Just hearing the word ‘sequel’ makes me cringe. Too many times the fond memories of a good movie have been ruined by a lame, cash-in-while-the-getting-is-good sequel. The bad sequel list goes on ad nauseam, populated with misguided, unnecessary and annoying attempts to recapture the spirit – and the box office dollars – of a successful movie. And no matter how you try to forget them, bad sequels leave a rotten taste in your mouth that taints the enjoyment of the original film. But the powers behind “Shrek” got it right. They pulled off the near impossible and created a sequel that’s better than the original. Even the computer generated animation, which was pretty darn good in the first film, has been vastly improved. This “Shrek” looks gorgeous, feels fresh, and touches your heart on a grander scale than the first movie.

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Samual L Jackson plays a businessman who sinks $200 million into a special project to help fight brain cancer. As part of this project, medical biologist Susan McAlester (Saffron Burrows) rather naughtily figures out a way to genetically embiggen shark brains, so that cancer-battling enzymes can be harvested. However, the shark subjects become super smart and decide they don’t much like being cooped up in pens and being stabbed with hypodermics, so they figure a way to break out and make for the open sea… Written by John Smith {John.Smith7@net.ntl.com}

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It was with a great deal of trepidation that I found myself at a recent preview screening of “Finding Nemo.” First off, I don’t usually like ‘kids’ movies. Secondly, I’m not a big fan of animated films in general. “Finding Nemo” combines the two, making it the sort of film I dread seeing the most.

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Do you ever feel like everyone but you is in on the joke? I didn’t feel that way with Wes Anderson’s other films – “Bottle Rocket,” “Rushmore,” or the amazing “Royal Tenenbaums.” Those films were clever but never condescending. Those I understood and basically stood in awe of. But from the title to the bizarre action sequences, “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” left me feeling like an outsider looking in.

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James Bond is on possibly his most brutal mission yet. Bond’s good friend, Felix Leiter is left near to death, by drug baron Franz Sanchez. Bond sets off on the hunt for Sanchez, but not everyone is happy. MI6 do not feel Sanchez is not their problem and strips Bond of his license to kill. Bond is now more dangerously than ever. Bond gains the aide of one of Leiter friends, known as Pam Bouvier and sneaks his way into the drug factories, which Sanchez owns. Will Bond be able to keep up his identity secret, or will Sanchez see Bonds true intentions? Written by simon

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Intrepid British archaeologist Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) has made perhaps the most important archaeological discovery in history: an orb that leads to the mythical Pandora’s Box. Unfortunately, the orb falls into the hands of Jonathan Reiss (Ciarán Hinds), an evil scientist who deals in killer viruses and hopes to sell the secrets of the box as the ultimate weapon. Recruited by British Intelligence to get the orb back from Reiss, Lara recruits Terry Sheridan (Gerard Butler), a British marine turned mercenary (and her former love interest) to help. The two embark on an adventure that spans continents in an attempt to regain the orb… Written by Gavin Nelson

The sea underworld is shaken up when the son of the shark mob boss is found dead and a young fish named Oscar is found at the scene. Being a bottom feeder, Oscar takes advantage of the situation and makes himself look like he killed the finned mobster. Oscar soon comes to realize that his claim may have serious consequences. Written by Anonymous

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Ever since JAWS enchanted and frightened cinemagoers in the 1970s, the shark movie has become a welcome addition to the horror film genre. RAGING SHARKS continues the tradition, once again tapping into mankind’s innate fear of these creatures who lurk in the ocean. This time out, the Bermuda Triangle is the location for some Great White action, as a strange object plops into the water from outer space. Unfortunately this drives our amphibious friends into a frenzy, with carnage ensuing, and a chance for the rugged Corbin Bernsen to come to the rescue.

Pierce Brosnan is at the top of his game in the dark comedy, “The Matador,” written and directed by Richard Shepard. Proving there is life beyond Bond, Brosnan’s moved on and up with his role as a hit man who suffers from job burnout in this strangely touching buddy comedy.

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The small island resort town of Amity is trying to bounce back from the financial problems it had after becoming known as the site of shark attacks four years ago. Mayor Larry Vaughn is welcoming developer Len Peterson and his new resort to Amity. Two scuba divers are exploring the area where the Orca sank after police chief Martin Brody killed a huge shark four years ago. A shark shows up and kills the two divers, but not before one of the divers takes a close-up picture of the shark’s eye, and sometime later, while a mother is driving a boat that’s pulling her water-skiing teenage daughter, the shark kills the daughter and causes the mother to accidentally blow up the boat, then a killer whale is found on the shore with a huge bite on it. After Brody sees this, he knows there’s another huge great white shark in Amity’s waters, but Vaughn and Peterson explain these attacks away as non-shark accidents, because the thought of another shark in Amity’s waters would drive tourists away from the new resort and cause the new resort to lose money. It looks like Vaughn is still a mayor who puts money ahead of people’s lives. Brody tips his gun’s hollow point bullets with cyanide and melted candle wax and tells his sons Michael and Sean to stay away from the beaches and tells them to not go sailing with Mike’s friends, who include Vaughn’s son Larry Vaughn Jr. Everyone thinks Brody’s fears are shark trauma-induced paranoia. Brody even tries to call his friend Matt Hooper, who is doing research on a boat in the Antarctic Circle, and Matt will be in the Antarctic Circle for a few more months. While keeping an eye on the waters from the beach’s shark tower, Brody sees a huge dark spot in the water and rings the tower’s alarm bell, but it turns out to be a school of bluefish. Vaughn fires Brody for causing this panic at the beach and scaring tourists and their money away, and even though they were told not to, Michael and Sean go out sailing with Junior Vaughn and their friends, unaware that the shark is trailing them. Brody knows it’s up to him to find them before the shark kills too many of them. Written by Todd Baldridge

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