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One of the most important things about making a great fantasy/sci-fi film is the creation of the world. That’s why HARRY POTTER is so great. The world is rich and borrows a lot from various Greek myths and wizard and witch tales, but finds a way to make it feel refreshingly original.

The story begins with young Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) living under the stairs of his mean aunt and uncle’s house. On a visit to the zoo, we learn that Harry has strange abilities that he does not understand. Then the owls arrive, carrying letters inviting Harry to come study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, his uncle Vernon (Richard Griffiths, WITHNAIL & I) wants nothing to do with all this embarrassing witches and wizards hoopla. So the family runs to the countryside, but they can’t hide from magic — arriving for Harry is the kind giant Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane, FROM HELL), who takes Harry into a marvelous world that exists in the shadows of the human world.

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This film isn’t really a sequel to the first EVIL DEAD, but more of a re-envisioning of it. EVIL DEAD 2 takes parts of the original and re-works them with much more success. The story is tighter and moves further away from just lining up teenagers to be killed. This film works wonderfully as a subtle satire of slasher and horror films. This is the film that EVIL DEAD wanted to be.

The story follows Ash (Bruce Campbell) and his girlfriend Linda (Denise Bixler) as they take a trip to a secluded cabin in the woods. Turns out, the location is the place where a scientist unleashed the demons of the Book of the Dead. As Ash battles the evil spirits, the scientist’s daughter Annie (Sarah Berry), her research partner Ed (Richard Domeier, DIE HARD 2), redneck Jake (Dan Hicks, DARKMAN) and Jake’s girl Bobby Joe (Kassie DePaiva, TV’s GUIDING LIGHT) venture out to the cabin, which is now cut off from its main entrance/exit. When they find Ash he has been nearly driven insane by the demons. To free themselves, they must find the pieces of an incantation and recite it before the evil spirits kill them all.

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The 3-D films coming out of Pixar and PDI/DreamWorks are so good that it makes other films look like they’re just radio programs. The animation is breathtaking. At moments, you’d think they used puppets. This film works wonderfully as an irreverent satire of fairy tales and Disney’s corporate rendering of those tales. Smaller kids won’t get all the in-jokes, but adults will be in stitches. It takes every Disney cliché and smashes it.

The film follows the adventures of an ogre named Shrek (Mike Myers, AUSTEN POWERS), who makes a deal with the diminutive Prince Farquaad (John Lithgow, TV’s 3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN) to rescue Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz, THE MASK) in return for regaining his swamp back from the rest of the fairy tale creatures, who have been kicked out of the kingdom of Far Far Away. Along the way, Shrek will meet up with the very talkative Donkey (Eddie Murphy, MULAN), who has the exact opposite personality as the sarcastic and grumpy ogre. However, when Shrek shows up to rescue the princess trapped in the tower, she is less than impressed by her not-quite dashing savior.

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I saw this when I was a kid and just re-watched it. It’s just as scary as I remember. It’s a slow build, but it’s totally worth the wait. The moments with the dog are terrifying. The main reason the film works is that anyone can relate to the situation. Everyone has had a mean looking, giant dog bark at them in an angry way. Take that situation and turn it up a million degrees and you get this film.

Donna Trenton (Dee Wallace, E.T.) has moved to a small town in Maine with her husband Vic (Daniel Hugh Kelly, TV’s RYAN’S HOPE) and young son Tad (Danny Pintauro, TV’s WHO’S THE BOSS?). She dreads her new situation, fearing that her life will be painfully boring. Tad has fears of the bogeyman lurking in his closet. While Vic is away on a business trip, Donna takes her Ford Pinto to the farm of Joe Camber (Ed Lauter, SEABISCUIT) for repairs. However, Joe has already been killed by his rabid dog Cujo. Now Donna and Tad find themselves under siege over a sweltering three-day period trapped in their now inoperable car without food and water.

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This film has been out for awhile and I’ve seen it three times already, but after re-watching it again I wanted to make sure that everyone knows how much I love this film. Films this good and original don’t come along that often. The term cult film best suits this unusual genre tale of rap and the way of the samurai. Oh, and don’t forget the Italian mob.

The film follows Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker, THE CRYING GAME), a hit man, who lives by the ancient code of the samurai. As a teen, the gangster Louie (John Tormey, GAME 6) saved Ghost Dog from some thugs and the African American man has vowed his life to the Italian American mobster. Ghost Dog’s best friend, Raymond (Isaach DeBankole, CASINO ROYALE) is an ice cream man, who only speaks French and Ghost Dog only speaks English. The kind-eyed assassin develops a sweet friendship with a young girl named Pearline (Camille Winbush, TV’s THE BERNIE MAC SHOW). Ghost Dog is cool, calculated and ingenious when he’s doing his work. But he believes in his code of honor to the end, whether it will lead to his death or not.

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Here’s another film that you’ll probably have to search out to find, but it’s worth the hunt. It’s from India (which is the main reason it’s hard to find) and follows the journey of a pretty young girl, who has been chosen to be a human bomb to assassinate a VIP. Made prior to September 11th, the film has only increased in importance as a window into the mind of someone who is willing to kill themselves in an effort to murder others. Though inspired by the assassination of the Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 by Tamil Tigers, there is no country, religion or political preference mentioned in the film, which makes the story very universal. Reminding us that terrorism is an act not solely used by Muslim extremists.

Malli (Ayesha Dharker, CITY OF JOY) is an orphan who lives in the jungles among the rebels. Though she hasn’t been completely hardened by her circumstances, she has no hope of escaping the violence of the only world she knows. It’s easy to see how someone, who grows up with death around them all the time, can easily move into extremism. When you’re a poor teen and are not sure whether or not you’re going to live to see another birthday, the praise and privilege of becoming a suicide bomber can be very persuasive.

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