Stuck in lab

Hmmm, not a good weekend for the new-found sci-fi appreciation.

Though I am normally a fan of good cheesy fun, Spider-Man 3 did not qualify. The CG work was great, but the conquer-your-evil-nature theme was way overdone (Spider-Man's final internal struggle is inside a church, for crying out loud), and definitely did not need to last over two hours. The movie seemed more concerned with wrapping up loose ends from parts 1 and 2. If I thought it was worth over-analysis, I'd rant more about how I suspect the Spider-Man series depicts unhealthy messages about how mutant "science" destroys "traditional family values", but I don't think it is.

Also, I've never been the biggest fan of Tobey Maguire; I dunno, his supposed "boy next door" image has always come across to me as creepy and clingy. But Topher Grace was great as Peter Parker's rival photographer.

Rather than starting a paper, I finally finished the last in the Hitchhiker series, from the large volume that Xtina lent me. The fifth installment, a short story entitled "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe", is more of a prequel. Technically the story can stand alone, apart from the rest of the series. It was short and had some insightful lines. But it didn't really grab me. Also, wikipedia tells me there's a highly political inference to the story (which I approve but didn't catch).

Finally, because an old friend raved about it, I watched the pilot for the new FOX series Fringe. I don't mind bad TV (witness CSI: New York), but this one didn't quite grab me either. It seemed like a fairly unoriginal combination of Eleventh Hour, House, 24, and Alias . . . starring Pacey from Dawson's Creek. It even takes place in Boston!

Sigh. No choice but to start writing that paper now...