So once again, I'm writing about movies on my GameSpot blog. Fortunately, it shouldn't be too long before I'll be able to do so on a CNET film fanatic website. I don't know if anyone pays attention to the Entertainment division's job listings, but last month they had 3 or 4 positions available for Data Producers that were very knowledgeable about all things filmic, all of which have subsequently been removed (I'm assuming they were filled). So, motion pictures being my second passion after vidya games, I am excited about the addition, to say the least. Because as much as I try to get into them, the MP3 and TV dot coms just don't do it for me.

But back to my topic du jour. Dead Man's Chest is a cash machine... It easily blew past more than a handful of all-time opening records with it's $135 million weekend. And there's no end in sight. It's still bringing in upper-teen millions of dollars, every day of the week. Meanwhile, Superman Returns managed an $11.6 million weekend for it's third week in release, coming in behind Pirates, Little Man (which I'm ashamed to admit I want to see), and You, Me, and Dupree.

I don't know if the Blue Tights'll be the hit Warner was hoping for when they signed all those checks. And I have to admit, I really don't understand, because Superman Returns is an excellent movie, especially if you were a fan of the original pictures (I wasn't, I'm just saying). Well, I guess I do understand that Pirates pretty much stole the wind from Superman's sails, and that probably spelled the end for America's greatest superhero. But I still need to check it out in 3D on the IMAX...

I ended up watching Dead Man's Chest again last weekend (at a matinee) and my initial opinion about the flick didn't change. It's a very entertaining movie, with a lot of good jokes, great set/costume/character design, slick camera work, insane visual effects, all that jazz. But it's just not as good of a movie as the Black Pearl. The story's not as tight... You cut DMC by 15-20 minutes, and it'd be just about perfect (and better than it's predecessor). That said, I think I won't mind the length as much when I own it on DVD.

I've finished off R&C: Going Commando, and I'm playing through it again on "Challenge Mode" to check out all of the super weapons. But I should have a review up sometime in the next few days. I also started Indigo Prophecy, which is a really great game so far. As I've mentioned before, I'm a long-time fan of adventure games on the PC, and Indigo Prophecy is a nice evolution of that genre. It's a shame that Atari decided to change the name from Fahrenheit for the American release, because there are all of these cool little references to the temperature and "the coldest winter ever" that add a lot of atmosphere to the game...

The story is really quite entertaining & creepy, and some of the gameplay decisions the developers made are interesting. The Simon-esque mini-games provide a nice puzzle/rhythm game challenge to an otherwise very dark, plot-driven experience. The graphics are a little lack-luster, and I can only imagine how amazing it would be on current technology. So I guess here's hoping Quantic Dream will put out Heavy Rain on more platforms than just the PS3, because I'm not about to drop $600 for a single console.