the average-ness

next week: reviews of the dark knight and mama mia!

hellboy II: the golden army--
most obvious and most important is that this is a guillermo del toro project through & through. he wrote and directed, so it comes loaded with his signature flair. his vision is truly singular, and the hellboy universe serves as an apropos playground for all its bizarre manifestations. we're treated to more unique creatures than frequent the star wars cantina, yet sadly they do little to adequately fatten up the lean story. our hero's not the most complex character in the comic pantheon, and not a terrible lot happens in this sequel. fun filmmaking, lightweight product.
obvious: 2 stars

the wackness--
i don't consider it a Good thing when a soundtrack is the best aspect of a film. what i recall from every review since this festival fave dropped gave props to the old-school hip-hop flavor, not much else; now i see why. sir ben kingsley's accent is truly scattershot, yet at least his performance feels risky. that's more than can be said of the two youngsters at the heart of the story, or even of the story itself. feels like when the knighted one got involved, this film got the green light that it needed, when really there's just not much to it. not exactly wack, far from dope, more like average.
average: 2 stars