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Nick Friesen (96 KP) rated Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) in Movies
Jul 16, 2017
Tom Holland nails awkward teenage Peter Parker (4 more)
Excellent continuity with the MCU
The Vulture is a compelling villain
Marisa Tomei, obviously
Sarcastic, Funny Tony Stark Returns!
Peter Parker Done Right for Once!
Spider-Man: Homecoming is the perfect movie to kick off the character's triumphant addition to the MCU. I don't know exactly what kind of magic Disney worked out with Sony, but damn does it feel good. The Marvel execs know exactly how to handle the character, unlike Sony, and Sony still gets to rake in the cash from Marvel's hottest property. Spider-Man in the MCU is a huge win-win for everyone involved, but most importantly for the fans. Tom Holland plays Peter Parker/Spider-Man just as he should be, an awkward teenager still coming to grips with and refining his powers. He quips while fighting, running his mouth as a teenager with power would. Outside his costume, though, he is much more reserved. He is so uncomfortable just being himself, Peter Parker, and that fact is so integral to the character. Spider-Man has finally been perfected in live-action film, and Homecoming left me smiling and eager for Spidey to join the larger MCU conflicts once again.
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) in Movies
Jun 10, 2019 (Updated Jun 10, 2019)
The Marvel touch
The first thing I’m going to tell you about Spider-Man: Homecoming is that it has been gloriously undersold in its uninspiring trailers and promotional posters. In fact, most of the marketing materials shown made it look like this would be Iron Man 4 ft. Peter Parker. Thankfully that’s not the case.
The second thing I’ll tell you is that Tom Holland’s turn as Peter Parker is very good indeed. But is he better than Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield? Well, for that you’ll have to read on.
Still buzzing from his experiences with the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War, young Peter Parker (Tom Holland) returns home to live with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). Under the watchful eye of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), Peter starts to embrace Spider-Man. He also tries to return to his normal life — distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just a bargain basement superhero. However, when danger emerges in the shape of the Vulture (Michael Keaton), Peter must soon put his powers to the test.
Jon Watts directs not only the best Spider-Man film to date, but probably the best film to come out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Guardians of the Galaxy. That is by no means and easy thing to achieve, but by golly he’s done it.
The best Marvel films don’t shout about their superhero roots. By that I mean Captain America: the Winter Soldier was first and foremost a heist movie and Guardians of the Galaxy was an epic space opera. Here, Watts and his two writers turn Spider-Man: Homecoming into a cheesy, fun high-school romance and it succeeds at that beautifully.
But is it a good superhero flick? In a word, yes. The action is shot exceptionally well with very little nonsensical shaky cam, the pacing is spot on; in fact it may be one of the best films I have ever seen for pacing and the characters are all utterly believable.
Tom Holland is, without a doubt the best iteration of Peter Parker ever put to the big screen. He is the school geek that the character always should have been. Gone are Tobey Maguire’s ridiculous facial expressions and Andrew Garfield’s unrealistic ‘high school nerd’ persona.
Elsewhere, Michael Keaton avoids the Marvel villain trap and becomes the universe’s best antagonist since Loki. It would be easy for Vulture to come across ridiculous rather than menacing and Keaton gets the latter absolutely spot on. In particular, a pivotal turning point in the film’s third act is exquisitely written and truly intimidating.
It’s not all good news unfortunately. Like a broken record, I have to mention the obligatory CGI-heavy finale. Thankfully though, the story is nicely twisted to give the scenes emotional gravitas. I’m also not sold on Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, but this may come with time. And if I’m really nit-picking, there’s a little too much obvious product placement for Audi.
So, I’ve managed to get through a full review with only a small paragraph of negative points, that doesn’t happen very often. Something else that doesn’t happen very often is for me to award a film a full five stars. On this occasion however, the Marvel touch has well and truly created a corker.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2017/07/06/spider-man-homecoming-review/
The second thing I’ll tell you is that Tom Holland’s turn as Peter Parker is very good indeed. But is he better than Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield? Well, for that you’ll have to read on.
Still buzzing from his experiences with the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War, young Peter Parker (Tom Holland) returns home to live with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). Under the watchful eye of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), Peter starts to embrace Spider-Man. He also tries to return to his normal life — distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just a bargain basement superhero. However, when danger emerges in the shape of the Vulture (Michael Keaton), Peter must soon put his powers to the test.
Jon Watts directs not only the best Spider-Man film to date, but probably the best film to come out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Guardians of the Galaxy. That is by no means and easy thing to achieve, but by golly he’s done it.
The best Marvel films don’t shout about their superhero roots. By that I mean Captain America: the Winter Soldier was first and foremost a heist movie and Guardians of the Galaxy was an epic space opera. Here, Watts and his two writers turn Spider-Man: Homecoming into a cheesy, fun high-school romance and it succeeds at that beautifully.
But is it a good superhero flick? In a word, yes. The action is shot exceptionally well with very little nonsensical shaky cam, the pacing is spot on; in fact it may be one of the best films I have ever seen for pacing and the characters are all utterly believable.
Tom Holland is, without a doubt the best iteration of Peter Parker ever put to the big screen. He is the school geek that the character always should have been. Gone are Tobey Maguire’s ridiculous facial expressions and Andrew Garfield’s unrealistic ‘high school nerd’ persona.
Elsewhere, Michael Keaton avoids the Marvel villain trap and becomes the universe’s best antagonist since Loki. It would be easy for Vulture to come across ridiculous rather than menacing and Keaton gets the latter absolutely spot on. In particular, a pivotal turning point in the film’s third act is exquisitely written and truly intimidating.
It’s not all good news unfortunately. Like a broken record, I have to mention the obligatory CGI-heavy finale. Thankfully though, the story is nicely twisted to give the scenes emotional gravitas. I’m also not sold on Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, but this may come with time. And if I’m really nit-picking, there’s a little too much obvious product placement for Audi.
So, I’ve managed to get through a full review with only a small paragraph of negative points, that doesn’t happen very often. Something else that doesn’t happen very often is for me to award a film a full five stars. On this occasion however, the Marvel touch has well and truly created a corker.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2017/07/06/spider-man-homecoming-review/
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) in Movies
Feb 18, 2021
Spider-Man's first solo outing within the MCU is a frequently charming and grounded affair.
As the overarching narrative of this behemoth franchise becomes increasingly cosmic and out there, entries like Homecoming are a welcome change of pace.
Tom Holland is a picture perfect, high school era Peter Parker. There's a lot to love about the Spider-Man movies that have come before, but it's nice to see the focus being on his school years properly. He's a young kid, completely out of his depth juggling his civilian life with fighting, years away from the seasoned hero he eventually becomes. He struggles with friendships and relationships like an awkward teenager does whilst constantly craving more in life and aiming for bigger and better things. It's incredibly relatable in that sense.
The world-building surrounding all this is subtle too. The main villain is Vulture, a veteran Spidey rogue, and played by a genuinely intimidating Michael Keaton. His Vulture is equal parts bad-guy and sympathetic every-day-guy, trying to find his way in a post-Avengers world.
The story also finds time to sneak in a few more classic Marvel villains such as Shocker, Tinkerer, Prowler and Scorpion, and it's executed in a way that's not at all overwhelming.
Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) provide the concrete connections to the wider MCU without ever distracting from the main plot, and the rest of the stellar cast are rounded out by the likes of Marisa Tomei, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon (as one of the most likable characters to ever grace this franchise FYI)
The set pieces are littered here and there throughout a fairly dialogue heavy screenplay, but they're all pretty solid, the ferry scene being a highlight.
All in all, Spider-Man: Homecoming is an incredibly enjoyable Marvel film, whilst being a touching story about growing up. It's fun, it's exciting, and it's pretty damn wholesome.
As the overarching narrative of this behemoth franchise becomes increasingly cosmic and out there, entries like Homecoming are a welcome change of pace.
Tom Holland is a picture perfect, high school era Peter Parker. There's a lot to love about the Spider-Man movies that have come before, but it's nice to see the focus being on his school years properly. He's a young kid, completely out of his depth juggling his civilian life with fighting, years away from the seasoned hero he eventually becomes. He struggles with friendships and relationships like an awkward teenager does whilst constantly craving more in life and aiming for bigger and better things. It's incredibly relatable in that sense.
The world-building surrounding all this is subtle too. The main villain is Vulture, a veteran Spidey rogue, and played by a genuinely intimidating Michael Keaton. His Vulture is equal parts bad-guy and sympathetic every-day-guy, trying to find his way in a post-Avengers world.
The story also finds time to sneak in a few more classic Marvel villains such as Shocker, Tinkerer, Prowler and Scorpion, and it's executed in a way that's not at all overwhelming.
Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) provide the concrete connections to the wider MCU without ever distracting from the main plot, and the rest of the stellar cast are rounded out by the likes of Marisa Tomei, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon (as one of the most likable characters to ever grace this franchise FYI)
The set pieces are littered here and there throughout a fairly dialogue heavy screenplay, but they're all pretty solid, the ferry scene being a highlight.
All in all, Spider-Man: Homecoming is an incredibly enjoyable Marvel film, whilst being a touching story about growing up. It's fun, it's exciting, and it's pretty damn wholesome.
Gareth von Kallenbach (962 KP) rated The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
Mick Haller (Matthew McConaughey) is a criminal defense attorney who works out of his Lincoln Town Car in Los Angeles, hence the title of the movie and book “The Lincoln Lawyer” by Michael Connelly. Mickey defends all kinds of criminals and all he expects from his clients is that they pay him. While he may be a rather shifty lawyer, he is a loving father to his daughter Hayley (Mackenzie Aladjem) and he obviously still cares for her mother Maggie McPherson (Marisa Tomei).
Now although he has many clients, none are really big money clients. That changes one day when Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe), a rich Beverly Hills playboy, is arrested for assault & attempted rape and he wants Mick to defend him. At first Mick believes that he will be able to easily get his client acquitted, but as he and his investigator Frank Levin (William H. Macy) dig deeper, they discovery disturbing information about the case and it’s possible link to another.
In his quest to win the all mighty “Not Guilty” verdict, Mick has many obstacles (both professional and personal) placed before him that he must successfully navigate around, and treachery hiding in the shadows that he must bring into the light or else he may lose more than just a case.
While the entire cast was incredible, Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Phillippe gave equally amazing performances (this is especially true for any scene that they were both in). The characters were well-developed, believable and for the most part likable, heck I even liked the biker Eddie (Trace Adkins). The storyline was intriguing with a twist or two that I did not see coming and it also had some very nice humor sprinkled in. I did find that in a few scenes the dialogue seemed to be a bit unnatural for what was going on but it didn’t really detract from the overall scenes in question. Personally I hope this film does well enough that they make a sequel (I believe the book’s sequel is The Reversal) because I would like to see more of these characters in action.
Now although he has many clients, none are really big money clients. That changes one day when Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe), a rich Beverly Hills playboy, is arrested for assault & attempted rape and he wants Mick to defend him. At first Mick believes that he will be able to easily get his client acquitted, but as he and his investigator Frank Levin (William H. Macy) dig deeper, they discovery disturbing information about the case and it’s possible link to another.
In his quest to win the all mighty “Not Guilty” verdict, Mick has many obstacles (both professional and personal) placed before him that he must successfully navigate around, and treachery hiding in the shadows that he must bring into the light or else he may lose more than just a case.
While the entire cast was incredible, Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Phillippe gave equally amazing performances (this is especially true for any scene that they were both in). The characters were well-developed, believable and for the most part likable, heck I even liked the biker Eddie (Trace Adkins). The storyline was intriguing with a twist or two that I did not see coming and it also had some very nice humor sprinkled in. I did find that in a few scenes the dialogue seemed to be a bit unnatural for what was going on but it didn’t really detract from the overall scenes in question. Personally I hope this film does well enough that they make a sequel (I believe the book’s sequel is The Reversal) because I would like to see more of these characters in action.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) in Movies
Dec 24, 2021
Great Combination of Character, Humor, Action and Nostalgia
The newest Spiderman film, NO WAY HOME, is pretty much review proof in that there is such a strong, built-in audience for it, that it would do well even if it is a bad movie.
Fortunately for everyone, it is a really, really GOOD film.
Dipping deeply into nostalgia, but being it’s own movie as well, NWH strikes the balance between nostalgia and sentimentality quite well. This is because the nostalgic portion of this film is a compliment to the story itself - and not the main focus.
Credit for this must go to returning Director Jon Watts (he Directed the previous Spidey outing, FAR FROM HOME) and screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers (and the powers to be at Marvel Studios). They balance the action -and a plotline that could be confusing - with ease. They made a basic, but important, decision. They kept things as simple as possible and leaned on the characters - and performances - to be the core of this film (and not the plot intracancies, the nostalgia and the Special Effects).
This is easy to do when you have 3 main characters in Tom Holland, Zendaya and Jacob Batalon as Peter Parker, MJ and Ned that are very charming and endearing performers at the heart of it - characters that the audience wants to spend time with. Add to that the domineering and forceful performance of Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange, the comic relief of Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan and the warm and loving performance of Marisa Tomei as Aunt May and this film has a solid foundation to build on.
And, of course, there are the appearances of other characters/performers that the audience will well know from other properties - to mention them would be to spoil this film - but, suffice it to say, each one tops the one before it, building to a fun crescendo of heart, humor, action and nostalgia.
A very winning combination - and well worth checking out. And…if you’re comfortable with doing this - see it with an audience, it adds to the experience.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Fortunately for everyone, it is a really, really GOOD film.
Dipping deeply into nostalgia, but being it’s own movie as well, NWH strikes the balance between nostalgia and sentimentality quite well. This is because the nostalgic portion of this film is a compliment to the story itself - and not the main focus.
Credit for this must go to returning Director Jon Watts (he Directed the previous Spidey outing, FAR FROM HOME) and screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers (and the powers to be at Marvel Studios). They balance the action -and a plotline that could be confusing - with ease. They made a basic, but important, decision. They kept things as simple as possible and leaned on the characters - and performances - to be the core of this film (and not the plot intracancies, the nostalgia and the Special Effects).
This is easy to do when you have 3 main characters in Tom Holland, Zendaya and Jacob Batalon as Peter Parker, MJ and Ned that are very charming and endearing performers at the heart of it - characters that the audience wants to spend time with. Add to that the domineering and forceful performance of Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange, the comic relief of Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan and the warm and loving performance of Marisa Tomei as Aunt May and this film has a solid foundation to build on.
And, of course, there are the appearances of other characters/performers that the audience will well know from other properties - to mention them would be to spoil this film - but, suffice it to say, each one tops the one before it, building to a fun crescendo of heart, humor, action and nostalgia.
A very winning combination - and well worth checking out. And…if you’re comfortable with doing this - see it with an audience, it adds to the experience.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Gareth von Kallenbach (962 KP) rated Parental Guidance (2012) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
I don’t really know where to start with this review. I guess I’ll start with what I’m expecting to see when I see a preview. I’m really bad at assuming I know what’s going to happen. Sometimes I’m right, happily sometimes I’m wrong, and then there are times, like with this movie, where it’s half and half.
The movie starts out with Artie Decker (Billy Crystal) as ‘de voice’ of his local Grizzlies’ baseball team. He’s really good at commentating and he loves doing it but after the last game of the season he gets fired. It’s predictable why he’s fired, basically he doesn’t poke or tweet, and I think they thought they hit gold with that moment of comedy but for me, eh. When he gets home his wife Diane (Bette Midler) comforts him. He’s lost for a moment since he wasn’t ready to stop but then decides he should chase his dream to commentate for the Giants though he doesn’t know where to start.
We shoot over to Alice Simmons (Marisa Tomei) Artie and Diane’s daughter, and her husband Phil, (Tom Everett Scott) who live in such a modern electronic home that it’s actually all controlled by a beta system called Rlife. Rlife can be programmed for alarm times, music, food, pretty much everything for each family member. This Rlife is Phil’s dream he gets invited to a conference to get his Rlife hopefully in production. Alice is going to with him, kind of a semi work vacation and they need Artie and Diane to watch the kids for a week.
What makes the divide even greater between Alice and her kids from Artie is that Alice and Phil are raising their kids in a new school that is different from Artie’s old school, tough love and strict rules. They use phrases like ‘use your words’ or if you give a ‘put down’ you have to give ‘three ups’ and you can’t use the word ‘no’ you have to say ‘think about the consequences’.
Their oldest, a young teen, is their only daughter Harper, Bailee Madison, who is extremely uptight and carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Next we have the two boys, Turner, Joshua Rush, middle schooler, who stutters and is shy because of it, and the youngest Barker, Kyle Harrison Breitkopf, who is basically toddler with lots of energy, but seems to get away with a lot of bad behavior.
Diane realizes that they are the other grand parents, the ones that their grand kids don’t really like. Long story short, it’s supposed to be about being open to new ideas but it just feels like old school versus new school. Billy’s Crystal’s comedy and Bette Middler’s and Marisa Tomei’s acting can pull it out of the boredom for some laughs and good moments and there are a few situational laughs with the children as well, but that’s about it.
The truly redeeming quality to this movie, besides the three main actors is the ending, the last ten minutes. It’s a surprising heartwarming ending, and only slightly predictable. It sounds crazy but it actually brings the whole movie up from a two star to a three star for me. One last thing is that the guest I went with has two children of her own and tried to get me to change my rating from three to four. I really can’t do that but I think that means that if you have children of your own you might enjoy this a little bit more than I did.
Bottom line, renter, unless you love Bily Crystal.
The movie starts out with Artie Decker (Billy Crystal) as ‘de voice’ of his local Grizzlies’ baseball team. He’s really good at commentating and he loves doing it but after the last game of the season he gets fired. It’s predictable why he’s fired, basically he doesn’t poke or tweet, and I think they thought they hit gold with that moment of comedy but for me, eh. When he gets home his wife Diane (Bette Midler) comforts him. He’s lost for a moment since he wasn’t ready to stop but then decides he should chase his dream to commentate for the Giants though he doesn’t know where to start.
We shoot over to Alice Simmons (Marisa Tomei) Artie and Diane’s daughter, and her husband Phil, (Tom Everett Scott) who live in such a modern electronic home that it’s actually all controlled by a beta system called Rlife. Rlife can be programmed for alarm times, music, food, pretty much everything for each family member. This Rlife is Phil’s dream he gets invited to a conference to get his Rlife hopefully in production. Alice is going to with him, kind of a semi work vacation and they need Artie and Diane to watch the kids for a week.
What makes the divide even greater between Alice and her kids from Artie is that Alice and Phil are raising their kids in a new school that is different from Artie’s old school, tough love and strict rules. They use phrases like ‘use your words’ or if you give a ‘put down’ you have to give ‘three ups’ and you can’t use the word ‘no’ you have to say ‘think about the consequences’.
Their oldest, a young teen, is their only daughter Harper, Bailee Madison, who is extremely uptight and carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Next we have the two boys, Turner, Joshua Rush, middle schooler, who stutters and is shy because of it, and the youngest Barker, Kyle Harrison Breitkopf, who is basically toddler with lots of energy, but seems to get away with a lot of bad behavior.
Diane realizes that they are the other grand parents, the ones that their grand kids don’t really like. Long story short, it’s supposed to be about being open to new ideas but it just feels like old school versus new school. Billy’s Crystal’s comedy and Bette Middler’s and Marisa Tomei’s acting can pull it out of the boredom for some laughs and good moments and there are a few situational laughs with the children as well, but that’s about it.
The truly redeeming quality to this movie, besides the three main actors is the ending, the last ten minutes. It’s a surprising heartwarming ending, and only slightly predictable. It sounds crazy but it actually brings the whole movie up from a two star to a three star for me. One last thing is that the guest I went with has two children of her own and tried to get me to change my rating from three to four. I really can’t do that but I think that means that if you have children of your own you might enjoy this a little bit more than I did.
Bottom line, renter, unless you love Bily Crystal.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
And so to the latest incarnation in Spider-man Homecoming. After seeing Tom Holland in Civil War, well, let's just say that I was not convinced. Then the adverts where he's making the home movie of everything... yeah that began to grate a bit.
There's no origin story with this one, or with his appearance in Civil War. I'm not sure how I feel about no Uncle Ben, or that they're regressing Aunt May every time she appears. But I do love Marisa Tomei, and she does get a fantastic last line.
Somewhere before this film went into production I reckon someone thought "We need something that's not quite a bad a Spider-man, but not quite as serious as The Amazing Spider-man." Someone else was walking by and overheard. "You should zhush it up with the Avengers treatment."... and so Homecoming was born.
The effects are of course way better than 2002, and everything is pretty bright and shiny since it was properly Marvelised. As much as I initially didn't like Tom Holland, I have to admit that he makes a good film. My only major issue is that it seems more concerned about bringing him into the Marvel Universe than leaving him out there developing his own film.
For a nerd, Peter has got game. We're on the third incarnation of films this side of 2000, and we're on the third (and potential fourth) love interest. I like that they're jumping that around a little, it does help make each lot feel slightly different, but it does get confusing... and obviously you can keep an eye out for other love interests who make appearances.
It seems unfair to compare all three films (which is a bit tricky as that was partly the idea of this whole post) because each of them have their own bit of the movie spectrum. The daft, the heart-wrenching and the blockbuster, all have their place in the collection. Gun against my head I'd probably still pick Andrew Garfield as my favourite, but Holland is right there too.
That being said, I still don't like Spider-man as a superhero...
*ducks under the table to avoid the barrage of abuse*
He's too chaotic, he's just too young (in this one) to really understand the full implications of what he's doing. I personally don't understand why he would be worthy of movie fame over other characters. It has been pointed out to me that as he's just a "regular Joe", that people can identify with him more over the other options of Gods or mutants... but hell... I'm mutant and proud!
There's no origin story with this one, or with his appearance in Civil War. I'm not sure how I feel about no Uncle Ben, or that they're regressing Aunt May every time she appears. But I do love Marisa Tomei, and she does get a fantastic last line.
Somewhere before this film went into production I reckon someone thought "We need something that's not quite a bad a Spider-man, but not quite as serious as The Amazing Spider-man." Someone else was walking by and overheard. "You should zhush it up with the Avengers treatment."... and so Homecoming was born.
The effects are of course way better than 2002, and everything is pretty bright and shiny since it was properly Marvelised. As much as I initially didn't like Tom Holland, I have to admit that he makes a good film. My only major issue is that it seems more concerned about bringing him into the Marvel Universe than leaving him out there developing his own film.
For a nerd, Peter has got game. We're on the third incarnation of films this side of 2000, and we're on the third (and potential fourth) love interest. I like that they're jumping that around a little, it does help make each lot feel slightly different, but it does get confusing... and obviously you can keep an eye out for other love interests who make appearances.
It seems unfair to compare all three films (which is a bit tricky as that was partly the idea of this whole post) because each of them have their own bit of the movie spectrum. The daft, the heart-wrenching and the blockbuster, all have their place in the collection. Gun against my head I'd probably still pick Andrew Garfield as my favourite, but Holland is right there too.
That being said, I still don't like Spider-man as a superhero...
*ducks under the table to avoid the barrage of abuse*
He's too chaotic, he's just too young (in this one) to really understand the full implications of what he's doing. I personally don't understand why he would be worthy of movie fame over other characters. It has been pointed out to me that as he's just a "regular Joe", that people can identify with him more over the other options of Gods or mutants... but hell... I'm mutant and proud!
Ryan Hill (152 KP) rated Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) in Movies
May 11, 2019
"if you are nothing without the suit then you shouldn't have it."
A John Hughes-esque coming-of-age movie, disguised as a friendly neighborhood adventure from the MCU; Spider-Man: Homecoming is more about growing up, and less about saving the world.
Tom Holland is great as Spider-man. His Spidey is different, and in a way, refreshing. I like how the origin story is skipped, and instead, we dive head into the day-to-day adventures of a semi-awkward, fifteen-year-old. I'm more interested in the growth of Peter Parker, than the development of Holland's Spider-Man Spidey-Powers. I'm still undecided about the way Spidey looks in his costume. To me, he looks more like a CGI goofnut, than an Avenger. But, how many kids get to have Jennifer Connelly on standby, whenever they need a helpful voice?
Homecoming might not feel and act like your typical MCU movie, but it does prove we still need Tony Stark, Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts in our lives. I smiled with all the screen time Happy has. He's truly an underrated character in the MCU. Plus, Tony plays the "cool uncle" spot-on.
One of the biggest criticisms with the MCU people have is the boring villain. Not in this case. Michael Keaton plays reverse-Batman, and his character actually has depth, an interesting storyline and a surprise twist. Bookem Woodbine plays a fun henchman, and all movies benefit from the presence of Donald Glover. The bad guys are not a snore nor a bore at this Homecoming Dance with the Devil.
I hope I wasn't the only one laughing at the casting of Tony Revolori as Flash the Bully. He's about as intimidating as a can of ravioli. Zendaya is way underused, but she shines in her scenes. I wish Ned was my best friend, but the poor fella will probably be typecast for life. However, he's a hilarious guy. How can you not like him?
Did you think I forgot about Aunt May? Of course not! Marisa Tomei is smokin' and brings honest energy to her supporting role.
The final boss battle is fun. So are the scenes on a ferry and a national monument. There's action, and there's a lot of growing up for Peter Parker and his friends. I'm not MCU fatigued after watching, but I do have a sudden urge to revisit Pretty in Pink.
Tom Holland is great as Spider-man. His Spidey is different, and in a way, refreshing. I like how the origin story is skipped, and instead, we dive head into the day-to-day adventures of a semi-awkward, fifteen-year-old. I'm more interested in the growth of Peter Parker, than the development of Holland's Spider-Man Spidey-Powers. I'm still undecided about the way Spidey looks in his costume. To me, he looks more like a CGI goofnut, than an Avenger. But, how many kids get to have Jennifer Connelly on standby, whenever they need a helpful voice?
Homecoming might not feel and act like your typical MCU movie, but it does prove we still need Tony Stark, Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts in our lives. I smiled with all the screen time Happy has. He's truly an underrated character in the MCU. Plus, Tony plays the "cool uncle" spot-on.
One of the biggest criticisms with the MCU people have is the boring villain. Not in this case. Michael Keaton plays reverse-Batman, and his character actually has depth, an interesting storyline and a surprise twist. Bookem Woodbine plays a fun henchman, and all movies benefit from the presence of Donald Glover. The bad guys are not a snore nor a bore at this Homecoming Dance with the Devil.
I hope I wasn't the only one laughing at the casting of Tony Revolori as Flash the Bully. He's about as intimidating as a can of ravioli. Zendaya is way underused, but she shines in her scenes. I wish Ned was my best friend, but the poor fella will probably be typecast for life. However, he's a hilarious guy. How can you not like him?
Did you think I forgot about Aunt May? Of course not! Marisa Tomei is smokin' and brings honest energy to her supporting role.
The final boss battle is fun. So are the scenes on a ferry and a national monument. There's action, and there's a lot of growing up for Peter Parker and his friends. I'm not MCU fatigued after watching, but I do have a sudden urge to revisit Pretty in Pink.
Gareth von Kallenbach (962 KP) rated Love the Coopers (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Love the Coopers is a new movie directed by Jessie Nelson and released
through the collaborative efforts of CBS Films, Groundswell Productions
and Imagine Entertainment.
It has a large and recognizable cast of characters, including Dianne
Keaton (Charlotte), John Goodman (Sam), Ed Helms (Hank), Alan Arky
(Bucky), Marisa Tomei (Emma), Olivia Wilde (Eleanor), June Squibb (Aunt
Fishy) and Steve Martin (the dog, Rags!).
Based on the previews and trailers that I saw, I expected more laugh out
loud comedy than I got out of the film. There was plenty of laugh out
loud comedy, don’t get me wrong, but what I expected out of the trailers
was a “dumb” comedy, rather than a poignant, rather touching (and at
times tragic) love story wrapped up in a comedy.
The basic premise is that Mom Charlotte and dad Sam want to have “one
last” family holiday full of happiness and good cheer and wonderful
memories, before they drop the bombshell on their family that they will
be splitting up after 40 years of marriage.
Charlotte has spent her whole marriage keeping the family together,
making sure everyone is “ok” and of course, as frequently happens, has
grown distant from her spouse Sam in the midst of that.
The story is told from the point of view of Rags the family dog (voiced
by Steve Martin) who has watched the family grow together and then
apart, through the years.
I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and thought that it was a good story
that showed how a family dynamic can change over the years and how it
isn’t always in the best of ways. It also portrayed how family
relationships are perceived from the point of view of the people that
are actually IN the relationship, as well as from an outsiders’ view.
Some parts were “cheesy” but for the most part, I was really able to
connect with the story as a whole. Even though some of the intertwining
story lines by themselves were a little dis-jointed, when they all came
together under the umbrella of the main story line, somehow, it just
worked.
I liked that I connected emotionally with Charlotte and could FEEL her
connection to her kids and how she loved them “bigger than anything” and
just wanted what was best for them, even though it didn’t always come
out that way, and even though it distanced her from her husband. I think
that happens “in the real world”, a lot more than people realize or
think about.
The movie made me laugh, and it made me cry… It occasionally made me
groan in a “Really?! Did they have to do THAT??” sort of way, too, but
overall I really enjoyed it.
I would give the movie 3.5 out of 5 stars.
through the collaborative efforts of CBS Films, Groundswell Productions
and Imagine Entertainment.
It has a large and recognizable cast of characters, including Dianne
Keaton (Charlotte), John Goodman (Sam), Ed Helms (Hank), Alan Arky
(Bucky), Marisa Tomei (Emma), Olivia Wilde (Eleanor), June Squibb (Aunt
Fishy) and Steve Martin (the dog, Rags!).
Based on the previews and trailers that I saw, I expected more laugh out
loud comedy than I got out of the film. There was plenty of laugh out
loud comedy, don’t get me wrong, but what I expected out of the trailers
was a “dumb” comedy, rather than a poignant, rather touching (and at
times tragic) love story wrapped up in a comedy.
The basic premise is that Mom Charlotte and dad Sam want to have “one
last” family holiday full of happiness and good cheer and wonderful
memories, before they drop the bombshell on their family that they will
be splitting up after 40 years of marriage.
Charlotte has spent her whole marriage keeping the family together,
making sure everyone is “ok” and of course, as frequently happens, has
grown distant from her spouse Sam in the midst of that.
The story is told from the point of view of Rags the family dog (voiced
by Steve Martin) who has watched the family grow together and then
apart, through the years.
I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and thought that it was a good story
that showed how a family dynamic can change over the years and how it
isn’t always in the best of ways. It also portrayed how family
relationships are perceived from the point of view of the people that
are actually IN the relationship, as well as from an outsiders’ view.
Some parts were “cheesy” but for the most part, I was really able to
connect with the story as a whole. Even though some of the intertwining
story lines by themselves were a little dis-jointed, when they all came
together under the umbrella of the main story line, somehow, it just
worked.
I liked that I connected emotionally with Charlotte and could FEEL her
connection to her kids and how she loved them “bigger than anything” and
just wanted what was best for them, even though it didn’t always come
out that way, and even though it distanced her from her husband. I think
that happens “in the real world”, a lot more than people realize or
think about.
The movie made me laugh, and it made me cry… It occasionally made me
groan in a “Really?! Did they have to do THAT??” sort of way, too, but
overall I really enjoyed it.
I would give the movie 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) in Movies
Jan 25, 2021
New Vibes, New Dopeness
When I first saw that Sony was playing nice with Disney/Marvel, I almost lost it when I saw that Spider-Man would make an appearance in Captain America: Civil War. Nerd Moment: I’ve always thought that all of the Marvel properties belonged together and this was a step in the right direction. It’s been amazing what’s happened since. In this third reboot since the new century, Spider-Man: Homecoming is the story of a young Peter Parker handling his role as a teenager and a webslinging superhero.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 7
Characters: 7
Peter (Tom Holland) is a lovable kid surrounded by a fun cast of friends and foes. They took a different and, in my opinion, smarter route by making Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) younger and more relatable. Not only did it pay off but it helped contribute to side jokes in the story involving Happy (Jon Favreau) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Yes, there are so many characters to love here, both familiar and new…that is until we get to the villain played by one of my favorite actors Michael Keaton. Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t horrible, I just couldn’t buy his motivation which made it hard at times to connect to the overall story and conflict.
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Watching some of these scenes play out seriously made me wish I was Spider-Man. The aerial combat and clever use of webs is such a treat to watch and experience, both at home. and in the theater. Marvel hit another home run here with cinematic perfection that stretches all over the great city of New York.
Conflict: 10
The conflict isn’t just about Spider-Man fighting bad guys. Rather it’s about having to do all of this and be a kid at the same time…and impress Tony Stark…and get used to his new suit…and keep all of this a secret from his caretaker. So many things wrapped into one makes this such a fun ride. Yes, there is plenty of spider fights to enjoy, but there is so much more to love about the movie as a whole.
Entertainment Value: 9
Memorability: 8
Pace: 10
Plot: 9
Really enjoyed the story and how it plays into the Marvel universe as a whole. A few twists here and there keep things interesting. Again there is so much driving conflict here and character growth that it’s easy to miss the complexities of everything involved in the story. Again, not in love with Vulture’s motivation, but it doesn’t diminish things too badly.
Resolution: 10
Overall: 90
The difficulty of Peter trying to get used to his new suit alone was enough to keep me beaming watching this movie. Marvel movies are known for packing a mega punch and Spider-Man: Homecoming definitely stands up there as one of the stronger ones. Great movie.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 7
Characters: 7
Peter (Tom Holland) is a lovable kid surrounded by a fun cast of friends and foes. They took a different and, in my opinion, smarter route by making Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) younger and more relatable. Not only did it pay off but it helped contribute to side jokes in the story involving Happy (Jon Favreau) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Yes, there are so many characters to love here, both familiar and new…that is until we get to the villain played by one of my favorite actors Michael Keaton. Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t horrible, I just couldn’t buy his motivation which made it hard at times to connect to the overall story and conflict.
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Watching some of these scenes play out seriously made me wish I was Spider-Man. The aerial combat and clever use of webs is such a treat to watch and experience, both at home. and in the theater. Marvel hit another home run here with cinematic perfection that stretches all over the great city of New York.
Conflict: 10
The conflict isn’t just about Spider-Man fighting bad guys. Rather it’s about having to do all of this and be a kid at the same time…and impress Tony Stark…and get used to his new suit…and keep all of this a secret from his caretaker. So many things wrapped into one makes this such a fun ride. Yes, there is plenty of spider fights to enjoy, but there is so much more to love about the movie as a whole.
Entertainment Value: 9
Memorability: 8
Pace: 10
Plot: 9
Really enjoyed the story and how it plays into the Marvel universe as a whole. A few twists here and there keep things interesting. Again there is so much driving conflict here and character growth that it’s easy to miss the complexities of everything involved in the story. Again, not in love with Vulture’s motivation, but it doesn’t diminish things too badly.
Resolution: 10
Overall: 90
The difficulty of Peter trying to get used to his new suit alone was enough to keep me beaming watching this movie. Marvel movies are known for packing a mega punch and Spider-Man: Homecoming definitely stands up there as one of the stronger ones. Great movie.