Episode 539


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I was about to throw an online tantrum when you gave your opening thoughts. And then, I actually continued to listen and I was like, "Oh, so E2:TS is still one of the best podcasts out there! Very well!"

I agree, all of the actors did very well with their roles. My mancrush on Andrew Garfield and my massive crush on Emma Stone short circuited in that hallway scene. (Just freaking cute. Hope that's what will happen when I first ask out a girl.) Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker and Spider-Man were both a lot better than Tobey's, who couldn't pull off snarky, and couldn't cry convincingly. I agree with the point made about wanting to see Peter be snarky with Uncle Ben, though. Reminds me of a Paul Jenkins issue in the early 2000s where Pete is moping at Ben's grave, and reminiscing about how Uncle Ben gave him his sense of humor, playing pranks on Aunt May and each other.

Also, glad Mike liked the crane scene. Everywhere I go, I see nothing but bad things about the crane scene, but I come really close to crying at that bit. Even listening to the music by itself gets me all choked up.

Speaking of the music, I really dug it. Elfman's music was a bit too unfocused and didn't have a main identifiable theme(I still love it, though) and James Horner's ASM is a bit more old school, and had motifs that appeared throughout the movie.(The piano bit that keeps playing whenever Peter does something important and the superhero theme.)

Anyways, this is probably my favorite Spidey film because the leads were better, the action scenes(directed by Vic Armstrong,stuntman extraordinaire, not Marc Webb, which probably explains the disjointedness) were fantastic and there are really fun twists like the important people knowing Pete's secret identity.(since they're not idiots)

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Thanks! I'm glad you kept listening, because I think we were very fair with the movie, despite our criticisms.

Regarding your last point:

I do enjoy the fact that Aunt May clearly knows Peter is Spider-Man by the end of the film (hell, she knows halfway through), but leaves it unsaid. It was very well done, that scene.

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Copy and paste most of what Time Lord Spectacular said.

Also, great first outing, Shana!

I hope the two of you get to review Spider-Man 2 at some point in the future, as I honestly think this film was better and that that film, while it has some good scenes, doesn't hold up too well.

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I know it's not a popular thought as the film is really dividing audiences but The Amazing Spider-Man may be my favourite Marvel film all together. I enjoyed it leaps and bounds more than The Avengers at least. The only thing that I disliked was Richard Parker not saying 'I love you' or ANYTHING more than 'Be good' to Peter before running off.

As for your thoughts though: While Shana pointed out Andrew Garfield's actual age later on I still find it hard to believe he was a year and a half older that Toby in the 2002 film, despite really looking right out of high school. Osborn's lacky was supposed to have another scene after the bridge bit but it was cut as were Curt Conners's family.(http://www.vulture.c...Culture+Blog%29) Trailers not having bits that are in the movie does not bother me as a lot of the time they start to be put together long before the actual film is finished cutting. They have no idea what will end up on the screen but just try to make a campaign that looks alluring. The example that sticks out to me is Anchorman which had very little of what ended up in the film in the trailers and TV spots because between normal cuts and the fact that it had an entirely different plot before the test screenings there was about a good two hours of completed footage for the the movie just cut (later made into it's own DVD). The stinger being a part of the trailer is irksome to me however but is not a fault of the film itself. Speaking of the stinger what did you think of that?

I do love hearing your thoughts Mike even when I disagree and it was nice to finally hear from Shana as well! I hope this leads to many more reviews from the two of you.

-Skyler

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The stinger was kinda ho-hum for me, if only because it told us nothing. I have no problem with the fate of the Parkers being the thrust of this series, so in that regard it worked. However, they could have -- and should have -- told us who the guy was. I mean, I'm pretty sure it's Mysterio, but it was too much of a teaser -- if that makes sense.

And Shana will be back. We have lots of plans.

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I really liked this movie but I definitely agree about the lizard psychotic episode. I think the scene where the Lizard is tearing up the bridge actually makes a decent amount of sense as he was focused on stopping the Osborne lackey to the point where that overrode his concern for others. The idea that the serum itself was sending him nuts and pushed him to the conclusion that everyone would be better as a lizard but wasn't executed as well as it could have been. I certainly thought that was better than Doc Ock's "don't be evil" chip getting broken.

Yeah, this was a flawed movie but I think it was better than all of Raimi's one, even though there wasn't a Bruce Campbell cameo.

Great show guys. You worked well as co-hosts and I'm looking forward to more shows from you guys.

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How did Shana like podcasting?

Going in, Shana was very nervous, but by the end she eased up and greatly enjoyed the experience. In fact, there was one point where her real (RE: at ease) personality came through, and it pleased me greatly. Currently, I forget exactly what it was, but Shana made a joke in the middle of nowhere, and that's when I realized she was loosening up.

Just a few minutes ago, we were spitballing ideas for future episodes, so she'll be back on Earth-2.net: The Show. Very soon. We're also going to be launching a new podcast by the end of the year, but that's all I'll say for now. :D

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If Shana's happy to do more that's great, good work this episode.

On the equation, I don't think Peter came up with it in his own head. He took it from his dad's notes and then let Conners believe he came up with it himself because he didn't want to reveal that his dad had it solved all along. In fact I know he didn't come up with it himself because the what he wrote was the same equation that was in his dad's notes, they made a point of showing it quite clearly.

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Oh yeah, I forgot to say that Shana did a great job too! Earth 2 is a site that just keeps growing and growing. Awesomeness.

Saw it for the third time today, with my mom. She said Peter reminds her of me, and I said she reminds me of Aunt May. This is why my mom is awesome.

While in the theater waiting for the movie to start, I watched all the trailers,the alternate international versions and some of the behind the scenes stuff(yeah, I'm a big dork), since I had them in my iPod. Yeah, there were a couple of things that didn't make it to the final cut of the film.

  • First trailer- "Do you have any idea what you really are?"
  • Second trailer-"If you want the truth, Peter, come and get it!"
  • From the Australian version of the third trailer- A teacher asks Peter if he wants to play football and he replies "Too dangerous!"
  • "Did you think what happened to you, Peter, was an accident?"
  • One of the behind the scenes things- Peter at the school, without his mask, yelling "THIS ISN'T YOU DOCTOR CONNORS! STOP IT!"
  • Second trailer-"My dad has 500 officers looking for you." "500? Seems a bit excessive."

Also, there's this bit, with Dr. Ratha and the Lizard.(It only hit me that he died on the second viewing)

lagarto-spiderman2.jpg

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Easy A is a great little high school movie, and Zombieland is a lot of fun too. I've yet to dislike her in a role, but I do feel like Spider-man is the best I've seen her in something just because she has less screentime to put across her relationship with Peter and completely succeeds.

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I listened to the episode again and I was about to mention Zombieland. Probably one of my favorite movies.

Also, I'm not sure what a director's cut might be like. I've heard rumors that the original intent for Spidey's origin would be a lot more convoluted and planned than what was on the screen.

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Great review, a couple things,

1. I actually really like how different Peter is when he's in the costume. I think of it like: okay Peter's a geeky awkward high school kid but when he puts on the costume he feels like a completely different person. He's cool he's confident and everyone loves him. Andrew Garfield even said in an interview that he thinks that when Peter puts on the suit he feels free. He feels like he can say what ever he wants and there will be no consequences, I think he compares it to being on the internet.

2. I didn't really have a problem with the lizard voice being in Connor's head because I just chalked it up to the lizard part of him is growing stronger and is starting to take over.

3. Also, I know this movie should be movie should be reviewed on it's own and not compared to the others. But I just wanted to point out that the inconsistent powers was also in the Raimi version, even more so if I remember correctly.

4. One more thing, I know I said the in the film's discussion thread but I found the music rather lackluster. I'm not a big James Horner fan and compared to Elfman's music in the first two films I found the score just kind of dull.

I liked this movie despite it's flaws, I would probably put it on par with the 2002 one, (maybe a little above) but Spider-Man 2 is still definitely my favorite. Anyway really good review. The movie would be a high 3/5 from me.

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Great review, a couple things,

Thanks! I'm really glad everyone has enjoyed the review, and has welcomed Shana to the site!

1. I actually really like how different Peter is when he's in the costume. I think of it like: okay Peter's a geeky awkward high school kid but when he puts on the costume he feels like a completely different person. He's cool he's confident and everyone loves him. Andrew Garfield even said in an interview that he thinks that when Peter puts on the suit he feels free. He feels like he can say what ever he wants and there will be no consequences, I think he compares it to being on the internet.

I have no problem with that, and I agree that Peter is free when he's in the suit. However, there should have been a hint of that personality beforehand. A quippy scene with Uncle Ben or Peter making a funny but awkward joke to Gwen would have done the trick. Here, though, it comes out of nowhere.

2. I didn't really have a problem with the lizard voice being in Connor's head because I just chalked it up to the lizard part of him is growing stronger and is starting to take over.

That's exactly what it was, but the way it was executed was a touch confusing.

3. Also, I know this movie should be movie should be reviewed on it's own and not compared to the others. But I just wanted to point out that the inconsistent powers was also in the Raimi version, even more so if I remember correctly.

It's been so long, I don't recall.

I am glad, however, the awkward power stuff didn't happen around Gwen. That would have been too campy, I think.

4. One more thing, I know I said the in the film's discussion thread but I found the music rather lackluster. I'm not a big James Horner fan and compared to Elfman's music in the first two films I found the score just kind of dull.

During the movie, I didn't notice that. When I was putting this episode together, though, I thought about dropping in some music from the movie, and that's when I realized a lot of the score lacks the power that's needed in superhero movies.

I liked this movie despite it's flaws, I would probably put it on par with the 2002 one, (maybe a little above) but Spider-Man 2 is still definitely my favorite. Anyway really good review. The movie would be a high 3/5 from me.

I have to see Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 again, but I think I agree.

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I have no problem with that, and I agree that Peter is free when he's in the suit. However, there should have been a hint of that personality beforehand. A quippy scene with Uncle Ben or Peter making a funny but awkward joke to Gwen would have done the trick. Here, though, it comes out of nowhere.

Yeah I see where you're coming from. But I still stand by the fact that Peter feels like a completely different person in the suit. Like Andrew Garfield said he suddenly becomes so confident in the suit and instead of being pushed around by bullies he's having fun being the one who's intimidating the criminals. I think it would have lost something if we had seen him earlier acting so clever and confident outside of the suit. I think the suit bring that personality out of Peter and that's why we never saw it before he put on the suit.

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