Lost is coming to an end in 2010 and the seasons will be shortened to 16 episodes per season as well as shown in blocks with no repeats. Sounds like a good idea to me and I like the fact that we seem to know when the show will end. Of course, the real question is--do the producers know HOW it will end? Also, the shortened seasons mean one thing--every episode better be good to great...cause crappy episodes stand out even more if you get fewer episodes....
Spider-Man 4 is going to happen--the box-office shattering opening weekend makes that pretty much a no-brainer. Rumored villians for the next installment: Carnage (don't care), Lizard (could work), Black Cat (could go either way). What ever happened to my favorite villian of the Spidey mythology--the Scorpion? It'd be great because as the story originally played out, J. Jonah Jameson was instrumental in helping create the Scorpion and more screen time for J. Jonah would be all good in my book.
Shrek 4 is already in the works?!? Shouldn't they make sure Shrek 3 is a hit first? I guess if Shrek 3 tanks, they can always send Shrek 4 to DVD. Oh wait..what am I talking about? No way will Shrek 3 tank.
posted byMichael Hickerson at 5/07/2007 08:38:00 AM |
| Saturday, May 05, 2007 Spider-Man 3 Thoughts
Well, it's not nearly as great as the gold standard of comic book movies, Spider-Man 2.
That said, I still enjoyed Spider-Man 3 for what it was--a solid, entertaining summer blockbuster that was a nice way to spend two and a half hours. The movie brought the franchise storylines full circle and could serve as a nice end point to the series. Except, of course, that Sony has already decided there will be a part four. Let me say this--I don't care how many Brinks trucks you have to back up to Sam Raimi's house--he's worth every penny to direct part four. Look at how the Batman series derailed when Tim Burton left and how Superman derailed when Richard Donner was let go or the X-Men series when Bryan Singer jumped ship.
I will say this--Spider-Man 3 is a better entry in the franchise than X-Men 3, Superman 3 and the third Batman feature.
I will also say it wasn't perfect...it wasn't quite the movie nirvana experience the first two were, but it will still enough to leave me satisfied.
Warning....SPOILERs ahead.
One thing I've liked about the Spider-Man movies is the storyline of Spidey and the villians has worked to parallel each other. There has been some connection between these villians Spidey has faced in each of the three films. This time, it's about men who are forced to make choices in their lives and end up going down a dark path. By the conclusion of the film, three of the four are able to find redemption of some sort--whether it be Sandman confessing his crime to Peter or Harry forgiving Peter for the death of his father and coming to terms with who his father really was. In the end, only Eddie Brock is consumed by his dark side and it ends up costing him his life...
That said, I'm not sure I found the tie-in of the Sandman's storyline to the creation of Spider-Man really all that necessary. I have to admit when I heard the line about "this is your uncle's actual killer" in the trailers, I was extremely skeptical. The fact that Spidey let his uncle's killer escape and the guilt drove him to become Spider-Man is an essential part of the Spider-Man mythology. But here we find out that the burglar didn't kill Uncle Ben, it was Flint Marko...well, sort of. Seems Uncle Ben had talked Marko into going home and maybe thinking about his life of crime when the burglar hit against him, causing the gun Marko was holding to Uncle Ben to fire....so technically the burglar is still responsible, but then again so is Marko. I'm still not quite sure I buy the overall explanation and I still see this as a bit of a stretch to connect Spider-Man to Marko. It feels like, in the end, it's a reason that comes out of left field to send Peter down a dark path where he'll give into the symbiote and hunt down and attempt to kill Marko in the underground subways.
And while the movie does have some great action sequences--the one between Harry and Peter that starts the film is superb as is the final battle at a construction sight--none of them are quite as exhilierating as the battle on the train in Spider-Man 2.
That said, I still liked the movie, even if it was a bit busy. They crammed a whole lot of movie into the two plus hours running time.
Once again, J.K. Simmons is perfect at J. Jonah Jameson. Aunt May isn't as vital to the storyline as the first two segments, though she does help pull Peter back from the edge a bit. And it's hard to not get a bit excited when Spider-Man comes swinging into the scene late in the film to take on Venom and Sandman.
I'm sure some fans will lament the short screen time given to Venom. I can't say this is a bad thing really....to me the black costume is more about what it did to Peter Parker/Spider-Man than what it does to Eddie Brock/Venom. I stopped regularily reading Spider-Man comic books around the time Venom came on the scene and to me, he's a good villain though he's been a bit overused and overexposed. The use of Venom here is perfectly done and it's not as bad as the inclusion of Bane in Batman and Robin, where a pivotal villain was reduced to a wordless and useless cameo.
And I haven't even mentioned the two women in Peter Parker's life. One again, Kirsten Dundst does a good job as Mary Jane (the scene of her doing the twist in the kitchen....wow). And Bryce Dallas Howard just looks like Gwen Stacy stepped off the pages of Marvel comics and onto the big-screen. Interesting to see Gwen used as the other woman to MJ which is exactly the opposite of how things played out in the comics.
So, Spider-Man 3 is good. I'd give it three stars out of four. It's not quite as wonderful and nirvana-like bliss as the second one, but it's still a great, fun enjoyable movie. I'll definitely be adding it to my DVD collection when it hits DVD (as if you had any doubts).
For those of you with small children who are wondering if they should see it--it is a darker than the first two, so keep than in mind. Spider-Man does descend to the dark side, with Peter abusing his powers and embracing the black suits enhancement of his super abilities. Venom could be kind of scary for some of the younger kids and the battles in this one are pretty brutal and epic. The film got a PG-13 rating for a reason.....while there is a good story about good vs evil, making the right choices and redemption, it may be too intense for some of the kids who are ten and under.
posted byMichael Hickerson at 5/05/2007 11:01:00 AM |
| Thursday, May 03, 2007 Does whatever a spider can...
I'm in this very calm, Zen-like state about seeing Spider-Man 3 tomorrow. Because no matter what the critics say, this is my favorite super-hero of all-time on the big screen and I'm going to enjoy every last second of the film.
I discovered Spider-Man like a lot of my generation probably did--on the Electric Company. Spidey had adventures as part of the show where all his dialogue was presented on screen in balloons. Of course, the secret agenda was to encourage children to learn how to read and let me tell you--it was quite an incentive. I remember I watched a few times with my dad and he'd read the balloons to me but I also recall feeling this intense desire to be able to read the words for myself.
I remember my dad bringing me home one of my first Spider-Man comics soon after I discovered him on the Electric Company and us reading it together. (It's long since gone and I'm sure would be worth a good sum if I'd kept it in mint condition, but you know, the memories of enjoying it are beyond a price tag...)
I was hooked. I soon discovered Spider-Man had his own cartoon and I eagerly watched it. It's the famous one of the 60s with one of the greatest theme songs to ever hit the Saturday morning airwaves.
At some point, the obsession spilled over into all aspects of my life to the point that when I'd go places with my mom, I'd be making up stories with me as Spider-Man in my head. I even took at as far as "shooting" webs at people by getting my hands into the web-slinging position and making a "thwipping" sound. Thankfully, I grew out of this (just last week!) phase, though I'm sure my mom was ready for it to be over sooner rather than later.
Which leads me to the other night...I met my sister and her family for dinner. While eating, my nephew began to make the infamous Spidey shoots the web hands and point them at people. My sister asked if he was shooting his Spider-Man webs and he nodded.
First of all, I swear I never taught this trick, though I wish I had. Second of all, I have to admit deep down, I thought it was pretty cool of him to do.
The traditions of one generation passed on to the next....
posted byMichael Hickerson at 5/03/2007 10:41:00 AM |
| Tuesday, May 01, 2007 Only three more days...
Only three more days until the movie event of the year hits the big-screen!
As if my excitement level weren't already high enough, USA Today has posted a mostly positive review of Spider-Man 3, giving it three stars.
I've already got my ticket to catch the film on the IMAX Friday. I cannot wait to see the latest installment featuring my favorite super-hero.
That said, I pretty much have spoiled the entire movie for myself. I saw the official movie novelization in the stores a few weeks ago and since it was by Peter David, one of my favorite authors, I picked it up. I have to admit based on what I'd heard about the movie featuring three villains I was worried the storyline would be too packed or make the same mistakes the later Batman movies did. So, I figured I'd read a few pages of it and help set my mind at ease before I walked into the theater. Yeah, big mistake. A few hours later I'm done reading and very satisfied with the overall character arc and story. I am hopeful that it will all translate well to the big-screen.
posted byMichael Hickerson at 5/01/2007 08:13:00 AM |
| Tuesday, March 06, 2007 Spider-Man 3 Sneak Peek
NBC ran a new, one-minute promo for Spidey 3 last night during Heroes.
All I have to say is--awesome. Can't wait. Will be first in line to see it.
That was before I surfed over to the seven minute sneak-peek on NBC's web site. The footage there is extensions of the scenes from Heroes including one long, sustained battle between Peter and Harry Osborn.
Spectacular.
You'd better hurry if you want to see it. NBC takes the footage off-line this evening.
Or you can see it right here, though it's not in HD....
