Cinco de Mayo
Which means... Free Comic Book Day and Spiderman 3.
Today began (besides with a sore throat) with a realization that it was Free Comic Book Day. This meant going to Acme comics to pick up a copy of Gerard Way's Umbrella Academy and the new issue of Stephen King's the Dark Tower. I haven't read either yet, but I'm sure they (or at least the latter) is awesome.
That was followed by a trip to Orlando's brand new Imax theater. It was amazing. Boris and I were the first in line and, since it was the theater's opening weekend, we got free popcorn and soda. Those made studying history before the movie soo much better. But yeah, the Imax theater is amazing. I won't go into all the details, but it literally made watching the movie 10 times more enjoyable. When you're a little kid and go to the theater it's so big that you simply can't look away--well this is like that, except for adults. I was literally shaking in excitement before the movie started. There's nothing that can get me more excited than sound checks of the theater's 40 speakers and HD advertisements.
Well, it's certainly not Spiderman 1 or 2. Spiderman 3 was more like Fantastic Four than it was like it's predecessor; it was one of the most fun experiences I've ever had, but nowhere near as satisfying or as well made as it could have been.
Somehow, Sam Raimi forgot all his editing skills between Spiderman 3 and 2. The cuts and transitions and plot devices seemed like they belonged in his inevitable Evil Dead 4, not in Spiderman 3. Just a simple re-editing could have made this a much better film, but it also would have taken away much of its charm. The worst part about the movie: the music. I'm sorry, but I don't need emotional cue's from the music when my mood is supposed to change.
Everything in the movie was just too blatant. Now, I loved Peter's dancing and emo haircut--but they belonged on the dvd, not the theatrical. Five minutes of Peter's dance seen should have been replaced by actual Black Spiderman action. We should have seen Spiderman rob a bank and hurt civilians stopping criminals; not just pictures of it. All of Sandman's emotional cues should have been cut, we got the point once we met his kid--we don't need more explanation. Harry's story should have been integrated; amnesia is a plot device used by Soap Opera's, not Hollywood movies.
In the end, there was a lot to like about the movie. It certainly wasn't what I was hoping for, but it wasn't the worst thing ever. I guess, after seeing how horrible Dark Pheonix was ruined in X-men 3, even seeing Venom actually fight Spiderman was a treat. Sure Gwen Stacy should have been in the car at the end and Peter should have gone to fight Venom/Sandman because he was back to his old righteous self (not because of MJ). Sure Harry should have been plotting instead of forgetting and he should have joined the battle for MJ, not due to a pep talk from his Alfred-like Butler. I mean that fight would have been even better if Harry was occasionally throwing obstacles at Peter for fun too. But in the end we got a fun movie that the studio dumbed down to appeal to everyone (yet, most likely left everyone underwhelmed).
Now the waiting game begins; it's only a couple of weeks till Pirates of the Carribean 3, Harry Potter 5, and Knocked Up (The 40 year-old Virgin 2).
Today began (besides with a sore throat) with a realization that it was Free Comic Book Day. This meant going to Acme comics to pick up a copy of Gerard Way's Umbrella Academy and the new issue of Stephen King's the Dark Tower. I haven't read either yet, but I'm sure they (or at least the latter) is awesome.
That was followed by a trip to Orlando's brand new Imax theater. It was amazing. Boris and I were the first in line and, since it was the theater's opening weekend, we got free popcorn and soda. Those made studying history before the movie soo much better. But yeah, the Imax theater is amazing. I won't go into all the details, but it literally made watching the movie 10 times more enjoyable. When you're a little kid and go to the theater it's so big that you simply can't look away--well this is like that, except for adults. I was literally shaking in excitement before the movie started. There's nothing that can get me more excited than sound checks of the theater's 40 speakers and HD advertisements.
Well, it's certainly not Spiderman 1 or 2. Spiderman 3 was more like Fantastic Four than it was like it's predecessor; it was one of the most fun experiences I've ever had, but nowhere near as satisfying or as well made as it could have been.
Somehow, Sam Raimi forgot all his editing skills between Spiderman 3 and 2. The cuts and transitions and plot devices seemed like they belonged in his inevitable Evil Dead 4, not in Spiderman 3. Just a simple re-editing could have made this a much better film, but it also would have taken away much of its charm. The worst part about the movie: the music. I'm sorry, but I don't need emotional cue's from the music when my mood is supposed to change.
Everything in the movie was just too blatant. Now, I loved Peter's dancing and emo haircut--but they belonged on the dvd, not the theatrical. Five minutes of Peter's dance seen should have been replaced by actual Black Spiderman action. We should have seen Spiderman rob a bank and hurt civilians stopping criminals; not just pictures of it. All of Sandman's emotional cues should have been cut, we got the point once we met his kid--we don't need more explanation. Harry's story should have been integrated; amnesia is a plot device used by Soap Opera's, not Hollywood movies.
In the end, there was a lot to like about the movie. It certainly wasn't what I was hoping for, but it wasn't the worst thing ever. I guess, after seeing how horrible Dark Pheonix was ruined in X-men 3, even seeing Venom actually fight Spiderman was a treat. Sure Gwen Stacy should have been in the car at the end and Peter should have gone to fight Venom/Sandman because he was back to his old righteous self (not because of MJ). Sure Harry should have been plotting instead of forgetting and he should have joined the battle for MJ, not due to a pep talk from his Alfred-like Butler. I mean that fight would have been even better if Harry was occasionally throwing obstacles at Peter for fun too. But in the end we got a fun movie that the studio dumbed down to appeal to everyone (yet, most likely left everyone underwhelmed).
Now the waiting game begins; it's only a couple of weeks till Pirates of the Carribean 3, Harry Potter 5, and Knocked Up (The 40 year-old Virgin 2).