Knocked Up Should Be Knocker Around

All right, everyone who reviews movies sees lots and lots of great movies. But, since they all can't be Oscar material, we also have to watch a lot of dogs. One of those such dogs is a new movie called "Knocked Up."

As you can tell by the crass title, the movie is about a couple who by "accident' get pregnant. The woman is a smart, beautiful, up and coming marketing executive. The guy is a fat, unemployed, obnoxious loser. Could someone remind me how many times Hollywood has tried to give us an "odd couple" movie? Are the creative talents in Hollywood so out of ideas that we have to see the same story over and over again. How many times can we laugh because a woman ends up with some strange, slob?

Of course they end up falling in love and what they had considered an "accident" really was their fate. So the formula continues and they live happily ever after once she discovers that inside, he is really a great guy. Yeah, yeah, been there and done that.

Here's a twist. I dare anyone in Hollywood to make a film about a smart, talented guy who ends up falling in love with an ugly, stupid woman who lives with her friends watching television throughout the day. What? No takers. Guess that "odd couple" just wouldn't work. Maybe, but at least it would be different. Not just the same old film that we have seen thousands of times. Save your money, you would have more fun going bowling than talking an evening to go watch this flick.

Knocked up should be knocked out. Knocked out of the movie theaters at least.

Spiderman: The Trilogy

With the upcoming release of Spiderman 3, the final chapter in an exciting trilogy will become known to all Spiderman fans around the world. Fans should not worry, the third movie is just as exciting as the first two.

When the producers decided to start making Spiderman movies, they had to overcome some natural obstacles. Obviously, it's much easier to draw a comic strip of a superhero doing unnatural things than it is to film an actor in real life. Yet, with the current age of special effects, they were able to pull off a very realistic superhero with super effects. Spiderman shoots webs out of his hands that we know are all computer generated. He flies through the streets and over tall buildings. We know this is all done in a computer studio, yet it is so realistic that we let ourselves be convinced that Spiderman is real.

My big problem with the movies is the origin of Spiderman is not given justice. I am sure, the plot sequence was at one time more elaborate but got lost on the cutting room floor. I just don't buy Peter Parker getting lost in the science museum and getting bitten by a radioactive spider -- which in turn gives him unbelievable super powers. No, I need a bit more to understand how this kid can now think and act like a nasty bug.

I am also a little wary of the Green Goblin, his arch nemesis. Is it the professor? Or has some alien being taken over the professor's mind and body. And if he is just a mortal, why does he seem to have more lives than a cat?

In Spiderman 3, the Green Goblin is finally out. Don't worry, there are not one but two new bad guys for Superman to deal with. The action gets going right from the opening and doesn't let up throughout the movie (except for one or two touching scenes with M.J.)

Go see Spiderman 3 - or better yet, buy the collection when it is all out on DVD. The series is a timeless masterpiece sure to be remembered forever.