And now for a side note, kiddies. I know George Lucas did a LOT of wrong by us over the years. I mean, come on. The stiff dialogue in the prequel trilogies, the force bacteria crap, and of course the facepalm inducing Jar Jar. But I’ve always looked at it like this: the prequels are like extended reading. They don’t really matter in the face of the main trilogy. The story of Luke is more important than Whinikin (that’s his new name).

Now, we’ve got you mostly caught up. There’s currently a shortlist of directors out there that includes Darren Aronofsky, Tony Scott, Duncan Jones, Matt Reeves, Zack Snyder and a couple other names that I’ve honestly never heard of.

To be honest, I’m only interested in two names on the list: Duncan Jones and Matt Reeves. Duncan Jones made Moon, which was awesome, but I don’t know if he’s suited for Superman yet. Matt Reeves did Cloverfield and Let Me In, which I think shows he’s able to work with big budgets, but his resume’s kind of dark, though. As much as I know people would love Zack Snyder behind the camera, I honestly think the stylistic elements would overtake the story, and Aronofsky, as talented as he is, has never done a project remotely like Superman, and his films are, honestly, a bit too dark.

It kind of unnerves me that they’re looking at directors who are known for doing relatively dark films. Superman is not Batman, he does not need to be darkened. Superman is meant to be an uplifting and inspiring character, not dark and brooding. I hope they just pick a director who is faithful to the character and manages to make Superman cool again.

My response to that generalized statement is simply “Who cares?”. When was the last time an audience was intellectually challenged by a director? It can be argued that the last time that happened was in 1999 with the Matrix, but I say you have to go back to Stanley Kubrick’s films (any of them done after Lolita) for an answer. Let’s face it and admit that audiences have become dumbed down somewhat lately. I’m not saying that with a snarky elitist sentiment. I don’t really view myself as particularly of intellect, but I’m certainly not the dumbest creature on Earth. The problem is that intellectual films in the past twenty years haven’t been successful because, to be honest, they’re not all that entertaining. So hats off to Nolan for finding a way to make the audience think without boring them to death.

I think the first and immediate thing that makes Blade Runner different from the book, and what ultimately makes me think it stands alone from the book, is that Harrison Ford’s character, Rick Deckard, is a replicant. Now, to those who haven’t really looked too deeply into the movie, there has been a large group of fans who have analyzed the movie over and over and believe the character to be an android, just like the ones he has been hunting throughout the rest of the movie. This, of course, was just fan speculation up until and interview with both Ridley Scott and Harrison Ford confirmed that it was true. That, in of itself, seperates the film drastically from the book, where Deckard was simply human. I feel that the fact that Deckard is a replicant adds a whole new level of depth to the story. When I read about the book, I feel like I’m reading about an entirely seperate story with entirely seperate charactgers, even though the stories are very similar.

Another thing I love about this film is the strong imagery. I usually don’t go for gritty, dark design, but Blade Runner brought a beauty to that sort of landscape I don’t thik has ever been successfully replicated.

And finally, the performances need to be brought up. The biggest scene stealers are Daryl Hannah as Pris, and Rutger Hauer as Roy Batty. Throughout the film I find myself heavily interested in Roy, finding him a character equally as interesting as Deckard. The thing about the performances that I really love is the fact that, at least in the director’s cut as there are many different versions of the film, you never know what is going on inside the character’s heads, but you understand completely how they are feeling. It’s all written on their faces, and in their words. This film doesn’t beat you over the head with details and challenges you to think it through along with the characters.

I heavily, heavily recommend Blade Runner to any sci-fi, detective, action, or movie fans of any kind. If you want to pick it up, then here you go!

Blade Runner (Five-Disc Complete Collector’s Edition) [Blu-ray]

Blade Runner – The Final Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Returning on the film is Milla Jovovich as Alice, the superpowered zombie killer. It is also being directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. It makes me wonder though if a fourth film would be overkill or not. General I like to stick to the rule of trilogies when it comes to movies, because a trilogy may be awesome, but generally when you put a fourth film on, it usually does not turn out as good as the others, especially when the other films’ reviews were so mixed. We’re going to have to wait and see whether or not this new one is worth watching or not.

If you want to pick up the other three movies, here ya go!

Resident Evil – The High-Definition Trilogy (Resident Evil/ Resident Evil: Apocalypse/ Resident Evil: Extinction) [Blu-ray]

Resident Evil Trilogy 1-3

“The ambition for a sequel to ‘Star Trek’ is to make a movie that’s worthy of the audience and not just another movie, you know, just a second movie that feels tacked on. The first movie was so concerned with just setting up the characters — their meeting each and galvanizing that family — that in many ways a sequel will have a very different mission. it needs to do what [the late 'Trek' creator Gene] Roddenberry did so well, which is allegory. It needs to tell a story that has connection to what is familiar and what is relevant. It also needs to tell it in a spectacular way that hides the machinery and in a primarily entertaining and hopefully moving story. There needs to be relevance, yes, and that doesn’t mean it should be pretentious. If there are simple truths — truths connected to what we live — that elevates any story — that’s true with any story.”

Couldn’t agree with him more. Here’s hoping that the new film doesn’t take forever to come out and that it rocks even harder than the first film did.

Anyway, back on track, Spider-Man 4 is on the horizon with a date of May 5, 2011. Look, I’m not trying to say Spider-Man 3 was the best movie ever, but there was simply too much in it that was good to dwell on what was bad. If you do your research, you see that Sam Raimi was forced to put in Venom and other story elements that he cared nothing about. The end result was rushed, despite his wishes. It is a prime example of why you don’t mess with a director’s vision. So here’s the thing, this is why I think Spidey 4 will be much better.

Sam’s back in full control of the sequel. That’s an immediate plus. Since he did Drag Me To Hell, he’s had more of a chance to unwind. Seriously, folks, he had been doing Spider-Man movies for almost a decade, it was obvious he was fatigued by the time the third one rolled around. Drag Me To Hell gave him a vacation to get back to his roots and get back into Spidey mode.

Another reason it’s going to be better is for two words: Bruce. Campbell. While the man with the mighty chin has only had cameos in the previous films, it has just been announced that he will be playing a major character in the third one, a fact that makes me very happy.

And finally, I think Spider-Man 4 will be better because they’re taking their time with it. Raimi knows that he took a lot of heat for 3, and has publicly stated he plans on fixing his mistake. So come on. Cut the guy a break and give the movie a chance.

If you want to pick up the first three movies, you can do so here!

Spider-Man – The High Definition Trilogy (Spider-Man / Spider-Man 2 / Spider-Man 3) [Blu-ray]

Spider-Man – The Motion Picture DVD Trilogy (Spider-Man / Spider-Man 2 / Spider-Man 3)

Double focuses on 2 characters specifically. Shotaro, and Phillip, who both run a detective agency in ecology based city Futo. In this city strange USB like devices called Gaia Memories give the users superpowers and turn them into monsters. Shotaro and Phillip are able to use Gaia Memories to become Kamen Rider Double. That’s right. Two people become one superhero. It’s a really cool plot device if you ask me.

The best parts about Double are the facts that Double has a much higher production value than any of the previous Rider series. The opening scene has more spectacle in it than the rest of the series did throughout their whole runs. The effects are leaps and bounds over the previous series. And like I said, this series actually feels like the original rider series where we get an idea of who the villain is right off the bat, instead of making us wonder throughout the whole season like the rest of the series have done.

My only nitpick so far is the character of Akiko. She comes off as whiney and annoying. But here’s hoping some character development fixes that.

So yeah, if you’re at all curious about the new Kamen Rider series, definitely give it a try.