Hellboy 2 more imaginative than usual comic book cheese

On a Venn diagram of high-brow and low-brow entertainment, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army might sit comfortably in the small sliver of overlap in the middle. Sure it is comic book cheese of the highest order, but it is also directed with enough imagination and marvel to make an A.D.D. second-grader sit and stare by Guillermo del Toro, the Mexican director who brought us Pan’s Labyrinth and has taken Tolkien’s reigns for the upcoming films based on The Hobbit. Ron Pearlman reprises his role as the titular tough guy, and Selma Blair is back as Liz Sherman to help thwart the mythical world’s attempt to overtake the Earth. Rated PG-13. (Courtesy Universal Pictures)