It's no secret that Hollywood is sequel crazy, but it's gotten to the point where it's hard to tell at a glance if a movie is a sequel or something new all together. Here are five trailers I had to closely scrutinize before I could determine whether or not sequalization was occurring.

Fast & Furious
Yup, this one's definitely a sequel, the fourth installment in the series launched by 2001's The Fast and the Furious. First off I give the whole franchise kudos for having the originality to give each of the films its own title and not just slapping on an escalating series of numbers. Furthermore, despite never having seen any of the others in the series, this trailer piqued my interest. Vin Diesel and co-star Michelle Rodriguez are seen here hijacking a tractor trailer hauling multiple tankers of gasoline, and the action is downright spectacular. Granted, the almost subliminal lesbian make out scene doesn't hurt either, but I could get behind seeing this. Here's what William had to say on the trailer.

Sukyaki Western Django
At first glance one might think this was a belated sequel to the 1966 spaghetti western Django. In reality this is an ultra violent homage to the genre with Takashi Miike at the helm and with Quentin Tarantino appearing in a supporting role. I've seen a few of Miike's film's, but the one I remember best is the bizarre and brutal Ichi the Killer, so I'm curious to see how he does with a Western. The preview is a frenetic barrage of action scenes with plot details being of secondary concern, but there's some wild stuff here, including bullets being deflected by samurai swords much in the way a Jedi would deflect a laser blast with his light sabre. The film is shot in English, though according to Jeffrey's review of the film, the mostly Japanese cast's unfamiliarity with the language is a drawback. Still, this looks pretty cool. Sukyaki Western Django goes into limited U.S. release this weekend, so I don't imagine it will be long before it's available on DVD.

After four weeks as the top movie in America, The Dark Knight finally yielded the spot to the action comedy Tropic Thunder despite the threat of boycotts. Here's the top five:

1. Tropic Thunder: $25.8 million
2. The Dark Knight: $16.4 million
3. Star Wars: The Clone Wars: $14.6 million
4. Mirrors: $11.2 million
5. Pineapple Express: $9.8 million

Four more new releases this week. Will any of them be able to knock Tropic Thunder's, um, thunder? Let's see:

Death Race
What's It All About: Jason Statham stars in this reimagining of Roger Corman's Death Race 2000. In the not too distant future prison inmates are given a chance for freedom by taking part in a brutal cross-country race that can have only one survivor.
Why It Might Do Well: The summer blockbuster season is on the wane, and since this is the only action flick coming out this week, Death Race may benefit from the public's need to see things blow up. Also, Statham does have his admirers.
Why It Might Not Do Well: You can only watch so many spectacular car wrecks.
Number of Theaters: 2,400
Prediction: $15 million

Music plays a vital role in nearly every film, but for these five it's of particular importance.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Michael Cera has become the go-to guy for filmmakers looking to cast a romantically befuddled teen, and I have to say he's pretty darn good at it. Whether he's mooning over the best friend that he's recently impregnated (Juno) or harboring a forbidden affection for his cousin (Arrested Development), you can't help rooting for the little perv. This time out he's playing an angst ridden kid nursing a broken heart who finds himself falling for his new acquaintance Norah as the two spend a hectic night in New York City trying to find the location of a secret gig their favorite band is playing. The story is only of moderate interest, but Cera's presence has me wanting to check out the movie. Here's William's take on the trailer.

Beer For My Horses
The eye-catching title comes from a Toby Keith song. Keith is starring in and co-writing this action comedy about a Texas deputy who has to rescue his girlfriend from a dangerous drug lord. Willie Nelson puts in an appearance, apparently as a Yoda-style adviser to our hero. At first I suspected something along the lines of a Larry the Cable Guy movie, and while this is still no Oscar contender, I can see where it might make for entertaining viewing once it hits DVD. I even found myself chuckling at the "peeing in the coffee" joke despite myself.

It's starting to look like the only way we're going to get the bats out of the top five is to call an exterminator. Chalk up another $26 million for billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne and his war on crime as The Dark Knight hangs on to first place for a fourth week in a row. Seth Rogen's stoner comedy came in respectably at second, taking in only $3 million less than the Batman Begins sequel. Here's the break down:

1. The Dark Knight: $26.1 million
2. Pineapple Express: $23.2 million
3. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: $16.4 million
4. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2: $10.6 million
5 Step Brothers: $9.1 million

We've got four new releases this week:

Mirrors
What's It All About: Directed by Alexandre Aja of High Tension fame, Mirrors stars Kiefer Sutherland as an ex-cop turned security guard who discovers something evil in the mirrors of an old museum. This scare flick is a remake of a Korean movie.
Why It Might Do Well: Who doesn't like a good scare, and Sutherland is a strong lead who is familiar to millions thanks to his work on 24.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The momentum for Asian horror remakes must be slowing by now, although every time I say that a new one pops up.
Number of Theaters: 2,600
Prediction: $12.5 million

Once again we're bouncing around the trailer-verse, finding a preview of interest and letting word association zig us into one trailer before zagging into another. Here we go ...

The Spirit
The Spirit teaser made the movie look a bit too much like a Sin City sequel, but this full length trailer seems to give a better look at what it's all about. Tons of bizarre imagery to digest here, with a strong emphasis on The Spirit's love interests, which appears to be pretty much every woman in the cast. I've only read a few Spirit comics over the years so I wasn't sure what to expect. Still, Frank Miller is giving this a major dose of visual style which has me looking forward to the December 25 release date. Here's Elisabeth's take on it.
And speaking of all things spiritual...

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Up through Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire I felt the film adaptations of J.K. Rowling's novels improved with each installment. I also liked Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but for the first time I thought too many details from the book were glossed over or left out entirely, making the movie feel more like highlights from the book than a complete adaptation. I'm hoping I don't get that feeling when the Half-Blood Prince hits theaters because I'm liking this trailer. We really get the feel of the series' increasing darkness as we see a flashback of Professor Dumbledore's first meeting with Tom Riddle, the boy who will grow up to become Lord Voldemort. I'm expecting great stuff for Harry's sixth year at Hogwart's. Here's what Erik had to say on the trailer.
And speaking of school...

Brendan Fraser's third outing as a mummy wrangler did OK, but not well enough to unseat The Dark Knight which has held the number one sport for three weeks now. Here's the top five:

1. The Dark Knight: $42.6 million
2. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: $40.5 million
3. Step Brothers: $16.5 million
4. Mamma Mia!: $12.6 million
5. Journey to the Center of the Earth: $6.6 million

We've got two new releases this week, both of which are arriving in theaters today in hopes of building buzz for the coming weekend (and to avoid the start of the Olympics). Also, neither of them is directly targeting the same audience as The Dark Knight, which, even in its fourth week of release, is still the one to beat.

Pineapple Express
What's It All About: A stoner (Seth Rogen) and his dealer (James Franco) find themselves on the run after seeing a cop commit murder. Rogen wrote the script with Evan Goldberg, and this is the writing team behind Superbad.
Why It Might Do Well: Judd Apatow isn't directing, but he's on board as producer and he's got a story credit, so hopefully his magic touch will be in evidence. Also, most theaters provide comfortable seating with easy access to snacks, so the stoner crowd should feel right at home.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The aforementioned stoners might be saving their money for the recently announced Cheech and Chong reunion.
Number of Theaters: 3,072
Prediction: $24 million

When I saw that there was a new Island of Lost Souls coming I mistakenly assumed this was yet another remake of the 1932 film of the same name which starred Charles Laughton and Bela Lugosi. That film was remade in 1977 and 1996 as The Island of Dr. Moreau, and I chalked this up to the usual remake madness. Once I actually read the Variety article in question, though, I realized this film is something else entirely. This Island of Lost Souls is a remake of a 2007 Danish film called De fortabte sjaeles, which deals with a teenage girl whose younger brother has been possessed by the benevolent spirit of an 18th century magician and finds herself caught up in a centuries old battle between good and evil. This sounds tailor made to cash in on the Harry Potter audience.

The new film is being directed by Nicolaj Arcel who co-wrote and directed the award-winning original which was heavy on special effects and was one of the highest grossing films in Denmark last year. The new screenplay will be written by Jennifer Okieffe. Marc Abraham and Eric Newman will produce via their Strike Entertainment banner.

Every generation has its rebellious teen years, so a remake of 1979's Rock 'n' Roll High School, a movie about school kids fighting back against an oppressive school administration, doesn't seem entirely off the wall. Still, the movie pretty much existed as an excuse to put punk rock pioneers The Ramones on the big screen, so I'm wondering how this will work without them. According to an article in Variety, radio personality Howard Stern (who I always thought shared a common hairdo with The Ramones) will be producing the remake along with Larry Levinson. This makes two projects the pair are jointly working on, the other being a remake of 1982's Porky's.

The new Rock 'n" Roll High School will be scripted by Alex Winter, the same Alex Winter who joined Keanu Reeves for a couple of "excellent adventures" as Bill S. Preston Esq., and got staked by Cory Feldman in The Lost Boys. Winter still works as an actor (he had a recurring role on Adult Swim's Saul of the Mole Men), but he's primarily a writer/director these days, having directed music videos, commercials and the made-for-TV movie Ben 10: Race Against Time as well as a feature about Napster and its creator Shawn Fanning.

The original film was produced by B-movie legend Roger Corman and directed by Allan Arkush, with additional uncredited direction from Joe Dante and Jerry Zucker. The movie starred P.J. Soles as Riff Randell, the girl who is bound and determined to get The Ramones to play at the school dance. The cast also featured several Corman regulars including Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, Dick Miller and Clint Howard. It's been years since I've seen this one, but I remember it as a fun bit of fluff from the drive-in era. What do you say, readers, will this translate well into the twenty-first century?

It's a good time to be a cinematic super hero, and Jules Verne proved that his work still has legs 103 years after his death, but Eddie Murphy's Meet Dave died a thousand deaths pulling in a mere $5.2 million and not even making the top five. Here are the totals:

1. Hellboy II: The Golden Army: $34.5 million
2. Hancock: $32 million
3. Journey to the Center of the Earth: $21 million
4. Wall-E: $18.7 million
5. Wanted: $11.9 million

Three new releases this week, and in the very broadest of terms we have one for the guys, one for the gals and one for the kids.

The Dark Knight
What's It All About: Do I really need to explain this one? Christian Bale returns to the role of Batman in the sequel to the series rebooting Batman Begins, with Christopher Nolan once again in the director's chair. There's a new crime boss in Gotham City and he's called The Joker (Heath Ledger). The two clash, things blow up, awesomeness ensues.
Why It Might Do Well: This will be the movie to beat this Summer. Batman is so ingrained into American pop culture that he's bonded to our collective DNA. Batman Begins grossed $205 million domestically and $371 million worldwide. The Dark Knight is scoring 88% over at Rottentomatoes.com and Cinematical's own James Rocchi had some good things to say about it.
Why It Might Not Do Well: There remains the possibility that people with a fear of bats will join forces with those with a fear of clowns and boycott the film, which of course means more popcorn for the rest of us.
Number of Theaters: 4,300
Prediction: $125 million

With The Dark Knight making its debut this Friday, I thought the time was right to take a look back at this jaw-dropping Batman parody from 1966. Rat Pfink A Boo Boo was the brainchild of Ray Dennis Steckler, the B-movie auteur behind The Thrill Killers, The Lemon Grove Kids Meet the Monsters and The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies (the latter of which would have me muttering "cha-ching" right about now if I was paid by the word). Released in 1966, the same year the Batman TV series debuted, the film actually doesn't focus on costumed hero buffoonery until nearly the half-way mark. Apparently Steckler decided that the earnest but incompetent crime thriller he had been making wasn't working out, so he decided to do his own take on Batman, a character he had long admired. The resulting film is a disjointed mess unlike anything you've ever seen before, making this the Plan 9 From Outer Space of super hero films, and if you're the type who can find enjoyment in amazingly bad cinema then you just have to see this.