Entertainment

<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) (click to enlarge)   ADVERTISEMENT   "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" **1/2 Back to Hellboy: The grouchy red guy (Ron Perlman in latex) returns for a somewhat meandering story that director Guillermo del Toro kicks into gear in the final crazy third of the picture. It doesn't always make sense, but there are some great visions on display. With Selma Blair. Rated: PG-13 rating is for violence, language. Now showing: Alderwood Mall, Everett, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Mountlake, Stanwood, Metro, Oak Tree, Pacific Place, Woodinville, Cascade Mall, Oak Harbor   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, July 11, 2008 Superhero sequel 'Hellboy II' filled with crazy visuals By Robert Horton Herald Movie Critic The first "Hellboy" movie was exactly right as an under-the-radar superhero movie: It emphasized character over effects, it used humor in liberal doses without selling out its dramatic story line, and it burst into occasional visual splendor thanks to its imaginative director, Guillermo del Toro. After that 2005 film, del Toro scored an Oscar-winning success with "Pan's Labyrinth," and his sequel, "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," looks like the work of a filmmaker unleashed. This movie has even more fantastical creatures and wild designs. It's also got more story (del Toro kicked up the idea with "Hellboy" comic-book creator Mike Mignola). More, perhaps, than the director knows what to do with. We don't waste much time on exposition. But there is a flashback to Hellboy's youth, as he listens to a fairy tale read by his minder (John Hurt, doing cameo duty). Then it's back to the adult Hellboy, still reluctantly working as a government agent -- and played again by Ron Perlman, the actor whose interestingly sculpted face has never known fear of latex. In case you've forgotten, Hellboy is red, grouchy and almost indestructible. His horns have been sawed off to a manageable level, and his mighty right hand is potent enough to knock villains across the room. He's still pals with watery creature Abe Sapien (Doug Jones), and still romantic with firestarter Liz (Selma Blair). They must battle a prince (Luke Goss) who seeks to break a millennium-old pact between humans and the fairy folk. Perlman ruled the first "Hellboy," but here the new characters and the democratic inclusion of story lines for Abe and Liz leave him somewhat on the sidelines. And del Toro, whose narrative coherence hasn't always kept pace with his wonderful visions, goes on a variety of fishing expeditions in the first half of the picture -- some of them fun, some of them just kind of weird. The good stuff kicks in when the focus narrows in the final third. Maybe it's the drunken male bonding scene between Hellboy and Abe, or the inclusion of a certain Barry Manilow song on the soundtrack, but the movie takes flight and maintains its crazy energy through the end. Given the prominent placement of a dire prediction about Hellboy, del Toro must be planning a third installment. Squeezing it in around his assignment on "The Hobbit" might be difficult, but well worth anticipating.

1. Boeing, Machinists divided over 'survivor plan' 2. Snohomish County schools that aren't up to standard lose kids 3. Second Boeing strike looming? SPEEA gears up for negotiations -- updated 4. Richard Larsen, longtime public servant, dies at 73 5. Dog may have saved man in morning fire 6. First significant snow in North Cascades 7. Fairgoers catch toddler dropped from ride 8. Energy aid is going unclaimed despite need, PUD says 9. Turn that frown upside down 10. Will young woman from Mount Vernon become Paris Hilton's new BFF? 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• The activist wears Prada • Dale Turner YMCA grand opening makes a splash • Cedarcrest's running game, defense stop King's • Shorewood beats Glacier Peak in conference opener • Fernandez named Archbishop boys soccer coach • Team Peggy comes out in force at ALS walk • King's girls poised for threepeat in Pasco • A lifetime together in Lynnwood • The battle over Cascade's student paper • Paine Field airline service strongly supported by 71 percent of web surv ... • Verizon launches FiOS TV in Washington State • Leisure Time Events - September 2008 • September 2008 • State needs to establish north county campus to meet growing technology ... • Future software programs may be based online • Visit two unusual Paine Field aviation museums for historic and futurist ... • Mothers launch Kids ‘N’ Clay pottery studio to provide children with cre ...