Review of Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim

At first glance, Pacific Rim seems like a shallow film with paper-thin characterisation and performances from a Wing Commander cut scene; all this can make it hard to see the film as anything other than an overgrown cartoon. Fortunately, what the film lacks in those areas it more than makes up for with gristly, weighty action, a coherent and interesting world, a great, memorable score from Ramin Djawadi and a unique and beautiful palette. →

Review of Guy Moshe’s Bunraku

When did Woody Harrelson become one of those actors that adds instant gravitas to any scene they're in? As he gets older and craggier he seems to have solidified into this wall of character, with every line he reads sounding more meaningful than it has any right to. In Bunraku he happily takes on the "philosophical barman" trope, the linchpin in a film with so many stylistic influences that it's a wonder everything holds together. →

Hellboy

Hellboy has now joined my collection of films that are based upon comic books which I've never read. It joins Daredevil, Hulk, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and, er, Supergirl. Now, there's a line-up!

Compare it with my list of films that are based upon comic books that I have read; X-Men, Batman, Spiderman---a smaller collection, but one with significantly better films (discounting Joel Schumacher's efforts, of course). Will Hellboy stand with pride in the latter collection, or will it shuffle it's feet quietly with the flawed/awful works in the former?