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SPIDER-MAN 3 The appeal of Spider-Man has always reached far beyond the comic book crowd: Over the decades, he's become an icon of enormous proportions, a larger-than-life figure who, in the superhero genre, is matched perhaps only by Superman and Batman. With this in mind, director Sam Raimi and his various scripters have fashioned three Spider-Man flicks that have all managed to remain true to the spirit -- if not always the letter -- of the comic series. What's even more notable is that the three pictures have been remarkably even-keeled in quality and ambition: None have reached the giddy heights of, say, 1978's Superman or 2005's Batman Begins, but they have all achieved what they set out to do: provide solid entertainment for the summer movie crowd. With a script by Raimi, his brother Ivan, and Oscar winner Alvin Sargent (Ordinary People), this third installment is packed to the rafters with activity and excitement. On the domestic front, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) and Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) find themselves struggling with relationship woes, while on the battlefields of NYC, Spider-Man must face off against the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), Venom (Topher Grace), a resurgent Green Goblin (James Franco), and his own dark impulses. With so many spandex hijinks going on, it's a wonder that the movie isn't wall to wall with pounding action. But with a generous running time of 140 minutes, Raimi is able to occasionally slow down the pace and allow more introspective moments to take center stage. ***
SURF'S UP The world needs another penguin movie about as much as it needs another Rambo flick. Turns out we're getting both, but while it's too early to comment on the upcoming Stallone sequel (though be sure to check out that incredibly violent trailer on YouTube), the animated film about the flightless fowl isn't bad, with a narrative slant that overcomes its typically blasé story about an underdog who triumphs against the odds while learning important life lessons regarding friendship, sacrifice and self-awareness. Employing a mock-documentary format rarely seen in animated films -- only Aardman's Oscar-winning Creature Comforts (screened this Sunday in the NoDa Film Festival; see the lead Flicks story) comes to mind -- this pleasant time filler plays like Dogtown and Z-Boys or The Endless Summer for the small fry, with its tale of a slacker penguin named Cody (Shia LaBeouf) who's only happy when he's surfing. He enters into a major international competition, where his rivals include new pal Chicken Joe (Jon Heder) and the bullying (and nine-time defending champion) Tank Evans (Diedrich Bader). An underachiever from the start, Cody eventually finds romance with a cute lifeguard named Lani (Zooey Deschanel, sexy even when voicing a penguin) and a mentor in The Geek (Jeff Bridges, slyly channeling The Dude from The Big Lebowski), a beach bum harboring a big secret. The abundance of schmaltz that plagued Happy Feet is thankfully missing here, though the movie does make sure to shoehorn in the obligatory flatulence gags. **1/2
WAITRESS Waitress is to Felicity star Keri Russell what The Good Girl was to Jennifer Aniston: a choice opportunity for a television beauty to flex her thespian muscles. And like Aniston, Russell doesn't disappoint, delivering a fine performance that keeps viewers in her character's corner every step of the way. Russell plays Jenna, who creates killer pies as a waitress for a quaint little diner. For friendship, she turns to her fellow staffers, the chatty Becky (Cheryl Hines) and the mousy Dawn (the late Adrienne Shelly, who also wrote and directed the film). But for love and affection, she's out of luck, since she's married to a domineering redneck named Earl (Jeremy Sisto). Life with Earl is bad enough, but matters become even more complicated once she discovers she's pregnant. She embarks on an affair with the new doctor in town (Nathan Fillion) and soon begins dreaming about leaving her husband and starting a new life. Where Shelly excels is in her ability to dig beneath sitcom scenarios and focus on some hard truths that all too often define one's choices in life. Two of the three waitresses engage in affairs while the third ends up with a dweeb who almost makes Norman Bates look like a catch by comparison. But Shelly never judges these people or their actions, understanding that folks with limited options will often grasp at whatever straws are placed in front of them, as they realize that they have to work with what they've got (as one character remarks when asked if he's happy, "I'm happy enough"). Russell is resplendent, but let's be sure to heap copious praise on wily vet Andy Griffith, who plays the diner's cantankerous owner. ***1/2
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