Recently in Separate but Sequel Category

New Moon: Werewolves, Vampires and Far Too Much Spinning

First things first: I realize that no matter what I say about this movie, the Twi-hards are going to go see it. So if you fall into that category, go. I'm sure you'll love it (and you already got your tickets a month ago anyway), though I did hear quite a number of not-so-young ladies at the screening I attended complaining about the distinct lack of Edward (and Robert Pattinson's hair) in this film. But I'm guessing that most Twi-hards have read the books and are aware that this is the Jacob-centric installment. However, for the rest of the world that reads on here, be warned that spoilers abound.

We Predict the Plots of the Next Five Saw Movies

Five years ago, when the first Saw came out, who could have guessed that a low-budget horror film starring Danny Glover, Dina Meyer and Cary Elwes at his most melodramatic would turn into a six-film franchise? Well, we're sure some people could have -- after all, low-budget horror movies make up the lion's share of film franchises. Still, the rate of one new Saw movie a year is impressive, and the fact that Saw VI comes out this month and they've already got Saw VII and VIII scheduled is incredible, if a no-brainer at this point. Still, the plot of the movies keeps getting more and more intricate, as do the deathtraps, so we thought we'd take a wild guess at where the franchise is going from here. Bear with us, it may get bloody.

Why Bryan Singer Should Not Return to the X-Men Franchise

When Bryan Singer left the X-Men film franchise to film the reboot of the Superman, comic fans were torn: on the one hand, he was leaving the characters he'd knocked out of the park twice already, in X-Men and X2: X-Men United, but on the other hand he was hopefully going to make Superman cool again. It's a win-win! Well, cut to a few years later, and it's a lose-lose: the retro throwback Superman Returns is underperforming at the box office and Brett Ratner's X-Men: The Last Stand is underperforming in fans' expectations. With Superman in line to get another, more reboot-y reboot, Singer is no longer involved, and is now talking to Fox about rejoining the X-Men franchise. While a small part of us would love to see a proper sequel to the first two decent X-Men movies, we mostly want him to stay far, far away. Here's why.

Fame: It Might Live Forever, But We'll Forget It By Next Week

Admittedly I should have been more skeptical about this remake from the get-go, but Debbie Allen's enthusiasm about it on So You Think You Can Dance coupled with my obsession with movies about dancing and or singing, caused me to be naively hopeful about it. That goodwill only lasted about a third of the way through the movie.

Mamma Mia 2: What Musical Act Could Possibly Replace ABBA?

According to no less than Mr. Darcy himself, Colin Firth, the sequel to Mamma Mia may not feature the music of ABBA. It may have something to do with ABBA co-founder Benny Andersson refusing to grant permission, but also, how many more great Abba songs are left besides "Fernando"? Both Firth and Andersson have floated the idea of a new musical artist's back catalog providing the film's soundtrack, so we looked at five artists who didn't already have their own musicals (sorry, Billy Joel and the Beatles) to see what sort of plot we could put together from their songs.

Indiana Jones 5: Is There Any Way it Can Be Saved?

Well, we kind of knew this was coming. Harrison Ford recently revealed that he, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg had settled on the proper MacGuffin for everyone to chase in the fifth Indiana Jones film. (Apparently, once Lucas convinced them that aliens were the right way to go in Episode IV, everyone got a lot less picky.) Not only that, but co-star Karen Allen seems to think that the movie will be coming out in 2012. So this is happening. Indiana Jones 5 is getting made, assuming Lucas manages to get a script written before one or all of the principal players die. After the fridge-nuking, magic-negating ridiculousness that was the last movie, is there any way the fifth installment can be any good? Maybe. Here are some suggestions on how to make it less of a travesty.

I Want My DVD: Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Scary monsters. Super creeps. Sienna Miller. All are represented in this week's new movies on DVD, as wolverines, wolfmen, zombies and overrated actresses stalk the moors. And by moors, we mean Best Buy.

5 Big Reveals at Disney's D23 Convention

Look out, San Diego Comic-Con -- this past weekend, Disney held their own convention in Anaheim, and it had more Disney-related celebrity panels and announcements than you could shake a stick at. While a lot of the show was simply fan service -- merchandise, collectible pins, a look at new theme parks and attractions in the works, a Miley Cyrus concert -- there were actually a lot of great announcements about upcoming movies, and we thought we'd run down some of the bigger ones below.

Marvel Film Franchises that Need Reboots

It looks like Disney's purchase of Marvel Entertainment has lit a fire under Fox. After all, they own the film rights to the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Silver Surfer and Daredevil for as long as they continue to make movies. So, now that it's been two years since the last FF movie, they're getting ready to reboot the franchise. Frankly, I'm glad. The first film was good, clean kiddie fun (except for the fact that Jessica Alba kept taking her clothes off), but the second was boring, had Mr. Fantastic stretch-dancing and managed to make Marvel's biggest (literally) villain look like a rain cloud. Fox wouldn't say what they're doing, or even if they hope to bring back the serviceable original cast, but I hope they announce reboots of the rest of their Marvel properties (and Sony's, while they're at it), because, frankly, they all need it.

Halloween 3 Will Be in 3-D, But What About These Other Threequels?

After Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 was defeated in its opening weekend by The Final Destination in 3-D, the producers of the Halloween franchise revealed that the just-announced Halloween 3 will actually be Halloween 3-D. While unsurprising, given the resurgence in 3-D's popularity, this particular 3-D-ification is a sly homage to the early 1980s, when it seemed like the third installment of a horror franchise -- Jaws 3-D, Amityville 3-D, Friday the 13th Part III -- was legally required to be watched through cardboard glasses. (The original Halloween 3, ironically, passed on the gimmick.) And that got us thinking -- what if all third installments of movies had to be released in 3-D? Some would be awesome, and some just plain ridiculous. Here's some quick takes.

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