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JohnKGraham
Reviews
Spider-Man (2002)
Here's my 2 cents worth...
Okay. I finally saw the Spider-Man movie tonight. After months of hearing the hype and hyperbole about this movie, I was ready to soak it in and give my opinion.
Mind you, I have been a faithful comics collector for going on 30 years now, and Spidey has always been one of if not THE most favorite of my heroes as related by Mr. Stan Lee.
Spidey is after all, an ordinary teenager beset by extraordinary circumstances in his life, therefore we can relate to him moreso than say, Superman, who is an alien, or Batman, who is a multi-millionaire.
Anyway, the movie was, in my humble opinion, very good. It stuck to the heart of the comic, and was realistic to me, anyway. I loved the idea of the bio-organic webshooters, and the almost painful way Peter discovers his newly gained powers. Of course, all of us familiar with the Spider-Man canon will remember most all of the movie actually coming from the comic.
Now to the casting. Tobey Maguire was excellent as Spidey. His transformation from bookwormish Peter to super hero Spider-Man was just electric. That look of determination at the end fight when the Goblin was taunting him with killing MJ was worth the price of the movie itself. Kirsten Dunst...beautiful. She captures the very essence of MJ. Wiilem Dafoe was just ok, given his split time as a man hidden behind a mask. I also must give 4 stars to J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson...BEAUTIFUL. I hope we can see a lot more of him in future sequels. He is a perfect cast, unlike Pat Hingle as Gordon in Batman, or Jackie Cooper as Perry White in Superman.
All in all, I would recommend Spider-Man to all viewers. If you aren't a comics freak as me, you may not like it as much as I do. Just sit back and relax for 2 hours and soak in some fantasy, as I like to do.
Peace...
Pay It Forward (2000)
What could they have been thinking?
Ok. Let me start by saying I'm not close to being sexist or anything like that, but I had to double check the credits at the end of the movie to be sure. Let me explain.
I had never, ever heard anything about this movie, but I like Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt, so when it came on, I sat back and watched it. I really enjoyed the story and the interaction of all 3 main leads. Then came the last 10 minutes of the film. After it was over I sat there thinking "why, why would they put this bunch of unrealistic, Messiahnic baloney in this nice little film."
Then I saw the credits and naturally, it was directed by a woman, the book was written by a woman, and screenwritten by a woman. I have never been subjected to more forced emotion in a movie before.
Anyway, I gave it a 6...would have been a 9 if the ending wasnt so Hollywoodized...
Monday Night Mayhem (2002)
very cool portrayal of Monday Night Football...
I have been watching Monday Night Football for over 25 years and didnt quite realize the turmoil of the behind-the-scenes. Great dialogue and information came out of this movie for me. Kudos to John Heard and to the Turturro Brothers, they all made this movie very enjoyable to watch. I would suggest this to anyone who enjoys the "spectacle" of Monday Night Football.