Everyone's caught the fever. Star Wars #5 (technically, #2.) Halloween #8. Friday the 13th #10. In coming years, Indiana Jones #4 and perhaps Alien #5. And so it goes.
Some of these are worth seeing (for me) because they know they're cheesy, e.g. Jason X. Others have to be seen on the pure chance that they will be even half as good as the original, e.g. Indiana Jones #4. A select few sequels actually rival or exceed the original, e.g. T2 and Aliens.
But in most cases, and I think you know this already, the sequels just dampen the greatness of the original. The worst case is when the original sucked in the first place, and then a sequel comes along and it's even worse. I would throw "Scary Movie" into this category, but I realize that for some ungodly reason it made a lot of money, and thus the inevitable sequel.
Anyway, that's my short and uninspired rant for this week. I had originally intended to say something about the situation in the Mideast, but there's no way to do that tactfully, so I'm going to remain dissociated with it.