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Reviews
The Sentinel (1996)
Don't judge a book by its cover.
One of the main reasons I loved this show so much was because of the great contrasts between the two main characters.
Also, as I watched the show I became more and more aware that each of the characters were not quite as they appeared to be. Both of them had very definite personality types but as the show went on it became more and more clear that each of them were anything but 2-dimensional. Where one seemed hard and militaristic, he showed underneath that he was vulnerable and - to a certain extent - incapable of dealing with the effects of changes in his life, without help. The other seemed a typical enthusiastic academic who did not exactly belong in the world of the tough cop, but it shows episode by episode that he has an inner strength, and flexibility that enables him to not only operate well within the environment of police work but also to help the tougher cop with his own problems. They fit together like a hand in a glove and I have rarely come across such a well-fleshed out and dynamic friendship in any other similar shows.
Hellboy (2004)
A little gem of a movie
Not into comic books a great deal, Batman having always been the exception, I wasn't sure what to expect of this movie. Been a fan of Ron Perlman's since Beauty and the Beast days so more or less certain his performance would be at least entertaining. I was very much surprised by how much I really enjoyed this movie. The mix of Gothic mystery, action, tragedy, out of left field characters and irresistible humour, caught me completely the first time I saw it. Bought the DVD as soon as it came out and just keep watching it again and again. It's got something of everything. The cinematography and special effects are quite gorgeous and although it's not as big budget as some others in the genre, I think I prefer that. Huge amounts of money tend to shout a little after awhile and can distract from the human story. Make no mistake; this is a very human story. Everyone was so well cast and Ron Perlman just *is* Hellboy. He's what I tend to think of as a true hero: not perfect but then it depends on what you mean by perfect. He may be red, have horns and a tail and have come from a hell dimension but he's so human. His totally ineffectual attempt to toe out of sight the half-finished love notes to Liz when she enters the room, is perfect and is a great example of who Hellboy is. My hat has to go off to the guys who had to perform in the prosthetics in freezing, wet conditions. There's an awful lot of heart, soul, blood, sweat and tears gone into this movie and although it's so seamless it doesn't show, you can still feel it. Even if you're not into comic books, you really might want to consider giving this movie the once over.
Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
Ridley's done it again.
It doesn't quite have the power of Gladiator but I still think that Ridley's done a bang up job on this movie. As usual he picks you up quite quickly and dumps you down unceremoniously amongst the very different conditions of the 12th century, with all the dust, smells and subliminal fear of that period. There are good and bad guys on both sides, as I've come to expect from Ridley's projects, and once again, the relationships are set up to be the most important focus of the movie. It was a nice surprise to come across some of the less well known actors of whom I've been a fan for awhile: Marton Csokas as the slimy bad guy, Guy De Lusignan, husband to Sibilla, and Alexander Siddig as Nasir, the the aide to Salahuddin al-Ayubi. Not to mention David Thewlis as Hospitaller and Jon Finch as Jerusalem. The performances are superb, again on course with it being a Ridley Scott movie. My main worry had been Orlando Bloom. Could he hack it? I was not immediately convinced at the start, but by the time his character, Balian has to step up to the plate to take on the responsibility, yes, by George, Orlando was right there. He's going to do well so long as he makes the right decisions. The story does play a little fast and loose with the facts as known but then so did Gladiator. It's definitely worth a look.