Movie time

A week ago, I promised my nephew that I would take him to watch both "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "Ice Age: Continental Drift". So when I saw that "The Dark Knight Rises" came out last week, I figured I had to ensure we got to watch those two movies before they get dropped from the cinemas altogether.

I first watched "The Amazing Spider-Man" with both my nephews and my mom. I'm a fan of superhero movies in general but I am also a fan of the first two installments of the Tobey Maguire-headlined series (I didn't like Spider-Man 3...) so I wasn't sure how this reboot would stack up against those. Somehow, I actually enjoyed it just that bit more. Most people like seeing their superheroes be super and just bash away against the bad guys but I'm a bit different in that I actually enjoy it more when I can see the human side to these characters. That is exactly what you get when you watch "The Amazing Spider-Man". While 'Spidey' eventually comes into his own as a superhero, it was great seeing his angst, pain, and fear, and how some life-changing events make him realize that maybe it is his job to protect the city from threats. This wouldn't have been possible if not for the brilliant performance of Andrew Garfield, who delivered a very believable transformation of Peter Parker from shy, self-absorbed teenager suffering from daddy issues to a confident, young man whose guilt and sense of responsibility propel him to try and make things right. His onscreen (and apparently off-screen) partner Emma Stone is equally good, and the chemistry they have makes the relationship of Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy almost just as compelling to watch as Spider-Man's battles with the Lizard. I do think both Andrew and Emma deliver better performances than Tobey and Kirsten Dunst, and I hope that they are both asked to reprise their roles in the sequel which is slated for 2014.

The next day, I watched "Ice Age: Continental Drift" with only my nephew Ciera. It was a fun movie, with a couple of storylines running in parallel and a lot of new and interesting characters, such as Manny and Ellie's daughter Peaches, Sid's Granny and her 'imaginary pet' Precious, a whole bunch of pirates led by Gutt, and those little furry creatures that reminded me a lot of the ewoks from Return of the Jedi. I wasn't all that interested in the storyline about Peaches trying to fit in and impress the 'cool boy' and his 'cool friends' before realizing that her family and her true friends were more important, but I figured this is a movie for kids so it actually makes for a good lesson for the young people watching. I also really enjoyed the animated short film about Maggie from the Simpsons that was shown right before Ice Age started.

I'm pretty happy that I'm doing better this year in terms of movie-watching. I've seen nine films now, including Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, Avengers, Battleship, Wrath of the Titans, Hunger Games, Chronicle, and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. While Avengers may be this year's biggest hit, I think my favorites so far are MI4 and The Amazing Spider-Man.