As you may have been able to discern, WWP has been in something of a funk lately -- a bad state of mind to possess when a writer's block rears its ugly head at the same time. WWP had sworn off all blogging for the foreseeable future. But better angels have prevailed, convincing WWP to restart posting -- at least temporarily. To jump start things, we'll be posting only frivolous news for a while -- at least until the black dog circling WWP's neighborhood makes his exit. Forthwith follows the first in that series...a short movie review.
WWP and buddy Jerry took in "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" tonight, thereby getting WWP to do in one fell swoop three things he never does: go downtown, stay out late on a school night, and watch an action flick. [Can you tell, we're trying to mix things up a bit?] Hellboy 2 is a raucous visual feast fresh from the fertile imagination of Guillermo del Toro ["Pan's Labyrinth," among others]. Equal parts "Romeo & Juliet" and "King Lear," mixed with varying degrees of the original "Star Wars" and every "journey to liberty" action movie you've ever seen [think of the vast expanse from "The Wizard of Oz" to the "Rings" trilogy], this motion picture doesn't disappoint and is never dull. There's quite a bit of wit and schtick to amuse. And while the story is a conventional five-part story of setup-problem-resolution-problem-grand resolution, it all works: the attention span never flags. Basically, what might have been a conventional movie is utterly original in del Toro's hands. Oh, and the visuals! They are simply to die for [and die is what many do in this film]. Heck, this film has even got Barry Manilow! Three gin-and-tonics [on a scale of four].
Seen it? What did you think?
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