I’ve been getting a little bit of feedback lately from people with regards to our movie reviews… and here’s what I have to say:  Nanny-Nanny Boo-Boo… stick your head in Doo-doo!!!!  You people need to get a damn life.  We’ve said one thing from day one at the WGUB… we are real people reviewing real things in the real world!  I don’t have a Master’s degree in cinematography with a Bachelors in movie history… I haven’t written articles for the NY or LA Times… and WE DON’T WANT TO BE THOSE PEOPLE!!!!!  We have mad respect for them and their abilities, but we approach everything on this site from a “Regular Joe” perspective.  Cool?

That being said… my review of The Amazing Spiderman!!!  I do want to preface this with the fact that I saw the movie at a drive-in theater.  So… unfortunately, between the headlights turning on and people walking in front of the projector, I didn’t get “into” the movie like I would normally do.  That being said… I loved it!

I personally feel that the most recent adaptation (errr… the one before this one) of Spiderman with Toby McGuire was truly the turning-point for superhero movies!  Can any of you remember the Spiderman & Fantastic Four movies from the late 80’s and early 90’s?  Yikes!  Michael Keaton’s Batman was a pretty good genre reboot, but Sam Raimi & Toby McGuire really showed us what modern movie making can do for the extraordinary.  Then Marvel got their shit together and started building one of the most amazing franchises of our generation with Iron Man all the way through to the Avengers.  “Holy Shit… superheroes can be more real, serious and all-around badass!!!” was uttered across the nation and comic shop owners could once again be proud they spend Nana’s money to open their dream store.  The genre progressively became more intense and less campy… enter, The Amazing Spiderman (see… I was going somewhere).  

While the comic enthusiasts extremists of the world may watch this particular film with furrowed brow, I thing the rest of the world will walk away from Marc Webb’s feature with a fulfilled state of well-being and the distinct pleasure of being entertained.  It goes without saying that the special effects were truly AMAZING, but without there ever being a single moment that I lost focus and thought to myself “Shaw right… that wasn’t real” (well… aside from the fact that it ALL wasn’t real!)… nor did it distract from the really great thing you’ll find in The Amazing Spiderman, acting.  I will say this about the newest Peter Parker, Andrew Garfield, he is a pretty good actor.  I felt he played a troubled, geeky, bullied little-guy pretty well… and the awkwardness in transitioning from nerd-dom to epic hero was done with just the right amount of intensity, enthusiasm & vigor (wait… do those words all mean the same thing?  Crap!).

Then… Emma Stone.  Oh sweet… sweet Emma Stone.  Can we all just say that she is both smokin hot and totally girl-next-door awesome at the same time?  I just saw her in “The Help” a few weeks ago (yes, it’s not all action movies and gore at camp WGUB) then again in The Amazing Spiderman and I almost had to double-check imdb to make sure I didn’t get it wrong.  She is a true Hollywood chameleon, blending her style, temperament and total self for each role.  Add in Denis Leary, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen and  Sally freakin Field and you have a fantabulous cast of actors you’d be lucky to find in any flic… especially a superhero one.  Hell… I’d even go as far as to say this movie felt like an indie film (that is meant as a compliment).  Take out the Spider bite, the web-slinging, the bulldozing lizard man and it’s still a pretty great mov… ok, no… those all make this movie extra awesome.  Nevermind.

Great energy, wonderful acting, fantastic pace… I really don’t think you can go wrong dropping a few nuggets and checking this one out.  And… if you’re one of “those” people who have to complain about something every time you see a movie… just ask yourself one thing, “where you entertained???”  If you answered “Yes” then why are you being so mean?  They’re not reinventing the works of Leonardo Da Vinci here… they’re making a fun movie that will entertain the masses!!!  I even hope they make more (and *mild spoiler* based on the post-credit scene there’s a very good chance).

Last thought… wish I saw it in 3D.  Some of those scenes really would have been badass!!  Especially the first-person web-swinging ones.