It's difficult (and a little silly) to try and judge an entire quarter-year's movies in one lump sum -- but that's what we seem to do at the end of every Summer Movie Season. That's when all our excitement, expectations, and final reactions come colliding together and we find ourselves thinking: "Was I actually looking forward to that piece of crap for four months?" But to me, each summer is like a walk through a carnival: Some of the attractions dazzle me, others simply don't interest me, and a few are just a waste of tickets. But once early May rolls around, I'm always ready for another trip to the Hollywood Movie Carnival. (It's where you find all the tentpoles!)
So while I'm elated to greet the upcoming season of "prestige movies," there's little denying that we've had one hell of a good summer, cinematical-ly speaking. I'm not talking about box office grosses, because frankly that stuff is so unimportant. What matters is that we got some good flicks, a few pieces of mindless (yet well-made) popcorn adventures, and even a few great films that will enjoy a very long shelf life. So while I'm not exactly sure that 2008 represents the finest Summer Movie Season of all time, I'd definitely say it was more good than bad. But if you can think of a summer that was better than this one, you know where to throw your comments. (In the comments section.)
"While waiting in line for the screening of Hellboy II: The Golden Army, I overhead someone say that Guillermo del Toro's latest is being seen as his audition tape for The Hobbit," observed Jonathan Pacheco in his review for The House Next Door. Of course, Del Toro already had the directing gigs for the two Hobbit films before Hellboy II hit theaters, but that won't stop audiences from evaluating the current parade of fairies, demons and evil elves with Del Toro's Middle-Earth-to-be in mind. Needless to say, it's a narrow perspective.
It would make more sense to expect that these upcoming features will negotiate between the gothic horror of Pan's Labryinth and the blockbuster approach of Hellboy II. In the latter work, it's clear that Del Toro has more interest in placing these loony supernatural beings in relatively conventional action sequences, allowing the specificity of the characters to create a sense of ingenuity. Pan's Labryinth, on the other hand, offers a single package of storytelling: The art direction, special effects and even the violence directly relate to the drama. The best case scenario for the Hobbit films would be a happy medium: Glorious visuals that reflect Tolkien's deeply involving mythology.
I was recently enjoying a fast-food lunch with my old friend Josh, and we were discussing the film we'd just seen. (A little something called The Dark Knight.) And in the middle of my ramblings I accidentally said something slightly insightful. It went a little something like this: "The thing about superheroes is that, on the outside, what with the costumes and the nifty gizmos and all the punching, they're kids stuff, which is great. But once you scratch the surface just a little bit, you're dealing with acres of subtext that kids can barely comprehend."
And then Josh asked me what my point was. It's this: We finally have some filmmakers who aren't afraid to handle superhero movies for grown-ups. I'd hardly call Hancock a family-type flick, both of the recent Marvel movies (Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk) managed to treat their "older" audiences with respect, last weekend's Hellboy 2 is chock-full of dazzling ideas, and now this: The Dark Knight. Dang. My review will arrive later this week, but I won't be the only one calling it the Godfather 2 of superhero movies. (In a lot of ways it's also a bit like The Empire Strikes Back! Tonally, anyway.) Best of all, the movie is a big meaty DRAMA, and I don't mean "drama" as in "masterpiece theater."
Imagine one of the Star Trek crews transported to Tolkien's Middle Earth, or Buffy and her Scooby gang whisked away into the heart of Narnia. That's how Hellboy II: The Golden Army can feel, as you watch a cartoonish-looking, cigar-smoking demon fight gorgeous creatures right out of ancient folklore (and one Miyazaki-esque nature deity). Your reaction to such a contrast -- as fascinating, jarring or downright repellent -- will likely influence your feelings about the latest film from Guillermo del Toro, a sequel to his 2004 adaptation of Mike Mignola's graphic novels. The writer-director's previous film, Pan's Labyrinth, was a favorite of mine, and while Hellboy II doesn't quite measure up to that film's richness of character and story, it is still visually extraordinary.
I came into this film entirely ignorant of the Hellboy universe ... much like with Sex and the City, although it seems bizarre to compare Mignola's characters to Candace Bushnell's. I haven't read the graphic novels and I hadn't even seen the first movie (it was impossible to find a rental DVD of Hellboy in Austin last week, which may bode well for the popularity of the sequel). And yet, unlike Sex and the City, I didn't feel as though I must have missed something in order to fully appreciate the film. Hellboy II gives us virtually no backstory on its main characters, but that's not necessary, as the setup becomes obvious almost immediately. Sure, there were a few scenes where the comic-book fans were laughing and I didn't get the joke, but it didn't bother me and I never felt lost or confused.
The trio were feeling a bit frisky when they entered Moviefone land to record the interview, and they discuss favorite movies and monsters, poke some fun at James Lipton, and delight in some low-brow humor. Watching del Toro in this clip, I can only hope that his future includes more of the humor present in the clips. There's a lot more to this man than creepy creatures.
And there's one additional, cut clip above, tossed to us scavengers here at Cinematical. Check them all out, and be sure to hit the theaters and see Hellboy II this Friday.
Welcome back to another funtastic, Americana edition of Insert Caption -- the game where you don't need fireworks to blow our minds. Last week we asked you to step up to the mic with some dope captions for a photo from The Wackness. Congrats to Kurt P., who can now escape the summer heat and chill out with a new portable DVD player. We're jealous. We might stalk you Kurt. Be ready.
1. "Young couple seeks father figure, must have Hawaiian shirt, facial hair, and soft focus." -- Kurt P.
This week we're celebrating our independence with a big, bad red dude named Hellboy. That's right! Guillermo del Toro, Hellboy and all his freak-ish friends are back to get their fight on in Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and the winners behind our three favorite captions based on the photo below will slip away with one Hellboy 2 t-shirt, one Hellboy 2 hat, one Hellboy 2 belt with buckle and one official Hellboy 2 poster. It's hot as hell outside, and come July 11 (when Hellboy 2 hits theaters), it'll get even hotter. Sound off critters!
Everyone else is talking about the latest remarks from Guillermo del Toro -- and even though it's not all that different from what he told Entertainment Weekly, we'll write about it too.
Over on the official message boards for Hellboy II: The Golden Army, del Toro posted the following message about The Hobbit:
Whew -- Not yet. BUT there has been a lot of movement. And for the last few weeks there has been a lot of creative / cast / crew / visual talks and agreements and we have witnessed great progress in areas that I cannot disclose or that have already leaked from other sources.
I am dying to share news but I have to be patient and wait until the papers are done and my attachment is real. Nevertheless- a LOT of progress in defining the films, their cast and crew. And, may I add, we are all happily in synch about all creative aspects so far and all willing and eager to move forth.
I cannot say more but if all's well the time will come To talk of many things: Of shoes -- and ships -- and sealing wax -- Of cabbages -- and kings --
Is Paramount poised to have the best May imaginable at the box office between Mr. Stark and Dr. Jones? Can you take any movie with a monkey in it seriously? Will Pixar succeed again with WALL-E, or are robots the new Cars? Is a long-awaited sequel 'too little, too late' for X-Files fans? And will Hellboy 2 be the surprise smash of the season? Joining us this week on The Rocchi Review to talk summer's biggest movies is Scott Weinberg of Cinematical and FEARnet, and we try to answer all those questions and more. ... Cinematical's podcast content now has even better sound quality, and is now in iTunes; you can subscribe at this link. Also, you can listen directly here at Cinematical by clicking below:
As ever, you can download the entire podcast right here -- and those of you with RSS Podcast readers can find all of Cinematical's podcast content at this link.
A little earlier than we expected, Yahoo Movies has posted the new trailer for Guillermo Del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army. The visuals look even more intense than the first film's, and the two-and-a-half-minute trailer alone is packed with enough unbelievable creature designs to fill three comic book movies. If you were hoping for a better glimpse of the unspeakable monstrosity you saw at the end of the first trailer, you'll be out of luck, but you do get to see the Golden Army itself, and some more things I don't want to spoil.
The trailer suggests that Del Toro might have solved some of the problems I had with the original movie: The Golden Army seems less murky and heavier on story than its predecessor. Along with Speed Racer, it's looking like one of this summer's few truly original visions. Enjoy!
A whole crop of new Hellboy II: The Golden Army photos have popped up over at Yahoo Movies. Like, a lot of them. There's also the promise of a new trailer premiering tomorrow, so make sure you head back there for that. Hellboy II: The Golden Army, of course, is the sequel to Hellboy -- and it's directed by the always-nutty Guillermo del Toro. Starring Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones and Luke Goss, Hellboy II once again follows the planet's toughest, roughest superhero as he goes to battle against a merciless dictator and an unstoppable army of creatures. This just has awesome written all over it. You can check out another image below, then click on either to check out Yahoo's gigantic gallery. Hellboy II: The Golden Army hits theaters on July 11.
Now, that looks like fun to me: Big-time action spectacle mixed with a weird sense of humor and creepy freak monsters as only Guillermo del Toro can create. (Well, and Mike Mignola, obviously.) Thoughts on the trailer?
HB2 is scheduled for July 11. Special thanks to IGN.com!
OK, bad news first: The trailer doesn't actually arrive at IGN until tomorrow. ("Tomorrow" being December 20th, so if you're reading this post AFTER December 20, then there is no bad news. Moving on.) The good news is that those fine movie nerds of IGN.com already have a few new pics from Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (did they really change the title to "HB2"??), and (as a big fan of the first) I must say they look pretty darn cool.
The sequel reunites most of the principal players from the first time around: Guillermo del Toro, Mike Mignola, Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, John Hurt and Jeffrey Tambor will return for the $70m+ Universal sequel, which opens on July 11 of last year. You may wonder why the studio opted to greenlight a sequel to a movie that didn't even make its budget back in domestic box office, but the first Hellboy didn't fare too poorly. Off a reported budget of about $60 million, it grossed just under $100m worldwide, and sold like the proverbial flapjacks on DVD. (And the three-disc director's cut is really awesome!)
Having not yet seen the trailer for myself yet (darn you, IGN!), I obviously cannot comment on its content. But c'mon. It's Willy del Toro, people! (Cronos! The Devil's Backbone! Pan's Labyrinth!) Even his Hollywood movies are good! (Blade 2! Hellboy! (ahem) Mimic!) Apparently this man can do no wrong! (Oops, I take it back. Hope I didn't just jinx the guy.) So don't forget to visit IGN's movie department some time after 3pm (Eastern) tomorrow afternoon. Tell 'em Cine sent you.
Guillermo del Toro is a busy man. Monika just told you that he is directing an adaptation of 60's spy television show The Champions. He produced The Orphanage, which is due December 28th and has been getting great reviews, including one from our own Scott Weinberg. (Check out the poster here, the trailer here, and James' interview with the director here.) He has penned a supposed-to-be-awesome adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft novella At the Mountains of Madness. He wants to do another adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. He's got Hellboy II: The Golden Army coming out this summer, and a ghost story with ties to the Spanish Civil War called 3993 in the works.
You'd think the dude would want to take a little break! But no! Joblo is reporting that the Pan's Labyrinth director has signed on to direct a new project called Haters, based on David Moody's novel -- Hater. The plot synopsis sounds mighty sweet. Here's some snippets -- "Society is rocked by a sudden increase in the number of violent assaults on individuals. Christened "Haters" by the media, the attackers strike without warning. Their attacks are brutal, remorseless, and extreme...In seconds rational, controlled people become vicious killers...You can no longer trust anyone, no matter how well you think you know them...By the end of today you could be a killer. By the end of today you could be dead." Dead! Kind of sounds like a zombie movie without zombies, doesn't it? Sounds like something del Toro could smash out of the park. It's currently sold out at Amazon -- has anyone read Hater?
Usually these movie websites launch with nothing more than a teaser image and a note asking folks to leave their email for further updates. Well, not Hellboy 2. Guillermo del Toro's follow-up to the very popular action flick has officially attacked the web with all sorts of fun stuff. Among the tasty treats to devour, fans can check out del Toro's blog post from the set, a set visit report from CHUD's Devin Faraci, and -- probably the best of them all -- a scrapbook with all kinds of production art for the film. Each piece of art comes with its own description (I especially like the Golden Army Chamber -- that puppy is going to look pretty slick up on the big screen). There's lots more stuff, including a gallery, a message board and a news section, so head on over there to check it out. All of this should keep you busy while we await the film's first trailer. Hellboy 2 is due to arrive in theaters on July 11, 2008.
Additionally, folks can head on over to the new Hitman website, which boasts a trailer, downloads, origins webisodes and a game called The Killer App which kept me busy for all of about a half hour until I remembered I was in the middle of writing this post. In the game, you get to play a sniper who takes on missions and wipes out targets. Pretty fun stuff; let us know how far you got. Since the site still claims the film in not yet rated, we don't know whether Hitman will indeed stick with its hard-R rating, or opt to edit it down to a PG-13. Different sources claim different things, but in the meantime I think I'll dust off the Hitman video game I have and play some. I forgot how much fun it was to be a sniper, even though my aim is worse than that of a drunken fat guy at a urinal. Oh well. At least I try. Hitman will hit theaters on November 21.
There's been a pretty consistent stream of news coming out about Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy 2:The Golden Army. While some of it has turned out to be idle chatter, most of the information is of a more reliable sort. Both the studio and del Toro have been in a sharing mood and there has been word of plot details, casting news, and general tidbits. Now, some new details about the script have emerged in an interview with del Toro in the Australian newspaper The Age.
It turns out that Del Toro was hard at work writing the script while working on the Oscar nominated "fairy tale" Pan's Labyrinth, and said that he found "crossovers between the two films," which will apparently be evident in the finished product. Del Toro is working again with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola on the sequel, and said that, on showing him his finished product, "Mike was quite horrified by how much I had deviated from what we had talked about, especially at some of the quote, unquote whimsical elements, the parts about magic and the fairy world. But then fortunately, he saw Pan's Labyrinth." Don't worry, there aren't going to be any "creative differences" to stall production since del Toro said that "he [Mignola ] realized that the two movies would have some parallels." So it's smooth sailing for the return of our kitten-loving friend, and for fans, I'm sure it's not a moment too soon.
"While waiting in line for the screening of 
1. "Young couple seeks father figure, must have Hawaiian shirt, facial hair, and soft focus." -- Kurt P.
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Guillermo del Toro
Usually these movie websites launch with nothing more than a teaser image and a note asking folks to leave their email for further updates. Well, not 
There's been a pretty consistent stream of news coming out about 
