New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Derek Malcolm's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Sam Raimi.
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace
Description: Mary Jane finally knows the truth about the secret identity of her beau, Peter Parker, driving a wedge between the beauty and Peter's embittered best pal Harry Osborn. Spider-Man is soon swinging into action to save New York City from Sandman aka the tormented Flint Marko and Venom aka Eddie Brock. In the process, he must battle the demons within, facing his own insecurities and reconciling his responsibilities as a superhero with his loyalty to Mary Jane.
Country: US. 2007. 139mins
Hanging around: Tobey Maguire confronts his dark alter-ego
Packing a punch: Spidey gets an unwelcome surprise when he fights Sandman
Love triangle: Peter Parker's girlfriend MJ is still close to Harry Osborn
What do you do with a third instalment of a popular film franchise like Spider-Man? How to manufacture a convincing plot when almost everything has already been said - twice? Director Sam Raimi and Alvin Sargent, his veteran writer, clearly had a bit of a job on their hands.
There's a further dilemma. Do you develop the Marvel Comic strip characters of Peter Parker and his girl, MJ, as human beings, or do you concoct a sly parody of the whole thing?
Having cobbled together a reasonable if slightly confusing new plot, Raimi and Sargent take the first course with Spider-Man 3. They play it all with the straightest of faces.
It's an approach that pays off particularly well in the smaller cameos where, for instance, Rosemary Harris's Aunt May comes alive as never before. For the rest of the film, however, it doesn't quite work.
Fundamentally, reality is not the name of this particular game. Fantasy is. And real people don't inhabit fantasyland.
So Spider-Man 3 often flits uneasily between a darker character study, in which Tobey Maguire's Peter struggles to control a hitherto unexposed vengeful side, and the swingeing spectacle that everyone has come to see.
This imbalance gives us a pretty dull patch halfway through when nothing much happens, and three or four false endings for a movie that's already too long.
But, thanks to a huge budget (reportedly $250 million-$267 million and, if so, the biggest so far), the spectacle is just as it should be in scenes such as the one where MJ (Kirsten Dunst) is scooped up by Spider-Man after being swept out of a skyscraper office window by an out-of-control crane and, to the cheers of New York, placed on terra firma, without a hair out of place.
If that is one of the more essentially ridiculous but fun tropes in Spider-Man 3, there are plenty more that will, if familiarity doesn't breed contempt, make you catch your breath.
You can do practically anything with CG effects these days, and Raimi's epic does most of them.
Maguire convinces not only as the rather nerdish charmer in ordinary life but also as the flawed hero trying to overcome his personal demons - which include killing the father of his best friend. When the script and situations give him chances, he takes them like a real star.
Dunst, free of the constricting clothes that made her Marie Antoinette rather doll-like and inanimate, proves she can act a bit (as well as being the only Hollywood star without perfectly even teeth). She'll do as the jealous love of Peter's strange double life, who convinces herself that he has been unfaithful to her with the pretty-as-a-peach Gwen (Dallas Bryce Howard).
The baddies include Eddie Brock's embittered Venom; Thomas Haden Church (so good in Sideways) as the Sandman; and James Franco's handsome Harry Osborn, the rich friend who becomes an enemy before seeing the light. But only the vengeful Sandman seems anything like a memorable figure, as the escaped convict desperate to see his daughter again.
Spider-Man 3 may disappoint those who think tongue-in-cheek spectacle is the only name of the game - we'll have to see. Meanwhile, watch those box-office bells ringing for the first major-league Hollywood biggie of the summer season.
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This is easily one of the best Spider-Man movies made. It's got everything: superb action sequences, amazing CGI and hilarious anecdotes from J. K. Simmons and Bruce Campbell. Pure fun.
- Abdul Hamied, London, England
This should be a 5 out of 5. Spiderman was good. Spiderman 2 was excellent but this one was simply outstanding.
As Jonathan Ross has commented, this isn't just the best Spiderman movie but the best Comic book movie ever. I would go as far as to say that this would fit comfortably into the top 100 films ever made.
It achieves a superb mix of action, emotion, comedy, script, acting and special effects that has never really been acheived before.
I cannot wait for number 4. Bring on the Lizard!
- Simon, London
I saw it last night, it's an odd long film, parts worked, parts didn't and some parts just didn't fit. All in all, 5/10 some good set pieces, some lame acting in emotional scenes, and some great CGI. If you like Spiderman see it, if not you'll either be confused or you'll feel like you've lost nearly 3hrs of your life just to watch a lot of the male characters weep.
- Dave Newman, Barbados
Morning:
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