Movies That Don't Need Another Sequel

Sorry, Transformers fans

(NEWSER) - The summer blockbuster: proof that, when it comes to movies, budget is often inversely proportional to quality. In Time , Everett Rosenfeld and Gilbert Cruz reflect on the worst of the worst:

1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Director Michael Bay’s only priority: explosions.
2. Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace: “This is the story of a man with too much power and the terrible things he did”—that is, George Lucas.
3. Sex and the City 2: Our heroes go to the Middle East and “proceed to act closed-minded and condescending.”

'The Dark Knight Rises' is lame ... but far from the worst

(NEWSER) - Drum roll, please: The sequel to The Dark Knight will be named ... The Dark Knight Rises. "How thoroughly underwhelming," complains Katie Calautti for Newsweek —while acknowledging it could be much, much worse. She runs down the 10 most pathetic attempts at creativity in the last 20 years of cinema:

1. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010): So it ... takes naps? What does this even mean? "Is greed better when it’s been awake for a solid 72 hours?"

Worthy follow-up to Schwarzenegger classic only took 23 years

(NEWSER) - Predators is getting mostly decent reviews as a sequel to the alien-hunting-humans original, 1987's Predator. Adrien Brody stars.

• Lou Lumenick, New York Post : "After 23 years and three attempts, Predators finally delivers a solid sequel to the Arnold Schwarzenegger B-movie classic."
• Kurt Loder, MTV : It's "a B movie that knows its job, and does it. Which means, among other things, that making sense is not on its to-do list."

'Jaws' takes top honors, but some surprises make the list

(NEWSER) - Summer is all about the beach and blockbusters, and Time Out New York set out on a big mission: To rank the 30 best. It set a few restrictions—films had to hit theaters between May and August, had to gross more than $100 million globally, and couldn't be surprise hits, a la The Blair Witch Project. Highlights:

1. Jaws, 1975: This wasn't just a nail-biter, it was a trailblazer, the first flick to use a "wide-release" strategy, which no doubt helped make it the first film to rake in more than $100 million.

4. Ghostbusters, 1984: An action-sci-fi hybrid dosed with SNL-style humor, it proved that something-for-everyone mash-ups can make a smash at the box office.

Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too? raises some good questions

(NEWSER) - Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too? hits theaters today, which means it’s time for a lesson on how Hollywood names its sequels. Obviously, writes Amos Barshad in New York , the choice of “Too”—“far more elegant” than simply “2”—was the right one, but here are some other techniques Perry could have gone with:

• Pump up the intensity: Á la Die Hard With a Vengeance. Perry could have gone with “Why Did I Marry My Ass Off?”
• Tack on a subtitle: Like Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. Or perhaps, in Perry’s case, “Why Did I Get Married: Seriously, Why?”