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Review: Spiderman
First off lets talk about the cast. Toby Maguire was great in The Cider House Rules. He's just a solid actor. But I was seriously wary of him in the role of the webbed one. He seemed like a flimsy choice. He needed to pull off the one liners, but still convince us of his love for Mary Jane. But he pulls it off admirably. From the goofy glasses wearing scenes in the beginning to his badass battle scenes towards the end, its a solid showing. The best scenes in the whole movie are the ones where we see Peter Parker coming to grips with his new spider powers.
Now I'm gonna skip in a bit with a statement about staying true to comic books. Yes- some of the details have been changed from the books. Like most noticably, the nature of Spiderman's webbing. But whatever- this is story telling and it works for me.
Kirsten Dunst does a good job in what could have been a bland role in the hands of an actress who was just a pretty face. Mary Jane is convincing, and since she is in many ways the thing that grounds spiderman, its a tough burden. And the other biggie is of course the head of Oscorp, Mr. Norman Osborn, Willem Defoe. he does allright, but most of his maniacal scenes are covered by a mask that leaves him little room for any actual facial expressions.
So the plot: Boy loves girl. Boy gets bit by radioactive spider and develops super powers. Boys friend's dad inhales nano gas that makes him super powerful, and super crazy. Boy explores powers and eventually must save city from the attack of the newly crazed buddy's dad, all while dealing with the loss of his family. It's spiderman in a nutshell, and it's just damn solid.
The special effects are smooth. From the ads I was a little concerned since spiderman looked a little fake leaping around. But within the context of the movie it usually worked for me. They looked unnatural, but frankly seeing spiderman leap off inflatable balloon floats and swinging around flagpoles suspended by spiderwebs is already pretty unnatural so I let the suspension of disbelief win out on this one.
Danny Elfman hasn't sounded this good since Batman. I loved the score. It doesn't really feel original, but it sure fits like a glove.
In short, its a great movie. I won't comic-book-guy the details that were missed in the transition from paper to film, but I think they did a great job of making an entertaining movie, and staying extremely true to what I think Spiderman is all about. And goddamn it, the raw sense of excitement as he discovers his abilities is enough to make every guy wish he had those powers- swinging from building to building and howling like a mad freak. God I loved it. Congratulations to everyone involved- you win.
All that, and I even scored tickets to the 12:01 showing of star wars on opening day ;)
The Lone Gunmen are DEAD? Man, why did you have to give that away?!? Crap, I won't have to watch my TIVOed X-Files now...!
It is great to see that such a big fan enjoyed the movie so much. I can't wait to see it. I am heading to the theatre for the 7:45 pm show. I wonder...if Spiderman is really good will it give Attack of the Clones a challenge this month? Star Wars is unquestionably huge but there are also a lot of Spiderman fans and a lot people that feel burned by Phantom Menace.
FoundNews.com - get paid to blog.,
Finally a review from someone who as actually "seen" the movie rather than a lot of the speculation going around. I think Taco is right on the money, this appeals to the guys that loved the comics . . . it is a dream come true.
so anyone familiar with the comic book will like it, but how about someone like me, who simply never read them? sure, flame me, but you could say i am from a different generation. still, is the movie good?
I was thinking of how to intentionally fail my drug test... It would make a good memoir story someday.
And I'll try not to lone-gunman-are-dead the review
That's got to be the phrase of the day somewhere! People on the boards were quite unhappy that Slashdot posted that (and as soon as it happened on the east coast, no less!)!
To use it as a description for how much or how little will be given away in the review is truly, truly amazing! Caused me to laugh, anyway!
How about as Mary Jane? :)
:)
I grew up with Spiderman. He is the reason I learned to read, because a) the Electric Company featured him every day, b) my Mom wouldn't read comics to me, and c) my dad was always too busy to read them to me.
Spidey also seemed to cross racial lines, IME. We all thought he was cool, no matter if we were asian, black, hispanic, or white. Spidey just rocked.
AFAIK, he's also one of the few superheros to come close to killing Wolverine. How to actually kill Wolverine was the topic of many a cafeteria discussion when I was in college.
AMCGLTD.COM. Where cats, science fictio
No mention of Bruce Campbell's cameo roll? Thats the entire reason I've been excited about this movie for the past year..!
It's spiderman in a nutshell, and it's just damn solid.
I haven't seen this flick yet, but it sounds like it lives up to the book.
Oh, wait...
daed si luap
Foxtrot beat you to it.
"People that quote themselves in their signatures bother me" - athakur999
I liked Jon Stewart's (of The Daily Show) description a couple of years ago when the movie was up to be greenlighted by the major studios... something along the lines of:
:)
"Just remember, spidey; when you're up in front of all those Hollywood mogul-types, it's not "Spider-Man," it's (pronounced): Spidermn, Eli Spidermn."
Nobody tells better "jew jokes" than Mr. Stewart.
SlashSigTheorem: Humorous, Political, Critical, Constructive- If you have a
he need some fancy high tech nano stuff to get into this stage?
When I was a kid, throwing snow or water ballons inside, was more than enough.
Carbon based humanoid in training.
It seems like, for the first time in a long while, somebody Gets the Comic Book Idea.
Which usually means "tight, interesting story, complex characters in the ordinary world with extraordinary circumstances, and spandex".
Now, if we can just get someone to perform a videogames2movie conversion that doesn't suck. (Well, except for Street Fighter II the Animated Movie, but that was an anime, so it doesn't count.)
52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
Or would you just go so far as to say he is a Web Master? Gives all those poor lonely cube monkies more hope eh?
Ha Ha Green Goblin, I'll PHP your ass!!!
#include sig.h
Click here or here.
"I may not have morals, but I have standards."
My girlfriend isn't much of a (comic book/computer) geek, but she's been singing the damn theme song from the cartoon all week.
At least she'll calm down after we see it.
Hopefully it doesn't spawn a series of crappy, overhyped sequels though *cough* Batman *cough*
Robots are everywhere, and they eat old people's medicine for fuel.
Either this is a typo or Kirsten Dunst was getting blazed the whole movie...
Their both good in their own way I suppose...
No globalism-running-rampant? No sales pitch? No Open-source? Evil multi-nationals? Where's the post 9/11 hellmouth Corporatism angle?
I'm sorry, but reviews just aren't the same without the JonKatz.
Just wait till some crappy band steals your nic.
Nah, he was right the first time - all movies are best viewed with a little Mary Jane.
Eloi are stupid, throw morlocks at them!
All that, and I even scored tickets to the 12:01 showing of star wars on opening day ;)
May You ROT IN HELLL!!!!!
Rapid Nirvana
Now I HAVE to see the movie. Just found out that in it he's from the same tiny, obscure neighborhood in Queens that I am...
So, we should just rush out and put money in the pockets of the MPAA?
Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
It's spelled "pickle"
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Mod up a post Rob doesn't like and you'll never mod again
How to actually kill Wolverine was the topic of many a cafeteria discussion when I was in college.
Take me. Take me now. You're a woman's dream.
i find it humorous that spider-man loves 'mary jane'...maybe all those superpowers are just a mild hallucination. :)
R.I.P.
I love responses like this. Because they are closer to Hollywood their oppinion is more valid?
In that case, my sister works for the guy who produced and wrote Pleasantville, Big, and other movies and SHE said it was good.
Exactly, who the hell cares what she thinks.
Never confuse volume with power.
Spiderman very underhyped
;)
Spider-Man has been very underhyphened as well.
I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
I'm a long time Spider-Man fan, so I was looking forward to/dreading seeing it made into a film. The best praise I can give it is that it was very accurate. The story of the original Green Goblin was told just as I remember it from the comic books, with a few exceptions which aren't really worth getting into.
The greatest thing about it isn't so much that the plot is accurate, but that the characters are. The first scene with J. Jonah Jameson captured the man's essence perfectly. Does he really think Spider-Man is a menace or does he just want to sell more papers? Norman Osborne is very well done, which is good since he gets the majority of screen time, after Parker. His personality-changing rage is reminiscent of the Incredible Hulk, but more devious. His interactions with Harry are are nice as well. You can already see the personality flaws and fatherly abuses that will eventually lead Harry to his own fate.
Despite the film's strong characterization and fantastic special effects, I didn't leave the film completely awed as I did with other films. It was all excellent, and polished, but it was missing a sense of wonder. Most of the film has been done before, just not all at the same time. Regardless, I think the film was successful. Hardcore Spidey fans won't be shocked by any heresy, action fans will be impressed by the web-swinging, and even those who prefer love stories won't be disappointed.
Shockwave Flash movies are the greatest thing to happen to non-sequitur humor since Japan.
Actually I think it was Pick-El originally, but has gradually lost the hyphen and the spelling over time. ;)
I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
I had the highest hopes of any movie since Episode I.
so i guess a little book made into a movie last christmas didn't suit your fancy?
-rp
(BTW, I always wanted to see a jewish Superman whose dad could be Emanu-El)
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WWJD...For a Klondike Bar?
As long as we're nitpicking...
I'm gonna be pretty ticked if the theme song doesn't go something like...
Spider-man, Spider-man
Does whatever a spider can
Spins a web, any size
Catches thieves, just like flies
Look out! Here comes the Spider-man!
Is he strong? Listen, Bud!
He's got radioactive blood.
Can he swing from a thread?
Take a look overhead.
Hey there, there goes the Spider-man!
In the chill of night,
At the scene of the crime
Like a streak of light
He arrives just in time
Spider-man, Spider-man
Friendly neighborhood Spider-man
Wealth and fame, he's ignored
Action is his reward
To him, life is a great big bang-up
Wherever there's a hang-up
You'll find the Spider-man!
... and it was GREAT! It couldn't have been done better. I highly recommend it. The direction and writing was good - it didn't try to explain anything to the audience like they were stupid. I might actually go see it again tonight, and I Never do that!
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
It isn't GC (Geekily Correct) of me to know this, but Phoebe and Chandler did a nice job with this very joke a few years ago on Friends.
----
WWJD...For a Klondike Bar?
My 4 year old really wants to see this movie, and I'm wondering why a movie with a potential audience going way down in age, would they aim for a teenage rating? I wonder if I should heed that "Parents Strongly Cautioned"? I'll probably take him, but it'll probably scar him for life :)
Or at least give him a few good nightmares.
Hey! You're right. How come The Village missed that particular trick? The Number Six would have talked in no time if he would have been convinced he had a wife.
The owls are not what they seem
It was in part of the regular run Uncanny X-Men series back in the Chris Claremnont days. It was re-run in a TPB called "Nights of Future Past"...basically in the future the Sentinels rule the US and kill off the X-Men and all other superbeings one by one. A last stand fails, so Jean Grey's daughter -- The Phoenix a la Excalibur -- time travels back to warn the X-Men and change the past IIRC. Yes, I'm a geek.
John Maynard Keynes: "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?"
Stan Lee has an editorial in today's New York Times (free reg required blah blah blah), wherein he talks about Spidey's long-lasting appeal. Short on depth but fulla Stan Lee goodness, it's worth a read.
But didn't you want to know how Spider-Man effects the globalist wired society and unseatd the digrati by smashing the digital divide?
As x approaches total apathy I couldn't care less.
Funny, I didn't even notice the lack of a hyphen when I read that review the first time. Quick question: should "anal retentive" be hyphenated?
So with Sony being a part of the MPAA and RIAA, it is ok to still see this Movie? After all you did realize this was a Sony movie.
:-P
Just a Tuna in the Sea of Life
1. Mary Jane as white trash... huh?
2. Very slow on the ground. You can tell this when all the kids at the matinee start talking... nothing to keep their attention.
3. no web cartridges? damn. How many plots rely on him running out of web fluid?
4. Stan Lee cameo... give me a break. Wasn't Jack Kirby involved with Spiderman? Where's his credit?
Other than that, I couldn't keep the smile from my face. Will see it at least 2 more times I'm sure.
Hmm...I'll take Kirsten Dunst. You can swing from building to building howling like a mad freak all you want.
No, Thursday's out. How about never - is never good for you?
Maybe my memory is faulty, but as I recall, the Spider-Man in the comics had a dark, brooding personality. Until the very end, this spidey has really only one scene where he shows that, and the scene came out of nowhere; it didn't really fit. Perhaps he'll move that way in S-M-II.
I skipped out early this morning and went to see the first showing of Spiderman in my local theater.
How much did that cost the economy?
Well, In the comic books he had web-shooters that he(Peter Parker) designed. They shot out a special compund sort of like a liquid cement that hardened on contact with air(once again peter designed this). This compound also disolved in air after a few hours(so that there weren't webs lieing all over New York City). The compund was loaded into tiny air compressed cartridges. These cartridges then were loaded into his "web shooters".
The webshooters were essentially a metal apparatus that wrapped around his wrists with a little bulb that rested in his palms...when he touched his middle fingers against this bulb.the compund shot out of a little falve on the underside of his wrists and BAM web bonanza!!!
later on in life he got a special "alien" suit(now worn by Venom) which had the webbing stuff all built in and shot out at a simple thought by peter. This suit fired the stuff out of the tops of his wrists. This was all fine and dandy then he realized that the suit was a symbiot trying to take over his body. So he ditched it and went back to the old web shooters.
I have not seen the movie yet but can only guess that he produces webs without the aid of anything special...just his body. That must be the case because the reviewer mentioned that there was something odd about thew nature of Spidey's webbing.
All of this Spiderman stuff should not be mistaken with SPIDER-MAN 2099 in which he had spinnerets in his arms(just like a spiders). The squirted real wbs when he flezed his arms in a special way.
Anyway that's it....more than you wanted to know....
The Only Person Willing to be Me is ME!
No, but we need an "Anal Retentive" moderation category...
Karma? Karma? I don't need no stinkin' karma.
Sony is a big company, split into lots of piecies. Sony movies and sony games are great divisions. The funny thing is that one arm of Sony doesn't know what the other arm is doing. There's that new NetMD commercial, which tells you how you can use the Sony NetMD to rip music, meanwhile Sony Music is going freaky over the wave of MP3 "music stealing."
;)
BTW> The NetMD rocks. 2.5 (at good quality) hours of music, 56 hours of battery life, cheap ($2) media. The players themselves are small, durable, and can take quite a beating without skipping. Now, if it only worked in Linux
A deep unwavering belief is a sure sign you're missing something...
I desperately wanted to share LoTR with my son, but couldn't do it as it was too violent for him.
My wife and I were both really upset when we saw that Spider-man was going to be PG-13, so I'm thinking that it is also probably out for my son.
That said, I'd love to hear from some parents on whether they think it would or wouldn't be appropriate for me to take my boy.
Stand Fast,
tjg.
I was bitten by a radioactive punchcard. Now I have the superhuman ability to write code for IBM704s.
should "anal retentive" be hyphenated?
Only if used as an adjectival phrase in front of a noun: 'anal-retentive post' as opposed to 'the post was anal retentive.'
ROFL
I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
It's a Sony Pictures movie. Sony's a member of the MPAA, who love the DMCA. Sony Pictures has been cited as a supporter of Fritz Holling's Security Systems Standards and Certification Act (SSSCA) bill. We're talking about the kind of folks that hire lawyers to sue teenage hackers for writing unauthorized DVD playback software for GNU/Linux systems. Sure, it might be a great movie, but at least stop a minute to think where your money's going, what it will be used for down the road.
Anybody who says one vote doesn't matter must've missed the last US elections.
Well, presumably he was killed when they used The Ultimate Nullifier in one of those Franklin Richards-created alternate universes right after Onslaught ;)
Also, didn't the "Professor X Files" they found right around Onslaught indicate the best way to kill Wolvie was to cut off his head with an adamantium sword or something like that?
It hurts when I pee.
Quick question: should "anal retentive" be hyphenated?
I prefer:
"Is there a dash in anal retentive?"
because then someone can respond
"Damnit, it's a HYPHEN!"
Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
The link is broken.. try this link, to the main page of the event, insted.
I always thought he was saying "Fun Liquor"
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Mod up a post Rob doesn't like and you'll never mod again
Is that his last name, like Goldman or Peterman? Sheesh, you skip out of work to go support the MPAA, and you can't even manage to spell the proper noun, which is both title of the movie your are reviewing and the name of the main character, in the title (or body) of your review.
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"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
I don't bother with a lot of Hollywood movies, but the last few that I saw (Lord of the Rings, and X-Men, I think), they preceeded the trailers with a string of bigname coporate television-style advertising for crap like Coca-cola, Nike and Microsoft. I might go see a Spider-man movie for the hell of it (without expecting much from it), but I will not pay to see Microsoft ads.
At a bear minimum, please do scream "bullshit" when you they push an ad on you. An entire audience chanting "Linux! Imac! Linux! Imac!" in response to a Microsoft ad would definitely warm the heart.
Uh, you don't have to go far to find another method of killing Wolverine....
Drop by your local comic store this weekend to pick up your FREE COMIC BOOK. While there, you could also pick up Wolverine #175 -- the most recent -- for another possible answer debated in this thread.
(I'm trying not to lone-gunmen-are-dead the ending, but I think I'm failing miserably)
Hell, he could look at the ticket stub from the movie he just saw.
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"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
If it's anal-retentive to insist on spelling a character's name correctly, then I'm sure John Cats would point it out...
Yes
It's a essentially prequel, and is supposed to be based on Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One" comic books.
I'm particularly interested in it becuase Darren Aronofsky is directing. I would expect it to have a darker feel to it, like the original Batman movie.
very very happy. I thought tobey was great. but then I like tobey maguire in any role. As far as the way the movie was put together it just seemed better than batman. Batman was great but it was always so super comical, the sets were unreal, the costumes were jsut abstract. thats it batman was abstract and impressionistic and I think Spider-Man is more realistic (I'm talking the look, the fact that there's a guy swinging from skyscrapers is not what I'm talking about) as for the CG. well there is one spot that looks a little funny but only for a sec. Also what right do we ahve to complain? Stan Lee exec produced it. He's even in it if you look real close.
-
Oops, posted my review over on the other slashdot article about Spidey today before seeing this story, where it is more appropriate. Here it is again, slightly modified.
I got my first Spidey comic when I was about 6 (27 years ago), and have been a fan my whole life. Spidey (and Fantastic Four and Superman) were part of what fueled my interest in science as a kid, since they were always inventing all sorts of cool stuff.
Going into the Spider-Man movie, I was sure there was no way it could live up to my hopes/expectations. Whenever I have this high hopes about a movie I'm always disappointed. I was even kinda bummed about the whole organic webshooters versus mechanical.
I watched the movie this afternoon. I had some little nits to pick here and there, but overall as a whole, the movie was way better than I expected.
They did so many things right. The bit with "the burglar that changed his life" was done perfectly, and that's what I most expected them to do poorly. That whole section of the movie, as he was figuring out who he was and what he could do, was very well done. There were some scenes you could tell were computer-generated, but the for the most part, the excitement of the movie made it easier to tolerate. And the movie would have been worse without those scenes, or if they had tried to do them physically with stuntmen.
The main characterization I felt was missing was that it would have been nice to have seen more background of the relation between Spidey and his Uncle Ben. Although I guess even in the original comics, we never really got that (although we heard about it plenty over the years).
Anyway, I loved it. I can't wait for the DVD. I'll probably bring my dad to watch it this weekend, since he used to be a bit of a Spidey fan too.
This movie was really great. Really. I think Star Wars is going to have great competition this year in the form of Spider-Man. The only mistake of the Spider-Man flick is the same error that the Batman movies have done : *** SPOILER ALERT, WELL, NOT MUCH OF A ONE, BUT STILL... ****** They kill off the Green Goblin in the end. If they do 2 or 3 other movies, they will probably run out of vilains, like Batman did. Sure, Spider Man has a lot of foes, but do we really want to see Spider-Man vs. Sand Man?
**** SPOILER END *****
This sounds great. I think I'll rush out to see this right away!
Uhh,... the MPAA boycott has been cancelled, right?
Ideology is for ideots.
Haven't you seen "The Evil Dead" on DVD? Haven't you heard Bruce Campbell's commentary to that movie?
... this car is in almost every one of Sam Raimi's movies from this point on."
Quote Bruce Campbell:
"Now Sam will lie to you about this car [the aforementioned "classic"]; he calls it a classic. It's a '73 Delta 88 Oldsmobile and it's a piece of junk! This car had been in numerous super-8 mm of Sam's in the past, and for some reason he felt obligated to use it in this movie. We tried to wreck it but it didn't work, and you'll find out that this movie is in almost every one of
No - it's not a classic - it's a piece of junk!
We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.
My wife and I caught the noon showing, and we both really enjoyed it.
It's very well done.
The good:
- The performances were top notch.
- The effect of swinging on a web through New York was excellent and very "realistic".
- The pacing really kept things interesting.
The not bad, but could be better:
- Toby Maguire always sounds like he needs to clear a loogie out of his throat.
- It's rather amazing that the general public doesn't figure out the identities of Spider-Man or the Green Goblin. Spidey does lots of pretty amazing stuff as Peter Parker (without his mask on), and the Green Goblin's identity should be fairly obvious based on his research and government contracts.
Why are you letting these clowns ruin our country?
Actually, in one episode Wolverine was sent into orbit around a small moon, and yes - he survived. Now, I would think, that Hulk would just send Logan into orbit and think that was that.
We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.
If it were a word, it would be under-hyphenated, not underhyphened! I think underhyphened is similar to underlined.</anal-retentiveness>
Actually they're not claws, they're hooks, and that's how spiders hang on to stuff - and if I'm not mistaken (obviously) that's also how it works in the comic, with the small hooks being able to penetrate the suit without ripping it.
We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.
Some light language, violence, and nipples through a wet shirt.
Expect the kid to get scared by the green goblin though (but then, scaring kids is his job).
I skipped out early this morning and went to see the first showing of Spiderman in my local theater. The Sam Raimi directed spiderman
Caps needed: *Spiderman*
is the first of the summers
*summer's*
blockbusters and stars Toby Maguire as the webslinger, Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin and Kirsten Dunst and
*as*
the lovely Mary Jane. And guess what? Its
*It's*
one of the best comic book movies I've ever seen. I loved it. And I'll try not to lone-gunman
*gunmen*
-are-dead the review, but if you're super paranoid, just skip out, go see the flick, and enjoy it.
I find it sad that *I* have a "lameness filter" on what I can post, but Taco doesn't have a SPELLING filter.
-Kasreyn
Kasreyn: Cheerfully playing the part of Devil's Advocate to hairtrigger
Of note, not all the comic books are being distributed as free... depends on the shop, really.
Diamond (the distributor) wouldn't eat the costs, so they got passed along to the shops. It's up to each shop to decide whether or not they're going to eat the costs like Marvel did. Most of the shops I know of simply can't afford to.
-9mm-
Nope, at least not originally. Spidey was just sticky. It was explained in one of the Spiderman annuals with the hologram covers from years back (I'm sure in other places before and since, but that was during the period I actually read comics). The whole issue was Peter explaining his powers to Mary Jane (kinda a rip-off of an issue, but ah well). He said he could make any part of his body stick to anything (which sparked a query from Mary as to whether he could do it with any part, which rather surprised me considering how much less risque comics were back then) and that he made the gloves and boots of the suit extremely thin so he could stick through them. That, in turn, prompted Mrs. Parker to fret about him catching cold through the material.
Yes, I know, I have an inordinately detailed memory for absolutely useless facts. Now if only I could do the same with actually useful facts...
"If a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live" -- MLK, Jr.
Gwen's storyline is essentially taken up by MJ, who doesn't die. They did put in the whole wrestling, petty criminal who later becomes a killer, power/responsibility thing, and did it quite well in my opinion.
And as a billionaire, he could be the best super hero ever, super rich like batman but super powered like spiderman! Imagine spiderman with "those wonderful toys"!
Your
Jack Kirby is DEAD. Therefore, no cameo.
Well, I guess there _could_ have been one, but eeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwww...
If you want to hear those lyrics, stick around through the credits.
Every movie with some sort of action scene since "The Matrix" has used their own version of "Bullet Time" and this is no exception. Will it ever stop?!? I guess this is now a must-do... Hollywood has taken the red pill. The first time was cool, but now it's just a cliche.
J.
Some cats swing, and others don't. Don't you be the kind that won't.
Great Minds Think Alike - I also saw an early showing of Spider-Man today and I agreee 100% with your review. It is an excellent movie, I just can't say enough good things about it.
I'm a 2000 man.
Parking lot at Silicon Valley multiplex nearly full at 3:30PM Friday.
Wow since the movie is good, guess I will have to go check it out, then load up on all those YUMMY Spidey-Berry products lining the supermarket shelves.
i de rman.htm
l
So how much does Spidey_Berry figure into the movie? What is it? Radioactive Berries Spidey loves to eat? Some drink Peters mom makes for him? Whats up?
mmmm Spidey Berry, Pop Tarts, Cereal.. What else?
http://www.kelloggs.com/promotions/spiderman/Sp
http://www.digitalwebbing.com/news/042602-7.htm
http://www.kosi101.com/kelloggs-contest.html
I loved it, too, except at the very end where Mary Jane inexplicably expresses her undying love for Peter. Where the hell did that come from?
The only surefire protection against Microsoft infections is abstinence. - The Onion
(mildly offtopic, keep your panties on). Yeah, but would an Anal Retentive mod be +1 or -1? There's about 15 years worth of debate...
Help save the critically endangered Blue Iguana
I've been familiar with Spider-Man only through the cartoons, which I haven't watched in, oh, fifteen years or so. But, going into the movie did remind me that Spider-Man used to be my favorite cartoon...
As for the film itself, I'm damn impressed. There are movies which are nice entertaining little romps, which pass the time and are enjoyable. And then there are films which are all of that, plus a lot more--having a certain artistic and literary quality which gets the viewer more emotionally involved and maybe even has something to say about the world. *Spider-Man* falls in the latter category--great entertainment, but it also *says* something.
Take for instance the plot point about Peter Parker's uncle/father figure being murdered by a robber whom he could have stopped earlier if he'd cared. That gives him/Spider-Man a tremendous feeling of guilt and need to atone for his sin, by helping strangers the way he chose not to on the day Uncle Ben was murdered. This is a very meaningful, deep motivation, and lends Spidey a brooding quality unlike other superheroes. It also gives the film more emotional depth than it would have if there were some standard meaningless plot without deep psychological motives beneath it.
I couldn't help, afterward, comparing it to movies like *X-Men*. *X-Men* was entertaining, but had no real depth--it was pure entertainment with no real meaning. Sure, it has the brooding Wolverine character--but what exactly is he brooding over? The fact that he doesn't know his origins? That the X-Men treat him nicely, when others haven't? Oh, boo-hoo, what a shallow motivation. Poor him. Self-pity, how wonderful. But Spidey did something for which he's truly responsible, which will always motivate everything he does--he indirectly killed his beloved uncle, his father-figure, through inaction and lack of forethought. He will always be repaying that debt, with every person he saves and every evil he defeats. He cares deeply and feels constant remorse for a past he's trying to atone for. That's a very universal theme, not just a plot point.
That, I think, is what made this film so great. I was watching *Return of the Jedi* the other night, and asking myself why it's so moving, why it means something long after other great films of the time are somewhat diminished. It's those universal themes again, which give it the scope of an epic saga rather than a mere movie. Dark Sides, redemption, good and evil, long-lost family, love, oppression, longing, the struggle for freedom. The SW Trilogy gains a universal appeal because of these themes.
*Spider-Man* wasn't as epic, but was very much along those lines--themes of sin and redemption, a debt which can never be repaid, the loss of loved ones before their time and for which one feels responsible, love and longing, moving from adolescensce into adulthood, love that can't be consummated for its object's own good, heroically standing up for others. This is a movie which could be the beginning of an epic saga, although sadly its sequels will likely be more vacuous and less meaningful.
At any rate, I thought Spidey to be a wonderful tragic hero in the guise of a standard comic-book character, and the movie to be a great mix of the literary disguised as the trivial.
Chasing Amy
(We all chase Amy...)
"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws"-Tacitus
You're not too much of a geek:
"Days of Future Passed" (echoing the Moody Blues 1967 album title) appeared in X-Men 141 and 142. It was actually John Byrne's next-to-last two issues, Claremont took over again shortly after (and the book was never as good again). The character who travelled back in time was Kate (nee Kitty) Pryde. Rachel Summers used her powers to send Kate's mind back in time to when she was 14 or 15 and had just joined the X-Men. Kate then had to help the X-Men prevent the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (or whatever they called themselves c. 1980) from assassinating Senator Kelly (yes, the same guy in the movie) during a presidential campaign that started the hysteria that culminated in the creation of an army of Sentinels that ultimately took over the world and killed every superhuman.
Anyhow, I can only spout this much detail about a few series of comic books for the 12 years or so I collected, and John Byrne's run on the X-Men rates a CBG "Best! Series! Ever!" in my book. I bought 'em off the newstand in the day, but they've been reprinted many times since.
As an aside when X-Men 137 came out, I was about 16 and I made the decision that I bought comics because I liked them and not for profit, so I didn't buy extra speculative copies. I'm sure they're worth a bit now, but that's OK. I'm glad I was only in it for fun.
You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
Because 'splosions advance the plot better than dialog.
There should be a moratorium on the use of the apostrophe.
Max V.
NeXTMail/MIME Mail welcome
The first and final fight scenes are pretty violent. They could frighten a kid. The ones inbetween are more artsy.
Wonderful movie
They don't. Sure, it'll work under Linux as an optical device (SPDIF) but the OpenMG software, needed for NetMD mode (which allows LP mode and quick transfer of data) only runs on Windows.
A deep unwavering belief is a sure sign you're missing something...
In reference to Mary Jane... actually this is reasonably true to the comic. She had _serious_ issues with her abusive father; it was part of the reason she was staying with *her* aunt, IIRC. This came out more or less the same time she and Parker got very serious (pre-marraige buildup).
;)
So dere.
If you're going to nitpick, you should probably make sure that your subjects and verbs agree. "Someone" is singular. "They" is plural.
;-)
"They" isn't a verb, either. If you're going to nitpick, you should probably make sure your name the problem correctly.