Is there anything cooler then a ninja? Fun fact, while growing up I used to wish for the day a ninja would be in the Transformers cartoon, and while the Transformers/GI Joe crossover comic satiated this desire somewhat, it really wasn’t what I was after. Just like when Spider-Man guest starred, these shameless cross overs diluted both of these great franchises rather then amplifying them. And while Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes were great and all, they were no substitute for Michael Dudikoff.

The American Ninja franchise has a very special place in my heart. A place that you may not, and can not, sully no matter how hard you might try. Anna hasn’t even seen this place because she is crafty and I have been unable to trick her into watching any of the films. But what are American Ninja films? I’m so glad you asked.

The American Ninja films follow a simple, hard working soldier (Dudikoff) who just so happens to be the only American ninja, like, ever. You would think this would go to his head, but no. He keeps his head down and follows orders until invariably an evil villain set on world domination kidnaps his lady friend and unleashes an army of ninjas to kill our intrepid hero. I’m fairly certain American Ninja 2 differs only in that his best friend is kidnapped, as well as a host of Marines, instead of his girlfriend. Also the evil ninjas are color coded.

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It is hard for me to focus on movie recommendations this week. You see I found out last week that a local theater will be showing a 70mm print of 2001: A Space Odyssey and I’m having a bit of a problem getting that out of my mind. Sure it’s not for another month, but still, this is a 70mm print we are talking about. The Holy Grail of cinemaphiles and now I will finally have a chance to see it. Go me.

So as you can see DVD releases seem a little dry to me this week, especially with the rather distasteful Juno coming out. Me, I like my rom-com’s sweet, innocent, and with a side of sex toys which is why I am recommending Lars and the Real Girl. A Frank Capra film if ever their was one, only not by Capra nor do I think he’d like the comparison because he was a Fascist. No he was not, that was a lie.

As for theaters I’m less then impressed by the mainstream films coming out. Street Kings headlines which stars Keanu Reeves as a police detective. Maybe if his name was Johnny Utah I’d be intrigued by this premise but really, who the hell cares? What you should care about is break dancing. Excuse me, B-boying/B-girling. For this week marks the release of Planet B-Boy, a documentary on the awesomeness that is the Electric Boogaloo at the 2005 Battle of the Year. Need I say more?

As always trailers are after the break!

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