Hellboy 2019 Review and Star Wars Episode 9 Trailer

Hellboy is a superhero that I can't say I'm overly attached to, but I am still very fond of  the 2004 film, as I think it was a great blend of practical effects, fun fantasy action and a very charismatic performance from Ron Perlman. I went with some friends to see the film, several of them being fans of the older films. With a third  no longer happening, this reboot seemed like it would capture a similar feeling. The trailers did a good job of getting me hyped. Usually, I'm skeptical. However, I went in with fairly high expectations and found myself a bit disappointed. This is partially due to a stronger attachment than I realized to the style and performances of the previous films, but with some pretty glaring issues I was not expecting.

David Harbour of Stranger Things fame certainly fits well into the new, slightly more realistic looking make-up, and he certainly adds some energy into the performance. I believe this more bumbling interpretation is closer to the comics, but I found he often lacked the presence of Perlman. At first, I was unsure if this was a reboot or sequel, as the pace of the film immediately dumps a massive amount of exposition regarding Arthurian lore and the sealing away of an evil sorceress (Milla Jovovich). Hellboy, after being forced to kill a vampire bitten friend, is sent to England to stop giants and becomes involved in the struggle to prevent her return.

There are some pretty big issues with the movie, but most of them probably could have been fixed with one word. Pacing. It's been a long time since I felt almost entirely overwhelmed by the constant action and scene changes. The experience wasn't seamless though, as you still feel the two hour run time. In a similar way to Aquaman, we observed that this movie had too much plot going on, with so little time to actually developing it. This creates the feeling that there is much less plot than there is and you sort of become numb to the action. The introduction of other characters to support Hellboy could have been handled better, as the backstories of the antagonistic British agent and a young psychic are both clumsily handled.

The effects work and the soundtrack are also a bit uneven, as the blaring heavy metal music and the very over the top gore (which is pretty well done) left me questioning what I was supposed to take seriously or when.  There were some jokes that got me to chuckle, but they didn't give them much time to land before the next action sequence.

I can't say it was all negative though, as the most frustrating part for me was that there were obvious pieces of a much better movie. Some of the creature design was pretty inspired, the costuming in particular for Hellboy himself stood out the most. If the action had been spaced out with more time to just breathe and let the characters interact more, the experience would have been much stronger. My favorite scene was when Hellboy encounters the villainous Baba Yaga, who is perfectly disgusting in an unsettling way in common with the other  creatures he faces. He makes a deal with her in exchange for information, being in much more control but still resolving it in a slightly silly fashion. Had the whole movie been like that scene, it would have been closer to the Hellboy I wanted.


As I was planning to write this, I saw that the trailer for the next Star Wars film has been released. I actually don't care much about obviously jumping on the bandwagon of every other person who will jump to conclusions based on a single trailer. Then again, I'm doing it anyway since I have the time. Actually, more than trailer itself, it was a comment by one of my online friends that accompanied the post that made me want to write about it. She stated she isn't really that excited for Star Wars anymore but she was glad for new additions. At least among many of my friends, we're somewhat disillusioned with the franchise for several reasons.

I think it's the lack of unity of vision that makes it the most frustrating these days. The films are no longer the vision of one man collaborating with others, but seem much more tied to what the studios want to drive profits up. Perhaps that's just how it feels these days and it was always that way. I'm not sure, although the transparency between fans and creators has its downsides. One director wanted to be bold and change things. It was risky and it offended some people. Instead of rolling with that, we've heard rumors of backtracking. It is difficult with any beloved franchise and Star Wars may be the best example. People are invested in these characters and change is very hard to pull off without seeming disrespectful.

Much like that post, I don't have much enthusiasm for the films either. This is a combination of the obvious over saturation and just a change in taste over time. My love for this universe is far from dead though, as I've really been enjoying Rebels lately.

I do hope this new trailer can resolve some established plot points. Otherwise, why have them? I also don't want it to cater too much. Some creators, like recently with J.K. Rowling, tend to overcorrect when it is unnecessary. Also though, fans need to keep an open mind. There will be light sabers. There will be battles in space (Star Wars?). Lando is back. Nice. Palpatine is back? Maybe. I liked Snoke but I kind of wanted him to be his own thing. I guess that's the question I'm hoping gets answered. I like my maniacal villains and Palapatine/Snoke (same guy?) both fit that mold.

Oh and I am excited for the final season of Game of Thrones. We'll also probably be watching the Fruits Basket remake. There may be some videos, podcasts or blog post on these topics in coming weeks. I might even talk about that movie with Thanos. I think that's a big deal. Right?

Thanks for reading everyone. Stay magical.

vic mignogna, sexual harassment and fan backlash

Much of the focus of this blog over the past few years has been a combination of a few specific things. I've been examining current films and entertainment, specifically how they relate to my personal growth, the shift of perception of fandom over time and the role of the  people behind these fictional worlds.

I wanted to make a video a few years ago discussing a difficult topic, but I never felt compelled to go through with it. It was something along the lines of how our feelings about art are connected to the people who make the art that we love. The biggest example in my mind for many years was Mel Gibson. I have loved many of the characters he's played and the films he's directed. However, when I was in high school, he was revealed to have some negative characteristics. He said some racist things and it was suggested he may have been abusive. This did alter the perception of Gibson and his career hasn't ever fully recovered from it. However, I now know that Mel Gibson, to some varying degree, is not like the characters he portrays and does not expose all the great ideas of the films he's been involved with.

In the years since that time, we've become a culture is tries to be much more sensitive to others and aware of issues that continue to plague our society. I think that, in general, this is a good thing. How else are we going to improve if we don't stop ignoring issues of racism, sexism,  abuse, violence, harassment and rape? It's uncomfortable but I think that's why these issues still continue to be a problem. People don't like to hear about it, especially if it's someone they know. I can be difficult to deal with, but awareness must continue. It's a good thing that people are coming forward with these issues.

It seems that one area of our society that has been exposing more dormant issues has been in the entertainment industry specifically. People have been coming forward and expressing issues regarding instances of racism, homophobia and sexual harassment. I think the first one to real shock us recently was with Bill Cosby. For many, he was figure of wholesome comedy and good values. So the revelation that this man had a pretty bad dark side probably had a big effect on many people. I know so many grew up watching his shows and certainly some emotions tied in with those experiences. It's what we do. Entertainment and the arts can be a great way to help us understand our world. They can also be a much needed escape. It's understandable that have this idea tainted may have been difficult for some to accept. That is the hard reality though. Nobody is perfect. People can do some pretty terrible things.

Since then, many celebrities have come under fire for past misdeeds and even consistently recurring ones. I want to emphasize that this is a good thing. I think the one that caught my attention the most was Kevin Spacey. I've enjoyed many of his roles and this could alter my perception of some of this films. This is finally bringing me to my main point. I find the revelation of these bad deeds to be disappointing and often very sad. I feel bad for the victims and I feel disappointed in people I looked up to in some way. However, I don't know if any revelation has been relevant to the mediums I enjoy that the news regarding Vic Mignogna.

The original video idea I had years ago was on the question of how the perception of those who create art affects who we perceive and enjoy the art. If I found out that one of my favorite writers, directors, actors or musicians was a murderer or something, could I really enjoy what they create? Obviously that's an extreme example, but it's a legitimate question. I might love a film or franchise due to my emotional connection to it, but could the work be ruined for me? Should it be? Would it be morally acceptable for me to like it after learning about such things? Does that make me a bad person? I think the answer is different for every work, revelation and consumer.

Vic Mignogna is a voice actor who's pretty well know among Western anime fans. His two best know voice roles are as Broly in Dragon Ball and, more famously, his portrayal of the main protagonist of Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric. For anyone who's followed this blog, or my Youtube channel or knows me personally, these two shows are kind of a big deal for me. Even before I was really a fan of the anime medium, these two shows were important. I grew up with Dragon Ball Z and have many fond memories of that show. In later years it inspired me explore the deeper reasons why such a show has endured, examining the world and its characters. FMA is pretty much my favorite anime. At least within the shonen demographic, I believe FMA has some of the best character writing and some really powerful universal themes that have legitimately impacted my philosophy on life. It was very important for me to view as a teenager. Considering these roles are the only ones I really care about for Mignogna, I can't say I'm a diehard fan of him specifically. Although, I recently discovered he was behind a project to create fan films of the original Star Trek series. These were some of the best fan films I've seen. So I was actually starting to appreciate his work more when I found out about these acquisitions. I honestly was once again sad and disappointed.

However, it's important to remember that I love the ideals exposed in things like Star Trek, Dragon Ball and Fullmetal Alchemist.

Blog/Channel Plans For 2019 (Happy New Year!)

Hello everyone and happy new year! After having the flu as well as some computer trouble, the YouTube channel hasn't been super active lately. I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things, refocusing on some new and old video ideas. I didn't really get many projects off the ground last year. This was mostly due to time constraints and trying to find that balance between producing content I wanted to make but that my subscribers would also like. This inner conflict kind of prevented me from producing much content I could be proud of. I think I'm just going to have to go back to basics. I'll do what I feel like and if people like to watch, they will.

Character analysis videos will be making a comeback, though I'll be allowing my subscribers to vote on which ones they'd like to see first. Podcasts and film/show retrospectives will still be around, though I think the character videos will become a priority again. I want to make sure I do them justice though, so they could be time consuming. I also want to keep playing around with new ideas. I'm enjoying the drink reviews with my friend James (Gimli). They're easy to do but also give me some practice with editing more. I'm planning on upgrading my equipment for better audio and video quality. I'm probably overdue for that. Who knows, I may do some ASMR videos. The Dramatic Readings may make a comeback too. We will see. I have many things I want to do, but I can overwhelm myself pretty easily. I think after this year, I might have to take a long hiatus from YouTubing. It really depends on how things go this year. I'll probably still keep blogging here and focus more time on music and film projects in coming years.

As far as 2019 goes, I realized there are many movies I'm excited to see that will probably get a review of some form here or on the channel. The picture is from Glass, which is the sequel to Split and Unbreakable. Unbreakable is actually one of my favorite films and probably the best Shyamalan has made (I know most people might say Sixth Sense, I just think it's a little overrated...plus the superhero may work better for me). To see that I got a secret sequel in Split was a great twist, although I thought it was just a Easter egg rather than definitive set up for a sequel. Like many of films that become franchises, some may argue this takes away from Split as its own film. I think it still works since the reveal is really at the tale end after the main plot has concluded. Split was fun and genuinely creepy at points, with James McAvoy giving a fantastic performance. It was a bit goofy at points, but much better than I was expecting. The third film seems to be hinting that Mr. Glass is really going to be the focus, making me wonder how much time is going to be divided between David Dunn, Glass and The Beast. Since I think this trilogy wasn't smoothly constructed, it might be tough to balance resolving elements from Unbreakable and Split and be a compelling movie on its own. Even so, being as I was so hyped in the theater, I will be going to see this one, and I'm honestly not sure if I'll disappointed. Unbreakable didn't really need a sequel, but I've always kind of wanted one. It would be cool to see how this characters evolve. Much like the other films. it will be probably be a dark ending with just a dash of hope.

There are many fun movies coming out this year. I may discuss some here. The ones I'm most interested in/excited for include: Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Alita: Battle Angel, Captain Marvel, Hellboy, Avengers, Detective Pikachu, John Wick 3, Godzilla, Dark Phoenix, and  Spider-man: Far From Home. I guess these studios really want my money? I didn't even some of other movies coming out I may see but I'm not interested in at all. This could be a very interesting year for movies indeed.

As far as anime goes, I'll probably check out the second season of One Punch Man. I may also check out the new Fruits Basket, since I finally watched the original.

My interests in comics have been different lately, as I've mostly been reading Masters of the Universe and Ninja Turtles stuff. I'm not sure if that will inspire much content, but they've been good.

Podcasts will probably be the best place for me to discuss general entertainment news, so I'll work on getting those more consistent. There may be co-hosts and guests but I think I'll be doing more solo stuff.

I've been more interested in playing older video games, so they might manifest into some Let's Plays, but I might just play those for fun if I have the time.

Lastly, I hope to get out of town and go to a few conventions. I didn't really do that last year.

Well those are some plans for the channel and some things looking forward to this year. I appreciate everyone for continuing to read/listen and watch. Let's make this year a good one!