Theatrical Review: Justice League

Date: Sunday, November 26 2017

Location: Cinemark Theater at Stroud Mall

Time: 12pm

Party: 3 (my mom, aunt and myself)

 

Director: Zach Snyder (of 300 and Watchman fame. I know him as the writer/director of SuckerPunch. The rest of the world probably knows him for Batman vs. Superman)

Writers: Chris Terrio (of Argo and Batman vs. Superman fame), Zach Snyder and Joss Whedon (TRAITOR!)

Composer: Danny Elfman (it's been a while...)

 

Cast:

Batman- Ben Affleck

Superman- Henry Cavill

Wonder Woman- Gal Gadot

The Flash- Ezra Miller

Aquaman- Jason Momoa

Ray Fisher- Cyborg

Lois Lane- Amy Adams

Steppenwolf- Ciaran Hinds

 

Duration: 120 hours (+7 trailers)

 

 

Opening remarks

 

Well... it finally happened. I thought this movie would never happen cuz- cmon- you can’t get Superman and Batman together in one movie. They’re just too huge.

But yeah the movie happened. Trying to capitalize on the popularity of the Marvel universe of superhero movies. The question is- is DC so late to the party with this movie that nobody cares for these movies anymore. Wonder Woman got the pot brewing again but perhaps this movie is a step backwards- depending if critic reviews and box office totals matter to you.

It was a full but not satiated theater. We got good seats with no tall people in front of us and we were in middle of the action. Some time the crowd laughed and they actually applauded at the end. Not ravenously but out of respect for a job well done. Or at least they found it enjoyable.

Trailers

There were so many I had to write them down on my phone so I wouldn’t forget any.

Black Panther

Like all marvel movies the action and scenery is fantastic. As a movie though I’m not sure if it holds a lot of interest for me. I might wait for the critics to sound off on this one. (As much as I don’t trust them half the time they were my deciding vote about seeing Wonder Woman.)

The Commuter

I saw Liam Neeson and I’m like “oh no it’s not another Taken movie is it? That family needs to never leave their house again). But nope it’s another Liam Neeson thriller- this time Vera Farmiga seems to be the sociopath he needs to cooperate with and then defeat. (She’s such a good psycho- I know this for a fact). With her in this movie, just maybe, it won’t be another cliched effort from this guy.

Rampage

It’s kinda like Mighty Joe Young meets genetic engineering/alien artifacts meets King Kong. Dwayne Johnson (who has been freaking everywhere lately- at least he’s not John Goodman) is a man who has a friendship with an albino gorilla. Not only is this friendship tested when the gorilla finds some sort of technology in the jungle and mutates into a giant, but there are other hostile animals also infected and involved. Considering this is from the same people behind San Andreas, I’m not holding my breath.

Pacific Rim Uprising

To fight giant aliens invading a city apparently you need giant robots. I knew this movie was coming from the Microsoft Surface commercials. Although later in the trailer, I thought it might be Halo. Except I think that world was post apocalyptic and they weren't giant robots. Either way, another pass.

Tomb Raider

Heard about this one as well. Geesh Alicia Vankander won an Oscar and all of a sudden she’s everywhere. Brie Larson too but that’s another movie.

Do we really need to resurrect this franchise? I didn’t like it the right time but I also don’t care a lot for Angelina Jolie.

A Quiet Place

This movie looks creepy as hell. The trailer is shown with no dialogue and no sounds except music that builds until the end.

Supposedly real life husband and wife John Kraskowski and Emily Blunt and their family live in a cabin in the woods and can’t make a sound cuz if they do they’ll alert a terrifying creature. :shudder:

Deadpool 2

I almost forget all about this one LMAO.

Yeah it’s a funny teaser trailer where Deadpool does his best Bob Ross inspiration. Keep an eye on the painting and how it changes.

Then we get a major flurry of activity and footage I can’t make heads or tails of. Anyway- the only movie out of these I’m excited for.

Considering how few movies I’d seen this year (in theater and at home) I hadn’t been excited about many movies at all lately.

The Main Attraction

 

Yeah... there are different parties involved but like the Avengers movie, the earth is under attack from alien forces and superheroes need to come together. Except the villain is an ancient being from another dimension that dates back as far as the Amazons (like Wonder Woman) and Atlantans (like Aquaman). And instead of S.H.I.E.L.D. it’s Bruce Wayne getting everyone together.

Some participants (like Aquaman and newly created Cyborg) are unwilling at first but everyone eventually comes together.

And there’s also a plot about resurrecting Superman cuz they apparently can’t do this without him.

 

Good news first: Ezra Miller (who I know best as Patrick from “The peeks of being a wallflower”) is great as The Flash as the token young guy still getting to know his newfound super powers. He had some hilarious jokes and one scene where he ate a whole pizza pie. My aunt said he needs to eat a lot. Considering his powers it’s easy to see why.

Cyborg was the reluctant participant, nearly into his transformation and we get a good back story how he was a promising athlete and tragedy befell him. But as a result everyone he knew but his father believe he’s dead.

There’s also a funny running joke (not that kind of running- although the flash is involved) how he keeps trying to fist bump Cyborg but the timing is never right.

Wonder Woman is maybe the glue holding everything together. Not just the group but the whole movie. She still feels like a breath of fresh air. Not as naive as she was in her origin movie (clearly a lot has happened between those events and her cameo in Batman vs Superman- which I still haven’t seen but maybe should to fill some gaps for myself) but yeah, Gal Gadot is great.

Of course I’ll keep with the avengers comparisons and maybe it’s cuz they’re both female but she kinda occupies the same field as Black Widow. But I like Wonder Woman more right now- I’m still kinda mad that they put her and hulk together as a possible romantic pairing just cuz the avengers apparently HAVE to have one. (No, it doesn’t...)

 

Then Aquaman gets involved cuz the villain paid him a visit in his home world as well... my compliments to the writers on this... I was so terrified when this villain visited his world and wonder woman’s that their entire families would be massacred cuz that’s what the cliche is. They didn’t. And I am so grateful cuz that just would have been painful. Especially after falling for the Amazons in the Wonder Woman movie. Not to mention they are bad asses and if they were all killed, it totally would have taken that away.

There, the compliments end. And I hate to say it but the issue lies with Ben affleck playing Batman. It just feels like nobody can play that role anymore. One too many recasts. (At least the kid from Gotham is still nailing a young Bruce Wayne- although not liking the destructive teenager story arc this current season has).

And I don’t really care for Ben affleck that much. Argo was maybe the one exception even though it was a long ass movie that had too many low boring points.

So it looks to me like Ben Affleck is getting this group together not Bruce Wayne and he made one comment how the aliens are going to affect climate change and ocean levels will raise. (Of course he says this to Aquaman and he doesn’t mind that... he adds that waters will also boil). Ugh! You and Leo, just shut the hell up! Do your jobs as actors and leave the politics out of it.

Also he goes toe to toe with Wonder Woman about how they respond to grief of lost loved ones and he said she couldn’t lecture him cuz she didn’t get over hers for years. Yeah, dude, but she eventually did. You haven’t and you’re insensitive to the fact she can’t bring hers back.

Once Superman is back in the mix, not as much screen time but maybe that’s why I thought he was good. Although it is kinda pitiful that the justice league can’t do this without him. The avengers have a demi God in Thor but he doesn’t contribute nearly as much as Captain America does and he isn’t as strong as him or Superman (although he is pretty strong- since he goes through punching bags pretty quickly).

But yeah all the action in the finale is great and it’s really cool how something the villain says throughout the movie winds up being his undoing.

It’s only a 2 hour movie but it felt like it took SO long to get there.

And as interesting as some of these character arcs are, I really don’t care enough about any of them to feel invested. That’s kinda what summed this all up for me.

Grade: B

Batman (1989)

Director: Tim Burton
Composer: Danny Elfman
Songs Written and Performed by Prince

Main Cast:
Batman/Bruce Wayne- Michael Keaton
The Joker/Jack Napier- Jack Nicholson
Vicki Vale- Kim Basinger
Commissioner Gordon- Pat Hingle
Alfred- Michael Gough
Knox- Robert Wuhl

Opening Comments:

I'd been meaning to see this movie again within the month of October. Batman seems to fit right in with the Halloween motif, especially since Tim Burton is helming this particular film. That's part of the reason.
The other reason, I kinda fell into. Opportunity presented itself and I took it.

Batman the franchise:

My feelings about Batman are mixed at best. He's a great character. Bruce Wayne is easily one of the most complex characters in comics. He has a dark past that he lives with every day because it is his reason for becoming Batman. It is his motivation. He's a powerful figure in Gotham, but while he has everything, he has also nothing. Other than his lifelong butler and confidante Alfred, he has no one in his life that's particularly close with. In other words, it's easy for him to get a date, but it's hard to have a long-lasting relationship.

I said my feelings are mixed because I am not a fan of how he's been rendered in most of the films. The TV series "Gotham" is definitely on the right track with their young Bruce Wayne, but I keep waiting for that great epiphany, that transformation that makes him become Batman.

"Batman Returns," I need to give another shot because like this particular movie I'm about to discuss, I wasn't a fan.

Really, my first Batman film was "Batman Forever" and it's still my favorite. Even after rewatching it a few months ago, that hasn't changed. I enjoy it very much and "Kissed by a Rose" is a great song. I don't care what anyone says.

Then Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale and the "Bat Voice" happened and I just haven't been satisfied since. I mentioned in my "Batman Forever" review that I'm one of the few people that HATES "The Dark Knight."
Funny coincidence or brilliant marketing by HBO, who knows, but after Batman, they showed a trailer for the upcoming showing of Batman vs. Superman. I'm willing to give Ben Affleck a chance, but the film as a whole... I don't have a lot of hope for it.

Ok, now for this one.

"Batman" in a nutshell:

Batman is first introduced as this mysterious character lurking in the shadows and taking out bad guys. Taking out means beating them up and terrifying them until the cops show up.

Jack Napier is a gangster, but the night he becomes The Joker, he is double-crossed by his own men and his crime boss Grissom, assaulted by Batman and falls into a vat of acid. Somehow he survives. The same can't be said about the nerves in his face, which have left him with a permanent smile on his face.

Vicki Vale is a photographer who comes to town interested in the rumors of Batman. Immediately, she teams up with reporter Knox, the only person crazy to pursue the lead that Batman presents.
There's a party at Wayne Manor where a lot of government officials are hanging out and having a good time. The two journalists wander off into a room full of artifacts from other countries and meet Bruce Wayne himself. Naturally, Vicki Vale is enchanted by him and the feeling is mutual. But with him being Batman, that comes with complications.

The movie is mostly The Joker wrecking havoc around Gotham and the blossoming relationship between Vicki Vale and Bruce Wayne.
At over 2 hours, the movie runs a little too long for me. Particularly in the last hour where not a whole lot is happening.

Comments on Cast and Crew:

the "Batman" world hasn't been quite the same since Tim Burton left to pursue other projects. Really love the look of Gotham City- something that hadn't really been captured again this well until maybe "Gotham"- but even then, it's not quite the same. Not that comic-booky gothic look.

Michael Keaton plays a good Batman and Bruce Wayne. Strong in the costume and no need for that stupid Bat-voice. As Bruce Wayne, he has an enigmatic personality. He's so mysterious and you don't really know what to expect. You want to pull back the layers, but at the same time, why ruin a good mystery?

As Vicki Vale, Kim Basinger was good... love her tenacity about getting close to Bruce Wayne and finding out about Batman and such. But I just got so sick of her screaming. That had to have been the only reason she was given the role.
At least it's not the Kate Capshaw/Temple of Doom situation...

and Jack Nicholson as The Joker... c'mon... it doesn't get any better than that. except maybe the animated series- I haven't seen much of it, but for me, that's still kinda the standard of what this comic and series should be.

And it's also because of Jack Nicholson that Prince got involved in the soundtrack

The Batman soundtrack:

For starters, Danny Elfman is awesome. Especially when he's doing movies like this where it's all dark and dramatic and stuff. It gives an added dimension to it.
Comparatively, Prince's contributions feel like a footnote.
He's the reason I gave the movie a second chance years ago after my first watch wasn't a big success. Some of those same feelings are true- the pacing gets painfully slow in the latter portions of it.

As far as his albums go, after revisiting it a couple times the last two weeks... he's done so much better. I think the story goes is that Jack was a fan and wanted Prince to get involved. After meeting him, Prince wrote "Partyman" and then wound up doing the entire musical soundtrack.

I have a lot of unless information in my head about him, but this is one of those areas I'm not as knowledgeable about.

Going through the trivia, Tim Burton wasn't a fan of Prince's music for the movie. And critics said his songs were out of place.

Me, I had trouble finding them :P the songs aren't all that great when taking his entire discography into account.
And I agree that the way they were used... they didn't make a lot of sense. I must have missed "The Future" because it was in the very beginning after the opening credits- I had to go out and walk the dog.

During the Wayne Manor party, I think I heard "Vicki Waiting" softly in the background in one scene and "Electric Chair" (maybe my favorite on the whole album) shortly after.

Then there's a huge gap until the infamous "Partyman" scene- where The Joker and his men trash the art museum. That is such a fun scene, even though it's a villain scene, that I hated when they cut the music off.
The way The Joker's men show up with a giant boombox for the music... Prince did something similar in "Under the Cherry Moon" where he and his partner Tricky brought it to liven up a really stuffy night club full of rich people.

I thought I heard "Scandalous" in the score during one scene where Vicki tells Bruce Wayne "we could try and love each other." But it's featured more prominently in the ending credits for maybe 2 minutes.

Then "Trust" you can hear when The Joker has his parade where he says he'll be throwing money into the streets. The dialogue backs it up somewhat (or is it the other way around?) because The Joker asks "who do you trust? me or The Batman?"

The other songs that weren't in the movie at all... "Batdance" is cool, but it wouldn't have fit anywhere.
I hate that "Electric Chair" were just thrown into the background because it is such a kick-ass song.

The "gimmick" of the album was that songs were credited to different characters.
"The Future" is Batman.
"Electric Chair" and "Partyman" are The Joker.
On those two alone, you see that he's really playing up the Gemini perspective of his personality. In this particular case, I like his "Joker" tracks a lot more.
"Arms of Orion"- a duet between him and Sheena Easton is credited to Bruce Wayne and Vicki Vale- but the lyrics don't quite work in the context of the movie. It's also one of those universally hated Prince songs. I don't mind it, but it's also very cheesy.
"Vicki Waiting"- I recently found wasn't even an original for the movie- it was written for/about Anna Fantastic- one of his girlfriends. One I don't think I'd even heard of before I heard about her on a podcast.  The more I hear it, the more I like it.
"Trust" is very fast paced and fun... but lyrically, I don't quite get it.
"Lemon Crush"... I am still figuring out my feeling on it. I thought I hated it, but the last time I heard it, considering the title being "having a bitter crush on someone"- another thing I picked up from a Prince podcast I'd been listening all this week [Peach & Black]
"Scandalous" is one of his most loved ballads... personally, it's not one of my favorites. It runs a little long in the latter portions, almost like the movie, and the vocal, to me, it's like he overdoes it to the point his voice sounds scratchy. But I think it might be growing on me. A slow seductive ballady love song.
Then "Batdance" is a mixture of dialogue from the movie set to music.

Throughout watching the movie this time around, I picked up nearly every sound bite from it.

So yeah... I'm kinda sorry that I gave myself an excuse to talk about Prince here and it's been mostly negative.
Considering all he did in the 80's and the decades since... this album was cool when I first got it, but in the context of everything else... it doesn't shine all that brightly.

Next year I plan on going through all the albums I own by him and really go in-depth with them. To decide how I'd rank them and my favorite songs. But I'll do that on the blog I began because of him- all the way on dreamypoproyalty.wordpress.com [which has covered more figure skating lately than Prince- but after he died, he has been popping up a lot more over there]

One more thing:

I usually start these posts with awards and accolades. I double-checked really quickly.
"Batman" won an Oscar for Best Art Direction.
And Jack Nicholson was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe... although it almost felt like he had more screentime than Batman/Bruce Wayne

And with the screaming... someone actually asked on Imdb how many times during the film. Kim Basinger screamed 22 times throughout the movie.
I'll be seeing her soon in the 50 shades sequel... first time I'd seen her really since this movie, so it should be interesting on a number of levels. Starting with her being "Mrs. Robinson"- the person that made Christian Grey the kinky sex freak he became.
There are rumors (not sure how true they are) that she had a relationship with Prince. He did compose an album she sung on. But where I was leading with this... if they were together, I hope her screams in the bed were more pleasing to his ears than what she did in this movie. [according the imdb messageboards- it's not her only occasion of screaming too much in her movies]

19. Spider-Man (2002)

Code-name: MJ

Director: Sam Raimi
Composer: Danny Elfman

Cast:
Peter Parker- Tobey Maguire
Mary Jane Watson- Kirsten Dunst
Harry Osborn- James Franco
Norman Osborn- Willem Dafoe
Uncle Ben- Cliff Robertson  (RIP, 2011)
Aunt Mae- Rosemary Harris
J. Jonah Jameson- JK Simmons

Notable mentions (actors who got big later on):
Elizabeth Banks as Daily Bugle secretary Betty Brant
Joe Manganiello as Flash
Octavia Spencer as the check-in girl at the wrestling match
Bruce Campbell as the ring announcer at the wrestling match

Notable Nominations:

OSCAR- Best Sound
OSCAR- Best Visual Effects
(lost to "Chicago" and "Lord of the Rings: the two towers")

Grammy- Best Film Score- Danny Elfman
Grammy- Best Original Song- "Hero" by Chad Kroeger
(lost of "Lord of the Rings" and Randy Newman's obligatory Pixar cameo, "If I didn't have you" from "Monster's Inc.")
Musical Extras
I don't get where all the Nickelback hate comes from. Granted, I find their albums very uneven, but I love their songs on the radio, how we have this really rough voice does these beautiful melodies... but "Hero" is such a great song. A great way to end the credits.

As for Danny Elfman's score, he's up there for me with John Williams and Hans Zimmer. While he started his career as part of the band Oingo Boingo, he really has brought so much to movies. His work with Tim Burton is so iconic and perfectly canvases the eerie, spookiness of his work. For the "Spider-Man" movies, they wouldn't be anywhere near as impactful as they are without his score resonating in the background. So iconic and such a part of this trilogy's success story.

Write-up:

Beginnings

At best, I guess you could say I was a casual comic-book movie fan before "Spider-Man" turned all that around for me. I'd only seen a couple "Batman" movies (by that time, I think all but "Batman Returns"). Enjoyed the original Tim Burton film that turns 25 this year and "Batman Forever," #73 on my list in case you missed it:
http://moviegoerconfessions.blogspot.com/2013/06/73-batman-forever-1995.html

Well, to be fair, "Spider-Man" made the genre more accessible for me, but I didn't become super fanatical about the Marvel universe until years later.

It led me to X-Men (which I really need to rewatch), Fantastic Four (which I didn't care for) and Daredevil (... I just can't, it was too horrible, one big reason I'm not a huge Ben Affleck fan, but after "Argo," I'm intrigued to see his take on Batman... just as long as he promises to leave the phony Christian Bale Batman voice out of it).

"Batman Forever" had its moments, which I went into great detail about, but "Spider-Man" really resonated with me. I guess because it was about an awkward teen in high school that got super powers. I was going on 16 at that time, so I could relate.

Definitely a great theatrical experience, especially with wide angle shots of Spider-Man flying through the city, although it did run a little long towards the end.
I don't remember much of the banter that resulted with my family after we all went to see it. My mom and I enjoyed it enough where we saw the sequels at the movies as well.

One thing I did remember, oddly enough, was that I actually left the theater for a bathroom break somewhere in the "running long" territory of the third act.
Maybe it's because we don't buy drinks and tubs of popcorn anymore (contraband candy on the other hand...), I hadn't gotten up during a movie since then... actually, I think that was the only time ever.
And I'd sat through the likes of "Avatar" (TWICE!), "Les Miserables," "The Hobbit" and the Lord of the Rings franchise without a break.

Yeah, it is a little TMI, but with my blog titled as it is, movie going experiences are all up for grabs.

The Story
BEWARE: AMPLE SPOILERS FOR ALL SPIDER-MAN MOVIES AHEAD

Or should it be "stories"... there are multiple plot points and themes explored in this.

At the forefront we have Peter Parker's coming-of-age story.

During a school field trip, he gets bitten by one of the museums' "super-spiders" and gains powers. In addition to the biologically occurring silk in his wrists, he gains muscle mass, strength and improved senses (the 6th 'spidey sense' and vision allowing him to discard his glasses). As if it wasn't bad enough that he was coping with puberty and a school-girl crush.

Part of his character arc also involves his relationship with his Uncle Ben. He's the closest thing to a father figure he has and he doesn't appreciate that until after his tragic death. Much like in a lot of superhero origin stories [especially notable in "Batman"], the death of a family member is the activating incident that leads/solidifies to the assumption of a crime-fighting secret identity.

In other words, he takes Uncle Ben's now famous mantra to heart:
"with great power, comes great responsibility"
so Peter learns to use his newfound powers to fight crime in NYC in order to clear his conscience of the one misstep he made that led to his uncle's death.

Then of course is the love triangle:

Peter's had a crush on Mary Jane since the day she moved in next door to him. But while he goes through his changes and assumes his crime-fighting role, his best friend Harry swoops in and asks her out.
This is, of course, after she dumps her jerk of a boyfriend, Flash, upon high school graduation.

One way or another, Peter does manage to sweep MJ off her feet, but some of it is helped by the complicated dynamic Harry's dad brings to the equation.

Norman Osborn is developing something at his company, OSCORP, to maintain their military contract and it goes terribly wrong. If that wasn't enough, he gets fired from his own company when they get an offer to sell to their chief competitor. Therefore, he assays the role of the villain. First to get his revenge on them and second to take down Spider-Man.
His motivation for this... I'm not sure... he offers Spider-Man the option to ally with him and turns against him when he refuses...

Come to think of it, that's a really flimsy explanation.
[after rewatching the film... a painstaking undertaking because my little used, glitch-free DVD chose tonight to give me a hard time... apparently he decides to go after Spider-Man because at the World Unity fair where he destroys the OSCORP board members, he realizes he's the only person able to stop him]

As I'd gone into a few times before (again, I swear that him popping up in my movies is pure coincidence), Willem Dafoe knows how to play a heck of a villain. In addition to the super strength and improved reaction time (his transformation oddly mirrors that of Peter Parker after he gets bitten by the spider... okay, the writing was done on purpose and cleverly done so), the "performance enhancers" he experimented with also gives Norman Osborn a psychotic dual personality.
I hadn't seen more than 5 minutes of the movie, but this scenario really does have Jack Nicholson ala "The Shining" written all over it.The psychosis appears in the form of the Green Goblin, but on numerous occasions, it leads to angry outbursts that result in rocky situations. Most notably on Thanksgiving. On top of learning Peter Parker's secret identity, he yells to Harry off-screen that MJ is only after him for his money.

...Jerk move. And it kills me when Harry defends him:
"That is a great man. If I'm lucky I'll be half of what he is"...

Looking at all the facets of his character arc throughout the trilogy, I really do not like Harry Osborn... the only time this wasn't true was when he learns Peter's identity towards the end of the second movie.... more on all that later.

The only other storyline left is the second most notable 'antagonist' in Spider-Man's life:
J. Jonah Jameson, Editor in Chief of the Daily Bugle, who seems to be hell-bent on smearing his image, proclaiming that he's a villainous vigilant. All this despite Peter's efforts to convince him otherwise.
Yeah, I find this annoying, but as we see in "Spider-Man 2," there'd be an ingredient missing in these films without Mr. Jameson's explosive derogatory outbursts :P

Actors and Character Development

So many great memorable characters throughout this movie and the trilogy...

Easily, Tobey Maguire is my favorite part of this. He owns the socially awkward nerd archetype that he begins this movie with. He's the underdog you want to see finally catch a break and even with superpowers, it's always a struggle.
Batman has his struggles as well, but I find that I gravitate more towards Marvel superheroes because they're more real. They're real, relatable people that have power thrust upon them or (in the case of Iron-Man), have to adapt to overcome difficult, sometimes, life-threatening situations. And they all have something to overcome, demons to fight.

Tobey brings such great vulnerability to this role, I couldn't help but follow him to some other movies. I remember one of them being "SeaBiscuit."
I'd mentioned with Ralph Macchio and Emma Stone that I fell in love with their acting after one role that led me to other movies, but their other work didn't carry the same weight for me. Didn't have as big an impact.
I still have hope for Emma Stone, though.

With Tobey, I thought he did really well in two other movies.
I'd already mentioned in my Gatsby review where I thought he was a perfect Nick Carraway.
http://moviegoerconfessions.blogspot.com/2013/05/theatrical-review-great-gatsby-2013.html

I have a vague recollection that I'd wanted to see "Wonder Boys" years ago because he was in it. When I was binging on all the RDJ movies I could find (granted, I did my research beforehand), I did get around to it.
Ironically, Terry Crabtree ranks among my least favorite characters that he played, but everyone else was amazing. A really well made movie.
http://dreamypoproyalty.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/wonderful-wonder-boys-4-the-writers-writer/Peter Parker goes through so much throughout this movie as I'd already said. He grows into this role, gains a sense of responsibility and finds his niche, his place in the world and it comes from a very honest place. Wanting to do right by Uncle Ben and protecting those he loves.And getting with MJ is also part of his motivation. Also my second favorite Kirsten Dunst role (the first being "Bring it On")
http://moviegoerconfessions.blogspot.com/2013/04/86-bring-it-on-2000.html

I hadn't really seen her in much since then, although I'm still considering seeing "Melancholia" since it'd been her first movie in YEARS.

MJ's characterization does have its critics, but I just find her so pleasant to watch on screen. Even with the incessant screaming in times of peril.
She does come to realize her love for Peter Parker, but watching the two of them struggle through the second movie was hard. Will they/won't they... the fact they did get together in the end was one of many reasons why I felt the third movie kinda ruined the franchise.

It's easy to root for them through the first couple movies, but with all the ups and downs in the third... however much of it I remember (only saw it once in its entirety and that was in theaters in 2007)... was it really worth it?

As for Norman Osborn, watching the movie again... he was really quite fascinating to watch. I don't know if it's because of all this time I'd been spending with Willem Dafoe these past several months, between the movies on my list and "The Grand Budapest Hotel." To me, it doesn't appear that he's all bad. It appears that he still does have a conscience and outside of the office, he seems like a really nice guy. He's very supportive of Peter, treating him almost like a son. But by the finale, it's clear that he's gone too far in the wrong direction to receive any type of redemption.

Thoughts across the trilogy

Shortly after coming up with this list, I got "Spider-Man 2" on DVD. Watching it again got me thinking that maybe I should have picked it in place of the original in my list.
I'm obligated to stand by my rankings, but to be fair, even though I enjoy the sequel more than the original and felt it outdid the original in a number of ways, the original "Spider-Man" is on my list for nostalgic purposes. And also because I consider it as the superhero movie that officially turned me onto the genre to the point I love going to theaters for the cinematic experience they provide.

It's rare that a sequel is better than the original movie.
Firstly, I loved the character of Doc Oc. I'm not sure if it's the way the original comics were written, but I thought his character was really well written.
He was an intelligent likeable guy, a brilliant scientist who became a villain when an experiment goes totally wrong. Then by the finale, he realizes the error of his ways and redeems himself before his unfortunate demise. I also liked how they tied up all the loose ends, what with Harry learning that Peter is Spider-Man and that his father was a nutjob and Peter and MJ end up together in the end.

Then the third movie happened.
The reason I'd been unable and unwilling to see it a third time is that the movie is just too damn long. When it's on TV, it's always cable and it runs for 3 hours.
And it just seemed to be one horrible decision after another.

Like Harry becoming Green Goblin 2.0. WTF? You'd think after he learned the truth about his father he wouldn't do the exact same thing and turn to evil.
And maybe it's these movies, but James Franco just annoys me in general. I can never take him seriously.Then MJ and Peter's relationship had too many peaks and valleys. It was exhausting.
As for Peter's "emo phase," what all the fanboys proclaimed as the worst part of the movie (aside from the treatment of Venom, obviously), I thought it was a freaking riot. Loved every minute of it.
It also made the same mistake that "The Dark Knight" made a full year later: they introduced a villain (in the case of Venom, a highly anticipated one) in the last half hour of the movie and he gets snuffed as soon as he's created.

One thing that really had me throwing a fit was how they ruined part of the original movie for me. Not to the same degree as "Karate Kid part III" mind you, but they totally manipulated a key part of the movie to say "that's not the whole story."
I hated how they went on to say that the guy Peter pursued after Uncle Ben was shot wasn't the guy that killed him... it was other guy... way to toy with our emotions, guys.

...and for the record, I hadn't seen the reboot series yet.
When I heard they were remaking the movies not even a decade after the original, I was about as pissed as I was over them remaking the Karate Kid. In a "it ain't broke for the love of God don't fix it"
After hearing some arguments in favor of it, I'm starting to reconsider. James Garfield is a positive in that direction (but again, I hate that you've got this great looking British guy but he's given roles that don't allow for his equally hot accent). But hearing that Emma Stone dies in the sequel... why subject myself to loving her as Gwen Stacy only to lose her in the end of it all?

Which reminds me, I hated that Gwen Stacy (ala Bryce Dallas Howard, another actor I can't get myself to like with the types of characters she plays) got Spider-Man to give her the upside down kiss in "Spider-Man III"... that was something special he had between him and MJ and they just spat on the memory of it.

Coming Soon

Brad Pitt posters were on practically every teen girl's bedroom walls in the 90's except for me. I didn't get the attraction until I saw him in the next movie on my list.
While I'm not a Bradgelina fan by any means, I'd come to enjoy him in a couple other movies since then. One is further down my countdown and another that lost its place to "Sweeny Todd"... a) because I couldn't do my favorite movies without "Sweeny Todd" and b) while this Brad Pitt film was a well conceived, well acted picture that I believed deserved a number of Oscars, I only saw it once and it's been 5 years...And I could say this is a movie with a great ensemble cast, but that'd just give it away, wouldn't it?

22. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Code-name: Zero

Director: Henry Selick
Writer: Tim Burton (based on a poem he wrote)
Composer: Danny Elfman
Type: Halloween/holiday themed animated film

Cast:
Jack Skellington- Chris Sarandon
Jack Skellington (singing voice)- Danny Elfman
Sally- Catherine O'Hara
Dr. Finkelstein- William Hickey
The Mayor- Glenn Shadix
Oogie Boogie- Ken Page
Lock- Paul Reubens
Shock- Catherine O'Hara
Barrel- Danny Elfman
Santa Claus- Ed Ivory
Narrator- Patrick Stewart

Notable Nominations:
OSCAR- Best Visual Effects
Golden Globe- Best Original Score- Danny Elfman

Write-up:

Introduction

I remember wanting to see this movie when it came out on VHS, but I don't know if we ever got around to renting it. At the tender age of 8, I probably wouldn't have gotten into it or enjoyed it as much as I do now.

I have "Kingdom Hearts" alone to thank for convincing me to give this movie another shot. Now I can't get through the Halloween season without seeing it once and I have this thing where I have to see every second of it or the overall experience doesn't feel complete.

The first time I saw a run-through of the game, I was surprised that HalloweenTown was one of the worlds. I didn't remember it being a Disney movie... apparently Touchstone Pictures is OWNED by Disney and they used to distribute their darker films.

...I have mixed feelings about that :-P Disney handles some pretty dark stuff on their own

But anyway, both installments of the series handled different elements from this movie. This is opposed to one game handling a plot similar to the movie and the other making up its own storyline. That alone, I find pretty impressive.

In Kingdom Hearts, Jack wanted to use the Heartless for his yearly Halloween celebration and it has some serious repercussions. Naturally, Sally thinks it's a horrible idea and tries to talk him out of it. Oogie Boogie's roulette wheel was featured in the first boss fight.

The second game revisit the plot where Jack has Sally make him a Santa Claus costume and it's hinted that he wants to give the Christmas thing another try.
Both renderings were really well done, using a lot of the same settings in the film (KHII also has a ChristmasTown locale, which is a nice addition).

It's also nice that they brought back Chris Sarandon to perform for Jack... everyone else, they were sourced out to prolific, albeit, generic voiceover veterans like Kathe Soucie and Jeff Bennett (who I love in their own work, it's just a minor peeve of mine when other actors originate roles and sound-alikes take over for monetary reasons)...

Anyway, moving on...

The Story


Halloweentown is one of several parallel universes where holidays come from. The inhabitants include all the creatures one would associate with Halloween, monsters, vampires, werewolves and such. The most notable resident: Jack Skellington the Pumpkin King. During every year's Halloween celebration, he's at the center of its planning and staging.

This year, however, after Halloween comes and goes, Jack feels empty inside, doing the same thing year after year and wants to find something new.
What he winds up finding is the portal to ChristmasTown, leading him on a mission to explain the spirit of Christmas to the HalloweenTown residents.

This does not go over well and he soon decides the best way is to take over Christmas, getting everyone else involved.
The only person against it is Sally, a ragdoll created by the mad scientist Dr. Finkelstein. She spends much of the movie trying to get away from him as he believes she's not quite ready for the outside world. She also falls in love with Jack, despite her opposition to his idea.

What could possibly go wrong? With Christmas now under the leadership of someone best skilled at scaring people? And with Santa Claus in the clutches of Oogie Boogie, the town's Boogie Man?

How about everything? :-P
But every minute of it isn't to be missed.

Characters and Actors

Easily, the biggest stars of this movie are Chris Sarandon, Danny Elfman and Catherine O'Hara.

Knowing him only as Prince Humperdink of "The Princess Bride," I wouldn't have figured Chris Sarandon had this much depth. Of course his performance is aided by dozens of expressions for Jack's figurine, but he brings so much life to it... you feel like Jack is really alive.
Not that all of the characters aren't lively, but there are so many dimensions to Jack's personality. Despite going about his good intentions the wrong way, you find yourself wanting to get behind him. He has that irresistible charm and charisma.

Catherine O'Hara previously worked with Tim Burton in "Beetlejuice" and most of us know her as Mrs. McAllister in the "Home Alone" movies. Sally is a unique character, unlike anything she'd played before and also unique among the HalloweenTown residents. She has a good heart, a conscience and probably more common sense than everyone else in the world put together.

As Santa Claus put it, "the next time you take over someone else's holiday, I'd listen to her. She's the only one who makes sense around this insane asylum"

Given the back and forth we have throughout the movie, Jack realizing his feelings for Sally and uniting with her... such a sweet pay-off.

Adults are more likely to see the humor in The Mayor. He's a man with two faces that transition based on his mood (one happy, one terrified/sad) and his shtick (probably moreso in the Kingdom Hearts series than in the movie) is saying "I'm only an elected official, I can't handle this by myself"...
:sigh: sad but true

Lock, Shock and Barrel are all minions of Oogie Boogie's, but they have their unique personalities and quirks. They're mischievous kids dressed as a devil, a witch and a skeleton. Jack hires them to kidnap Santa Claus so he can take over the holiday. They also wind up handing Santa over to Oogie Boogie, who absolutely enjoys making a spectacle of himself to horrify him.
Although Jack's plan is all kinds of wrong, Oogie Boogie's the true villain of the movie. How he's defeated is textbook horror-genre'd B-movie... about as silly as seeing the zipper in the back of a monster costume.

And of course, there's Jack's faithful ghost dog companion, Zero. So loveable, one of several dogs Tim Burton had written into his stop-motion animated films... all of which were dead yet alive in their own way.
However cheesy it is, he's there to "light the way" for Jack's sleigh when Sally tries to stop the flight with fog juice.

Yeah, they totally gave him a glowing jack-o-lantern nose for that reason :-P

The Music

Danny Elfman said writing the 10 songs in this movie was "one of the easiest jobs I've ever had" because he had a lot in common with our anti-hero, Jack Skellington 8-)

I got to know "This is Halloween," the opening musical number of this film, as the musical score of HalloweenTown in Kingdom Heart... meaning I didn't know there were actually words attached.
Whenever I watch the movie, for whatever reason, my sister will come in and sing along with the song... the only part of the movie she will watch with me...

But yeah, it's a pretty kick ass song and I can play at least the first couple bars on keyboard.

Actually, all of the songs in this movie are really good with the exception of "Kidnap the Sandy Claws," sung by Lock, Stock and Barrel. Not that it's bad songwriting, it's just hard to listen to and enjoy it, especially with the childish sounding vocals.

Right after "This is Halloween," we have "Jack's Lament" where he moans about not feeling the Halloween spirit and not understanding why.
One of many songs where Danny Elfman does melancholy so well.

So naturally we had to follow it with something happier and more upbeat.
"What's this?" where Jack is running around ChristmasTown trying to make sense of everything, how this world is so different from his.
It's so much fun, seeing his flexible body weave in and out of the town, the expressions on his face, the range of his vocals. He's so captivated and overwhelmed by every little detail.

Another fun song, if you're into the demented side of fun, is Oogie Boogie's song. For a younger audience, it might be deemed a little creepy with all the crazy colors and patterns appearing throughout the number.
It also prominently features the roulette wheel that was part of the first HalloweenTown boss fight in Kingdom Hearts, as does the epic battle scene in the finale between him and Jack.

A great moment that was parodied by Nostalgia Critic was in a song called "Poor Jack" where Jack's plan literally blows up in his face and he wonders why.
Then he realizes the error of his ways, puts an optimistic spin on things and resolves to come up with something better for next Halloween.

Nostalgia Critic put his some of own lyrics to this song after a vlog of him reviewing old commercials at a time where he was questioning why he was doing what he was doing.
He then proceeds to end it the same way:

"I hope there's still time to set things right... Sandy Claws"... he goes off screen and comes back on, "Sandy Claws?" and quickly corrects himself.
I just find that hilarious.

Aside from "What's this?," my favorite song is the one sung by Sally and later by her and Jack. The chord progression is all over the place, but that's part of its charm.
Another melancholy track done really well, but it's so beautiful, especially when she and Jack get together in the end.This part especially is where I feel it's crucial to not miss a second. One time I missed hearing the final notes of the song at the end of the movie and I wasn't entirely satisfied at the end because of it. Mainly because one of the many things in music I go crazy for is having a song ending on the perfect note. That just makes me so happy 8-)