Posts Tagged ‘film’
Movie Maniacs: Series 2
Today we’re looking at series 2 of the Movie Maniacs action figure line by McFarlane Toys. This set consisted of mainly cult favorite characters. The sculpts on these figures seemed to improve a bit more and looked a bit more detailed as well. The set included
- Chucky (Child’s Play 2)
- Eric Draven (The Crow)
- Ghostface (Scream)
- Michael Myers (Halloween)
- Norman Bates (Psycho)
- Pumpkinhead (Pumpkinhead)
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The Amazing Spider-Man: Review
In this reboot of the Spider-Man film franchise directed by Marc Webb (I think they picked him purposely…lol) Andrew Garfield stars as the web-slinger Peter Parker and Emma Stone as his love interest Gwen Stacey. This film retells the origin of Spider-Man starting from Peter Parker being your run of the mill brainy, nerdy high school kid to him getting bit by a spider and gaining superpowers after taking a trip to a research facility. He quickly realizes that having that kind of power does require a certain sense of responsibility.
I have been exposed to Spider-Man’s origin story many times over the years (comics, tv and in film) so I wasnt looking forward to seeing it again but as the movie began and it started to build up into it I was fairly surpirised to see that it wasnt the same thing that I’ve seen constantly. The outline to his origin is still there and intact but they tweaked it in certain spots and made it feel fresh and new. I was happy that they included his parents into the story because there is a great little backstory that happens with them in the comics that looks like it may happen in this series of films. The other thing that I was fairly critical about with the previous Spider-Man films was Peter’s lack of actual mechanical web shooters. This film brings that to the table and I couldn’t be happier to have a big, important part of the comic worked into this version. Rhys Ifans plays Dr. Curt Conners perfectly in this movie. You end up sharing a bit of sympathy with the character and all he has been through. The only thing that bothered me a bit was the way Andrew Garfield played Spider-Man. He played Peter Parker exactly the way he should be played but Spider-Man was a different story. In my opinion he was a bit too lanky and very casual with the way he was Spider-Man. I kept looking for that “superhero moment but it fell a bit short. I thought they did a great job at this reboot and it has tons of potential to tell a really great story. I’ve heard that they plan on making this a trilogy, I just hope that if they decide to make more movies after that they at least keep the same continuity with or with or without the same actors. There are plenty of stories out there that can be told without seeing another origin story again. Go check this out in theaters now!
Movie Maniacs: Series 1
Usually with certain genre movies such as horror or action there are action figure lines that get manufactured to coninside with the release of the film. Comic book artist/creator Todd McFarlane took it one step further when he decided to create an action figure line based on some of the most famous cult favorite movie villans and heroes. The appealing thing about these figures was the detail and intricacy of the sculpt. We’ll take a look at the complete series starting today with series 1
The Hunger Games: Review
Based on the young adult novel written by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games stars Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta and Liam Hemsworth as Gale. This movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic nation known as Panem where it is also divided into districts. Every year a televised battle to the death known as The Hunger Games occurs that pits a boy and a girl (picked from a lottery) from the ages 12 to 18 from each district against each other. The battlefield is vast and the children’s survival skills are put to the test. There can only be one survivor.
I purposely stayed away from reading the books because when I did get to see I wanted to watch it with a clean palette so to speak. Usually everyone always comes out of the movie saying the same thing “The book was way better”. After giving you that small disclaimer I have to say that I really enjoyed this movie. It took a premise that had been similarly done before (ex: The Running Man and Battle Royale) and did it on a much bigger scale. I was pleasantly surprised by it and personally cant wait for the rest of the movies to come out. The ONLY thing that made me cringe just a bit was a moment when the “gamemakers” started to manipulate the battle environment and 3 words slipped from my mouth. The Truman Show. It reminded me so much of that movie but a lot less funny. Everything else in the flick was action packed and suspenseful and had a great blend of it being a primitive land but with an obvious futuristic twist. The action sequences were great and smart as well but had ALOT of camera movement. I’m sure it was to hide the child on child violence but it did get a bit annoying at times. Jennifer Lawrence did a really fantastic job as did Josh Hutcherson (which was the real curveball for me). Jennifer is already skyrocketing and look for the same to happen with Josh as well. I give this a big two thumbs up and check it out if you haven’t already!!
