WΔZ aka The Killing Gene (2006)

WΔZ (W Delta Z) is a gritty, low budget police drama that kept me guessing until the end - pretty hard thing to do nowadays. Stellan Skarsgård, Selma Blair and Melissa George are excellent although the film is lit so darkly it's often hard to see. Grim and horrific scenes add to the melee but this is not a horror movie - or maybe I should write this is thinking man's horror.

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...Hellboy (2004)

Hellboy, based on the comic book of the same name, would be a good movie if it weren't for the rail-thin premise on which director Guillermo del Toro hangs the good acting and great special effects. At times the story bears on the ridiculous and the much-touted humor - espoused in a vacuum by Ron Perlman (as the titular freak) - is predictable and none too funny. I was more tuned in by the end when the story was more about good and evil (with a little love) but I could never get away from the inane Nazi theme.