Check out The Amazing Spiderman

The Amazing Spiderman (2012) starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone matched my expectations which were very high.  I never cared much for Tobey Maguire as Spiderman, so naturally the prospect of a new Spiderman caught my attention.  When it comes to superheros you don't think of Spiderman as one of the top dogs, being that he's undersized and his only real powers are his climbing and swinging abilities.  Sure he has super senses, great reflexes, and the ability to heal quickly, but what superhero doesn't? In a battle royale Spidey would likely be the underdog when thrown up against guys like Superman or the Hulk, but that's what I like about him.  It seems like he's always up against the wall whenever he fights a super villain and right when he's about to die he digs deep and prevails.  The one thing you see with Spidey more than with his contemporaries is heart. 

And now to the movie.  In my opinion Garfield's a rising star and Emma Stone has already established herself in the young Hollywood Elite.  She dazzles both on screen and off with her excellent fashion sense and presence during all of her public appearances.  If you haven't noticed by my previous posts I may have a little crush on her.  I promise that didn't give me a bias when evaluating the movie.  Overall the acting, directing, and storyline all worked very well.  Garfiield's scrawniness worked very well for this movie.  Peter Parker is supposed to be a harmless looking geek who nobody would expect could kick ass with the best of them.  It doesn't hurt when you have seasoned veterans to fill the small roles of Uncle Ben and Aunt May (Martin Sheen and Sally Field). Check out this movie and you won't regret it.  Way better than it's predecessor.

Can't Wait for these Movies!

Some great movies coming out in the near and not-so-near future (but I'm equally excited for all of these movies).  A movie due to come out very soon, Skyfall, the newest James Bond installment, looks excellent.  I hope this film can surpass Quantum of Solace which let me down a bit after Casino Royale which in my opinion is one of the best Bond movies ever.  Daniel Craig returns in this action packed film featuring Javier Bardem as the villain.  This movie appears to have all the makings of another excellent Bond film, and it's already got a great title song, Skyfall by Adele, to give everyone a healthy dose of Bond in the coming months.  I can't wait for this one to hit theaters.  Check out the trailer if you haven't already.

This next choice may shock those of you who know me well, especially because I'm not the biggest fan of musicals, but the new Les Miserables looks amazing.  When I learned that this film is the first time in history where all of the actors sang their songs live during the filming (as opposed to pre-recording and lip-synching the music) I was both shocked and amazed.  Everything about this film adaptation of the Victor Hugo masterpiece appears to do justice to the story.  Although I often shy away from artsy timepieces and musicals I won't be passing up this one, and I recommend that you also make time to see this classic adapted onto the big screen by some of Hollywood's most talented actors (Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, amongst others).

For those of you who like me are enthralled by anything zombie related, you've most likely read something by Max Brooks, and possibly even his most famous novel, World War Z.  I read the book a couple of years ago and enjoyed the realistic feel and scary possibilities described by Brooks.  Z was one of those books that as soon as I finished I couldn't wait for a movie, and it'll soon be in theaters.  I don't know what it is about zombies but the whole idea of a zombie apocalypse, although scary, fascinates me.  If you're a fan of anything zombie-related like The Walking Dead on AMC, or if you like apocalyptic type movies then check out World War Z starring Brad Pitt due to hit theaters in 2013.

 

Why is this song not blowing up the radio?

They're probably waiting to mega-release the song and movie together, but it should be playing on every radio station.

I Also Read

I often write about movies or television shows that I watch, but I also read at least a book a week.  This week I've finished Brazil, by John Updike.  Brazil was my first experience with Updike's writing, and I'm now intrigued to read more of his works.  Ever since I saw the movie, City of God (2002), I've been interested in the history and society of Brazil, and more specifically the social aspects of life in Rio De Janeiro.  It's horrible how the industrialization of the country and the deforestation of the rain forest have equally spawned millions of people living in states of poverty that people in this country could never imagine.   And of course, where there's poverty there's often crime.  Kids growing up on the streets of Rio knowing that hustling and/or robbing the rich is often their only way to survive. 

Brazil provides an excellent inside view to an instance where one of these poor kids encounters a girl from a more prominent background.  Both of their lives are changed forever after Tristao and Isabel fall in love, and while many forces (mostly both of their families) fight to keep them apart, these two young lovers always manage to find each other.  It's not all a love story with happy endings.  This story features numerous instances of betrayal, violence, and loss.  At one point these two lovers find themselves escaping from Isabel's father and from the law by hiking through the Brazilian jungle with only the help of an old woman.  They are eventually attacked by a group of natives and experience horrors and tragedies that many people would not be able to survive.  If you're a fan of Updike, classical literature, or my little shpeel give this book a shot. 

Also check out City of God.  As long as you don't mind subtitles (unless you speak Portuguese) it's a great movie and gives a sad but realistic view into the life of a young hood in Rio.

Excited for Some Old School Bro Movies

What ever happened to the old-school, rough and tough image of a man? I mean seriously, you see more guys out there going tanning, getting full body waxes, and wearing jeans tighter than any pair their girlfriend owns.  When did body hair and sweat go out of fashion? And what's with all the no carb diets, and for that matter diets altogether? I miss the days when being a badass man was what women found sexy.  A grissled, badass, impolite, rough-around-the edges man.  Well friends, I need a reminder so I took it upon myself to get my bro on, and I netflixed The Getaway with Steve McQueen, the ultimate mans man.  Society sometimes makes you doubt the way you carry yourself, and friends, I need a reminder that it's alright for men to still be men and not overly pampered, metro-sexual androids. Expect more reviews on movies featuring badass dudes. 

Why was I Fooled Again?

This weekend I watched Wrath of the Titans, the not-so-stellar sequel to the other let down, Clash of the Titans (2010).  I believe I slammed this movie in a previous post, but I'm currently too lazy and dedicated to this post to look back and see.  In case I didn't already criticize Clash of the Titans, it's a movie that represents this new Hollywood blockbuster philosophy that if you throw enough A-list stars into a movie (Liam Neeson, Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes) and add enough action and explosions into a two minute trailer, you'll have a blockbuster that will net you at least $200 million (in this case $493 million, c/o imdb.com).  The result of course is a poorly written and poorly directed movie that leaves you yearning for so much more based on the trailer.  I call these untrue trailers many things, and today I'll dub this movie an example of "Trailer Fraud." Trailer Fraud (N): A movie that falsely represents itself as excellent through a two-and-a-half minute preview trailer, when in reality it falls far short of expectations.

What's worse than me falling for trailer fraud with Clash, is that I fell for it again with Wrath of the Titans.  For some ridiculous reason I had a gut feeling that Wrath of the Titans would be one of those rare sequels that actually overshadows the original.  Once again I'm wrong, and wasted another hour and a half of my movie watching time when I should have known better.  What's that old proverb that my dad loves to throw into conversations whenever he can, "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me."  That's about right.  Bottom line don't waste your time with Wrath of the Titans.  This movie features nothing exciting, and even the acting is marginal.  Hopefully I'll learn from this mistake in the future.  And below, a great example of trailer fraud:

 

A Pleasant Surpise

For months I've secretly wanted to see Rock of Ages, and last week I finally took a chance on it.  The trailer for this musical-turned-movie had excellent promise, plus a star-studded cast featuring the likes of Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, and Tom Cruise (amongst others) provided the ingredients for a great movie.  I'm not usually one for musicals, with the exception of Grease, but Rock of Ages really surprised me.  I expected an OK movie, especially since the critics didn't give very favorable reviews, and I was shocked at how much I loved this movie.  The 80s music and hair may have distracted me more than I would like to admit, but I can't deny that I absolutely loved this movie.  Possibly the most surprising element of the movie was the acting and singing ability of the two leads, Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta, who aren't extremely known for their acting abilities in major motion pictures.  They both did an excellent job and held their own amongst their A-list counterparts.  The only reason not to see this movie would be if you hate 80s music.  I happen to love 80s music, and if you share my sentiments then go rent this movie immediately if you haven't already. 

Watch New Girl Now!

A while back my good friend Kyle recommended that I check out a show on Fox called New Girl starring Zooey Deschanel.  I normally trust Kyle's recommendations, and I'm glad that I once again took his advice.  New Girl made me laugh out loud from the first episode and never ceases to amaze me with its simplistic yet hilarious antics.  Zooey Deschanel is the perfect combination of a quirky and awkwardly funny female lead, who while making you laugh out loud on a regular basis also has a strange sex appeal. 

The other character's do a great job at complementing Zooey's character Jess as she attempts to navigate life post a six year relationship.  Jess decides to move into a loft with three guys who each bring their own special element and comedic relief to the table.  I love this show because it's simple and hilarious.  Many of the situations faced by the characters are applicable to real life, and none of the cast members are ridiculously good looking (except for Hannah Simone, love Cici) giving the show more of a real world feel than some of the other network shows out there.  Usually I only watch shows that air on premium channels or FX, but I've been pleasantly surprised by this gem on Fox.  Check it out if you haven't already.

A Couple of Disappointments

I've recently been extremely disappointed on two separate occasions.  The first let down came from J.K Rowling's first attempt at adult novels, The Casual Vacancy.  Let me preface this review by stating that I love J.K Rowling and the Harry Potter franchise, but this story fell far short of my expectations.  The novel is well written, as one would expect from J.K, and the character development is consistent and complex enough for an interesting plot, but to me, this story was just ordinary.  Nothing from Casual Vacancy really separated it from other similar novels that I've read, and nothing about the story intrigued me enough to the point that I felt a strong urge to continue reading.  I honestly just finished the book out of respect and love for J.K, but overall Casual Vacancy fell far short of my expectations.  Do yourself a favor and skip this one. I still love you J.K.

A recent movie choice equally disappointed me.  Lola Versus starring Greta Gerwig had an excellent trailer that led me to anticipate a work of indie-hipster gold.  Based on the trailer, I expected a funny and witty romantic-esque comedy with plenty of relatable themes and scenes.  Instead, the movie, like Casual Vacancy, turned out ordinary, with nothing exciting or worthwhile.  In this case I fell victim to what I like to call "An all-inclusive trailer," which basically means the trailer shows all of the best and funny parts in the movie, so when you actually see the movie none of the scenes are all that funny because you've already seen them.  I didn't really like anything about this movie.  Weak writing, character development, plot, and ending.  Skip this one for sure.  I'll put the trailer below so you can enjoy all this movie has to offer in two minutes and change.