Hellboy (2004)

This a fun little romp about a Catholic demon enlisted by the United States to fight supernatural monsters. Nothin’ deep, but its pretty rad.

Hellish law:

1. The movie starts with the Germans and the Allies trying to use black magic to change to outcome of WWII. Sounds like a good law review article as to whether that violates the laws of international armed conflict. I mean is it sufficiently targetable? Would it limit suffering to combatants and civilians?

2. I love a good fake government agency: Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.

3. Administrative Law: The FBI wants to get through awall to get some monster eggs that can hatch into bad things pretty quick, but they want to stop and get the proper permit.

4. Customs: They have to get clearance to Hellboy into Moscow. Yes, you must declare demons.

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Ed Wood (1994)

Director: Tim Burton

This is a charming little film about Hollywod’s favorite cross dressing B movie director, Ed Wood. Wood, portrayed by Johnny Depp was a film director with a dream: too make movies. That’s exactly what he did too. The movies he made though were so atrocious that they’ve gone down in history as classics (we here at visual evidence certainly appreciate such film). Burton’s biographical film, shot in black and white, captures the manicness of the sets that Wood ran. It’s a definite A movie for B movie fans.

Cross dressin’ law:

1. At one point the crew must stop filming and hit the road because the police are spotted and they don’t have a permit.

2. Bela Lugosi’s unemployment gets cancelled by the government.

3. Bela also includes in his will that he be buried in his Dracula cape.

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Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Director: John Madden

I’ll give it flick this: it is clever. That said it is still a chick flick with all of those miserable moments associated. I think, though, that it should hold something of interest for Shakespeare people (and maybe even a few David Webster fans as well). The story follows Billy (Joseph Fiennes) as he works on his production of Romeo and Juliet. During this production Viola de Lesseps (a young noble woman, played by Gwyneth Paltrow) auditions for the part of Juliet while pretending to be a boy. In the mean time Shakespeare falls in love with the Viola the lady and all the mayhem that one could expect ensues.

This movie is riddled with references to Shakespeares entire canon and it can be rather enjoyable trying to pick all the references out. Unfortunately, the plot is fairly hackneyed and cliched when you get down to its bare bones. But look out for Judi Dench as Queen Elizabeth; oh, she is monstrous.

Law in love:

1. It is illegal for women to be in theatrical productions, thus leading Viola to declare, “Stage love will never be true love as long as the law of the land has” boys playing girls.

2. Theaters are closed and reopened by the Master of the Revels. If ever there was a great political position, this is it. If the office comes open, I’m running.

3. The Queen’s consent is required for Lord Wessex to take a wife. This displays the nonseparation of church and state during this time period (a legacy which still hangs on today in the realm of family law). Later, the Queen states that those joined together by God “even I can’t render assunder.”

4. When it is discovered that there is a girl in the play, the theater is closed. The Master of the Revels cites Sedition, Indecency, and Lewdness.

5. A license to have a company of actors must be obtained from the Queen.

6. When the Queen takes the stage she states that they’ll “all be put in the clink.” Interestingly enough the rebuilt Globe in London is just around the corner from Clink Street Prison.

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The King (2005)

Director: James Marsh

The last of my in flight films from those harrowing Delta flights, and what a way to go out. I think that the director of this film said to himself “Let me see if I can fill this movie full of stereotypes. Yes, yes, I can make it the stereotype menagerie. Muhahahaha.”

No really, this movie sucks, I thought I was going to get some good Elvis references, but instead I got an ex-navy sailor named Elvis. He hunts down his father (who has never seen him and has become an evangelical preacher) to say hello or something. Once he is faced with his father’s rejection he seduces his teenage half-sister, kills his half-brother, and makes the viewer miserable for close to an hour.

The law:

1. The preacher’s son (the legitimate one) is giving a speech and he holds up a dollar bill and says “this is the legal tender of the United States.” He also points out that it says “In God We Trust.”

2. The point of the boy’s speech is that he is trying to convince the school board to sanction the teaching of intellingent design instead of or along with evolution. He get’s denied by the school board.

3. There is an absolutely piss poor police investigation.

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