Rating: Summary: X Men has everything this has and more, but it's still good Review: Wow, many reviewers say, a superhero whose problems and emotions you actually invested interest in... Obviously these reviewers didn't see X Men, or they would have said This is like a teen comedy version of X Men. This movie will be loved by kids (10 and up). This summer has a movie for all kids: Star Wars and Stuart Little 2 for under 10, Spider-Man for 10 through 12, and Austin Powers for 13 and above. The Bourne Identity is solid too, and Reign of Fire isn't shabby. This is a good movie and it provides a nice, slightly more kid-friendly version of X-Men. Adults will also like this until X2 is released.
Rating: Summary: THEY DID IT!!!!!!! Review: Kudos to Sam Raimi and Co. for delivering on the promise of 18 years of copyright wars!!After nearly two decades in litigous hell, "Spider-man" is a full throttle, devoted and faithful adaptation of the greatest comic book hero ever. Tobey Maguire shines as Peter Parker/Spiderman, and Willem Dafoe lends a deft bit of psychosis and humanity to the role of the Green Goblin. Ditto Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson and Rosemary Harris as Aunt May. And special nods to to Cliff Robertson as the emphatic and sympathetic Uncle Ben. Yes, the Goblin's frozen gargoyle mask detracts from the insidious nature of the character, but other than that, this film never steps wrong. People have complained about the CGI effects. Phooey!!! Not since Superman caught the helicopter in one hand and Lois Lane in the other have I been so captivated and exhilerated by the screen presence of a superhero!!! In fact, this is hands down the best comic adaptation since the original "Superman." If you like Spidey, then prepare to be dazzled. This film gives me hope, because it effectively demonstrates that there are filmmakers out there who still can embody their characters with a sense of wonder and awe. That's the strength of this movie- it regards its titular character with a sense of wonder, something sorely lacking in, say, the depressing "Batman" franchise. If this is the launch, then I cannot wait until the sequels! Go Spiderman! It's good to have a hero to cheer for again!!! This movie is nothing short of spectacular!!!!
Rating: Summary: Meh... Review: Not the best comic book movie, by far, but the visual effects are on target. It's super corny, but enjoyable on a baser level. The DvD's first disc is excellent, but the second is... Meiocre at best.Buy it if you liked the movie, not otherwise.
Rating: Summary: Enter Spiderman Review: Spiderman, Tobey Maguire, Willem DaFoe and Kirsten Dunst (Quite the hottie I must say : ) !) Well... here we go again an awesome comic book hero turned into a movie. In any other case this movie would suck b***s. But this movie is rather good. A rather unique phenomena in the movie field. The end was rather STUPID. But the rest of the movie was fair, scratch that awesome. Well I think that it deserved all the credit that it got for being good. Tobey Maguire is a geek that goes on a field trip that turns out to change his life. He gets bitten by a radioactive spider, the next morning he wakes up as a buff dude. He goes to school and starts testing out his powers. Meanwhile his bestfriends father (Willem DaFoe) makes this super artificial weapon. He then turns insane and uses it to turn himself as the green goblin. He then turns himself infamous. You start seeing him doing this Gollum from LOTR type thing going on and it is quite creepy. Well you know the rest, Spiderman and the Green Goblin face off in a big fight. It is pretty big and sweet, so watch this movie if you want to I recommend it greatly.
Rating: Summary: very diasppointing, VERY disappointing Review: No real plot, unrealistic characters, poor acting - what else can I say? And a terrible ending. Maybe it is true to the storyline used in the comic books, but it didn't make sense for the movie. Please note that my comments are based on *not* seeing the movie in the theater, but waiting to purchase the DVD to watch it in the comfort of our own home theater. One thing is for sure - we will be selling our Spider-Man DVD soon on eBay or giving it to the local Goodwill store. Maybe it is great for kids (but questionable with the violence), but a real dud for the 2 adults here (my wife and I) who watch lots of action adventure movies. This movie just didn't rate up there with others - way over hyped.
Rating: Summary: The Spider, The Woman, and the Goblin Review: James Cameron, the unsung movie director of Alien movie sequel - and who've made a major flash in the pan with the common popular shallow social market with the disappointing TITANIC (which could've done well to incorporate the mysteries within the legendary ships tragedy, than doing a love story schtick which cashes on the popularity of its stars (that the movie PEARL HARBOR gets its deserved bad-kharma by trying to incorporate its formula to sell from its movie theme song to plotlines and production patterns)) ~ was the one supposed to direct and script this movie, that fortunately enough director Sam Raimi who've done great work in his own right with the Evil Dead siries - being a fan himself came to the rescue, into near protests of Cameron's draft of idea for the film - that got Cameron sulked to create the non-notable tv siries Dark Angel. Raimi have done quite well in interpolating Spidey's origin story (first appearing in Amazing Adult Adventures # 15) where Peter learned of resposibility upon the death of his adaptive parent Uncle Ben with the Death of the original Green Goblin plotline (Amazing Spider-Man #'s 121 to 122) that could've been perfect enough (lotsa death- welp, the ingredient which makes an epic); if only they never rushed to pitt Mary Jane Watson in the part, where in the comic book Peter Paker (ie. SPIDEY himself) in this plotline have Gwen Stacy as his girlfriend instead, and Mary Jane was actually only just still around the background as Foster's best friend. The story goes that Goblin killed Gwen Stacy (issue # 121) and in the following episode of the comic book (#122), the lead was taken into the death of the Green Goblin. They should've opted to put Mary Jane as SPIDEY's leading lady for the sequel - which in fact would've given a good stretch for the movie indeed. If only the movie had never taken its shortcut, it could've been perfect. I was first turned off when I heard its the-guy-with-Micahel-Douglas who'd play the part of Peter/Spiderman, but it turned out good. As for Kirsten Dunst as "spiderman's b*tch" (so'd the then- child actress have told David Letterman) - well, they coul've opted for someone else to've played the role of Mary Jane Watson. The other turn off for me in the movie is the soundtrack and appearance of that forgettable pop singer - they could've really done better in this aspect (I's thinking of MN OIL, being that there've been rumours back in '78 to put their vocalist Peter Garrett in Spidey spandex costume (year that I got converted since to be a fan of Spide at six years old)). Good AEROSMITH theme rendition though. And so we now come to its lurking sequel with the leering villain Doc Ock -- smells like romance for Pete's aunt ? We'll see, unless if they'd dodge that storyline as well. Overall rating 9 out of 10
Rating: Summary: Not only a great movie, but a great DVD Review: As an old fan of the comic book for 15 years, I was eagerly awaiting the release of this film. Sam Raimi did not dissapoint and it has since become one of my favorite movies. Not only is it one of my favorite movies, but it's also one of my favorite DVDs. in typical Marvel style, this DVD is loaded with extra features that are just as entertaining as the film. The DVD features two excellent audio commentarys. the first is by director Raimi, Producer Curtis, Actress Dunst, and producer Ziskin. While a lot of DVD commentaries can get kind of confusing with 4 people talking, this commentary is actually split up, as Dunst and Ziskin recorded theirs at a seperate time than Raimi and Curtis. The audio will switch back and forth between the two depending on who had the most interesting comment about a scene. I actually watched the film with the commentary immediately after watching the movie, something which I can never usually do because I get bored too easily. The second commentary is by the visual effects team. I wasn't as entertained with this one but it is fairly interesting to hear their stories about what went on with the stunt work and some of the scenes. Two music videos are included, as well as HBO and E! "Making-Of" featurettes. One of my favorite DVD extras are the screen tests with Toby Maguire and J.K. Simmons (JJ Jameson). These are always a lot of fun to watch. The DVD is further fleshed out by a short outttake reel and trailers. Then Marvel comes in, and includes all kinds of comic-book extras that explore the history of Spider-Man in the comics, Peter Parker's girlfriends, some common Spider-Man enemies, and an excellent comic book archive. Even with all of that, there are still features I haven't mentioned, like a "Spider-Sense" navigational feature that lets you click on an icon at certain points in the film. This brings up mini featurettes that explore things like how a production set was designed or an interview with the "Spider-Wrangler." This is a fantastic film, and an even better DVD that has just enough information and fatures for the most hard core Spider-Man fans. For the price, it's definately an excellent buy.
Rating: Summary: Was Well Worth the Wait Review: It took many years to get this project done and it certainly delivers as not only a great super hero story but a great film in general that has something to please all movie-goers. From Peter's relationships with his Uncle and Aunt, his persuit of Mary Jane, and the valuable lesson he learns when he abuses his powers (with great power comes great responsibility). The special effects were amazing and the choice of the Green Goblin as the tortured Norman Osbourn was perfect. Whatever you do, don't miss this one. Really worth owning on DVD!
Rating: Summary: $$$ Review: Here's another example of CGI junk food. They aim this at kids to make big bucks. They serve up computer graphics and fill it in the rest with silly comic book antics. Yet another marketing tool that's not science just fiction. Effects and violence are no substitute for art.
Rating: Summary: Sam Raimi, Sam Raimi! DVD is packed with extras! Review: The best thing about Spider-Man is the fact that Hollywood has managed to catch Sam Raimi properly and stick him with a better budget. He does have a string of well made movies behind him (Evil Dead, A Simple Plan, Darkman, The Gift) but nothing that says he can handle a Summer Blockbuster movie. However his resume does speak volumes about his trek through the world of superheros and the supernatural and so deservingly and rewardingly they have allowed this man to finally spin a golden celluloid web of mystery, intrigue, action and dark justice. Spider-Man is the first foray for the new "Marvel" co-production team. Here they have managed to pick up a fan boy director who is committed to translating a comic book hero onto the screen. Not only that but he is also translating a whole comic book onto the screen. Fans, of both Raimi and Spider-man, should feel very happy with the final result. This film is about the character Peter Parker as much as it is about Spider-Man (Great casting and played to form by Tobey Maguire although I think Jason Patrick would make a good older version of Spider-Man.). Here we see him acquiring his skills, learning his skills and then finally using them. The movie takes almost one hour to get cooking in the Spider-Man vs Bad Guys department, but you do not care because much of what is on display here is a good old fashioned teenage drama about the short-comings of adulthood, love and geekness. Parker, his family, his school friends and his wanna-be-girlfriend are all fully fleshed out. Much of it matches with the reality we live in and it is all played out very realistically and at times with lots of humour. However when Spider-Man turns dark, and it does turn dark, it is very twisted, emotionally challenging and does swing between that fine line of lynch mob revenge and real justice. The premise is simple but complex in the execution. Kid gets bit by radioactive spider, transforms into superhero, meets an anti-superhero (The Goblin) with similar problems who wants revenge for crimes committed against him by the government. Where Spider-Man scores in aces is with the fact that the two Superheros know each other well but do not know each others alter ego. This makes for an emotionally charged ending when all is finally unmasked. Spider-Man does suffer some setbacks. The budget is not quite as high as expected and the special effects can be a little lacklustre at times, however expertly done at other times. The special effects here are hit or miss and at times do look like the CGI we had seen back in the early 1990s. However all of this can be panned aside quickly by the sheer display of action and acting with all... and I mean ALL... that this genre can offer with ample amounts of family values and teenage dilemmas. There is even a final shot of a half-masked Spider-Man where Parker is a reflection of his torn self proving that this character carries lots of psychological fun to boot. This actually has a way more depth that you would expect and to its credit the character department is expertly handled. **As a note the action in the film transcends its PG-13 rating. The action is at times extremely violent and somewhat bloody. In fact the ending is closer to an R rating but because this is fantasy violence in the same vein as Lord of the Rings it gets the PG-13, but maybe pre-viewing by concerned parents should be adopted before showing it to their kids.**
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