Movie Review: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2
Director: Marc Webb
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Sally Field, Paul Giamatti, B.J. Novack, Campbell Scott, Denis Leary, Chris Cooper

With the multitude of comic book movies released every year, the bar has been set pretty high with Marvel’s The Avengers and The Dark Knight trilogy. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the sequel to the reboot and technically the fifth Spidey tale since the release of 2002’s Spider-Man. Have I confused you yet? When we last saw our web-slinging hero, Captain Stacy (Leary) admits to Peter Parker (Garfield) that there is a need for Spider-Man but pleads with him to keep his daughter, Gwen (Stone), safe and out of danger. The responsibilities that come with being the city’s hero while attempting to keep the vow to her father puts a massive strain on his relationship with Gwen. Throughout all of this, Peter is attempting to get to the bottom of his parent’s death.

Back at OsCorp, CEO Norman Osborne (Cooper) is dying and leaves behind his life’s work in the hands of his son, Harry (DeHaan). Harry and Peter are best friends but haven’t seen each for years until Harry shows up to be with his father. Things become even worse for OsCorp when Max Dillon, an electrical engineer, falls into a vat of electric eels. Instead of dying like a normal person, he mutates into Electro becoming a human energy source with enough electricity flowing through his body to take out all of Times Square. Harry falls ill with the same disease his father died of and turns to Spider-Man for the use of his blood in order to live longer. Unaware of the effects his blood would have on Harry, he refuses setting Harry off into a destructive path transforming himself into the Green Goblin to seek revenge on Spider-Man.

If you feel like there seems to be a lot going on for a superhero movie, you are correct in your assessment. For a film that is nearly two and a half hours, the screenwriting team of Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci, and Jeff Pinkner got far too excited when mapping out this story and forgot to keep an eye on focus and editing. There are scenes that drag on for too long, and there are characters that seem unnecessary. There is so much going on that I never really felt that they had a handle of what the point of this sequel was going to be. It’s not uncommon to have two villains in a superhero movie. This film kicks it up a notch by having THREE villains. However, in order for this to work, the writing of these characters has to be top notch. The only villain that works entirely here is Harry Osborne/Green Goblin. He remains an interesting character before and after his transformation into the Green Goblin. Jamie Foxx's Electro falls in the middle of the spectrum. I liked the concept of Max Dillon being this nerdy nobody engineer who is obsessed with Spider-Man. Once he becomes Electro, he lost that edge that any great villain should have. I blame this on all of the CGI work done on the character. I felt the same way toward Lizard in the last movie. Let’s not forget about Paul Giamatti who we see at the beginning of the film as Aleksei Sysevich and then disappears until the very ending when he reappears as Rhino. This second ending acts as a coda to the film but feels completely unnecessary. Are we to assume that Giamatti will come back for The Amazing Spider-Man 3 or is this the only glimpse of Rhino that we’ll see? Frankly, I could have done without Electro and just had Rhino and the Green Goblin as the two villains. They each retain their human aspects without turning into a CGI character.

The film works far better in the non-action sequences when we get down to the core relationships Peter has in his life. As Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone have a natural infectious chemistry due to their real-life relationship. They make for a far more believable couple than Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst did in the Sam Raimi trilogy. Sally Field returns to the series as the darling Aunt May who has raised Peter since he was a child. There is warmth and care to their scenes together, which are some of my favorite scenes in the whole movie. Field always carries with her a maternal instinct that works so well with Aunt May, especially when she gets so flabbergasted with Peter. As Harry Osborne, Dane DeHaan brings an untrustworthy quality too him early on. Peter and Harry are supposed to be best friends, but the writers could have done a better job at building up their friendship. I’ve spoken about Dane DeHaan (The Place Beyond the Pines, Lawless, Chronicle) numerous times on my site as he always shines and leaves a lasting impression on me. He is a young talent than should and will become an A-lister within the next few years.

Director Marc Webb is back after helming the reboot, but he has not quite hit the bullseye yet. I felt lukewarm regarding The Amazing Spider-Man, and this is a hair better. I think the screenwriters got a bit carried away with the idea of making a “bigger and better” type sequel, and in turn, added too many characters instead of fleshing out and digging deeper into the core characters in Peter’s life. It makes me wonder if more was written for Chris Cooper, B.J. Novak, and Paul Giamatti, but then cut down in the editing room. They are all great actors whose characters seem to have more going on than what their limited screen time may suggest. Shailene Woodley (Divergent) shot scenes as Mary Jane Watson, but those were left out early on as well. When it comes to the core characters, Webb executes those intimate scenes quite well, which makes the movie enjoyable. I cannot forget to mention composer Hans Zimmer. He seems to be the go-to guy to score superhero movies after having worked on The Dark Knight trilogy and Man of Steel. His score has that grand throwback feel reminiscent of John Williams’ classic score to Superman. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is not a bad movie, but it is not nearly as good as it could have been. I like this cast better than those in the Sam Raimi trilogy, but I like those movies better. If only we could get this cast under Sam Raimi’s vision, we’d have one hell of a Spider-Man movie.

Is it worth your trip to the movies? The chemistry of the cast makes the movie enjoyable despite the lack of focus in the directing and writing.

RATING: 3 out of 5 Ticket Stubs

Movie Trailer: ANNIE

ANNIE
Director: Will Gluck
Starring: Quvenzhané Wallis, Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Rose Byrne, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Bobby Cannavale

One of the movies I remember watching as a child was the 1982 film adaptation of the musical Annie. It starred Aileen Quinn as the red haired title character, Albert Finney as Daddy Warbucks, the legendary Carol Burnett as Miss Hannigan, plus Tim Curry and Bernadette Peters. Trepidation took over when it was announced that their would be a remake. There was already a television version a few years ago with Kathy Bates as Miss Hannigan. You really can't top the 1982 film version, so why are we bothering with another remake?

After her Oscar nomination for Beasts of the Southern Wild, it was announced that Quvenzhané Wallis was cast as Annie with Jamie Foxx taking on Daddy Warbucks. I was slightly on board with this concept as I thought it could have potential. Casting updates came with the news that Cameron Diaz would step aboard the coveted role as Miss Hannigan. What? How did that happen? When people were mulling over who could fill Carol Burnett's shoes, how did Cameron Diaz come to mind? A press photo was released of Diaz in character and something did not look right. She still looked like Cameron Diaz. Where was the Miss Hannigan I know? Nothing about Diaz's look screamed Miss Hannigan.

The trailer has been released and my initial negative reaction has now been cemented in place. The first time I watched the trailer, I was left speechless. Was this a joke? I can get behind trying to take a fresh take on the story, but it does not seem to work here. Everything about this trailer feels so wrong. The original story is set in 1933, and director Will Gluck has decided to have this version set in the current modern day. There is no Daddy Warbucks here as Jamie Foxx plays a politician named Will Stacks. I don't even know where to begin when it comes to Cameron Diaz. She seems so miscast here that it looks painful for her. It should also be noted that Jay-Z and Will Smith serve as producers. This boasts a Christmas time release with the movie version of the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods coming a week later. Thank God as that will hopefully triumph and leave this in the dust.

RELEASE DATE: December 19, 2014

Here's the trailer:

Movie Trailer: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2
Director: Mark Webb
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Paul Giamatti, Dane DeHaan, Chris Cooper, Sally Field, Denis Leary

The 2012 reboot The Amazing Spider-Man seemed a bit too soon to revitalize a franchise with a brand new cast. While I did not think the film was that strong overall, director Mark Webb and his cast did a decent job at setting the groundwork for some exciting new Spidey stories.

The new teaser trailer has been released and naturally is long enough and filled with enough footage that it feels like your standard trailer. The new film brings in Chris Cooper and Dane DeHaan as father/son duo Norman and Harry Osborn. Our villains this time around include Jamie Foxx as Electro and Paul Giamatti as Rhino. There also seems to be a glimpse of Green Goblin as well! From the look of this “teaser”, it will sure be one massive, high-octane, action packed adventure that will be huge at the box office

What are you first impressions? Feel free to sound off in the comments below!

Release Date: May 2, 2014

Movie Review: WHITE HOUSE DOWN

WHITE HOUSE DOWN
Director: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Joey King, James Wood, Richard Jenkins, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke

Sometimes a mindless silly popcorn action flick is just what you need after a long week. John Cale (Tatum) is hoping to gain a position as part of the US Secret Service. His relationship with his daughter Emily (King) is strained as she lives with her mother. She is book smart, good with technology, and is fascinated with President Sawyer (Foxx) and everything else White House related. John takes Emily with to the White House in order to gain some cool dad points with her.

John's interview with Secret Service Special Agent Carol Finnerty (Gyllenhaal) does not go as well as he was hoping for. They are former college acquaintances and she does not think he has the motivation and hard work ethic for the job. John can't bear to tell Emily the bad news, so they decide to go on a White House tour. A bomb explodes at the U.S. Capitol building and the White House is put on lock down. John and Emily ended up getting separately and now she's left alone in the bathroom while he is with the group. Posing as a repair service, a group of men led by Emil Stenz (Clarke), take the tour group hostage and start killing off members of the cabinet in order to get to the President. John escapes the tour group in attempt to find his daughter. At different times, both John and Emily have first hand encounters with the terrorists. Emily is able to record their actions on her phone and posts them on her blog. The video goes viral instantly and the faces of the terrorists are broadcast all over the news. Even though John is able to rescue the President from the leader of the terrorist group, their escape reaches quite a few road blocks as they realize the terrorist group is far more advanced than they realized at first.

When you go into a Roland Emmerich film, you should probably already know the quality you are getting yourself into when you buy your ticket. It is time to leave your brain at the door and grab a bucket of popcorn. You will be in for a massive action movie that will most likely have cheesy dialogue, implausible situations, massive explosions and some destruction of national monuments. What else would you expect from the filmmaker of Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and 2012?

White House Down has all of that and knows it. I think Emmerich knows what kind of film he is making and makes the most out of it. The story goes to the extremes and is quite laughable at times due to how much these terrorists get away with. The number of explosions and times Channing Tatum dashes across a room of flying bullets is insane, but that is part of the fun. His guns never seem to run out of bullets either. The dialogue is always so serious that it deserves a couple of good laughs. It also helps if you bypass the fact that the casting of Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx is a little unconventional here. While they have both done action movies before, I would not say that this genre is their forte. Tatum seems a bit too young to play the dad to Joey King's character. Foxx also seems a bit too young and hip to play the President. Toward the beginning of the film and before the shit starts to hit the fan, he seems to be trying to pull of his Obama impression a little too much. In all reality, who really cares. The action kicks off into full gear early on and never lets up until the end. In order to like this movie, you have to go in looking to have a fun time and forget about three dimensional characters, a unique plot, logic, reason, and Academy worthy acting. Did I mention Channing Tatum spends good quality time running around in a muscle shirt?


RATING: ***1/2 (3.5 out of 5 stars)

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER--The Actors: Full Uncensored Interview

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER--The Actors: Full Uncensored Interview

This is the third in a series of videos I am posting from The Hollywood Reporter. This time they interview six dynamic and diverse actors who discuss their current roles, their history in Hollywood, dream roles, their personal life, and most of all, their love of acting.





The hour long sit down discussion includes:
Alan Arkin--Argo
Richard Gere--Arbitrage
Matt Damon--Promised Land
John Hawkes--The Sessions
Jamie Foxx--Django Unchained
Denzel Washington--Flight

You can find the other two by clicking the links below!

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER--The Actresses: Full Uncensored Interview

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER--The Directors: Full Uncensored Interview

Here are the actors:

Movie Review: DJANGO UNCHAINED

DJANGO UNCHAINED
Writer/Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson

I had a feeling after I saw the vintage studio logo and the opening credit sequence that I was going to love the latest cinematic achievement from Quentin Tarantino. The year is 1858, two years before the Civil War. A group of slaves is chained up walking through the woods with two of their masters, The Speck Brothers. Django (Foxx) is one of the many slaves in the chain. A mysterious cart and horse approaches them and Dr. King Schultz (Waltz) steps out claiming he is interested in purchasing Django. A violent yet hilarious gunfight ensues. Dr. Schultz shoots one of the brothers and leaves another one injured and stuck under his dead horse. Dr. Schultz unchains Django and convinces him to join him. The other slaves are freed and get their revenge on the Speck brother that is stuck under the horse. After this opening gunfight, you get an idea of the style of violence the rest of the movie has in store.

Dr. Schultz explains to Django that he freed him as he has connections to the Brittle Brothers. He further explains that he is a bounty hunter and there is a price to be had for the death of the Brittle brothers as they are brutal killers. Django decides to help Dr. Schultz in exchange for him to be freed from slavery and for Dr. Schultz's help to find his wife Broomhilda (Washington) who was separated from Django in a slave trade. An agreement has been made and they set off to track down the Brittle brothers. They quickly hunt them down and they shoot them on the plantation of Big Daddy (Don Johnson). Dr. Schultz witnesses Django's uncanny abilities with a gun.

The two of them carry on with their bounty hunting and learn that Broomhilda is being held as a slave in the arms of Calvin Candie (DiCaprio). His plantation is aptly titled, Candyland. Every slave has heard of the infamous Calvin Candie. The male slaves are trained to be fighters while the women are prostitutes. The two devise a plan to pretend to be purchasers of a fighter in order to reach Broomhilda. Eyes and heads turn as both Django and Dr. Schultz arrive on horse and appear to be of the same status. Further suspicion looms in the air for Django as Calvin's top slave and attendant Stephen (Jackson) suspects that Broomhilda and Django may be married.

If you have seen any of Quentin Tarantino's movies, you know what to expect. He always has a clear vision and style that is unlike any other director. You can watch any Tarantino movie and know that he made it even if you did not see his name in the credits. You can expect extreme amounts of profanity, copious amounts of blood, violence, and unforgettable characters. His style is not for everyone. I always appreciate his unapologetic route at making a movie. Nothing ever seems off the table for him. The "N" word is continually used throughout the movie. While many filmmakers would forbid the word to be used in a script, Tarantino uses it as it was part of the vernacular at the time. Revenge is used in many of his films like Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds, and now Django Unchained. The extremely violent and bloody scenes against the antagonists are so over-the-top that they turn artistic to make a point.

So much of the movie's success comes from the script he wrote. Tarantino is a massive film buff and historian and uses the idea of the old spaghetti westerns as the backdrop of the story. The rich dialogue gives each one of the actors so much to work with to make them unique and unforgettable characters. Christoph Waltz's first scene is hysterical. He has a way of writing such dark comedy into some of the more violent and intense moments of the movie. Veteran Tarantino actor Samuel L. Jackson gives one of his best performances in a long time. The Academy has long ignored Leonardo DiCaprio even though he continues to give top-notch performances. I expect him or Waltz to be given a nomination.

Django Unchained ranks up there as one of Tarantino's best. It has all of those typical Tarantino ingredients that make for one hell of a rollercoaster ride. The movie is violent, but never gratuitous or obnoxious. The language can be jarring to the ears but it true to the time period. It is intense and insane, but entertaining all at the same time. The movie is very long. While I was never bored, it could stand to have a few cuts and edits without doing damage to the story. Whenever I walk out of a Tarantino movie there are images and shots that get stuck in my head. Some of the music and score sit with me as well. Django Unchained is no exception and is one of the best movies of 2012.


RATING: ***** (5 out of 5 stars)

New Trailer: DJANGO UNCHAINED

DJANGO UNCHAINED

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Starring:

Jamie Foxx as Django

Christoph Waltz as Dr. King Schultz

Leonardo DiCaprio as Calvin Candie

Kerry Washington as Broomhilda

Samuel L. Jackson as Stephen

Don Johnson as Spencer Gordon Bennett

There are a few things you can anticipate going into a Tarantino movie

1.      It will be completely unpredictable and blow your mind.

2.      There will be some fantastic performances.

3.      There will most likely be a lot of blood thrashing around

4.      The use of the word “fuck” will be used liberally

5.      Samuel L. Jackson will make an appearance

Tarantino has always hinted at wanting to make a movie in homage to the old spaghetti westerns.  Django Unchained is definitely that movie.  His movies are all very different but still retain that Tarantino stamp we all know and love.  He is a true visionary whose movies always leave a lasting impression on you long after you have left the theater.

In Theaters: December 25, 2012