the buzz log

The Buzz Multiplex takes its summer destinations seriously this week, as Eddie Murphy visits Earth, Brendan Fraser goes to the center of it, and Ron Perlman as Hellboy goes straight to, well, New York.

1. "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" (PG-13). Expect big box office from this sequel, now hovering in the top 1,000 searches, with its plot as light as cotton candy but special effects as heavy as a double-chocolate fudge brownie. The demonic-family movie of the week answers the questions that the first "Hellboy"...wait, there were no unanswered questions in the first "Hellboy." That means no distractions from enjoying the makeup jobs and fancy CGI effects that harken back to those prequel "Star Wars" days. With "Pan's Labyrinth" director Guillermo del Toro behind the camera, interest is understandably keen on "hellboy art," as is the usual curiosity about reviews and cast.

Speaking of cast—no, titular star Ron Perlman, aka "who is hellboy" in Search questions, is NOT Revlon billionaire Ronald Perlman (aka the ex-Mr. Ellen Barkin). So you can stop searching for "ron perlman divorce." The many fans of Selma Blair shouldn't hold too many expectations for her onscreen contributions this time around, but villain Luke Goss' fancy spear work deserves the rising spike in interest.

2. "Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D" (PG). Searches are only half that of "Hellboy," probably because most of the interested parties are preteens, people of parental age, or those with a Jules Verne fetish. Could it be that fans are saving their Brendan Fraser moment for "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," currently fetching almost triple the online lookups, even though that adventure doesn't open until August 1? Still, the IMAX lines should be steady this weekend, thronged with those who prefer Earth's chewy center to Hell's blistering heat.

3. "Meet Dave" (PG). Is this the summer of old "SNL" players' discontent? The spacey tale of Eddie Murphy as a human-sized spaceship holding 100 little aliens hasn't earned the critical disgust that "The Love Guru" engendered. But the feeble barely registers a blip on the movie Search radar.