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Review – Hellboy Animated: Blood & Iron

19th July 2021

SUMMARY The Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defence are brought into a publicity stunt of a case for a supposedly haunted mansion in Long Island, owned by a big shot entrepreneur with ties to the BPRD’s budget. Upon arrival, the parlour tricks turn to paranormal warnings. Ghosts and ghouls haunt this house but as victims of a far greater horror, an Eastern European blood countess known as Erzsebet Ondrushko. ART Just to get the negative out of the way, the animation can be choppy at times, especially during action sequences. It doesn’t ruin the flow of the film but it is noticeable unfortunately. Okay now to the endless praise, when not in full motion, the animation and artistry is gorgeous. Whoever said you can’t replicate a beloved comic book art style in an animated adaptation needs to watch this. The film is dripping with Mignola’s grim and gothic atmosphere and art style with very few additions that do indeed add to the style. As an animated film, the sky is the limit with what you can bring to life visually. Where this film really shines is in it’s visual restraint. Scenes of pure horror are left to the imagination with an orchestra made up of horrifying sections; instead of strings we have the sounds tearing flesh, percussion is replaced with the sounds of crunching bones and it’s all accompanied by a choir of echoing screams. The only horror we see is on the faces of those who narrowly escaped a nightmare. WRITING There’s a satisfying full circle to this film wherein Mignola adapted Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula into a graphic novel in his own image. Now Mignola gets to make his own classic Stokeresque vampire story with Blood & Iron into a film. The psychological and emotional horror of Stoker’s Dracula mixed with the dark and witty action of Hellboy blends seamlessly as a story. The Del Toro adaptation gang is all here; Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones and the late John Hurt all reprising their roles and gifting the film with their synonymous voice talents. Not to mention the additional stellar voicecast of Jim Cummings, Rob Paulsen, Peri Gilpin and James Arnold Taylor. Stand out performances are given by Kath Soucie as Erzsebet Ondrushko and Cree Summer as Hecate, Goddess of Magic & Witchcraft. OVERALL In conclusion, Hellboy Animated: Blood & Iron is a gripping animated feature length film with a full package of humour, action, horror and emotional weight with an all star voice cast and uncanny art style replication. Why this particular piece of Hellboy media didn’t spawn a long running animated TV Show is beyond me, a true missed opportunity to provide something dark, action-packed and educational! [yasr_multiset setid=4] [yasr_visitor_multiset setid=4] Let us know your thoughts on Hellboy Animated: Blood & Iron and be sure to check out our reviews for Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms & Hellboy & The BPRD! Buy tickets for BGCP Comic Con in and around Glasgow Scotland – BUY TICKETS Check out all of our Comic, Movie, Television and Videogame Reviews HERE and our Podcasts/Interviews HERE If you want to be part of the BGCP community, Join us on Discord, Twitter, Instagram etc then click HERE

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Review – Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms

18th July 2021

Review – Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms SUMMARY Hellboy takes a tour of Japan unlike any other when the deities of Thunder and Lightning possess a renowned professor of Japanese fables. With his red right hand and the sword of storms in his left, Hellboy looks to right the wrongs of an ancient mythological tale of romance, betrayal and horror, cutting down all the folklore in his way. Don’t trust the umbrella! ART With it’s roots in Japanese mythology, there’s more than enough synergy and variety between the primary animation style and traditional Japanese kaiga artwork throughout the film. Making for a magnificent balancing act between beautiful scenery that’s eerie and terrifying characters which are elegant. Speaking of variety, there are so many different characters and creatures spread across this story and they’re all likeable, even the ones that are truly horrifying to look at; like if Scooby Doo merged with Little Nightmares. WRITING Playing out more like the labours of Hercules in a Japanese setting, this animated film stands out with it’s deep and creepy Japanese history, fables and folklore such as Raijin and Fujin; the Gods of Thunder and Lightning, disembodied flying heads known as Nukeubi and the Spider Woman, Jorōgumo. All of which are given time to be bad ass and haunting in their own ways. See? Education CAN be fun! While not the main genre of the film, it deserves to be noted that this film is hilarious. Every little quip, joke, dig and comic relief lands perfectly, very seldom does it disrupt the flow of the overall serious tone and instead adds character and an air of pleasant fantasy amongst the horror and drama. OVERALL In conclusion, Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms is a fantastical animated film crawling with ambience and action. The beloved cast and crew do an incredible job to make this an impassioned love letter to Japanese folklore and Mike Mignola. My only complaint is that there aren’t more of these films or at least a TV Show! [yasr_multiset setid=4] [yasr_visitor_multiset setid=4] Let us know in the comments your thoughts on Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms, your favourite animated adaptation of a comic and be sure to check out our review for Hellboy & The BPRD! Buy tickets for BGCP Comic Con in and around Glasgow Scotland – BUY TICKETS Check out all of our Comic, Movie, Television and Videogame Reviews HERE and our Podcasts/Interviews HERE If you want to be part of the BGCP community, Join us on Discord, Twitter, Instagram etc then click HERE

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Review – Sons Of Anarchy

12th May 2021

Review – Sons Of Anarchy Directed by: Kurt Sutter & Peter Weller Written by: Kurt Sutter Produced by: Kurt Sutter & Craig Yahata Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman & Katey Sagal Release Date: 2008 – 2014 When this show initially premiered, I dismissed it entirely. I ignorantly assumed that it was just some manly, cheesy rubbish that wasn’t worth my time. How very small minded of me that was in hindsight. It was only a year after the show has already finished that I went back to it after being recommended it by a friend. For the first few episodes, it seemed as though I was right in my preconceived assumptions, as the first few episodes are just a bunch of leather clad manly bikers shooting up rival gangs and blowing stuff up, but stick with this show for just a bit longer and you will see just how deep this rabbit hole really goes. The writing here is phenomenal, the show was created and written by Kurt Sutter, who also plays Otto in the show. I have always been a fan of Sutter, but SOA is definitely his magnum opus as a writer in my opinion. The show follows a gang of bikers called SAMCRO, (the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original,) loosely based on the real life biker gang, The Hell’s Angels, (a few of which’s members actually have cameo roles in the show.) Our protagonist is a young man named Jackson Teller, he is the son of John Teller, who was the original founder of the biker gang. Soon after Jax was born, his father was killed in a traffic collision, although it is suspected that there is more to his death than that. Since then his mother Gemma has remarried to the current President of the gang; John Teller’s best friend, Clay Morrow who also co-founded the club along with JT. When the show begins Jax is Clay’s Vice President or VP however, when Clay begins to lead the club on what Jax sees as a more violent, destructive path, he opposes him and he seeks a way to maintain the club. Jax believes that the club can be ran without having to kill anyone or take part in any shady business dealings. Clay sees Jax as an idealist and tells him so, but Jax is persistent in his ideals, as he believes that this is the way that his Father would have wanted the club to be ran. This dynamic sets up one of the most interesting relationships ever committed to television, covering everything from legacy and love to bitter betrayal and everything else in-between. It also allows Perlman and Hunnam to really flex their acting chops, with Perlman in particular really getting to chew some scenery. My favourite aspect of the show other than the tense relationship between Jax and Clay is the supporting cast, who really add a great deal to the overarching plot and each have their own respective back stories. Maggie Siff puts in a fantastic performance as Tara, Jax’s ex girlfriend, whom he falls back in love with over the course of the first season. Katey Sagal nails her role as the emotinally damaged Gemma, who is Jax’s mother and the matriarch of the club. Kim Coates stands out as one of my favourite performances as Tig, initially being little more than Clay’s trigger-man, until we see his softer side as the show goes on. Ryan Hurst is stellar as Opie, Jax’s best friend from a young age who initially wants to leave the biker life behind, but after certain events in the first season of the show unfold, circumstances force him to stay by Jax’s side. There is also Tommy Flanagan’s Chibs, the Scotsman who doesn’t mess about when it comes to dealing with a problem. Real life ex Hell’s Angel member David Labrava is brilliant as Happy, an emotional psychopath who brings a lot of heart to the show. Theo Rossi brings a great conflict to Juice, a young Latino man who struggles with his personal demons throughout the show. Finally, there is Mark Boone Jr as Bobby Elvis, another older member of the group who may be a big softie on the cover, but can also handle himself adequately if anyone tries to cross him. From after the first season to the last, the plot twists and turns in unpredictable ways as we witness several double crosses and multiple agendas come into play. One of my favourite things about this show is that even though Jax is clearly the protagonist, he isn’t always the good guy and he makes some questionable decisions when he is put under pressure. Hunnam really manages to bring multiple layers to the lead role. Overall, upon revisiting Sons Of Anarchy for review, it definitely is worth your time and I would definitely recommend this show to anyone who is interested in a good crime saga. [yasr_multiset setid=2] [yasr_visitor_multiset setid=2] If you enjoyed Dan’s review of Sons Of Anarchy, check out what he thought of Mayans MC here. Buy tickets for BGCP Comic Con in and around Glasgow Scotland – BUY TICKETS Check out all of our Comic, Movie, Television and Videogame Reviews HERE and our Podcasts/Interviews HERE If you want to be part of the BGCP community, Join us on Discord, Twitter, Instagram etc then click HERE www.bigglasgowcomicpage.com

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