Last Movie You Watched Part 1

[Nightmare Asylum]

The Amazing Spider-Man

I just got back from the midnight premiere. For those you you who don't know, I'm among the group that felt (and still feel) that a reboot of the Spider-Man series was unnecessary. Sure, Spider-Man 3 wasn't a perfect movie, but its nothing they couldn't have bounced back from.

But anyways, enough of that. Here's what I thought: To say it simply, I enjoyed The Amazing Spider-Man and had a fun time in the theater watching it. I have to say that I was very happy with Andrew Garfield's performance; not once while watching the movie did I compare him in my head to Toby McGuire (who I also thought was good, but for different reasons). There were, however, other things that I did compare to the first Spider-Man. I'm going to spoiler-tag this even though it should be common knowledge, but anyways

Spoiler

I thought that Uncle Ben's death was handled much better in the first movie. In TASM, it just happened too fast without enough set-up, and I would have liked to see the repercussions of it Peter and Aunt May a little bit more. And on the topic of Aunt May and Uncle Ben, I think I preferred the original actors, but I had no problems at all with the actors in this one.

[close]

I thought that Dr. Connors was a good villain, but I would have liked to see him a bit more pre-Lizard. Still, what we got was really good, and it worked well on screen. I'm glad that they made him a more

Spoiler

sympathetic villain.

[close]

Gwen Stacey was also great (and not to mention ridiculously adorable), and I thought the Peter/Gwen relationship in this movie was just as good as (or maybe a little better than) the Peter/MJ relationship in Spider-Man. One character that I really missed, however, was Harry. I missed having their friendship, and I found that the Harry/Peter plot was one of my favorite aspects of the original trilogy.

Anyways, like I said, I did really enjoy The Amazing Spider-Man. It seemed to be very true to the comics (from what little I know about them), it had heart, and it was a fun summer movie. I would, however, be lying if I said I liked it more than the first Spider-Man. This has nothing to do with me being opposed to a reboot, I just found Spider-Man to be a better movie than TASM. TASM is still a movie that I really enjoyed, though, and one that I would like to own and watch again from time to time.

I don't usually give ratings to movies, but I guess I'll make an exception here. I think I would give The Amazing Spider-Man a solid 7 out of 10. I was good (even if Spider-Man was better) and I would definitely say check it out.

[TheMonolith]

Coffy
Silly and fun blacksploitation flick from the 70s.
Cine-Meter, 6/10
Mono-Meter, 7/10

Jackie Brown
A tribute to films such as Coffy and Foxy Brown. The love shows.
Cine-Meter, 8/10
Mono-Meter, 8/10

Reservoir Dogs
Tarantino knows how to wow you right out of the gate.
Cine-meter, 10/10
Mono-Meter, 10/10

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
"Who are those guys?"
Cine-Meter, 10/10
Mono-Meter, 10/10

The Godfather Part II
More chilling and downbeat than the original film. A very bleak picture.
Cine-Meter, 10/10
Mono-Meter, 8/10

The Godfather Part III
Effective conclusion to the series marred by Sofia's poor performance.
Cine-Meter, 8/10
Mono-Meter, 8/10

A Fire in the Sky
Pretty good TV flick about a comet set to nuke Phoenix.
Cine-Meter, 6/10
Mono-Meter, 7/10

Earthquake
Say what you will. I love this film. The last good episode in the disaster cycle of the 70s.
Cine-meter, 6./8/10
Mono-Meter, 8/10

[First Blood]

Blade (1998)

A lot of credit goes to X-Men (2000) for jump starting Marvel's movie making during much of the 2000s. But I like to think it started here with 1998s Blade. They took a relatively unknown character and really thrust him into the spotlight and the film works on so many levels because of it.

It's been sooooo long since I've watch it and it felt sooooo good. Wesley Snipes plays Blade, vampire hunter or "Daywalker" as he's referred to by the vampires. With all of their strenghs and none of their weaknesses, he's on the trail of Deacon Frost played by Stephen Dorff who's trying to acquire the powers of the Blood God, an ancient being. One of my favorite parts? The blood rave and the ensuing introduction of our title character. What better way to show off who he is and what he does than...at a freaking blood rave chocke full of vampires. Kris Kristofferson also does a fine job as Abraham Whistler, in part Blade's mentor and in another capacity, his weapons designer. Remind me to never allow him to pump my gas though.

"Some motherf**ker's always trying to ice skate uphill."

[Eva]

Yeah, I really dig Blade as well - watched it on tv not long ago. Great atmosphere and visuals... and Udo! 

[First Blood]

Yeah, I really dig Blade as well - watched it on tv not long ago. Great atmosphere and visuals... and Udo! 

Yes, Udo was great! It felt really appropriate to have him in a role like that. Not to mention those piercing eyes.

[Shasvre]

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

I'm just gonna come right out and say that this movie didn't quite live up to my expectations, but it was still a good movie. I liked the whole angle with the parents and the mystery behind Norman Osborn and Oscorp. That's something that helped this movie stand on its own, apart from Raimi's trilogy, and something I would like to see explored in a sequel. Andrew Garfield was pretty good as Peter, but I think I prefered Tobey's portrayal of the character in the first movie better. Garfield came across as a bit pushy at times and all in all, Tobey came across as a nicer guy. Emma Stone as Gwen was great though, and if you've seen her in any other movie, you know the kind of cute and awkward personality she's gonna bring to a role like this. Her and Garfield had some great chemistry and I really liked them as a couple.

Rhys Ifans was pretty good as well, he made Connor's into a likeable character. But I think the scene where he was talking to his Lizard personality was a bit too similar to the scene with Osborn and his Goblin personality in the first Raimi movie as well. But it was cool to finally see the Lizard in action and he really came across as a nigh unstoppable monster.  Would have liked to see a bit more of the police officers he infected, but hey, you can't get everything.

As for the rest of the cast, they were okay. Denis Leary was the best of them, and as usual, I liked his performance. Sally Field as May was a bit meh, to be honest. Sheen's Uncle Ben was decent enough, but I think Cliff got the upper side with that character. The guy who played Flash was pretty decent and not a complete asshole. I liked that.

Horner's score was pretty good and I definitely heard some similarities with his score for Titanic.

As for the mid-credits scene...

Spoiler

It felt utterly pointless. Was that supposed to be Osborn? Could have been. Could also have been his damn secretary for all we know. Some have speculated that it might be Electro, due to the thunder and lightning going on. That could just as easily have been to set the mood for the scene. With that being said, I wan't to see Osborn appear in a sequel, but this scene did nothing to get me hyped for that.

[close]

All in all, some things were done better in this one, some were better in Raimi's.

7/10

[First Blood]

Can you tell me a little bit more about Pete's origin? Where does he get bit this time, and how did they handle Uncle Ben's death?

Via PM or spoilers.

[Nightmare Asylum]

About Uncle Ben's death, I wasn't particularly fond of how it was handled in this movie in comparison to the first. Seemed to go by too fast, and I don't think they dealt with the aftermath enough.

As for his origin:

Spoiler

He gets bit in Oscorp, after sneaking in and finding a room with a symbol on it that matched a symbol on one of his father's papers.

[close]

[First Blood]

Thanks.

Spoiler

Not sure if I like Oscorp tying into his origin though.

[close]

[Shasvre]

Can you tell me a little bit more about the Pete's origin? Where does he get bit this time, and how did they handle Uncle Ben's death?

Spoiler

Peter finds a suitcase with his dad's old work hidden in it. Him and Connor worked on combining human DNA and animal DNA. He sneaks in to Oscorp and finds a lab with a symbol that was also printed on his dad's papers. In this lab, there's a room with hundreds of spiders. He touches the web they're working on, which kinda upsets things and when he sneaks out, one of the spiders gets caught in his shirt and later bites him in the neck.

[close]

Spoiler

Not sure if I like Oscorp tying into his origin though.

[close]

Spoiler

I didn't mind it myself. People have claimed it's too similar to Hulk (2003), with his dad performing experiments on his son. But it was nothing like that here. Yes, his dad worked on the spiders, but they didn't have any human test subjects. In fact, it's hinted that his refusal to take the experiments to the next stage is what got Oscorp to "deal" with him.

[close]

[DoomRulz]

The Amazing Spider-Man

I just got back from the midnight premiere. For those you you who don't know, I'm among the group that felt (and still feel) that a reboot of the Spider-Man series was unnecessary. Sure, Spider-Man 3 wasn't a perfect movie, but its nothing they couldn't have bounced back from.

But anyways, enough of that. Here's what I thought: To say it simply, I enjoyed The Amazing Spider-Man and had a fun time in the theater watching it. I have to say that I was very happy with Andrew Garfield's performance; not once while watching the movie did I compare him in my head to Toby McGuire (who I also thought was good, but for different reasons). There were, however, other things that I did compare to the first Spider-Man. I'm going to spoiler-tag this even though it should be common knowledge, but anyways

Spoiler

I thought that Uncle Ben's death was handled much better in the first movie. In TASM, it just happened too fast without enough set-up, and I would have liked to see the repercussions of it Peter and Aunt May a little bit more. And on the topic of Aunt May and Uncle Ben, I think I preferred the original actors, but I had no problems at all with the actors in this one.

[close]

I thought that Dr. Connors was a good villain, but I would have liked to see him a bit more pre-Lizard. Still, what we got was really good, and it worked well on screen. I'm glad that they made him a more

Spoiler

sympathetic villain.

[close]

Gwen Stacey was also great (and not to mention ridiculously adorable), and I thought the Peter/Gwen relationship in this movie was just as good as (or maybe a little better than) the Peter/MJ relationship in Spider-Man. One character that I really missed, however, was Harry. I missed having their friendship, and I found that the Harry/Peter plot was one of my favorite aspects of the original trilogy.

Anyways, like I said, I did really enjoy The Amazing Spider-Man. It seemed to be very true to the comics (from what little I know about them), it had heart, and it was a fun summer movie. I would, however, be lying if I said I liked it more than the first Spider-Man. This has nothing to do with me being opposed to a reboot, I just found Spider-Man to be a better movie than TASM. TASM is still a movie that I really enjoyed, though, and one that I would like to own and watch again from time to time.

I don't usually give ratings to movies, but I guess I'll make an exception here. I think I would give The Amazing Spider-Man a solid 7 out of 10. I was good (even if Spider-Man was better) and I would definitely say check it out.

Solid review dude. I think I'll enjoy it!

[RazorSlash]

MyASM  review went up on Fandango not too long ago:

The Amazing Spider-Man
Date Rated: Jul 3, 2012 | Rel. Date: Jul 3, 2012
"With Great Power..."

Let me say this right away: I'm a huge Spider-Man fan. I read the comics. That being said, Raimi's films disappointed me on so many levels. I hated the first, liked the second, and thought the third was "ok". So when the reboot was announced, unlike most other people, I was happy. And the day finally came, as I saw the midnight showing. And I loved it. I don't know, maybe it's because I read the comics, but I just plain loved it. Andrew Garfield plays a perfect Peter Parker, anyone who's read the comics will see that. Spidey is portrayed accurately to the comics. And Marc Webb gives us Spidey's humor once again. My only real complaint lies with The Lizard. Connors could've been a bit more fleshed out pre-Lizard, to make his story a bit more tragic. There also appear to be some scenes cut out, as a certain thing in particular happens, and the next time we see it, it's solved. Hoping for a director's cut.If you're a Spider-Man fan, definitely check this one out.

Also, Fandango has a character limit on reviews, for those not knowing. That's why my reviews tend to be so short.

[Shasvre]

There also appear to be some scenes cut out, as a certain thing in particular happens, and the next time we see it, it's solved.

What exactly are you refering to here?

[RazorSlash]

There also appear to be some scenes cut out, as a certain thing in particular happens, and the next time we see it, it's solved.

What exactly are you refering to here?

Spoiler

When The Lizard mutates a SWAT team into Lizards. We see them transforming, but then never see them again. The next time we hear from them, they're being cured.

[close]

[Shasvre]

Spoiler

Yeah, I was expecting them to wreck some havoc during the movie. I guess they were restrained immediately and never got the chance.

[close]