Spider-Man 2 is the absolute greatest superhero movie. Spiderman was my favorite superhero as a kid and the two Spiderman movies capture the idea very well. I recommend it highly.
Unqualified Offerings has quite a few posts about the movie, with his thoughts as well as links to other blogger reviews. I must warn you that there are lots of spoilers in his blog posts as well as in his review for the American Spectator.
The Stepford Wives was an almost OK movie. Most of the movie was not bad but the ending was very bizarre and made no sense.
The Terminal was a decent movie, though it did drag on a little. Tom Hanks acted very well and could get Oscar as Kianoush says. The immigration enforcement supervisor seemed quite like in real life.
The Notebook is a typical tear-jerker, sappy romance. What else could it be since it’s based on a Nicholas Sparks novel. The movie was quite predictable. AMber liked it better than I did. So I guess the purpose of the movie was served.
We had no plans of seeing Fahrenheit 9/11 this weekend. But Before Sunrise was out at the local video store and we decided to wait for that before watching its sequel Before Sunset. Instead we saw Fahrenheit 9/11. According to Amber, it is a biased documentary and could have been better if it was not so overtly biased. We both recognized some major flaws of the movie. The first half detailing Bush’s links with Bin Laden is quite tendentious and not up to par. The latter part of the movie is not as heavy-handed as Michael Moore mostly moves into the background and lets the Iraq war story tell itself.
I’m hoping to see Spidey 2 here soon since I thought what Raimi did in the first was damn good. I wish they had gotten him to do the x-men films since, while the last two have been good, they could have been truly great with Raimi’s touch.
I’ve just seen F. 9/11 (on general release here this past Friday). To criticise it for being biased seems a little unfair, since it was never meant to be anything other than a film overloaded in innuendo and semi-conspiritorial, half-assertions against Bush. Moore, afaik, made no secret that this was a anti-Bush propoganda video.
I think, however, it was distasteful of him to shove the camera in the face of the women had lost her son, when she was outside the White House. The crowd in the cinema I saw it was defnitely anti-Bush; people were crying at the sight of dead and mutilated people, and you could hear the disgust people felt for Bush & co., as well as the views of some American soldiers.
As for superheroes, surely there’s no one better than Superman himself.
I want to see Before Sunset too… Before Sunrise is a good film. Maybe we’ll see you guys at the theatre 😉 I think it’s only playing at the Midtown one. Thanks for the mini reviews of the movies.
Since the United States is a democracy and since the current administration is facing an election, I think it appropriate to introduce a legal analogy to help express my opinion of Fahrenheit 9-11. The Bush administration is on trial in the court of public opinion. A majority of the public serves as the jury while the party machines and a few highly motivated elements of the populous serve as prosecution and defense.
The defense team includes some powerful “lawyers”. The public relations machinery of an incumbent whitehouse is chief among them. Ari Fleischer is a slippery fellow, buttery if you will. D. Rumsfeld and his entourage of generals and admirals in well starched dress uniforms can also impress. The GOP fulfills its traditional role in this regard. And, let one not forget the Fox “news” network.
What of the prosecution? Well, the democrats act as a foil for the GOP. Nader and Kucinich add color to the team – but little else. But, what can match the gravitas of men in uniform or reach of an entire news network? “Better hair,” perhaps. Setting aside coiffures, propaganda pieces such as the debt add by Moveon.org and Moore’s F. 9-11 are the only effective response to Fox and Rumsfeld the prosecution can offer.
I do not seek The Truth in such works, but I see elements of truth. I do not believe that American troops are murderous thugs hyped on rock and roll, as one part of F9-11 portrays. The majority of men who face combat are haunted by the experience until the end of their days, regardless of their thoughts when they pulled the trigger. However, the response of congressmen to Moore’s attempt to solicit sons and daughters for the armed forces reveals something of the truth. The fact that but one member of that august body has an enlisted child screams it. The Bush administration did what it could to circumvent Congress, and Congress had too little personal commitment to restrain the nation’s trigger finger.
Discussion of truthful elements could continue, but this is not the point of my comment. Put simply, in the courtroom of the democratic process, both sides must argue their sides with equal skill and force if the electorate is to choose wisely. F9-11 reinforces a flagging prosecution.
scott: I think the Spiderman sequel is better than the first movie. Enjoy!
Thabet: Moore has characterized F9/11 as an opinion piece. So, it does seem somewhat unreasonable of me to ask for an unbiased picture. However, I think there is enough factual material, especially on the Iraq war, to do a good job against the Bush administration. See, for example, Jon Stewart’s coverage of “Mess’o potamia”.
And Superman is the most boring superhero.
Soljah: We’ll most likely see “Before Sunset” in Montclair, NJ.
CA: I mostly agree (but see my caveat above.) I think Moore’s movie is directed towards a very different audience than news junkies like me. If the reaction in my central Jersey theater is any indication, Bush is in trouble.
I too, just saw F 9/11, and thought it was a good collection of .. well, things. 🙂
Not necessarily a solid argument, just a “hey, look at this, it smells fishy to me, don’t it smell fishy to you?”
The footage of Bush was priceless, and Saddam dancing was nice. I was particularly moved by the woman yelling and pleading to God (Allah) to avenge the deaths of her family.
I loathed Spiderman 2. I wanted to get up and leave about 2-3rds of the way through. I wish Spidey would refund me my money.
But I hated “before sunrise” even more. It’s possibly the worst movie I’ve ever seen. I look forward to not seeing “before sunset”.
Fahrenheit 911 I’ll skip. I know most of that crap already, and only beleive half of it. I want escapism from my cinema not in-your-face politics.
How about some Bollywood reviews?
Hijabman: My favorite scene in F9/11 was the footage of Bush reading to kids even after being told of the 2nd plane hitting WTC.
Ikram: Such hatred towards movies!
I would do Bollywood reviews except that we don’t watch many Bollywood movies.
Zack,
Spider-man 2 rocked, you were right. It is the first movie every that I was so absorbed in it that I forgot I was in a theatre!
And you are also right that Superman is the most boring superhero ever.
scott: Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.
Spider-Man 3
Being a fan of Spiderman since my childhood, I have loved the Spiderman series of movies. While I enjoyed Spider-man 3, its plot is a bit week. I rate it 7/10.