As a longtime science fiction aficionado with a weakness for special effects, Francis Lawrence's I Am Legend is catnip to me. That doesn't mean I won't be watching with a critical eye, though. I've accumulated a long list of pet peeves about the way that "last man on earth" stories are told, both in print and on screen, and personal warning signs have already popped up just from watching the trailers for I Am Legend. I hope I'm proven wrong and that the film allays my concerns, carrying me away to another time and place, but I'll be on the lookout for some of the stupid things last men on earth do -- and don't do.

1. They Become Attached to Just One Pet

Uh oh, it looks like Will Smith only has one dog. That's never a good sign. He exercises with him, tells him to eat his vegetables, hunts with him, and bathes him. (Later he holds the dog's limp body in his arms; just before that, he screams "Nooooooo!!", sounding like Darth Vader, which may or may not be related to what happens to the dog.) Why do you think all those old ladies keep dozens of cats around? In case one of them dies! Now, I'm not saying Will Smith's dog dies in the movie -- I told you, I haven't seen it -- but if you're the last man on earth, you have to plan ahead. Even if your best dog friend doesn't get eaten by lions or murdered by mysterious creatures of the night, you might actually outlive your buddy, so always have multiple dogs hanging around just in case. (Don't fret too much; remember, All Dogs Go to Heaven.) Unless, of course, Will's canine pal is The Last Dog on Earth, which might be another movie entirely.

Come this Christmas, I Am Legend, a science fiction horror film starring Will Smith and based on a novel by Richard Matheson, will be hitting theaters. This will make three adaptations for Matheson's novel, the last being 1971's The Omega Man, which starred Charlton Heston. The book was first adapted for the 1964 film The Last Man on Earth, a bleak post-apocalyptic nightmare starring Vincent Price. While still taking a few liberties with the source material, the Price film is easily the more faithful of the two, and this Italian/British co-production has been a personal favorite for years.

The film opens with a series of shots depicting a city with no citizens. A few bodies lie here and there, but otherwise the streets are empty. The Marquee in front of a church reads "The End Has Come." The camera moves into a residential neighborhood and into the home of Dr. Robert Morgan (Price), the titular last man on earth whose sanity is hanging by a thread. Each night Morgan's house is assaulted by vampire-like creatures, the after effects of the global plague that has wiped out mankind. The creatures are bloodthirsty but weak and are only dangerous in numbers.

In the rush to see big-budget new movies like Transformers or Live Free or Die Hard, which feature the latest visual effects, the biggest stars or more explosions per minute than any other film, we often forget about the great, classic films that helped pave the way for the big-budget movie-going experience we get to enjoy today. Over the years, some great films have come out of Hollywood and the indie world which are regarded as classics of their genres and are still entertaining and influencing audiences and filmmakers around the world.

Some of these great films of the past include a whole bunch of horror classics from Universal, which, according to DVD Drive In, are now on their way to your waiting hands via exclusive box sets of DVDs. Just in time for Halloween, a horror collection which includes such campy classics as Horror Island, Captive Wild Woman (one of my personal favorites) Man-Made Monster starring Lon Chaney Jr. and The Black Cat starring both Boris Karloff and Bella Lugosi, will hit store shelves. A Sci-Fi box set from the studio is also in the works which includes films such as The Deadly Mantis, The Leech Woman, Dr. Cyclops. and Cult of the Cobra starring a young David Janssen.

Not to be left out, MGM is also set to release two classic film DVD box sets of its own in the coming months. The first, featuring the work of the great Vincent Price, collects such Price classics as The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Tales of Terror, Madhouse and Theater of Blood, co-starring the sexy Diana Rigg. The set will also feature bonus material including a documentary about the late actor as well as two making-of shorts. Also coming from MGM is a box set of Roger Corman classics including Bloody Mama, starring Oscar-winners Shelley Winters and Robert De Niro, The Young Racers, The Trip and The Wild Angels. Some great films made for almost no money that remind us what filmmaking is all about: interesting characters and compelling stories told well. Although, it is fun to blow stuff up sometimes too.

It was 25 years ago that Tim Burton made his first short film, and it was based on one of his childhood heroes -- Vincent Price. The six-minute stop-motion short, called Vincent, was about a boy who imagines that he is the epically creepy actor. It was based on a poem that Burton wrote, and it was narrated by the actor himself. Now, in an attempt to offer something fresh with the upcoming re-release of Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3-D, Disney will be showing the short as an opening to the film. As if that wasn't enough, it will be converted into stereoscopic 3-D to match the feature.

That's not a bad deal -- see a universally loved movie in 3-D, and get a great look into Burton's fledgling work as well. Disney exec Chuck Viane explained to The Hollywood Reporter: "When you have an evergreen title like Nightmare, it is very important to give the fan a chance to sample something new. Each year on bring backs, we are going to try to add some value." I assume by "bring backs" they mean re-releases of old material. While that is good for this feature, the quote just brings to mind all of those damned re-releases of films, each with a smidge of newness to lure us fans into buying each one. I wonder if a time will come when studios will cut a film just to have enough goodies to last through 10 different releases of a movie/DVD? Regardless, if this flick fares well in 3-D, I'm sure we will see Disney dig in for more depth conversions. Me, I'd like to see In Search of the Castaways zooming through the 3-D air. How about you? What Disney films would you like to see with an extra dimension?