Ron Perlman

Giant Robots vs. Monsters

  • Title: Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures Pacific Rim
  • IMDB: link

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures Pacific RimThe idea behind director Guillermo del Toro‘s latest movie is hardly original. The world, not just Hollywood, has made a living on giant monster movies for decades. We’ve also seen a number of giant robot movies, particularly big-budget CGI-extravaganzas in recent years. Even animated movies such as Monsters vs. Aliens have pitted two groups of giant creatures against each other.

More than Blade II (the only watchable film from that franchise) or either of the Hellboy movies, del Toro’s latest is easily his most mainstream attempt at a summer blockbuster. We certainly get the director’s spin on things, and designs of creatures who seem right at home in Hellboy or Pan’s Labyrinth, but the story from the director and co-writer Travis Beacham itself is by the book (and doesn’t even attempt to color outside the lines). The result is a film that feels a lot like a mashup of Robot Jox, Independence Day (complete with last-minute inspirational speech and wacky scientists), Top Gun, Transformers, and various monster movies all spruced up with sexy CGI and de Toro’s eye for creature design.

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Green Lantern: The Animated Series – Prisoner of Sinestro

  • Title: Green Lantern: The Animated Series – Prisoner of Sinestro
  • tv.com: link

Green Lantern: The Animated Series - Prisoner of Sinestro

Reunited with Razer (Jason Spisak) and searching for the Anti-Monitor and answers about the legion of Manhunters under his control, Hal Jordan (Josh Keaton), Kilowog (Kevin Michael Richardson), and Aya (Grey DeLisle) receive an urgent transmission from Sinestro (Ron Perlman) who is trapped aboard a Spider Guild transport after capturing one of the most wanted assassins in the universe who the Guild are willing to destroy the entire ship rather than let escape.

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Drive

  • Title: Drive
  • IMDB: link

drive-blu-rayBased on James Sallis‘ 2005 novel, adapted for the screen by Hossein Amini, Drive stars Ryan Gosling as a getaway driver with no name who finds himself in a sticky situation when he breaks his own rules. If this sounds a little like The Transporter franchise, well it is, but director Nicolas Winding Refn decides to treat a rather ordinary action tale as an art house film drawing comparisons to dramatic action films of the late 60’s and 70’s like Steve McQueen‘s Bullit.

The Driver has everything he needs. His evident skill gets him consistant stunt car work and the far more lucrative (though far less legal) jobs no one else can do. His business partner (Bryan Cranston) has just closed a deal with a mobster (Albert Brooks) to buy a stock car which will allow the Driver to finally hit the big time. But when the Driver allows himself to be sucked into the troubles of an attractive neighbor (Carey Mulligan) and her young son (Kaden Leos) by agreeing to help her husband (Oscar Isaac) pull off a big score things go horribly wrong.

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Season of the Witch

  • Title: Season of the Witch
  • IMDB: link

season-of-the-witch-blu-rayTwo Teutonic Knights (Nicolas CageRon Perlman) who have grown weary of killing innocents and become deserters of the Crusades are given the chance to redeem themselves by transporting an accused witch (Claire Foy) to a far away monastery. The accused is charged with spreading the Black Death across the world.

Along for the ride are a priest (Stephen Campbell Moore), a knight (Ulrich Thomsen), an altar boy (Robert Sheehan) and a swindler (Stephen Graham) as their guide.

There are good Nic Cage films, silly but passable ones, and plenty of gawdawful crap. Season of the Witch fits in the last category. The nature of the witch is given away far too soon, and the twist of the true nature of her evil will seems nothing more than a forced attempt to raise the stakes of a film you’ve given up on long before its climax.

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Hellboy Kicks Ass on DVD

  • Title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army
  • IMDb: link

“You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll wet your pants.”
—Ron Perlman describes Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

Although I enjoyed the first Hellboy I wasn’t blown away by it.  This time however Guillermo del Toro gets it just right.  With more monsters, more special effects, a stronger story, and more humor, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is one of the few sequels which outshines the original.

Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones (this time voicing his character), and Jeffrey Tambor all return as agents of the B.P.R.D. This time they’re out to stop a mad elven Prince (Luke Goss) who plans to awaken an unstoppable robot army to wage his war against humanity.

There are several new characters introduced who stand out most notably the ectoplasmic scientific expert Johann Krauss (voiced by Seth MacFarlane), Abe’s love interest Princess Nuala (Anna Walton) and the intimidating Mr. Wink (Brian Steele).

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