Spider-Man 3 was good. Funnier than the first two. I think a lot of people that didn’t like the film didn’t get that it was aware of its cheesiness. The film makers weren’t seriously trying to pass off Peter Parker’s corny dance in the jazz club — it was supposed to look exactly the way it did. Why? Because that’s really what they’ve made Peter Parker out to be: Simple, awkward, easily caught up in his own life, kind of dorky, annoyingly cocky at times. Why else would they have cast Tobey Maguire? Loved the emo haircut and popped collar; very funny. It’s those sorts of details that make it clear that the movie’s winking at you.

But given the tone of this installment, I really don’t think they could make a fourth. Well, not a successful fourth. Once a “serious” franchise starts to poke fun at itself it’s probably time to stop. Besides, this one felt like it wrapped up everything nicely. Oh, Peter and Mary Jane’s relationship might not be as stable, but who cares? Does anyone really want to see them get married that badly? Topher Grace was surprisingly decent. Anyway, I think I’m done with superhero movies for a while. Especially the ones that follow the two-new-villains-per-movie formula.

Jones and I watched all 4.7 hours of The Lost Room. What a great miniseries. It’d make a fantastic GURPS setting. They left a few important subplots/questions unresolved at the end (Ruber’s new religion, Kreutzfeld’s trip/arsenal/ascension, the circumstances of The Event, etc.), which makes me wonder if they were planning to develop it into a full series. I like the miniseries format though; a sequel in that style would be nice.

Ever wanted to make those cheddar biscuits they have at Red Lobster? Rasa Malaysia posted a recipe that’s supposed to be pretty close.

Boy, Family Guy sure has gotten preachy lately. I didn’t mind the occasional pot-shots at Bush (that’s to be expected in any remotely topical comedy show these days), but now it seems like they’re soapboxing on specific policies in every episode. Immigration, social security, capital punishment, No Child Left Behind, etc. They’re not even bothering to work them in as jokes anymore — somtimes the characters just pronounce political opinions with angry-eyebrows drawn on. It’s enough to make a guy yearn for the days when cartoons could present their fart jokes apolitically.

TotD (we need more, BTW):

Suppose you could resurrect a single famous person who lived in the last 200 years. Who would you choose?

I dunno. Every answer I come up with doesn’t seem good enough. Phil Hartman, I suppose. He seemed like a good person and I think he had so much more to offer. Plus his murder was one of the most thoroughly unfair I can think of. But if not him, then probably Isaac Asimov or Nikola Tesla. Hitler would be interesting just for the historical perspective, but it’d be wrong to waste such a gift on someone like that, IMO.

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