Aspie33

Although I am not terribly fond of spiders (or arachnids, for that matter), I am a big fan of the "Ultimate Spider-Man" comic books from Marvel as well as some of the issues from even before "Ultimate Spider-Man" came out. I heard a lot about the big-screen version of Spidey, and finally, when the movie came out on video some time ago, my mother bought it for me and I watched it immediately, and I was surprised at how well this film turned out.

Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is a high-school nerd who lives with his aunt and uncle (Cliff Robertson and Rosemary Harris) in New York, is best friends with rich boy Harry Osborn (James Franco), and is head-over-heels in love with the beautiful Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), who happens to be his next-door neighbor. One day during a field trip to Columbia University where scientists have created fifteen genetically-enhanced spiders, one of the spiders escapes and bites Peter on the hand. Soon, Peter gains the proportionate strength, speed, and agility of a spider, and decides to use his powers to win some money at a wrestling match. When his uncle is murdered by a thug he failed to stop earlier, Peter learns the hard way the true meaning of his uncle's earlier advice to him ("with great power comes great responsibility"), and utilizes his powers to protect the people of New York as Spider-Man. At the same time, Harry's industrialist father Norman (Willem Dafoe) experiments with a human performance enhancer on himself and becomes the homicidal Green Goblin, who then challenges Spidey's vow to fight crime and the good of all.

I really enjoyed this film, and there has been nothing like it since maybe either "Superman" or "Batman". Tobey Maguire does an excellent job as Spider-Man and his alter-ego Peter Parker, who, to me, is Clark Kent blended with Jimmy Olsen. Willem Dafoe steals the show as the psychotic, glider-flying Green Goblin with an air of psychotic wittiness that is matched only by Christopher Walken (it should be interesting to note that Dafoe starred with Walken in the film "New Rose Hotel"; maybe Dafoe picked up a few pointers from Walken. Hmmm...). Kirsten Dunst is fine as Peter's true love who fights for herself in one scene, then becomes the standard "damsel-in-distress" (no offense meant to her, though). The rest of the cast does fine in their roles, but it is the excellent musical score (courtesy of Danny Elfman) and the story itself that make this film worth a look (or as many looks as you want). "Spider-Man" is a great film, and one of the best films ever made.

In my humble opinion, I give "Spider-Man" a 10 out of 10 on a scale of 1-10.

I taped this movie on the USA Network at three o'clock in the morning, watched it some time afterward, and I was blown away by this film. Former gangster Carlo Bartolucci aka Charlie Barrett (Christopher Walken in one of his best roles ever) attends a bistro where he finds that a group of swaggering young men, consisting of Max (Sean Patrick Flanery), Avery (Henry Thomas), Brett (Jay Mohr), T.K. (Jeremy Sisto), and Ira (Johnny Galecki), have taken over his usual booth. Charmed by the guys, Charlie takes them for a ride, only for them to knock him out with some chloroform while going down the Queens tunnel in a hilarious sequence. Charlie regains consciousness inside of Ira's mansion taped to a chair with one of his fingers missing, having been cut off to compensate for Avery's kidnapped sister's missing limb. The guys keep Charlie prisoner in the mansion, but soon, Charlie starts to play head games with them, and it soon becomes obvious that there is a traitor in their midst.

This darkly humorous crime thriller can be described in the most simple terms as "The Breakfast Club" meets "The Godfather" or something like that, even though I myself never saw "The Godfather." Walken is increasingly laughter-provoking, suave, and creepy all at the same time as he delivers witticism after witticism despite his usual situation. Four of the lead males (Henry Thomas, Jay Mohr, Sean Patrick Flanery, and Jeremy Sisto) all portray swaggering rich boys, while Johnny Galecki (David from TV's "Roseanne") is screamingly funny as the nitpicking nerd of the bunch and Denis Leary is his usual laid-back self as slick and wisecracking gangster Lono (what a funny name!).

I said it once and I'll say it again -- "Suicide Kings" is a darkly comical film, but it is highly recommended (for those with kids) that you watch this either late at night or while the kids are away.

I give "Suicide Kings" a 10 out of 10 on a scale of 1-10 in my humble opinion.

Okay, I'm gonna be a little lengthy but that's only because this was one long-running but overall great show, one of the great ones on television (whether in reruns or new to the tube). Following (more or less) the events of the 1992 film, Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) moves with her mother Joyce (Kristine Sutherland) to Sunnydale, California, trying to forget all the talk about vampires and her calling as the "Chosen One", the lone female in all the world to stand against vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness (as the opening narration of Seasons 1 and 2 puts it). Soon, Buffy discovers that Sunnydale sits atop of a "Hellmouth" and meets her new "Watcher" Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) as well as wisecracking Xander (Nicholas Brendon), geeky Willow (Alyson Hannigan), snobbish Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), and mysterious and brooding vampire Angel (David Boreanaz)who later on becomes Buffy's boyfriend. By the end of the pilot episode, Buffy realizes her destiny and must protect Sunnydale from demonic forces and vampires all while trying to live a normal teenage life.

The first season was slow and had its up and downs (but, hey, the whole show had its ups and downs, too), but the second season was one of the best seasons of the show. The third season was sort of dull but I did enjoy some particular episodes (i.e. "Dead Man's Party", "Band Candy", "Revelations", "Gingerbread", "Helpless", and "The Zeppo"). The show's fourth season still had its faults yet had the interesting though almost science-fiction-y storyline of a half-human, half-demon, and half-robot monster named Adam (George Hertzberg) attempting to create an army of beings like himself.

The fifth season of the show was what kept me glued to the TV and guessing until halfway through with the arrival of Buffy's little sister Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) who turns out to be the "Key", a mystical instrument of some sort in which the season's big bad, hell-god Glory (Claire Kramer), intends to use to get back to her home dimension. I found the fifth season of "Buffy" to be one of the best seasons of the show, and I was very blown away by the way the fifth season ended.

Like the third season, the sixth season was sometimes dull, sometimes entertaining, but I did like some episodes (i.e. "Life Serial", "Once More, with Feeling", "Tabula Rasa", "Gone", and some others) despite the show's more mature and dark tone (i.e. Buffy's sexual relationship with Spike and Willow's drug-like addiction to magic). Willow turning into the season's big bad caught me off guard (how and why she does, I will not tell).

Once again, I was completely enthralled by the show's seventh and final season from the seventh season opener to the very end, which was, sadly, the series finale. The season's big bad, apostate preacher Caleb (Nathan Fillion), was a villain, aside from Lionel Luthor from "Smallville", that I truly loathed, especially after what he did to Xander (advice: watch the episode "Dirty Girls" and find out). As with the fifth season finale, I was blown away and even saddened by the series finale, but I'm not spoiling anything for the sake of any "Buffy" fans who might read this review.

In conclusion, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was one of the greatest shows ever created and put on television, aside from "Smallville" and even "The X-Files". Thank you, Joss Whedon and company, for this extraordinary tale.

I give "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" a 10 out of 10 on a scale of 1-10 in my humble opinion.