The Amazing Spider-Man - Actually Amazing

When I heard there was a reboot of Spider-Man, I sort of rolled my eyes and thought, "Great, another money-maker." But after watching The Amazing Spider-Man, I can really see the relevance of it and why it's okay. I will start by saying that this movie was simply fantastic.

Sure, you've got your expected scenes of Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) bitten by a spider, getting powers and all that, but it's how they delve into the character and his backstory that really makes this film shine. 

This movie really focuses the attention on Peter's desire to be with his parents, and his curiosity as to why they aren't around. Peter has to deal with so many issues colliding into him at once that it seems a bit overbearing for him.

   

It's inevitable that people are going to compare The Amazing Spider-man to Sam Raimi's Spider-Man from 2002. I will say that this one is just darker and takes on a much more serious tone. 

The acting in this movie is superb. You couldn't have cast a better Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen). He makes his character so real and relatable. Andrew Garfield too was witty and his emotions felt genuine. You could really see the pain in his face when certain events took place. 

There are a few things about this movie that are subtle, but really make the movie better than any of the others. I like that throughout the movie, Peter Parker looks like he got the crap beaten out of him when he's finished patrolling or going after bad guys. He has black eyes and bruises almost the entire movie and that makes it a lot more realistic. Also, his costume stays ripped and torn, because, well, he didn't have time to fix it. Go figure!

I also really liked how Parker used his webbing in the story. It's so smart. He wasn't just using them to swing from one place to another, but to actually try to figure out things, like where the lizard was hiding. It's hard to explain without giving away too much, but it was a nice touch. 

It was refreshing for Spider-Man to have a different love interest and Emma Stone did very well at portraying Gwen Stacy.

Now, the reason I see the relevance of a reboot is this: In the past Spider-Man movies, there were no smart phones, Facebook, and few people used the Internet like they do today. I read about this in another article and I completely agree. We live in a much different world than we did even 5 years ago. Smartphones didn't even exist when we started Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. It really changes how things are done today and it was nice to see all of this in action.

There's also a very touching scene that really shows that the common man too can be a hero. When you watch the movie, just remember crane operators. 

This was a great movie experience and I would recommend it to anyone.

The McDandy Rating: A MUST SEE

Trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man:

Prometheus - Edge of Your Seat

Prometheus will hold your attention throughout the film, that much is true. But that doesn't mean that you will understand everything that is happening in front of you.

Director Ridley Scott did well in making you stay on the edge of your seat the entire movie. I remember watching the trailer for this and never got the indication that it was a horror-like film.

I love sci-fi movies, and that's what really drew me to this one. I wasn't expecting nearly as much violence and suspense. There are moments in the movie that will make you cringe and plenty of times that you will jump.

The visual and audio effects of this movie were absolutely stunning. It's worth seeing in the theater just to get the crisp clearness of the massive screen and the resounding woofers of the dynamic sound. Lately I've been really tired of seeing CG effects that you can tell were CG when the directors are trying to convince you that you aren't watching a cartoon. In Prometheus, it all looks real. And that's an accomplishment with a sci-fi movie these days.

The acting was ok. Michael Fassbender was the best out of all of them for sure. The others, well, they seemed like all other movies. Nothing special in the least bit here.

The characters were just ok as well. I never really felt for them and what they had to go through. During the film I would think, "Ah, man...that stinks for him.." or "Oh no! Get out of there, get out of there!" but I was never really disappointed when it didn't work out for certain people, and I wasn't really against the antagonists. Plus, the person I'm thinking is the main character halfway through the movie, isn't actually the main character, so that was a bit odd as well.

The plot is where it starts to go down hill...sort of. I mean, it was very intriguing and it had a good concept, but they never really delivered with answers. There are several scenes that you think will make sense when they explain it later, but they never do. Looking back on the movie, there are so many questions that I have, that I feel like I missed so much, but I don't feel like I would get those answers by watching it a second time. Also, I really don't think they needed a 'save the Earth' moment in the movie. It was almost like an afterthought, and the writers just decided to throw that in there. There was no need for it, and the movie would have been just as good without it...maybe better. We were never really given a reason why the antagonists wanted to destroy Earth anyway...

Overall, I would say you should go see it. It's worth paying the extra bucks to see it on the big screen, though I did not watch the 3D version, so I can't say much for that. It was a very entertaining movie that will hold your attention through to the end, but also leaving you scratching your head.

The McDandy Rating : Big Screen Worthy


Trailer for Prometheus: