Short version?  I loved it!

To be honest, I loved the darker Spidey of the black suit when he was in the comics; most
US comics and TV series get caught up in the idea that the good guys can’t ever kill bad guys.
Of course, this also leads to having an ever-growing list of bad guys, which is good for the
extended run of a comic series, but not so good if you like a certain type of drama. In this case, I think the movie did a good job of showing Peter learning where the edges are, and dealing with the fact that the oh-so-human inclination for vengeance needs to be tempered with careful thought and responsibility (that word again!).

On a more practical note, I could have done with a bit less emo/goth Peter prancing around. Made me laugh, but I could have gone my whole life without the hip thrusts. Stan Lee’s cameo was startling, but apt, and not nearly as subtle as in the past installments. Still, I liked aggressive Peter when it came to getting Eddie Brock out of the Daily Bugle. Normal Peter never seems to have the backbone to stand up for himself like that. It’s like it’s too arrogant for him, or something.

The climactic battle, though, was fantastic! Oh, Peter! So noble, going to face adversaries he already knows he can’t take out on his own. Oh, Harry, WHY?! I could watch that sequence over and over. The drama, the battle, the angst! Just - really good with the drama that is Peter Parker’s world, and very much what I expect from Spiderman.

Non-spoilery version? It was okay. Should you see it? Yes, of course, but be aware that it isn’t really finished and you’ll still have to go see the third one to find out how the story really ends. Despite this, the movie is long - much longer than it ought to be. In many places, it could do with trimming out several minutes of excess running around like idiots. Other problems include muddy audio (the Cajun woman is almost unintelligible most of the time) and a Star Wars Prequel-ish focus on special effects.

The problem with sequels to unexpectedly successful movies is that suddenly, they have more money for the budget and they think that means they should use it for all the stereotypical Hollywood “blockbuster formula.” Big explosions? Check. Digital critters? Check. Fancy camera work? Check.

Notice that I didn’t mention story, there. Hollywood “blockbuster formula” almost always forgets the story. The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl worked because it was a good story. There was good versus evil, and the good guys won in the end. That’s the foundation it needed. Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow (and Geoffrey Rush’s portrayal of Captain Barbossa) made it come alive, but neither could have saved a lousy plot. Dead Man’s Chest isn’t lousy, but the story is thin, stretched across too much time through special effects and gags that run way past the point they stopped being funny, and someone needs to tell Hollywood that “tune in next time” doesn’t really work with feature films unless they’ve been set up as a series in the first place. Some of the plot points happen “because we wanted it that way” and without much explanation, and the after-the-end-of-the-credits clip is predictable and not really worth the trouble of staying to see it.

The other week, while staring at the tiny little listings at the bottom of the TVguide channel (which used to be readable, until they decided to make it a channel first and listings second) I saw a familiar name. Chris Potter, whom I used to watch in Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. (Does anyone know if that’s still airing anywhere? If there are any plans to release it on DVD? Or does anyone have it on DL? My tapes are gone and I can’t find it anywhere) Yes, I know, KFTLC is not scifi, though an argument could be made for fantasy, what with all the mysticism in it.

At any rate, he was starring in Arachnid on the SciFi channel, so, despite the fact that I passionately hate spiders and have had nightmares about them in the past, I decided to watch that.

Technically, there were some problems. The audio mix made it next to impossible to make out some of the dialogue, especially when the hispanic characters were speaking. The island in question was not visible in the introductory long shot, which made it rather puzzling when the pilot ejected from his damaged plane and landed in the trees on an island that hadn’t been there a moment before. Plotwise, they failed to answer some of the questions they raised, like where the monster spiders came from or what caused the planes to lose power and crash. It looked kind of like an alien spaceship/alternate dimension thing, but really, they left it ambiguous. Hoping to make a sequel, maybe? Also not sure why the pilot didn’t see the huge waterspout before he ran into it.

Despite that, it was better than your average B movie (I know, I know, faint praise and all that). The characters were more believable, and there was not quite as much unreasoning histrionics as the average scare-you-to-death critter movie. I admit, I was surprised that one of the redshirt Random Villagers ended up surviving the whole thing. There were shades of Alien, and it was eminently MSTable, but like I said, better than average. It’s no Star Trek, but when there’s nothing on, it’s entertaining, especially if you like to see Chris Potter characters get Whumped.

I think you had to be there.

Legend (1986) ~ Tom Cruise

First, let me state for the record that I saw this on TV, with the Tangerine Dream soundtrack. I suspect this is another case of “if you saw it when it was new you love it, but if you’re only seeing it now it can’t get a fair shake.” The plot was thin, and the effects were rather corny/campy. The unicorns were very good, but Tom looks goofy with glitter all over him (and I didn’t find his acting in this case to be very believable, though if you adore him you’ll want it anyway because he’s so young in this). The girl shows some intelligence and spirit in her interaction with the demon at the final showdown, but the demon was really stupid to believe she was totally won over to his side that quickly. A lot of the special effects and makeup (especially on the demon’s sidekicks/minions) are painfully obvious.

If I’d seen it when I was younger, I might be more able to overlook its flaws. It isn’t really fair to compare it to modern films, but it’s impossible to avoid it.

Better, but still not up to his original.

Star Wars - Episode II, Attack of the Clones ~ Ewan McGregor

Sigh. Yes, AOTC is better than TPM. Unfortunately, that’s not saying much. Both casts, even without the obvious repetition of returning characters/actors, are easy on the eyes, but Lucas flattens their performances. These actors are never allowed to live up to their potential; having seen at least some of them in other films, I know they can be MUCH better. It’s a wonder they managed to perform this stuff at all. Lines are toneless, and the action moves rapid-fire from one thing to the next without a hint of why we should really care, or sometimes even any clue as to why anyone would choose to do what they do. Add to that the tennis-match editing that bounces us from Tatooine to Geonosis and back again so fast it’s hard to keep up with who you’re watching and where he is, and it is painfully obvious that Lucas means exactly what he says when he claims to care only about special effects (which, incidentally, were not all that great; the water was glaringly artificial, and Yoda’s bouncing around like a rubber ball struck me as ridiculous, not impressive…a more complete analysis [by other pros] of 3D flaws can be found in Computer Graphics World’s July 2002 issue).

The only scene that gripped me at all was Shmi’s death; Lucas slipped up and allowed Hayden to emote. It was almost enough to make me cry. Almost…

A few moments of nostalgia when we see the exterior of Luke’s future home and the characteristic bickering between R2D2 and C3PO were delightful, but the mass confusion and bad jokes in the arena scene take the joy right out of it. Honestly, now; “I’m beside myself”??? That was lame in elementary school.

I may get the DVD eventually, but I’m sure not going to the theater for that one again. There are too many other films out right now that I want to see, and a number of others coming soon. Lucas could definitely use some help from Spielberg and others on the directing and scripting; the only things selling this movie are the eye candy actors and the first two words of the title: Star Wars.