SPIDER-MAN 3 (PG-13) There's eye candy aplenty and tons of nutrient-free fun, but there are simply too many villains for comfort in this summer blockbuster, and they come crawling out of the woodwork with scant regard for rhyme or reason. The basic template here seems to be those more-is-more, super-powered free-for-all's that began taking over the Batman movies right around the time of Batman Returns and nearly sunk the franchise. There's nothing nearly as pointless as those Bat-fiascos here, but the script for Spider-Man 3 does show clear signs of franchise fatigue, making the mistake of confusing true spectacle with the process of simply piling on one damn thing after another. The fighting is interspersed with moments of mild comic relief (including Bruce Campbell channeling John Cleese as a snooty maitre d'), a subplot involving the hero's struggle to overcome his baser instincts for revenge, and some moderately engaging soap opera (and yes, one of the characters actually does get amnesia, only to regain his memory and make big trouble for everybody). The recipe essentially just repeats until the closing credits and, in the end, any characters left standing learn a valuable life lesson or two. Where Spider-Man 2 felt richly textured and, at its best, primal (or at least as primal as a movie about a guy in spider tights can be), this year's version too often feels overstuffed and shapeless. In any event, it's not what we deserve from a movie that reportedly cost more to make than the GNP of some countries. Stars Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace and Bryce Dallas Howard. 3 stars
YEAR OF THE DOG (PG-13) Mike White (who wrote Richard Linkater's School of Rock, as well as Chuck & Buck) directs a semi-sweet but slightly off-kilter tale of a girl and her dog — or rather, a girl and her lack of a dog, since the beloved pooch in question dies shortly after the film begins. Former SNL-er Molly Shannon plays Peggy Spade, a woman devastated by the loss of her pet and captured in a series loosely connected vignettes featuring an assortment of quirky acquaintances. White fashions the material as comedy of a mostly droll sort, putting Peggy through her paces as we watch her become, in due course, a vegan and then an animal rights activist. By the end of Year of the Dog, Peg has taken it upon herself to rescue a small army of homeless canines who, naturally, proceed to wreak havoc upon her personal space — but the deeper the woman's life spirals into chaos, the more strangely serene she becomes. White doesn't seem to know quite how or when to end his story, but these odd little moments of contrast become punch lines unto themselves. It's all a little too perplexing, since, a lot like one of the abused, confused animals that Peggy rescues, the movie licks your face one moment and nips at your hand the next. Also stars John C. Reilly, Peter Sarsgaard, Laura Dern, Regina King and Josh Pais. 3 stars
