Monday, May 06, 2002
So we saw Spider Man Saturday night. And thank God! That stupid hockey game went FOREVER, I'd have had to kill Ian if we'd watched it all.
Also thank god for those 'Loveseats' at AMC. I just can't wedge myself into the seats at the Famous Players any more. And if I could, who wants to be wedged anywhere for 2+ hours? (Well, I can think of one place I'd like to be 'wedged' for 2+ hours... but that's neither here nor there, is it?)
Anyways, enough about my fat ass.
On to Ian's fat ass. No, just kidding, getting tired about unloading on Ian all the time.
The movie was pretty good! Not the be all and end all of Cinematic Experiences (hmmm... does that mean I have to tell you the best Cinematic Experience of all time? Probably Raiders of the Lost Ark.) But a good movie. Certainly better than those crappy Batman movies. It's been a long time since I saw Superman... I wasn't too impressed by that, so I'll have to say it was better than the Superman movies. Although I really liked that old cartoon from what.. the 60s? That show was a lot of fun, and that fun wasn't in this new movie very much. Every one seemed to be having fun EXCEPT Spider Man. Well, that's not entirely true, but he seemed like he was acting like he was having fun, rather than just having fun.
The cast was pretty good. Willen Dafoe was very good, no surprised there. Kirsten Dunst had nothing to work with, so the fact that she was noticeable means she did a good job. Tobey Maguire seemed like he was acting like Spider Man/Peter Parker, rather than BEING Spider Man/Peter Parker. (I mean, that's what he was doing, of course, but never did I really BELIEVE him) Sort of reminded me of Ewen McGregor acting like Alec Guiness being Obi-Wan Kenobi. But I digress.
The supporting cast was pretty good too. That kid that played Harry Osborn did look like he could be Willen Dafoe's son. And they seemed to have the right spirit for JJ Jamison. Without him, the movie is not 'Spider Man'. And of Course, Bruce Campbell. An exboyfriend taught me all about Sam and Ted Raimi, and Bruce Campbell. Their work in the Evil Dead movies, in Hercules/Xena... it's just... cool! And Brucie boy did not let me down in this one! He played the ring announcer to a T, even coming up with the name 'Spider Man'... the Amazing Spider Man no less!
The story itself worked pretty well, the underlying theme of Power vs Responsibilty. The way Parker/Spiderman have to be different people. I certainly wanted a more in depth story, but you've only got 2 hours, and this almost worked like a teaser for the NEXT Spider Man movie, rather than a movie made in and for itself.
So what didn't work? Aside from Maguire feeling out of place, the effects were... not up to current snuff. 10 years ago, they would have been fine, but in this post Jurassic Park/Terminator 2/Star Wars/Shrek world, we KNOW what computers can do for a movie. And they can do more than that! Certainly in the next movie the effects budget will be that much grander.
Leave the same team together (find a way to bring back Campbell!), hope Maguire can grow into the role, and the effects can be pumped up, and the sequel can be every bit the winner this one is.
Also thank god for those 'Loveseats' at AMC. I just can't wedge myself into the seats at the Famous Players any more. And if I could, who wants to be wedged anywhere for 2+ hours? (Well, I can think of one place I'd like to be 'wedged' for 2+ hours... but that's neither here nor there, is it?)
Anyways, enough about my fat ass.
On to Ian's fat ass. No, just kidding, getting tired about unloading on Ian all the time.
The movie was pretty good! Not the be all and end all of Cinematic Experiences (hmmm... does that mean I have to tell you the best Cinematic Experience of all time? Probably Raiders of the Lost Ark.) But a good movie. Certainly better than those crappy Batman movies. It's been a long time since I saw Superman... I wasn't too impressed by that, so I'll have to say it was better than the Superman movies. Although I really liked that old cartoon from what.. the 60s? That show was a lot of fun, and that fun wasn't in this new movie very much. Every one seemed to be having fun EXCEPT Spider Man. Well, that's not entirely true, but he seemed like he was acting like he was having fun, rather than just having fun.
The cast was pretty good. Willen Dafoe was very good, no surprised there. Kirsten Dunst had nothing to work with, so the fact that she was noticeable means she did a good job. Tobey Maguire seemed like he was acting like Spider Man/Peter Parker, rather than BEING Spider Man/Peter Parker. (I mean, that's what he was doing, of course, but never did I really BELIEVE him) Sort of reminded me of Ewen McGregor acting like Alec Guiness being Obi-Wan Kenobi. But I digress.
The supporting cast was pretty good too. That kid that played Harry Osborn did look like he could be Willen Dafoe's son. And they seemed to have the right spirit for JJ Jamison. Without him, the movie is not 'Spider Man'. And of Course, Bruce Campbell. An exboyfriend taught me all about Sam and Ted Raimi, and Bruce Campbell. Their work in the Evil Dead movies, in Hercules/Xena... it's just... cool! And Brucie boy did not let me down in this one! He played the ring announcer to a T, even coming up with the name 'Spider Man'... the Amazing Spider Man no less!
The story itself worked pretty well, the underlying theme of Power vs Responsibilty. The way Parker/Spiderman have to be different people. I certainly wanted a more in depth story, but you've only got 2 hours, and this almost worked like a teaser for the NEXT Spider Man movie, rather than a movie made in and for itself.
So what didn't work? Aside from Maguire feeling out of place, the effects were... not up to current snuff. 10 years ago, they would have been fine, but in this post Jurassic Park/Terminator 2/Star Wars/Shrek world, we KNOW what computers can do for a movie. And they can do more than that! Certainly in the next movie the effects budget will be that much grander.
Leave the same team together (find a way to bring back Campbell!), hope Maguire can grow into the role, and the effects can be pumped up, and the sequel can be every bit the winner this one is.
// posted by Charlotte @ 2:33:00 PM 
