There seems to be an epidemic of that going on post-LOTR. Even Peter Jackson, who managed to balance all the stuff going on in LOTR well, fell victim to the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach in King Kong (man, how long was that fight with the tyrannosaurs?).

Same goes for X-Men 3 and all the Star Wars prequels and Matrix sequels—just too much crap going on. I thought the first Pirates, while great, was a half-hour too long, and they respond by making each sequel a little longer? And yet, the real problem is that, unlike the Lord of the Rings films, I just didn’t care enough about the characters in most of the aforementioned movies not to get fidgety around minute 114.

Also – your comment on Blockbuster III couldn’t be more in tune with with what I am thinking. I was going to attempt a Pirates 3 screening this weekend (the scheduling didn’t work out) and now, the more I think of it, I’d rather catch Knocked Up in theaters and save Pirates for the Home Theater. In short, I just want to see a movie that leaves me feeling 100% satisfied when I exit the theater – and the reactions I’ve read on Pirates doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence. I fear another Spidey 3 – just too much going on.

So Knocked Up it is – for my next flick!!!

And, if you do renew that NetFlix sub, definitely grab Freaks and Geeks. You will not regret it. One of the greatest, most under-appreciated television shows, in history!!!