Category Archives: Movies
As Always, Man is the Real Animal
Check out the new trailer for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes!
I really liked the first…um…the second..uh…the first installment of the second reboot of the original Planet of the Apes, there we go. So yeah, I’m pretty excited to see this new sequel. The effects look good. There’s less James Franco. Why not add another movie to my already growing list of summer blockbusters?
What say ye, movie and blog fans?
6 Things I Want to See in Future Amazing Spider-Man Movies
Bring on the Amazing Spider-Man mega-franchise! Despite most of criticdom apparently hating The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and box office predictions less than ideal, this comic book geek was a big fan, and an even bigger fan of everything director Mark Webb and Sony Pictures seem to be doing with the Spidey franchise. I love the idea of Sinister Six and Venom movies. I love Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man. And I’m especially enjoying the various villains and Easter Eggs popping up left and right.
Though the mystery about Peter’s dad should be dropped like a hot potato.
Why do we need anything more than ‘radioactive spider bite’?
After reading several reviews, I thought I wouldn’t like The Amazing Spider-Man 2. But just like my doubt with the first one, the actual movie blew me away. Garfield is just so great as both Peter Parker and Spider-Man that I can’t help but love the films. So if he sticks around for a few more, I can’t wait for Amazing Spider-Mans 3, 4 and 5! There are more than enough villains from the comics to use, and more than enough classic character elements to bring into the films to keep them rolling along. And clearly Webb and Sony aren’t afraid to write their own stories and twists to the character.
But if they’re running out of ideas, I have some of my own for them to use! Click the jump to see my suggestions for all future Amazing Spider-Man sequels!
Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2
We all know that Peter Parker never has much luck with the ladies, but on the big screen, his love is smoldering! Who would have guessed that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was a romantic comedy? The second entry in Sony Pictures’ second Spider-Man series is all about the love shared between an arachnid boy and his high school sweetheart. Sure there are a couple of super-villains thrown in for good measure, but that’s just what you have to deal with when you’re dating the Amazing Spider-Man!
Movie Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.
I don’t mind at all that Sony Pictures wants to make a mega-franchise out of their Amazing Spider-Verse. As far as I’m concerned, director Mark Webb and actor Andrew Garfield absolutely get Spider-Man. They get the humanity. They get the drama. They get the pure thrill of being Spider-Man. They seem awkwardly obsessed with Peter Parker’s dad, but that can be forgiven when the rest of their movies are so good!
I loved the first Amazing Spider-Man movie, and praised it for the nuanced, personable portrayal of Peter Parker. The same focus on Peter returns for the sequel, and once again I have to point out that the young Andrew Garfield is light years beyond Tobey Maguire in not just his skill as an actor, and his range, but just in how he embodies the character. Garfield easily carries the film, injecting Peter and Spidey with the right amount of humor and love for his family and fellow man. He’s joined by a returning Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, who just lights up the whole film whenever she’s on screen. The chemistry between the two actors is some of the best I have ever seen in film or television, and they really do make this movie into more of a love story than a superhero flick.
But it’s also, definitely, a superhero movie. And while those elements aren’t the strongest part of the film, they are still highly enjoyable. Like I said, Garfield is fantastic as Spider-Man, especially in costume. Not only is he legitimately funny, but he has such a great rapport with pretty much everyone he meets. The special effects are also top notch. The web-slinging is wildly fun and the fight scenes are pretty epic, but I would have to say that the movie’s trio of new villains – Electro, Green Goblin and Rhino – don’t live up to expectations. All three are solidly portrayed and fulfill their roles in the film, but they never amount to much themselves beyond giving Spidey something to do in costume.
But even if the villains are kind of clunky, and even if this film uses one of my most hated fiction tropes of all time, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 succeeds on the strengths of Spidey and his love story alone. Who would have thunk it?
Join me after the jump for the full review! I will try to keep SPOILERS to a minimum!
Internet Spider-Man Medley!
There’s a new Spider-Man movie coming out this weekend, and I plan on seeing it one of these days. So to get us all juiced up, how about a medley of mockery? I’m, of course, talking about Cinema Sins hitting us with Everything Wrong With the original Spider-Man trilogy!
Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 3
Good times! I hope you all enjoy Amazing Spider-Man 2. I’ll have my review up on Sunday, I think. See you then!
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Actor Tim Blake Nelson is a Dirty, Rotten Traitor!
I mean that in the nicest way possible, with the utmost respect for this delightful actor. But what the heck, Tim Blake Nelson? Does loyalty mean nothing to you?
I am, of course, talking about the news that Tim Blake Nelson has been cast as the Mole Man in the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot. Technically he’s been cast as scientist Harvey Elder, with the implication that he’ll become the Mole Man in one of the sequels, because that has worked out so well in the past.
This time it’ll work for sure!
But Tim Blake Nelson has been in this exact scenario before! Nelson was cast as scientist Samuel Sterns in The Incredible Hulk in 2008, with the implication that he’d transform into the villainous Leader in one of the sequels. Heck, they even started transforming Nelson in the climax of that film.
Remember this scene?
Like it was yesterday
Obviously the Incredible Hulk sequel never came to pass and Nelson never got to play the super-villain. Is that his motivation here? Was he sad that Marvel never came through for him, so like a jilted lover, he’s jumped ship to join FOX and their Fantastic Four reboot? Which one of these companies is the trail-blazing leader in superhero films, Tim Blake Nelson? How could you do this to us! I had such high hopes for you!
This actually puts me in a real dilly of a pickle. You see, in my List of Six of the things I wanted to see on the TV show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Tim Blake Nelson returning as the Leader was my #1 choice! The show is the perfect place to pick up abandoned plotlines from the Hulk movie! They’ve already introduced Hulk adversary Glenn Talbot to the show. Why not have Nelson guest star on Agents as the Leader? He would be perfect as a Big Bad for a season! He’s a real, legitimate comic book villain, but he’s clearly not going to appear in any future Marvel movies! Plus how cool would it be for an abandoned movie storyline to be picked up by the show? That should be exactly why Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. exists.
But here’s the thing, in my List of six of the things I wanted to see in the Fantastic Four reboot, Mole Man was my #2 entry! So the gods of pop culture gave me one of my wishes by stealing from another. It’s madness.
Henchman-4-Hire 