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George Lucas has gone to the dark side of the STAR WARS franchise and made a great film. All the naysayers need to shut up. All the fans have something to rejoice about. It’s not only the best film in the prequel trilogy; it’s better than RETURN OF THE JEDI.

The story, as we know, is how Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen, SHATTERED GLASS) falls to the Dark Side of the Force and becomes Darth Vader. The film starts with Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor, TRAINSPOTTING) on a mission to rescue Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid, SLEEPY HOLLOW) from the Sith Lord General Grievous. Anakin later learns that his wife Padmé (Natalie Portman, CLOSER) is pregnant and he begins to have dreams of her death while giving birth. Plagued by the death of his mother, Anakin is tormented with his seeming powerlessness to stop his loved ones from dying.

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David Gordon Green is a young director whose work is subtle and surprisingly deep. I love his films GEORGE WASHINGTON and ALL THE REAL GIRLS. His new film UNDERTOW is a far more mainstream film for the underrated director whose work reminds me of Terence Malick (THE THIN RED LINE), who actually produced this film.

Due to setting and story, UNDERTOW reminded me a lot of Charles Laughton’s brilliant cult classic NIGHT OF THE HUNTER. Chris Munn (Jamie Bell, BILLY ELLIOT) is a teen who is confused about the world like most teens are. However, he is being isolated from a good portion of the world by his father John (Dermot Mulroney, ABOUT SCHMIDT), who is greatly depressed over the death of his wife. Also a part of this small family unit is 10-year-old Tim (Devon Alan, SIMON BIRCH), who is a strange child who eats paint and mud and then throws up. He’s a smart kid who reads a lot, but is not emotionally mature enough to handle the hardships of life.

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This film falls into the tried and true warning — filmgoers beware of films released in the theaters in January, because they are often crud. Dimension tried to trick people and release this film last Christmas, but it smells like its right from the January dumping ground. Considering the film was made in 2002 and stat around for two years doesn’t build confidence as well.

Now I’ll admit that the film started out promising, especially with some great cinematography and production design. Teen Regina (Anna Paquin, FINDING FORRESTER) and her family have moved from the States to a European country where even electricians speak perfect English. Her father Mark (Iain Glen, LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER) has had another episode and is becoming more and more angry. Regina’s little brother Paul (Stephan Enquist, film debut) begins to have bruises on his neck and starts drawing those cliché kids’ horror film drawings that creep people out. Well, they creep Regina out — her mother Maria (Lena Olin, MYSTERY MEN) is one of those movie moms who can’t see the bruises or unhinged husband before her eyes until it suits the plot. But we know something is up when the shadows under Paul’s bed keep stealing his colored pencils. I hate it when that happens.

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It seems to me this is the quickest remake of all time. The original Argentinean film NINE QUEENS (unseen by me) was released in 2000. With the original barely off the new release shelves at Blockbuster, we get the U.S. remake by first time director Gregory Jacobs, who has worked with Steven Soderbergh on several films as second unit director and producer.

The story begins with con man Richard Gaddis (John C. Reilly, CHICAGO) scoping out a casino for a new con man to take as a partner. He discovers and ingeniously helps out newbie Rodrigo, aka Brian (Diego Luna, OPEN RANGE). The two end up involved in a currency scam for six figures.

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BLADE TRINITY, or How I Killed This Franchise. That’s my title for it. Wesley Snipes got royally ticked off about how his role got diminished in this film to make room for the younger stars. He has every right to be ticked about this colossal disaster.

However, everyone else has the right to be ticked at Snipes for not even dialing in a performance, but faxing in something from the Ashton Krutcher School of Acting. The premise was so promising. The vampires want to get Blade off their backs so they start a PR campaign to get the cops to believe he’s a psycho. Led by Danica Talos (Parker Posey, BEST IN SHOW), the vampires discover the hibernating Dracula, know called Drake (Dominic Purcell, EQUILIBRIUM), in of all places Iraq. They want to use his pure DNA to make them day-walkers like Blade.

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There were two films dealing with reincarnation in 2004 — this film and P.S. BIRTH is more dramatic while P.S. works more as a romantic comedy. Though BIRTH has a more artful approach, P.S. works better.

In BIRTH, Anna (Nicole Kidman, THE HOURS) is in a depressive state over the death of her husband, Sean. She has finally decided to remarry a wealthy businessman named Joseph (Danny Huston, SILVER CITY). Then during a birthday party for Anna’s mother Eleanor (Lauren Bacall, TO HAVE AND TO HOLD), a young boy named Sean (Cameron Bright, THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT) enters the apartment and declares that he is the reincarnation of Anna’s husband Sean.

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I really love the original John Carpenter film, ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13. So when I heard they were remaking it I wasn’t confident of its success. Then when it was given a January release date I was even less hopeful. However, director Jean-François Richet (ALL ABOUT LOVE) has made a more psychological version of the story, but with a lot less iconic cool.

Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke, TRAINING DAY) is a cocky cop who struggles with decisions in his past that leads to the death of his partners. He has been assigned to the rundown precinct 13, which is set for closure. It’s New Year’s Eve and it’s just him, veteran cop Jasper O’Shea (Brian Dennehy, ROMEO + JULIET) and sexoholic secretary Iris Ferry (Drea de Matteo, TV’s SOPRANOS). A snowstorm is raging outside, which leads a prison transport to have to stop for the night at the station. On the bus is legendary drug dealer Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne, THE MATRIX), who has been recently arrested for killing a cop who works for Marcus Duvall (Gabriel Byrne, GHOST SHIP).

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This movie to me is everything Michael Douglas’ FALLING DOWN wanted to be, if it wasn’t jammed into a police thriller format, which indirectly justified and glorified the vigilante’s actions.

Based on true events, this film chronicles the not-so-bright Samuel Bicke (Sean Penn, MYSTIC RIVER), who ended up attempting to hijack a commuter plane and force the crew to fly it into the White House. Bicke has a hard-time holding down a job, because he has an almost juvenile sense of moral superiority to the injustices around him. He has been separated from his wife Marie (Naomi Watts, 21 GRAMS) for nearly two years and she wants to have little to do with him, despite his belief that they will get back together. His only friend is black mechanic Bonny Simmons (Don Cheadle, HOTEL RWANDA), who probably pities Sam more than likes him. Sam has taken a new job selling office furniture, but he has a problem with the system that demands the bending of the truth and complete obedience (he has to shave his moustache).

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Is this the best version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical that could have been brought to the screen? Pretty much. But I still cannot whole heartily recommend it, because the source material is weak. No matter how popular it is it’s still a one-note production.

The story is simple enough — The Phantom (Gerard Butler, DEAR FRANKIE) lurks in the opera house composing in seclusion. He becomes infatuated by the new young star Christine (Emmy Rossum, MYSTIC RIVER), who is in love with her childhood sweetheart Raoul (Patrick Wilson, ANGELS IN AMERICA).

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From actor/director Mike Binder (directed INDIAN SUMMER) comes this bittersweet comedy that has the same tone as a film like TERMS OF ENDEARMENT.

Terry Wolfmeyer (Joan Allen, THE ICE STORM) is at rock bottom. Her husband has up and left her. She has begun drinking excessively. Her four daughters can’t stand her. Her oldest Hadley (Alicia Witt, URBAN LEGEND) hates her and Terry has a habit of saying the absolute wrong thing at every moment with her. Her next child Andy (Erika Christensen, TRAFFIC) has graduated from high school and does not want to go to college much to the dismay of her mother. High school senior Emily (Keri Russell, TV’s FELICITY) wants to study dance, but Terry can’t let something so unpractical happen. Her youngest Lavender, nicknamed Popeye, is your typical confused teen who has a crush on a boy who doesn’t seem to notice her.

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