green goblin | the m0vie blog

Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s Spider-Man – The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus, Vol. 1 (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Darren

It’s hard to believe that Spider-Man first appeared fifty years ago. The character is arguably Marvel’s most iconic comic book creation, and his appearance and iconography is instant recognisable all around the world. As such, fifty years after his first appearance, it’s fascinating to look at just how much of Spider-Man is firmly rooted in the initial thirty-eight issues of the title, written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Steve Ditko. While I am normally quite wary of older material (Will Eisner’s The Spirit being the exception that proves the rule), it’s amazing how well Lee and Ditko’s Amazing Spider-Man holds up.

Animated by Kerry Allen.

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Amazing Spider-Man, AndrewGarfield, Ditko, Doctor Octopus, EmmaStone, fantastic four, green goblin, Human Torch, J. Jonah Jameson, jack kirby, Kirby, lizard, marvel, Marvel Comic, marvel comics, mysterio, peter parker, sinister six, spider man, stan lee, Steve Ditko, thor | 14 Comments »

No Venom Intended: Thoughts on the Inevitable Amazing Spider-Man Spin-Off…

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Darren

Apparently Sony is pressing full speed ahead with this Spider-Man license. I suspect they looked at the massive success that Marvel, Paramount and ultimately Disney have had with their series of Avengers films. Releasing a series of relatively independent superhero films that all tied together proved to be quite the financial success, becoming one of the biggest earners of all time. It’s easy enough to understand why other studios might want to follow the business model. The problem? Sony only really has the license to Spidey and his supporting cast. How do you build a multi-character franchise when you only own the rights to one admittedly iconic? You spin-off his supporting characters, of course. In this case, it’s the villain Venom, who is reportedly getting a film from director Josh Trank, who made quite the impression with his début directing Chronicle, and possibly tying into the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man.

He’s coming right at you!

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Avenger, avengers, Avi Arad, brian michael bendis, Crime Master, disney, Eddie Brock, Flash Thompson, green goblin, Iron Monger, joker, marvel, marvel comics, Rick Remender, sam raimi, sony, spider man, spider-man 3, The Walt Disney Company, venom | 5 Comments »

Brian Michael Bendis’ Avengers – Siege (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Darren

April (and a little bit of May) are “Avengers month” at the m0vie blog. In anticipation of Joss Whedon’s superhero epic, we’ll have a variety of articles and reviews published looking at various aspects of “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.”

Read our review of The Avengers here.

Please, father… Let these heroes rise. Both Asgardian and mortal. Together. Empowered. Let them fight. Let them save us.

– Loki, Siege #4

And so, here we are. The culmination of more than five years of plotting in the Marvel Universe. Brian Michael Bendis has directed the Avengers franchise from Avengers Disassembled to Siege, crafting a post-modern exploration of what it is to be a superhero in a politically complex and morally ambiguous world. In doing so, for better or worse, Bendis has redefined the Avengers, with New Avengers just as “new” as the title promises. It’s somewhat fitting, then, that after years of introspection and exploration about when and how the characters in the Marvel Universe might be considered heroes, that it ends with an almost proto-typical superhero knock-down smash-up brawl fest.

Capping it all off...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Asgard, Avenger, avengers, brian michael bendis, captain america, ed brubaker, Goodreads, green goblin, iron man, joss whedon, loki, marvel comics, marvel universe, new avengers, secret invasion, Siege | Leave a comment »

Brian Michael Bendis’ Avengers – New Avengers Vol. 7 (Hardcover) (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Darren

Read our review of The Avengers here.

And so, this is it. The end of Brian Michael Bendis’ first run on New Avengers. And, to the writer’s credit, it actually feels like an ending – something you very rarely get in mainstream comics, particularly when the writer’s going to be producing another book the following month. While I’ve had more than a few issues with the individual chapters in Bendis’ run, I think his New Avengers holds together remarkably well when examined as one big story – because it is one big story. The issues are paragraph breaks in the arcs, which are themselves chapters in the unfolding epic Bendis was weaving through the heart of the Marvel Universe, a bold attempt to redefine “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes”for the twenty-first century.

Happily ever after?

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Avenger, avengers, bendis, brian michael bendis, green goblin, Hood, iron man, joss whedon, marvel, marvel comics, ms. marvel, new avengers, nick fury, spider man | 2 Comments »

Brian Michael Bendis’ Avengers – Dark Avengers (Hardcover) (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Darren

Dark Avengers actually reads quite well as a self-contained volume. It’s relatively short, running sixteen issues (fourteen of which are collected here, with the other two collected in Utopia) and an annual. It sits between two gigantic crossovers, Secret Invasion and Siege, so it isn’t as frequently derailed as Bendis’ New Avengers was (or even Mighty Avengers was). Instead, it feels like a nice little self-contained chapter in the epic superhero saga that Bendis has been writing for quite some time, dating back to the first issue of New Avengers, an exploration of the modern superhero myth in this cynic world so keen to deconstruct our idols in the wake of classics like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. It’s not a perfect book, but it’s a clever and succinct summary of the themes the author has been exploring, in a fun and dynamic sort of way.

Maybe it should be called “Moodily-lit Avengers”…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: anti-heroes, Avenger, avengers, bendis, brian michael bendis, comic books, Comics, dark avengers, dark knight returns, green goblin, iron man, iron patriot, joss whedon, marvel, mighty avengers, Molecule Man, new avengers, nick fury, norman osborn, secret invasion, spider man, tony stark | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Spider-Man III

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Darren

This is a post as part of “Raimi-fest”, the event being organised by the always wonderful Bryce over at Things That Don’t Suck.

Spider-Man III has a lot of problems. I’ll get to a couple of them in a moment. However, the single biggest issue with the movie seems to be that nobody seems especially interested in making it. It’s a feeling that it’s hard to back up with substantive evidence, but there’s just this general sensation that the film wasn’t the product of the same love and enthusiasm that made the first two films so refreshing. It almost seems like the movie was made out of a sense of obligation, rather than because anyone wanted to be there. It seems that they didn’t really care.

Back in black?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Avi Arad, brian michael bendis, Christopher Young, danny elfman, films, flint marko, green goblin, harry osborn, hollywood, Movies, peter parker, sam raimi, sandman, spider man, spider-man 3, spider-man iii, stan lee, symbiote, venom | 7 Comments »

Does Whatever a Spider Can: How Sam Raimi “Got” Spider-Man…

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Darren

This is a post as part of “Raimi-fest”, the event being organised by the always wonderful Bryce over at Things That Don’t Suck.

Watching all three of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy back-to-back, it becomes increasingly obvious that the director harbours an honest and genuine affection for the source material. In fairness, it’s hard to believe that the cult director seemed like a safe option for a multi-million dollar movie franchise, but it worked out remarkably well – just look at the box office figures and the critical acclaim (of at least the first two films). So what is it about Raimi that really “clicks” with Spider-Man? How does the director get the character so well?

Goblin it all up…

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: atomic age, Comics, green goblin, harry osborn, J. Jonah Jameson, monster movies, monsters, peter parker, pop culture, pulp fiction, sam raimi, spider man, spider-man comics, spider-man trilogy, stan lee, Steve Ditko | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Sin City

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Darren

We’re currently blogging as part of the “For the Love of Film Noir” blogathon (hosted by Ferdy on Films and The Self-Styled Siren) to raise money to help restore the 1950’s film noir The Sound of Fury (aka Try and Get Me). It’s a good cause which’ll help preserve our rich cinematic heritage for the ages, and you can donate by clicking here. Over the course of the event, running from 14th through 21st February, I’m taking a look at the more modern films that have been inspired or shaped by noir. Today’s theme is “comics noir” – noir filtered through comic book panels.

Sin City is, I suppose, one of those films that lives or dies based solely on its visual style. Although the heavy hardboiled atmosphere compliments the stark black and white contrast, it’s those beautifully and meticulously staged images which come into the mind when one thinks of the Frank Miller adaptation. Based on the writer and artist’s collection of noir-themed comic books set in (Ba)Sin City, Robert Rodriguez’s adaptation manages to faithfully capture the tone and style of its source material. Being honest, it’s one of those movies which can’t help but catch your eye – it’ll just follow up with a punch to the gut.

That little red dress...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bryan singer, film, Film noir, frank miller, green goblin, noir, non-review review, review, robert rodriguez, sam raimi, sin city, Sound of Fury, stylised | 6 Comments »

Secret Invasion (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Darren

This is the twelfth in a series of comic book reviews that will look at the direction of Marvel’s shared universe (particularly their “Avengers” franchise) over the past five or so years, as they’ve been attempting to position the property at the heart of their fictional universe. With The Avengers planned for a cinematic release in 2012, I thought I’d bring myself up to speed by taking a look at Marvel’s tangled web of continuity.

Well… that was anti-climactic.

Well, at least green and red go together...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: avengers, brian michael bendis, Civil War, crossover, crossovers, green goblin, house of m, marvel, marvel universe, mighty avengers, new avengers, secret invasion, skrulls, superhero | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Spider-Man

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Darren

It’s hard to believe in retrospect, but the movie that kick started the whole superhero movie subgenre is nothing but a gigantic, big budget B-movie. And, trust me, that’s a compliment.