Monday, July 10, 2017
Starman Plays Skyrim Special Edition - Part 91
In which we investigate The Foresworn Conspiracy. (Not A Novel By Tom Clancy!)
Saturday, July 8, 2017
Thoughts On Spider-Man Homecoming
THE SPOILER FREE REVIEW
EASTER EGGS AND STUFF TO MAKE PURISTS ANGRY
No Spider-Man movie has ever had quite so many nods to Peter's high-school classmates and his love interests from the Stan Lee days. While some may grouse about Flash Thompson being a mathlete instead of a jock, he's still the same jackass bully who devotes his life to making Peter Parker miserable. And that, ultimately, is the point of the character.
The best gag in this regard? The newsreader on the school news station is Betty Brant - Peter's first love interest, who was J. Jonah Jameson's secretary in the original comics.
Best Casting Gag? Jennifer Connelly as the voice of Peter's suit AI. Why's that funny? She's married to Paul Bettany - the voice of the Jarvis A.I. and Vision.
A close second? Donald Glover, who lobbied to play Spider-Man before Andrew Garfield was cast for Amazing Spider-Man and voiced Miles Morales in some of the cartoons, has a part as a long-time Spider-Man ally.
BEING PETER PARKER SUCKS. BEING A TEENAGER SUCKS MORE.
More than any Spider-Man before, Homecoming captures two facts the earlier movies didn't. It sucks to be Peter Parker and it sucks to be a teenager.
That's a thing a lot of adults forget. Being a teenager sucks. You're continually pushed to grow-up and act-your-age while simultaneously being reminded that you're a kid with no rights and no respect.
Peter's conflict with Tony is a mirror of that grand societal paradox. Tony only treats Peter as an peer when it is convenient for him. Like how most parents only hand over the car keys when they need the teenager to run an errand they don't want to deal with.
More than any other actor to play Spidey in live-action, Tom Holland captures that frustration. Not just about being a teenager but how much it sucks to be Peter Parker in general. All the moments where we see him looking wistfully on other teens getting to do teen stuff and wishing he could be with them... before going off to do the right thing.
On that note - props to the script depicting life in an urban high-school accurate, right down to them using outdated materials because they can't afford anything more current. (i.e. Captain America's inspiration videos being used, despite him probably being a terrorist now.)
THE TWO SPECIFIC COMIC HOMAGES - ONE OBVIOUS AND ONE NOT
The Obvious One - Peter digging himself out of the rubble while giving himself a pep-talk is a clear nod to Amazing Spider-Man #33 - considered by many to be the best single issue of the original Stan Lee/Steve Ditko run.
The Not So Obvious One - The whole sequence with Peter having trouble moving around the suburbs and running through backyards isn't just a nod to Ferris Bueller's Day Off. It's also a nod to Amazing Spider-Man #267 - "When Cometh The Commuter!" - which is all about the problems Spider-Man has trying to operate after chasing a baddie into The Burbs.
Okay, he doesn't get asked about borrowing a Big Wheel. But he does shoot webs up at nothing!
HONEST SURPRISES
The movie honestly surprised me at two points. I'm not going to say which two. If you haven't seen the movie, you need to go in clean on these points. And if you've already seen it... well, you probably know. Pop me an e-mail if you want to talk about them.
MY ONLY TWO COMPLAINTS
1. Much as I loved the shout-out to Damage Control, it's a little hard to believe the anti-government Tony Stark of the time post-Avengers would work with the federal government on anything.
2. I'm not Peter David's biggest fan but given everything lifted from his Spider-Man stories for this movie, he damn well could have been credited along with Dwayne McDuffie.
Is it good? Listen bub - while I'm torn on the subject of this being the best Spider-Man movie ever overall, it has some of the best aspects of any Spider-Man movie ever. Tom Holland, for instance, is easily the best actor to ever play Peter Parker.
I laughed at this movie. I got teary-eyed during this movie. It provoked the full gamut of emotional responses at the appropriate times.
One bit of advice. There are a lot of differences from the original comics, so don't go in with a purist mindset. Think of this as Earth C-137 and just relax.
There are two post-credit sequences.
There are two post-credit sequences.
(SPOILERY COMMENTS TO FOLLOW AFTER THE IMAGE)
EASTER EGGS AND STUFF TO MAKE PURISTS ANGRY
No Spider-Man movie has ever had quite so many nods to Peter's high-school classmates and his love interests from the Stan Lee days. While some may grouse about Flash Thompson being a mathlete instead of a jock, he's still the same jackass bully who devotes his life to making Peter Parker miserable. And that, ultimately, is the point of the character.
The best gag in this regard? The newsreader on the school news station is Betty Brant - Peter's first love interest, who was J. Jonah Jameson's secretary in the original comics.
Best Casting Gag? Jennifer Connelly as the voice of Peter's suit AI. Why's that funny? She's married to Paul Bettany - the voice of the Jarvis A.I. and Vision.
A close second? Donald Glover, who lobbied to play Spider-Man before Andrew Garfield was cast for Amazing Spider-Man and voiced Miles Morales in some of the cartoons, has a part as a long-time Spider-Man ally.
BEING PETER PARKER SUCKS. BEING A TEENAGER SUCKS MORE.
More than any Spider-Man before, Homecoming captures two facts the earlier movies didn't. It sucks to be Peter Parker and it sucks to be a teenager.
That's a thing a lot of adults forget. Being a teenager sucks. You're continually pushed to grow-up and act-your-age while simultaneously being reminded that you're a kid with no rights and no respect.
Peter's conflict with Tony is a mirror of that grand societal paradox. Tony only treats Peter as an peer when it is convenient for him. Like how most parents only hand over the car keys when they need the teenager to run an errand they don't want to deal with.
More than any other actor to play Spidey in live-action, Tom Holland captures that frustration. Not just about being a teenager but how much it sucks to be Peter Parker in general. All the moments where we see him looking wistfully on other teens getting to do teen stuff and wishing he could be with them... before going off to do the right thing.
On that note - props to the script depicting life in an urban high-school accurate, right down to them using outdated materials because they can't afford anything more current. (i.e. Captain America's inspiration videos being used, despite him probably being a terrorist now.)
THE TWO SPECIFIC COMIC HOMAGES - ONE OBVIOUS AND ONE NOT
The Obvious One - Peter digging himself out of the rubble while giving himself a pep-talk is a clear nod to Amazing Spider-Man #33 - considered by many to be the best single issue of the original Stan Lee/Steve Ditko run.
The Not So Obvious One - The whole sequence with Peter having trouble moving around the suburbs and running through backyards isn't just a nod to Ferris Bueller's Day Off. It's also a nod to Amazing Spider-Man #267 - "When Cometh The Commuter!" - which is all about the problems Spider-Man has trying to operate after chasing a baddie into The Burbs.
Okay, he doesn't get asked about borrowing a Big Wheel. But he does shoot webs up at nothing!
HONEST SURPRISES
The movie honestly surprised me at two points. I'm not going to say which two. If you haven't seen the movie, you need to go in clean on these points. And if you've already seen it... well, you probably know. Pop me an e-mail if you want to talk about them.
MY ONLY TWO COMPLAINTS
1. Much as I loved the shout-out to Damage Control, it's a little hard to believe the anti-government Tony Stark of the time post-Avengers would work with the federal government on anything.
2. I'm not Peter David's biggest fan but given everything lifted from his Spider-Man stories for this movie, he damn well could have been credited along with Dwayne McDuffie.
Friday, July 7, 2017
Starman Plays Skyrim Special Edition - Part 90
In which - having retrieved the three parts of The Gauldur Amulet - we set out for Reachwater Rock to reforge it. And then - when that turns out to be WAY easier than expected - we go off in search of the pieces of a magical weapon.
Thursday, July 6, 2017
Starman Plays Skyrim Special Edition - Part 89
In which we continue into the ruins of Saarthal before leaving for Gerimund's Hall - one of the many Divines-forsaken barrows that seem to surround the village of Ivarstead - in search of the third of the three amulet fragments.
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Starman Plays Skyrim Special Edition - Part 88
In which we head back to school and join the other young wizards of The College of Winterhold - nominally to excavate a lost ruin but truly to steal the second of three magic amulet shards we need.
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