Before we were interrupted with that important message on 3D viewing pleasures (And if you missed the last Geek Strand, go on-line to catch up on that breaking 3D DD news), I promised to continue my briefs on geeky summer movies, so lets get back to it.

Predators (July 7)

Ever since Arnie took on these ugly aliens come to earth for a hunting vacation, Hollywood has been trying to recover the excitement of that original. This has met with varying success, ranging from the forgettable incident in LA with Danny Glover to the latest duke-out between the predators and their “Alien” nemesis.

This time, instead of visiting Earth, the Predators have sent out for take out. A group of kidnapped humans (with no actors worth mentioning) find themselves hunted on an alien planet.

My prediction: mild amusement, but the same old crap we saw Arnie and Jessie Ventura do much better back in the 80s.

The Last Airbender (July 2)

Based on the popular anime, this live action movie promises to be a faithful adaptation. However, we all know to take that with a pound of salt. Interestingly enough, the trailers look pretty good, and even my non-geek, hates-cartoons girlfriend said she might like to see the movie.

Of course, the hook is that M. Night Shyamalan is directing and that is a big danger sign. Despite his early success, his last few movies have failed to impress anyone.

My prediction: Kids will drag their parents. Anime fans will nit-pick it to death. Forgotten by the next weekend.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (June 30)

First movie: Oh, I love Edward. He is a Vampire and sparkles in the sun.

Second movie: Maybe I love Jacob. He’s all ripped and turns into a real animal at night.

Third movie (this one): Hey, where did this plot come from? Someone is creating an army of vampires and plans to take over Seattle.

My prediction: Despite an original idea in the vampire genre (the vamp army not sparkling in the sunlight), this will be more teen angst and boredom for anyone other than teen age girls and those Twilight cougars who lust after the teen vampires and werewolves.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (July 14)

Disney producing a movie about a single segment of their animated masterpiece “Fantasia?” Wow! That sounds like it could be as successful as a movie about a theme park ride.

However, they did do it with the “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and the same team plus the director of the historical “National Treasure” series (Not to mention Nick Cage) is working to bring this battle between modern day wizards to life on the streets of Manhattan might not be too bad.

My prediction: I was skeptical, but the trailers of made a favorable impression on me. This might be the sleeper hit of the summer.

Well, that is it for now. I’ll bring you a summer films wrap up later in the season to discuss the late bloomers of August and September.

Christopher Huff is an unrepentant geek living, writing and playing on the Grand Strand. You can learn more about him and his writing at www.piratejournalism.com. Comments can be sent to chris@alternatives.sc