Vinko’s Thoughts On…

My Rating:

This evening I saw the movie “Hellboy 2” at AMC Theater, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong.

I did not go watch Hellboy, the first episode in this franchise, at the cinema, but caught it on HBO. I did not find the first movie that interesting, so I did not put this sequel in my Must See Movies list.

Recently many of my friends gave it rave reviews after watching the latest episode in the franchise; as did RT, so it made me question my decision for not wanting to see this movie.

Tonight I was presently surprised by the movie. As with all sequels, it is always hard to balance the need to provide just enough background store for the audiences and keep the fans interested. Especially when the previous episode was four years ago. I think the director (screenplay and writer), Guillermo del Toro achieved that very well.

Another thing they did correctly, was to keep the main casts from the first episode, giving the movie a continuum that is much needed for sequels. Ron Perlman again played the adult Hellboy, Selma Blair played Liz Sherman, both Doug Jones and Brian Steele were chameleons of characters.

The special effect was done very well, it shows what four years of technology advancements in CG can do for a movie. The CG seamlessly integrated with the live action of the movie. There were many background characters and details in the sets and costumes, giving the audience much eye candy other than the story. There were one scene which reminded me of the bar in Star Wars (Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope).

The story had the feel of Fantastic Four the magic of Harry Potter the mystery of Indiana Jones and National Treasure. Overall a very enjoyable movie to bring the kids to.

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it on iTunes
	Waste your time elsewhere

My Rating:

This evening I saw the movie “The Dark Knight” at AMC Theatre, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong.

Another great movie! That’s two in a row, two weeks ago was Hancock and two weeks before that was Wanted. This is the best Batman movie I have seen thus far.

There was enough continuation from the last Batman movie, Batman Begins. Just the appropriate amount of draw from the plot of the previous movie in the sequel. Definitely, the best looking Batman outfit of them all.

The one thing I did not like about the movie, was the directory or set decoration to hide the city where they filmed Gotham City. In the past Gotham City has always been this make believe or futuristic city where a super hero like Batman would appear.

One of the best part of the movie, like in Batman (1989), was the character The Joker. In the 1989 version of Batman, The Joker was played by the amazing Jack Nicholson, this time it was played by the late, Heath Ledger of Brokeback Mountain fame.

Another thing this Batman movie tries to do, is to explain the origin of Harvey Dent (aka. Two-Face), this time played by Aaron Eckhart, this character first appeared in the 1989 version of Batman, played by Billy Dee Williams then again in Batman Forever by Tommy Lee Jones. As a result it is a good sequel to Batman Begins.

All I need to do is collect these Batman movies since 1989 and put them back in chronological order, I will have a complete picture of how each of the villains came about.

If you are a Batman fan, this is definitely a must see. If you are not, still go see it, you will not be disappointed.

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it on iTunes
	Waste your time elsewhere

My Rating:

This evening I saw the movie “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” at AMC Theatre, Pacific Place, Hong Kong.

A good sequel because the screenwrite did not spend too much time reviewing the previous version of the movie, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” 3 years ago. Unfortunately, this is also the reason why I feel this is not a good movie.

This is really a movie written and designed for children. With that in mind this is a good movie, as it has the mystical elements that children likes, characters that spur the imaginations and story-line that will capture the young audiences.

Having said that the story and movie is a bit lacking for adults. If you do not have young children in your household I will suggest you give it a miss.

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it on iTunes
	Waste your time elsewhere