Hit and Run

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

by Frederick William Springer III

Hit & Run

Release Date:  22 August 2012                                                            Runtime:  100 Minutes              

Review Date:  16 September 2012                                                       Rating:  4.5 (of 6)

     I've become a fan of Dax Shepard, watching him in Parenthood, and here's a fun little film that he not only stars in but wrote and co-directed as well.  It also stars his real life girlfriend Kristen Bell of Veronica Mars, of which I'm also a fan, as his girlfriend and his Parenthood on-screen wife Joy Bryant as his ex-fiancé.  Rounding out the cast is Tom Arnold, playing a more bumbling, incompetent version of his True Lies character and Bradley Cooper, whom I first took a shining to back on the short-lived, underrated Jack  & Bobby, playing the ex-best friend out for vengeance helped in his quest by Smallville's Michael Rosenbaum, not to mention Beau Bridges and Kristin Chenoweth in minor roles and a cameo by Jason Bateman.

     The gist of the story is that Charles Bronson (Sheppard) is in the Witness Protection Program, Randy (Arnold) his protector, in the middle of nowhere when his new girlfriend Annie (Bell), who knows little of his past, is offered a dream job in L.A. where his criminal exploits took place.  He doesn't want to lose her but doesn't want to hold her back, so he offers to take her there.  Craziness ensues when her ex Gil (Rosenbaum) tries to keep the two from leaving together and contacts the guy Bronson helped put away, Alex (Cooper), to arrange a trade-off.

     The only thing a little distracting to me, who notices the little plot holes that make no sense, is when the County Sherriff (Gil's brother) of the original county, after a full day's hot pursuit of the traveling Charles and Annie, at night fall pulls over a vehicle (which happens to be Randy).  After even a quarter's day travel, they wouldn't have been in the same county anymore and wouldn't have had any jurisdiction.  But, other than that snafu, it's still quite enjoyable.

The Amazing Spider-Man

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

by Frederick William Springer III

 

The Amazing Spider-Man

Release Date:  3 July 2012                                                                    Runtime:  136 Minutes              

Review Date:  2 September 2012                                                           Rating:  4.5 (of 6)

     While not a bad movie, an alright way to pass the time, The Amazing Spider-Man lacks the magic--depth of story and heart of character--that Sam Raimi's successfully captured.

     It's always good to see Martin Sheen who I haven't seen much of since The West Wing but he didn't bring much to the character of Uncle Ben in the short screentime he had.  I was also happy to see Denis Leary, who didn't have all that much more screentime in comparison, but I think he made the role of Captain Stacey more his own.

     Spider-Man's costume was neat and I was amused to see it was created by Circus Du Soleil.  (Though, I always have trouble believing that, in addition to their superpowers, that superheroes suddenly develop the expert ability to suddenly design and sew an entire costume together with the perfect fit.)

     I did like that this version of Peter Parker was portrayed more of as a smart ass which I believe is probably more true to the comic book character.  I also liked that he wasn't as mopey as Toby Maguire's incarnation and that he didn't have the heavy burden of having to keep this secret, that he actually had confidants.  However, it is arguable that that sense of aloneness and despair was one of the key ingredients that helped the original Spider-Man create lightning in a bottle.

     Andrew Garfield was likeable as Peter, I bought him in the role.  Likewise, Emma Stone's Helen felt real and I liked the character.  The two together worked well; again, not as well as Toby and Kirsten, a different dynamic, but enjoyable.

     If I could only pick one superhero movie to see this summer, it would still be The Dark Knight Rises but in a distant second, I just might pick The Amazing Spider-Man over the overrated Avengers.