Welcome to mcdowellnews.com. Skip directly to: our Keyword Search, Section Navigation, Content.

mcdowellnews.com - The McDowell News

HomeNewsEntertainmentSportsLifestylesOpinionCommunityWeather Online Tools Jobs | Real Estate | Shopping | Classified

Hellboy returns to save the world once more

photo courtesy of Universal Home Video

Abe (Doug Jones), Hellboy (Ron Perlman), and Liz (Selma Blair) show up for duty in Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

-- relish staff and wire report

Published: November 13, 2008

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (PG-13): Ron Perlman returns to the part he was born to play, as a gruff, cigar-chomping demon working for the forces of good. Like the first film, this one was directed by Guillermo del Toro and based on a cult comic book by Mike Mignola. The film follows Hellboy and other members of a secret government agency that protects humankind from things that go bump in the night -- in this case, a ruthless, centuries-old elfin prince determined to end the truce between the human world and the mystic world. Selma Blair is back as Liz, Hellboy's feisty but patient girlfriend.

The film is wildly imaginative, with exotic creatures -- both good and bad -- and a droll sense of humor. Most important, it has likeable characters who don't get lost in the mix. The three-disc DVD and Blu-ray editions are packed with extra material, including deleted scenes, a two-hour documentary, seven shorter mini-documentaries, and more.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (PG-13): The latest visit to George Lucas's galaxy far, far away is less than inspiring. The computer-animated Clone Wars, created for TV but shown in theaters, lacks the spark of even the lamer of the live-action Star Wars movies. Still, there are some fun action sequences and familiar characters. It's available on a single DVD with few bonuses, or in a double-disc DVD or Blu-ray edition.

This Christmas and The Perfect Holiday (PG): A couple of holiday stories from last year arrive on DVD. This Christmas features an ensemble cast led by Delroy Lindo, Loretta Devine, Regina King, Idris Elba and Mekhi Phifer in a story of a far-flung family reuniting for its first holiday together in years. The Perfect Holiday stars Morris Chestnut and Gabrielle Union in a romantic comedy about a department-store Santa and a single mom whose daughter is hunting for a stepfather.

Walt Disney Treasures (Unrated): Three new releases come to this long-running series of DVDs, which include TV and theatrical Disney classics. Each is a two-disc set packaged in a metal tin. Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh is a much-requested 1963 serial from Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. It features Patrick McGoohan (Secret Agent, The Prisoner) as a masked vigilante in 18th-century England. The two-disc set has the series both in its original three-part form and edited together for a theatrical film. The Mickey Mouse Club Presents Annette has episodes of the popular children's series that focus on breakout star Annette Funicello. The Chronological Donald: Volume Four has 31 shorts featuring the short-tempered Donald Duck. Extras on it include storyboards for a cartoon that was never produced.

The Paramount Centennial Collection (Unrated): A new series of classic films kicks off with three releases, each sold separately. First up is Sunset Boulevard, the 1950 film with Gloria Swanson as a past-her-prime film star desperately clinging to what's left of her former fame. Then there's the 1953 romantic comedy Roman Holiday, with Audrey Hepburn as a princess desperate to get away from her fame for a little while, and Gregory Peck as a reporter who falls for her. Hepburn also stars in the 1954 film Sabrina, this time alongside Humphrey Bogart and William Holden. Each two-disc set includes plentiful behind-the-scenes extras.

Beer For My Horses (PG-13): Toby Keith and Rodney Carrington star in this playful action film, with a supporting cast including Ted Nugent and Willie Nelson.

The Lone Ranger 75th Anniversary (Unrated): This 13-disc boxed set features the first two seasons of the Lone Ranger's long-running TV series, plus extras including such oddities as an episode of Lassie with a guest appearance by the Lone Ranger (yes, these two pop-culture icons met). There's also a fun 88-page companion booklet about the history of the series.

Wagon Train: The Complete Color Season (Unrated): This 16-disc boxed set has all the episodes of this show's seventh season, which was the only one shot in color. The series ran from 1957 to 1965, following a cross-country wagon train headed to California. Gene Roddenberry used this show as a way to convince NBC executives to buy Star Trek, promising them a "Wagon Train to the stars."

The Boys in the Band (R): This 1970 film version of the stage play, directed by William Friedkin, was one of the first mainstream films to deal extensively with gay issues. It follows a group of friends gathering for a birthday party.

Love Songs (Unrated): This playful, poignant French musical (with English subtitles) follows various romantic entanglements among young, pretty Parisians.

Blood Wars (R): Horror film veteran Tony Todd stars in this film about the war between vampires and a secret society of vampire hunters.

Opium: Diary of a Madwoman (Unrated): This Hungarian film follows a turbulent relationship between a morphine-addicted doctor in 1913 and one of his patients.

I Dream of Jeannie: The Complete Series (Unrated): All five seasons of this 1965-1970 classic are packaged together in a fun boxed set with a package designed in the shape of Jeannie's bottle. Barbara Eden stars as the spritely genie, with Larry Hagman as her long-suffering "master," who -- despite the title -- never had any control over her actions. The set also includes collector's cards with trivia and episode summaries.

Night Gallery: Season Two (Unrated): This flawed but often entertaining anthology, with host Rod Serling, told stories of the supernatural, including works by (or inspired by) such horror luminaries as H.P. Lovecraft. Two episodes are missing because prints of them could not be found. Hellboy II director Guillermo Del Toro, an avid fan, provides some commentaries.

Son of the Beach Volume Two (Unrated): Timothy Stack stars as Notch Johnson, lifeguard extraordinaire, in this raunchy spoof of Baywatch. The first volume was released in April 2003 by Fox. Shout Factory picks up the ball with the second volume, which features the remaining episodes of the show.

Scrubs: The Complete Seventh Season (Unrated): Last year's seventh season should have been the final season of the playful sitcom about an imaginative young doctor and his circle of friends and hospital coworkers. But because of the writers' strike, the season got cut short and will resume later this year.