Does whatever (again)
On Friday, I went to Crossgates to see Spider-man 3 with Marisa, Rob, Sabrina, and Jason. We all had a really good time. #3 isn't as nearly as good as Spider-man 2 and it's not as fresh as the first movie, but it is a whole lot of fun. For me, the second one being wonderful took the pressure off of this one; it's not like Star Wars or The Matrix where you're really telling a single multi-part story. It's more like X-Men where you're doing separate stories that also develop a set of characters as they proceed. And Spider-man 3 is a whole hell of a lot better than The Last Stand. It is, like that movie, overstuffed with characters and subplots, but at least it tries to cram them into 140 minutes rather than 105. Even with the extra time, it still doesn't flow as well as its predecessors, and I would've especially recommended cutting Gwen Stacy. Though I like Bryce Dallas Howard a lot, there is no effect Gwen Stacy has in this movie that you couldn't achieve by giving all of her lines to Betty Brant instead. That character wouldn't need to be introduced, and more work for Elizabeth Banks is always a good thing (and, hey, word to a jealous MJ? Parker never mentioned Betty Brant to you, either!). I wish Raimi had admitted to himself that he didn't have time to use Sandman, Venom/Eddie Brock, and Gwen Stacy (and her father!) to good effect, especially since Parker, MJ, Harry, Aunt May, and J. Jonah Jameson all still need screentime. There are some story points that depend a little too much on coincidence and rushed explanation -- it's usually not even that the story itself doesn't make sense, but that it's a little half-assed because they don't have time to develop more. But: apart from the somewhat lumpy narrative, it's a fun movie. Reading some of the reviews and/or reactions more closely now that I've seen the film, I'm not getting some of the complaints, such as:
Too much crying.
Our audience seemed to agree because some people were definitely giggling and scoffing during a scene towards the very end of the movie where Parker starts to cry. However: it's Spider-man. He's not Batman or Superman. He's practically a kid and he's a nerd. Of course he gets emotional about stuff. In fact, the parts that made the jackanapes(es?) laugh were parts where just about any human in Peter Parker/Spiderman's position would cry.
"Dark" Spiderman is too silly.
Um, that stuff was hilarious. Sam Raimi has a lot of fun showing that a selfish, arrogant Peter Parker would still be a total dork. What's the problem? He's still acting like a douchebag; why can't that also be funny? Again, this isn't Batman material; it's OK for Spiderman movies to be funny. The dance number? Awesome. Not "so weird and out of place and wrong-headed that it's awesome." This isn't VH1. It was actually awesome.
Not enough Venom.
Shut it, nerds. As far as I can tell, Venom is not actually an interesting character. He exists mainly to fight Spiderman and he does that here. A However: if you want to go with "not enough Eddie Brock," I could see that. Topher Grace is excellent and he would've benefitted from a less packed movie.
So, it's not as media-sexy as IT SUCKED!!!! COLLOSSAL DISAPPOINTMENT!!! but: good, not great, that's fine. If there weren't like ten other movies I want to see, I'd be thinking about when to check it out in IMAX.
Saratoga was fun, though we took a pass on the Spider-man 3/Ghost Rider double bill at the drive-in. However, Rob/Brina/Marisa/I did go bowling, and I somehow scored the highest in both games (note: no one broke 100). Marisa and I had a fancy dinner with my mom on Saturday and she made us Sunday brunch this morning. Also, Rob knows a lot about the show Cheaters. Have other people seen this? I feel like it might air at an even more disreputable time in NYC, because I only ever see it when I'm out of town. It's like a dark sequel to Blind Date -- sometimes people get stabbed.
Too much crying.
Our audience seemed to agree because some people were definitely giggling and scoffing during a scene towards the very end of the movie where Parker starts to cry. However: it's Spider-man. He's not Batman or Superman. He's practically a kid and he's a nerd. Of course he gets emotional about stuff. In fact, the parts that made the jackanapes(es?) laugh were parts where just about any human in Peter Parker/Spiderman's position would cry.
"Dark" Spiderman is too silly.
Um, that stuff was hilarious. Sam Raimi has a lot of fun showing that a selfish, arrogant Peter Parker would still be a total dork. What's the problem? He's still acting like a douchebag; why can't that also be funny? Again, this isn't Batman material; it's OK for Spiderman movies to be funny. The dance number? Awesome. Not "so weird and out of place and wrong-headed that it's awesome." This isn't VH1. It was actually awesome.
Not enough Venom.
Shut it, nerds. As far as I can tell, Venom is not actually an interesting character. He exists mainly to fight Spiderman and he does that here. A However: if you want to go with "not enough Eddie Brock," I could see that. Topher Grace is excellent and he would've benefitted from a less packed movie.
So, it's not as media-sexy as IT SUCKED!!!! COLLOSSAL DISAPPOINTMENT!!! but: good, not great, that's fine. If there weren't like ten other movies I want to see, I'd be thinking about when to check it out in IMAX.
Saratoga was fun, though we took a pass on the Spider-man 3/Ghost Rider double bill at the drive-in. However, Rob/Brina/Marisa/I did go bowling, and I somehow scored the highest in both games (note: no one broke 100). Marisa and I had a fancy dinner with my mom on Saturday and she made us Sunday brunch this morning. Also, Rob knows a lot about the show Cheaters. Have other people seen this? I feel like it might air at an even more disreputable time in NYC, because I only ever see it when I'm out of town. It's like a dark sequel to Blind Date -- sometimes people get stabbed.