Re-Watch: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

I love Spider-Man. It's that's simple. When the first Spider-Man came out back in 2002 (12 years ago?!) I knew the entire movie line for line, but I'm not here to talk about Raimi's Trilogy. The franchise was rebooted so Sony could keep the rights instead of them reverting back to Marvel (MCU heavy sigh). 

The Amazing Spider-Man Poster.

The reboot was a pleasant experience of a well-known origin. This time Spidey is played by Andrew Garfield. Garfield is too attractive to be convincing that people would actually pick-on and ignore him in school but he plays a very nicely comedic Spider-Man. Much closer to the comic book. Garfield is a big fan of the character and has been since he was little. It makes his performance a little bit more endearing for me. 

Spidey's back. Get it? Back? Okay.

The difference with this reboot is that it's much closer to the feel of the comic books. The humor and sarcasm of Spider-Man is something that makes him an iconic superhero and they really brought that out better in this movie. The story, of course, is how Peter Parker turns into Spider-Man. As a young boy his parents mysteriously died and he was left to be raised by his Aunt and Uncle. Once in high school, he visits a science lab (this time at OSCORP) and is bitten by a spider while trying to snoop for information on his father.

The cast of The Amazing Spider-Man

The Spider bite gives him radioactive powers! He also has an adorable relationship with science student and independent woman, Gwen Stacy. As Peter begins to learn about all of his new abilities he chooses not to help when a drug store is robbed. The thief gets away and ends up shooting Peter's Uncle. Wap. Wap. Now he's angsty for life. The villain in the movie is Dr Curt Connors, someone who is connected to Peter's father through their research together. Peter gives Connors a formula he found in his father's hidden research and it seems to be valid. Connors uses it on himself, eager for his arm to grow back. He should know those types of things come with a consequence. He paid it big time. He turned into a giant lizard!

Long story short, there's lots of fight scenes. Connors wants the entire city of New York to be lizards too so he releases an air toxin to hit them all. Of course, all's well in the end. Spidey stops it but not without a casualty or two. He thinks that he is protecting Gwen by staying away from her (of course he should've- if you've read the comics you know what tragedy happens to her) but in the very end of the film decides he doesn't care and is with her anyway. Hm... sound familiar Spider-Man 2 plot point?

Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man. Mask-less and angsty

Emma Stone plays Gwen Stacy and she does a great job. I like her a lot as an actress. She's someone who can put up with Peter's nonsense and still hold her own ground. She challenges him in many ways. Her character is strong and keeps up with Peter Parker, she's independent and smart, I love that she is a positive role model in this film. You go Gwen Stacy!

Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy

The problem with this film, of course, is that it's all too familiar. We all know that Uncle Ben's going to die. We know why Peter Parker turns into Spider-Man. It makes for a less interesting story because it's too recently remade. This is starting to actually become a trend and a problem for studios to remake a film instead of producing new content. It's a travesty. There's great scripts out there but they get overshadowed and passed over by someone thinking that it'll make more money and makes more business sense to do something again that's already made money.

I like this reboot I just wish it had come with a little bit more time between films, I think people would be more excited about seeing the sequel to THIS reboot if that were the case. It's an epic story and deserves to be told in the right way. The Amazing Spider-Man is at 73% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy

Flight (2012)

Plane Crashes, Denzel, and Alcoholics!

I like the left poster better than the one on the right. Denzel just looks so pissed off. How dare you rain when I'm trying to fly a plane. Either way I like the simplicity of the left poster.







Okay so here's the thing, Robert Zemeckis knows his stuff. Back to the Future? Check. Forrest Gump? Check. Cast Away? Check. But you're calling your movie Flight? That title just feels uncreative to me.

Denzel, as usual, is in fine form here. An interesting man who struggles with a broken family but is a truly great pilot. The movie opens on what was a hazardous but seemingly regular night of partying for Whip Whitaker and he is with one of the stewardesses of the flight. He is still drunk from the night before so naturally, to sober up, he snorts some cocaine and he's ready to go. The plane malfunctions, due to manufacturing parts and because Whip is such a talented pilot he manages to land the plane and only have 6 casualties whereas other pilots who simulated the crash killed each passenger everytime. As it is constantly said in the movie, "I'm the only one who could've landed that plane".

How to Land a Crashing Plane

The movie is about his story as an in-denial alcoholic who struggles to reveal the truth to the public about what truly happened on the plane. His performance as Whip is very real and sometimes a little difficult to watch. I found myself saying, don't grab that bottle man. Come, on! Don't do it. Then of course, you know he does. He's an alcoholic. 

Flying Inverted!

I liked his character, he was powerful and he certainly carried the movie. He was almost like watching a plane crash himself as he went along struggling with the fact that six people were killed on his plane and whether he was responsible or the faulty plane was responsible for their deaths. At one point he struggles with revealing the truth so much that he urged others to lie for him and help him from going to jail.

For once, the black girl wasn't killed. Just conveniently the only one who was with Whip when he was drinking the night before.

I disliked the forced relationship with the "pretty junkie" that he met in the hospital. When they showed her story before they meet I struggled to see the connection between her and Whip but then of course they meet and he has a saviour complex so he rescues her from her utterly clique ridden landlord. I didn't care for her love of photography (...okay? What does this have to do with the plane crash? She should've taken pictures of the plane!) or her drug and drinking problem. I just didn't really care about her story at all and her relationship with Whip was too forced and then it ended and she just left and he never talked about her again until we see that he has pictures of her in his jail cell. Sorry was that a spoiler? OF COURSE HE GOES TO JAIL! He admits to drinks and doing drugs the night before and morning of piloting an aircraft full of 102 people. Come on, now.

Adorable?

Despite its flaws I did like this movie. I mean Don Cheadle's in it. That's always good. Bruce Greenwood plays Whip's friend and someone who genuinely cares for and tries to help him. Also John Goodman as a hippie drug dealer here is super fantastic. He is a nice, yet brief, comic relief to the film. Fun Fact: Bruce Greenwood had previously worked with Denzel Washington in the movie Deja Vu.

Don Cheadle looking sharp with glasses

I liked seeing the suspense during the plane crash, that was well done. The acting was great. I wished that we could've seen more during the plane crash or perhaps Denzel's character having nightmare flashbacks of the crash. This movie was a little intense with all the drinking and emotional baggage that it carries but it was another great performance from Denzel Washington and that always warrants a viewing in my book.

Denzel looking not too happy about being confronted.

Flight was nominated for two Oscars: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for Denzel Washington and Best Writing, Original Screenplay for John Gatins. This movie is at a 78% on Rotten Tomatoes