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The trailer for Hellboy 2 packed an almighty red fisted punch, the film itself however doesn’t quite manage to follow through.

Director Guillermo del Toro is a visual filmmaker with two distinct styles. His mainstream cinema releases are big-budget action-packed hits like Blade 2 and the original Hellboy. In contrast we have a very deep and thought-provoking man who can construct dramatic masterpieces with an intense fantasy style such as Pan’s Labyrinth and The Devil’s Backbone. Both styles are very different and both work extremely well, but unfortunately the problem with Hellboy 2 is that both styles are thrown together and both are heavily compromised as a result.

You see, Hellboy 2 is neither glossy mainstream cinema nor dramatic fantasy; it is an uneasy mishmash of both, and  spends far too much time switching between the two to be able to find a balance. The action is underplayed in order to create more of a sense of the fantasy, but unfortunately the fantasy is also far too underplayed in favour of short and disappointing action sequences. The original Hellboy had such a strong narrative and was action-packed but this sequel fails to live up to that. It seems to have missed out on the golden rule of sequels and just not been able to better itself.

While X-Men was a great story-based film which familiarised us with the characters, the sequel X2 could just run with action from the outset yet still retain a great narrative. However, the story in Hellboy 2 just isn’t strong enough on its own to make a great film and it relies too heavily on spectacle and the visual flair of the director. This weak plot means that the viewer loses interest, and the subtleties in action and pace throughout the picture mean that we are made to expect a huge action sequence for the finale. However the last act doesn’t live up to these expectations and just fizzles out.

Having said all that, there is still plenty to enjoy from Hellboy 2. There is no denying that Guillermo del Toro is a genius when it comes to his film-making style. Correctly branded in the trailer, he really is a “visionary director” and throughout the whole film every frame has been carefully and lovingly crafted to look amazing. As with his previous work he really has gone to extremes to create a film that is stunning to watch. The characters, locations, creatures and visual effects are impressive and worth the price of admission on their own. When it comes to syle, this is an epic film. The characters are well cast, although the lack of John Hurt and Rupert Evans (as the adopted father and the new recruit) hurt the film somewhat, and they are sorely missed.

Luke Goss is amazing to watch once again after an equally impressive role in Del Toro’s earlier film Blade 2. Ron Perlman proves again that there couldn’t be a more perfect choice for Hellboy. He plays the role with delight and passion, although he doesn’t t seem to be quite as ‘cool’ as he was first time round – but maybe that’s down to the script. The chemistry between him and Liz, played again by Selma Blair, is priceless and works well in providing the film with a comedic element.

Another interesting relationship is between Abe Sapien and Princess Nuala and this also leads to some very funny moments, but also some much needed personal drama. The film contains a lot of comedy elements throughout, as did the original. Hellboy has a lot of comic one-liners, some of which are extremely funny. There is also good use of slapstick, especially with Hellboy and Abe Sapien arriving at a fight drunk. The character of Johann Krauss, voiced fantastically by Seth MacFarlane, with his unpredictable German accent is also a source of great amusement. The comedy in the film works extremely well and helps it to maintain its slow pace.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army is an interesting film, but disappointingly nowhere near as good as its predecessor. It is, nonetheless, still a lot of fun with plenty to enjoy. No doubt we will have to wait a few years for the return of Hellboy as Del Toro is now going to be dedicating a lot of his life to The Hobbit films, but we won’t see them until at least 2011, so enjoy this piece of Del Toro action while you can.       Russell Gomm

The Edinburgh Fringe has always been a place where groups of comedians have made comedy alliances over heroic quantities of alcohol and shared comedic tastes. Over the years this has produced a veritable smorgasbord of shows which have come to define the Fringe – from Phil Nichol’s various offerings through the Comedian’s Theatre Company, to Kitson, Zaltzman, Cochrane and O’Docherty’s inspired japery at the Honourable Men of Art.

One of the newer comedy collectives consists of core members Mark Watson, Alex Horne and Tim Key. The three friends have been working together on projects since 2001 and last year premiered the Fringe’s first interactive quiz show – We Need Answers. The Void met up with the trio to chat about how they were enjoying Fringe 2008 and how the late-night game show came about.

Mark Watson

We Need Answers pitches comedians into a quiz battle like no other. Each night there is a head-to-head where only the brainiest will march onto the next round. The winner (last year Paul Sinha beat Josie Long in a tense battle) is crowned quiz champion of the Fringe. This year’s entrants include Fringe legends like Rich Hall, Richard Herring and Dan Antopolski.

Alex explains how the show came about: “My wife met a guy from AQA63336 [a text service which promises to answer any question for a quid] a couple of years ago who said he would like to work with us on something and Mark said he would like to do it. We all genuinely use AQA63336 all the time – it’s really funny – so we said we would be interested in doing something with them.

Alex Horne

“Basically they supply us with all the questions which are sent in by people at the Fringe and we pick the best ones. For example, last year we had a question which was ‘how do you make an egg bouncy’. The answer is to soak it in vinegar for 48 hours.”

While the trio clearly work well together they are not afraid of letting comedians out of their circle of friends onto the show. Mark says: “We felt we should have an enjoyable mix of styles or there would be a danger of the whole thing becoming one big in-joke.” Tim adds: “It also adds an element of danger. When Brendon Burns arrived on the scene last year it got pretty interesting because we’re all basically quite scared of him.

“During one of Mark’s long shows me and Burnsy just screamed at him constantly and I ended up pretty much having a physical stand-off with him. This year we have Jim Jeffries appearing so we’ve just substituted one sociopathic Aussie for another.”

The show consists of various rounds with Mark hosting, Tim the question-master and Alex dealing with the technical side of things. It tends to end up being a fantastically chaotic hour and is the perfect late-night gig in that you never really know what direction it will take next.

Meanwhile, the three amigos are all continuing their day jobs with their own shows at the Fringe. Mark is playing the Pleasance Grand for the first time this year – one of the largest venues at the Fringe. Alex is performing a full run of his new show, Wordwatching, a follow-up, of sorts, to last year’s Birdwatching. Finally, Tim is taking it relatively easy this year performing a week-long run of comic play Freeze! which he co-wrote and stars in with Tom Basden.

Tim Key

So what is it about Edinburgh that keeps them coming back year after year? Mark explains: “It is only in Edinburgh that you can get this type of audience and it is the best place to get a large audience. I keep on thinking ‘next year I’ll stay at home’ but I’ve been here every year since 2000.

“I’m enjoying playing the Pleasance Grand this year. For the first couple of nights I was finding it hard to adjust to the size of the venue but since then it’s gone well.”

Alex chips in: “I started working on Wordwatching three years ago in 2005 and I am already working on a show for 2010 about golf. Next year I think I might have a year off though. I always plan well ahead with my shows because they tend to take a lot of work.”

Despite the talk of staying away, no doubt partly due to the torrid weather suffered by Edinburgh this August, hopefully all three will be back next year for We Need Answers 2009. The quiz show is fast becoming a Fringe tradition and has already spawning copycats such as Comedy Countdown.
As Tim puts it: “It really is an exceptionally drunken show and the most unpretentious show on the Fringe. I really like the questions we get to ask and it’s a really good chance to see Mark drunk on stage.”

David Hepburn

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We Need Answers is on at the Pleasance Theatre at 00.15 until August 17, 2008 To get an idea as to how the whole thing works, check out the clip below:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoWHboPMQsU]

According to this movie, the best way to deal with a spoilt American brat princess is to pack her off to an all-girls British boarding school where she can play hockey and ponder on the error of her ways.

Of course, before the movie is even into its second reel you know for sure that the wild child of the title – Malibu minx Poppy (Emma Roberts) – is going to run rings around the English establishment and come out on top, and so it proves to be in this far too predictable film. Everything here, from the girls’ clothes, to their catchphrases, is pitched directly at tweenies who will probably squeal, giggle and snigger their way through its hour-and-a-half-running time.

As Poppy tries everything to get expelled from the exclusive school we see her rivalry with snobby head girl Harriet (Georgia King), her gradual acceptance by nice girl Kate (Kimberly Nixon) and her dorm-mates (Juno Temple, Sophie Wu and Linzey Cocker), and her growing crush on head mistress’s son Freddie (Alex Pettyfer) but absolutely nothing about the movie stands out. It’s not funny, clever or in any way innovative and certainly lacks the wanton anarchy and energy of the early St Trinian’s films. However, pre-pubescent girlies will claim this film as their own – or at least until the next instalment of High School Musical hits the big screen. Everyone else should avoid it.      Dee Pilgrim

Setting just the right tone with a period movie can be tricky; underplay your hand too much and the piece seems muted and slightly lifeless; overplay anything by even the slimmest of margins and it comes over as am-dram and false. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happens here with a film that would like to be the next Mrs Henderson Presents, but is more like provincial theatre.

This book adaptation follows the fortunes of spinster nanny Miss Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand), who in 1939 finds herself without a position and penniless. But Miss P is nothing if not resourceful and she manages to blag her way into becoming the personal secretary for up-and-coming stage starlet Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams). Having dealt with plenty of spoilt brats in her time, dealing with glamourpuss Delysia should be a doddle for Miss P, but even she baulks at her new mistress’s complicated lovelife including no less than three suitors (a nightclub owner, an actor, and a piano player). Then there’s the whirlwind of social events she simply must attend and suddenly, after twenty years in the nursery, Miss Pettigrew finds herself really living life to the full. But will her new existence allow her to have a love interest of her own, in the shape of fashion designer Joe (Ciaran Hinds) who just happens to be engaged to harpy socialite Edythe (Shirley Henderson)?