#i do think he's talented and titanic is still nostalgically one of my favorite movies

[nancywheeeler]

as always, i have a million oscar thoughts but we’re popping the biggest bottles that james cameron didn’t get nominated for best director

[bluescarabguy]

THE AMAZING SPIDER-RANT

Spider-Man is a pretty important character to me. Back when I was a wee little lad, a handful of things happened. In 2002 (I would have been about six years old), Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man movie came out. I don’t remember if I went to see it in theaters or not, but I certainly remember seeing it many times on cable not too long afterward. Around the same time, to keep my hyperactive ass entertained for a little while, my mom bought me my first (and for quite a while, only) comic book, issue #8 of Ultimate Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley. Growing up, I suppose I was mainly a DC kid, with two of my favorite cartoons being Justice League and Teen Titans. But even back then, Spidey was almost undoubtedly my favorite superhero, and I’m pretty sure I saw Spider-Man 2 in theaters (and I very clearly remember seeing Spider-Man 3 the day it premiered).

Through most of middle and high school, I fell away from a lot of my geekier obsessions, more out of pressure to fit in than disinterest. Sure, I was still INTO comics and cartoons and stuff, but aside from browsing my quickly-outdated copy of the Marvel Encyclopedia every once in a while, I didn’t read comics or really actively seek out superhero cartoons. Spider-Man: Friend or Foe was my first videogame, but other than that? Not really all that much. Even the emerging Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Dark Knight movies didn’t hugely bring me back into the genre except as a casual fan of superhero characters and a sizable movie buff. Just as high school was ending, though, I started getting really huge into anime, which was my gateway back into hardcore geek culture as a whole.

Then, during my freshman year of college, after hearing about how good it apparently was through the internet (I suppose I’ll credit Nostalgia Critic Doug Walker, since he marked it as the greatest nostalgic cartoon of all time), I started watching Batman: The Animated Series. This was around the same time I started playing through the first two Batman Arkham games, so all that together made me get REALLY big into Batman. I went back and watched the Michael Keaton movies for the first time, checked out all of the recent direct-to-video animated films, and finally started reading actual comic books again (other than my copy of Watchmen, I really hadn’t read the actual stuff) by picking up some of the more recognizable and well-regarded Batman collections (Dark Knight Returns, Killing Joke, Long Halloween, and Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s then-ongoing New 52 run among them). For a little while, I was ALL about Batman. Best superhero, hands down, no one’s as cool as ol’ Brucey.

Out of curiosity, I started checking out Superman’s direct-to-dvd movies as well, and reading some of his more prevalent comics. Stuff like All-Star Superman and Superman: Red Son, along with movies like Superman vs The Elite, Chris Reeve’s original 1978 performance, and so on, and let’s not forget to factor in Max Landis’ outstanding American Alien that was running at this time. And as I looked into Supes more, I started to realize that indeed I found Clark Kent to be a far more meaningful and relatable character than Bruce Wayne. You see, I don’t really have some big tragedy that defined my path in life. Much like Clark, I was adopted from infancy by two amazing parents who taught me to be an upstanding and moral person, even if I didn’t realize it. So for a while after that, Superman was my favorite hero: the paragon of what a hero should be, someone who doesn’t need to extrapolate some personal tragedy to motivate them into doing good, but who just innately understands (though both instinct and good parenting) that one should use the talents they have to better the world.

But here’s the thing about Superman. Remember what I said about extrapolating tragedy to motivate doing good? Clark Kent doesn’t really have that. Clark didn’t know that he was an alien until he was a teenager (depending on the version), and while it’s sad in theory that he’s (initially) the last of his kind, Clark identifies FAR more as a human being from Kansas than he does as an alien super-god, at least in my interpretation (once again perfectly summed up in American Alien: “I’m not from Krypton–I’m from Kansas.”). In terms of a big tragedy, that’s what I like about the character: that he doesn’t need to have someone important in his life die in order to motivate him to do good (though the death of Jonathan Kent CAN be done and done really well, as in Superman: The Movie, or really poorly, as in Man of Steel), and therefore is a hero out of selflessness and good nature, not at all out of guilt. But the thing is, life isn’t really about big tragedies, it’s about small ones. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the difference between fiction and reality, it’s that real life is ANTICLIMACTIC. There’s no orchestral swell to back you up when you really need courage, and there’s no sad piano theme to confirm that you’re correct to be feeling down when you do. Life continues on, and sometimes you get over horrible incidents within hours, and yet the smallest grievance or “maybe if I’d done this” can swirl around in your mind for years.

Superman doesn’t really tend to have a lot of small interpersonal problems to deal with. Clark Kent wasn’t bullied in school for being geeky and weird, he didn’t lack social graces, he was (as far as those he grew up with knew, though how he felt on the inside about hiding his powers depends on your interpretation) relatively popular, handsome but not a model, strong but not a jock or bully, intelligent but not a nerd, his main attribute as a person being his good nature and willingness to stand up for people. Good role model? Hell yes. Incredibly relatable to the everyday person(or more specifically, the average comic book reader in the modern age), despite being the textbook definition of average? Not really.

Enter Spider-Man. It’s well-known that Stan Lee’s direction with Spidey, that he have real-life problems like money and socialization as well as villains and strange happenings, was initially looked upon with skepticism by publishers who thought to themselves “all the people want to see is the hero fighting the villain and other stuff they can’t experience in real life. Why would they want to read about a superhero doing stuff THEY have to deal with too?”. But that’s the genius of this character. Lee (and Ditko, and whoever else was involved in Spider-Man’s initial conception) thought of Peter Parker as a real human being first and as a set of interesting super-powers second, and even with the very hokey writing style of silver-age comics (with characters narrating their every thought out loud and everything ending in an exclamation point!) that still shines through even today.

Now just to warn you, I MAY steal a lot of my upcoming points from Bob Chipman, aka MovieBob, and his “Really That Good: Spider-Man 1 & 2″ video (which is excellent and you should go watch it). But anyway.

One of the bigger things I take umbridge with in the two most recent solo Spidey films, The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, is that Peter Parker, simply put, just doesn’t seem nerdy enough. Or to be a little more complex, watching this film, I don’t get the feeling that this kid, based on what we know of him, would have been bullied as heavily in high school as the film seems to imply. He’s relatively attractive and doesn’t seem to be suffering from the ill effects of puberty (obviously partially due to being played by a 25 year old) and other than having trouble finding the courage to ask out the girl he likes, he doesn’t seem to lack the ability to socialize with others his own age.

In contrast, Tobey Maguire’s Peter from Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man trilogy (though moreso the first two films) is positively pathetic. He’s soft-spoken and lacking in confidence unless he’s directly passionate about a subject (such as in Spider-Man 2 where he’s excitedly conversing with Otto Octavius about nuclear physics). He’s not UGLY, but there’s something about his face that doesn’t exactly scream “handsome” either. When his bosses are yelling at him (whether that be J. Jonah Jameson in all the movies or Aasif Mandvi’s pizza shop owner from the start of SM2) he’s very quiet and just like “ok. yes. I apologize” and has an air of confusion and “please don’t hurt me yelling man” that’s unmistakable. Not only does he not really get how to talk to Mary Jane even though they’re friends and he’s deeply in love with her, he doesn’t seem to really know how to talk to anyone unless it’s something he’s personally passionate about. Some might criticize Maguire’s somewhat monotone delivery in some scenes as bad acting, but you’ll notice he only ever really does it to a degree that’s distracting in a scene where Peter is clearly, visibly uncomfortable.

Now, some people might say that this stereotype of the wimpy nerd who has trouble connecting to people is just that, a stereotype, and needs to be excised from popular culture in favor of more nuanced portrayals. But here’s the thing:

I was that stereotype. For a long time, that geek who couldn’t make friends and was tormented by schoolmates WAS me. Hell, even though I think I’ve improved a lot, in a lot of ways it still IS me. And I’m not conceited enough to think that that kind of life experience ended with me. So to downplay this idea of nerdiness in favor of some idea that “yay! we’re all nerds now!” is, in my opinion, foolish. Just because once nerd-only things like superheroes or anime are now more culturally acceptable in a broad sense doesn’t mean that shy, awkward nerds who turn to escapist fiction to ease their problems don’t still exist. Not saying there’s anything WRONG with being well-adjusted and sociable and popular and being a huge geek too, or that they lack “nerd cred” or something, but you get what I mean.

Perhaps all that is why @hannahblumenreich ‘s Spidey-Zine comics really struck a chord with me. The “high school sucks but sometimes you get to be Spider-Man” comic is poignant enough, and yeah, that’s definitely high school, but the one that really got to me was the Cowboy Bebop one. Spidey gets asked by a girl on the street to walk her home because some guys are following her. As they start moving, he awkwardly asks “sooooo…you ever see Cowboy Bebop?”, to which she replies “What’s that, like…a band?”. We cut to Spidey and the girl on the subway halfway there, and he’s just rambling excitedly as he’s just finished RECAPPING IN GREAT DETAIL THE FIRST EPISODE OF COWBOY BEBOP. AND GOING STRAIGHT INTO THE NEXT ONE. And then after he drops her off at home, he puts in his headphones, puts on Tank! (the Cowboy Bebop opening theme), and swings off to do some more superheroing. Not only is rambling like a madman about something I’m into to somebody who quite honestly probably couldn’t care less, but they’re with me and it passes the time, a thing I do CONSTANTLY, I’m more or less certain I’ve done it about THIS EXACT SAME SHOW. And putting on Tank! in the headphones to make the journey to wherever I’m headed more epic that it really is? I’ve done that a billion times too. See that’s the genius of this character, when he’s written well as a teen and young adult (writing him as a full-on adult is another set of issues): He’s one of us. He has all of our problems, our quirks, our fears. And while the mask he puts on to hide his true self and make others feel better is a literal one, it’s one we all wear metaphorically.

It’s why, despite forgetting it for a while, he’s my favorite super-hero, hands down, and up near the top of my favorite characters in anything, ever. Because you know what? Peter Parker is me. Who am I?

I’m Spider-Man.

(btw like I said earlier you may want to check out MovieBob’s Really That Good on Spider-Man 1 and 2 :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD3h_bT0Mfg )

[spryfilm]

“T2 Trainspotting” (2017)

Drama/Comedy/Thriller

Running Time: 117 minutes

Written by: John Hodge

Directed by: Danny Boyle

Featuring: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, and Kelly Macdonald

Renton: I gave you 4000 pounds. 

Spud: Well, what did you think I would do with them? I’M A FUCKING JUNKIE! 

Renton: Yes… Yes, I suppose you was. 

Spud: I still am.

Can you ever truly go home again? This is something that literally haunts this new Danny Boyle movie, “T2 Trainspotting” (2017), the sequel to the now twenty-year old “Trainspotting” (1997). The question that will be on everyone’s minds is – Is this film any good? Does it live up to the original? Both great questions, the answers are not easy to come by. To be honest I was not sure what the motivation was to making a sequel in the first place, as saying that the original film is a classic is an understatement. Not only did “Trainspotting” launch Boyles career it also launched Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller and Kelly Macdonald careers, none of them have been out of the spotlight since, in fact all have extremely strong television and film careers. It also solidified Robert Carlyle as one of the strongest character actors in the world today, he has featured in almost every genre and even played a Bond Villain – surely the highest praise of any UK born actor in the world today. The director, Danny Boyle is the one who went on to helm many international movies, solidifying his reputation with his Oscar win for best director for “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008). Coincidentially that film launched the international careers of Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Ifffan Khan and Freida Pinto – it seems Boyle has the talent all great directors have – talent spotting. So after twenty years what does it all mean?

It has been 20 years since Mark “Rent boy” Renton stole from his friends half of the £16,000 they’d made in a drug deal and fled the country. He has apparently made a decent – but unfulfilling – life for himself in Amsterdam, and returns to Edinburgh to make contact with those in his former life. Daniel “Spud” Murphy continues to struggle with his heroin addiction, which has caused him to lose his construction job and estranged him from Gail Houston and their son Fergus. Simon “Sick Boy” Williamson, now a cocaine addict, runs the Port Sunshine pub he inherited from his aunt, and with his Bulgarian girlfriend Veronika attempts to blackmail men by luring them into sex videos. Francis “Franco” Begbie is serving a 25-year prison sentence and is denied parole due to his violent temper.

Mark stops by his childhood home, where his father tells him of his mother’s death while he was away. He visits Spud at his flat, narrowly preventing him from committing suicide. Spud initially resents the intervention, but Mark offers to help him out of his addiction. Mark visits Simon at the pub intending to apologize and pay back Simon’s share of the money he stole.

One of the most important aspects of the original movie was the soundtrack, and while I would like to say that the sequel’s soundtrack is as good it is not. However there are some bright points, the one thing that is great is the constant underscore of Underworld’s ‘Born Slippery’ which of course harkens back to the original but in my mind it is extremely indulgent as well as nostalgic – if this film should be about something it should not be nostalgia which is a crutch for the weak. Now, its not to say that the soundtrack is bad its just a bit dated as well as being some popular songs that everyone will know and not feel alienated – so audiences that were fifteen or twenty in 1997 now feel they are watching themselves age with music that wont be offensive. I mean Queen is on the soundtrack – WTF – this is something that wouldn’t have been caught dead in the original.

T2 Trainspotting Original Soundtrack Tracklist 

01. “Lust for Life (The Prodigy Remix)” by Iggy Pop 02. “Shotgun Mouthwash” by High Contrast 03. “Silk” by Wolf Alice 04. “Get Up” by Young Fathers 05. “Relax” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood 06. “Eventually But” by Underworld/Ewen Bremner 07. “Only God Knows” by Young Fathers 08. “Dad’s Best Friend” by The Rubberbandits 09. “Dreaming” by Blondie 10. “Radio Ga Ga” by Queen 11. “It’s Like That” by Run D.M.C. vs. Jason Nevis 12. “(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais” by The Clash 13. “Rain or Shine” by Young Fathers 14. “Whitest Boy on the Beach” by Fat White Family 15. “Slow Slippy” by Underworld

The movie is full of nostalgia, which when dealing with a film like this is not a good thing – when Renton turns back up to see his ‘mates’ there is enough blame from the previous film to go around. It is a handy coincidence that Sickboy is still a madman drug taking con man, Spud is trying to recover from smack and Begbie turns up as an escapee – trying to recapture his youth. This storyline is something that has been the subject of television shows for years – middle age wankers trying to recapture a youth that was never theirs in the first place. Like a greatest hits compilation from your favorite alternative band (now broken and broken up) this movie revisits all the memorable parts of the first film but this time with middle age spread and a healthy dose of guilt, loss and of course nostalgia.

The sequel would not have been possible without Danny Boyle and Ewen McGregor burying the hatchet after they had a falling out over the casting of “The Beach” (2000), where Boyle went with Leonardo DiCaprio.Instead of McGregor – it was one of DiCaprio’s first post “Titanic” (1997) role so he was hot.

The movie sees the return of all of the cast, even Kevin McKidd in flashback as well as seeing a memorial to him and the hugely in demand Kelly McDonald in a cameo as a lawyer so now we know she turned out alright. Then there is the scene stealing (just like the first film) Ewen Bremner as Spud, the still smack addicted mostly comic relief and cautionary tale who it turns out is an author in the making – of course he is, because like all of these characters they have learnt something and discovered their inner truth – please, how convenient. Then there are Robert Carlyle and Johnny Lee Miller who appear to have stayed true to their past, but of course even the evil Begbie who has a grown son as well as the estranged wife sees his life has moved on without him. Oh by the way even Begbie has a ‘moment’ with his son and wife where he acknowledges his son as a better person than him – really? Begbie – come on – its nice to know that exactly twenty years later he is a better man – yeah right. Johnny Lee Miller was always too cool and way to good looking for the original, but here he hasn’t aged a day and looks better than ever, even though he is supposed to be a coke head – welcome back to the 80s Sick Boy.

There is a convoluted plot involving a night club and some other bits that don’t really hold together and are not really that interesting, with a climax involving Spud being a master signature faker which has been conveniently retconned into his past which is neither here nor there. The film does come alive when it parodies the original and when the characters interact on a level that we will all recognize, but when the credits role you may be, like me, thinking that this was surely a missed opportunity for something bigger, better and be more authentic.

If you can get past the constant call backs, visually, sonically or even just inserts from the original film then this might be the film for you. For me it was just to nostalgia to the point that it became over the top, none of the characters have moved forward and to add insult to injury they were given some pat Hollywood ending, it was sad after twenty years to be served up this mess of a movie. The only thing I can think of is that the luckiest person in terms of this film is Kevin McKidd who got out of this sequel by dying in the first film.

“T2 Trainspotting 2” is out on DVD & Blu-ray on the 7th June 2017.

DVD/Blu-ray review: “T2 Trainspotting 2” (2017) “T2 Trainspotting” (2017) Drama/Comedy/Thriller Running Time: 117 minutes Written by: John Hodge Directed by: Danny Boyle…