Hellboy II: The Golden Army

So I gotta admit I've watched the first trailer for the Dark Knight movie at least 40-50 times. It's possible that I've watched it more than that. It's hard to say because I'll sit and watch it over and over and over. I'm more psyched up for Dark Knight than I've been for a movie in years. There's something that's cut so nicely about that trailer. So many juicy split seconds. Such good sounds. I love watching the Joker's face change serious after saying, 'Why so serious...' And I love how he yanks his face away from the big gun after he shoots it. Like he's surprised at the jolt and the noise. And the, 'C'mon! Hit me!' has such a nice ring to it. And the drummy Elfman music. It's almost crosses into tickly torture in terms of waiting!

Yadda, I 'liked' the last Batman movie-- but there was a suspicious lingering feeling of whateverness afterwards that got more whatevery as it stumbled onto cable. What was that samurai crap? I think they just took everything a little too seriously to overcompensate for the terribleness that was Batman and Robin. And sure, the Tim Burton movies were all well and good-- but the first Batman is too junky fake looking now to really watch seriously. Jack Nicholas, although he's really good, gets hammier over the years. Less and less Joker and more and more Jack. And the ploopy ploppy Batman Returns was a mess and Penguin DeVito just smelled to bad to take seriously. Unwatchable now. Which brings us to where we are now.

Yeah, it's sad that Heath Ledgerd died from stupiding up on drugs-- and initially I was scared that it would albatross the movie. That him being all deaded would be a constant distraction-- but now in terms of anticipation I think him being dead is adding to my excitement. He obviously is gonna be a scary Joker-- but him playing it from beyond the grave may have a positive post-mortem affect that may work to its advantage! You might think that my be a bit macabre and gross-- but I think the least we can do for the man's final performance is watch it in the best light (or darkest light) possible and not be so serious about the fact that he's simply no longer alive.

Of course, I'm obviously running the risk of overhype-ing the movie for myself. I've really done my best to block out any real plot points to counter that problem. I don't know the Joker's plan. I don't know side stories. I don't know why the truck flips. (Why should I know any of that stuff before going in?) It just seems like it has everything going for it right now! A properly demented Joker! A Batman actor that I'm comfortable with! A creepy awful undertone! No trace of Joel Schumoncherness in sight! And a trailer that I need to watch over and over and over again...

Deep breath. Friday is coming. The one thing I haven't decided is what the better time to see it is... 10AM sharp? Or 1AM sharper? The 10AM has the advantage of the more subdued crowd and more focus. But the 1AM has that great element of night time vibe. And beer. Of course, ideally I'll see the 10AM-- and won't be able to resist going again at 1AM. Maybe that'll be the dealio. Hopefully. And you're talking to someone who haven't seen a movie twice in one day since Army of Darkness.

Three Good Things About this Movie

- There were great visuals and I do have certain good ol' pal soft spot for Hellboy.
- I laughed out loud a bunch of times (but no real belly laughs)
- I dig how this director puts together stuff that looks like it spilled over from his dreams.

Three Bad Things About this Movie

- Too much lovey dovey crap.
- Not enough reality.
- The Golden Army was disappointing.

All in all, I'm trying to control my enthusiasm for Dark Knight. It's all part of the plan. I need to take deep breaths and pace myself from the getgo so I don't get discouraged if it starts off clunky or if there's wandering plotlines that I don't care about. Of course in my fantasy world I'd prefer the thing to be rated R-- but beggers can't be choosers. And I'm begging for this one to come through. Ok maybe not 'begging' but... I'll ask nicely...

Please? Please do it. Hit me.

<<<Chyatt?