The preview at once evokes del Toro's earlier work and classic children's literature, and conjured up memories of Legend, a Ridley Scott film from my youth. I have the highest of hopes for this film.

As is always the case with del Toro, even in this comic book romp, there are moral lessons to be considered and character studies that are worthy of classroom analysis. Hellboy himself is demon, raised from hell as an infant by Nazis who hoped to use him as a weapon against the allied forces during World War II. The Nazis failed, however, and the baby demon was adopted and raised by a benevolent scientist who believed that, if given the proper surroundings, Hellboy might become something more than a mere monster. He might, in fact, become good if given the chance. The movie's thesis sentence is "In the absence of light, darkness prevails," and in Hellboy we see a character struggling with his own nature. In classic comic book style, Hellboy takes some of the most essential, philosophically ponderous questions about life and serves them up like an amusement park ride.

Hellboy himself might be seen as a metaphor for all of us, capable of both tremendous good and startling evil. What better image for the human struggle against our own weaknesses than a demon who saws off his horns so he'll "blend in," and who carries a crucifix and a holy water with him at all times? Arguably, Hellboy is del Toro's most overtly Catholic film, with undertones of confession, confirmation and baptism… and with Christian imagery intrinsically built right into the movie's very environment.

Del Toro may have had no choice with regard to some of the stylistic elements of the film. I'm sure that the studio insisted on a number of facets that made the first movie a success, including a pop soundtrack and the visual form of the main character and his enemies. Nonetheless, del Toro's contributions to Blade II are distinct. The primary villains in the film aren't the vampires themselves, but the "reapers," a race of super vampires who feed on other vampires. The reapers are some of the most hideous movie monsters ever seen on the big screen. When they feed, their lower mandible opens like an insect, allowing them to get not just their victim's neck, but most of his or her head, into the reaper's mouth. It's pretty disgusting and makes for an easy queue to root against the reapers.

And, like in Hellboy, the primary character is another nonhuman struggling with his own nature. Blade is the "daywalker," a half-human/half-vampire creature who has sworn to protect humanity from the bloodsuckers. Like Hellboy, Blade was raised by a human protector who saw in him the potential for good. His vampire nature makes him a particularly good vampire hunter, since he's privy to their instincts, needs and desires. It also makes him vulnerable to the same weaknesses that a vampire has to deal with, including a need for blood and an aversion to assorted vampiric iconography. Blade deals with his bloodlust with a kind of antibiotic that he must inject daily.

Blade II excels as an action movie and as pure comic book escapism, but like Hellboy, there's more there to chew on if you want it.

Set in 1939 during the Spanish civil war, this film takes place almost entirely in an orphanage beset by a number of problems. There is little or no food for the children, and there are rumors that a considerable quantity of gold has been hidden from the government by rebel fighters on the grounds. As forces both outside and inside the orphanage conspire to find the gold, the grounds themselves seem to be stirred by painful memories of the recent and distant past. Ghosts appear, especially in the form of Santi, a young boy who's death at the orphanage was never solved. Meanwhile, an unexploded bomb sits ominously in the middle of the grounds, awaiting a hoped for removal that might never come. You can watch the trailer in various formats here.

Devil's Backbone weaves it's story with quiet subtlety, pulling you and catching you off guard emotionally. A brilliant performance by Federico Luppi as the orphanage doctor gives the movie an important gravitas that makes even it's most supernatural elements believable and compelling. The first time I watched the movie, as the events in the story unfolded, I found myself as emotionally invested in this story as in any I've ever seen. Devil's Backbone is a remarkable, unforgettable achievement.

Cronos is the story of an alchemist from the 17th century who created a device that gives it's user immortality… if he's willing to use it regularly, and if he's willing to consume human blood… and assuming that he actually likes the idea of his family dying off before him while he lives on forever. The movie presents immortality on Earth as a starkly, unimaginably dark concept, and it's clear that, within this story, anyone who'd seek it must be corrupt, deranged and dangerous. When the device accidentally falls into the hands of an antique store owner (once again, a great Federico Luppi), he unknowingly activates it and succumbs to its addictive qualities. Meanwhile, a selfish billionaire has dispatched his brute nephew (again, Ron Pearlman) to retrieve the device by any means necessary. Cronos is del Toro's crudest and most elementary film, but it's quite lucid in terms of morality. The film presents selfishness, violence and blind ambition as clearly evil and family, love, and the acceptance of death as good qualities to strive for. There are no "gray areas" in Cronos.