Fantastic Four Mini-Review: After a dismal reception to the first movie from just about everyone, Tim Story overcompensates with a number of impressive FX-laden action set pieces in hopes that people won't realize how many of the problems from the first movie have carried over to the sequel. The biggest problem is the bad writing as every scene is filled with corny dialogue that tries to make things funnier or more melodramatic, but one can't overlook the fact that much of the group were sorely miscast for the first movie and that hasn't changed. The worst offender is Jessica Alba who tries too hard to be tough and serious, and sadly, she still can't act her way out of a paper bag despite them finding more ways to get her out of her clothes. Once again, some of the best scenes are the ones where The Thing and Torch are squabbling, but it gives the movie far too erratic a tone as too many gags are thrown into what should be serious moments.

The Silver Surfer himself looks great in some sequences but at other times, he looks like an early prototype of the T-1000 or worse, like a man in a latex suit. The Thing and Torch don't look that much better than in the first movie, even if the group's powers are used in far more interesting ways. Who knows why Victor von Doom spends most of the movie out of his mask and suit, but once again, he's the weakest link of the movie. And yes, Galactus is represented as a giant storm cloud, and though it's used in a way that allows for impressive CG FX sequences, the comic book source material should have been a no-brainer to adapt into a much better movie than this. Sure, this still is better than the first one, but that's only taking into consideration that it couldn't possibly have been any worse. Rating: 6/10

As far as the returning movies this weekend, Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is losing nearly 700 theatres this weekend, but what should keep it from plumetting will be the Saturday night sneak previews of Pixar's Ratatouille, the box office receipts to be added to Pirates' weekend take, while the third and fourth place slots should be retained by the stronger non-sequels, Judd Apatow's Knocked Up and Sony's Surf's Up.

Next week, the #1 movie will be Universal's comedy sequel Evan Almighty, starring Steve Carell, but I wouldn't expect it to make more than $40 million its opening weekend. Taking away some business will be the Stephen King thriller 1408 with John Cusack, which should be able to bring in $15 to 20 million. Michael Winterbottom's A Mighty Heart, starring Angelina Jolie as Mariane Pearl is likely to wind up in the bottom half of the Top 10 with between $6 and 7 million.