Part IV in a George Lucas epic, Star Wars: A New Hope opens with a rebel ship being boarded by the tyrannical Darth Vader. The plot then follows the life of a simple farmboy, Luke Skywalker, as he and his newly met allies (Han Solo, Chewbacca, Ben Kenobi, C-3PO, R2-D2) attempt to rescue a rebel leader, Princess Leia, from the clutches of the Empire. The conclusion is culminated as the Rebels, including Skywalker and flying ace Wedge Antilles make an attack on the Empires most powerful and ominous weapon, the Death Star. Written by P. Wong {pwong@nt.net}

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I’m sure there are comic book fans out there who will cringe while reading this review. For that, I apologize now and suggest that you read no further. If you’ve read my reviews of “The Hulk” or “X2” then you’re probably aware of the fact that I don’t read comic books. Nothing personal, they’ve just never drawn my interest. In fact, my knowledge of comic books is so limited that I didn’t know – prior to reading all the production notes – that “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” was even based on a comic. So if you’re looking for a review that compares the two media, I’m going to gently suggest looking elsewhere. Go now before it’s too late. Gentle enough?

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Attractive 20-somethings make bad decisions, wear minimal clothing, have sex at the most inappropriate times, check out creepy buildings they have no business being anywhere near, and fail to flee (or even call 911) when they know a killer wants them dead. Yep, “House of Wax” officially qualifies as a by-the-book teen horror film. There’s nothing new to see here so can we all just move along please?

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Valentine’s Day 1988: At the school dance, geeky Jeremy Melton bravely faces one rejection after the other when asking four popular girls to dance with him. A fifth girl, plump and insecure, agrees, but they end up making out under the bleachers. When a group of school bullies catches them, the girl claims that Jeremy attacked her. This causes them to strip off his clothes and beat him up in front of the entire school. Flash forward to 2001. We meet the five girls who were in that school gym: Kate (Marley Shelton), Paige (Denise Richards), Shelly (Katherine Heigl), Lily (Jessica Cauffiel) and the formerly plump Dorothy (Jessica Capshaw). They are all in their 20’s now and trying to sort out their love lives, which is appropriate, since Valentine’s Day is coming up. After a disastrous date with a loser, one of the girls, a pre-med student, is murdered by a Cherub-mask wearing killer who sent her a death threat in the form of a Valentine card prior to the attack. After the four remaining girls are reunited at her funeral, they all start receiving threatening cards and messages. At first they don’t know who would want to hurt them, but eventually they figure that maybe Jeremy is responsible. Police records show that Jeremy has completely disappeared, so no one knows what he looks like. Could the formerly nerdish Jeremy have had plastic surgery and turned into one of the girls’ handsome boyfriends? Who ever it is, the lone survivor has to put a stop to this spurned individual’s murder spree before she, too, becomes a valentine to die for. Written by Tertius Saayman {tsaayman@hotmail.com}

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At 8 years old, the blonde Samantha Montgomery lost her father to an earthquake, leaving her to live in an attic, while her stepmother Fiona, and stepsisters, Gabriella and Brianna take over her life. With popular kids Austin Ames, Shleby Cummings, and their crew, then her house family, the only escapes she has are the Diner Staff, her best friend Carter, and an online buddy-Nomad. They both go to North Valley High and dream of going to Princeton. They have a relationship that goes on through text messages and emails. He finally asks her to the Halloween dance, where they meet, and she finds out Austin is Nomad. Not knowing who his ‘Cinderella‘ is, he goes on one of the toughest quests ever, as Sam’s friends convince her to tell him. He finds out at a more than humiliating pep rally that Cincerella is ‘Diner Girl’. She finally tells off her steps, and she manages to tell off Austin. At the end, they supposedly end up dating, going to Princeton, and she finds her dad’s will, stating it leaves EVERYTHING to Sam. Happy Ever After? Who knows. Written by Kaylynn

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I’ll lay my cards on the table right off the bat and confess what in some circles could be considered sacrilege - I’m not a fan of comic books. I’ve never read any, and I couldn’t tell you the story behind “Superman,” “Batman,” or “Spider-Man” if my life depended on it. All of my knowledge of ’superheroes’ comes from the movies, and I’d even label that knowledge mediocre at best. “Superman” wasn’t my kind of movie, “Batman” (in his many leading actor incarnations) wasn’t up my alley either, and I went into the theater for “Spider-Man” just hoping it would live up to half of its hype. Half would have been nice, but “Spider-Man” pulled off the near impossible - it lived up to a full 75% of the hoopla and was close to nudging its way 85-90% when it backed off just a smidge (smidge - such a technical term for a movie review).

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This is the story of a mild-mannered bank clerk Stanley Ipkiss, who has just discovered a mysterious ancient green wooden mask by the sea that is inhabited by Loki, the Norse night god of mischief. But when Stanley puts on the mask, he transforms into an uncontrolled wacky-suited green-skinned cartoony manic superhero “The Mask” that does the craziest things and amazes people in search of justice and a good time too. Written by Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}

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