Summer is sequel time, so for something truly unique, you'll hit the new DVD section at Blockbuster, right? Uh, no. Sequels aren't just for summer anymore. These new releases offer a mixed bag of sequels and first chapters of movies that look to become franchises, but they all feature the guns, girls, and ammo I know you're looking for.

Just in time for the release of THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, Doug Liman's (GO) THE BOURNE IDENTITY is being released. Here, we are introduced to Matt Damon's amnesiac, who slowly begins to learn that he is really good with knives and
guns, because he is a professional spy, killer, and linguist. If you're a true homo, then you know that this is also the plot of THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT, starring Gina Davis as a mom who realizes her skills at chopping onions come from her days as a hired killer. It's sort of like an amped up makeover movie. I really like this movie, since it doesn't skimp on the locations (Europe is Europe, not a corner of Toronto), and the goofy I, ROBOT type of punch lines are no where to be found. LETHAL WEAPON 4, this ain't. Franka Potente (RUN LOLA RUN) is the love interest, and support is provided by ADAPTATION's Oscar winning Chris Cooper and KING ARTHUR'S Clive Owen.

Frankie Muniz better be saving his money from MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE if he
expects sequels like AGENT CODY BANKS 2: DESTINATION LONDON to keep him in the public eye, once his show finally expires. Tired and lazy, this sequel to the somewhat better FIRST Agent Cody movie spends almost no time letting Cody Banks be a teen. If I was a teen superagent, I'd do a lot more devious things and have a better time.

ALIAS: The Complete Third Season is less a sequel, and more of angoing saga. The somewhat convoluted evolution of Jennifer Garner's journey from grad school student to CIA operative moves forward, as she does battle with SD-6, a secret terrorist organization, whose members believe themselves to actually be working for a branch of the CIA. Or something like that. Micael Vartan, so cute in NEVER BEEN KISSED is Garner's sort of partner, and musical theater veteran Victor Garber is her father figure.

KILL BILL: VOLUME 2. Quentin Tarantino flips 180 from the non-stop hyper violence of VOLUME 1 with this sequel, which will surely be paired with VOLUME 1 in a future deluxe DVD package. In the meantime, fans can rewatch favorite parts of this revenge saga, like Uma Thurman and Daryl Hannah's eye popping trailer fight. The cinematography is nicely stylized, the music's great and KUNG-FU master David Carradine's voice is iconic.

STARSHIP TROOPERS 2: HERO OF THE FEDERATION lacks the subtlety (yes, really) of Paul Verhoeven's original, but anyone watching this straight to DVD sequel isn't looking for subtlety. Things go boom and guns shoot and the giant bugs are goopy. This is a much smaller, lower budgeted movie (they couldn't even afford Casper Van Dien), with a more straightforward shoot em up approach to the material. One of the biggest surprises will be obvious to anyone with even a passing knowledge of sci-fi movies, and the memorable shower scene of the original has no sequel here.