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| By G. Michael Dobbs, Managing Editor This week's DVD column features two fantasy films worth watching and one you should avoid. Hellboy Animated: Blood & Iron Comic book creator Mike Mignola's superb characters and situations translated well in a live action adaptation a few years ago and they also have done well in animation with this second production. If you've not heard about "Hellboy," the concept is very good: a professor who specializes in the paranormal is able to rescue and adopt a baby demon whom the Nazis were planning to use to win World War II. Instead of being a force for evil, Hellboy, as he is called, works for the United States government battling supernatural threats to us. In this production Hellboy and company wind up investigating a haunted house bought by a Trump-like developer and find out there is much more to it than just a publicity stunt. Hellboy is once again asked to live out his "true" role as a demon and his answer of "no" sets up a tremendous battle. What I like about these animated productions is the fact that Mignola is actively involved in them. They clearly have his fingerprints on them. The animation directors and designers have found a way to bring much of Mignola's artistic sensibilities to the look of the films as well. This is important, as Mignola is one of the great stylists of today's comic book artists. The vocal performances from the cast of the live action film Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, and John Hurt also add to these productions a great deal. The DVD features a lot of extras including an animated Hellboy short subject, several making of features and a mini-Hellboy comic. This is great stuff. For more information, log onto www.anchorbay entertainment.com. She My friend Frank Lapointe lent me a copy of this recently- released colorized version of the 1935 adventure/fantasy film and I was pretty excited about the prospects of viewing it. "She," for many years had been considered a "lost" film. There are literally thousands of movies most of the silent era that no longer exists. Negatives and prints were either trashed years ago or allowed to decompose. Generally the motion picture industry has done a pretty lousy job of preserving its own history. Sometimes these films do turn up in private collections or in foreign archives. Some have proven to be well worth watching while others might deserve to stay lost! "She" was a major film produced by Merian Cooper, the man who brought us the original "King Kong." The movie adapted a popular adventure novel by H. Rider Haggard about the queen of a hidden nation who can live forever thanks to a mysterious blue flame. The queen, known as "She Who Must Be Obeyed," is waiting for the return of her great love and he arrives in the form of a distant ancestor who is following up on a cryptic story passed down in his family. This is a lot of fun for those of us who enjoy movies from the 1930s. Helen Gahagan's performance as the queen is deliciously over the top and the film has a handsome epic look to it. And the color? I hate to say this, but I liked it. It was tastefully done by people who actually wanted their color choices to have reflected the time this film was made. The disc has extras including a feature of the colorization process and has an interview with special effect legend Ray Harryhausen, who endorsed this process. For more information, log onto www.legendfilms.com Pumpkinhead: Ashe to Ashes This will be the last Sci Fi Pictures release I will ever watch. I just don't have enough time left to endure yet another cheapjack piece of tripe from the cable channel. This one is the third "Pumpkinhead" movie. The first, directed by Academy Award winning make-up artist Stan Winston was a great little film about a grieving father who turns loose a demon of vengeance on the teenagers who accidentally killed his son. The father, played by the great Lance Henriksen, quickly regrets his decision and battles the monster himself in order to save others. The film had a deep emotional core, which made it a cut above the typical monster movie. It also had Winston's great make-up for the demon. This new film does have a cameo by Henriksen we all have to pay the rent but has none of the attributes of the first film. It's merely an excuse to present a series of gore sequences that get old and stupid very quickly. Director Jake West doesn't even have the skill to let us know when and where the action takes place. It's supposedly today in the deep, deep South, but who knows? And who cares? In the old days this film would have received third billing at the drive-in and shown at about 2 a.m. Yeech. If you must learn more, go to www.SonyPictures.com. |