Trois

Greetings, Fellow Space Travelers, and welcome to The Corner. Today we'll touch on many things, so kick off your shoes, pour yourself a stiff glass of whatever beverage tickles your fancy, and is legal in your particular jurisdiction, and join Uncle Marius on a journey of discovery and wonder...well, maybe that's overstating things just a tad, but let's go anyway.

Do good things come in threes? We have now seen two of the big three movies that have the number 3 in the title. I have previously writ of the mediocrity of Spiderman 3, but in a nutshell I don't think it's a franchise killer like X-Men 3 should be, but it is certainly the Temple of Doom of the series. The next trequal we saw was Shrek 3. We own both previous installments in the series, and laughed our collective glutes off at 2, so we were quite excited to see 3. Then I heard some bad reviews, and lackluster word-of-mouth, so when we went to the theater I was already planning the 'this movie sucked' blog while watching the previews. Then the movie started, and I laughed a lot. It certainly isn't the best of the three, but it is a funny, enjoyable ride with one stand out cameo by one of the world's comedy heroes. Yeah, the story is pretty weak, but the jokes are spot on, and there is very little repetition of 'what worked before'. That is usually my biggest gripe with comedy sequels; if a joke worked once in the first film, let's do it a dozen times in the second. So far the Shrek movies have used a very light touch with such things. I'd love to attribute that to Mike Meyers, but the Austin Powers sequels were egregious dippers of the nearly-dry comedy well. In any case, Shrek 3 is well worth seeing so long as you don't go in expecting it to be the funniest thing since Blazing Saddles. Just enjoy it for what it is: a couple of hours of silliness and fun.

In a similar vein, a new mini-sculpture released by Marvel Comics(above)depicts Mary Jane Watson, Mrs. Spiderman, in tight, low cut jeans and tank top, bent over a wash basin rinsing out Spidey's suit. Her ample attributes are well displayed, as are her thong undies. This has raised what is, to me anyway, a strange outcry. As I have stated before I am not a comic book reader, but what I have seen of the portrayal of women in comics usually ranges from office girl fetish wear to full-on Vegas stripper. Granted these super vixens are kicking serious ass while defying the laws of physics and gravity, but why when Starfire of the Teen Titans wears less than Wendy O. Williams at the beach are people getting so bent out of shape over this maquette? Especially when all my research tells me that being hot is MJ's only real talent. I've asked several of my comic reading friends, including my wife, about the apparent uselessness of MJ except as eye candy and hostage fodder in the movies, and they have all said that's pretty much how she is in the comics. I am not defending the statuette's propriety, or lack thereof, but it just seems a strange rallying point for better portrayal of women in comics. Opinions, ladies?

So yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of the release of Star Wars. Back then it was just Star Wars. Episode IV, A New Hope wouldn't be added to the title for a few months yet. G4 ran a two and a half hour live special last night from the huge convention/celebration that was held in LA. To say it was sad would be like agreeing that Greedo should shoot first. The commentators from Attack of the Show were the hosts, and the level of witty repartee and banter rivaled either the Academy Awards presenters, or any Thanksgiving Day parade commentary. It's fortunate I bought myself a celebratory bottle of Captain Morgan last night or I probably would have put my lightsaber through the tv. The only really cool thing they showed was a bunch of people who build life-sized, working R2-D2's, and they have web sites telling how to do it. Muahahahahahahahahahaha!!!(and my wife promised not to divorce me if I build my own droid, as long as I do it gradually enough so as not to impact the budget too badly)

Ok, Starbuck is yelling at me, so I guess this has gone on long enough. Be well, my padawans, and always remember: don't cross the streams. (or mix your movie metaphors, for that matter) :-)

Marius