Spiderman, Spiderman, Can Hurt You More Than a Spider Can

The very first thing that stands out for me about this live-action adaptation of the web slinger is, mmmmm pretty Peter Parker. Basically this movie is already winning in my books by casting Andrew Garfield as the webhead. I will be upfront and say I never liked Toby Macguire as Spiderman because I always thought Spiderman would be an attractive guy, or at least that's what the 90s cartoon led me to believe. Another thing that made me like this film more than the Sam Raimi Spiderman affairs was the inclusion of Gwen Stacy as Peter's love interest since she was his first true love (they didn't meet until University), although not his first girlfriend in the comics. Now I will warn you, there may be some gushing about our new Peter Parker and some spoilers, so read on at your own risk.

You can sling me with those webs any day.

BATMAN! (The Dark Knight Rises)

Ok, so it may be called The Dark Knight Rises, but that is just such a long winded title that I'm far to lazy to constantly type out. So I'm going to call it Batman from now on. Besides I know that thats the only thought going through your head as you watch it. Right now I am writing this from a greyhound station that actually feels like it could be a set from the movie due to the bleak decor and fluorescent lights. Also I don't have internet here so this is actually being posted long after I've left here. In addition this review will be containing comparisons to previous non-Christopher Nolan Batman movies and a couple of the cartoons, oh and of course a high chance of spoilers as always so read on if you dare!

Abraham Lincoln, You Slay My Heart

An awesome book that I completely endorse.

Last week I got myself out to see Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. I had already read the book so my standards were set pretty high. Unfortunately due to plot changes it didn't quite live up to my expectations. Below you will find a play by play of what I thought of the film as I watched it.

An Alien Experience

I was recently in a short student film called Soon Enough. Alright, so maybe I wasn't an alien, I was playing a star, but hey it was my first onscreen experience with heavy make-up. I found out (lucky for me) that I do not have a latex allergy. Wanna see what I looked like? No? Well too bad. Feast your eyeballs on this:

Look Mom, I'm bald... and don't have ears

I was rejected from the Blue Man Group, I don't know why...

One of my "co-stars" and I. Hehehe get it? "Co-stars"

Prometheus

Now before we get into the movie itself I have a slight bone to pick with one of the trailers I saw... starring Ben Stiller. It was called The Watch and really should have been called The Watered Down American Version of Attack the Block. You might be saying "but the plot looks completely different" sure it looks different, but at it's heart it is the same movie: an unlikely ragtag group defend their neighbourhood against an alien invasion. I wasn't really seeing a great comparison until the scenes in the trailer where they kill an alien in a warehouse (similar to the underground parking in Attack the Block) and then they goof around with the alien, posing and such. Alright, rant over, now on to Prometheus.

Also a 40% chance of spoilers with a risk of laughter follows after the break

Classical Affairs (Tenacious D, Psycho, Cujo and Alien)

Alrighty, so you may be wondering how Tenacious D is classical, well they have a song called Classico and I haven't blogged about going to see their concert yet, so I'm lumping it in with some short movie reviews. Basically the concert was an amazing experience. First the opening band that played was quite good. They were called the Protomen, they had a slight robot theme to them and were from Nashville. I enjoyed their sound and still need to look them up on the youtubes. Then after some roadie action we had the arrival of THE D! Their arrival was accompanied by the Rize of an inflatable Fenix (I know that rise and phoenix are spelt wrong, but that is how they are spelt on the album so shut you mouth.) When they first came on stage I had a bit of a "Holy shit I'm actually breathing the same oxygen as Jack Black" moment. Also it was exciting to see KG too, but I'm far far more familiar with Senor (I don't have a spanish keyboard) Black. They started out with some epic songs from their new album, which I do not yet own *cough*Christmas*cough*. Then it was on to the songs that I knew and I sang along to every single one, along with everyone else in the audience. They never ended up playing the song Classico, I have a feeling it would not make it onto their greatest hits album. To top it all off I got a super neato t-shirt that combines my love for horror and Tenacious D.

You can read backwards right? No? It says Dawn of the D.

Recently I've also been working on watching some classic horror films, thanks to my local library. Yeah that's where I get most of my viewing and comic reading selection, but you can't blame me, I'm a starving actor. Well the first one I watched was Psycho(1960), an acclaimed film and definitely a classic, BUT, don't place a curse on me for saying this, not really my cup of tea. I found that the pacing was rather slow and I feel that had it been made in modern times it would be considered a psychological thriller, perhaps even a crime drama, but not a horror film. Back then it wasn't too hard to be considered horror, just throw in a kill and some creepy character(s) with a slight twist and bingo, horror movie. Nowadays film in general has developed so many subgenres that everything can be classified into a section that fits it best. The film wasn't really what I had expected, the shower scene came much sooner when I had expected it to be the climax of the film due to its prevalence in pop culture. I do want to reiterate that I didn't think this was a bad movie, just not a movie I personally found entertaining. I much preferred American Psycho and not just because of the wonderful that is Christian Bale's abs.

Is it wrong that I would love to live in a house designed like that?

Here's hoping I'm looking that good when I'm dug up after being buried.

Now on to Cujo. Basically it's billed as being about a family trapped in a car by a rabid St. Bernard. That is about 20 minutes of the film (I didn't actually time it, but that's what it felt like). right before that happens you get a couple kills and it turns out the dog isn't even owned by the people in the car which wasn't the whole family. Most of the focus was on the fact the wife cheated on her husband who's ad firm lost a client, also this family has frequent car troubles. I found this movie disappointing, because here is what I had expected: My understanding going into the film for some reason was that a family was in their car in the winter going on a trip with their St. Bernard. Somehow their car breaks down off the road far enough that passerbys wouldn't notice them. Somehow the dog has developed rabies (I think he had it before they left and when he started to show signs they didn't let him back in the car). So now we have an entire family, trapped in a car, freezing and starving for several days, unable to leave the car for help due to the rabid dog outside. What I think this version would have added is that the family has a relationship with the dog, creating a dilemma, the kids don't want to see the dog die because they love it, but the parents understand that the only hope they have of survival is to kill this canine member of their family. There could be insistences that they just need to get the dog to a vet. This also makes the audience more sympathetic to the dog, our villain, since they have seen how much the family loves it and are devastated to see it act so cruel. This is the movie that I wish I had seen, not the one that I saw.

For some reason I still just want to give this guy a big ol' hug.

And now the last in my list of classics, Alien. I know that it's surprising that I hadn't seen this until recently, but I vowed to watch it before seeing Prometheus which I did yesterday so I have now finally seen the great original. This classic I actually thoroughly enjoyed. It had a solid plot, evil robot and amazing special effects (have you heard me rant about how practical effects are better that CGI when it comes to creatures and make-up yet? We'll just pretend you have). Well first off I love Sigourney Weaver in it, she is strong, knows what needs to get done, has emotions and is beautiful. She even saves the cat, literally, although to Michael Coleman and Blake Snyder's chagrin, it isn't until well after the save the cat moment should have happened in the 15. (Read the books Save the Cat if you didn't understand that reference) The space ship was awesome, and now the creature effects, all I can say is AMAZING! When the face hugger falls off of the crew member, just looking at the detail of it's face hugging side is remarkable. If I didn't know it was a movie I would have sworn it was a real type of animal... and had nightmares for the rest of my life. Then there is the great chest-burster scene which is even more remarkable when you find out that the reactions of the cast are completely real (no one told them they were going to get covered in goop when the fellows chest is split in twain by a baby alien). Additionally there was a great atmosphere of seclusion created in the film (monster in the house) and now I feel the need to see Aliens.

Keep your eyes open for a full length review of Prometheus coming soon and I am making a vow you can hold me to: I am going to review every movie I watch in theatres that pertains to this blog for the rest of the summer.

Cabins In Woods (The Cabin in the Woods, Evil Dead the Musical... and the Avengers)

Why hello there, I didn't expect you to come back here since I've been pretty quiet lately. Well I have done my best to keep busy in the time I haven't been typing. One of the things I have done is get my Whedon on in theatres.

First I went to see The Cabin in the Woods... alone... I was just sick of waiting and trying to find someone to go with me. It felt like I was the only person in the world who hadn't seen it. Actually it was my first time going to the theatres alone and I think it was more pleasant for the rest of the audience because I wasn't whispering snide remarks to the person sitting beside me. They just had to put up with my squeals of joy. Read on after the jump for musings on the film, a musical and another film.

I did not understand this picture until I saw the movie, then I laughed so hard.