Hellboy II

My husband and I love comic book movies. Remember the "old" days when they were cheaply made and in general....well...sucked? Those days are pretty much gone. Now, not all comic book movies are wonderful. Some still lack a bit of something.

Enter Hellboy II. The first movie was great. Hellboy was a surprise hit and a great movie. The sequel was pretty good, but not quite up to the standards of the first one.

Ron Perlman is back as Hellboy, thankfully, but I think the makeup effects in this one have changed somewhat. He doesn't seem as big as he was in the first one. Even the chin is a bit different. Things like that tend to distract me some.

David Hyde Pierce did not return as the voice of Abe Sapien, which is a shame. I thought he was perfect for that character. Not that Doug Jones didn't do a good job, but something was missing.

The storyline was a bit "blah" to say the least. The movie's opening was at first a rehash, then just a few cliches thrown together. The voice-over, which I usually kind of like, just didn't flow well.

Whereas in the first movie, the characters seem to fit together well, in this one they seem to be struggling. The "chemistry" just isn't there. Even the dialog often struggles along as if the actors are having trouble spitting it out.

If you're a fan of the first movie, go ahead and rent this one. It's not real good, but I have seen worse.

Christmas Movies

What to watch for this holiday, that is the big question isn't it? There are so many "Christmas" movies out there, and many of them aren't worth the time. And then there are those that are shown over and over again during the holidays, and they don't have anything to do with this time of year at all.

Here are some that I would like to recommend.


Of course I have to recommend the movie with what is to me one of the two greatest Christmas songs ever written in the soundtrack. Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without Bing Crosby singing White Christmas. When you throw in the always wonderful Danny Kaye, what's not to like in this film?


As I write this, TBS is going into the second hour of its annual 24-hour A Christmas Story marathon. I love the idea of being able to flip over and catch favorite scenes from this movie any time I want. This is a fun movie, and if you haven't seen it yet, pick up that remote.


I have to admit that I haven't seen The Homecoming in years, but I do remember it fondly. I loved this movie, and what bad can be said about a movie that first introduced us to the Walton family? I loved this family, especially John Boy who was a major childhood crush for me. I used to wish my family could be as loving and "together" as this one.


Of course, there's It's a Wonderful Life and the totally terrific Jimmy Stewart. And I can't even count the number of versions of A Christmas Carol that are floating around out there (although my favorites are The Muppets Christmas Carol and the version done by Patrick Stewart). And don't forget Miracle on 34th Street, which also has many versions to behold. (I'm partial to the one with Richard Attenborough myself.)


In the end, the movies are just a small piece of the pie. Spending your day with someone you love, sharing the gift of your time with each other, is the whipped topping.


Have a great holiday.

Get Smart

When I was a kid, I spent some summers with my dad in Minnesota. He had a small, one-bedroom apartment and I slept on the pull-out couch, which was absolutely fine with me. I'd sit up late and watch reruns of great shows; Batman, Streets of San Francisco, Kolchak: The Night Stalker...

One of the shows I watched was Get Smart. I had all but forgotten about watching that one until I recently rented the movie. You can tell they did a good job with it since it brought back all the old feelings of the original.

Steve Carell did a great job as Agent Maxwell Smart. As a matter of fact, I can't think of anyone else who could have pulled it off. And Anne Hathaway was a good pick for the role of Agent 99. As a "team," they were a good fit and hopefully we will see them together again...either in a sequel or maybe even a different project altogether. And Dwayne Johnson (AKA The Rock) was funny as heck. He's actually turning into a pretty good actor, and is not afraid to poke a bit of fun at himself even.

I caught one cameo by a veteran of the original series, and it was a quick one. But fun all the same. And I will say there was one scene I could have done without (I think I've mentioned my aversion to bathroom-type humor in earlier posts.), but it was a very short scene, so not much of a big deal.

This was a very funny movie. The only thing I can think of that would have made it better would have been for Don Adams to have been alive to make an appearance of his own. He would have like this one.

Tropic Thunder

OK, I am not a big Ben Stiller fan. For the most part, I can skip his movies completely and not be too terribly worried about it. But, I am a Robert Downey, Jr. fan. So, I decided to give this flick a chance.

I'm really on the fence about this movie for the most part. There were some scenes I could really have done without - not a big fan of bathroom humor and such as that. Jack Black digging around in his underwear trying to find a gun he'd hidden there was a bit much, and some of the opening scenes with the fake blood and guts were more than a bit much, but the movie was still pretty funny.

The last scene with the director made me laugh like crazy. I won't say what happened in case someone hasn't seen this yet, but I will say it was totally unexpected. Another hilarious moment near the end of the movie came when Ben Stiller was running out of the camp with the child on his back...well, you have to see it...and keep your eyes on that kid. Funny as heck.

Robert Downey, Jr. plays an Australian actor who had his skin darkened and such so he could play an African-American character. Since he has such a reputation of getting into his characters, I'd like to think he was poking fun at not only actors in general, but at himself specifically.

And when it comes to Tom Cruise, I am definitely not a fan. But even I have to admit he was pretty funny in this one.

This isn't a movie you would absolutely regret not seeing, but it's good for some mindless laughs.