The power of an immortal. The soul of a human. The heart of a hero.

Starring: Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, N'Bushe Wright, Donal Logue, Udo Kier, Arly Jover, Traci Lords, Kevin Patrick Walls, Tim Guinee, Sanaa Lathan, Eric Edwards

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"You better wake up. The world you live in is just a sugar-coated topping! There is another world beneath it: the real world. And if you wanna survive it, you better learn to PULL THE TRIGGER!" – Blade, to Karen

Why watch this? OK, there's a black vampire super-hero. It's Wesley Snipes. Sign me up!

Plot Summary: Blade, the man, is a unique being, possessing vampire qualities (super strength, invincibility), but none of their weaknesses (sunlight, silver, garlic), except his need to consumer human blood. This makes him incredibly adept at hunting and killing real vampires. He crashes a rave club in Los Angeles owned by the blood-sucker Deacon Frost. Blade literally mops the floor with dead vampires, but one manages to bite hematologist Karen Jenson. Blade takes her to his hideout, where his friend and ally Whistler, does all he can to keep Karen from turning into one of the undead. Meanwhile, vampire leadership decides that their race's survival depends on obtaining Blade's hybrid blood, followed by his immediate death.

Dad's Preview: This fang-cy cult classic is vintage 1990's gothic, cyberpunk film-making. It is shocking how similar (in tone, black leather and martial arts action sequences) this is to The Matrix (1999), a film that would hit theaters one year later. Regardless, Blade is a ton of gory fun with lots of blood, blade-fighting, and exploding bad guys. I can see why it has such a devoted following.

Marvel Ent., Amen Ra Films, Imaginary Forces; New Line Cinema