Spider-man, arguably one the most popular comic book character ever created, and fans were excited to finally see him on the big screen. When Sony acquired the rights to bring the web-head to theaters almost 17 years ago, they immediately jumped in with Sam Raimi’s version with Tobey Maguire starring. The film would lead to a trilogy that started out as a smash, then bombed critically with the third and final film. Things wouldn’t get any better with Andrew Garfield putting on the mask as the planned trilogy didn’t even get passed the second film. It was only until Sony allowed Disney/Marvel to use the character for three of their M.C.U. films did interests still show for the superhero.
Sony went ahead and decided to do a less costly version by doing a cartoon version and introducing a new spider-man. Miles Morales, a character that’s been introduced to fans via comics, cartoons and the recent Spider-Man game for PS4. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse seeks to solidify Morales as a new fan favorite with fans with a film primarily focused on him. Miles Morales, much like Peter in the beginning, is a teenager growing up in Brooklyn with issues that most teenagers in today’s society face until history repeats itself. The only difference is a different tragedy strikes Miles that inspires him to dawn the mask, but not without difficulty.
It turns out that Kingpin, a villain mostly related with Daredevil, has a plan to open a door to other realities for a specific purpose. While Miles tries to come up with a plan in order to stop him, he’s aided by Spider-men from other realities. Some of them are fan favorites, others are well known, and one is mostly for comic relief. It’s a fun rollercoaster ride that has plenty of action and comedy that you would expect to see from the famous webslinger. The film also does a good job at paying homage to films that came before it and has a touching moment with creator, Stan Lee, who passed away just a short time ago.
The film has great voice acting by some big-name celebrities such as Chris Pine, Nicholas Cage, Zoe Kravitz and Mahershala Ali. It’s got some dark tones but is overall a great family friendly film with a great soundtrack that gets the people going. The only problem I can say about the film is that it’s a little rough on the eyes with its use of animation. Some of the transitions are too fast to catch and the main boss fight is hard to follow because of the setting. Overall, it’s a risk that Sony took and I’m hoping that it’s going to pay off, so I give this film a nine out of ten.
As good as this film is, it’s got the unfortunate task of going up against upcoming blockbusters like Bumblebee and Aquaman in the following week. This film cost 90 million to make, so it shouldn’t be hard to make a profit from the film, but it needs to have a big opening week. I hope it succeeds because this was the fresh start that Sony needed for Spider-Man and Sony has been hot after the financial success of Venom. It would be great to see how Miles’s story plays out if it succeeds at the box office and there’s a touching tribute to Stan Lee mid-credits and a hilarious post credit scene. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a great way to kick off the holiday season with your family, so go see it and enjoy.
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Friday, June 22, 2018
My Life With MoviePass
When I worked for the movie theater business back in high
school, there were two constant complaints I always heard. The first one was always,
“Do you have Snowcaps?” The second is, “Why are you ripping us off with your
ticket prices?” I always found that last question funny because most of the people
who asked always seemed to have the money to keep coming every week. Now I’m
older and movie prices are starting to affect me, so I understand the
frustration of wanting to go to the movies but not having the money.
That is until MoviePass came around and my attendance
skyrocketed as soon as I signed up. MoviePass is a subscription service that
allows people to attend the movies for a monthly or annual fee. I bought the
annual fee which was a discounted price of $115 at the time and that included a
processing fee; here’s how it works. After your fees are paid, a card is sent
to you and you sign up on the MoviePass app on your smart phone so you can
register the card. Once you’re set up, you go to the movie theater, see if the
movie you want to see is available at the time, then check in on the app.
Money will be added to the card, then you’ll swipe your card
and out comes the ticket. A new rule was recently implemented that requires you
to take a picture of the ticket and upload it in the app. When I first heard
about this, it sounded like a scam because how can this company possibly be
making money if I’m only paying a small price. There are several reasons I can
name, but that’s not what I’m writing about. The fact is, this deal is legit,
and it’s already saved me $218 on movie tickets.
I used my card to see movies I was dying to see like Justice League, Avengers: Infinity War,
Solo, and Black Panther. I’ve
also used it to see movies I wouldn’t have risked the money to see like The Greatest Showman, Bad Samaritan, Tag, and
Game Night. This subscription has
brought me and several others back to the movie theaters, but there has been
some hiccups. The only disappointments are the subscription only works for standard
formats which means no 3D, RPX and IMAX screens. The other is you can’t get
tickets in advance, so you must check in that day; if you want to see a movie
that comes out in two weeks, you’ll have to use your own money.
The biggest problem I had with the subscription is when I
paid during a time when the service offered to let me see any movie once a day.
Now it’s only limiting users to see one movie once, and that threw me for a
loop. I wanted to be upset, but because of work and school, I don’t have the
time to see a movie more than once anyway. I can understand for those that do
have the time, but I also understand from a business aspect. If they didn’t
place that limit, then I know there are people out there that would see some
movies every single day if they could.
The fact is, MoviePass has been my one of my favorite
investments. AMC Theaters is already following their steps by announcing they
will have a similar service for $19.95 a month that will include 3D and IMAX screens.
MoviePass is expected to offer a similar deal in the fall and a “Bring a friend”
option to combat AMC’s ambition. Maybe AMC’s offer will be better and MoviePass
is having financial problems due to rapid subscriber growth, but we’ll have to
wait and find out. For now, MoviePass is the way to go if you’re a movie lover
and it’s well worth the price monthly or annual.
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Avengers: Infinity War is Hell
Only Disney could make chaos look so good, and that’s the case for their newest release from Marvel Studios, Avengers: Infinity War. Marvel Studios has been a juggernaut when it comes to making films of their beloved characters and there’s no denying they rule the cinemas with an iron fist. Now with this film, Marvel has been running the campaign of “10 years in the making.” It’s a fitting campaign because it’s clear after tonight that chapters are going to close for some of those characters. Don’t worry, there are no spoilers here, but let’s fill the gaps for people who don’t know what I’m talking about.
Marvel Studios came out with a detail plan to produce films for certain characters to revive the company. Marvel has had a history of financial problems, so all their chips went into Iron Man and that’s when things changed. The film became a hit, and that gave the studio the green light to continue with their plan to bring heroes like Thor and Captain America to life. A plan that would be broken down into four phases and would only improve with the sale of Marvel to Disney. Before Black Panther, one of their successes was The Avengers, which brought some of their most famous heroes.
That film started this story that spanned over several movies hidden in post credit scenes and would finally come to fruition in this long-awaited feature. If you haven’t been watching any or some of the Marvel films, then I suggest that you don’t bother because unlike some Marvel films, there’s no real back story provided. This film takes off immediately after the events of Thor: Ragnarok and it’s nothing short of heartbreaking. Josh Brolin did an amazing job with his performance as the Thanos, who believes that it’s his destiny to wield the most powerful weapon in the universe. Brolin brings a combination of determination and brutality comic book lovers are accustomed to seeing from the mad titan.
When word gets out that Thanos is heading to Earth, forces start to mobilize in efforts to keep him from acquiring what he needs to complete his weapon. Unfortunately, the Marvel superheroes realize that this may be one battle that they can’t win with brute force. No matter the obstacle, Thanos proves throughout the film that there’s nothing he’s willing to sacrifice to accomplish his ambitions. Marvel Studios did a great job with plots and telling significant stories that come together in the climax. What steals the show for me is the curtain call on several characters because Thanos was brutal with some of their exits.
Marvel announced that some characters wouldn’t be coming back after this film and they weren’t joking. I won’t say how many or who, but these are characters that will be missed. All I can say is that most of them went down in a good fight because this film takes you to so many worlds that are beautifully done. Another strength in this film is choreographed battles that occur in different locations. These battles are filled with so much action that it makes the two-and-a-half-hour film seem shorter, but there are some problems that come along with it.
With so many characters that have a significant fan base, some fans may be disappointed because certain characters have very little time in the film. Another problem with any action film is the use of too much action and not enough story telling. In this film, if you didn’t watch all the Marvel films after The Avengers, then you’re going to get lost. I was a bit worried that there was going to be too much comedy in this like in some Marvel movies, but that’s not the case here. At first, I also felt that this film was being rushed, but you can tell that it’s only because this film is just part one of two.
Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, announced that the fourth Avengers film will be the finale for several characters and the studio will be centering around others such as Spider-Man. All that can be said is that it’s expected to be released in 2019 and that simply isn’t soon enough because of the cliffhanger this film ended on. This film gets an 8 out of 10 because of those who aren’t in depth with Marvel as some people. You will be left behind by the lack of back story, and some fans may not be happy with the time certain characters have on film. War is hell and Avengers: Infinity War is painful heartache; so hopefully the next Avenger’s film will provide relief, but enjoy this until we get to 2019.
Marvel Studios came out with a detail plan to produce films for certain characters to revive the company. Marvel has had a history of financial problems, so all their chips went into Iron Man and that’s when things changed. The film became a hit, and that gave the studio the green light to continue with their plan to bring heroes like Thor and Captain America to life. A plan that would be broken down into four phases and would only improve with the sale of Marvel to Disney. Before Black Panther, one of their successes was The Avengers, which brought some of their most famous heroes.
That film started this story that spanned over several movies hidden in post credit scenes and would finally come to fruition in this long-awaited feature. If you haven’t been watching any or some of the Marvel films, then I suggest that you don’t bother because unlike some Marvel films, there’s no real back story provided. This film takes off immediately after the events of Thor: Ragnarok and it’s nothing short of heartbreaking. Josh Brolin did an amazing job with his performance as the Thanos, who believes that it’s his destiny to wield the most powerful weapon in the universe. Brolin brings a combination of determination and brutality comic book lovers are accustomed to seeing from the mad titan.
When word gets out that Thanos is heading to Earth, forces start to mobilize in efforts to keep him from acquiring what he needs to complete his weapon. Unfortunately, the Marvel superheroes realize that this may be one battle that they can’t win with brute force. No matter the obstacle, Thanos proves throughout the film that there’s nothing he’s willing to sacrifice to accomplish his ambitions. Marvel Studios did a great job with plots and telling significant stories that come together in the climax. What steals the show for me is the curtain call on several characters because Thanos was brutal with some of their exits.
Marvel announced that some characters wouldn’t be coming back after this film and they weren’t joking. I won’t say how many or who, but these are characters that will be missed. All I can say is that most of them went down in a good fight because this film takes you to so many worlds that are beautifully done. Another strength in this film is choreographed battles that occur in different locations. These battles are filled with so much action that it makes the two-and-a-half-hour film seem shorter, but there are some problems that come along with it.
With so many characters that have a significant fan base, some fans may be disappointed because certain characters have very little time in the film. Another problem with any action film is the use of too much action and not enough story telling. In this film, if you didn’t watch all the Marvel films after The Avengers, then you’re going to get lost. I was a bit worried that there was going to be too much comedy in this like in some Marvel movies, but that’s not the case here. At first, I also felt that this film was being rushed, but you can tell that it’s only because this film is just part one of two.
Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, announced that the fourth Avengers film will be the finale for several characters and the studio will be centering around others such as Spider-Man. All that can be said is that it’s expected to be released in 2019 and that simply isn’t soon enough because of the cliffhanger this film ended on. This film gets an 8 out of 10 because of those who aren’t in depth with Marvel as some people. You will be left behind by the lack of back story, and some fans may not be happy with the time certain characters have on film. War is hell and Avengers: Infinity War is painful heartache; so hopefully the next Avenger’s film will provide relief, but enjoy this until we get to 2019.
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