The Amazing Spider-Man
I'm not a straight up hater of remakes and reboots, but when the original film series is less than ten years old (the most recent film being made in 2007) a reboot of the Spider-Man franchise seems not only bizarre but kinda pointless. That shouldn't, however, stop the new movie standing on it's own merits and being judged accordingly. What seemed like an second feature for director Mark Webb, who's only other film to date is the off beat romantic comedy (500) Days of Summer, only intrigued me more and left me cautiously optimistic for the new take on the story.
But really, as long as you stick to a predictable formula, how badly can you stuff up a Spider-Man origin story. Introduce dorky kid who gets picked on at school the audience can sympathise with and root for once he develops new powers, see him learn to use to those powers and develop more confidence in a series of confrontations with baddies, develop the relationship between said kid and hot blond girl (this time the character of Gwen Stacey rather than Mary Jane) and finish things up in a satisfyingly over the top action sequence where Spidey battles a weird giant mutant thing. If all of the above elements are there, the audience goes home happy.
The question, then, is whether the new movie offers anything above and beyond the standard formula, and the answer is, well, no not really. The story was more interesting early on with our hero using his new powers to search for his uncle's killer after Spidey's angry response to a couple of situations indirectly leads to his death. This character development is played out well, but the transition from vengeful vigilante to public servant taking on greater responsibility just sort of happens with no rhyme or reason. The final battle with The Lizard (the film's main villain, who is a little lame) then sort of just happens arbitrarily and doesn't build on what has already been established.
Andrew Garfield is fine as Spider-Man, probably just as good as Tobey Maguire in all honesty. Emma Stone is great to watch as always, and there's a decent amount of chemistry between the two. I actually saw this twice, once at the drive in and again in 3D, as I'd heard the visuals were quite stunning, however it was really only the last 25 minutes that gained any benefit from the 3D (it did look pretty darn good though.)
As the movie doesn't stray from the formula, offers some laughs, some thrills and a different take on the story, it's a success. It's just not one of the better superhero films to come along recently, that's all.
***1/2 out of *****
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
So, this a Turkish art film showing in only one cinema in Brisbane that I doubt anyone I know would have any interest in. But I'm going to talk about how awesome it is anyway. The setting is a barren landscape near a rural Turkish town late at night. The police, accompanied by a group of other men with various professions, are searching for a dead body buried somewhere in the vicinity, however it turns out to be akin to searching for a needle in a haystack. The sombre mood that presides over the affairs is compounded by the sparse light available to the search party and the thunder roaring in the distance. This all serves as a framing device for the conversations of the men as they reflect on their own mortality, past regrets and the trivialities in contrast with life's deeper meaning.
What follows is multi layered film poetry at it's finest. The attention to detail is exquisite, the camera lingering on the character's faces not a second too long to gauge the full range of emotions being experienced, and long takes of simple things such as an apple falling from a tree and rolling down to a creek are handled with such grace that it almost feels like watching each brush stroke of an artist creating his latest masterpiece on an enormous canvas. One needn't worry too much about what is supposed to be symbolised by such things, just let the spontaneity and beauty of the image carry you away (do I sound like enough of a pretentious fop yet?)
Winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes 2011 (the second highest award following the Palme D'or) I'll acknowledge this movie isn't going to be for everyone. Believe me when I say it's slow. I've seen some slow movies before but this one is SLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW. I don't know what else to say, it's one of those pieces of art you really need to just jump in and experience rather than analyse, and if you have the patience for it you'll be duly rewarded.
****1/2 out of *****
Not Suitable for Children
Ryan Kwanten must really enjoy working in his home country, as he could surely land numerous jobs in Hollywood after his success in True Blood, yet he keeps returning to Australia to make movies. Good on him I say. Here we follow him as a care free 20 something male living the dream and running a party planning business when he discovers he has testicular cancer. The doctor's have caught it in time and can operate, however this will leave him infertile. With only a short amount of time available to him, he sets out in an attempt to father a child before his opportunity runs out.
There are a few elements that set this Australian rom com apart from the multitude of others out there and make it a movie guys can enjoy as well. Firstly, the characters and situations are more firmly grounded in reality, and there's no ridiculous gimmicks or contrived scenarios that bring our couple together. Rather, the blossoming romance forms as a natural extension of the already established story and characters that we've come to care about. The dialogue is also more organic and less forced than you would usually expect in the genre. Secondly, the movie is actually funny, which is, you know, a plus for a comedy. Thirdly, the performances of the two leads are believable and there is plenty of chemistry between them.
So yeah, thumbs way up!
**** out of *****
Other movies I've seen lately but can't be bothered talking about are Prometheus (four stars), Ted, Brave and Men in Black III (all three and a half stars). So as you can see there are some good movies out there at the moment. I must say, though, that what promised to be the biggest season of blockbusters in years has been a bit disapointing so far. The only movie that really lived up to the hype was The Avengers, and even that was mildly disapointing. The Dark Knight Rises had better deliver.
