“The Amazing Spiderman,” Mark Webb’s latest reboot of the Spiderman franchise, hit theaters this week and raked in an estimated $75 million in just three days. Opinions on the film have swung between being dubbed the best superhero flick to date, to denounced as a total abomination to Marvel Comics, to everything in between. Regardless, “Amazing Spiderman” is a thoroughly entertaining summertime movie offering ample action, a good sense of humor, and believable humans (spider-humans, at least) rather than one-dimensional characters just peeled off of a comic book page.

Use of effects that best justify the price of 3D glasses since “Avatar” don’t hurt, either.

The success of “The Amazing Spiderman” rides on the blue and red suited shoulders of Andrew Garfield, the cute Brit who first touched stardom after his role as Mark Zuckerburg’s buddy in “The Social Network.” Garfield’s interpretation of Parker possesses an unusual charm that brings about an adorable awkwardness unusual to the superhero genre. Never failing to flash a sheepish ear-to-ear grin when embarrassed or stammer at exactly the perfectly wrong moment, Garfield is confused and angsty, but still convincing as a courageous protector of New York.

Garfield’s chemistry with Emma Stone, as babe-with-brains Gwen Stacy, is so natural that the whole human-turned-spider thing often plays second violin to their witty and downright adorable exchanges. This is no doubt thanks to Webb’s “500 Days of Summer” RomCom chops, and it brings an unexpectedly warm touch to the bleak story of Spiderman’s rise. Stacy is anything but a damsel in distress, and Stone’s feisty attitude was not lost with natural red hair dyed blonde. Besides, it’s nearly impossible to look into her giant, twinkling eyes and not swoon at least a little bit.

Stone isn’t the only gem of Webb’s casting; frankly, there wasn’t a role choice that didn’t work. Martin Sheen and Sally Field shine as Uncle Ben and Aunt May, Parker’s guardians after his parents’ untimely evacuation of his life. The two characters may be taken for granted as staples of the Spiderman franchise, but the superb acting should not be overlooked, especially considering the importance of both to Parker’s growth from meek photographer to fearless hero.

Impossible to ignore is the film’s striking visual appeal. It’s an appropriately grungy set, but never so much that the bright reds and blues of Spidey’s costume look like a recently polished action figure left forgotten in a dirty New York City gutter. Webb’s lighting choices create symbolism hidden in shadows, set to an awesome soundtrack never failing to sweep an audience up in a moment. Garfield may not fill out a spandex suit like Scarlett Johansson, but his (or at least his stunt double’s) spider-like limbs are fascinating to watch scuttle up a building or drop in unexpectedly on a bad guy.

As for the storyline, the spider-meets-boy, spider-bites-boy, boy-saves-the-city formula never deviates from the norm. Rhys Ifans’ creepy but sympathetic interpretation as Dr. Connors-turned-Lizard works, but doesn’t bring any heart-stopping dynamism like Heath Ledger’s Joker did in “The Dark Knight.” Action sequences are entertaining but not mind blowing; the conclusion is satisfying but lacking a twist.

It’s the relationships between Peter Parker and his friends/family that make the film most compelling, almost creating two movies within the one: a decent superhero flick on one reel, and a romantic comedy on another. The division can be closed if viewers buy Garfield as Spiderman and enjoy watching his relationships blossom; otherwise, the pacing is slowed by scenes lacking action and an all too familiar story.

Additionally, with the power to control the direction of the Spiderman franchise comes the responsibility to include the following words: “with great power comes great responsibility.” As another Toonari writer pointed out, these words were painfully absent.

This, along with various other script discontinuities (the fate of Parker’s mother is never discussed; the complications of the Lizard’s attack on NYC in the final battle sequence are surprisingly inconsequential) prevents the film from rising to the ranks of other franchise reboots to release in recent years.

But superhero movies always ask us to suspend our disbelief in the air right alongside their gravity-defying protagonists, and though getting into Peter Parker’s spandex suit may require a stretch, believing his story doesn’t.

Image Courtesy of    The Amazing Spider-Man

The article “Amazing Spiderman” Sticks it to Box Office appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Fans across the globe have been asking, “Who Is Alpha” and this August, in Amazing Spider-Man #692, they’ll find out. Marvel is celebrating Spider-Man’s 50th anniversary in style as the blockbuster creative team of Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos give Peter Parker his very own….sidekick? When he’s not working with the Avengers of the Future Foundation, Spider-Man has been saving the Marvel Universe on his own for fifty years. But now, with his anniversary right around the corner, that’s all about to change.

This special event, could only be told in this oversized issue celebrating the values that made Spider-Man the world’s greatest super hero for the past five decades and many more to come. And with special variant covers by superstar artist Marcos Martin, depicting Spider-Man through the years, no fan can miss out on this! Get ready for a story about power and responsibility like you’ve never seen before in Amazing Spider-Man #692, swinging into comic shops everywhere, the Marvel Comics app and the Marvel Digital Comics Shop this August.

In the same month, the comic book event of the year – Avengers VS. X-Men – reaches critical mass as Earth’s Mightiest make their last stand against the
. But when the Phoenix Force yearns for a single host, who will it choose? There can only be one! Act Three kicks off in Avengers Vs. X-Men #9, hitting comic shops, the Marvel Comics app, and Marvel Digital Comic Shop this August.

Which team will reign supreme? Join the conversation on Twitter with #AvX!

The article Alpha Joins the Amazing Spider-Man this August appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Over the past few years we have seen a lot of movie remakes or rebooting — has Hollywood run out of ideas or could it be an excuse for making a mistake the first time round? Among the most recent examples, we have seen remakes of movie and television series such as The A-team, Footloose and Fame with The Amazing Spider-man and Superman in the pipes.

If you think they are about to slow down, you should check out the amount of remakes that are in the planning stages. According to OhNoTheyDidnt.livejournal.com there is an extensive list of movies that are being dusted off and ready for a reboot, including Guys and Dolls, Alien, Total recall, Romancing the Stone and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Were these movies that terrible? Why do we need to see them remade?

The new saying in Hollywood seems to be ‘if it’s is not working, let’s go back to the beginning’; the studios seem to be finding big bucks in well-established franchises and rebooting them with young fresh faced stars. But the exciting thing about movies with original ideas is that we don’t know what’s going to happen next; Is the films ending going to make us feel good, sadden us or is it going to shock us?

The problem with these prequels or reboots is that we know how the story is going to end. A reboot can be a risky proposition because it takes some of the drama out of the story.

When Anakin Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi were fighting during the Star Wars prequels, we already knew already how that was going to end — we knew Obi Wan would win and Anakin would get burned and be transformed into Darth Vader.

Boxoffice.com editor Phil Contrino says it’s a real test of the filmmaker and the story to use younger, well-established actors for their reboot without running the risk of not having the same “star power.” Films like Indiana Jones, Die Hard, and Rambo are all associated with the actors who played these characters and bringing in someone new may not have the same impact.

So if that’s the case, then why reboot? Well one of the reasons is that it’s much less cost efficient. By the time you get into the third or fourth sequel, the actors and directors demand ridiculous amount of money, says Contrino. There is also a lot of control over the project at this point so if the whole thing is scrapped, the writers and producers can start fresh and simpler.

This is one of the reasons why the Spiderman movies starring Toby Maguire and Kirsten Dunst was ended and rebooted with Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone — it was just too difficult to make the movie with the same cast and crew. Another factor for reboots is that it bring a new energy to the franchise. Contrino points out if a reboot is successful, it sets the stage for a really good rebooted sequel.

After Batman Begins came The Dark Knight and this movie earned $530 million at the box office, becoming the 3rd film of all time and will be followed by another sequel in 2012, The Dark Knight Rises.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.facebook.com/officialateammovie

The article Why is Hollywood Rebooting So Many Films? appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.