Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Film)

A vast improvement over the last movie. This film has the feeling of tying up loose ends and wanting to finish out the story with a bang. This is one of the most visually stunning movies I have seen in a long time and even with the running time approaching 3 hours, there is always something interesting to watch on the screen. This pirate movie gets a B.

Shrek the Third (Film)

I liked this third installment of Shrek more so than the over pop-cultured, dull second chapter. While I enjoy the continued storyline, I still prefer the much better first film. I think they maybe should have stopped with that first one. It's sometimes feels like what I imagine would have happened if they took one of the Disney fairy tales and made sequels to them (I'm not counting the direct to video trash). The first film usually tells the most interesting story in their characters' lives and sequels tend to wander and drift a bit. Sometimes the second part is able to expand upon the first. But when you get to the third part, you really feel those empty fumes. I give this adventure a C.

Wii (Video Game)

I was lucky enough to stop in a new Best Buy on opening day. I was doing a quick browse when an ultra-friendly salesperson pointed out the stack of Wiis just sitting there. It was a thing of beauty. I had been casually looking for this item over the past several months. Even though the
Wii has been out since Thanskgiving, I still could not find one on the shelves. I do see plenty of PS3s and 360s, but no Wiis, until now. I haven't played around much with it, but it really does feel next gen. The graphics are similar to the Gamecube and it would have been nice if they were a tad spiffier, but the controls more than make up for it. Without playing one, it's hard to get across just how amazing the controls are. I felt a little like Tom Cruise using the computer in the Minority Report. All in all it's pretty amazing. So far the best games out were initially made for the Gamecube. I don't think the real potential has been tapped yet. And with so many Wiis being sold, I hope we see some games that will. I haven't been this amazed with a game system since the Sega Dreamcast. I can only hope this system will be around much longer. I give this Wii an A.

Spider-Man 3 (Film)

I'm trying to decide just how bad this film is. At one point I checked my watch and was horrified to see I had another hour and some change to go. I hoped this film would get better. Those hopes were dashed. I liked some of the additions to the cast: Thomas Hayden Church and Bryce Dallas Howard. But, there were way too many villains and characters that were being forced into one movie. As great a villain the Sandman was, he was completely unnecessary. Events unfolded in a sloppy, perfunctory manner. It felt like things hap pened just because they were supposed to happen in order to set up the next action beat. At one point late in the movie, two villains meet randomly in an alley and decide to team-up because if they didn't, then the "thrilling" action finale wouldn't make any sense. There was no organic flow to the story and consequently lacked any semblance of cohesion. It's a crying shame to see a once great franchise disintegrate into a typical empty headed, summer blockbuster that makes you wonder why all that time and money were spent. These can't be the same filmmakers who made the first two. I was excited for this batch of summer movies to come in. Now all I feel is trepidation. I'm hoping this is not a harbinger of things to come. I give this web-crawler a D.