R.I.P. Stan "The Man" Lee 1922-2018

I absolutely hate writing these, and for quite some time I have avoided these, and a lot of writing this year for various reasons.

But when I saw the news today that Stan Lee had passed away at the age of 95, well, it's time to dust off the keyboard and get back to my favorite job:

Writing.

I owe that passion for writing to Stanley Martin Lieber, better known to us all as Stan Lee.

I was first introduced to Stan Lee as the creator of Spider-Man with  Amazing Fantasy # 15.

While I wasn't lucky enough to be around when it premiered, through countless reprints, I learned of Spider-Man's origins from the nerdy Peter Parker to the hero with problems, the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

What made Peter Parker or the Fantastic Four so special?

Lee brought the humanity to his characters, the kind of which you never really saw in the Distinguished Competition.  Batman, Superman and the like seemed to perfect in what they did. There wasn't second guessing, joking because they were scared or any of those things. They were godlike, or at the very least, nearly perfect in the way their lives unfolded.

At Marvel, they were humans that were often thrust to do heroic things, even if it terrified them as they were doing it. It was refreshing, it was new... And now it's the model of how it's done.

Through the decades, fans have debated which was better, DC or Marvel. My answer has always been Marvel.

Stan imbued his characters with the best traits that we often aspire to be.

At the end of the day, it wasn't the costume, it was the person that wore the costume that truly mattered.

You take Peter Parker or Steve Rogers or Tony Stark or countless others out of their costume, and they are still as heroic and noble and yes, flawed, as when they are in it.

The man who brought "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" to life on the comic page for a teenaged hero-to-be spoke to us all.  We all have that power within us, we must use that power responsibly.

It is through our actions that we make the world a better place, and Stan gave us a great role model for kids of many generations with Peter Parker.

For those that didn't take the nerd/geek path and follow comic books when they were growing up, well....

Welcome to the 21st Century and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 20 films, and just about as many cameos later, the non-comic book reading world finally got to see what the rest of us already knew:

Marvel Comics are phenomenal!

I get goosebumps and misty eyes when the Marvel Studios banner unfurls... never did I expect to see these films in my lifetime, let alone that they would be so good.

That Stan got to be there when it all gelled into the perfect storm had to be icing on the cake for the man that had a celebrated career, one that will live on because of those very characters that he created/helped create nearly a half century ago.

Stan may have been embarrassed early in his career by what he was doing, and he was never able to be the great American novelist or anything, but I think he had one helluva career.

And if I'm asked who my favorite American author is, it's always Stan Lee, without hesitation.

Go read Amazing Fantasy # 15 again if you don't believe me.

Thank you for shaping my childhood, raising me into adulthood, and letting me share your creations with my children as you shaped yet another generation.

God Speed Stan Lee, you are now, and always will be, THE MAN!

Excelsior!!!

Welcome Home Web-Head! "Spider-Man: Homecoming"

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr.

Directed by Jon Watts

The Story:

Peter Parker (Holland) is trying to adjust to life as Spider-Man all the while waiting for the next call-up to something big by Tony Stark (Downey Jr.). When he discovers that a new bad guy, the Vulture (Keaton) is up to something really big, Peter gets tired of being ignored while he tries to enlist help, so he tackles it on his own. Needless to say, his web-slinging and high school problems are going to cause more problems than your typical high schooler has to endure.

Welcome home to the Marvel Cinematic Universe Spidey!

The deal that allowed Marvel Studios to use Spider-Man pays off huuuuuuge for Sony as they craft the best Spider-Man film so far.

For those of you that loved the Raimi trilogy...or at least Part 2, you're welcome to think that's the best Spider-Man ever.

I never cared for Tobey in the role, nor Dunst as M.J.

I much preferred Garfield's take in the role, but those films weren't without their flaws.

Now along comes Homecoming.

Holland is quickly winning me over as Peter/Spidey.

It also helps that Keaton's Vulture is an impressive and logical foe to set this whole thing up, and he is great as the film's bad guy.

Are there flaws?

Probably.

Am I willing to overlook those?

Absolutely.

The biggest complaint I could see is the characterizations of most of Peter's supporting cast.

I simply remember: this is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, not the comics.

Then yeah, I'm good.

What else can I say at this point?

1) The Spider-Man theme song makes an appearance.
2) Possibly the best ending of any Marvel movie.
3) There are indeed 2 scenes that appear after the credits.

I highly encourage you to stick around for both!

Congratulations to all involved, I'm now going to type what I thought unthinkable just 2 short months ago...

Sorry Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.... there's a new favorite movie of the year in town!

Good luck Thor: Ragnarok... you've got your work cut out for you.

Final Grade: A

Here's Your Spoiler-Free Review Of "Captain America: Civil War"

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Chadwick Boseman, Elizabeth Olsen, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland

Directed by Anthony & Joe Russo

The Story:

Following some recent disasters where the Avengers have caused damage and death of civilians, the United Nations wants the Avengers to operate under their jurisdiction. Tony Stark (Downey) agrees. Steve Rogers (Evans) does not. Lines are drawn and friends are about to throw down.

You've seen the trailers, and odds are if you're reading this, you've either seen the movie, or plan to see it.

So here goes:

It is a Captain America movie. I've heard many say it's Avengers 2.5, but it's not. The best comparison I could give it would be for those that grew up reading comics, this is a crossover where the story starts in the pages of Captain America and when the issue is over, it's continued in the pages of Iron Man or the Avengers.

The tone, the direction, it's all deftly handled by Anthony and Joe Russo. The Avengers franchise is in great hands going forward. They have given us, in my opinion, the best of the superhero movies that Marvel Studios has produced.

Better scripts, better action than either of the Whedon directed Avengers, they show how to balance a cast of players, giving everyone their moment (or several) but never at the sacrifice of the overall story.

Spider-Man (Holland) and Peter Parker were fleshed out more in this short foray into the actual Marvel Cinematic Universe than nearly all of the previous iterations combined. And I actually liked the reboot. :)  We're hitting the ground running with no new origin, it's on, and I'm looking forward to next year's adventure.

The Black Panther gets introduced and is great from the start. You're told everything you need to know, and I don't know that an origin movie is in the cards. Maybe a rehash for those that may have skipped Civil War.

:: cough cough fools cough cough ::

Marvel continues to set the bar high, and just when you think they might stumble, they soar over that thing with all kinds of clearance, and you wonder why you even had doubts.

You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll sit on the edge of your seat.

Bravo.

Oh, and sit through the credits people.

ALL the credits.

Final Grade: A+  I think you'll see this again at the end of the year honors as my favorite film of 2016.

J.K. Simmons Will Give You "Whiplash"

Whiplash (2014)

Rated R

Starring Miles Teller, J.K Simmons

Written and Directed by Damien Chazelle

The Story:

Andrew (Teller) wants to be a great drummer, the next Charlie Parker. At the prestigious music academy he attends, there is one teacher there, Fletcher (Simmons) who can help him realize that potential.

Be careful what you wish for.

It's everything and nothing that you've seen before.

A mentor takes a student under this wing and makes life for student miserable.

But in the end, the student excels and proves that they had the gift all along, and just needed the right push.

Enter Teller as the happy go lucky Andrew who gets into the band, and is immediately assaulted, verbally and physically by Simmons.

And the for the record, tell me Simmons spouting similar lines in a Spider-Man movie isn't something that would fit the character of J. Jonah Jameson to a t!

: )

Simmons can act, everyone knows that, and he deserves the award he won for the character. You know he's pushing the limits of what he can do to make his student better, but you're uncomfortable enough to wonder if you should root for him to continue his ways or to let go.

By the finale, the relationship between these two is going to take their weirdest, yet most satisfying turn yet.

Great movie, that I'm dinging for the subplot with the girl, and the unbelievable car crash/concert scene.

I get why both were included, but the credibility (or care-ability) of the story suffered accordingly.  When it's about the music, then the movie sings.

Especially when Simmons is involved.

Final Grade: B

Does Whatever A Spider Can... "Amazing Spider-Man 2"

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Rated PG-13

Starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Sally Field

Directed by Marc Webb

The Story:

Peter Parker (Garfield) returns to graduate from high school and move on to college.  After the events from the first movie, he feels that it is time to say farewell to Gwen Stacey (Stone) before something bad happens to her.  Ah, but fate is fickle, and with the changing of the guard at Oscorp, and a tragic incident involving Max Dillon (Foxx), Peter wishes he was only facing the Lizard this go round.

I don't get all the hate directed towards this installment, or this reboot.

I stand by my assessment that Marc Webb has created a much more coherent universe for Spidey to swing around in.

Garfield and Stone are head and shoulders more invested into their characters than Maguire and Dunst ever managed in their trilogy.

I've heard complaints that there were too many villains and the plot was too convoluted to follow, and again I must shake my head and wonder if I was watching a different movie.

Now, was it perfect?

No.  Marvel Studios had superhero perfection locked down this year with Cap 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Even the X-Men franchise got collectively better this summer.

A minor quibble, I've never cared for the Electro redesign or what they did with his powers.  I like the yellow and green costume, but that didn't totally derail the film.

So what went wrong with Spidey 2?

Here's my guess, and spoilers for those that haven't gotten around to seeing the movie yet, or have zero knowledge of what happened in the comics back in the 60s...

Gwen died.

It was haunting and poetic the way they worked it into the movie, and in the end it was indeed very well done.

However...

When you own the characters and are already able to diverge from the comic continuity to tell a great story...

Webb and the writers could have EASILY not killed Gwen, at least in this installment.  After all, it was nearly a decade in real time before Gwen died at the hands of Norman Osborne.

So as you see: 1) There was no rush to kill Gwen.  2) Norman's death immediately changed history so that Gwen did not have to get bumped off so soon, if ever.

This death would have been better served when it was time for Stone (and Garfield) to move on from the franchise.

This franchise had "date movie" potential for a superhero movie and by the 2nd of a planned trilogy, the rug is pulled out from under that idea.

That's just my opinion.  What's done is done.

Either way, I'll be back for the next installment.  I'm still digging this reboot way more than I ever did with Raimi's installments.

Final Grade: I'm still sticking with a B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I'll pick it up one of these days.

Your Spoiler-Free Review: "The Amazing Spider-Man 2"

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Rated PG-13 for comic book violence

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx,

Directed by Marc Webb

The Story:



Peter (Garfield) and Gwen (Stone) graduate and are ready to move on in the world.  But things between the two keep getting complicated, especially as Peter digs deeper into the mystery of what happened to his parents.  Before the movie is over, secrets will be revealed and the stage is set for the biggest battle Peter has ever faced.

In 2012, I reviewed the reboot of the Spider-Man franchise: Amazing Spider-Man  So impressed, it would wind up being the second-best superhero released that year, and # 2 on my Top 10 List of the movies of 2012.

Fast forward to 2014, and poor Spidey...

He's currently the 2nd best superhero movie of the year, behind Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Worse still, there's several more superhero movies on the horizon!

Bad news for Spidey...

Good news for comic book movie fans!

:)

So, if like me, you enjoyed the first Amazing Spider-Man, you're going to enjoy this sequel.

If you didn't, then I can't think there's any reason you'll want to see the sequel.  I mean, what movie fan goes back to watch sequels to movies they didn't really care for?

Myself excepted, of course. ;)

The main criticism I've read/seen on the latest installment:  "There's too many characters (I'm assuming bad guys) in this one".

My response...

Uh, no.

This plays out just like the comics.  We cut to different characters, different sub plots as the main story chugs forward to conclusion.  In comics, especially Spidey, he's enjoyed possibly the greatest gallery of supporting characters and villains of any franchise.  If you would argue Batman, that's about the only other franchise with the depth and greatness that I would concede on this matter.

This sequel reaches several logical conclusions in the continuing story in the life of Peter Parker.

It also sets up the inevitable sequel(s), to include the Sinister Six movie that is being mentioned around the web.

I can honestly say that my least favorite part of the film was the lack of Electro's costume.  I was a fan of the green and gold original.

Andrew Garfield continues to impress as Peter/Spidey.  Emma Stone is simply wonderful as Gwen Stacey.  Their chemistry is amazing. 

The effects are outstanding.

However, unlike Marvel Cinematic Universe offerings, you don't need to stick all the way through the credits.

Once you see the oddly placed X-Men clip... feel free to go.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I'll be buying this one for Christmas and enjoying it with the family.

Our Man Stan... "With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story"

Excelsior!

The Story:

A biography covering the life and career of Stan Lee and the characters that he created for Marvel Comics.

I love Stan Lee.

You'll never find a more engaging pitchman who so believes in what he does than Stan.

While I no longer read the comics, I will always love the characters that he created, or to spread the love truthfully, co-created in many instances.

Writing comics would probably be my dream job, therefore Stan Lee is my ultimate hero.

He had the job that I would love to have, but would always feel I could never live up to.

But man, it would be a blast to try!

To sit back and realize that YOU are the man telling stories about Spider-Man...or the Fantastic Four...or...

Yeah, pretty cool gig.

And for the most part, all of the other people that are interviewed in this film also gush about how cool Stan is, both genuine and personable.

Plus, there's some nice Stan at home scenes with his lovely wife, those two are still madly in love after all these years.

So if you want to see a good documentary on Stan and the history of Marvel, here you go!

Now available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Maybe I'll watch it again in a few years, but nothing that screams "buy me!"

Not All Heroes Have Powers..."Agents of SHIELD"

Welcome Back, Agent Coulson...

The Story:

SHIELD operative Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) returns.  Nuff Said!  But no, he brings with him a team of operatives: Ward (Brett Dalton) the muscle; Melinda May (Ming Na-Wen) the reluctant one; Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) engineering; Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) bio.  With Coulson calling the shots, they go after the group The Rising Tide and recruit one of them, Skye (Chloe Bennett) to help them track down the latest unregistered  hero.

Throwing in a nice cameo from Agent Hill (Cobie Smulders) and a cryptic tease about Agent Coulson...

It's a nice extension of the Marvel Universe on the small screen, and a worthy pick up from the events from The Avengers movie as they expand the mythos.

Considering we haven't had a quality live-action Marvel show since The Incredible Hulk, it's a nice change of pace.

I'll have to let the kids watch the old Nicholas Hammond Spider-Man show to see how good they've really got it.

It's an entertaining show that attempts to tell a story that enhances what we've enjoyed in the movie theaters. 

Plus, do not underestimate the appeal that Agent Coulson has resonated with the fans of the Marvel Universe.  His presence alone will carry a lot of good will throughout the season.  He got the best lines, but there was growth amongst the team as the show went along.

Happy that  Joss Whedon has brought the Agents to tv, and hope these all enjoy a nice long Buffy the Vampire Slayer type tenure.

I'm in for the season, and the DVR is set to go!

Final Grade: B+...A-... it's all good. ;)

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor:  I'm sure we'll hit a few episodes more than once in the near future, or while waiting for Season 2.  Will I be buying it?  Seems like the Marvel Universe would be missing them if the don't join the movie lot. :)