Film Friday: Brave and The Amazing Spider-Man

There is a specific reason I want to do these two movies together today. And not just because they're the hot items in theaters right now. 

I will start off by saying that neither of these was an ohmygoshfavoritethingever movie for me, which a lot of the movies I talk about will be. Both of them had flaws, and both had moments of awesomeness. But what was interesting with these two is that neither of them equaled my expectations.

Going in to any Pixar movie, I think most people expect the usual level of absolute genius. For me, this time, it wasn't quite there. Don't get me wrong, I still really liked it, and with Pixar you know absolutely that its never going to be a bad movie. But you could just tell that it was a different group of people or something than the ones who did Up and Toy Story and Monsters, Inc. It just had a different feel, and wasn't quite as focused. I wish I could put my finger more one exactly what it was that made it feel slightly off (the pacing? the character development?) but basically it just felt different than the normal Pixar. Still, there were some awesome moments, like the men climbing down their kilts, Emma Thompson in anything ever and for always and lets not forget ohmyfreak that hair.

Now, Spider Man. I've said before, I'm not a huge superhero movie girl. I know many people think its dull, but I would so much rather watch two people talk than beat each other up. I'm not into the supernatural powers thing, because often it just takes it out of the realm of relatability for me. And I really did not like the Toby Maguire Spider-Man movies, although that mostly had to do with Toby Maguire. I live for moments of subtle characterization and that just doesn't happen in most action movies.

Ok, with all that said, my expectations were just so-so for The Amazing Spider-Man, but I came out thinking, 'Wow, that was so good!' I felt like the different phases of development that they had Peter Parker go through, starting out hunting his uncles killer, then make a mask, then make a suit, then save someone and realize what he really wants to do, so on and so on, was really well-done, and very natural, as far as turning into a superhuman with spider abilities can be natural. And when I do like supernatural type movies, its all because of that natural human element. That element means awesome actors, and I think that's what I liked most about the movie. The acting was so, so good! The actors themselves took it to that subtle level, simple things like shaking his head when he says "Let's get out of here," or his shy adorable smile, or also Emma Stone in anything ever (maybe I should name my first daughter Emma?) and even the secondary cast did a great job. Gotta love Sally Fields. Although I will say, the one thing I didn't like, and this is not so much the movie but a super-hero convention, was the supernatural villain. I guess I can take it more when its just a cute high-school kid who gets picked on and has a crush on a cute girl and is trying to figure it all out himself, and we just don't get that level of in depth characterization with the Doc, but at some points I just can't help myself from thinking that its really stupid that they're chasing a giant lizard.

Overall, though, super good. And I totally got giddy at the end when he says, "But those are the best kind." If you've seen it you know what I'm talking about, and if you haven't, then see it and you'll see.

Now it's your turn. Who has seen either of these movies, and what did you think?


Sarah Allen