Movie of the Week Part II: Spider-Man 3

Unfortunately, third time is not a charm

From this point on, all spoilers because that's the only way I can do this

What I Liked:

• Tobey Maguire still has Peter Parker down
• This was the first Spidey movie that I liked James Franco in
• Thomas Hayden Church was great as Sandman
• Venom looked more like Todd McFarlane's version than I expected
• The action sequences were great as always. Raimi knows how to kick Spidey's ass and make it look good
• J.K. Simmons owns J. Jonah Jameson
• Bruce Campbell's best cameo role yet
  
• Topher Grace, pre-Venom, was probably the best person in the movie
• The scenes with dark Peter were pretty funny until it went over the top
• I won't deny that I smiled at the Green Goblin/Spider-Man team-up at the end

What I Didn't Like:

• Explain to me why Bryce Dallas Howard wasn't cast as Mary Jane and Kirsten "Snaggletooth" Dunst was?
• So the movie is chugging along and I'm wondering why everyone is whining about this movie and then it happens...the movie suddenly comes to a grinding halt. From the moment MJ and Harry kiss (the crowd actually booed) til Peter rips off the suit, except for a couple of moments (Peter vs. Harry in his apartment & the aforementioned funny dark Peter), the movie essentially stands still.
• I'm getting tired of Aunt May's speeches
• Who told Kirsten Dunst she should sing multiple times in the movie?
  
• The constant crowd NYC crowd shots with random kid ab libs get more and more annoying with each one. At this point, they are just poorly staged.
• Venom and Sandman weren't developed enough. Venom particularly seemed sort of tacked on.
• Spider-Man let a criminal get away at the end.
• The 15 minute cryfest at the end. I thought I was watching the end of The Return of the King.

All and all, it wasn't bad but we could have done without this one being made.

God help them if they try to make Spider-Man 4.