Amazing Spider-Man 2-Is it so shocking that it acually is pretty good?

I'm a Spider-Man fan from way back, let's get that on deck right now.  I've been following the character on and off from the early 70s.  In fact, although he is my second favorite superhero, behind Superman, one of his 70s era issues, where he punched it up with a villain called the Smasher, I had my Dad read to me until he was tired of it and until the book was battered and falling apart.  The Spidey segments on the PBS show, The Electric Company... remember those?

So, my web is layered deep and I consider it a blessing to be living in an age to see adaptations of beloved characters like Spider-man come to the screen in glorious life.  Sure, the corporate machinations in the background can tarnish the gold of this golden age, but better than nothing.  Such as those who complain that the Amazing series is too soon a reboot after Sam Raimi's run.  Well..maybe.  Two thirds of Raimi's run on adapting the adventures of the wall crawler was great.  And even his third film had great parts.  But...Sony knows they have a popular character in Spidey and though many would like to see the rights go over to Disney/Marvel, I personally would rather see his adventures go on than have him lie fallow.  Like I always say, I only ask one thing in any adaptation. 

Make it good.

So now, a new series with Mark Webb.  The first Amazing was a retelling of the familiar origin story of Spidey, which you know the deal, radioactive spider, wall clinging, Uncle Ben/Aunt May, Great Power, etc.  But it altered the mix a bit, with mixed results, with the mystery of Peter Parker's parents, the increased machinations of Oscorp and the like. 

Now, Sony, inspired/worried by the success of Disney/Marvel's cinematic universe, want to try to build their own mini-verse.  Can that be done?  Is that wise?  Well...consider this.  Spider-Man, being one of Marvel's more popular properties, has often supported more than one title at a time.  He does have a rather large and complicated mythology at that point.  So the precedence has been set, this CAN be done.  If done right.

So...did AS2 do this right?  Well...what they did right was the characterization.  Although I do enjoy Tobey Hooper's performance as the character, I think Andrew Garfield has brought out more the joy and FUN of being Spider-Man.  His Peter Parker is still an everyman, but less awkward.  He is still deeply caring and concerned about the effect of his deeds upon his loved ones, but he finds those moments not only for fun, but his love for the people, especially of his city.  We also have gotten an intro to J Jonah Jameson, whom I suspect will play a bigger role in the Amazing Spider-verse, cinematic style.

What did it do "wrong"?  Well, it did the same thing that the third Raimi film did, trying to shove ten pounds of sausage into a five pound casing.  Tons of characters, tons of plot points, tons of attempted connections.  And while it was overstuffed, it didn't feel as irrelevant as some of the flailings in Spider-Man III.  Also, though some of the character intros were rushed, none of them were handled as remotely badly as Venom in SMIII.  Electro was well handled, though altered quite a bit from his comic origins.  Rhino, though the screen time was small, still liked.  And Green Goblin?  Was kinda iffy on the costume, but liked the portrayal.  Also, we saw hints at much, much more to come.

So...more Amazing...bring on the Sinister Six.  So far...still on board.

Before Sunrise...Did Richard Linklater sell out?

 

In 1995, Richard Linklater put out this film, Before Sunrise.  It is pretty much his signature talky style, with Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine' (Julie Delpy) seemingly randomly meeting in a train.  Jesse is awaiting a flight back to the states and Celine' is coming back from a visit to her grandmother.  Jesse decides to talk to her and convinces her to join him in Vienna, spinning an alternate tale of the route not taken (being sure that the boring guy she marries in the future was the route to be taken), showing his yen for joking and storytelling, and underlying the characters' natural chemistry early on.  That is, they are both romantics in search mode and they both think deeply and want much out of life.  Mostly, they are both idealists and like most of that sort (including yours truly), wish to see their idealism manifest somehow.  They spend time walking around Vienna all night, going back and forth on a wide variety of topics, such as relationships, the nature of God, the need for "magic" in life, and so on.  They find a deep romantic chemistry that continues to marinate the both of them as dawn approaches, but given their geographic differences and not wishing to be just another long distance relationship cliché, they agree to just part company and meet again at that Vienna train station in six month's time, on that exact hour, to see where things stand.

Next, the two characters appear in Linlater's Waking Life, and then come together in Before Sunset, nine years later.  Since the movie is being shot in 2004, the two characters have also moved forward in real time, so it adds a bit of verisimilitude to the proceedings.  Jesse has become a successful writer and is on a tour to promote his book, bringing him to Paris.  Celine, who now lives in Paris and is a professional political activist, comes to one of his signings.  They missed their rendezvous years ago and proceed to make up for lost time.  Time has moved forward, and Jesse is married and even has a kid, but it is clear the marriage is not a happy one.  Celine has a boyfriend, but he apparently is a "safe" choice.  Both of them were severely impacted by that magical night nine years ago and it is clear it has haunted them since, shaping their perceptions.  Jesse is a perpetual wanderer in his soul, still adrift in many ways.  And Celine has become angry and cynical.  If you ask her, she is now a realist, towards the world and to people, especially with concepts of love.  Though it is apparently she is the classic idealist who is mourning the "real world" not squaring up with her ideals.  

They do have one constant, though.  It is clear they are still deeply drawn towards each other.  This drives them to make critical decisions.

 

 

 

Which brings us to ten more years later, in both real time as well as story time.  Jesse and Celine' still live in Europe and have twin daughters.  They are at a writers' retreat in Greece, considering where they are.  Jesse is stressed about not getting more time with his son that he had with his ex-wife.  Celine is contemplating taking a political job with the French government, thinking she might be able to do more good there, though she is disappointed at even have to consider such a move.  Again, there is more discussion about ideas and abstract concepts, especially issues that have come to light in the last ten years.  But life has happened and it has presented challenges, which has Celine' contemplating the state of their relationship.

 

 

Now, before I watched these films, I was wondering whether Linklater had sold out here and was trying to cash in with the chick flick crowd.  Romance, exotic locations, attractive people, trouble in paradise, but of course.  But oh me of little faith.  Besides Linklater's usual penchant of philosophical walk and talks which drives most of his films (his movies tend to be stories that play better with people who like flow of idea vs flow of plot), this set also featured two characters aging and confronting life in "real time".  And, though the ideas explored were abstract, even magical, they were tied to the scenario of a couple growing in love and growing in life, which gave them a dimension unexplored in a Linklater film.  Yet it did not seem cloying or contrived.

 

If I have any complaint at all, it would be latter day Celine' seemed to have become a bit mean and shrewish in her latter years, prone to fits of anger and an insistence on that anger being something she "must" express, regardless.  But she also shows regret for it and an awareness of the effect it has on those around her, after she calms down.  That element succeeded in saving the character from sinking herself. 

 

 

Anyway, here's a trilogy worth your time, especially if you are a Linklater film fan.

Knights of Badassdom-All the Chainmail, None of the Pain...in Theory...

Well now, as the geeks continue to inherit the Earth, we find our attention on the world of LARPing. Now, I've LARPed.  It can be fun.  I prefer tabletop roleplaying, as sitting around a table with books, pencils, paper maps, dice, some minis, enhances the imagination and storytelling experience, at least for me.  Getting up in costumes and traipsing around in a location, conversely, exposes the limitations of the same.  BUT...with the right crew...magic can happen.

Which is one of the points of Knights of Badassdom.   Get a crew of friends, throw them into an arena of roiling imagination and adventure, throw in some shameless poseur and a touch of sexitude, THEN put the added element, the chaos factor of "bona fide" hoodoo goins' on and let the good times roll. Ryan Kwaten (Jason Stackhouse on True Blood) is a guy whose life is in the toilet.  His heavy metal dreams remain just that.  His girlfriend, perceiving him going nowhere, kicks him to the curb.  His roommates are a rich geek, Eric (Steve Zahn) and a stoner, Hung (Peter Dinklage).  But they believe they have the cure for him.  They get him stoned to the rafters, outfit him in LARPer kit and take him to the realm of "Evermoor" for a weekend of roleplaying hijinks.  Joe is initially reluctant, but his friend remind him that he is miserable, and the "normalcy" he feels reflexively compelled to retreat to, mainly to please the "muggles", like his ex, has gotten him nowhere.  They further remind him of his rpg roots in Dungeons and Dragons, that some of his exploits are STILL sung of in local gaming circles.  Lighten up, for adventure is "what thou NEEDST"!  And in Evermoor, "needst" is a proper word.  So on with the game.

They meet their fellow gamers, which include a hottie played by geek goddess Summer Glau, whose character, though the girl playing her is just a weekend warrior, has some real fighting prowess.  AND...some real magick, as the spell book Eric has is written in Enochian, the language of the angels.  His playing around with it has brought in more supernatural chicanery than anyone was banking on dealing with that weekend.  Thus, the mayhem ensues.

I'm a real fan of stories that show impassioned geeks in all their fannish enthusiasm, yet STILL, for all their awkwardness and sometimes rough handling of the "real world", are still flesh and blood people.  Same feelings, same thoughts and cares.  They are just...people plus, as their imaginations and open perspective take that magic sparkle we all knew as children...and place it into the adult world.  I love stories which show them as "real people" negotiating that awkward interface between the consensus realm and the imaginative vistas that exist beyond the peripherals.

As an FYI, btw, director Joe Lynch also directed Kwaten in Truth in Journalism, a short film in which Kwaten portrays Eddie Brock/Venom.  Check it out.

And check out Knights of Badassdom.  It is a geekin' good time.