Part4 Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I pray you'll forgive me for bringing you up-to-date on some colorful DVD news that's (at least) three weeks old, but it just amuses me when a genre series keeps chugging along well after it probably should have been tossed into mothballs. (That doesn't include the new American Pie video sequels. There's nothing even remotely amusing about those things.) We've shared a few tidbits on the third Species sequel (the second one to go straight to DVD), but Fangoria has a bunch of new info that just might amuse people who love silly sci-fi and blatant jiggle-factor. Yep, the series that brought together sci-fi, horror, Ben Kinglsey and Natasha Henstridge's (frequently) naked breasts is back! On October 2 you and your horny gorehound pals can gather 'round for MGM's Species 4: The Awakening!

Apparently this one's about a sexy college professor who is justifiably concerned after discovering that she's not human at all, but instead a human-alien hybrid that's about to go into heat and slaughter a bunch of men who *just* got to see her boobies. The flick stars (the stunning) Helena Mattsson as the inevitably undressed alien babe and Ben Cross as the uncle who tries to keep her one step ahead of some other freaky-murderous alien monsters. Sounds like a half-decent way to spend 80-some minutes, I suppose. Indie-maker and music video director Nick Lyon makes his studio debut on the project. Screenplay courtesy of Species 3 writer Ben Ripley, and Species 3 is a pretty solid chunk of fun trash.

In addition to the unrated version of Species 4, October 2 will also see the release of a 2-disc Species Special Edition -- which is kind of weird because I could have sworn there was a Species Special Edition released alongside Species 3. (There was.) This new set will include audio commentary with Ms. Henstridge, Michael Madsen and director Roger Donaldson, plus a whole second disc jam-packed with Species stuff. And you'll notice how I never once mentioned Species 2 during this entire article. That's because even I have some taste. (For a specs breakdown on the new Species SE -and- a bunch of gory pics from Species 4, hit up Fango for a few minutes.)

According to The Hollywood Reporter, mega-producer Jeffrey Katzenberg ALWAYS envisioned Shrek as a four- movie package. Wow, really, Jeffrey? 4? Not 3 or 5? And was part of this master plan to have the third chapter turn out to be a big disappointment so the fourth one would like that much better? If so, that's a pretty clever plan. But can I remind you of the "4 movie plan" quote when you guys start production on Shrek 5? OK, cool. (Oh, and I guess Jeff's original plan didn't include DVDs like that Shrek 4-D thing and the upcoming Shrek the Halls, right?)

Apparently the next Shrek flick will be an "origin story," which means ... what? We get to see a giant pregnant ogress give birth to our green, stinky hero? Awesome. I mean ... does Shrek need an origin story? He's a freakin' ogre. Is there some fascinating back-story about how he came to live in a swamp? Meh. I guess I'm just a little disenchanted with the Shrek franchise right now. Stop back in a few years, Katzenberg, and we might be ready to play along. (Seriously though? "Origin story" sounds more to me like "This way we don't have to pay the huge fees for people like Diaz, Murphy and Banderas." Or maybe I'm just a big, fat cynical jerk.) Anyway, yeah: Shrek. Get used to him.