Entrecard site has been taken down due to emergency problems with advertising not being published.  I wonder if the team attempted to roll out new code, or if something destabilized as a result of the Entrecard site getting more and more traffic over the months.  The last time I checked there were over 10,000 blogs listed on Entrecard and that number keeps growing steadily.

Meanwhile I hate when Entrecard takes extended outages as it usually means a 20% visitor drop in my site if the outage affects most of the day.  I am still too reliant on entrecard for visits to my site, but it is a quick easy way to get initial visitors to see your site and share what you write.

-Dragon Blogger

In trying to branch out my Poetry Blog more, I decided to post a new original poem here on DragonBlogger, and encourage my readers to visit my Wanderer Thoughts Poetry Blog, if you enjoy my poems then vote for me for Best Poetry Blog on BlogNetAwards.

Cuddle Against The Cold

A chilling wind whips past our faces
Noses frozen and lips drying out
I wrap my embrace around you
With the warmth of an electric blanket

Our eyes meet and our lips part
No icy stare between these faces
Our gazes warm the soul
This is the look of love

So we continue to walk and our fight
Against the cold and dark frigid night
Only to reach the door to our dwelling
Where I can feel our love still swelling

We get inside and the door slams shut
We cuddle against the cold bodies heaving
Clothes unravel and pile on the floor
As to what happens next I can tell you no more

-Poem by Dragon Blogger

I want to start off by saying this is one of the more original movies I have seen in years and it doesn’t feel like your typical superhero movie while you are watching it.  This can be good for people looking for a change, but bad for people looking for that typical good vs evil superhero action flick.  Much of this film is spent about self reflection and learning who John Hancock is and how he came to be, as well as why he is the way he is and learning deeper behind what he wants to be.

That being said this film as an amazing piece that appealed to me but left me with more questions than answers and I feel it should have had a little more explanation behind what Hancock is.  I went into this movie only seeing previews and reading some reviews, but no spoilers.  So the movie had a big shock in store for me, I won’t spoil it here in case readers haven’t seen the movie yet, but I was completely taken aback by the twist in story.

It is hard for me to talk about too much without revealing and spoiling, but I will say this.  Hancock starts off as a cocky, drunk, uncaring person of supernatural powers who just does things his way because he feels like it.  He has some sense of good as he does try to help people, but his methods are careless and he causes more harm in trying to do good.  This is similar to the way The Incredibles played it in that they caused damages, lawsuits, liabilities…etc.  In Hancock however it is done with drama and not with comedy as a main point, in fact the movie has a few funny scenes but is really a dramatic movie and the previews would have you think it is a lighter film, but is actually much heavier in emotions.

What I like most about the film is that it isn’t about another super bigger stronger villain who is against the hero, as is the case with Iron Man vs Iron Monger, Hulk vs. Bigger Mutated Hulk Like Monster…etc.  The villains in this film are all normal people without any powers.  In fact there is nobody else who has special powers in the film who is a villain at all.

No technology to hurt or penetrate the hero, the hero is invulnerable on his own, but does have a weakness that is exploited by some villains in the movie.  I can’t reveal what it is without spoiling, but it is both shocking, surprising and unfortunately not explained very well by the end of the film.  You are still left wondering how and why this occurs, and how and why Hancock is the way he is from the start and how he came to be.

That being said it was a very good film, and I particularly liked when Hancock was convinced to voluntarily stay in prison to build up his public image and how he eventually started to gain self respect and dignity and grew as a human being from his incarceration.  Will Smith did an excellent job with the character as I would expect no less from him, Justin Bateman did a great job as a PR Image person who is down on his luck and needed a big break.  Charlize Theron I thought was a bit broody and had a strange behavior portrayed in the beginning of the film, but it all made sense and in retrospect I think she played her character well.

I would give this movie 3.5 out of 5 stars, though I would still put Hellboy 2 and Iron Man as better films for 2008 in the superhero genre, this film as a dramatic film is still very good.  I actually found similarites between this film and the Nicholas Cage film “City of Angels” from quite a few years abck.

-Dragon Blogger

First off I have to tell you I am a big fan of Ron Perlman and his portrayal of Hellboy from the first film, and a huge fan of Guillermo del Toro the director.  I loved Pan’s Labyrinth and this movies creatures and set designs remind me of his previous film in many ways.

This movie has it all and starts off fantastic with a flashback to Hellboy’s early childhood years where his father reads him a story about the war between elves, goblins and humans and how the elves had used a golden army of seventy times seventy indestructible mechanical soldiers to beat the humans back.  The elven king regretted the bloodshed and forged a pact of peace and vowed never to use the golden army again.  I have always loved the human aspect of Hellboy, he is a lover of cats, beer and has a complex where he desperately wants everyone to like him and he also likes to show off.

This humanizing aspect is what makes his character so great and the movie itself so great, and Hellboys character in many ways reminds me of Mel Gibsons character in the Lethal Weapon movies.  Brash, cocky and full of his own personality and insecurities that you really get into the character and feel for him.

I have to say I think Luke Goss did a fantastic job as prince Nuada, and portrays the emotion and conviction of a being who has felt wronged for centuries, I wasn’t necessarily for saving the humans in this film.  I thought they did a good job showing how Hellboy kept seeking approval from humans but even after saving a baby and trying to help people derided and feared him which hurts his feelings.

I also liked the new boss of the Paranormal research Johan Krauss at first he seems cocky and uncaring, but you learn a lot behind his story and how he feel’s.  His ectoplasmic form are are a really cool feature and he is of particular benefit in some of the final scenes in the movie.

Selma Blair had a much larger part in the second film and had more scenes and was more vocal, I did enjoy her finally showing her feelings for Hellboy and her reasons for brooding and being moody were explained in the film but my favorite part of her scene was when she was saving Hellboy’s life and pleaded with Death.

Speaking of that scene, the way Death was portrayed in the film was magnificent.  The makeup, artistry and disturbingly eerie appearance and personality was addicting to watch.  I literally hung on every word studied every facial feature and was very impressed.

Action packed almost from beginning to end the movie has a few scenes in between that really show the heart of the movie, most notably when Hellboy convinces Abe to have a few beer’s and talk about love and romance, and the two of them are singing together.  As mentioned the fact that Hellboy is human inside just with a different appearance and abilities is what makes this film so engaging.

In Summary I loved the film even more than the first one and am hoping that there will be a third in the future.

-Dragon Blogger