fun weekend

I saw Hellboy II tonight, and enjoyed it. It is written and directed with panache by Guillermo del Toro (based on a story worked out between him and Mike Mignola). The film has a straightforward plot (a rather familiar fantasy quest), but I didn’t mind because the characters were on form, the dialogue was snappy, and the film exuded cheerful entertainment. The creatures, and visuals were fantastic. I particularly liked the use of the song “Beautiful Freak” by Eels at one point. The mangled pronunciation of Nuada and Nuala ceased to annoy after the first couple of times. I think this is my favourite blockbuster movie of the summer thus far – of what I’ve seen.

I’m off to London today: my annual pilgrimage to FrightFest, the horror film festival. I’m looking forward to gorging on dark cinema for the British bank holiday weekend. I might even blog from the event, since I’ll be bringing my Eee PC with me. It depends on the WiFi availability in Leicester Square – ah, and a quick Google indicates that shouldn’t be a problem. Hurray!