts a rather nonspecific battle scene that does not tell you much about the characters or the plot that is yet to come, but after this you will be exposed to the touch of surprisingly intelligent cartoon direction. As you are coasting through the story in a linear, chronological fashion, the plot and the true nature of the mission is explained in a backdrop of flashbacks that start at a pivotal event in the past, and then proceed anti-chronologically. In this method, the viewer is gradually let known the intentions and motives of the people and creatures both at current time and in times past. It is a clever method of character development, and serves to give a sense of wholeness to the entire feature; Blood and Iron has both a beginning and an end at both its start and its finish, and it works brilliantly.The praise that I give is somewhat tempered however, by several characters that seemed entirely unnecessary, or simply did not fit into the well rounded equation that tops the experience. The presence of the Goddess Hecate serves as little more than a plot device to facilitate the antagonist's return and her presence in the film may serve to deter you from the wholeness of the experience. The only reason for her presence then is to give Hellboy something to do, while the professor continues with the real important stuff. She is the reason for a long, and enormously drawn out fight sequence that does not fit well with the movie and destroys its pace. Make no mistake, the real villain of this movie is Erzsebet, and that is how it should have remained. They could have gone much deeper with the story, and in light of what we are treated to in return and excess, I really wish they had.Character design and voice acting is generally of high quality; we are treated to the same cast that played in the original Hellboy movie; Ron Perlman's Hellboy, Selma Blair's Liz Sherman, Doug Jones' Abe and John Hurt's Professor are easily recognizable, the first three often the center of sardonic and sarcastic wit that is worth quite a few laughs. Kate Corrigan, which you may know from the somewhat inferior Sword of Storms is back also, and we are given a new character in the form of human metal detector Sydney Leach, whose innocence and naiveté is a welcome addition to most of the rest of the BPRD, which seems to consist of people mentally hardened by frequent encounters with crazy things. Over all, his presence is solely meant to give the movie a lighter note at certain times.The reason why the flaws of this movie persist can be found in the title; the real story does not revolve around Hellboy at all, as he takes a side seat to an experience in which Professor Trevor Bruttenholm is center point. Now, I really like the professor. He's sharp, he's kicking bottom, even when he's old. If just they could have found something for Hellboy to do without tarnishing the plot with, dare I say it, a Greek Goddess. Despite this little problem, though, Blood and Iron is still a very enjoyable movie. Cinematography grade; *** out of 5, but personally, I'd give it 8 out of 10