Sequels that excite me and sequels that leave me cold

Sequels are almost always a dicey proposition. Unless a film sets up a clear trajectory for a story to continue -- Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a great example of this -- it can feel like a cynical exercise in regurgitating what you liked about the first film but perhaps with a bigger budget.

Deadpool 2 comes to mind as an example of one of those. These films are almost only naked cash grabs and even when they're good they're also missing staying power.

Two recent trailers really illustrate this dichotomy for me. The first is the exciting and eerie new trailer for the follow-up to the monster blockbuster It.

I enjoyed It a lot. It felt like Stranger Things: The Movie at times, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It was reasonably scary but not so much so that average filmgoers couldn't have fun with it, which is why I think it became the most profitable horror film of all time.

Still, I remembered thinking that the decision to split the film's narrative in two -- which made sense from a pacing and profit perspective -- might diminish the second film. In the first film, our heroes are able to overcome the nefarious Pennywise the Clown.

Although Pennywise is and was a formidable villain, but at the end of the day -- a bunch of kids defeat him without one of them losing their lives.

I get it, that's the Stephen King narrative, and these movies aren't trying too hard to deviate from it -- but it always sapped a little tension out of story for me when the kids become adults. Why should they be scared of a clown they already killed?

But then the new trailer came out -- and oh man is it fun. It's one of the more interesting trailers I've seen in a while, presenting an extended and creepy scene featuring Jessica Chastain (one of the big names in a cast that also includes Bill Hader and James McAvoy) opposite an old woman we can only presumed has been possessed by Pennywise. It's a nice slow boil of a scene and then the trailer kicks into high gear with quick cuts of those ominous balloons and more all punctuated by actor Bill Skarsgard's unmistakable giggle.

I found myself riveting and excited to revisit a world that was well-established in the first film.

And then there's the new Terminator: Dark Fate trailer. There's no doubt it's a thrill to see Linda Hamilton back in action, and her presence at the center of this new film definitely makes me more psyched to see it than Genisys or Salvation. But the problem is that those films (some would also argue Terminator 3, although I find it amusing) went a long way in terms of sullied what goodwill there was for the first two classic Terminator films.

The problem is that those films ended conclusively and didn't really carve out a window for the franchise to continue. Arnold lowers himself into lava, the last of his kind at the end of the second film and that should have closed the time travel loop.

But then miraculously more terminators kept getting sent back (and forth) to kill John Connor. I thought the 'idea' behind Salvation was cool -- we never did get to see John Connor's adult story play out and it sounded cool in theory -- but two movies in row have proven its not.

And, somehow, Arnold Schwarzenegger pops up again. He looks great, I love the beard, but at 71 years old what is he going to be doing in this movie? I get it, it feels weird doing one of these without him. It's like Indiana Jones without Harrison Ford. But why do another one? Money, of course.

It's not that the first films really 'said' much. Sure it could be a cautionary tale about technology -- but these were mostly just fantastic chase films with groundbreaking action and effects. There was not a single shot that really wowed me or surprised me in this new trailer, besides the appearance of Hamilton.

In fact, none of the more recent Terminator films feel like they advanced the sci-fi action genre since Terminator 2's groundbreaking use of CGI back in 1991 -- which is a problem. In order to justify its existence, it's gotta sell me on something more than the return of James Cameron as a producer.

I sense that audiences are already over this franchise anyway. Although Genisys made bank overseas, it couldn't even crack 100 million here in the U.S. even with Arnold Schwarzenegger back in the lead.

As I always so, I will wait for the reviews -- and maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. But right now I'm high on It: Chapter Two and lukewarm on Terminator: Dark State