This is the absolute worst Spiderman movie ever made. The main reason I dislike it so much is Tony Stark giving Spiderman his suit, which breaks the rules. In all comics and previous movies, being a smart student, he develops his own Spidy suit. This is a bloated attempt to connect him into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And these films will never compare with the Tobey Macguire triligy.
Reviews
4 Reviews
Humans
(2015–2018)
Do Synths Dream of Electric Sheep?
20 July 2015
Humans is an unexpectedly great show. The reason for this is that it's understated in the technology an emphasizes the humanity. The cast are all from UK and mostly unknown and it allows us to get to know the characters more. Gemma Chan who plays Anita/Mya led me to this series via her Twitter. I first saw her in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.
This series is dark and brooding. It raises more questions than it answers with the interaction between the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Synths and the Humans who "employ" them to do ordinary household tasks.
The origins of the core group of Synths is a mystery that is weave through the course of this series. There is some limited action, violence and beneath all of that big question about the ghost in the machine. This may be the best follow-up on ideas of sentient robots first presented since Blade Runner.
This series is dark and brooding. It raises more questions than it answers with the interaction between the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Synths and the Humans who "employ" them to do ordinary household tasks.
The origins of the core group of Synths is a mystery that is weave through the course of this series. There is some limited action, violence and beneath all of that big question about the ghost in the machine. This may be the best follow-up on ideas of sentient robots first presented since Blade Runner.
Skin
(I) (2008)
The Colour of your Skin
20 January 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Sandra Laing should be more widely known in South Africa. I doubt we value the lessons learned from the our own past as we do from school. Imagine a world where you are classified according to what the government laws dictate. That was the reality of Apartheid South Africa.
Even in 2013 we see glimpses of this Apartheid mentality because mixed race people in this country seems to have a Pavlovian disposition to feeling inferior and acting that way. The violence among "coloured people" is disproportional higher when looked at prison populations. So this movie is actually an important link between the past, the present and the future of mixed race people in South Africa.
What is striking about Sandra Laing is how her parents are both supremely dedicated and yet divided in how they treat their daughter. Everything manages to proceed as planned while she's in school, and even after she's asked to leave the school. Even her older brother stands by her even though he admits it's difficult.
How do we break free from our parents, from our roots and discover new ones? There is a Freudian element to Sandra's relationship with her father. He fights for her, he is strong-willed and takes on the government in one scene. Yet, he has doubts about whether she is indeed his biological child. At least this makes him human in sense. The family is surrounded by black people, some as labourers and some as clients in their shop in a rural part of the country.
As she matures into a young lady, her father arranges dates for her with young white men. After a terrible incident where she avoids being rapped, she eventually strikes up a sexual relationship with a black man with whom she has two children. His anger sparked by group areas act, and how it was enforced in by the Apartheid government eventually leads to him physically abusing Sandra. She leaves with her children and makes her way to Johannesburg, the big city.
The movie ends where it began with the 1994 elections. The dream that was dreamed by her parents is still alive in her, especially her father's motto of "never give up." She tells her mother on her death bed, that was all that kept her going during the 20 years of separation.
This is a story that speaks about all those things that makes us human: family, identity, uncertainty, choice and love. Without falling in love with a black man, Sandra would never have discovered herself. Her white father wanted her to be safe, to be protected and the never allowed her to be free, to find her own way.
Even in 2013 we see glimpses of this Apartheid mentality because mixed race people in this country seems to have a Pavlovian disposition to feeling inferior and acting that way. The violence among "coloured people" is disproportional higher when looked at prison populations. So this movie is actually an important link between the past, the present and the future of mixed race people in South Africa.
What is striking about Sandra Laing is how her parents are both supremely dedicated and yet divided in how they treat their daughter. Everything manages to proceed as planned while she's in school, and even after she's asked to leave the school. Even her older brother stands by her even though he admits it's difficult.
How do we break free from our parents, from our roots and discover new ones? There is a Freudian element to Sandra's relationship with her father. He fights for her, he is strong-willed and takes on the government in one scene. Yet, he has doubts about whether she is indeed his biological child. At least this makes him human in sense. The family is surrounded by black people, some as labourers and some as clients in their shop in a rural part of the country.
As she matures into a young lady, her father arranges dates for her with young white men. After a terrible incident where she avoids being rapped, she eventually strikes up a sexual relationship with a black man with whom she has two children. His anger sparked by group areas act, and how it was enforced in by the Apartheid government eventually leads to him physically abusing Sandra. She leaves with her children and makes her way to Johannesburg, the big city.
The movie ends where it began with the 1994 elections. The dream that was dreamed by her parents is still alive in her, especially her father's motto of "never give up." She tells her mother on her death bed, that was all that kept her going during the 20 years of separation.
This is a story that speaks about all those things that makes us human: family, identity, uncertainty, choice and love. Without falling in love with a black man, Sandra would never have discovered herself. Her white father wanted her to be safe, to be protected and the never allowed her to be free, to find her own way.
Material
(2012)
Material is Magical movie for the new Millennium
14 March 2012
Material is in a class of its own because it fusses so many different genres successfully. Oscar winning "Tsotsi" gave the world a peak into South African thug-life life on the streets of Johannesburg. Material is strong for very different reasons.
The characters are quirky, sometimes funny and almost magical in their qualities. Ronnie Apteker, the producer has put together an excellent support team including a brilliant scriptwriter. Dialogue flows so naturally between the cast it is easy to taken on this journey. After a string of films under his belt, this may be his first box office hit. Material also has strong international potential in the Middle East and Asia where the Muslim family story may resonate even stronger.
After reading the build up to this film on Twitter over the last 12-months, this film had to be great not just good. This movie was more than expected and hits emotional triggers from beginning to end. The cinematography is breezy and captures the soul of one of the oldest suburbs in Johannesburg, Fordsburg succinctly. Local residents refer it to "little Pakistan" or "little India" because of the high concentration of Muslims from India or Pakistan who live here.
Moviegoers get real glimpses of the struggle in a family bound by tradition and terrors of the legacy of Apartheid. Fathers and boys have a special connection. This film is at times deeply spiritual in its quest for reconciliation between family members, father and son, and brothers.
Look out for the stand-up comedy routines because they lift you up when you least expect it. Movies like this can help change the world. This movie is a family movie, a comedy, a drama and a coming of age story all rolled into one. Ronnie Apteker may be close to his magnum opus as a film producer.
The characters are quirky, sometimes funny and almost magical in their qualities. Ronnie Apteker, the producer has put together an excellent support team including a brilliant scriptwriter. Dialogue flows so naturally between the cast it is easy to taken on this journey. After a string of films under his belt, this may be his first box office hit. Material also has strong international potential in the Middle East and Asia where the Muslim family story may resonate even stronger.
After reading the build up to this film on Twitter over the last 12-months, this film had to be great not just good. This movie was more than expected and hits emotional triggers from beginning to end. The cinematography is breezy and captures the soul of one of the oldest suburbs in Johannesburg, Fordsburg succinctly. Local residents refer it to "little Pakistan" or "little India" because of the high concentration of Muslims from India or Pakistan who live here.
Moviegoers get real glimpses of the struggle in a family bound by tradition and terrors of the legacy of Apartheid. Fathers and boys have a special connection. This film is at times deeply spiritual in its quest for reconciliation between family members, father and son, and brothers.
Look out for the stand-up comedy routines because they lift you up when you least expect it. Movies like this can help change the world. This movie is a family movie, a comedy, a drama and a coming of age story all rolled into one. Ronnie Apteker may be close to his magnum opus as a film producer.
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