The Amazing Spider Man 2 (2014)

[Niltusk]

Well it does give the "Harry/Peter" friendship references a "pass" for me but I realize that is only because I'm choosing to be forgiving. It *really* should have been referenced prior to Norman's death but what are you gonna do. Throw the baby out with the bath water? Nah.

I remember watching the first battle between Spidey and Doc Ock in SM2 a few months back for the first time in a long time. I'd forgotten that Raimi had pretty much staged them like Michael Bay superhero movies with the constant cutaways to screaming damsels busting out of their tight sweaters every other second during the fighting.

I guess if Bayformers are your thing then I could see why the action in the Raimi movies would be preferred over ASM2.

Are you trying to infer that Raimi copied the cutaway style he's used for 35 years from Bay?

 

[DiFabio]

Good to see you too Nam.

 

[karamazov80]

The fact that anyone, ANYONE, is suddenly capable of forgiving SM3 it's shortcomings (or worse actually warming to it) just goes to show that these things go in cycles. SM3 is truly an awful film but now with ASM 1 and 2 to pick on suddenly it's en vogue act like it isn't. When SM is rebooted again suddenly all the amazing (no pun intended) things that ASM2 got right will be celebrated. It's just how these things go. Why do we participate? We just haven't grown out of it yet.

Yeah, I don't know what's worse--folks now glorifying old, bad movies (like SM3) because they hate new ones so much. Or folks unjustly criticizing really good, older movies (like SM2) because they irrationally love the new ones so much.

Hmm.

Aunt May. She's got like a tight sweater on. . .

 

[Khev]

Are you trying to infer that Raimi copied the cutaway style he's used for 35 years from Bay?

Cutting away to screaming bimbos that the director wants to sleep with in the middle of a fight is stupid no matter who started it.

 

[karamazov80]

It was a throwback.

https://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/219257/King-Kong-Movie-Clip-Sacrifice.html

 

[Khev]

Yeah right. Were the two busty girls who were all "save me Spider-Man!" also from King Kong? Come on man, if this was a Bayformers flick you guys would be ripping those shots to pieces.

I'll agree that SM2 is definitely the most consistent Spidey film with regard to quality from beginning to end but it certainly wasn't all good and even the action itself had its lame moments. It was maybe a 7.5 or 8/10 throughout (for the most part) while ASM2 actually did have a 9 or 10 moment here and there (with some 5's and 6's as well.) But as I said the low points weren't deal breakers so I'll take the "extra awesome" that ASM2 offers in certain parts over the consistent "really good" of SM2.

 

[Niltusk]

Cutting away to screaming bimbos that the director wants to sleep with in the middle of a fight is stupid no matter who started it.

Using Bay as a hyperbole crutch is dumb no matter who started it, it's easier just saying you don't care for it, instead of muddying it with Bay insults.(no matter how fun they may be)

 

[DiFabio]

Sam Raimi has a wife. They've been married since Darkman. I doubt it's because he wanted to bang that chick. I took at as a typical, cliched bimbo screaming her lungs out. The shot is literally 3 seconds, who cares?

Spider-Man 2 > Bay movies > Marc Webb Pida-Man movies

 

[karamazov80]

Yeah, I am pretty sure it is a reference to that old school movie trope. Some of Raimi's style integrates a classic sensibility to his films, such as the dramatic camera movements during some horror sequences that looks like something out of the 1950s. Apparently the 3 Stooges was one of his biggest influences.

 

[Khev]

Sam Raimi has a wife. They've been married since Darkman. I doubt it's because he wanted to bang that chick. I took at as a typical, cliched bimbo screaming her lungs out. The shot is literally 3 seconds, who cares?

Screaming bimbos are only on screen a few seconds at a time in Bay movies too. But they're there. And they are distracting in a not good way for the types of movies these are. It just makes SM2 seem dated or Bayish or something that just doesn't hold up today. "Oh its just a Hollywood cliche." Yeah well then its a cliche that no one does anymore for good reason. Bay is the only loser who's still into that which is why I reference him.

 

[Niltusk]

Oh yeah, it shares 3 seconds in common with something else, that's a good basis to make a comparison on.

 

[karamazov80]

Speaking of dated movie tropes, we'll see how well Winter Soldier's shakycam holds up 10 years from now. Seriously, we've been seeing cutaways to screaming women, probably back to the earliest days of film.

 

[DiFabio]

I think we can all agree that there are many positive aspects of Spider-Man 2 that outweigh any screaming bimbos.

Bay movies on the other hand, there's just the screaming bimbos. No, that's a lie. To be perfectly honest, I don't really remember ANYTHING about Bay's Transformer's movies. I have vague memories of a mom eating weed brownies and a hot college chick that was really a Transformers in disguise, but beyond that, nada. I guess you could say that it was as memorable as say . . . ASM2.

 

[Niltusk]

Speaking of dated movie tropes, we'll see how well Winter Soldier's shakycam holds up 10 years from now. Seriously, we've been seeing cutaways to screaming women, probably back to the earliest days of film.

I can't wait til my copy shows up. I've seen a couple people comment on that and it must not have bothered me at the movies, cause I really don't remember that as an issue while watching it.

 

[Khev]

Oh yeah, it shares 3 seconds in common with something else, that's a good basis to make a comparison on.

Its not 3 seconds. Don't get caught up in DiFabio's figurative use of the word "literally." Regardless, it's all about screen time now? You do whatever stupid thing as long as it isn't more than a few seconds? Everyone rips on the Avengers "Phantom Menace" ending because for a few seconds that Chitauri all keel over like Battle Droids. I guess that suddenly gets a pass then?

Or how about Phantom Menace itself? "Are you an angel?" took Anakin like a second and a half to say. Same with "Now this is pod racing," and animals farting and Jar Jar stepping in poo. All just a few seconds here and there.

Now that I think of it I've got a really good movie that I recommend you see. It's called The Crying Game. There's one scene that you might forever never be able to unsee but its only a few seconds long so its all good right?

 

[Khev]

Speaking of dated movie tropes, we'll see how well Winter Soldier's shakycam holds up 10 years from now. Seriously, we've been seeing cutaways to screaming women, probably back to the earliest days of film.

Bad example. The shaky cam is fine in TWS. But Bucky not following Fury into the sewer? Yeah that was a bit of an "okay whatever." And then there's Falcon's leap and so on. But the point isn't that one movie is "perfect" and another is pure crap from beginning to end. I'm just saying with regard to the action specifically SM2 descends to lows that ASM2 doesn't.

 

[DiFabio]

I just watched it on youtube. She gets up from her desk all startled and screams as she runs towards the camera. It's seconds long and insignificant in terms of the plot and characters. She makes up one of a dozen civilian reaction shots that are sprinkled throughout the film, be it African American folks ("he stole dat guy's pizzas!/it's a web!") to the Police. Compared to other extras in other comic book movies, the ones in Spider-Man 2 are pretty good.

Hardly comparable to the climax of Avengers where the audience witnesses a cop out where the enemies just keel over, dead. As soon as that woman is done screaming, we're right back in the action of Spider-Man pursuing Ock and Aunt May. It's insignificant, in an otherwise clever perspective of what it'd be like to be inside the building as a guy with 4 mechanical arms scales the outside of it.

 

[Niltusk]

Its not 3 seconds. Don't get caught up in DiFabio's figurative use of the word "literally." Regardless, it's all about screen time now? You do whatever stupid thing as long as it isn't more than a few seconds? Everyone rips on the Avengers "Phantom Menace" ending because for a few seconds that Chitauri all keel over like Battle Droids. I guess that suddenly gets a pass then?

Gets a pass for what? You're comparing an ending of a battle, the climax of the movie to a chick screaming? Jesus...

 

[Khev]

Gets a pass for what? You're comparing an ending of a battle, the climax of the movie to a chick screaming? Jesus...

I also compared it to throwaway lines that just pop up in the middle of TPM. Chill dude. A few seconds of stupidity can take you out of any moment, whether it be dialogue, a fight, OR a climax. I get that you guys like the bimbos. Fine. To each his own. I'm just seeing some selective reasoning when Raimi and Bay are doing some of the same things.

 

[Niltusk]

I also compared it to throwaway lines that just pop up in the middle of TPM. Chill dude. A few seconds of stupidity can take you out of any moment, whether it be dialogue, a fight, OR a climax. I get that you guys like the bimbos. Fine. To each his own. I'm just seeing some selective reasoning when Raimi and Bay are doing some of the same things.

I've got no problem with bimbos, that's your hangup not mine.
I know you're all worried about your statues being too sexy and whatnot, but I'm not Freddy the fundamentalist, it is what it is, I care more for the sum than each 3 second part.