My editor and I were batting some ideas around for Toddster Teamups and he had the idea a while back for doing sequels. I decided to take it a step further and I decided to call this one “Sequels We Love.” Making movies is always a tricky process. Often, movies are made and they always make an impact on us that make them very successful. Then, the same folks who made the movie or others want to take the same characters that we loved before and make the story even better. As I’ve often said, sequels are a hit or miss proposition. In this case, we’ve picked some hits. My team and I have picked some real great movies that continued the adventures of some of our all time favorite movie franchises. See if you like some of our picks.

JEFF GENUNG 
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
No discussion of “sequels we love” could possibly be complete with what is indisputably (at least in The Evening Sun newsroom, and because I run it) the best sequel of all time ... “The Wrath of Khan.”
Picking up from the dismal big screen debut of Star Trek in 1979, “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (or more aptly, “The Motionless Picture”), the producers of the second installment admittedly didn’t have far to go in improving upon the original. What they did have to do, however, was re-start a movie franchise (albeit one with a rabid TV fanbase) after a rather inauspicious start.
Other than returning the same characters we already knew and loved – Kirk, Spock, McCoy, et al – “The Wrath of Khan” bears little resemblance to its predecessor. Everything from the music to the lighting to the costumes changed from one film to the next, instantly giving it a more relevant, exciting and military feel. Instead of wandering around the cosmos in their pajamas, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise suddenly feel like a real space-navy operation, and finally bring their guns to bear on a worthy adversary.
Plucked from one of the TV series best episodes, “Space Seed,” some 20 years before, Ricardo Montalban’s Khan Noonien Singh is a master class in what movie villains should be – formidable, literate, menacing and entertaining – and with clear, decisive motivation. A genetically-enhanced superhuman from Earth’s 1990s (guess we missed that one), revolutionary Khan and his minions were exiled to a promising planet at the end of the TV episode, never to be heard from again. Until, that is, “The Wrath of Khan.”
Turns out Ceti Alpha V wasn’t quite the paradise found Kirk thought it to be. Months after their banishment, an environmental disaster laid waste to the planet, and Khan and company struggled to survive. Survive they did, but now they’re really, really mad. Another Federation starship stumbles upon the castaways, and it isn’t long before Khan commandeers a 23rd century warship – and goes gunning for his old friend, Kirk.
Action, adventure, humor, pathos – and a svelte Kirstie Alley in pointed ears – I don’t know what more you could want from a movie sequel. 

MELISSA STAGNARO
Be Cool (2005)
In the words of Chili Palmer, “I hate sequels.” But for Be Cool, the 2005 follow up to Get Shorty, I’ll make an exception. And that’s high praise believe me, since the 1995 film adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s novel by the same name is one of my all-time favorite movies.
With a number of hilariously intertwined story lines (all of which miraculously tie themselves up in a neat bow at the end), a truly fantastic script, zany characters and a stellar cast, “Be Cool” disproves the notion that you can’t improve on perfection.
Like the first installment, “Be Cool” stars John Travolta as former wiseguy Chili Palmer. Having already tackled - and tired of - the movie industry, Chili turns his attention and, ahem, unique talents to the music industry. His goal is to help a friend’s widow (Uma Thurman) and launch the career of Linda Moon, a budding young musical talent played by Christina Milian. In the process he runs up against Russian mobsters, shady music producers, inept thugs and a hip-hop music mogul played by the likes of Harvey Keitel, Vince Vaughn, Dwayne Johnson (a.k.a. The Rock) and Cedric the Entertainer. All of which he deals with in classic Chili style, of course.
The movie also features cameo appearances by James Wood, Danny DeVito, Andre Benjamin (of Outkast fame), Steven Tyler, Seth Green and more. And while sometimes having too many well-known stars can weigh down a movie, in this case all that combined talent comes together beautifully.
The result of their efforts will have you rolling on the floor. Laughing, of course, not putting out flames. (If you’ve seen it, you’ll get the reference.)
All I can say is that I’ve got my fingers crossed that there will be a number 3.

TYLER MURPHY
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The greatest story ever told. A movie so grand that not even the biggest screens were prepared for the scope. Far ahead of its time, it spawned a culture of followers, an entire mythology of literature, sequels, cartoons, toys and more. “Star Wars, A New Hope” (1977). 
Now before I move ahead to laying acclaim to the next two parts in the trilogy, I must offer homage to the movie that started it all. Like a first true love that’ll always have a special place in science fiction’s heart.
The greatest thing about the first movie is it inspired the catalyst for the Star Wars’ big media bang. After Luke, Han, Chewy and Leia destroy the Death Star and mourned the loss of Old Ben, the crew returned determined to usurp the unparalleled fascism of the cruel intergalactic empire and its mystical despot. As a kid, my favorite was “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980). I just liked the idea of the bad guys winning and any scene that flaunts Darth Vader rocks. There are plenty of those scenes in the second movie: 
“The force is with you young Skywalker ... but you are not a Jedi yet.” “He will join us or die, my master,” and of course the line that stole the breath from audiences, “No, I am your father.”
It was an attractive moral taboo and every good saga needs its tragic flavors. The second movie helped make the final flick, “Return of the Jedi” (1983), all that much more triumphant. 
I know that when it comes to talking about best sequels a lot of people tend to discount the pre-organized trilogies, but with a paltry budget, constant studio pressure, a bunch of no-name actors and a relatively unheard of director, George Lucas himself could have never known the eventually vision he would create. If “A New Hope” was the unknown victorious upset of the movie industry then “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” were repeating championships held to those original high expectations. 
Although very young, I can still vividly recall sitting in front of the TV when I first saw those AT-ATs (giant, four legged, walking tanks) as then stepped across the frozen plain of Hoth toward the rebels. It was an exciting sight that still gives me chills. It’s an epic sage of imagination, true human struggles and opened my fledgling eyes to the sci-fi world. 

BRIAN GOLDEN
Aliens (1986)
When told our next Toddster team-up would focus on a sequel which outdid its predecessor, I had to look no further than the 1986, James Cameron directed, sci-fi classic “Aliens.”
Featuring solid performances by a number of up-and-coming Hollywood superstars (Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, Bill Paxton as Hudson, Paul Reiser as Carter Burke and Michael Biehn as Corporal Hicks, to name a few,) the film focuses on the continuing saga of commercial space pilot Ellen Ripley, returned to society following her first encounter with an unknown and extremely violent alien her original crew picked up on the rogue planet LV-426.
Due to the circumstances of her survival (she blew up her ship following the death of her entire crew in an attempt to kill the alien) Ripley is considered unfit for duty once she returns to society, until Company officials lose touch with the colonists which have since inhabited LV-426. Convinced to accompany a group of Colonial Space Marines in an advisory role, Ripley once again visits the strange planet where the film franchise first began. The only problem? This time there isn’t just a single alien to deal with, there is an entire community of the acid-for-blood, predatory creatures.
The following 90 minutes of the film is a no-holds-barred, roller-coaster ride of action, suspense and terror blended with incredible special effects and a thrilling plot. The dynamics of this film were unparalleled at the time and it set the bar for science fiction thrillers for years, if not decades, to come. 
Whether you’re a fan of the “Alien” franchise like myself, or one new to the series, this movie is a must-see, and I personally recommend the “Aliens: Special Edition” DVD, which features nearly 20 minutes of extra footage, including a remote machine gun story arc that should never have been edited from the original feature. 

TODD CAMPBELL
National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2008)
Whoever thought history could be fun? Nicholas Cage returns as the Treasure Hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates. In the first film, he goes looking for the historical find to end all finds and the only way to find it was to decode a hidden map that was put on the back of the Declaration of Independence. With the aid of Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) and his assistant Riley (Justin Bartha), they find it and the reputation of the Gates family is put right. Is it possible lightning could strike twice? Yes, it can. 
This was the first sequel that Cage has ever done and who knew? This time around, Gates and his family are teaching a lecture when Historian Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris) steps forward to reveal that Gates’ great great grandfather had participated in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by presenting a page that was torn from the diary of John Wilkes Booth. Booth was the man who shot President Lincoln as everyone knows. 
Now, Ben has to find a way to prove that his family had nothing to do with it. Not everything is hunky dory with all the characters from the first movie. Abigail and Ben have split up and Riley is having some tax issues with the IRS. They manage to put their problems aside to help their friend. While investigating the claims of Wilkinson, Ben finds out that page may hold a way to find the lost city of gold that if the Confederate army was able to get their hands on, the United States would be very different today. 
On the chance there is someone who hasn’t seen this, I don’t want to give away the ending of it. The way the story is set up is great and using history as the tool to interweave a dark chapter in our country was just incredible. Cage and the rest of the cast really add more to their characters in this latest installment. A really fun adventure from start to finish. Also, my sources tell me that a third movie is also in development. Stay tuned!

It’s always a lot of fun teaming up with these guys because they always come up with some great choices and this one is a great one. Thanks, everybody! I hope everyone likes our choices and all these movies are available in stores now on DVD. Until next week, The Toddster will return.