Short Review: The Amazing Spider-Man

Magneto's Movies

Reel Reviews

Movie: The Amazing Spider-Man

Release Date:  3rd July 2012

Director: Marc Webb

Cast: Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curtis Connors/The Lizard, Denis Leary as Captain George Stacy, Chris Zylka as Flash Thompson, Irrfan Khan as Dr. Ratha with Sally Field as May Parker and Martin Sheen as Ben Parker

Genre: Comic Book

Score: 7.5/10 (w/out vfx 7.9)

Pros:-Captures the essence of everything that makes Peter Parker and Spider-Man who he is. Basically he is as smug and full of quips as his comic book counterpart and also uses his smarts to win a fight.

          -The writers blend well meaning comedy and heart with the somber tone effectively

          -Peter Parker has a darker arc that is graciously left open and given thread to yet still built upon with depth.

          -Webb has a brilliant grasp on the smaller moments of the film, especially in the romantic storyline between Peter and Gwen

          -Cinematography utilizes a smart balance of bright and dark colors, the brown shades and dank aesthetic mesh well with the graphics

          -Andrew Garfield embodies Parker and Spider-Man in every which way, Emma Stone is spirited and infects the film with much needed energy. Him and her both share a sparkling chemistry that defines the film

          -Leary, Khan, Sheen and Field do well in their limited roles

          -Rhys Ifans is a revelation. In just a handful of scenes he echoes the sentiments of his character and makes him 3 dimensional and human, more so than the writing

          -The score is in tune with the proceedings, and smartly manipulates the viewer to evoke the wanted emotions

Cons:-It fails to deliver on what it promised, and as such it becomes just another origin story and much of a retread of the original film

           -The experimented darker tone doesn't seem a perfect fit beyond the initial Uncle Ben death, and seems to indicate Sony's mimicry of other successes in the sub-genre

           -Webb doesn't have a great understanding of blockbuster action, he tries but seems to go overboard and at times is also underwhelming

           -The Soundtrack seems generic and tries to hard to copy the proceedings of the film, it's unnecessary especially as it plays in the background with no context

           -VFX now and then looked a bit too cartoonish especially the Lizard, who feels jarring on screen

Best Scene: Nervous Peter and Gwen asking each other out on a date without saying any coherent sentences, a prime mark of the chemistry that Stone and Garfield share as well as Webb's understanding of romantic elements

Best Dialogue: 'Peter? I know things have been difficult lately and I'm sorry about that. I think I know what you're feeling. Ever since you were a little boy, you've been living with so many unresolved things. Well, take it from an old man. Those things send us down a road... they make us who we are. And if anyone's destined for greatness, it's you, son. You owe the world your gifts. You just have to figure out how to use them and know that wherever they take you, we'll always be here. So, come on home, Peter. You're my hero... and I love you!'-Ben Parker, basically the power and responsibility quote without having to say it and make it cliche. 

Best Performance: Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy

Coolest Comic Book Reference: The end credits scene, the man in the shadow appears in Lizard's cell. Outside the window you can see lightning flashing, alluding to Electro. The man however isn't Electro, and his mystery appearance alludes to Mysterio(?)

Since I am feeling particularly lazy, this will be a short review for the film.

The 75th Anniversary for Marvel is upon us, and I will be posting more short review of every film as singles or as set of franchises. This will lead to me ranking all those films at the end of the year and giving out my own special Marvel Movie Awards.

Note: The films will only be from the modern Marvel movie era that began with the first Blade film.


Your Friendly Neighbourhood

Aneesh Raikundalia

Tintin's Top Ten: Greatest Spider-Man Losses

Tintin's Top Ten

Greatest Spider-Man Losses

 

With the Amazing Spider-Man 2 set to rock the world next week and the release of the latest volume of Amazing Spider-Man NOW, it was time to have some fun with the web slinger. 

ASM 2 promises to have a gauntlet of villains for Spider-Man to run through, Electro being at the top of the list. To top it off Spider-Man faces the threat of Green Goblin and with it the idea has been planted for one of his tragic moments in the comics to come to life on screen.

As the above picture shows, Emma Stone is dressed as Gwen Stacy in a familiar attire for comic book fans. It's an ominous sign.

Let's enjoy...

Swades: On We the People, Emotionally capturing your audience and Sharukh Khan The Actor

One Worth Watching

Swades-We the People

 

Stardom is an inherent part and issue of Hindi cinema. 

The Bollywood audience love their larger then life heroes, and as such a lot of focus is placed on the glamor of it's stars especially its lead 'actors' or heroes (to be more polite). For a star, acting isn't a prerequisite. Instead they can have a good looking face and raw charisma to carry themselves through. 

I can't even bother to go into length about how much the whole stardom worship idea bothers me. 'Actors' as they seem to think of themselves coast on their hyped up and built stardom to make movies and expect their in built audience and the gullible masses to eat up everything they put out. 

I'm not saying they don't entertain, but why can't they be honest and entertain in film while putting forth some effort in their part of the job even if it's an effort at bad acting. 

Why I'm saying this is because of one such star who I will talk about today. 

Shah Rukh Khan. 

While the so called King Khan does indeed do his best to do different projects (unlike some supposed actors *cough Salman Khan cough*) and still keep his audiences satisfied. He has in the past years simply played through the motions being disturbingly himself (Chennai Express) or simply stereotypically ignorant (Ra One) in front of the camera. 

Personally I'm not a big fan of his.

But all biased aside, I cannot deny the man is a good if not great actor. Give Shah Rukh Khan a good scrip and character like any actor deserves and he will no doubt provide an exceptional performance. Even in the worst of films he can come out shining, and not just because of that staggering screen presence he has. That in truth is the hallmark of a real actor. 

When people ask me/or are to ask me; Why I think of Shah Rukh Khan as a terrific actor then I point them to films ranging from Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa to Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. I speak of his subtle command of character in Chak De India! and his somewhat misguided yet worthy homage to Dustin Hoffman in the form of Rizwan from My Name is Khan. 

But above all I tell them about his work of brilliance that is Swades. 

Shah Rukh Khan proves well and beyond that he is the superstar and maybe even actor of his generation with this performance. The best of both worlds, in the way he conveys the loneliness the creeps within Mohan Bhargav and the method by which his experiences back home wrench yet enrich his heart and soul. 

Swades is a staggering picture that looks at the country with patriotic sensibilities that are neither spiteful nor rose tinted. It questions many of our customs and values, yet reminds us that above all else it is our culture that makes us such strong willed, spirited and above all else good people. 

As a film both writer M G Sathya and director Ashutosh Gowariker understand the core issues that plague the country and especially those from villages. They present this in a manner which is neither heavy handed nor melodramatic, in fact hitting a sweet spot Hindi films rarely claim. 

Even today I tear up at the climatic scene as Mohan decides to leave behind the village in order to resume his normal life back in America. It never feels forced or emotionally manipulative, but rather etches the lesson the film and it's makers are teaching. 

It may speak of India, but watching this will definitely awaken the patriot within you and that too without a sense of falseness to it, especially for those miles away and estranged from their mother land.

There's a reason why this is one of my 100 favorite films and it's a simple one; It touches your heart and soul, It just resonates like nothing else. This is why I love cinema, It has the power and conviction to teach you a lot if your willing to experience it.

'Nuff Said

Aneesh Raikundalia   

   

Across The Universe: On Romance, Musicals and The Beatles

One Worth Watching

Across The Universe

 

First of all, let me clarify.

This is a new feature I'm starting, every time I watch a new movie or re-watch an old one that I really feel deserves mentioning, I will try right a post about it. 

Today's film? 

The 2007 romantic musical starring Jim Sturgess and Evan Rachael Wood. The film consists of 33 songs by The Beatles including the one that the films title comes from. 

Now I'm not a big music guy, but The Beatles are just something else. 

Across the Universe pays homage to the stellar music by weaving it into a narrative that has flights of fancy and moments of real heart. 

At its core the film is a romantic tale between Lucy (Wood) and Jude (Sturgess), but the film fleets through points of artistic identity and the Vietnam war all the while reveling in the kitsch brilliance of the 60's. 

I really like those Indie romantic films with the cliche sort of endings in a manner that fuses some terrific tunes and a heart warming show from the lovers and an ambiguous shot at the end. 

Across ticks that of in every which way, it ends with a returning Jude looking to find the girl he lost in Lucy and reaching to the roofs and singing for her 'All you need is Love'. Ending up into a sing along from his friends, and finally him staring at her across the roof. 

A moment of sheer bliss encapsulated by everything that makes the film so wonderful; a Beatles song. 

Each song is crafted with such soul and understanding on screen, and sung with reverence and honor to the foursome's works. The way in which the pictures fleet and screens cut are something else. 

The film flows into songs from whimsical, the downright depressing, to artistic and mind blowing in minutes. 

A Golden Globe nominee, Across The Universe isn't one to miss especially for the Beatles lover. It's so steeped in their works, that the main characters and then some are named after the songs from Lucy to Jude and beyond. 

'Nuff Said

Aneesh Raikundalia

Mining the Past: Nostalgic Moments, My Creative Influences and Shelf Life

Writing/Drawing Under Influence

On my Influences and Nostalgia

 

Webster's Dictionary defines Nostalgia as 'pleasure and sadness caused by remembering something from the past and wishing that you could experience it again'

If that's true, then for the past few weeks I have fallen prey to this one to many times. What's funny about my being Nostalgic is that the memories I have are fleeting, they seem to be flowing from my mind towards the skies. I fail to grasp onto anything that I dearly care for anymore. I remember my old house, but sadly lose its essence in minutes. I remember my childhood, but feel like a stranger in the details.

So it doesn't help when one of my favorite columnists, Ron Marz writes a post like this. It makes me question, why I do what I do/want to do. 

Why am I becoming a comic book writer/artist? Why am I so persistent in that dream? 

So for days on end, I have toiled with the jumbled and blurred memories of my life in order to find those things that push me forward each and every single day. It's been an arduous task, one that took a lot of research and thought. 

See I'm not a child of the 70's or 80's where comic books were at the peak of their brilliance, as a pop culture geek I wasn't born and brought up by the wonders of Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Heck I was born in Kenya, a damn beautiful piece of Mother Earth no doubt but one where pop culture and especially comics weren't as profound as they were to me. I was the black sheep of the family, and I like to think I was a weirdly unique piece in my school of 12 years. 

I might not write enough, I might not read enough, but comics drive me to this day. So going back became as the definition says, a poignant moment of reflection. For the love of god, I couldn't find my greatest influences. 

I tried and tried and then I came upon a revelation. I'm a child of 1990's and 2000's, I'm a kid from urban Nairobi, a city that has just recently in the past five years picked up a thriving comics and animation industry.

I don't need to have the same form of influences that Ron Marz has, it's what makes me a unique and hopefully one day an excellent writer and artist. My influences as a child may not be as many, but as an adult I have learned enough to know how I want to shape and utilize my skills in both facets. 

So I got my memory jogging from present to past. I took everything I knew about my childhood, major things that formed me no matter how vaguely I remember them. I took the things I picked up many years later, the things I learn from today and most importantly those pieces I have kept tucked away in my heart no matter from which time they may be. I put them on a list that I will now share below. 

They might not be forming how I think or write for now, but I know that soon enough they will come in handy. So let's check out what I'm being influenced by...(Note: It's a lost of stuff)

Aila and Oi Ma!: Celebrating 20 Years of Andaz Apna Apna

Andaz Apna Apna

Celebrating 20 Years

I made it clear last year, I am a huge Bollywood fan, so long as it's good cinema in my opinion. My love for the whacky Hindi comedy movies of old is unparalleled. I adore the classics (even if I never got to see them in theaters), from Gol Maal to Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron and from Chashme Buddoor to Bawarchi. 

While the films listed above may have iconic status and be the best of the genre, there's one film that holds a larger grasp on my heart and soul. This is none other than the cult classic; Andaz Apna Apna. 

Released 20 Years ago on this date, Andaz Apna Apna is a zany comedy starring Aamir and Salman Khan. If you scroll to the bottom of the blog there's a list where you'll see that it is my 3rd favorite film of all time (and it will most likely stay so as the list gets updated). 

But don't let my words fool you, Andaz Apna Apna also has acquired iconic status through the years it toiled after being a flop at the box office on 11th April 1994. 

Aamir and Salman at their best!

For me, I discovered the film at the age of 7 and I never looked back. Since then I have watched and laughed through the feature 23 times. 

Everything about the film screams instant classic. 

The unforgettable dialogues like 'Gogoji Apka Ghagra' to 'Thaki tiki, thaki tiki, thaki tiki, thai!' and of course the oft quoted (by me) 

'Pitaji aap mahan aap great hai , aap dhanya hai, aap pujya hai, aap jaisa pita duniya mein nahi, balki aaj mereko ehsaas hai hua ki aap toh purush hi nahi.'

I'm not going to write them in English, because they will be lost in translation. 

The Legendary Crimemaster Toto, sorry Gogo

The mind blowing scene inducing laughter. When Teja reveals his master plan to take his brother's money so that he can make a poultry farm and sell eggs...see reading it isn't funny, you have to watch the film and that too without subtitles.

Some catchy campy Indian music, specially the tuneful 'Do Maastane Chale'

And of course those Over The Top pitch perfect performances by everyone especially the two leads, Paresh Rawal as Teja and Uncle and of course Shakti Kapoor as Crime Master Gogo. 

This is a comedic genius worth the watch. 

So Celebrate Twenty Years today by Watching this juggernaut of laughs and love.   

This is as much I can say, cause this is a special film to me so it's hard to write about. I can't write the funny scenes, cause you need to watch them for it to be funny.

But watch it and weep...tears of joy that is!

'Mera naam hai Crimaster Gogo, aankhen nikal ke goti kehlunga goti. Mogambo ka bhatija, GoGo!'

20 Years on and still waiting for that sequel

Reel Reviews: Captain America-The Winter Soldier

Magneto's Movies

Reel Reviews

Movie: Captain America-The Winter Soldier

Release Date: 4th April 2014

Director: Anthony and Joe Russo

Cast: Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Sebastian Stan as James Buchanan 'Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow, Emily VanCamp as Agent 13/Sharon Carter, Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Toby Jones as Arnim Zola, GSP as Batroc, Stan Lee as Security Guard, Ed Brubaker as Scientist, Thomas Kretschmann as Baron Von Strucket, Aaron Johnson as Quicksilver, Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch with Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce and Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury

Genre: Comic Book

Score:  9.0/10 (w/out vfx 9.1)

Pros:-Much of the film especially the first half has an espionage thriller tone to it that makes it seem fresh as a superhero feature

          -Writers explore and delve into a lot of serious themes that are relative to real world problems as well as their own in film world. These are; The varying definition of freedom, Patriotism vs. Captain America's Ideal Symbolism and Trust etc.

          -Marvel's brand of humor is kept at a minimum such that it never distracts from the issues writers try to tell, and actually feel organic. This allows the narrative pace to be maintained perfectly and keep the espionage thriller tone intact

          -There is tons of world building within the film, but unlike Iron Man 2 it doesn't bog down the script. Instead the world building is kept within the narrative, pushing the characters, the film and the universe forward as a whole

          -Cap's character arc of being a tarnished symbol and the idealistic option for the world is developed well within the sub text. His relationships are kept more to the forefront, thus building from the ideas in The Avengers of a man out of time.

          -Supporting characters also get the scope of development. While not as much as it should have been, the ideas of Winter Soldier being a lost soul are ever present.  Black Widow is head and shoulders with Cap, her back story is further delved into while there is a natural progression of her arc in finding the hero within. Her dynamic with Cap is also intriguing

          -Action is mind blowing. The choreography and stunt work is exquisite, where as the camera tracks the film in a way such that it encapsulates the idea of the espionage sub genre and yet feel comic book in flavor

          -The Russo brothers visualize the best Marvel directed film, they come out of their comedic comfort zone in making a bombastic action film yet make sure the elements of the grounded humanity in the script is kept intact

          -Evans gives another stirring performance showing why he is Captain America. This is Johansson's best who does further to humanize her character while shifting in her duality. Mackie doesn't get much scope, but he brings great levity and even seriousness when needed.

          -The real show stealer is Sebastian Stan, he doesn't get much to do early on except look menacing. Yet in three scenes he brings out the characters facets from guilt to despair with great deft

          -In limited scope; Redford, Samuel L Jackson, Cobie Smulders and especially Frank Grillo leave their mark

          -Music is stirring and perfectly fits the narrative beat by beat, it's far more memorable than anything else Phase 2 has churned out

          -The VFX job is also stunning, giving the action a grandeur feel

Cons:-The second half does lose steam by becoming generic at times, the solution to the finale is too easy

           -Marvel still doesn't get its villain right, unless Hydra makes a big splash across the Universe (which the post credits scene alluded to). Even then the head as Alexander Pierce was too bland and generic

           -For a film that keeps its ideas within subtext, there's to much unnecessary exposition 

           -Like with Thor 2, Captain America develops important plot points in it's final end credits scene. Showing Winter Soldier at the Smithsonian and finding out who he really is, is an important character piece that should have been in the main feature. His main arc isn't fleshed out well enough as the title suggests, hopefully a spin off film can fix that

           -3D was highly unnecessary, the Russo's never kept it in mind when filming either

Best Scene: The final fight, as Cap gives up and tells Winter Soldier to finish him if he really doesn't remember who he is. 

Best Performance: Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America and Sebastian Stan as Bucky/Winter Soldier

Best Dialogue: 'The price of freedom is high...and it's a price I'm willing to pay!'-Steve Rogers telling the SHIELD agents that are innocent and do not know Hydra's plans

                         'This isn't the age of spies. This is not even the age of heroes. This is the age of miracles...and there's nothing more horrifying than miracles.'-Baron Von Strucker, speaking about the twins. Miracles since Marvel Studios don't have the movie rights to say Mutants.

Coolest Comic Book Reference: When Sitwell is forced to revela Hydra's targets, one of the men he mention is a certain Stephen Strange who is the hero of the mystic arts; Doctor Strange

Captain America: The Winter Soldier came out today, with already great critical praise behind it. Partially based on Ed Brubaker's similarly titled comic. It's based on the book as well as 70's and 90' stories where Cap lost faith in the system. The story sees Captain America as a part of SHIELD's espionage tactics, but when his past comes calling he must fight back for a personal reason. This film is on par with The Avengers, and kicks off not only the road to it's sequel but to Phase 3 and beyond of the MCU. 

My review is below, however this is a prototype. I wish to watch the film a second time, and if necessary I will make changes to my review after doing so. Till then, just enjoy this one!