What was the last movie you've seen?

[MrPopo]

I didn't have any problems with Peter Parker in Amazing Spider-Man, personally. But I can't deny he did seem a bit different than the comic Peter Parker.

Like letting the store get robbed purely out of spite as opposed to letting a thief get away because the wrestling manager was cheating him out of the money he'd earned (which is still spiteful, but much more understandable). That's just one of many reasons I dislike the new Parker. Even in the Ultimate Spider-Man comics that the film was allegedly based on, he was never that much of an asshole.

But that's the whole point. The everyman gets super powers. The everyman is an asshole because of it. Then he realizes that he can't take those powers lightly and starts to become a hero. I remember in the backstory for the Spiderman cartoon in the 90's he just let the thief go when he was wrestling because the thief's not his problem. No spite involved, just indifference. But regardless of the details, the point is that he needs that realization that he can't just be selfish now that he's super powered.

[Nintendork666]

Any Spider-man film is guaranteed to have my ass in theaters opening weekend. Initially, I was as devastated with Amazing, as I had been with Spidey 3 on the big screen. At least Amazing has Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy.

After playing the PS3 game, I decided to give Amazing another chance on Blu-Ray and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it the 2nd time around. However, they still could've handled Parker much better in both writing, and casting. Andrew Garfield is sorta lanky, but not necessarily a believable nerd like Tobe had been - especially not with that damn skateboard of his.

I'm looking forward to The Amazing Spider-man 2. Rumor has it that Black Cat will finally make an appearance.

[Retrodude]

Yeah, I'm kinda the same way. As much as I was disappointed in ASM, I know I'll be there opening weekend for the next one because I just can't stay away. I sincerely hope they get it right next time because I'd hate to think there were two bad Spidey films in a row. They got some decent screenwriters for it (Orci/Kurtzman), so we'll see how that goes.

FYI, it seems Marvel has given up their participation in the films in exchange for merchandising rights. I could be wrong, but that indicates to me that they saw ASM and didn't want to have anything to do with the series anymore other than putting their name on it.

[Luke]

If I think a movie is good...it's good. Period.

Gamerforlife. The man who is above explanations.


A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS

My personal favorite out of the man with no name movies. If this movie doesn't make you want to purchase a revolver and head west on horseback, Westerns aren't your thing. I get so involved with this movie that I can't wait to play R.D.Redemption (even herding cattle) or GUN as soon as the end credits begin to roll.

The story is derived from an old Kabuki play, and was rehashed again in LAST MAN STANDING. LAST MAN STANDING isn't bad either, with Bruce Willis playing Clint's role but set in the 1920's.

[AppleQueso]

^Ever watched Yojimbo?

Might be fun to watch them both back to back.

[Retrodude]

Or how about Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven? Or Hidden Fortress and Star Wars? Or Rashomon and The Outrage? Those would all be good double features too.

[Luke]

^Ever watched Yojimbo?

Yup! I prefer the Western Motif.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Yojimbo is boss, and it makes a great double feature with A Fistful of Dollars - its western re-make - which is also boss.

Also, I always though that the connection between The Hidden Fortress and Star Wars is a bit tentative. The Hidden Fortresss is clearly an influence, but Star Wars draws from a lot of other material as well. That said, both movies use "wipes" to transition between scenes, and both films ostensibly follow the "fools" (i.e, the peasants in The Hidden Fortress and the droids in Star Wars).

Accordingly, I propose the following triple feature:

The Seven Samurai
The Magnificent Seven
A Bug's Life

All three are based on the same story, and all three are great.

(In case it isn't obvious, I am a big fan of samurai films...)

[Ack]

(In case it isn't obvious, I am a big fan of samurai films...)

Pardon for asking, but have you ever encountered any of the Crimson Bat film series? They've never been officially released in the US, but I was wondering if a subtitled version exists. I'd like to watch them, as they apparently follow a female Zatoichi-equivalent.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I have not encountered those, but I will keep an eye out for them. Right now, my wife and I are working our way through the samurai and yakuza films on Hulu+. Despite its horrible interface, that service provides access to 700+ Criterion films, many of which were never released on DVD. There are a ton of foreign films on there, including some pretty amazing samurai and yakuza films. (Black Lizard is one of my favorites, and it apparently never received an official DVD release.)

In any event, I will search for them tonight to see if they are available on Hulu+. If so, you can guarantee that I will be adding them to my queue (if not watching them tonight). Thanks for the recommendation!

EDIT: After a quick Google search, it appears that several of the Crimson Bat movies are available for streaming on Hulu! It also appears that you can tream some of them without a Hulu+ subscription. I will definitely be watching these. Thanks again, Ack!