The Amazing Spider Man 2

Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is The Amazing Spider Man 2.

Directed by Marc Webb.

Written by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci & Jeff Pinker.

Screen Story by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinker & James Vanderbilt.

Based on Marvel Comics characters created by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko.

Review #251

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action/violence.

Run Time: 142 min

Hulk Spoils Hollywood Podcast Page

Cast

Andrew Garfield...Spider-Man / Peter Parker

Emma Stone...Gwen Stacy

Jamie Foxx...Electro / Max Dillon

Dane DeHaan...Green Goblin / Harry Osborn

Colm Feore...Donald Menken

Felicity Jones...Felicia

Paul Giamatti...Aleksei Sytsevich

Sally Field...Aunt May

Embeth Davidtz...Mary Parker

Campbell Scott...Richard Parker

Marton Csokas...Dr. Ashley Kafka

Is bigger better?

It depends on what you're talking about. In the case of movie franchises, Hollywood tends to adopt that philosophy. Sometimes it works but it's a rarity to have that much power behind consecutive sequels in a franchise.  The Amazing Spider Man was a quick release reboot after Sam Raimi's disappointing third entry in his Spiderman series. The success of Marc Webb's take on the character not only put the sequel on the fast track. It's continuing a trend in Tinseltown that has become very disturbing to me. That trend is universe building and it does one thing pretty well while doing another pretty poorly. 

The Amazing Spider Man 2 is guilty of doing both of these things.

Plot

Peter Parker runs the gauntlet as the mysterious company Oscorp sends up a slew of supervillains against him, impacting on his life.

The first thing I will say about this movie is that it's a major improvement from the first one. The problem all superhero reboots face is deciding whether to re-do the hero's origin. For some idiotic reason, the powers that be feel compelled to believe that we are all idiots and can't remember how Batman became Batman or how The Hulk became The Hulk or how Spiderman became Spiderman just because they were in someone else's movie. So they choose to bog down their story by going over the origin which eats up a good chunk of the film's main plot thus taking away needed development to the villain or important supporting characters.

The easiest solution would be to do what was done in The Incredible Hulk reboot. They did Bruce Banner's origin story in an opening credits montage. It explained everything giving the film the time it needed to get into the story while also allowing it to reference the origin later on without it seeming like it came from nowhere. That doesn't have to be addressed here. Spiderman is here and everyone knows of his existence so it's time to movie forward.

Which is what this film does in both a good and bad way.

First the good.
We are treated to a pretty impressive action scene that introduces one of the 3 villains spidey is going to face in this picture. The Rhino. As expected the film has tremendous action set pieces and this is no exception. It's also a good way to get the movie going. No need to reset what happened last time. After The Rhino is apprehended it's time to take a beat and bring us back to the ground as Peter Parker. It's here where the film does it's best work. Andrew Garfield is much better here than in the last film. He's a lot more sarcastic as Spiderman and just as equally wise ass as Peter. The film does a good job of reminding us that Spiderman is just a kid. He's a high school graduate superhero. Kids Peter's age are not supposed to act like adults and Peter doesn't.

Despite the very adult powers and responsibilities he deals with everyday.

The rest of the good deals with the relationship between Peter and Gwen. If you know you're Spiderman history then you know how long their bond lasts. The Amazing Spider Man 2 does a nice job of making us care about the success or failure of these two lovebirds. I never cared about the relationship between Peter and Mary Jane Watson in Raimi's trilogy because her sole purpose was to be the damsel in distress. Gwen brings a lot more to the table here. She can match Peter's intellect and like Spiderman shows no fear in the face of trouble. Gwen does not need to be saved which is a good thing because it gave Peter more time to do something much more important.

Find out the truth behind his father's disappearance.

The film continues the plot left behind in the first movie concerning Peter's parents and the dismissal of their son. Explanations come but at the expense of the introduction of Harry Osborn. Here's where the good and bad of universe building begin to merge. The reality that this film is not really a sequel but the continued construction of a world that has yet to be established forces the stunting of some important developments. This is where Osborn comes in. He will play a MAJOR role in the upcoming Spiderman films but his introduction into this one is sacrificed for the greater good of this installment.

It was a bad decision and the biggest culprit is this man.

Max Dillon. A.K.A. Electro. He's the primary baddie that gets secondary treatment. However, since the film is not interested in closing off it's story they feel it's OK to give us a shortchanged villain back story.

It wasn't.

A big part of this problem stems from Electro's alter ego. Max Dillon was such a loser that his motivation for liking then hating Spiderman was eerily reminiscent of dare I say Jim Carrey's portrayal of Edward Nygma/The Riddler in Batman Forever. I know that sounds scary but watch Max in this film as the dorky nobody then see him as Electro and I defy you to tell me that you don't see Nygma and The Riddler. It's a big problem because every Spiderman villain needs a reason to hate him and Dillon's was not good enough. Then he's passed off when the film gets to the end because Webb and company need to sow the seeds for the upcoming sequels.

Needless to say the finale is no pun intended spectacular. It was a satisfying action scene that ties off one villain while bringing another into the fold.

And this is why I HATE universe building. Instead of letting Spiderman deal with Electro who was up to this point the main antagonist. Spidey now has to deal with the Green Goblin in a highly microwaved origin.

No good.

Then to top it off we get The Rhino reveal in what was one of the most ridiculous moments in the film. This film leaves you hanging with all of these new people arriving late to the party. The intention is to drive up anticipation but instead it drove up my blood pressure because it's a cheap way to avoid over stuffing their film with too many villains. There's no reason why they couldn't do what films have done in the past which is tease the arrival of the next villain at the very end or during the credits. The Rhino reveal doesn't do that. Instead it announces the beginning of what is supposed to be coming later on as Spiderman 4,5,6,7and 8 and son on roll through movie screens everywhere. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this film a lot and I'm looking forward to what's in store for our friendly neighborhood wall crawler.

I'm just frustrated at the path he's taking to get there.

On the 5 star scale. The Amazing Spider Man 2 gets 3.5 stars with a "Go See It!" recommendation.

That's a wrap for today.

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"

The Raid 2: Berandal

Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is The Raid 2: Berandal.

Written & Directed by Gareth Evans.

Fight Choreography by Iko Uwais & Yayan Ruhian.

Review #250

MPAA Rating: Rated R for sequences of strong bloody violence throughout, sexuality and language.

Run Time: 150 min

Hulk Spoils Hollywood Podcast Page

Cast

Iko Uwais...Rama / Yuda

Julie Estelle...Alicia / Hammer Girl

Yayan Ruhian...Prakoso

Arifin Putra...Uco

Donny Alamsyah...Andi

Oka Antara...Eka

Alex Abbad...Bejo

Cecep Arif Rahman...The Assassin

Tio Pakusodewo...Bangun

Ken'ichi Endô...Goto

Very Tri Yulisman...Baseball Bat Man

Gareth Evans redefined both the action and martial arts cinema world with The Raid: Redemption. You can read my review HERE. The obvious question was what could Evans do for an encore. Can the action from The Raid: Redemption be topped? Of course it could. The trick is making sure the beefed up fights, stunts and explosions serve the story and don't (no pun intended) overpower the film as a whole.

Evans unfortunately doesn't do that here.

The thing of it is is that it doesn't matter because this film was so much F***ING fun!

Plot

Only a short time after the first raid, Rama goes undercover with the thugs of Jakarta and plans to bring down the syndicate and uncover the corruption within his police force.

Just like the plot summary says. This film takes place literally moments after the first film so there is no issues of continuity or misplaced story beats. Our hero Rama gets just enough time to recover from the overwhelming odds he faced in the first film. And then he's thrown right into the s**t. The bottom line with this film is that it's simply a wash, rinse, repeat sequel. There's no inventive writing or clever plot twist.

It's just more of what made the first film so amazing.

However, Evans employs a few tweaks to the presentation so it gives you the look and feel of something fresh. It was nice to see that a director realized that if he was going to continue his story that there had to be a way to give the people what they want without it looking like they are seeing the same thing twice. Which then begs the question. Just because there's more action in this film, does it compare to what we saw in The Raid: Redemption? The answer is a resounding NO!

But not for the reasons you may think.

The action doesn't compare because it was BETTER! It's not even close. The brutality, ferocity and choreography is relentless but even more so it's updated. The ante was upped here and there was no indication from this film that punches were being pulled. Iko Uwais & Yayan Ruhian are the same duo that handled the fights in the first film and like it's predecessor. The Raid 2: Berandal does a wonderful job showcasing the martial art Silat. A lot of the action involves armies of men fighting so there were few opportunities for Uwais and company to strut their stuff.

But when it did happen, as Samuel L. Jackson said in Jurassic Park...."Hold on to your butts!"

I will begin with these two characters. Affectionately known as Hammer Girl and Baseball Bat Man. I'm sure you can figure out why they're called that. Each one gets an individual fight to demonstrate their skills and to put it mildly, they were punishing fights. That being said, the highlight came towards the end when Rama takes them both on. It was a ballet of brutality that made you squirm in your seat only to be followed by a rush of adrenaline when a cool move or hard hitting blow would happen. This fight was super cool.

That is until we got to see....The Main Event!

The guy that Rama is fighting here is called The Assassin. For some reason Evans likes to give his bad ass villains nicknames. We had The Mad Dog in the first film and now we have The Assassin. There is a major difference between the 2 main baddies from each film. In the Raid: Redemption, The Mad Dog was a major character that did more than just fight. Here, The Assassin appears in Act 3 and doesn't say a word. He has one introductory skirmish that is considered by me a huge cheat because he fight someone who is already dying. Not much skill involved there. Then the next time we see him he has a small exchange with Rama before the main fight pictured above.

This fight was furious. And like most final fights in martial arts films they are long and dragged out to the point of exhaustion from both fighters. Both of these men go toe to toe and it was painful yet exhilarating to behold. The intricacy of the choreography was as kinetic as it was controlled. The speed and timing of each man's moves and counter moves were exquisite. I sat there wondering how in the world was this fight going to end.

This is me asking that question KNOWING that the hero isn't going to die.

Spectacular.

When the film does come to it's close, we get a chance to catch our collective breaths and finally figure out where our hero goes from here. For those of you not aware, this sequel is planned as the second chapter in a trilogy. No surprise to hear that news despite this being a foreign film. What's funny about it is Evan has stated that he plans on starting the third film 2 hours before the end of this one.

Confused yet?

Well allow me to provide some clarity. This film has a definitive ending with a closure point that feels like exactly how the third film will end. After you see this one it will become clear how and where Evans will finish up his trilogy. It's a big time gamble but if anyone could do it. Evans can. I wouldn't be shocked if he just decided to shelf the third film and just move forward with a new project. He's intimated that as well.

All I know is that Evans can do no wrong in my eyes when it comes to action cinema and definitely martial arts cinema. He's 2 for 2 and my martial arts film life has become richer for it.

On the 5 star scale. The Raid 2: Berandal gets 4 stars. With a "Worth Every Penny!" recommendation.

That's a wrap for today.

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"

Noah

Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is Noah.

Directed by Darren Aronofsky.

Written by Darren Aronofsky & Ari Handel

Review #249

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images and brief suggestive content.

Run Time: 138 min

Hulk Spoils Hollywood Podcast Page

Cast

Russell Crowe...Noah

Jennifer Connelly...Naameh

Ray Winstone...Tubal-cain

Anthony Hopkins...Methuselah

Emma Watson...Ila

Logan Lerman...Ham

Douglas Booth...Shem

There's no secret that biblical movies are controversial. Especially when said biblical film takes liberties with the "source" material. It's a hot button issue with people that live their lives by the teachings of the good book. On the other side of the coin you have people that are able to accept that it's a MOVIE! Sometimes it's meant to just tell a story and entertain. Noah falls into this category and I have to admit that while I thought making a movie about the tale of the great flood seemed risky at best. I trusted Darren Aronofsky to give me a compelling story worthy of my time.

He did that and much much MORE!

Plot

A man is chosen by his world's creator to undertake a momentous mission to rescue the innocent before an apocalyptic flood cleanses the wicked from the world. 

The first thing that needs to be understood here is Noah is NOT a straight up retelling of the bible story. There are several liberties taken with the source material to create this wonderfully crafted take on divine intervention and the power of choice. That in reality is what this film ends up being about. Making a choice and living with the consequences of that choice. I really wish I could dive into more of the story but I can't. What Aronofsky and Handel do with the script is take the core elements of Noah's biblical journey and toss in some pretty heavy thought provoking material.

This comes through masterfully in a moment with Noah and his wife while they are on the ark. Noah is tasked by God to do more than just ensure the survival of the world's animals. What it involves will remain behind zipped lips or fingers in this case. What you need to take out of this is the all consuming struggle Noah goes through as the moment for him to carry out the Almighty's wish grows closer. As Noah's wife walks up to him which at the time appeared to be a moment of pleading for Noah to abandon God's charge in reality was a moment of support. Jennifer Connelly made that abundantly clear when Noah asked her if she understood why he has to do what he's been told to do. Her response was simply...."I understand how hard this has been for you."

That at the heart of it is the real story behind this film.

Noah takes that turn and immediately becomes an different film entirely. That being said, the film has flaws that can't be ignored. There's some questionable use and display of the "other worldly" elements of the film. The movie starts out with this at the outset and it requires a lot of patience to get around the fact that this is going to be a vital part of the narrative. The film really picks up steam during ironically the quietest part.

When they are on the ark.

It's here where another performance shines through.

Emma Watson unquestionably OWNS the second half of this film. She goes toe to toe with Crowe and stands her ground in more ways than one. Hermione is LOOOOOONG gone boys and girls. This young woman can act and her future is very bright. This is a tough review for me because I can't say more without divulging more information. It's disappointing because this film really caught me off guard in the right way. I'm not sure if Aronofsky was intentionally trying to get people to buy into the philosophical shift between Acts 2 and 3 but I bought in and the film was a much better and highly enjoyable experience because of it.

On the 5 star scale. Noah gets 3 stars with a "Go See It!" recommendation.

That's a wrap for today.

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"