Kirill - what is it?

Stumbled across this interesting logo today - does anyone out there know what it's for?

UPDATE:

Turns out that it's a episodic cool looking drama from MSN (with obligatory Xbox 360 sponsorship in places)...

Check the trailer - what do you reckon?
http://kirill.uk.msn.com/

Are we human? Or are we Dancer?

The Killers are back... but are they Human?

I am a massive fan of The Killers (click here for their site: http://www.thekillersmusic.com/)

And it is with excitement that I anticipate their new album 'Day and Age' which hits next month.

First single 'Human ' is a stomper here's the unofficial youtubetastic rendition (which doesn't have the video):


"My sign is vital. My hands are cold"


My best guess at what their going on about with the 'are we human, or are we dancer?' lyrics is that they must be inspired by the loony / genius Hunter S. Thompson who once wrote about how America was raising "a generation of dancers".


But I could be wrong... Anyway - I managed to bag tickets to their London O2 February 24th show which has made me very very happy!?


As a Christian I am drawn to the line in 'Human' that says "I'm on knees, looking for the answer" - have been there many times... good stuff...



"this is the day and age..."



Previous posts about The Killers:


Killers tour 06


Doesnt look a thing like Jesus

Tis the Season to be PS3

2008 ends with a PlayStation 3 supernova of entertainment...

Matt PSN name: 'Cleric20' Adcock's top 3 games for this holiday:

3. First choice for saving the world...

"The future of online battles meets the Sci-Fi epic of the year"

Resistance 2 is going to rock so hard, prepare for 60 player online and super slick single player campaign - if you have a pulse and have ever enjoyed shooting stuff... Look no further.

2. First choice for Racing fanatics...

"Nosebleed, eyebleed, adrenalin overdose of racing excitement!"

Motorstorm: Pacific Rift... As a big fan of the original and having played the demo of the new Motorstorm - I can't wait to buckle up and hit the lava, water and dirt of the Pacific Rift Island... There won't be a racing experience to rival this for some time!
"There goes the no claims bonus..."

1. First choice for - EVERYONE...

As the Good Book says - 'Let everything that has breath praise the Lord', and there's a new reason to get your knees and give thanks LITTLE BIG PLANET!


"Anyone who has ever played a game - get excited and prepare to make your own!"

Having been gaming since the days of 'Pong' and the ZX Spectrum, I can honestly say that this Christmas is the most exciting ever thanks to Sony and their PS3. The joy of Little Big Planet is tangible - nothing has come close to the winning combination of creating levels, uploading them, downloading other people's and customising every last detail...

Am currently enjoying the PS3 Beta of 'home' and trying to finish Bioshock and Far Cry 2 before the 'Sony Trinity' of Resistance 2, Motorstorm 2 and Little Big Planet hit. If you're investing in a PS3 this holiday my tips for immediate download are: WipeOut HD, Burnout Paradise, PAIN and Warhawk... I'll see you online...

Final thought: if the PS3 was a woman - I think it might be Amber Heard...

More Amber Heard love here: Hottie

Film Review - Burn After Reading

Burn After Reading (15)

Dir. Joel and Ethan Coen

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

This is a highly classified review. So secret and sensitive is the following material that I advise you to ‘Burn After Reading’ – which may be problematic is reading this online... The report on the Coen brothers' latest cinematic experience crucially indicates the potential full-scale incompetence of non other than the CIA.

The first subject under investigation is CIA analyst Osborne Cox (John Malkovich), who quits his job after being sidelined – once his drinking problem is mentioned. He’s come back to his superior is however is typical of Coen brother sublimeness: “You're a Mormon. Compared to you we all have a drinking problem.”

The second subject is gym worker Linda (Frances McDormand), a lovelorn single who dreams of elective surgery to give her a better chance of finding Mr Right. She and dim co-worker Chad (Brad Pitt), stumble upon Cox’s memoirs on a disc and hatch an ill-fated blackmail scam.

Also in this tangled web is womanising wide boy Harry (George Clooney), who carries a big gun, works for the Treasury Department and is having a sordid affair with Cox's wife Katie (Tilda Swinton).

Things get rapidly out of hand with multiple path crosses, double crosses and much profanity backed up by some genuinely hilarious screwball comedy. This isn’t anything like the awesome gritty thrills of the Coen’s No Country for Old Men, Burn After Reading this is much more like a mix between their genius Big Lebowski and much-maligned Ladykillers. The result is uneven and veers from laugh out loud moments to mild bewilderment but overall it’s a film worth seeing as long as you’re not adverse to sporadic acts of violence.

Everyone in Burn After Reading seems to be having a real hoot putting this together and the sense of madcap fun is infectious. You just can’t help but get caught up in the maverick glee streaming from the screen – never more so than when CIA superiors (David Rasche and J.K. Simmons) try to make sense of what is being reported back to them about the whole muddled affair.

Which is summed up:

“So what did we learn from this?”

“Um... I don't know.”

“Report back to me when it makes sense!”



DARKMATTERS RATING SYSTEM (all ratings out of maximum 10 but '-' is bad whereas '+' is good):

Endorphin Stimulation: ööööööö (7)
+ Muddled plot takes a bit of keeping up with

Tasty Action: öööööö (6)
+ Some but only sparodic action

Gratuitous Babeness: ööööö (5)
+ Nothing to get steamed up about here

Mind Blight / Boredom: ööööö (5)
+ Screwballs bouncing left and right, try to keep up!

Comedic Value: öööööööö (8)
+ Some classic funnies in here and Pitt is hilarious

Arbitrary final rating: ööööööö (7)
Decent but not classic Coen comedy

Liable to make you:
"join a gym rather than the CIA"

DM Poster Quote:
“what just happened?"

End note:
Fans of Coen brothers comedies won’t have too long to wait for their next hit as A Serious Man, which will be a black comedy about a professor named Larry whose life unravels when his wife prepares to leave him.

RockandRolla - US Pals have swag to blag...

"r u a rock-n-rolla?"

Want so bling ROCKNROLLA free stuff?

Live in the US?

Check this cool comp: spout.com

Read the Darkmatters review of what was one of the best gangsta flicks this year:
Film review rocknrolla

Give it a click!!

Film Review - The House Bunny

The House Bunny (12a)

Dir. Fred Wolf

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Here’s the year’s contender for ‘most gratuitous but joyous overuse of hot pants in a movie.’ The House Bunny is pretty much a retread of many US college comedies from Animal House to Mean Girls – just with added scantily clad Playboy dumb-blondeness. It’s a one-joke flick that seems to give the message that in order to succeed in life as a woman, all you need to do is be sexy and show a lot of skin.
So we have hot Playboy playmate Shelley (Anna ‘all four Scary Movies’ Faris) whose ambition in life extends only to be a centrefold in the infamous magazine. But her kit off dream is rudely taken from her when after turning 27 (which they say is 59 in ‘Bunny Years’) she is forced to vacate Hef's sexpot mansion. Homeless and clueless in equal measure – Shelley is reluctantly taken in by a desperate bunch of nerdy college misfit females who face eviction from their sorority house for not being able to recruit enough ‘pledges’. Can the Bunnygirl sex up the minging weirdos of Zeta House who include the actually cute but made to look rough Natalie (Emma ‘Superbad’ Stone) and man hating Mona (Kat ‘Charlie Bartlett’ Dennings)? Also in the party of unfortunately socially challenged college girls are full body brace wearing Joanne (Rumer ‘daughter of Bruce’ Willis) and pregnant Harmony (American Idol contestant Katherine McPhee who gets to ruin the end credits with a rubbish song).

"which look do you prefer?"

Faris shows a genuine talent for good natured comedy, delivering semi risqué material with an innocent Goldie Hawn vibe backed up by a killer Farrah Fawcett like figure which gets shot from every conceivable angle in eye watering close up. Along the predictable path to saving the day, Shelley also has time to try and woo old folks home manager Oliver (Colin ‘yes my dad is Tom’ Hanks). Then of course in true Revenge of the Nerds style there is the nasty middle class rival house fronted by a preppie sweater-wearing bitch.
But is The House Bunny for you? That depends entirely on your tolerance for sweet-natured sexiness, women in skimpy outfits and dippy college comedy bonding, complete with pratfalls and the occasional actually rather wry observation. It’s mostly a stupid, vapid, sexist money-spinner but try as I might to find serious fault with this, I found it hard and came out smiling having been amused.

"the House Bunnies take to the street..."

DARKMATTERS RATING SYSTEM (all ratings out of maximum 10 but '-' is bad whereas '+' is good):

Endorphin Stimulation: ööööö (5)
+ No braincells were hurt in the making of this movie

Tasty Action: öööö (4)
+ Not a great deal here

Gratuitous Babeness: ööööööööö (9)
+ Wow, fit bunny fun ahoy...

Mind Blight / Boredom: ööööö (5)
+ Blonde and dim but watchable

Comedic Value: ööööööö (7)
+ Should make you laugh out loud a couple of times

Arbitrary final rating: öööööö (6)
Far better than you might expect

Liable to make you:
"appreciate Playboy Bunnies as humans with feelings...

- just kidding LOL"

DM Poster Quote:
“vapid bunny hot pant frenzy"

Sci Fi Babes are back... Heroes vs Terminator

Sci Fi has never looked so good

So as Heroes Season 3 hits the UK and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles follows shortly... the question everyone needs to ask themselves is - which babe would you choose?

Exhibit A: Claire Bennet...

"also known as Hayden Panettiere"

In the third season of Heroes - Claire is found by Sylar, who may or may not be her uncle. He cuts open her skull and examines her brain. This allows him take her ability to regenerate; however, a side effect is that she loses the ability to feel physical pain.

"she's one cheerleader worth saving!"

or

Exhibit B: Cameron Phillips...
"she looks cute but she could kick your butt"

Cameron Phillips (Summer Glau) is a former Skynet Infiltrator, class T-OK715, from the apocalyptic future of 2027, reprogrammed by Tech-Com leader John Connor.


"here's one we made earlier... just not quite finished"

Cameron's programming enables her to mimic human emotions and behaviours but she's also programmed with the knowledge of martial arts and other hand-to-hand combats. She has an affection to art and music such as Chopin's Nocturne in C-sharp minor and ballet. Cameron is programmed to protect John Connor at all costs...

VOTE NOW:

Claire or Cameron

More about Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Some bonus Hayden Panettiere...

How about a third option - AMBER HEARD??

Film Review - Death Race

Death Race (15)

Dir. Paul W.S. Anderson

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Gentlemen… Start your engines!

You join us live from the 2012 Grand Prix – the drivers are just taking the first corner… oh my goodness, one has just blown up, another is getting out of his car and beating the living daylights out of a competitor and a third is firing two heavy duty machine guns into the back of an opponent – what is Lewis Hamilton thinking?

Welcome to a whole new way of racing, this is racing enriched with serious weaponry and hot female co-drivers. As my esteemed friend I’m joined in the bullet proof commentary box tonight by John ‘Ford Focus – there’s no substitute’ Richardson what are you thinking? "This film makes boy racers look like feeble Sunday drivers"…
We’re talking insane bloodlust, speed and carnage (with the emphasis on the ‘car’)!?
Back to John: "whatever you do...DON'T get out of the car!"
He’s got a point too as in Deathrace the only place more dangerous than being in one of the modified muscle cars on the track is being outside of on the of the modified muscle cars on the track… It’s enough to give the Green Cross Code man a hernia just watching!
Final word from John: "I'd like to see how the lollypop lady handles this kind of traffic!" Yes, me too, it’s much more carmageddon than the school run…

So – is this the film for you? Well, if the thought of the director of Resident Evil updating the camp B-movie nasty Death Race 2000and resetting it in a prison where the prize on offer for wining the race is freedom but when they say there’s no point for second place, that’s because the person in second place is probably dead!
It’s a future where crazed inmates compete to the death live on TV pay-per-view and millions of viewers tune in to see newly convicted Jensen Ames (Statham) - framed for murdering his wife – take on the mantel of legendary masked racer ‘Frankenstein’.

Ian McShane is on hand to add a spot of reflection as Ames’ team Coach (who likes Death Racing so much he’s stayed on in prison after his sentence) and there’s obligatory babe action from Natalie Martinez as his co-driver, who comes equipped with her own set of impressive airbags (see below).


"Martinez - co-pilot of your dreams..."

Snippet of plot taster from evil Warden Hennessey (Joan ‘Bourne’ Allen): “the fans call Frankenstein. A man so disfigured by crashes that he's forced to wear a mask. His return to the track is highly anticipated, and therein lies my problem. No one knows yet, but poor Frank died on an operating table not long after his last race. Anyone can wear the mask, but not just anyone can drive the car. You have the skills required to keep the legend alive. I want you to become Frankenstein. The chances are good. I'm offering you your freedom, Mr. Ames. If it's not worth risking your life for, what is?”

DARKMATTERS RATING SYSTEM (all ratings out of maximum 10 but '-' is bad whereas '+' is good):

Endorphin Stimulation: öööööö (6)
+ Disengage brain for best results!

Tasty Action: öööööööö (8)
+ Broom broom bang…

Gratuitous Babeness: öööööööö (8)
+ Martinez is pure eye candy

Mind Blight / Boredom: ööööö (5)
+ Stupid and proud

Comedic Value: öööööö (6)
+ Some funnies- look out for the pre death subtitle of 14k

Arbitrary final rating: öööööööö (8)
If you like violent action and cars you 'Auto' like this alot!!

Liable to make you:
"pull doughnuts in the carpark - whatever you drive"

DM Poster Quote:
“when I hit the dashboard I'd like you to launch the Model 7 Russian Armory, armor piercing, self arming missiles!"

Not everyone will like this... here's proof: http://chriscurtis.typepad.com/weblog/2008/08/death-race.html

In fact - one of best pals Mike - whose opinion I value above most had this to say...

"Man, I can't believe you gave the unbelievably bad Death Race 8 out of 10, were you high? Or drunk out of your mind?

I dragged four people along to see that sorry piece of sh*t and now they all hate me, and you.

Of course it won't affect our friendship, you have enough in the bank with me to withstand a much harder kick in the teeth than this, but your film review standing has slid down the league table to somewhere below the hit-and-miss Jonathan Woss and only above The Sun's 'The Sneak' on goal difference.

Your 'if Matt likes it I'll like it' licence has been revoked, and replaced with 'take it under advisement' status.Talk of the devil, just got a text from you. Yes, you are right, I didn't expect intellectual or poetic genius that would stir the soul from Death Race. What I did hope for; a half decent plot or back story on which to hang the action, some characters I even gave a tagnut of a sh*t for, or even just some characters, tasty high octane four wheeled action sequences that got my blood pumping and not this pedestrian limp rubbish which continually drained the pace with pointless cut-aways to the warden smiling or scowling (about as scary as the ghost train ride on Brighton Pier) or Lovejoy looking like he was passing kidney stones.

I hoped for some humour, some classy one-liners and some clever twists; the film could only muster a bucketful of turgid ancient cliches, delivered by apologetic performances. At one point near the end of this painfully long B-road car journey one of the black posse looks straght into the camera and says 'this is bad.' Most of the audience agreed wholeheartedly, one man sitting behind me nearly choking on his coke as the moment delivered some much needed entertainment. I guess I shouldn't have expected more from the director who spewed forth such vomitus as Alien vs Predator, Soldier, and Mortal Kombat but he did do the Resident Evil trilogy which I do rather like. The only good bits were the TV coverage footage and that would account for less than a minute of the film. In summary, I thought this film was one of the worst I've ever endured, it sucked the sweat off a dead man's balls."

Ouch... so there you at least have an alternative view to um, add balance?


"Mike is the one of the left..."

But I still kind of liked Deathrace - which is just plain odd.

Film Review - Brideshead Revisited

Brideshead Revisited (12a)

Dir. Julian Jarrold

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Nobody does the lives and loves of posh totty quite like Evelyn Waugh in his various classic books and in Brideshead Revisited we have a poignant story of forbidden love and lost innocence set in England prior to the Second World War. I grew up watching the 1980’s TV series version starring Laurence Olivier,Diana Quick and Jeremy Irons on BBC One, ah those blissful languid days enjoying a taste of juicy unattainable upper class love…

But now Julian ‘Becoming Jane’ Jarrold has remade the tale for the big screen and a whole new audience have the chance to get acquainted with middle-class Charles Ryder (Matthew ‘The Lookout’ Goode) and marvel at his love triangle with brother and sister Sebastian (Ben Whishaw) and Julia (Hayley ‘The Duchess’ Atwell) Flyte… There’s much drinking, smoking and feasting amongst the gleaming spires of Oxford and then at the wonderful Brideshead Estate – almost as if that’s all the upper class have to fill their time with – plus the occasional jaunt to Venice… Charles is at first the innocent, beguiled by the Flytes and their hoity-toity ways, but as the plot progresses his involvement on their lives will have far reaching and unforeseen implications.

"some prices are very high"

Obviously some things have changed and much has been either chopped out or condensed but both my wife (who hadn’t watched the original series) and I found the film version to be engaging and thought provoking escapism. Hero of the piece Charles this time is much ‘straighter’ in the new version which comes across less ‘Brokeback Revisited’ and more a focus of how Catholicism induced guilt wrecks lives however posh you are. It’s beautifully written, wonderfully shot and the characters are ones worth spending some time with. Heavyweight support is on offer in the form of Emma Thompson and Michael Gambon – plus I am a big Matthew Goode fan, be sure to look out for him next year as Ozymandias in the much anticipated ‘Watchmen’.
I admire Jarrod’s style as a director, he cut his teeth on gritty TV dramas like Cracker and Silent Witness and here he demonstrates that he is just as at home with large scale period drama. Waugh fans of either the book or TV series should be widely pleased with the new film version as it manages to keep the decedent spirit of the original whilst adding enough nice additional touches to make this a viable companion piece.

DARKMATTERS RATING SYSTEM (all ratings out of maximum 10 but '-' is bad whereas '+' is good):

Endorphin Stimulation: öööööööö (8)

+ Lots to ponder beyond the good looking sc

Tasty Action: ööööö (5)

+ Drinking is not a hobby

Gratuitous Babeness: ööööö (5)

+ Haley Atwell is a bit of a fox

Mind Blight / Boredom: ööööö (5)

+ Something for everyone here

Comedic Value: ööööö (5)

+ Amusing in places but not a comedy

Arbitrary final rating: öööööööö (8)

Decent remake that delivers the goods.

Liable to make you:
"fancy some posh"

DM Poster Quote:

“lifestyles of the rich and frivolous..."

PS3 Game Review - Star Wars The Force Unleashed

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Lucas Arts

Reviewed by Matt ‘Vader’ Adcock

I must straight away declare an interest here – I’m a massive Star Wars fan. A New Hope was the first movie I saw in the cinema (I was 6, it wasn’t even called part 4 back then…) and my eldest son is named ‘Luke’ so I can every night tell him “Luke – I am your father” in my best Vader voice… This Christmas I will again tell him that “Luke – I have felt your presents” and laugh to myself but at least you get the idea…

So I felt a disturbance in the force when I heard that Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was arriving for consoles (my weapon of choice being the PS3). Whatever your feelings for the extended Star Wars saga, most of the games based on the material have sucked, perhaps Battlefront was fun and Jedi Knight okay? Anyway, The Force Unleashed takes place in the dark era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. You get to become Darth Vader's ‘Secret Apprentice’ tasked with exterminating the last of the Jedi… Equipped with a trusty red glowing light saber, the instructions are to leave no witnesses (Vader doesn’t want anyone tipping off the Emperor that there’s a new Sith in town) – slaughtering Storm Troopers, Clones, Jawas, various robots and all kinds of other creatures in the order of the day. It’s less ‘Order 66’ and more ‘Order 666’… Leave your mercy at the door!

“You can’t imagine the power of the dark side of the force…” Darth Adcock

Sorry – got carried away there and it’s easy to do because The Force Unleashed gives you all the powers of a Sith Lord – so get ready to force grip, force push and rain burning force lightening down on your Jedi foes.


"New babe Jedi Maris Brood voiced by Adrienne Wilkinson"

Praise Yoda for some shiny new technology that’s makes this possible - Digital Molecular Matter (DMM), by Pixelux Entertainment, and euphoria by NaturalMotion Ltd. are the coolest physics systems around - everything reacts pretty much like it should - wood breaks like wood, glass shatters like glass, Wookies scream with impotent rage as you pick them up using the force and fling them off cliffs etc…

As you progress through the levels which are nicely varied such as on board spaceships, on various planets etc you can level up the secret apprentice in a RPG lite system that works well. There’s joy in unlocking new costumes and tinkering with your light saber (as in changing the power crystals etc – I don’t know what you were thinking)… and very satisfying it is too. But nothing compares to the adrenaline rush of evil glee that ripping through a battalion of storm troopers and bringing down an AT ST by slicing it down the middle single handed… You'll even get chance to go one on one with Lord Vader and perhaps most excitingly of all - Darth Maul, bring it!!

Sure some of the levels have some crunching difficult sections or annoyingly ‘unfair’ elements that will require repeated trial and error but the cut scene rewards at the end of each make it very worth while sticking with it. Make it to the end of the game and you’ll even have the chance to change the future path of events in a jaw dropping alternative ‘Dark Side’ ending that would negate what happens in the films IV – VI… Shocking but cool!

If you’ve ever had any love for Star Wars, then this should be a must buy. The story works really well – the action is pure ‘wish fulfilment’ and there are even new Star Wars figures in the shops to collect (guess what my sons are getting for Christmas…)

As Vader once said: “You underestimate the power of the Dark Side. If you will not fight, then you will meet your destiny.” It is your destiny to buy and enjoy Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - may the force be with you!!

Darkmatters rating: öööööööö (8 out of 10)


"If you take on the Emperor, expect some serious situations to arise..."

Harry Potter & Half Blood Prince update

Harry: "Hey Hermione, we can chill till next summer!!"

Here's the latest word on the Half Blood Prince...

Iglu & Hartly & Then Boom - review

Iglu & Hartly
‘& Then Boom’

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Ever wondered what would happen if the Red Hot Chilli Peppers made love to The Beastie Boys and produced preternaturally gift offspring…

I’d bet on them being something like Iglu & Hartly – as the ‘& Then Boom’ album hits the UK, spewing mind wreckingly catchy singles such as ‘In This City’ and ‘Violent and Young’ backed up by potential killer follow ups like ‘DayGlo' and 'Jump Out Of Your Car'...

Darkmatters rating: öööööööö (8 out of 10)

If '& Then Boom' was a woman - she'd be:


"Evan Rachel Wood!"


"yum..."

On a side note, you know you’re getting old when your sons are the ones getting you into new music!?

Meanwhile my wife is loving Ladyhawke which is pretty nice but doesn’t rock like I&H…

Check out the I&H vibe – here are the lyrics to ‘In This City’:

You came in to my life
You cannot separate yourself
You came in to my life
You cannot separate yourself

(Chorus)
And I found that round here
In this city
That I won’t disappear
In this city
I got nothing to fear
In this city,In this city

Close those doors
Close those doors now
Now, now, just keep em open
Keep em open
Yea, keep em open
I’ll keep on, keep keep on going
Taking it in so, so heavy
Take it easy son, this aint so deadly
Got keep on, gotta go on, gotta go on
Take it all with what we’ve done
Gotta push it push it push it
To the top of the building
Even when no one is feeling
It might bother you
Don’t let it
If these people just don’t get it
They can’t express it
They won’t accept it
She said its okay that they may never give you that credit.

(Chorus)
And I found that round here
In this city
That I won’t disappear
In this city
I got nothing to fear
In this city,
In this city

I’ve been down here
Down these roads
People pass through
Some stay some go
Standing here broke
Not a penny to my name
But she says she loves me all the same
I try my bestAnd you do to
And all you want is something you can move to
Everybody’s gotta get their kicks somewhere
Everybody gotta fit in somewhere
Theres, an open road
And I’m traveling down
Don’t know where to go
But I lock and load
Shoot that sky till the moon explode
Moon explode
Now we’re laying in a field
White flowers on our backs
Talking bout home
But we can’t go backI guess that’s why we left
So we could take a step
Keep moving and forget the rest.

You came in to my life
You cannot separate yourself
You came in to my life
You cannot separate yourself

(Chorus)
And I found that round hereIn this city
That I won’t disappear
In this city
I got nothing to fear
In this city,
In this city

Film Review - Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (12a)

Dir. Guillermo del Toro

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@cleric20)

Q: What’s big, red, comes from hell but might just be our only hope?
A: Hellboy…

Yes, the butt kicking demon next door who’s renounced his evil allegiance is back on the big screen. ‘Big red’ as he’s affectionately referred to is part of the weird but effective undercover U.S. Government Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence (these oddball creatures take on the cases that not even Moulder and Scully can deal with).

In this follow up to 2004’s Hellboy, Ron Perlman returns in his signature title role along with fishy empathy Abe Sapien (Doug ‘Pale Man in Pan’s Labyrinth’ Jones) and Liz Sherman (Selma Blair – who when I say is ‘hot’ I mean literally as she’s got the gift of pyrokinesis!). This time the team are up against Luke Goss (yes from defunct boy band Bros) who plays Prince Nuada, an elf noble who seeks to awaken an unstoppable mechanical golden army and wipe out us humans. His sister, Princess Nuala however is less keen on clockwork genocide and seeks assistance from Hellboy. The team though are in disarray though thanks to Hellboy’s somewhat less than covert media attracting antics and a new boss in the ectoplasmic German Johann Krauss (Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane) who wants everything done ‘by ze book’.

Director Guillermo del Toro (who made the excellent and equally weird Pan’s Labyrinth) brings the whole outlandish plot together with considerable style. Hellboy II manages to have real heart, top dollar action and a fabulous menagerie of seriously freaky creatures. It also has a plot that veers between soap opera (Hellboy is gonna be a dad), comedy (Hellboy and Abe singing a drunken "Can't Smile Without You" by Barry Manilow is just sublime) and tense jaw dropping big budget action scenes. Don’t come here looking for believability, you’ll just go home grumbling, this is strictly for those who like their fantasy films heavy on the ‘fantastic’.


"not sure about the make up..."

You’ll have to go a long way to find stranger or richer visuals, the working class superhero chic of Hellboy is a fantastic dose of escapism that ticks all the right boxes for a great night out.

On the strength of this, it looks like Tolkien fans can rest easy that ‘The Hobbit’ is in good hands as that is scheduled to be del Toro’s next film.

DARKMATTERS RATING SYSTEM (all ratings out of maximum 10 but '-' is bad whereas '+' is good):

Endorphin Stimulation: öööööööö (8)

+ Big Red is very watchable and personable for a demonic entity

Tasty Action: öööööööö (8)

+ Some good quality fisticuffs and smacking down...

Gratuitous Babeness: ööööö (5)

+ Anna Walton ia a cutie but looks a bit pasty here

Mind Blight / Boredom: ööööö (5)

+ Nothing too taxing unless you have low threshold for weirdness

Comedic Value: öööööööö (8)

+ Some great comedy stuff on offer here

Arbitrary final rating: öööööööö (8)

A worthwhile sequel that keeps the franchise alive!

DM Poster Quote:

“Red is the new black"