More Spider-Man 3 news, as we get closer and closer to the big opening weekend.
This past weekend’s box office was fairly weak, with no film making over $10 million. Box Office Prophets says it’s the calm before the storm:
There was certainly nothing to get excited about at this weekend’s box office, as young and old saved their pennies for what looks to be a quality blockbuster in Spider-Man 3. No films managed to crack the $10 million mark, as we end up with a three-weekend winner in Disturbia. The box office was so bad overall, Sony’s comic book marvel could end up breaking the original’s record next weekend. In fact, the box office was so slow, that advance tickets for the webslinger probably would have made a top five appearance if counted at the box office this weekend.
Which leads me to my Spider-Man 3 question of the day that no one will answer: Have you bought your tickets yet?
The Cleveland Plain Dealer takes a look at the film, particularly the parts filmed in downtown Cleveland, where Thomas Haden Church says they were being watched:
“While they were shooting there, some guy rented an office on that street and set up multiple video cameras and shot the whole time. Then he cut it all together and was streaming it on the Internet,” said Church.
“And we were watching it. We’d be shooting, and Sam would be like, Put that guy’s video up again.’ Of course, it’s a whole [expletive] thing. They were really bummed out about it. It’s always like a breach of cinematic security. But I just think Sam was impressed with the guy’s initiative.”
Turning now to the Guardian and an article on how black is the new black:
That black costume adds a certain edge, doesn’t it? The ordinary red-and-blue Spider-Man was OK, but a dark Spider-Man, that’s one notch better. Like a black iPod, or a plain chocolate KitKat.
It isn’t just Spidey who’s getting a bit darker … the article also looks at the new Harry Potter film and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Who of course started out dark, then were un-darkened for the kids. Of course, all this darkness could be seen as a reflection of the world around us … or perhaps an escape from it, as columnist Bill Ervolino explains:
Watching a superhero stand up to — and eventually triumph over — a bad guy gives us a much-needed vicarious thrill. But it also gives us hope, kind of like when a Hollywood-ized movie politician (such as Jimmy Stewart in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” or Michael Douglas in “An American President”) stands up before the closing credits and gives us what we need: sincerity, straight talk and a reason to think that, somehow, no matter how far we’ve veered off course, everything is going to be OK.
Unlike Superman, our more recent cinema superheroes aren’t perfect or indestructible. Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine (from the X-Men films), and Christian Bale’s tortured Dark Knight in “Batman Begins” are complicated characters, with flaws, weaknesses and personal lives that suffer because these characters are constantly compelled to help others, correct injustices, stave off global disasters, and stand up to equally powerful “super” beings motivated by greed, a lust for power, or twisted minds that propel them into mindless killing sprees.
And finally, some more movie reviews: one from the Scotsman, and one from CBS’s Showbuzz.
December 13th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Great review. Thanks for posting such an in depth impression. I’ve handled one in the store, but your review covered alot of ground that I couldn’t with such a limited amount of time. Based on my in-store experience and your review I think I’ll be waiting for a future generation to arrive. The potential is certainly there for this device, but based on my current portfolio of tech devices (laptop, desktop, iPhone, iTouch) I’m not sure this device quite justifies the expense at this time for me.
January 17th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
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