ANOTHER ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS TO DO (WHEN I'M NOT WRITING, READING, OR DOOMING), IS A GREAT FLICK EITHER AT HOME, OR IN THE THEATERS.  HERE'S MY TAKE ON THE ONES THAT ARE OUT THERE!

THE ONES TO WATCH OUT FOR:

1> STAR WARS EPISODE THREE by 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm LTD release date 5-25-05

I was mesmerized by the saga of Anakin Skywalker and the trials of the Old Republic in the books I've read.  I'm a Star Wars fan from WAY back!  I remember having the action figure collection from some company called Kenner.  I had just about everything from the Death Star action set to the Hoth Ice World action set.  I was also a fan of Battlestar Galactica, UFO, Space 1999, The Six Million Dollar man, The Bionic Woman, Star Trek, and don't forget  The Incredible Hulk.  Anyway, I loved Sci-Fi because of the human struggles with the technology being the backdrop and not the focal point in the story.   The Star Wars saga epitomizes that principle and Episode Two took the cake!  Episode Three is going to be the end-all to be-all!  This one will rival my all time fav,  Lord Of The Rings, in epic endings.

I'm really looking forward to the final transformation of Anakin into the Lord Of The Sith himself, Darth Vader, who is one of my all time favorite bad dudes.
go to starwars.com for more...
 

2> ALIENS VS. PREDATOR by 20th Century Fox release date 8-6-04

  20th Century Fox  re-released the original Alien for extra revenue and to pique interest in this upcoming project.  I hated the last two Alien flicks as I felt that they took Ripley out of her element.  When they killed her, she should have stayed dead (even though that pissed me off too).  Sanaa Lathan and Lance Henriksen (remember him as the synthetic person, Bishop?) are headlining this one.  Is it me or is Sanaa really hot?  I mean she's  Halle Berry type of hot!
go to www.avp-movie.com for more...

3> DOOM, THE MOVIE release date unknown

Looks like Universal and Columbia both dropped the ball on this one.  Warner Bros. picked up the baton in this race to make one of the greatest games in the WORLD into a cinematic masterpiece, and WB isn't playing around either!  They are really pushing this one along with an all-new re-written script and looks like the idea of having Jason Alexander play the lead was scrapped too (GOOD!).  ID Software has jumped into this with a contract telling WB that if they don't get this project done in record time, ID takes back the movie rights.  We're going to get this one out very soon!  Stay tuned...
 
 

4> RESIDENT EVIL 2: APOCALYPSE  by Screen Gems release date 9-10-04

The first one kicked ass.  This one will pick up where the first one left off, with the main character, Alice (played by Milla Jovovitch)  stranded in streets of Raccoon City after the T-Virus has infected the entire town.  Remember Milla waking up in the Raccoon City hospital? Well, Screen Gems' writers set it up so that Milla's character has been genetically altered to possess super-human strength and agility.  She will be facing off against the T-Virus zombies, Lickers (the bald-headed, long-tongued thingy), and the Nemesis creature.  No Tyrants.  Sorry.
go to re2.com for more...

5> Kill Bill Vol. 2 by Miramax Films and Quentin Tarantino release date 4-16-04

Blood, body parts, and lots and lots of hot babes kickin' really really high!  OH, JOY!!  RAPTURE!!!
go to kill-bill.com for more...

6> HARRY POTTER AND THE PRIZONER OF AZKABAN by Warner Bros. release date 6-4-04

Harry's third year at Hogwart's with all of his friends.  More magic and mayhem!

7> VAN HELSING by Universal release date 5-7-04

Man, I saw the trailer in the theaters when I saw Lord Of The Rings.  Stand by, this one will be the shit!  This one was made by the same dude who produced the Mummy duology.  This is about the legendary character, Dr. (Abraham?) VanHelsing, fighting not only the Mummy, Frankenstein's Monster, and the Werewolf, he'll be facing off with his arch-nemesis, Count Dracula, in jolly ol' 17th century London and Transylvania.

8> SPIDER-MAN II by Columbia Pictures release date 7-02-04

Once again, the ol' Web Head deals with his duality and tries to juggle his personal and super hero lives.  In this one, he faces off with Doctor Octavius, otherwise known in the Marvel Universe as the infamous Doctor Octopus, or Doc Oc, as Spidey calls him.  Meanwhile, Harry Osborn grows more bitter over his father's (Norman Osborn), death by Spiderman.  Norman was the Green Goblin.  Eventually (in the comics), Harry becomes the Gobbie Guy himself for revenge.  Hope that makes a flick in the future!
 

IN THE THEATERS NOW:

1> LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING by New Line Cinema * * * *
What can be said about what may be the biggest grossing film in 2003?  If you are a fan of J.R.R. Tilkien's books, you will not be disappointed.  If you have never heard of Tolkien, or a Hobbit for that matter until this point and time, you will be instantly hooked.  LOR is still playing, go see it again and again....
 

2> ALIEN; THE DIRECTOR'S CUT by 20th Century Fox * * *
Back in 1977, a caption across the bottom of the poster for this movie read; "In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream".  Now, in 2004, even with super-powered computer graphics and SFX, some of the older, dated movies seem boring.  Well, not in this case.  Alien has the same terrifying and shocking effect as it did when it first came out.  Nothing to this date that I've seen carried that effect... nothing Sci-Fi anyway.  The scene in the commissary when the Xenomorph first makes its very bloody appearance to us all is unforgettable, and can still form a scream in your throat.
 

3> GOHTIKA by 20th Century Fox(I think) * * 1/2
I could just sit and stare at Halle Berry all day because she's just that fine.  This flick lacked in some detail but it's foreboding atmosphere won me over.  It was slow in building to the climax, a bit TOO slow, but it had a nice little twist at the end which was gruesome and shocking.  I did enjoy this one and wouldn't mind adding it to my growing library of DVDs.
 

* * * = GREAT!

* * = WATCHABLE, BUT NEEDS WORK

* = SUCKS ASS; DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME (I try to put the best ones up so you won't see any of these unless I just have to trash the flick to save you good people from wasting the money!)
 
 

LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS by New Line Cinema * * * *

Get the collector series DVD with all the trimmings, including the cool bookshelves in the likenesses of the two giant stone statues guarding the entrance of Lothlorien from the river (hope I got that right).  This movie is better than the first (which is outstanding in its own right), and has battle sequences that are astounding.  My wife loves the scene in the battle of Helm's Deep when Legolas, the Elf, slides down stone steps on a shield, lobbing arrows at the Orc host that surrounded him.  And she's crazy about the Ent, Treebeard.  That goes to show just how powerful this story is; it can attract those who could give a care about traditional Dark Fantasy and keep them strung out on every word and scene.  GET THIS ONE! 

X-MEN EVOLUTION by 20th Century Fox * * * 1/2

I'm big fan of X-Men from youth.  This movie takes the X-Men phenomenon deeper and explores the humanity beneath the formidable mutant super-hero team.  A second Cerebro is created by the government in an effort to destroy all mutants.  Magneto (the late Ian Maclellan) and Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) team up to destroy it before the worst happens.

BRUCE ALMIGHTY by Universal * * *

Jim Carrey is delightful as a wayward news broadcaster who's down on life.  He meets the Big Guy Upstairs and the Lord gives Jim His almighty powers.  All hell breaks loose as Jim, instead of helping the world around him, serves himself!
 

UNDERWORLD by Screen Gems * * *

Imagine a war raging beneath our noses between two centuries old clans over a petty squabble.  That's what the Lycans (lycanthropes-werewolves) and the Vampires were fighting over.  This is a dark Romeo and Juliet story basically as a DeathDealer vampire (Kate Beckinsale) falls for a newly turned Lycan (Scott Speedman).  As both clans turn against them, this couple uncover the dark betrayal of the vampire's leader and seek to clean it up.  Incredible special effects and action. This is a  nice DVD.
 

OUT OF TIME by MGM * * *

This is a story about a cop (Densel Washington) who gets caught up in a love triangle between his estranged wife (Eva Mendes) and the wife of a former pro football player (Sanaa Lathan and Dean Cain).  When the mistress and her husband turn up dead, the cop gets left holding the bag.  He employs the help of a flaky co-worker to help clear his name.  It's a tight, gripping thriller with a nasty twist.  Just how I like 'em!

FREEWAY  (1996) by Republic Pictures * * 1/2

This one is about a young girl (Reese Witherspoon) who, when she runs away from her broken home, runs into a mass murderer known as the 105 Killer (Kiefer Sutherland).  This is a new spin on the old "Little Red Riding Hood" fairy tale.  When the killer confronts her in his car, on a dark freeway (hence the name), the young girl turns the tables on him and opens up a can of whup ass!  It's a dark comedy with plenty to enjoy, including Reese in a really short skirt! MMMMM!

DUAL TO THE DEATH (1993) by Fortune Star, remastered and translated by 20th Century Fox ****

This is an OLD SCHOOL martial arts movie about two men both representing the best in Shaolin and Ninjitsu disciplines destined to face off in an ultimate battle to the death to prove which side was better; China's Kung-Fu or Japan's Ninjitsu.  This movie sports incredible acrobatics and well choreographed fight sequences.  It can be played in Mandarin, English, with/without subtitles.  THIS MOVIE IS AWESOME!!!!
 

BURIED ALIVE (1990) by MCA Universal * * *

This little dity is about a faithful husband (Tim Matherson) who is betrayed by his cheating hussy of a wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh-Fast Times At Ridgemont High) and is poisoned by her after her new bed-buddy (William Atherton -the asshole reporter dude in Die Hard, Die Harder ), persuades her to use Blow-Fish toxin to kill him and sell off his business so that he could finance his own Beverly Hills practice.  Well, the husband wakes up ALIVE days later in his grave and takes the ULTIMATE revenge!  A Must see!

BELOW  (2000)  by Dimension Home Video * * 1/2

This is Alien underwater.  It's about a crew of U.S. Navy squids serving aboard a WW II sub.  They encounter a U-Boat, sink it, and pick up a few survivors.  But once the survivors arrive, something otherworldly occurs on the boat.  Strange appearances of a dead captain, spooky noises, and oh ya, folks turning up murdered.  How does a World War II sub crew fare against a Malediction, or evil spirit, 20 leagues below?  Watch this winner and find out!

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (1973) by Universal * * * *

This is a classic among classics!  The story of a race of humans who survived a cataclysmic encounter with a cybornetic race, the Cylons, who want nothing more than to exterminate the humans. This is not the TV series, but the actual motion picture!  Under the lead of the venerable Commander Adama (Lorne Greene- Bonanza), a "rag-tag fugitive fleet" begins it's lonely quest as it flees from the merciless Cylons; the quest for a sister colony called Earth!  The entire TV series is now available in a really cool collector's case that's in the shape of a Cylon's helmet!
 

I HIGHLY SUGGEST BUYING THESE OLDIES IN DVD FORMAT.  GETTING THE VHS VERSIONS WILL ONLY END IN WARPED TAPES AND PISSED OFF COLLECTORS!  BUT IF YOU RENT, GET THE VHS VERSIONS.  RENTAL DVDS ALMOST ALWAYS ARE SCRATCHED AND DON'T PLAY WELL!