To Hell and Back

So, Irene and I made the trek to a midtown Manhattan movie theatre to see a special preview of HELLBOY, the large motion picture based on the Dark Horse Comic. Believe this or not kids, I have never one in my life read a copy of this comic. Therefore, I was going into it fresh, with nothing to compare it to. Needless to say, I was impressed, especially with the first half of the movie. The set-up is great and the actors are super, especially Ron Pearlman as the title character. To be able to create a sympathetic and likeable character with all the make-up and gear on really blew me away. I love the character, I love the set up, and it’s obvious that the director loves this comic more than anyone. It’s exceptionally well-directed and the FX are top notch. However, the third act seems rather anti-climatic, similar to how I felt about SPIDERMAN, but I like these characters and are invested in them and want them to win at the end. That takes a lot these days, but it just needed that one kick ass moment at the end to put it over for me. So, in retrospect, HELLBOY gets a big thumbs up and I hope to follow more of his adventures.

CLONE WARS Season Two and while I loved it, especially since it’s starting to lead to the schism between Obi-Wan and Anakin, I loved it even more watching the first 10 episodes in a row with 5 Year Old Cousin who could be my Clone. This led to much playtime and web searching for Birthday presents for him. I think he will be quite happy with his Republic Gunship.

Thanks to one of the web savvy rivet kids (this time, its Aero), I just heard 5 tracks off of the new Skinny Puppy album THE GREATER WRONG OF THE RIGHT. Well, I’m happy to report it’s really super stuff. It takes the best of it’s two main principals, Ogre and Key and plays to each of their incredible strengths. The production is incredible and Ogre’s vocals are amazing. It’s actually similar to his solo material. When he works with Mark Walk, he’s usually either very straightforward in his delivery or Walk goes Pro Tools crazy on him. This works on the solo stuff, but no one knows how to get the best out of Ogre than Cevin Key. While I feel there are elements and sounds that go back to the old Puppy days, I feel this is very contemporary. It reminds me of RABIES era done in a modern style with better programming. It’s a big step forward from THE PROCESS, which remains one of the most underrated albums ever released. Yes this has guitars, but not in the way THE PROCESS had them. A great comeback and I’ve only heard 5 songs!

If Watts, Ministry, NIN and Die Warzau can live up to the Puppy album, The I-Rock old guard is gonna clean house this year. Now where are the kids!? Who’s next! Come on.

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