The Amazing Spider-Man

First Hit:  This was a fun-filled action fantasy film.

Sometimes a franchise film finds new legs and sets a new mark on what might become a new base for a new set of movies. This film does this.

Not taking away from Tobey Maguire and Kristen Dunst but Andrew Garfield (as Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man) and Emma Stone (as Gwen Stone) have a great start on creating a new set of adventures with the Spider-Man franchise.

In this film we go back to the beginning and discover the more about how Peter’s father and mother died, how he was raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben (played by Sally Field and Martin Sheen respectively). We learn how Peter’s father Richard (played by Campbell Scott) worked with Dr. Curt Connors (played by Rhys Ifans) to discover how to mix species for the betterment of humankind.

Parker in his curiosity of Connors’ lab gets bitten by a spider and we all know what happens from here. It is the way Parker discovers his talents that make this film fresh and fun; and this film is fun.

Even in the darkness of what will happen; while Parker is being hunted by the police or the Lizard (Connors’ alter ego) this film is enjoyable in all ways.

Garfield is very good as Parker/Spider-Man, my only criticism is that he’s just a little old to be playing a high school student. Outside of this small criticism, he’s great in this role and I know he’ll be wonderful for this franchise. Stone is very good and this film is about Spider-Man. Ifans is creepy enough to carry the transition between Connors and the Lizard. Field is good as the mostly fretting Aunt. Sheen is excellent as Parker’s caring uncle. James Vanderbilt and Alvin Sargent wrote a great script. Marc Webb did an excellent job of bringing new life to this wonderful story.

Overall:  This was a very well made and enjoyable film.

Prometheus 3-D

First Hit:  Interesting concept, startling visuals, and a fairly good story but in the end not quite a great film.

I wanted to really love this film. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a good space oriented science fiction.

Given the previews and cast, I had hopes for this Ridley Scott offering. Hope emerged at the beginning with the archeological finds but soon it started a long slow fall. It was easy to link David (the android played by Michael Fassbender) to be a cross between "Data", "Spock", and "HAL" the computer.

Elizabeth Shaw (played by Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (played by Logan Marshall-Green) discover a link of cave picture drawings that were dated thousands of years apart and painted by different civilizations. The drawings made them believe that humans were created by some other race that lived somewhere in space.

This leap of faith, sort of speak, wasn’t developed enough to have me come to the same conclusion, but I went with it. The long ride to the solar system where they believe the “Engineers” reside was on a great looking rocket.

All the crew including the scientists were put to sleep for over 2 years until they arrived at their location. The only one awake on the ship was David. The leader of the expedition was Meredith Vickers (played by Charlize Theron.

As expected, there is conflict on this ship because of differing agendas, and the question was; will they pull together when they meet their makers or the alien creatures? The highlights were the attention to detail in the alien planet, the cave, the space ships, Elizabeth’s surgery, and the visuals used to provide information to the crew.

The downsides include the long waits between interesting scenes, the lack of continuity and development of the story, and a redo of alien monsters that climb into people’s mouths to cause havoc (I would have wanted something new).

Rapace is very good uses her intelligence, even temperament and her athletic body to portray an interesting character. Fassbender is strong as an android even when he was just a talking head (see the film and you'll see what I mean). Theron is very strong as the conservative tough mission commander. Marshall-Green was mediocre as the other scientist. Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof wrote a script needing additional clarification and development. Scott directed some sequences with eloquence while others seem to lag and drag.

Overall: This film is nice in 3-D but overall it just didn’t carry the day and was mostly forgotten the following day.

Snow White and the Huntsman

First Hit:  Mostly slow and uninteresting with a few moments of brightness.

Why this film took so long from beginning to end is because the scriptwriter and director thought they had a great story to tell.

Reality is that yes this is a great story, just not the way they told it. Although Kristen Stewart is a much better actress than her partner in the Twilight film series, here she doesn’t get to do a whole lot.

The age old story where the evil queen Ravenna (played by Charlize Theron) has banned the beautiful Snow White (played by Stewart) from living free. She has her locked up in the north tower of the castle. But Snow White escapes and with the help of the Huntsman (played by Chris Hemsworth), the dwarfs, and her cousin William (played by Sam Claflin) she’s able to mount a challenge to Ravenna’s hold on the kingdom.

The highlights of the film are most all the scenes with Ravenna as Theron keeps her part of the film alive, with intensity. Also the scenes when Snow White are with the fairies and the leader of the fairy kingdom.

The rest of it was slow, boring and without the level of energy required to keep a 2 hour and 7 minute interesting.

Stewart is OK at times and looked great in her Joan de arc metal outfit. She does show some abilities to be believable in strong female physical role, which is good. Theron is the very best thing about this film. I loved the shot of her in the white (milk) liquid bath and thought that this was an amazing shot. Claflin was soft in his role and almost unnecessary. Hemsworth gave it his all in a familiar role as a fighting hero. Evan Daugherty and John Lee Hancock wrote a mediocre and long screenplay from an age old tale. Rupert Sanders directed this too long unfocused film.

Overall:  Not worthy of a paid seat but one can while away the time having it on in the background at home someday.

Men in Black III (3D)

First Hit:  Excellent third installment of a 15 year old franchise. This film starts a little slow with conversations between Agent J (Will Smith) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) which seemed to be on purpose, or is it Jones getting older?

This is the question I had in mind while I watched the beginning one way dialogue. Although there is some intrigue with Agent O (Emma Thompson) and K, it never really realizes itself and then when O speaks a lengthy squeaky alien language segment, it ruins her presence as an austere and intelligent agent.

I started to think that MB III wasn’t going to be interesting, that it was going to be worse than MB II, but then J jumps into the past and Bingo!!! - the whole film takes on a new and exciting story line.

The venue is a memorable time in my life – 1969. It focuses around our first moon launch, I was in Vietnam when we sent a rocket to, and landed on, the moon. What boosts the excitement for the film is the repartee between a young Agent K (Josh Brolin) and J. There is the back and forth that J doesn't have from old K, and this becomes the running joke.

J has gone back in time to kill Boris The Animal (played by Jemaine Clement). In current time Boris has escaped the high security moon prison and is bent on destroying earth and he is also really angry at K for shooting off his arm back in 1969. Boris also decides to go back in time to help his earlier self and get his arm back. J's mission is to change Earth's future by fixing the past.

What makes this film fulfill the audience's emotional aspect is the ending. J sees why he and K are connected. The item to note is that Brolin was dead on great at channeling the energy and clarity of Jones as a young K.  By the end of the film, everyone was in full gear and it was definitely a joy to watch.

The 3D is excellent as it is used to enhance the film.

Smith is great and the maturity he’s gained as a person over the last 15 years shows up with more subtle and deeper characterization of his role. Jones has a more minor role here but as the well-grounded senior agent he is very good as the film ends. Thompson is OK and I’m not sure why the scriptwriter and director minimized her involvement. Brolin was the star in that he had to channel a young K but with a challenge to give us the reason why the older K acts the way he acts in the future. Clement was strong as the enemy. Lowell Cunningham wrote a wonderfully full script. Barry Sonnenfeld directed this film with clarity and focus to create a really enjoyable adventure.

Overall: Sequels are hard because they can never match the freshness of the original but here you have a really good and worthwhile film.

The Avengers 3D

First Hit:  Quips abound as these action heroes give the audience a good time.

A film with Robert Downey Jr. (as Iron Man) will have quips and he’s one of the best. However, in this film every one of the Avengers gets their day in the sun in both quip world and demonstrating their super powers.

The basic premise is a little unwieldy in that some super power generating light cube is found at the bottom of the ocean and aliens decide they need to control earth and the rest of the universe.

This story is enough for uniting superheroes to fight a common enemy. What makes this film fun are the separate storylines with each hero. When they each talk to each other it is of mutual respect and pointed sarcasm. I won’t share any of the quips here because it would take away from the best parts of the film.

With Iron Man, the Avengers are: Captain America (played by Chris Evans), The Hulk (played by Mark Ruffalo), Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (played by Jeremy Renner). They are loosely led by Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson). Additionally Pepper Potts (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) makes a couple of appearances which pulls Iron Man’s ego down appropriately.

I’m sure Downey made up a good portion of his lines and he’s good at it.

The 3D is effective in portraying depth and the visual effects. Unlike other films, scenes weren’t set-up for 3D, they just looked better in 3D.

Downey Jr. was wonderful as Iron Man and was the glue of this team. Evans was muscularly fantastic as the straight-laced Captain America. Ruffalo was wonderful and the guy who struggles to maintain inner peace or else his other self, “The Hulk”, reigns over havoc. Hemsworth is powerful and funny as the god Thor. Johansson is funny, fun, and strong as the Black Widow and the only female Avenger. Renner’s role as Hawkeye is first controlled by the enemy but then gets the sense knocked back into him and joins his buddies to fight the aliens. Jackson is alright, not great or as strong as the other characters, in his role as Nick Fury. Paltrow is perfect as Potts. Zak Penn and Joss Whedon wrote this funny, lively script. Whedon did a great job of making the film interesting through strong characterization of the Avengers, allowing each their day in the sun and humanness.

Overall: Although the film’s story is highly improbable, it was only there to showcase a lot of fun these actors had in their roles.