Spider-Man [Film Series]'s Recent Activity

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Title: Spider-Man [Film Series]
Year: 2002
Plot: The three Spider-Man superhero films are based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name, portrayed by Tobey Maguire. The rights to a motion picture based on Spider-Man were purchased in 1985 and moved through various production companies and studios, at one point having James Cameron to direct, before being secured by Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Sony hired comic book fan Sam Raimi to direct the films, and the series began with Spider-Man in 2002, continued with Spider-Man 2 in 2004, and became a trilogy with the release of Spider-Man 3 in 2007. Throughout the films, Spider-Man developed a relationship with his school crush Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). To date, he has battled the villains Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), New Goblin (James Franco), Venom (Topher Grace) and Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) throughout the series. While the films' central storylines have been concluded, the studio plans to develop more films, continuing Spider-Man's adventures.
Times Tagged: 3
Number of blog posts: 4
Number of discussion threads: 3
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:06:16 GMTSpider-Man [Film Series]2002The three Spider-Man superhero films are based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name, portrayed by Tobey Maguire. The rights to a motion picture based on Spider-Man were purchased in 1985 and moved through various production companies and studios, at one point having James Cameron to direct, before being secured by Sony Pictures Entertainment. <br><br> Sony hired comic book fan Sam Raimi to direct the films, and the series began with Spider-Man in 2002, continued with Spider-Man 2 in 2004, and became a trilogy with the release of Spider-Man 3 in 2007. Throughout the films, Spider-Man developed a relationship with his school crush Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). To date, he has battled the villains Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), New Goblin (James Franco), Venom (Topher Grace) and Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) throughout the series. While the films' central storylines have been concluded, the studio plans to develop more films, continuing Spider-Man's adventures.3Slightly Tagged (1-5)433http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s261346.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Spider_Man_Film_Series/261346/default.aspxFilm Spout Post: Tokin' of affection http://www.spout.com/blogs/usesoap/archive/2008/8/11/33835.aspx

Post By: usesoap
Post To: usesoap Blog
Post Date: 8/11/2008 8:16:46 AM
Body: A friend with weed is a friend indeed. That is the lesson to be extracted from the latest comedy off the Judd Apatow assembly line, “Pineapple Express.” While it may get anti-marijuana advocates abuzz with consternation, it's a sweet little trip until a dramatic shift to violence quite literally calls the cops to this feel-good party. “Express” is laced with guffaws and gunplay, and while not as startlingly schizophrenic as this summer's “Hancock,” it still feels as though its personalities are squished together in such a forced fashion, it threatens to disrupt the good vibes it garners through much of the film. And, like all of Apartow's blockbuster comedies before it (“Knocked Up,” Superbad,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”), it overstays its welcome by at least 30 minutes. Imagine, if you will, an entire film devoted to the ganja-clouded escapades of Brad Pitt's Floyd, the moviewestoner he portrayed in Tony Scott's “True Romance (one of Pitt's best, albeit brief, performances on screen). James Franco channels Floyd, but successfully layers him with empathy and a hint of sadness. Franco is perhaps best known as Peter Parker's frenemy in the “Spider-Man” trilogy, as well as generic junk like “Annapolis” and “Flyboys,” which focused more on his Abercrombe and Fitch good looks than his acting chops. In “Express” he hides his sculptured silhouette behind a mop of greasy hair and clothes even a college hamper would reject. As Saul, he's a well-connected dealer who, despite his numerous contacts, remains rather friendless, reduced to surface conversations with his quasi-anonymous clientèle whose illegal purchases makes them more than a tad jittery to hang out for deeper disucssions. When Dale (played by co-writer Seth Rogan) pops by for his weekly fix, Saul reaches out by not only introducing him to the headlining herb, but shares his beloved concoction, a triple-ended joint that apparently induces a supreme high. Dale, reluctant at first, humors Saul and doesn't pass up the chance for a token toke. A tiny connection is made before Dale darts off to his thankless gig as a process server that at least provides him the opportunity to blaze up between deliveries. During one seemingly routine stop, Dale witnesses a murder and, in his drug-clouded escape, manages to smash a couple cars and attract the attention of the killers (Gary Cole and Rosie Perez). When he seeks the aid of Saul in a panic, it sets off a series of successively darker detours into pot-fueled paranoia that, were it not for the comic chops of its supporting cast, would otherwise derail this ride. Rogan does his best Rogan, meaning he coasts along with his standard understated charm and his proclivity to cling to the bliss of adolescence. It's Franco who brings out the best of the film, operating under the haze of his trade and letting humanity bubble to the surface at all the right (high) times. But Franco alone could not buoy the picture as it slowly descends into its bloody conclusion. He's helped by the go-to guy for straight-faced snickers Danny McBride, as the link between Saul and the local drug kingpin, as well as Craig Robinson (from “The Office”) and Kevin Corrigan as two henchmen dispatched to extinguish the leads. Throughout there are throwaway bits that could have easily tightened the two-hour escapade, most notably the romance between Rogan's Dale and his high school girlfriend (yes, she is technically “of age,” but that makes it no less icky). We get that this guy's unable to motivate into adulthood, but the real relationship here is the one he strikes with Saul. Stylistically, the film breaks free from the relatively staid comedic efforts of recent past, credited to director David Gordon Green, an indie filmmaker whose known more for his dramatic muscle and given the film more flourish than it deserves. The stoner comedy is one that's typically made on a shoestring and relies heavily on its hazy humor than on plot or artistry (Cheech and Chong, Harold and Kumar, “Half Baked”), and occasionally it will be elevated into headier territory (“Dazed and Confused,” “The Big Lebowski,” “The Wonder Boys”). But this may be the first stoner action film ever made, perhaps because the two adjectives are so diametrically opposed. “Pineapple Express” would be much easier to inhale if the aftertaste was not so bitter.
]]>Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:16:46 GMTusesoapusesoap Blog8/11/2008 8:16:46 AMA friend with weed is a friend indeed. That is the lesson to be extracted from the latest comedy off the Judd Apatow assembly line, “Pineapple Express.” While it may get anti-marijuana advocates abuzz with consternation, it's a sweet little trip until a dramatic shift to violence quite literally calls the cops to this feel-good party. “Express” is laced with guffaws and gunplay, and while not as startlingly schizophrenic as this summer's “Hancock,” it still feels as though its personalities are squished together in such a forced fashion, it threatens to disrupt the good vibes it garners through much of the film. And, like all of Apartow's blockbuster comedies before it (“Knocked Up,” Superbad,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”), it overstays its welcome by at least 30 minutes. Imagine, if you will, an entire film devoted to the ganja-clouded escapades of Brad Pitt's Floyd, the moviewestoner he portrayed in Tony Scott's “True Romance (one of Pitt's best, albeit brief, performances on screen). James Franco channels Floyd, but successfully layers him with empathy and a hint of sadness. Franco is perhaps best known as Peter Parker's frenemy in the “Spider-Man” trilogy, as well as generic junk like “Annapolis” and “Flyboys,” which focused more on his Abercrombe and Fitch good looks than his acting chops. In “Express” he hides his sculptured silhouette behind a mop of greasy hair and clothes even a college hamper would reject. As Saul, he's a well-connected dealer who, despite his numerous contacts, remains rather friendless, reduced to surface conversations with his quasi-anonymous clientèle whose illegal purchases makes them more than a tad jittery to hang out for deeper disucssions. When Dale (played by co-writer Seth Rogan) pops by for his weekly fix, Saul reaches out by not only introducing him to the headlining herb, but shares his beloved concoction, a triple-ended joint that apparently induces a supreme high. Dale, reluctant at first, humors Saul and doesn't pass up the chance for a token toke. A tiny connection is made before Dale darts off to his thankless gig as a process server that at least provides him the opportunity to blaze up between deliveries. During one seemingly routine stop, Dale witnesses a murder and, in his drug-clouded escape, manages to smash a couple cars and attract the attention of the killers (Gary Cole and Rosie Perez). When he seeks the aid of Saul in a panic, it sets off a series of successively darker detours into pot-fueled paranoia that, were it not for the comic chops of its supporting cast, would otherwise derail this ride. Rogan does his best Rogan, meaning he coasts along with his standard understated charm and his proclivity to cling to the bliss of adolescence. It's Franco who brings out the best of the film, operating under the haze of his trade and letting humanity bubble to the surface at all the right (high) times. But Franco alone could not buoy the picture as it slowly descends into its bloody conclusion. He's helped by the go-to guy for straight-faced snickers Danny McBride, as the link between Saul and the local drug kingpin, as well as Craig Robinson (from “The Office”) and Kevin Corrigan as two henchmen dispatched to extinguish the leads. Throughout there are throwaway bits that could have easily tightened the two-hour escapade, most notably the romance between Rogan's Dale and his high school girlfriend (yes, she is technically “of age,” but that makes it no less icky). We get that this guy's unable to motivate into adulthood, but the real relationship here is the one he strikes with Saul. Stylistically, the film breaks free from the relatively staid comedic efforts of recent past, credited to director David Gordon Green, an indie filmmaker whose known more for his dramatic muscle and given the film more flourish than it deserves. The stoner comedy is one that's typically made on a shoestring and relies heavily on its hazy humor than on plot or artistry (Cheech and Chong, Harold and Kumar, “Half Baked”), and occasionally it will be elevated into headier territory (“Dazed and Confused,” “The Big Lebowski,” “The Wonder Boys”). But this may be the first stoner action film ever made, perhaps because the two adjectives are so diametrically opposed. “Pineapple Express” would be much easier to inhale if the aftertaste was not so bitter. Spout Post: 10 Things I Want to Learn From Comic-Con http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/7/25/33077.aspx

Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 7/25/2008 10:01:06 AM
Body: Even though some of last year’s Comic-Con secrets were leaked to the web ahead of time, the 2007 SDCC was a huge deal as far as revelations go. Whether it was the unveiling of Karen Allen’s involvement in Indiana Jones and the Then-Still-Not-Subtitled Fourth Installment or cast updates for Watchmen and Star Trek or a bit of clarification on what the hell that Cloverfield movie was, Comic-Con 2007 left us super excited and highly anticipatory for the next year of movie releases. But after a quick glance, the 2008 convention doesn’t seem like it will have as many big announcements. There should be plenty of new footage shown from movies like Watchmen (making its second Comic-Con round) and The Spirit (hopefully there’s some better looking stuff than the most recent trailer gave us), but what secrets are set to be let out of the bag? Here’s 10 things I hope they reveal over the next few days: Arnold Schwarzenegger is back in Terminator Salvation - If this really happens, I’ll be flabbergasted. But a guy can hope, at least for official word on a cameo. And there’s no better place than Comic-Con for a confirmation to happen. Well, I guess if Warner Bros. could keep it a secret until the movie opens next May, then that would actually be better. But that’s impossible nowadays. Everyone’s back for Spider-Man 4 - I despise Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, and I’m not even a big fan of the Spider-Man franchise, so I’m not exactly sure why I’d like both them and director Sam Raimi to return for the fourth installment. I guess I’m just not a fan of changing horses midstream, either. Anyway, I hope there’s some sort of news about the sequel from Sony. Maybe a confirmation of either Almost Famous kid, Patrick Fugit or Michael Angaro? Abe Vigoda is Gargamel in The Smurfs - Another cast update I’d like to find out from the Sony panel (Saturday evening, check out the liveblogging here at 5:30pm PT). I know he’s probably too old, but can you think of anyone better to play the Smurf-hater? Tropic Thunder is funny beyond the trailer - One of my greatest fears is that Tropic Thunder is yet another comedy from which all the best jokes — such as Robert Downey Jr. being in blackface — are in the trailer. Once people have seen the whole film at Comic-Con, I’ll know whether or not to bother with it. Ant-Man’s release date and Simon Pegg stars - I don’t think Edgar Wright will have time to direct his script, but the next best thing will be for Simon Pegg to at least star as the tiny titular Avenger. This really should have already been fast-tracked for a superhero-lacking summer 2009 release, so maybe if we’re lucky, Marvel Studios can tell us that it now has been. Oh wait, Marvel’s sitting this year out, so I guess that means no news about Ant-Man or news about casting Thor or Captain America or The Avengers. Wow. Lame. Boo. The Spirit might not actually suck - As I noted above, so far The Spirit looks like crap. I want to learn a few good reasons, whether in response to new footage or otherwise, that it might not actually be crap. Troma plans more Shakespeare adaptations - Everyone’s excited that Karina will be covering the Troma panel, though I’d be a little more excited if I thought the company might be planning another raunchy version of the Bard’s work, like my favorite Troma film, Tromeo and Juliet. They’ll probably just be giving a peak at their fall release, Dr. Fugazzi, which stars a very low-fallen Faye Dunaway. Fraggle Rock will not exclude the Doozers - The Fraggle panel is Sunday (2:45pm PT), and as a huge Muppet fan, I’m psyched to learn anything about the feature film spin-off. All I know so far is that it involves the main Fraggles (Boober, Wembley, Red, Gobo and Mokey) as they wander out into the real world (they got past Sprocket!). I just hope there’s an announcement that they bring a long at least one Doozer for the adventures. Because I love Doozers. And because that would be some huge announcement, right? Umm. At least one other DC Comics superhero is finally getting a movie - We can make fun of Warner Bros. and DC for dragging their feet compared to all the Marvel movie adaptations going on this decade, but the fact is, with The Dark Knight we’ve seen that the WB is capable of giving us the best superhero movie of all time (at least according to critical ratings, IMDb voters and box office receipts), so if they want to be slow about it, all the power to them. But can we just get one revelation of another DC superhero movie that isn’t about Batman or Superman? Scud: The Disposable Assassin: The Movie - With the ’90s comic book series finally revitalized this year, I’m all kinds of excited about my favorite comic character of all time. I don’t care if it’s a 3-D CG-animated feature or live-action, but I want a movie already. Please tell me someone has optioned it since Oliver Stone failed to get an adaptation off the ground. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:01:06 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com7/25/2008 10:01:06 AM Even though some of last year’s Comic-Con secrets were leaked to the web ahead of time, the 2007 SDCC was a huge deal as far as revelations go. Whether it was the unveiling of Karen Allen’s involvement in Indiana Jones and the Then-Still-Not-Subtitled Fourth Installment or cast updates for Watchmen and Star Trek or a bit of clarification on what the hell that Cloverfield movie was, Comic-Con 2007 left us super excited and highly anticipatory for the next year of movie releases. But after a quick glance, the 2008 convention doesn’t seem like it will have as many big announcements. There should be plenty of new footage shown from movies like Watchmen (making its second Comic-Con round) and The Spirit (hopefully there’s some better looking stuff than the most recent trailer gave us), but what secrets are set to be let out of the bag? Here’s 10 things I hope they reveal over the next few days: Arnold Schwarzenegger is back in Terminator Salvation - If this really happens, I’ll be flabbergasted. But a guy can hope, at least for official word on a cameo. And there’s no better place than Comic-Con for a confirmation to happen. Well, I guess if Warner Bros. could keep it a secret until the movie opens next May, then that would actually be better. But that’s impossible nowadays. Everyone’s back for Spider-Man 4 - I despise Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, and I’m not even a big fan of the Spider-Man franchise, so I’m not exactly sure why I’d like both them and director Sam Raimi to return for the fourth installment. I guess I’m just not a fan of changing horses midstream, either. Anyway, I hope there’s some sort of news about the sequel from Sony. Maybe a confirmation of either Almost Famous kid, Patrick Fugit or Michael Angaro? Abe Vigoda is Gargamel in The Smurfs - Another cast update I’d like to find out from the Sony panel (Saturday evening, check out the liveblogging here at 5:30pm PT). I know he’s probably too old, but can you think of anyone better to play the Smurf-hater? Tropic Thunder is funny beyond the trailer - One of my greatest fears is that Tropic Thunder is yet another comedy from which all the best jokes — such as Robert Downey Jr. being in blackface — are in the trailer. Once people have seen the whole film at Comic-Con, I’ll know whether or not to bother with it. Ant-Man’s release date and Simon Pegg stars - I don’t think Edgar Wright will have time to direct his script, but the next best thing will be for Simon Pegg to at least star as the tiny titular Avenger. This really should have already been fast-tracked for a superhero-lacking summer 2009 release, so maybe if we’re lucky, Marvel Studios can tell us that it now has been. Oh wait, Marvel’s sitting this year out, so I guess that means no news about Ant-Man or news about casting Thor or Captain America or The Avengers. Wow. Lame. Boo. The Spirit might not actually suck - As I noted above, so far The Spirit looks like crap. I want to learn a few good reasons, whether in response to new footage or otherwise, that it might not actually be crap. Troma plans more Shakespeare adaptations - Everyone’s excited that Karina will be covering the Troma panel, though I’d be a little more excited if I thought the company might be planning another raunchy version of the Bard’s work, like my favorite Troma film, Tromeo and Juliet. They’ll probably just be giving a peak at their fall release, Dr. Fugazzi, which stars a very low-fallen Faye Dunaway. Fraggle Rock will not exclude the Doozers - The Fraggle panel is Sunday (2:45pm PT), and as a huge Muppet fan, I’m psyched to learn anything about the feature film spin-off. All I know so far is that it involves the main Fraggles (Boober, Wembley, Red, Gobo and Mokey) as they wander out into the real world (they got past Sprocket!). I just hope there’s an announcement that they bring a long at least one Doozer for the adventures. Because I love Doozers. And because that would be some huge announcement, right? Umm. At least one other DC Comics superhero is finally getting a movie - We can make fun of Warner Bros. and DC for dragging their feet compared to all the Marvel movie adaptations going on this decade, but the fact is, with The Dark Knight we’ve seen that the WB is capable of giving us the best superhero movie of all time (at least according to critical ratings, IMDb voters and box office receipts), so if they want to be slow about it, all the power to them. But can we just get one revelation of another DC superhero movie that isn’t about Batman or Superman? Scud: The Disposable Assassin: The Movie - With the ’90s comic book series finally revitalized this year, I’m all kinds of excited about my favorite comic character of all time. I don’t care if it’s a 3-D CG-animated feature or live-action, but I want a movie already. Please tell me someone has optioned it since Oliver Stone failed to get an adaptation off the ground. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog Spout Post: This Town Deserves a Better Class of Cinema, and I'm Gonna Give It to Them http://www.spout.com/blogs/bigjefflebowski/archive/2008/7/18/32734.aspx

Post By: BigJeffLebowski
Post To: BigJeffLebowski Blog
Post Date: 7/18/2008 2:44:08 PM
Body: The Dark Knight, the most anticipated picture of the year for myself and innumerable others, has finally arrived following a trail of hype that would crush almost any film. But miraculously, just as Moses wielded his stone tablets, Christopher Nolan has handed us a true gift from the cinematic gods. His second Batman is so visceral, so propulsive, so maddeningly perfect in its execution that it should come with a warning; you do not simply watch The Dark Knight, you surrender your pulse to Christopher Nolan. And even if an intended triptych has been tragically cut short (as Mel Brooks might contend those aforementioned commandments were) what remains is wholly qualified to stand on its own not as a great Batman film, not as a great superhero film, and not as a great action film, but as one of the most distiguished pieces of filmmaking of its generation. This decade, more so than any other, has seen comic-to-film adaptations mature from vacuous thrills to serious art. Sam Raimi gave them their candy colored coming-of-age angst with his Spider-Man series; Jon Favreau gave them their sociopolitical meta-narrative with his first Iron Man; and Bryan Singer has alternately given them their conflicts of appearance/intention and assimilation/assertion (X-men, X2) and their visual and tonal poetry (Superman Returns). But by taking one of the most psychologically rich and practically feasible comic book heroes and stripping him of all remaining contrivance and camp, Nolan has arguably bested them all by instilling his Gotham -- and its inhabitants -- with a gritty realism that absolutely demands as much emotional and technical veracity as an escapist action-adventure will allow. Perhaps Nolan's greatest asset as a filmmaker is his unwavering dedication to making his characters' actions and emotions utterly believable within the constricts of his chosen narrative. One needn't look any farther than Nolan's breakthrough sophomore film, Memento, to see that what sets him apart from almost every other filmmaker working today is his complete command of both the internal and external machinations of his characters. Rarely, if ever, do you see a writer-director working in Nolan's genres with such an assured and astute grasp on human emotion and interaction. His application of binary opposition in both plot and theme is unmatched in today's cinema. There is a constant tug of war in Nolan's films, a philosophical debate between chance and fate, between reason and impulse, between light and dark, etc. Any screenwriter can set up archetypes and let them stand in contrast to one another, but the beauty of a Nolan script is that the true conflict lies inside the characters. Nolan understands that the line between friends and enemies is moveable, based more on circumstance than on the people themselves. And what people they are. Christian Bale's Batman has become beautifully economic in both word and action. Gary Oldman's Lieutenant Gordon is an even stronger edifice of morality and decency. Maggie Gyllenhaal's Rachel Dawes is a noteworthy trade-up from the first film, with composure, confidence, and sexuality in equal measure. Michael Caine's Alfred is humane, silently compassionate, and so much more than the stuffy butler to which he is all too often reduced. But Heath Ledger's Joker. I'm really not sure what I can add to the innumerable accolades already heaped upon this utterly unnerving, raw, feral, fearless, unshakeable performance. Nothing is done out of vanity, nothing for cheap thrills. True, I feel the talk of Oscar gold is both premature and hyperbolic, but I would be surprised to not see Ledger on the list of nominees. The Dark Knight is that rare genre film that changes the vocabulary of its genre -- no small feat given the leaps and bounds comic book films have already taken over the past few years. That The Godfather, Heat, A Clockwork Orange, and Unforgiven have all been cited as influences on the film is no surprise; what all of these exceptional pictures share in common with one another is an intellectual maturity that nonetheless refuses to compromise entertainment for intelligence. Whether or not the few muffled criticisms that the film is too long, too packed with characters and information, too frenetic, or too climactic are valid is up to the viewer to decide on an individual basis. While I will agree that the film is denser and more earnest than its peers, I refuse to accept that this is to its detriment. Nolan has taken a lofty gamble, and we have all walked away from the table with more chips than we can carry.
]]>Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:44:08 GMTBigJeffLebowskiBigJeffLebowski Blog7/18/2008 2:44:08 PMThe Dark Knight, the most anticipated picture of the year for myself and innumerable others, has finally arrived following a trail of hype that would crush almost any film. But miraculously, just as Moses wielded his stone tablets, Christopher Nolan has handed us a true gift from the cinematic gods. His second Batman is so visceral, so propulsive, so maddeningly perfect in its execution that it should come with a warning; you do not simply watch The Dark Knight, you surrender your pulse to Christopher Nolan. And even if an intended triptych has been tragically cut short (as Mel Brooks might contend those aforementioned commandments were) what remains is wholly qualified to stand on its own not as a great Batman film, not as a great superhero film, and not as a great action film, but as one of the most distiguished pieces of filmmaking of its generation. This decade, more so than any other, has seen comic-to-film adaptations mature from vacuous thrills to serious art. Sam Raimi gave them their candy colored coming-of-age angst with his Spider-Man series; Jon Favreau gave them their sociopolitical meta-narrative with his first Iron Man; and Bryan Singer has alternately given them their conflicts of appearance/intention and assimilation/assertion (X-men, X2) and their visual and tonal poetry (Superman Returns). But by taking one of the most psychologically rich and practically feasible comic book heroes and stripping him of all remaining contrivance and camp, Nolan has arguably bested them all by instilling his Gotham -- and its inhabitants -- with a gritty realism that absolutely demands as much emotional and technical veracity as an escapist action-adventure will allow. Perhaps Nolan's greatest asset as a filmmaker is his unwavering dedication to making his characters' actions and emotions utterly believable within the constricts of his chosen narrative. One needn't look any farther than Nolan's breakthrough sophomore film, Memento, to see that what sets him apart from almost every other filmmaker working today is his complete command of both the internal and external machinations of his characters. Rarely, if ever, do you see a writer-director working in Nolan's genres with such an assured and astute grasp on human emotion and interaction. His application of binary opposition in both plot and theme is unmatched in today's cinema. There is a constant tug of war in Nolan's films, a philosophical debate between chance and fate, between reason and impulse, between light and dark, etc. Any screenwriter can set up archetypes and let them stand in contrast to one another, but the beauty of a Nolan script is that the true conflict lies inside the characters. Nolan understands that the line between friends and enemies is moveable, based more on circumstance than on the people themselves. And what people they are. Christian Bale's Batman has become beautifully economic in both word and action. Gary Oldman's Lieutenant Gordon is an even stronger edifice of morality and decency. Maggie Gyllenhaal's Rachel Dawes is a noteworthy trade-up from the first film, with composure, confidence, and sexuality in equal measure. Michael Caine's Alfred is humane, silently compassionate, and so much more than the stuffy butler to which he is all too often reduced. But Heath Ledger's Joker. I'm really not sure what I can add to the innumerable accolades already heaped upon this utterly unnerving, raw, feral, fearless, unshakeable performance. Nothing is done out of vanity, nothing for cheap thrills. True, I feel the talk of Oscar gold is both premature and hyperbolic, but I would be surprised to not see Ledger on the list of nominees. The Dark Knight is that rare genre film that changes the vocabulary of its genre -- no small feat given the leaps and bounds comic book films have already taken over the past few years. That The Godfather, Heat, A Clockwork Orange, and Unforgiven have all been cited as influences on the film is no surprise; what all of these exceptional pictures share in common with one another is an intellectual maturity that nonetheless refuses to compromise entertainment for intelligence. Whether or not the few muffled criticisms that the film is too long, too packed with characters and information, too frenetic, or too climactic are valid is up to the viewer to decide on an individual basis. While I will agree that the film is denser and more earnest than its peers, I refuse to accept that this is to its detriment. Nolan has taken a lofty gamble, and we have all walked away from the table with more chips than we can carry. Spout Post: 10 Best Superhero Movies Based on Original Material http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/7/1/31952.aspx

Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 7/1/2008 11:00:51 AM
Body: Will Smith’s new superhero movie, Hancock, may be receiving terrible reviews, but it’s sure to make a lot of money. It is a Will Smith movie, after all. The fact that it’s an original superhero title (meaning not adapted from a comic book or other source material), however, means that if it is a success, it will be the rare movie of its kind to be such. Superhero movies may be huge right now, but really only the pre-sold properties, those with a build-in audience, make the big bucks. A number of original superhero movies are just as worthy of your attention as the Spider-Mans, the Iron Mans, the Batmans and the X-Mens. Sure, much of the time, non-adapted superheroes are lame, as in the cases of Blankman and My Super Ex-Girlfriend. But just check out any of the following ten titles and see why it sometimes pays off to put your trust in an unfamiliar hero. The Incredibles - This one did it all: won an Oscar; received favorable reviews across the board; did blockbuster business in theaters and ancillaries (its the sole original superhero movie to break $100 million, domestically, a feat it far surpassed by actually grossing more than $260 million); and featured the single greatest superhero gag (above) ever seen. So there’s proof that a superhero movie can be good and do well without being based on another property. Unbreakable - The only film by M. Night Shyamalan I can enjoy repeatedly and perhaps the only superhero movie besides Batman Begins that audiences can kind of believe might be plausible in the real world. Also, it is perhaps the one origin-story superhero tale that doesn’t necessitate a sequel. The ending may have been anticlimactic, but the scene shown above (I wish the clip began earlier, from the train station scene forward) is one of the greatest superhero fight sequences ever put on film. The Matrix - Meanwhile, this is one origin-story superhero movie that shouldn’t have received a sequel, despite it’s needing one. Or maybe it just shouldn’t have been given the sequels it was given. In a way, the first installment is the perfect superhero movie for the age of video games, because Neo really only has powers in the virtual world. Unfortunately, the subsequent installments ruin this concept. Sky High - It looks really cheesy, but this Harry Potter for the superhero set is actually really clever and consistently entertaining. The common high school plot, in which an unpopular kid becomes popular and ends up screwing over his old friends, is ingeniously lent to the superteen subgenre. It may not hold a candle to the teen metaphors of X2: X-Men United, but it makes those initial Xavier School scenes from the first X-Men look wasteful. Darkman - Long before he sold his soul to the Spider-Man franchise, Sam Raimi created this original superhero tale. I wasn’t really a fan when it came out, but I’d now take it over any of the Spidey movies — even Spider-Man 2. RoboCop - The best superhero tales are really about humanity, not superhumanity, and this satirical sci-fi actioner certainly fits that qualification. It’s not surprising that for the sequel to RoboCop, comic book legend Frank Miller was brought in as a screenwriter, nor is it surprising that the franchise spawned multiple comic book series. Super Fuzz - This one is purely a guilty pleasure, as it was one of my favorite movies as a kid. It’s kind of like Police Academy meets Superman meets Ernest Borgnine. Supah Supah! The Toxic Avenger - Another guilty pleasure, but also a great idea for a superhero movie. These days it’s uncommon to see such a ruthlessly violent superhero, but in his time, Toxie was like a parallel to supervillain protagonists of horror movies, like Jason Vorhees and Freddy Krueger, for who we continually rooted. Mr. Freedom - Change the communist villains to terrorists, and this would have been ripe for a remake a few years back. The Bush Administration was actually referring to this 1969 superhero farce, about a costumed crusader single-handedly battling the Cold War, whenever it uttered the phrase “enemies of freedom.” Special - I haven’t actually seen this movie, and I’ve been told it’s not quite as great as I expect it to be, but the trailer alone is good enough for me. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:00:51 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com7/1/2008 11:00:51 AM Will Smith’s new superhero movie, Hancock, may be receiving terrible reviews, but it’s sure to make a lot of money. It is a Will Smith movie, after all. The fact that it’s an original superhero title (meaning not adapted from a comic book or other source material), however, means that if it is a success, it will be the rare movie of its kind to be such. Superhero movies may be huge right now, but really only the pre-sold properties, those with a build-in audience, make the big bucks. A number of original superhero movies are just as worthy of your attention as the Spider-Mans, the Iron Mans, the Batmans and the X-Mens. Sure, much of the time, non-adapted superheroes are lame, as in the cases of Blankman and My Super Ex-Girlfriend. But just check out any of the following ten titles and see why it sometimes pays off to put your trust in an unfamiliar hero. The Incredibles - This one did it all: won an Oscar; received favorable reviews across the board; did blockbuster business in theaters and ancillaries (its the sole original superhero movie to break $100 million, domestically, a feat it far surpassed by actually grossing more than $260 million); and featured the single greatest superhero gag (above) ever seen. So there’s proof that a superhero movie can be good and do well without being based on another property. Unbreakable - The only film by M. Night Shyamalan I can enjoy repeatedly and perhaps the only superhero movie besides Batman Begins that audiences can kind of believe might be plausible in the real world. Also, it is perhaps the one origin-story superhero tale that doesn’t necessitate a sequel. The ending may have been anticlimactic, but the scene shown above (I wish the clip began earlier, from the train station scene forward) is one of the greatest superhero fight sequences ever put on film. The Matrix - Meanwhile, this is one origin-story superhero movie that shouldn’t have received a sequel, despite it’s needing one. Or maybe it just shouldn’t have been given the sequels it was given. In a way, the first installment is the perfect superhero movie for the age of video games, because Neo really only has powers in the virtual world. Unfortunately, the subsequent installments ruin this concept. Sky High - It looks really cheesy, but this Harry Potter for the superhero set is actually really clever and consistently entertaining. The common high school plot, in which an unpopular kid becomes popular and ends up screwing over his old friends, is ingeniously lent to the superteen subgenre. It may not hold a candle to the teen metaphors of X2: X-Men United, but it makes those initial Xavier School scenes from the first X-Men look wasteful. Darkman - Long before he sold his soul to the Spider-Man franchise, Sam Raimi created this original superhero tale. I wasn’t really a fan when it came out, but I’d now take it over any of the Spidey movies — even Spider-Man 2. RoboCop - The best superhero tales are really about humanity, not superhumanity, and this satirical sci-fi actioner certainly fits that qualification. It’s not surprising that for the sequel to RoboCop, comic book legend Frank Miller was brought in as a screenwriter, nor is it surprising that the franchise spawned multiple comic book series. Super Fuzz - This one is purely a guilty pleasure, as it was one of my favorite movies as a kid. It’s kind of like Police Academy meets Superman meets Ernest Borgnine. Supah Supah! The Toxic Avenger - Another guilty pleasure, but also a great idea for a superhero movie. These days it’s uncommon to see such a ruthlessly violent superhero, but in his time, Toxie was like a parallel to supervillain protagonists of horror movies, like Jason Vorhees and Freddy Krueger, for who we continually rooted. Mr. Freedom - Change the communist villains to terrorists, and this would have been ripe for a remake a few years back. The Bush Administration was actually referring to this 1969 superhero farce, about a costumed crusader single-handedly battling the Cold War, whenever it uttered the phrase “enemies of freedom.” Special - I haven’t actually seen this movie, and I’ve been told it’s not quite as great as I expect it to be, but the trailer alone is good enough for me. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog Spout Post: Re:More than one trilogy http://www.spout.com/groups/Movie_Games/Re_More_than_one_trilogy/598/29752/1/ShowPost.aspx

Post By: usesoap
Post To: Movie Games
Post Date: 5/22/2008 2:04:05 PM
Body: Samuel L. Jackson: Star Wars and Jurassic Park Al Pacino: Godfather and Ocean's 13 Leslie Nielson: Naked Gun and Creepshow (even though the third was straight to DVD) Johnny Depp:Pirates of the Caribbean and Once Upon a Time in Mexico Bruce Willis Look Who's Talking, Die Hard\ Willem Dafoe: Once Upon a TIme in Mexico, Spider Man, Clear and Present Danger, My brain hurts now.
]]>Thu, 22 May 2008 18:04:05 GMTusesoapMovie Games5/22/2008 2:04:05 PMSamuel L. Jackson: Star Wars and Jurassic Park Al Pacino: Godfather and Ocean's 13 Leslie Nielson: Naked Gun and Creepshow (even though the third was straight to DVD) Johnny Depp:Pirates of the Caribbean and Once Upon a Time in Mexico Bruce Willis Look Who's Talking, Die Hard\ Willem Dafoe: Once Upon a TIme in Mexico, Spider Man, Clear and Present Danger, My brain hurts now. Spout Post: Re: Dreaded Sequels http://www.spout.com/groups/The_Casting_Futon/Re_Dreaded_Sequels/305/9195/1/ShowPost.aspx

Post By: Jymkata
Post To: The Casting Futon
Post Date: 5/22/2007 9:37:34 PM
Body: I am with you on the whole list except for #1 - I really enjoy the idea of updating Bond to compete with the more successful Jason Bourne and Ethan Hunt franchises. Bond is supposed to be suave, but it got to be a joke with the Roger Moore and the post-Goldeneye Pierce Brosnan films' cheesiness. Bond had to be a badass to get his 007 certification and this last film was really well done (still not as good as The Bourne Supremacy though). Looking back at the revered series I personally only like a handful of the films and I only think two are top notch in writing and directing for action thrillers- Goldfinger and On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I think this last one is the sign of better things to come. You are right about the Indiana Jones series ending perfectly - I just don't know how they can satisfy their audience with a fourth. I agree with you on the Terminator series too - that would be a great concept for the continuing of the series. I was so underwhelmed with both of the first two Spiderman movies that I can't imagine sitting through a third. Shrek and Austin Powers were good ideas for the first movies maybe even the second, but I can't gather any excitement to ever watch any more from either. George Lucas showed that making sci fi action films is a young man's game - I can't believe how much he betrayed his original trilogy fans with one bad idea after another (casting, Jar Jar, the accents.....etc.). I have no sympathy anymore and I think he is completely irrelevant to today's audiences and if I was Spielberg I would worry about having him on my team for Indiana Jones. I will never watch anything else with his name attached unless it receives univeral acclaim (good luck with that) from some credible sourcess. Good post. BTW - did you hear they are making a new Incredible Hulk movie for 2008 with Edward Norton attached and the director of the Transporter series. I can't believe fine actor Norton signed up for a sequal of a not well recieved movie that isn't even being directed by Ang Lee anymore.
]]>Wed, 23 May 2007 01:37:34 GMTJymkataThe Casting Futon5/22/2007 9:37:34 PMI am with you on the whole list except for #1 - I really enjoy the idea of updating Bond to compete with the more successful Jason Bourne and Ethan Hunt franchises. Bond is supposed to be suave, but it got to be a joke with the Roger Moore and the post-Goldeneye Pierce Brosnan films' cheesiness. Bond had to be a badass to get his 007 certification and this last film was really well done (still not as good as The Bourne Supremacy though). Looking back at the revered series I personally only like a handful of the films and I only think two are top notch in writing and directing for action thrillers- Goldfinger and On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I think this last one is the sign of better things to come. You are right about the Indiana Jones series ending perfectly - I just don't know how they can satisfy their audience with a fourth. I agree with you on the Terminator series too - that would be a great concept for the continuing of the series. I was so underwhelmed with both of the first two Spiderman movies that I can't imagine sitting through a third. Shrek and Austin Powers were good ideas for the first movies maybe even the second, but I can't gather any excitement to ever watch any more from either. George Lucas showed that making sci fi action films is a young man's game - I can't believe how much he betrayed his original trilogy fans with one bad idea after another (casting, Jar Jar, the accents.....etc.). I have no sympathy anymore and I think he is completely irrelevant to today's audiences and if I was Spielberg I would worry about having him on my team for Indiana Jones. I will never watch anything else with his name attached unless it receives univeral acclaim (good luck with that) from some credible sourcess. Good post. BTW - did you hear they are making a new Incredible Hulk movie for 2008 with Edward Norton attached and the director of the Transporter series. I can't believe fine actor Norton signed up for a sequal of a not well recieved movie that isn't even being directed by Ang Lee anymore. Spout Tag:BoxSets http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/BoxSets/MemberTagFilms.aspxBoxSets
Number of films tagged: 25

Number of people who tagged: 3

Number of times used: 27

]]>Sat, 23 Jun 2007 07:48:13 GMT25327Tag Spout Tag:spiderman http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/spiderman/MemberTagFilms.aspxspiderman
Number of films tagged: 4

Number of people who tagged: 3

Number of times used: 4

]]>Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:06:16 GMT434Tag Spout Tag:spidey http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/spidey/MemberTagFilms.aspxspidey
Number of films tagged: 2

Number of people who tagged: 2

Number of times used: 2

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