Connect with us

*Disclaimer! No spoilers until the end. I will warn you when they come*

Spider-Man: Homecoming is the story of Peter Parker, a name most moviegoers should be very familiar with by now. After teaming up with Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War, Peter has been maintaining a loose contact with him as he continues his super-heroics. After coming across the sinister Vulture, Spidey sets out on a mission to stop him. All the while, Peter is being hounded by Iron Man to take things slow before taking on supervillains. He also needs to maintain his academic career and social life in a balancing act that causes some serious issues for our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

I’m sure most people gathered this much from his brief appearance in Civil War, but Tom Holland is hands down the best Spidey put to film. That isn’t to say Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield didn’t do fantastic jobs in their own right, but Holland just did that much better. He strikes the perfect balance between Peter Parker and Spider-Man and still manages to show off some impressive acting chops despite some goofy scenes. There’s one scene towards the end in particular where he shows off this ability, to the point that I even started to cringe at how much pain his character was in.

Going in, I thought the high school and coming-of-age elements would bother me and feel out of place, but they were the most unique part of this movie. Watching a superhero struggle to maintain two different lives/identities is definitely a played-out trope. That being said, the dynamic between all of the characters in Peter’s life as a student or as a superhero made them seem more realistic and very entertaining to watch.

Speaking of realism, the Vulture is one of the most relatable and human seeming villains in the MCU. Not only did Michael Keaton play him in a way that was truly understandable and desperate, he also managed to feel incredibly intimidating at the same time. He’s an incredibly memorable addition to the MCU’s roster of villains and is the best villain they’ve had in a very long time.

**Spoilers Ahead! Read at your discretion**

I’m also glad that they didn’t spend too much time on Peter’s origin in this film. There are a few nods to it, like mentions of the radioactive spider and to Aunt May being distraught over something (a reference to Uncle Ben). However, there is no “with great power, comes great responsibility” speech, at least not directly. The lessens that Iron Man tries to convey to Peter basically fall in line with this ideology, but he never outright says it. It comes across more as common sense than an overly-preachy and out-of-character lessen, which is entirely in line with Stark’s character.

That being said, the lack of an origin story is one of the weaker parts of this film. Yes, most of the audience knows the story already from the ridiculous amount of interpretations we’ve seen recently. That being said, this film ends up being entirely too reliant on the MCU in order to tell its story.

It is part of the MCU and that is a fact that should be celebrated, but there were several instances where the plot moved forward as a direct result of characters like Tony Stark, his assistant Happy, the Chitauri, Ultron, etc. Some of these cheeky references worked fine as just fan service, like with the Captain America tapes. However, the entire plot focuses on the bad guy selling weapons based off Chitauri tech and Ultron bits and then ends with a fight over Stark tech. If you didn’t watch the Avengers films, you’ll be somewhat lost, which ruins the immersion you’re supposed to feel when watching a movie like this. This isn’t a very inclusive way to start a new series of films, which Spider-Man: Homecoming is set to do. This is a small complaint, though, and the main plot is comprehendible enough for most people.

Regardless, Spider-Man: Homecoming was a solid movie and I highly recommend everyone go out and see it. MCU fans will love how it fits into the overarching storyline and casual moviegoers will be entertained regardless.

Trailer: 

I spend most of my days working towards my Writing and Rhetoric degree at the University of Central Florida, but I spend a lot of my down time keeping up to date on the best TV, movies, and video games the industry has to offer. Here I put all of that extended time to use discussing each of them in-depth.

Gaming

Orlando Bloom and David Harbour Share the Gran Turismo movie’s first trailer

blank

Published

on

blank

Well, this movie has certainly come together quickly, just like the automobiles the franchise is centered around. In truth, Gran Turismo adaptation directed by Neil Blomkamp has already wrapped up filming and is in post-production ahead of its global theatrical release on August 11, 2023. Do you want to see a brief teaser? To view the trailer, click above.

Orlando Bloom and David Harbour provide some comments in this 60-second clip, which also includes a few brief film snippets. In essence, this is based on the real-life experiences of Jann Mardenborough, who won the 2011 GT Academy competition and later found success as a racing car driver.

In the few photos that were displayed, the cinematography seemed amazing, therefore it is obvious that this would look stunning on a large screen. During Sony’s CES press conference, Blomkamp briefly discussed how he is employing the company’s cutting-edge cameras to not only get stunning close-ups from within the car’s cockpit but also to imitate some of the game’s angles, as shown in the trailer.

 

 

Continue Reading

Geek Culture

“An imposing, spectacular, supersized movie,” according to the review of Avatar: The Way of Water

blank

Published

on

blank

James Cameron was king of the bigger, better, and more contentious sequel blockbuster before he was crowned King of the World. Avatar: The Way of Water comes near enough to retain that reputation, even if his eagerly anticipated return to Pandora can’t rival Aliens or T2 for targeted tanker-weight efficiency. And it certainly knocks the flying fish off of Piranha II.

Will it become a $2 billion club member as Cameron suggests it must? We’ll see, but it’s undeniably flawed yet full of flavor (to paraphrase Guillermo del Toro(opens in new tab)). “MOVIE-MOVIE” is a sometimes strange, always magnificent sensory hit with a thematic thrust that is pleasingly genuine with an undercurrent of soft feeling. Untangling some of the story lines might require numerous viewings and three more movies. But Cameron is the best person to make the case for going to the movies again and again.

Cameron doesn’t spend much time setting the scene because the majority of people have already been to Pandora. The first scene quickly parachutes into Pandora’s rainforest, where Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), who have turned completely Na’vi, are now raising their growing family. They have three biological children: Tuktirey, Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), and Lo’ak (Trinity Bliss). Then there are the adoptees: Spider (Jack Champion), a feral human orphan orphaned by war, and Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), a type of offspring of Grace’s avatar (from the original Avatar).

Jake feels that defending his family gives him meaning. The Sully family seeks safety among Pandora’s sea clans when the evil Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) reappears in (completely explained) “Recombinant” avatar form seeking “payback” for his demise. Jake hovers firmly over his tearaway brood in this instance. But how long can they evade Quaritch’s new blue marines? And isn’t knowing how to manage risk an important learning curve?

While Cameron’s bare-bones setup showcases his pulp punch as a writer, it also demonstrates his astounding skill as a world-builder. This time, Cameron doesn’t give much opportunity to pause and take in Pandora’s plant life. The lush jungle suddenly seems inhabited and alive. However, the RDA (Resources Development Administration) has grander plans for Pandora, even though life on Earth is hardly sustainable at this point. Their base of operations is a small metropolis with cutting-edge technology like robotic spider “swarm assemblers” that can create structures in a matter of days. Cameron makes sure you can sense the destruction left behind when humanity arrive on Pandora.

blank

The Way of Water definitely has the WOW factor in terms of CG. Thirteen years later, Avatar’s spectacle-cinema upgrade has been surpassed. Hair and skin gleam; flames and dust particles transfix. The great revelation this time is the reef, which is home to the Metkayina clan, just as Avatar took time to introduce viewers to Pandora’s funky wonderland. The aquatic realm is vivid, sensual, and tranquil. The sense of weightlessness immersed in the waves reveals a new, sensitive grace in Cameron’s direction as the 3D visuals shimmer in time with Simon Franglen’s ringing score. He instills respect for the ocean in addition to entranced love because the waves are both seductive and hazardous. And the sensation of anguish is overwhelming when their residents are mistreated.

Cameron expertly balances thematic, narrative, emotional, and character strands while dazzles your eyes. Jake’s instinctive need to save his children creates danger as a thematic pattern; from the opening monologue on, Cameron treats the theme like a dorsal fin to cling to through stormy story waters. This is somewhat reminiscent of Finding Nemo.

Casting-wise, Saldana and Kate Winslet (as Ronal, the co-leader of the Metkayina tribe) are a little too much in the background, but Worthington shines as the former Na’vi trainee turned training-on-the-job father. Weaver bridges the age gap between actor and character by touchingly projecting Kiri’s feelings of exclusion and sulky eye-rolls through the mo-cap. Dalton, one of the fantastic young actors, gives bonding scenes with the whale-like Tulkun heart when they otherwise may have seemed a bit Free Willy. Additionally, Champion dispatches the Newt-like Spider, whose subplot expands on Cameron’s family-related ideas.

Although it’s unfortunate that his toxic spiel (“science pukes,” etc.) sounds familiar, the returning Lang adds explosive wrath. Cameron doesn’t spend any time brushing up on Avatar, but he occasionally uses well-known beats. The Sully clan’s water-training reworks Jake’s previous Na’vi training, while marine animals like the “ilus” are reimaginings of the “ikrans” from Avatar. When a character moans, “Can’t believe I’m tied up again,” you wonder if a little editing could have been advised. Cameron even repeats himself a little bit within the movie.

Another minor issue with the plot’s stop-start nature is how some characters’ difficulties seem to go away for long lengths of time. Cameron, though, harnesses prior career highs into a blast of full-bore, high-stakes extravaganza at the film’s climactic point to remind you who’s in charge. The Abyss’ strange wonder, Aliens’ kid danger, Titanic’s aquatic horror show, and T2’s technology are all there and have been enhanced for tension, action, and emotion. Some loose tale threads leave more questions than answers when the fire is out. However, there are three scheduled follow-ups. Even after three hours and more, Cameron’s return leaves you wanting more.

Continue Reading

Geek Culture

Here is the second advertisement for The Last of Us on HBO

blank

Published

on

blank

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUke5mdoac0&ab_channel=SkyTV

A brand-new trailer for HBO’s live-action take on The Last of Us from PlayStation has just been released.

The program, which will debut on HBO Max on January 15, 2023, and on Sky in the UK the following day, will star Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as its main characters.

The Last of Us is the first TV show produced by PlayStation Productions, a division of Sony Interactive Entertainment created to create film and television adaptations of its own game franchises.

The first game’s events will be covered, and there may even be The Last of Us Part 2-related material, according to Craig Mazin, the creator of Chernobyl, and Neil Druckmann, vice president of Naughty Dog.

The show’s main protagonists, Joel and Ellie, will be portrayed by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. Sarah, Joel’s daughter, is portrayed by Thandie Newton’s daughter Nico Parker (Dumbo), while Tommy, Joel’s brother, is portrayed by Gabriel Luna (Agents of Shield).

The Last of Us’ debut trailer was released by HBO in September.

Continue Reading

Trending