SPIDER-MAN 3 (2007)
*** (OUT OF FOUR)
The third chapter of Sam Raimi's comic book trilogy was at once a solid effort and a frustrating disappointment. The problem with Spider-Man 3 is its predecessors. The first Spider-Man was fresh and fun, reminding us of the kid that enjoys superheroes inside of all of us. 2004's Spider-Man 2 is, in my opinion, the best comic book movie ever made – proving that movies about superheroes can contain just as much human emotion and real world problems and thinking as any "art house" movie of your choosing. Spider-Man 3 didn't necessarily lack these qualities, as much as it just fell a little short on them. One thing that has made the Spider-Man series so great is the way it handles its characters. Spider-Man 3 has so much going on (and one too many villains) that it couldn't accomplish this in the allotted time. It's still superior to almost every other comic book adaptation on the market today. Just because it doesn't live up to part 2 doesn't mean it's bad. SHREK THE THIRD (2007)
*1/2 (OUT OF FOUR)
I liked the first Shrek. It had a cool idea, it was a great kids' film, and the humor was in that rare territory where it appealed to adults without feeling forced (i.e.: Shark Tale, Shrek 2, amongst many others). Shrek the Third is that inevitable film in a franchise where it's simply just a cash-grab. The characters have become merely templates – a blueprint where anyone with half a brain could fill in the blanks and make a Shrek film. This one revolves around Shrek in the King Arthur plotline and trying to bail himself out of becoming the king of Far Far Away. The kids will love it, only because they're too young to know any better, and some adults will only because their brains aren't developed enough for them to know any better. That's OK though, because as long as people are willing to spend their hard earned money on the same movie over and over, Hollywood will keep on crankin' em' out. Aren't you proud of yourselves?PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END (2007)
* (OUT OF FOUR)
POTC: Curse of the Black Pearl is one of the definitive examples of what a great summer movie should be. Dead Man's Chest was no surprise to me, as I knew it would surely be inferior. But as bad as DMC was in comparison to COTBP, AWE is that much worse than DMC (sounds like a complicated algebra equation). The third, and hopefully, if there is a God, final chapter of the Pirates saga is one of the most large scale, incoherent, cluster-fucks in the history of cinema. We'll be in the middle of a large-scale scene with our main characters, and then someone says or does something that's so completely out of left field just to get us onto another plot line when they haven't finished the other fifteen that are already established. It's like someone just completely re-wrote their characteristics for the sake of creating pointless drama regardless of everything they've said or done in the past. Jack is dead, but not really, and some people flip a ship upside down when a green light flashes on the horizon and they enter an tentacle-man's locker, and there are lots of crabs, and the East India company wants a ship captain's heart, and there is a goddess lurking among them, and then they find out who it is, and no sooner than they discover it, she's fucking gone, and there's samurai pirates, and people contradict the things they say almost in the same sentence, and then…. do you get where this is going? Can anyone out there honestly tell me what the hell is going on in this movie?! Like most trilogies that weren't originally intended to be, parts two and three usually end up coming full circle back to what the first one established in just one movie; they're just pointless. Even Captain Jack Sparrow is getting old. It's not disappointing-bad, it's just bad-bad. Much like Shrek the Third, POTC: AWE is no more than a cash-grab, it's allegiance to a brand name. Three hours of dusting the furniture in your room is more deserving of the time.
BUG (2007)
*** (OUT OF FOUR)
William Freidkin, who brought us such classics as The Exorcist and The French Connection, is back with one of the most disturbing films I've ever seen. Now, before all of you horror fans run to the multiplex, let me put the emphasis on 'disturbing', which is much different than 'scary' (which is very rarely achieved anyways). Bug, I assure you, is different than anything you've ever seen. It's based on a stage play, so people sit around and talk, and talk, and talk. What's interesting about Bug is how it manages to suck you into the character's world, and therefore their state of mind, ever so subtly. By the time the film reaches it's climax, you, like the characters on screen before you, might feel as if you've gone completely out of your mind. You aren't personally scared, but you fear for the people on the screen (of whom, are Ashley Judd and the original play's Michael Shannon, who both put on a tremendous show). It's of those films where my not revealing the plot is doing you a huge favor. It's also one of those films that some thirteen year old is going to sneak into and be scarred for life. If you, like me, are sick of seeing the same film over and over again, then go see Bug if, for no other reason, you're looking for something different.KNOCKED UP (2007)
**** (OUT OF FOUR)
Thank God for Judd Apatow. The man who brought us The 40 Year Old Virgin proves with his sophomore film that he's not a one-hit wonder with easily the funniest film I've seen all year, and it's likely to stay that way. Apatow has invented a new breed of comedy – one that's explosively funny, with super-crude humor, brilliantly written pop-culture references, wrapped in a kind-hearted love story, and filled with real adult experiences and thinking. Seth Rogan, who stole the show in The 40 Year Old Virgin, has the leading role here as Ben, a 23 year old jobless pothead who makes the mistake of not wearing a rubber when he has a one-night-stand with successful entertainment show host, Allison (Katherine Heigl). Knocked Up feels like one of those comedies that's a marker for the times, much like Tootsie or The Graduate. It's pure delight from beginning to end; now we have a new movie to quote for the rest of the year. Thumbs way up!MR. BROOKS (2007)
*** (OUT OF FOUR)
Mr. Brooks is one of those films that the term 'guilty pleasure' was made for. There nothing too original going on here, but it (much like last month's Disturbia) is just put together well – it knows what buttons to push and when to push them. Kevin Costner is Earl Brooks, a successful CEO of a box company who has another personality named Marshall. Marshall is addicted to killing people. Sure the schitzo thing has been done before, but it's interesting here as his alter ego is played by William Hurt, who's seen in conversation with him in nearly every scene. And watching these two very talented actors play these roles is quite amusing. When a peeping tom from an apartment building across the way (Dane Cook) snaps some photos of Earl killing a couple in the middle of their having sex, he bribes him. Not for his money, but for his mentorship – he wants to come along on Earl's next murder. Throw in a sexy detective (Demi Moore) and you've got a good old-fashioned thriller. The ingredients of the picture are familiar and predictable, but you're never quite sure what you're going to end up with in the end. That for me is enough to give Mr. Brooks a moderate recommendation. - Brandon Nease 
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