“Transcendence” will overtake “A Haunted House 2” at the box office Friday.

“Transcendence”

Johnny Depp stars as Dr. Will Caster, a well-known researcher in the field of artificial intelligence.

Caster’s quest to be able to transcend human emotion is brought to a halt when a protestor shoots Caster. Now on life support, his wife and best friend opt to use experimental technology. The technology transfers Caster’s mind and life force into a computer. Things get even more controversial as Caster’s lust for power grows.

Wally Pfister is directing the project. His talents are carrying over from his run as a cinematographer with Christopher Nolan (Batman series, “Inception” and “The Prestige”).

Depp returns to the sci-fi world with Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany and Morgan Freeman. Depp’s expertise lies in fiction and biographical dramas, but this film will certainly be better than Depp’s sci-fi “The Astronaut’s Wife.”

Depp has a rather colorful career, but he was knocked down a notch after the failed film adaptation of “The Lone Ranger.” This sci-fi film should allow not only Depp but the audience to put the movie behind them.

“A Haunted House 2”

Marlon Wayans is hitting the screen this weekend in “A Haunted House 2.”

Malcolm (Wayans) is looking for a fresh start after the events of the first film. He and his family move into their ideal house, but chaos strikes when paranormal events start occurring.

Not only is the plot repetitive; it is amazing the creators got funding to make another film after the first was an absolute flop.

The last time parodies were trending was in the early 2000’s, and that time was short-lived. The first two of the “Scary Movie” series, also starring Wayans, were appropriate for the time, making fun of the 90’s generation. “A Haunted House 2” is poking fun at “Paranormal Activity” and modern horror-thrillers.

“Paranormal Activity” is already way overhyped and overplayed. With its fifth installment this year, it is certainly overdone and is a bad joke on its own. This parody is just the same. With the vast amount of parodies of the early 2000’s and the lack of inspiration being generated from “horror” movies, I don’t see how this film can feature comedy.

It appears Wayans is trying to restart the parody trend and relive his glory days when horror movies were good and parodies were much more compelling. This is clearly not the movie to see this weekend, let alone ever.