DVD Review: SEA OF LOVE (Collector's Edition)

The golden age of the “erotic thriller” genre was undoubtedly the '80s with the glossy ilk of such hits as FATAL ATTRACTION, NO WAY OUT, and the immortal BODY HEAT, but it became a joke in the '90s with such embarrassments as BASIC INSTINCT, BODY OF EVIDENCE, and well just about everything that has Joe Eszterhaus's name on it. My personal favorite of the genre was:

SEA OF LOVE (Dir. Harold Becker, 1988)

This was originally embraced as a return to form for Al Pacino after such forgetful fare as AUTHOR, AUTHOR and REVOLUTION in the first half of the '80s. It was indeed great to see him in a gritty sometimes even pathetic part as a hard drinking police detective dealing with divorce and obsessed with tracking a serial killer. The schlubby Pacino compares notes with partner John Goodman and they drunkenly decide to set up a sting operation through meetings with possible suspects made from personal ad connections. 

Ellen Barkin's character is the outgoing as Hell is-she-a-vixen?-is-she-not? parable that the plot hinges on. A lot of this is predictable and at times can be awfully generic plotting, but the amount of well placed and well paced humor, good acting, and sharp dialogue makes this still in 2004 a good watch. 

Also just about everyone in it is somebody you will surely know from something else: Samuel L. Jackson has a small part at the beginning, The West Wing actors John Spencer and Michael O'Neill, Six Feet Under's Richard Jenkins, and the always intensely creepy Michael Rooker from JFK and HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER all add to the must-see value of this mostly overlooked time-killer. Available on a Universal special edition DVD with Special Features including a commentary by director Becker and a few scratchy deleted scenes.

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THE LADYKILLERS: The Film Babble Blog Review

Opening today in the Triangle:

THE LADYKILLERS 
(Dirs. Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, 2004) 

The Coen Brothers’ remake of Alexander Mackendrick’s beloved 1955 Ealing Studios comedy sorely lacks the wit of their previous comedic work (even their previous under par movie, 2003’s INTOLERABLE CRUELTY was funnier), but at least it doesn’t omit the ironic conclusion of the original like the 2001 OCEAN’S 11 remake did. So at least there’s that. 

The Coens take many liberties with the plot-points and characters of the British original, which starred Alec Guiness and Peter Sellers (in his first full length feature role), but very few of their alterations work in the film’s favor.

Decked out in Colonel Sanders-ish attire, Tom Hanks plays Professor Goldthwait Higginson Dorr, who shares with past Coen characters H.I. McDonnough (Nicholas Cage in RAISING ARIZONA) and Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney in O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU) a distinctive trait: his diction and command of the English language far exceeds any other skill or ambition.

The pretentious Professor’s plan here is to rent a room in an unassuming elderly Marva Munson's (Irma P. Hall) house in the small sleepy town of Saucier, Mississippi, and with an assembled gang of cronies including Marlon Wayans and J.K. Simmons (from the HBO series Oz) tunnel through the basement to pull off a heist of the Riverside Casino's vault.

They con their landlord by masquerading as musicians who need a place to practice by playing classical music on a portable stereo to simulate their performance and cover the sound of tunneling. This is one of many comic conventions on display that has been done to death.

Hall’s Marva Munson is a Bob Jones University praising church going figure of reason who regularly converses with a painting of her late husband. Her deceased spouse’s expression changes in reaction to the twists in the farce, an effect not in the original but in far too many comedies since. With contrived lines like “Two thousand years after Jesus, thirty years after Martin Luther King, the age of Montel; sweet Lord of mercy is that where we at?” Marva is far from one of the Coens’ best concoctions.

Gawain MacSam (Marlon Wayans) gets a few laughs as the inside connection at the Casino speaking what Munson condemns as “hippity hop” talk. Garth Pancake (J.K. Simmons) also amuses as a explosives expert who loses a finger at one point, bickers with everyone, and constantly says “it's the easiest thing in the world” about everything. Unfortunately Simmons’ irritable bowel syndrome suffering makes for some of the un-funniest material in the Coens’ entire canon.

The General played by Tzi Ma seems to exist in the story to fill a smoking gag - when Munson enters the room he hides his cigarette in his mouth perfectly restoring it with his tongue when she leaves. Again a slight variation on a gag in too many comedies, much like a lot of the throwaway attempts to draw humor here.

Hanks does a good job with Prof. Dorr's ticks - his nervous laughter, his pristine babble, and the faces he makes when frantically scheming, but he never made me forget Alec Guiness’ Professor Marcus in the 1955 version. A little of Hanks’ shtick goes a long way too.

The original was a classic comedy that wickedly mixed black humor with silliness, which are two things the Coen brothers usually excel at. But here they fall way short of what they are capable of by being too loose and broad. They’ve been cartoonish before (see RAISING ARIZONA), but this time the strained situations that surround their clunky cast of caricatures fail to generate any big laughs. Unnecessary on nearly every front - as a remake, a farcical retread, as an ensemble piece, THE LADYKILLERS just goes through the motions and never quite hits any stride.

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Listomania: Coen Brothers Edition

To celebrate the release of the new Coen brothers movie THE LADYKILLERS tomorrow, this is a special edition of Film Babble Blog’s Listomania dedicated to the work of Joel and Ethan Coen.

This is a career re-cap of sorts with Coen bros. lists, quotes, fun facts, and other whatnot leading up to my review of their newest that will be posted tomorrow.

Okay then... First up:

BASIC FILMOGRAPHY AND GUIDE TO THIS POST 

BS: BLOOD SIMPLE (1984) RA: RAISING ARIZONA (1987) 
MC: MILLER'S CROSSING (1990) 
BF: BARTON FINK (1991) 
HP: HUDSUCKER'S PROXY (1994) 
F: FARGO (1997) 
TBL: THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998) 
OBWAT: O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU? (2000) 
TMWWT: THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE (2001) 
IC: INTOLERABLE CRUELTY (2003) 
LK: THE LADYKILLERS (2004)

THE COEN BROTHERS REPERTORY ROLE CALL 1984-2004:

Steve Buscemi: MC, BF, HP, F, BL 
Campbell, Bruce: HP, F, IC, LK (2 small parts and 2 as "soap actor on TV" - all 4 un-credited) 
Blake Clark: IC, LK 
George Clooney: OBWAT, IC 
Charles Durning: HP, OBWAT 
John Goodman: RA, BF, BL, OBWAT 
Holly Hunter: BS, RA, OBWAT 
John Mahooney: BF, HP 
John McConnell: MC, OBWAT, LK 
Frances McDormand: BS, RA, F, MWWT 
Jon Polito: MC, BF, HP, BL, MWWT 
Stephen Root: OBWAT, LK 
Tony Shalhoub: MC, BF, BL, MWWT 
Hallie Singleton: MWWT, LK 
Peter Stormare: F, BL 
Billy Bob Thornton: MWWT, IC 
John Turturro: MC, BF, BL, OBWAT 
M. Emmet Walsh: BS, RA 

COEN BROS. FUN FACT FORUM: 

The line "if a frog had wings it wouldn't bump its ass a-hoppin'" appears in 2 Coen Bros. flicks - RA (1987) & HP (1994)

Musicians Aimee Mann (as the nihilist's girlfriend) and Jimmie Dale Gilmore (as Smokey - the league bowler who insists that he "wasn't over the line") make brief but notable cameos in BL (1997)

In RA (1987) Nicholas Cage works at Hudsucker Industries - an obvious connection to their later film HP (1994)

In MC there's a building called the Barton Arms another obvious connection to a later film. 

F (1996) says at the beginning "This is a true story - the events of this film took place in Minnesota in 1987..." This is totally false. They made the whole thing up! Those damn pranksters!

Editor Roderick Jaynes - listed as a member of BAFTA (The British Academy Of Film and Television Arts) was nominated for F (1996) and praised for his work on BS and BF (I know its confusing - see above code will ya?), but was found out upon his Oscar nomination to being a fabrication by the Coens. That's right, Jaynes never existed. They created the name because when editing BS (1984) they thought there were too many Coens in the credits already.

In IC (2003) Judge Marva Munson played by Isabell O'Connor finds in favor of Rex Rexroth (Edward Herrmann) in the Divorce trial proceedings leaving his wife (Catherine Zeta Jones) literally out in the cold. In LK (2004) Marva Munson (Irma T. Hall) is unkowingly duped into being a front for a heist. Why the same name? Are the characters related or the same person at different points in their lives? Maybe they just like the name. Who knows?

3 LOST OR FORGOTTEN OR OBSCURE OR JUST IGNORED COEN OR COEN RELATED FILMS: 

CRIMEWAVE (1985): Hard to find movie at most videostores and unavailable on DVD. Written by the Coen brothers but directed by Sam Raimi. "We prefer it lost" - Joel Coen to Uncut Magazine (May 1998). 

THE NAKED MAN (1993): Ethan Coen co-wrote this oddity with director J Todd Anderson.

BAD SANTA (2003): Ethan Coen executive produced and came up with the story with Joel Coen.

COEN BROTHERS ON DVD - WHAT SHOULD YOU BUY AND WHAT SHOULD YOU WAIT FOR THE SPECIAL EDITION OF? 

BS (1984): BUY IT - This currently available Universal DVD contains the director's cut that was theatrically released in 2000 plus a commentary by Kenneth Loring of Forever Young Films and a great old school trailer. I seriously doubt we'll get any more material on the Coen's debut movie so go ahead and get it. 

RA (1997): WAIT FOR THE SPECIAL EDITION - This paltry disc from 2oth Century Fox has no extras and being that it is a comic masterpiece and the flick that busted the Coens into the mainstream somewhat it deserves better. Much better. Hold out until the powers that be grant this a special edition. It's got to happen.

MC (1990) - BUY IT

BF (1991) - BUY IT

HP (1994) - WAIT FOR THE SPECIAL EDITION

F (1996) - BUY IT Good new 2003 special edition was worth waiting for. It has a new documentary "Minnesota Nice", a commentary by Roger Deakins, and a cool Charlie Rose appearance by the Coens along with Frances McDormand. Shame on you if you don't already own this.

BL (1998) -WAIT FOR THE SPECIAL EDITION

TMWWT (2001) - BUY IT This contains one of the funniest DVD commentaries ever with Joel, Ethan, and Billy Bob Thornton tracking the "Ed nod" and adding lots of witty insight into an otherwise stoic, dry, and slow film. Also contains a few brief inessential deleted scenes - just a couple of hair-cut examples that were rightfully cut. Definitely a strong Coen Bros film that gets better every viewing. Get it and watch it with the commentary and try not to agree.

IC (2003) - BUY IT The most commercial outting yet by our indie duo comes with a decent DVD transfer and a number of outtakes - really bloopers and unused footage. The Coen Brothers apparently don't think of "deleted scenes" in the same way that most of us do judging by their DVDs.

THE COEN BROTHERS IN THE ROUND

Evelle (picking up a bag of balloons): Do these blow into funny shapes and all? 
Grocer: Well, no, unless round is funny.

- From RA.

According to the IMDB: "The Coens frequently focus on round spinning objects. The hat in Miller's Crossing, bowling balls and tumble-weed in BL, hair pomade tins in OBWAT...or UFO and a car wheel in TMWWT." To that we can add the hula hoops in HP (1994). I loved the touch that when Charles Durning re-appears as the ghost of Hudsucker, his halo spins like a hula hoop lit up around his head.

The Barber shop pole and the contrasting haircut head-shots in MWWNT are other notable circular examples. The bowling balls that the IMDB mentions in BL provide many opportunities for shots involving rolling roundness. The best and most unique shot comes from a montage in which we got a barrell view of a spinning bowling alley as a ball rolls down the lane. That's right - it's a point-of-view shot from the finger hole on a bowling ball! I'm still not exactly sure how they pulled that off.

Part of the Coens style in scene set-up is to display extreme close-ups of inanimate objects. In BF (1991) our protagonist rings the desk bell at the hotel and we get a shot of the bell as it boings thoughout the lobby and slowly stops vibratingly buzzing - beyond beautiful. In the world of Coen cinema round isn't just funny - it's hilarious!

Check back tomorrow for the Film Babble Blog Review of THE LADYKILLERS.

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Film Babble Blog's Listomania!

Man, whatta movie season: Mel Gibson’s Jesus complex is causing a stir, LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING became the first fantasy film best picture Oscar winner, and government research has just determined that videocassettes are going to go the way of the dinosaur - in 5 years tapes will no longer will manufactured on a global scale.

Well, I have to say this is a good thing - I mean them bulky boxes of plastic parts and spools of sticky brown tape from the ‘80s are no match for the shiny sexy digital disc of today.

Let’s not get all sentimental about those old tapes like that box in your closet full of Seinfeld episodes or movies taped off Cinemax in 1992. Let’s embrace the obviously better picture and sound of DVDs with some lists!

First up, 10 RECOMMENDED CURRENT RELEASE DVDs:

01. AMERICAN SPLENDOR 02. RUSSIAN ARK 
03. BARTLEBY 
04. SUICIDE CLUB 
05. DUMMY 
06. LOST IN TRANSLATION 
07. A MIGHTY WIND 
08. MELVIN GOES TO DINNER 
09. PARTY MONSTER 
10. SCHOOL OF ROCK 

5 RECOMMENDED CURRENT RELEASE DOCUMENTARY DVDS:

01. CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS 
02. A DECADE UNDER THE INFLUENCE 
03. THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE 
04. WINGED MIGRATION 
05. STONE READER
06. THE CORPORATION
07. FOG OF WAR
08. THE YES MEN
09. FESTIVAL EXPRESS
10. OVERNIGHT

10 RECOMMENDED CURRENT RE-RELEASE SPECIAL EDITION DVDS: 

01. BLOW OUT (1967) 
02. ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981) 
03. JFK (1991) 
04. DAY FOR NIGHT (1974) 
05. ALIEN QUADRILOGY (1979-1997)

10 CURRENT DVDS THAT AREN’T RECOMMENDED:

01. CAT IN THE HAT 
02. IDENTITY 
03. LIFE OF DAVID GALE 
04. HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE 
05. THE HEAD OF STATE 
06. THE HULK 
07. BRUCE ALMIGHTY 
08. COLD CREEK MANOR 
09. CONFIDENCE 
10. Tie: THE IN-LAWS / IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY (Michael Douglas double feature from Hell!) 

5 RECOMMENDED TV-SERIES DVDS:

01. The Sopranos (HBO, 1999-present) 
02. Six Feet Under (HBO, 2001-PRESENT) 
03. The Office (BBC, 2001-PRESENT) 
04. 24 (2002): First season only!!!! 
05. Mr. Show (1995-1998)

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10 Sequels That Don't Suck

After the response, both good and bad, to The Top 50 Sequels That Should Have Never Been Made (March 12, 2003), it seemed like it was time to take a stand the sequels that don’t suck. It’s a much shorter list, but a damn good one:

10 Sequels That Don't Suck

1. THE GODFATHER: PART II (Dir. Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)

Undoubtedly the greatest sequel because it was better than the original, won a best picture Oscar, and because unlike all the sequels on the top 50 worst list it actually has more story to tell. The casting of Robert De Niro as a young Vito Corleone didn't hurt either. Like Part I this was written by Mario Puzo who also wrote:

2. SUPERMAN II (Dir. Richard Lester, 1981)

This supreme sequel works as a follow-up because it's actually an extension of the first film. It was filmed at the same time for the most part (there was a bit of a rough transition from director Richard Donner to Lester, resulting in some controversail re-shooting) and it satisfyingly concludes the Krypton villains’ subplot set-up from the original.

3. STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN
(Dir. Nicholas Meyer, 1982) 

It wasn't hard for this one to be better than the first because the first one (1979’s Robert Wise-directed STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE) was an overblown bore. Meyer’s follow-up jettisoned the celebral egghead exposition of the original, and brought on the shoot 'em up back to sc-fi basics with William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, and the rest of the iconic crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise facing off against the genetically engineered super-villain Khan Noonien Singh, portrayed by Ricardo Montalbán in a career best performance. Still considered the best of the series.

4. STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (Dir. Irvin Kershner, 1980) Despite the numbering of this as “Episode V,” I still think of this as the second STAR WARS movie. Whatever the case, this is a dark and layered entry luckily not directed by Lucas.

5. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (Dir. Peter Jackson, 2003) After GODFATHER: PART II, this was the second sequel in Academy Awards history to win Best Picture. 

6. THE EVIL DEAD II (Dir. Sam Raimi, 1987) The third one, 1992's ARMY OF DARKNESS is pretty kick-ass too. Let's hope Raimi pulls off another great sequel this summer with SPIDERMAN 2.

7. IN LIKE FLINT (Dir. Gordon Douglas, 1967) Many forget Flint James Coburn's suave American equivalent to 007. They really shouldn't because this is some sharp slick '60s stuff.

8. INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE 
(Dir. Steven Spielberg, 1989) 

Dennis Miller once joked on SNL that Star Trek VI ought to be subtitled “The Apology” (you know because of the Shatner helmed fiasco of Star Trek V), but this is the sequel that really should have that subtitle. This was a pure return to form after the way-too-dark TEMPLE OF DOOM. And 007 himself, Sean Connery as Indy’s father really seals the deal. The word that there may be a 4th Indiana Jones movie is troubling though.

9. MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR (Dir. George Miller, 1982)

10. ALIENS (Dir. James Cameron, 1986)

Honorable mentions: FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE, TOY STORY 2, and A SHOT IN THE DARK.

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10 DVD Special Features Pet Peeves

Today, we take a look at DVD technology with:

10 DVD SPECIAL FEATURE PET PEEVES

Don't you just hate:

1. DVD's that don't let you skip trailers for other movies to get to the menu

2. Films that have their special features on a second one sided disc. There's no reason not to use both sides of one disc! Do we really need double disc editions of movies like DUPLEX or EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS? I don't think so.

3. DVDs that are so packed with extras - documentaries, deleted scenes, interviews, etc. But for some reason don't include the original theatrical trailer.

4. DVDs that only include the original theatrical trailer as a "special feature."

5. Does anyone care whether a DVD has a "collectible booklet" or not? Ever hear anyone ever say anything along the lines of "man, the special edition of GOLDFINGER has an awesome booklet inside?" I didn't think so.

6. Chapter Selection listed as a "special feature."

7. Photo galleries and written bio/filmographies. Uh - we have the internet thank you.

8. DVDs that have special features listed in their menus but when you go there it says "for special features insert disc 2." I mean come on!

9. That off setting pause while a layer switches during play. Some discs its less notable than others, but dammit it foreshadows another better format on the horizon I feel.

10. When directors talk about material in the commentaries that should be included on the DVD but isn't. 

For Example, AIRPLANE! had a lot of outtakes re-inserted in it's network TV debut but it is stupidly absent from the DVD, ROGER AND ME showed on PBS with a half hour sequel of sorts - a short called Pets Or Meat in which Michael Moore follows up on what happened to the people presented in the movie. It feels like a criminal act not to include it on the DVD.

One final mention - the original Simpsons shorts from The Tracy Ullman Show. Why weren't they part of the 1st season Simpsons DVD set? Why?!!? 

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The Top 50 Sequels That Should Have Never Been Made

Making this list made me realize how much of my life was wasted watching: 

THE TOP 50 SEQUELS THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN MADE 

There was a Simpsons episode where Bart was trapped in a room with multiple doors labeled with roman numerals. At first he wasn't able to read them as numbers but suddenly his knowledge of Rocky films kicked in and he was able to identify the numerals correctly, and pick the right door in which to make his exit. 

That might be the only practical purpose for most movie sequels. 

I mean sure there's a few good to excellent sequels - GODFATHER PART II comes immediately to mind. I mean that one even won the best picture Academy Award! 

But for every good sequel like say THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK or SUPERMAN II there are literally hundreds of awful unnecessary money-grubbing retreads. 

Here's the cream of the crap: 100 bad sequels, well actually more than that considering I use one entry for multiple movies out of or including a whole series at times. 

Lastly many would argue that in some cases the original movie shouldn't have been made either but that's a whole 'nuther list! Read them and weep.

1. THE GODFATHER: PART III

PART II pretty much summed it up didn't it? PART III is a unnecessary and pointless sequel, but considering at one point in the '80s Stallone came close to fronting an entry in the GODFATHER series it could have been a lot worse. 

Many blame Sophia Coppola's acting or lack of acting but in my book the project was doomed the second Robert Duvall passed. They replaced him with George Hamilton. George Hamilton for Christ's sake!

2. STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE 

"Prequel? More like Nyquil" - David Letterman

3. THE TWO JAKES (the Jack Nicholson-directed sequel to CHINATOWN)

4. MORE AMERICAN GRAFFITI: The post-script to the original movie said what the fates of the characters were - so why do we need this unfunny, stiff, and visually bombastic mess? I can't think of a reason.

5. CADDYSHACK II

6. BLUES BROTHERS 2000: Or course if you're reading this list you know that sequels mostly always suck but if one of the major players from the first film is dead they are destined for the Hall of Suck. Aykroyd's misguided attempt to revive the Blues Brothers' film career replacing the great John Belushi with John Goodman is a embarrassment and almost as much of an insult to Belushi's legacy as Bob Woodward's tawdry bio Wired.

7. BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II (III wasn't great either)

8. AIRPLANE 2: THE SEQUEL: Probably one of the worst offenders of the re-treading of the entire first film with no shame. In the commentary for the AIRPLANE! DVD the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams stress that they had nothing to do with the sequel and that to this day neither of them has seen it. Good decision. Wish I had made it too.

9. JAWS 2 (ditto for the rest of them too)

10. STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER (You know, the one that Shatner directed)

11. TEXASVILLE (THE LAST PICTURE SHOW sequel)

12. THE MATRIX RELOADED (same goes for REVOLUTIONS)

13. OH, GOD! BOOK II

14. THE NAKED GUN 2½: THE SMELL OF FEAR (the third one, 33⅓: THE FINAL INSULT was better, but not much)

15. FLETCH LIVES

16. GHOSTBUSTERS II

17. ROBOCOP 2 (never saw any of the others after this)

18. SUPERMAN III (IV sucked too)

19. STAYING ALIVE (Sylvester Stallone-directed sequel to SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER)

20. DIE HARD 2

21. DUMB AND DUMBERER: WHEN HARRY MET LLOYD

22. MEN IN BLACK II 

23. SCARY MOVIE 2 The poster campaign for the original Scary Movie said "No shame, no mercy, no sequel." For breaking that promise alone, this makes the list.

24. ESCAPE FROM L.A. (ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK sequel, duh!)     

25. BATMAN & ROBIN (Don't think I saw BATMAN FOREVER, don't remember it anyway)

26. THE JEWEL OF THE NILE (ROMANCING THE STONE follow-up)

27. BABE: PIG IN THE CITY

28. TEEN WOLF TOO

29. TRAIL OF THE PINK PANTHER (any of the PINK PANTHER movies made after Peter Sellers death could make this list)

30. ROCKY V

31. MAJOR LEAGUE II

32. THE EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC

33. JURASSIC PARK III

34. BOOK OF SHADOWS: BLAIR WITCH 2 

35. HIGHLANDER II: THE QUICKENING

36. THE STING II

37. BATTLE FOR PLANET OF THE APES

38. AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER

39. THE FLY II

40. RAMBO III (Man, Stallone is popping up quite a bit on this list!)

41. ANALYZE THAT (Though part of me wants them to make a third one so that they can call it: GO ANALYZE YOURSELF, ALREADY!)

42. THE KARATE KID, PART II (Never saw PART III)

43. HALLOWEEN II (and III, and IV, and so on)

44. YOUNG GUNS II

45. GREASE 2

46. SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT II (The inconsistently titled PART 3 was worse, but nobody was paying attention anymore)

47. WAYNE'S WORLD 2

48. BIG TOP PEE-WEE

49. POLTERGEIST II: THE OTHER SIDE (Again, I never saw the third one)

50. FRIGHT NIGHT PART 2

Whew! That's quite a list of failed follow-ups. Since scheduled upcoming films include STAR WARS: EPISODE III, THE RING 2, a new PINK PANTHER movie, as well as a bunch of sure to be sucky sequels, I'm sure this will be a much lengthier list in the future.

More later...