The Amazing Spider-Man

When I first saw Sam Rami's Spider-Man I was probably about nine and I would argue, the perfect age for such a film. I loved it in more ways than nine and yes, I'll gladly list them all, you've only to ask. So of course I look at this film in two ways. One, Spider-Man was awesome and I'd love a new one to equally enrapture me. Two, Spider-Man is awesome and I'll gladly re-watch it over a new one any day. Truthfully though, I was nothing but excited. Not only is Emma Stone adorable, Andrew Garfield is equally cute and Marc Webb directed (500) Days Of Summer so right there is a little movie wet dream for my young mind. Shall we take a peek then into how I felt about it all or should we just, as a friend of mine suggested, go home and watch Easy-A?

So Peter Parker is in high school and even though all the skater boys I know are the cool kids, he isn't that popular. He lives with his aunt and uncle and is constantly wondering what happened to his Ma and Pa. As jigsaw pieces fall slowly into place, he heads to Oscorp hoping to find out more about his mysterious Father. Of course his Father was working on cross-species genetics using mainly Spiders for his research (as well as inventing a machine that gases the entire city...but don't worry that won't be very important at the end of the film...). Peter gets bit and then he beats people up on the subway and sticks to coke cans. He also becomes either super smart or just super determined (it's not really clear) and helps Rhys Ifans come up with an equation that solves the problem with his growing extra limbs formula. Of course Oscorp is super evil so they try to rush Ifans and he ends up using it on himself turning into The Lizard. What does that remind you of? 

I really wanted to love this film. When Rami's Spider-Man came out I was all over it. Like I said, it was the perfect age for me to think it was the coolest film in all creation. I was expecting this film to be somewhat similar because it is a Spider-Man film so really, what can they change. The problem is they really don't try to separate themselves. They've taken some elements from the comic series 'Ultimate Spider-Man' like the futuristic technology and web-shooter but none of it is drastic enough to make it look any different. It's the moment when Uncle Ben says something about Responsibility and then Peter runs off in a mood and doesn't stop a bad guy who then goes on to kill his uncle. I know this is all cannon but it was at that point I realized it's just all happening again.

That's not to say they don't do certain things better, Peter's transformation into Spider-Man and drive to make himself a suit has a much more natural progression (in Rami's Parker just wants money to get a car so he can impress MJ) and having the greater background story of the Father makes for slightly more advanced drama in general. But that's all it ever feels like, scenes they do better and scenes they don't do as well. It's not the Funny Games syndrome of pointlessness but at times it may as well as be. The Lizard was pretty cool but he didn't have the same build-up and atmosphere as The Green Goblin, The Lizard felt like a footnote to the story of Spider-Man having a girl-friend and seeking revenge and avoiding the police. In a way it felt like Spider-Man 3, no focus on one or two things but 50 fingers in 70 pies. 

The other major problem is that they have attempted to make Peter Parker a darker and more angst ridden figure but instead of turning Spider-Man into a Dark-Knight-esque drama it makes Parker a lot harder to like. As he seeks revenge for about half of the film beating guys up and threatening folk he just doesn't seem like a nice guy. Spider-Man may have been a goofy colorful comic-book movie but that's what Spider-Man is all about. I get that they wanted to go down a more serious path but it just never works, they never go far enough down the rabbit hole to convince me to follow.

You know, having said all of that though, I did really enjoy this film. It's a lot of fun and where else do you get to see Spiders fighting dinosaurs? Yeah it wasn't great but you could do worse! And isn't that what all blockbusters are about? Also any excuse to watch a film with Emma Stone in is fine by me. Having said that I've seen so many 3 star films lately I'm beginning to consider rating them 2 stars just cause it's getting dull.

JO

Joe Loves... King Kong

This is going to sound like an odd statement but King Kong was the first film I wanted to see. Let me clarify. It wasn't that I didn't really want to see Toy Story 2 or even Johnny English, yes I really wanted to see those films and I loved them when I did but King Kong was the first film that wasn't on in any cinema or advertised on TV or watched annually by my Dad that I really really wanted to see. I'm not sure  but I'm pretty sure it was the first film I bought that hadn't been in cinemas the previous year. It was probably the first black and white film I ever saw and it was definitely the first films I saw about bestiality. 

I know I just said this was the first film I saw that wasn't advertised on TV but in a way King Kong is one of the most heavily advertised films of all time simply thanks to it's iconography. If you see a simian of anything above normal size you think of King Kong. When you think about the monster movie genre the first film that pops in your head is King Kong (and if not, Godzilla, who fought King Kong (and if not Godzilla or King Kong then Cloverfield that wouldn't exist if not for Godzilla and King Kong (and if not any of them then what kind of monster movie hipster are you!?))) Hell King Kong is one of the few films that has permanent advertising space in the shape of the empire state building. That image of a giant ape batting bi-panes away teetering on top of that towering building will never leave your mind once you have seen it. It's full of inspiring and classic moments like that giant wall, the big smiling face and Fay Wray's brutal screaming. It's a classic lesson in style and it's also the main reason films like 2012 and Cloverfield fail to make much of an impact, at this point we as cinema goers have seen it all and it really is first come first served in the world of cinema. 

I can however see the flaws in this film. Like a lot of older films, the acting is incredibly dated. It's not that it's bad more that it is of an era that now feels incredibly hammy and over the top. But I've always thought it helped the film. You have all this big male bravado and casual racist tribal folk and then this big monkey that feels more human because of how false the real humans are. Making King Kong a sympathetic lead is a mean feat that they absolutely nail and we very quickly grow to love the guy rather than fear him. Sure they did a more comprehensive job in the 2005 remake but this was 1933 and all they had were little armatures, stop-motion and back projection and yet they manage to breathe so much life into him. 

But this section is meant to be about me and my love. And I really do love King Kong. I remember one Christmas rather than being specific, simply asking for 'King Kong related stuff'. I don't think I am special being a youngster fascinated by this film. I'm sure thousands of kids are sitting at home right now discovering it the same way I did but that's not the point. At the time it felt like I had literally dug into the depths of cinema and unearthed a film no one had seen for centuries and as I gave it life and a chance to retell it's awesome tale it gave me a little thing to keep with me and be a bit proud of. At a more basic level it was a film that told me old films are cool to. Just cause it's black and white or silent, doesn't mean it's not radical. Maybe if I didn't watch it I wouldn't be the film geek I am now, I doubt it but I am happy to give King Kong the title of film that made Joe love film. So that's why this film is first. It didn't give me any kind of sexual awakening like Sam got from One Million Years B.C. (creep) and it wasn't the first film I saw and adored (Toy Story) But it was probably the film that started it all. And dude, I love it.  

JO