Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man
Directed by: Marc Webb (the irony)
Cast:  Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
          Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy
          Rhys Ifans as Curt Connors/The Lizard
          Dennis Leary as Capt. George Stacy
          Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben Parker
          Sally Field as Aunt may Parker
Rated PG-13
*The following may contain spoilers*
"It's too soon for a reboot! Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy was the best!" These were words that I heard quite often. I don't know why I heard them, but I did. Needless to say, I was always pretty excited for this re-imagining of the wall-crawler because, let's face it, Spider-man 3 was a train wreck.

Remember when this was a thing?

So, when Spidey got the scrubdown, I was excited and boy, did they deliver. Of course, everyone knows the story at this point: Nerdy guy gets bitten, fights a villain, gets the girl, loses the girl, repeat steps 2 - 5. But, it was the way that Marc Webb approached the well-known story, making it believable and relatable. It helps that his leads, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone were perfect for their roles.

They're also not 30.

Martin Sheen and Sally Field also did an incredible job as the loving, adopted parental roles while Rhys Ifans was an excellent villain. But that's pretty broad, so let's break it down....

What I Liked
In my opinion, this is the perfect Spider-Man origin movie. As far as continuity to the source material goes, every step is nearly perfect. And on it's own, it's a spectacular superhero movie. As I said above, what sets Spider-Man apart for me is the believability of the whole thing. As Sam Raimi proved, it's not easy to make Spidey's origins realistic, but Webb pulled it off. The pacing, timing and progression of character throughout his beginnings as the hero and the movie as a whole were perfect. His journey from Peter Parker to Spider-Man was actually emotional and powerful, driven by realistic situations. The villains growth and progression was also great, both in timing and emotionally. It also stayed true to the original Lizard character, keeping him a good guy who makes a mistake while trying to do good things.

Finally, Sally Field is an incredible Aunt May, bringing the right mix of emotion, shock and acceptance to the role, creating a real connection between her and Peter by the end of the movie. Martin Sheen and Dennis Leary also do great in their roles, all three coming together to create the perfect support system for Peter, showing in full force that Peter is reliant on his family and friends.

I also really liked the way his web-shooting was explained; again, the machines made sense and seemed realistic enough to be believable. I also loved the way that his web-swinging scenes were shot, putting you in the eyes of Spider-Man and really helping you get in the moment of the action. The way that he learned how to be Spider-Man was also really well done and is nominated for my "Favorite Movie Scene of All Time". It's currently tied with the final scene of Inception.

What I Didn't Like
There wasn't really a whole lot, just a few nit-picky things with the acting, but I can get over them. This really was the perfect Spider-man movie.

(For the record, I saw it three times, so no, this is not just the nerdy fanboy excitement talking.)


Final Thoughts
Everything about this movie was done right, from Peter's parents disappearance to Stan Lee's cameo. It perfectly captured everything that Spider-Man is: humor, charm, good luck and family. Marc Webb, congrats and I can't wait to see what the next movies in this Spidey's legacy brings us. I'm excited, whatever it is.

When Should You See It?
Now. Right now. It's still in theaters. Go. Then buy it on Blu-Ray.


Personal Rating: 9 of 10
Plot: 8.5 of 10
Characters: 9 of 10
Writing: 10 of 10

Brave

Brave
Directed by: Brenda Chapman
Cast: Kelly Macdonald as Merida
          Billy Connoley as Fergus
          Emma Thompson as Elinor
Rated PG
Seen June 23


*The following may contain spoilers*
Pixar has long been the forerunner in computer animation. Their dynamic visuals and creative stories have won them countless awards and broken many records. From Toy Story to Finding Nemo to Monsters, Inc., Pixar has always delivered a great movie with a lot of heart. Brave is no different, providing Pixar's unique take on the classic princess story. A Scottish princess named Merida hopes to change her fate to avoid being forced into marriage by her over controlling mother. But, after dealing with an incompetent witch, the spell goes awry and provides the story with the heart of Pixar we all know and love.


What I Liked
As I said, this is Pixar's take on the classic princess story and I really like what they did with it. The focus on the mother-daughter relationship opposed to the standard father-daughter dynamic was a nice change and allowed for a lot more natural story progression and growth than usually comes from princess movies. It was also nice to see an independent princess, not one caught up in a whirlwind romance, the conflict coming from her family instead.

What I Didn't Like
Although what Pixar did with the story was good, I feel like there was a lot more they could have done, mainly in breaking the princess stereotype further. I've come to expect a lot from Pixar and I feel that Brave was more of backslide than a step forward. The focus felt more on animation than story and they seemed to be deliberately making a "Pixar-princess-movie", sacrificing creativity so that they could hit the cliche story marks.

Final Thoughts
Brave is not a bad movie, but it's also not a great movie. Beautifully animated with a lot of heart, i feel that the only thing it's missing is Pixar's signature creativity. This lack of creative storytelling is made up for with heart and humor however, making it worth a watch if you're in the mood for something fun.


When Should You See It?
At this point, just wait until DVD.

Personal Rating: 7 of 10
Plot: 5 of 10
Characters: 8 of 10