On this day, 19 April 2004, Jewish baseball player, son of Syrian immigrants, oil worker and communist Sam Nahem died in Berkeley aged 88. He began his professional baseball career in 1938, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, then later the St Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies, with a gap due to volunteering for military service in Europe during World War II, and was a prominent supporter of racial integration in the sport. Subsequently he was frequently blacklisted from jobs during the McCarthyist years, so he moved to California. He resigned from the Communist Party following the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956. There he became a rank-and-file worker leader, helping to organise a historic strike at Chevron Chemical and remaining active at the company for 25 years until his retirement. http://bit.ly/2Dm3aIY
Hellboy 2019
I just got back from seeing the new Hellboy movie and WOW!
I loved it! I don’t know why so many critics are trashing it right now. It has a ridiculously low score on Rotten Tomatoes and I have no idea why.
Maybe its because I am a Hellboy fan, a fan of director Neil Marshall and a horro fan in general. If you go into this expecting Marvel stuff, you will be disappointed. If you go in as someone who reads Hellboy comics, loves monsters, blood, gore, and loves your humor dark as night, you will not be disappointed.
I know that some people were put off that Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman were not involved, but David Harbour did a magnificent job taking over from Perlman. He brought the humor and pathos to the character that is in the comics. It also got more into the nature of his internal conflict. He always tries to do what’s right. It does not matter if he considers himself human or not. He steals the show.
Neil Marshall directed “Dog Soldiers” which is one of my all time favorite films. I think is probably his best films since “Dog Soldiers”. That is not to say his other films (Centurion, The Decent, Doomsday) were bad, I just didn’t like them as much. He is in excellent form. The film has strong visuals, an absolutely relentless pace, and great action.
And for fans, there is a ton of fun stuff. The only things I didn’t like was how the character of Rasputin was glossed over. Being that he is such a huge part of the Hellboy Mythology. And the ectoplasmic specters that Alice spits up. I just thought they looked too odd. But, you do get the supporting characters of Alice and Ben, an appearance by Russian Mythology figure and long time Hellboy villain the Baba Yaga with her chicken leg house. Baba Yaga is creepy as hell! Stay after the credits for a scene with her addressing another Hellboy villain for a set up for a sequel. I won’t spoil it for you.
I was a bit disappointed that Liz and Abe were not in it. But, here is one spoiler: Abe has a cameo at the end.
I know that a lot of people wanted to see Del Toro’s third Hellboy film, but just give this one a chance. I hope the film does good enough world wide to get a sequel. It deserves one and it does not deserve all the bile the critics are spewing at it.
TODAY IN HISTORY: On April 12, 1961, the Soviet Union took an early lead in the Space Race as cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to voyage into outer space.
This blog is mostly so I can vent my feelings and share my interests. Other than that, I am nothing special.
If you don't like Left Wing political thought and philosophy, all things related to horror, the supernatural, the grotesque, guns or the strange, then get the fuck out. I just warned you.
