November 11, 2015 by Billy Henehan

Attack on Titan: Part One – Review

Attack on Titan is a mega-successful hit anime and manga which I have never watched or read. So when a friend asked who wanted to see the live action adaptation of the property, of course I said yes.

Photo courtesy of @ilikecomicstoo.

A group of about eight of us went to see Attack on Titan: Part One in the theater. Out of everyone, I was the one least familiar with the series. I have intended to dive into Attack on Titan for some time now, but just kept finding other books to read, movies to watch, and TV series to get lost in.

Before the movie started, there was already a palpable feeling of dread in the audience, and with good reason. Early reviews had not been kind, and beloved characters had been dropped from the live action version. The names of these characters were meaningless to me. The most I had read and watched of Attack on Titan before this was flipping through a few pages of this year’s Free Comic Book Day offering and watching @ilikecomictoo’s video of the Attack on Titan-themed Escape the Room event that took place at the Staten Island Yankees game over the summer. But imagine if the Harry Potter movies had dropped Dumbledore. From talking to people at the theater, it was this big a change.

In a way, I was lucky to not be familiar with the characters or story. Any changes, big or small, would be lost on me. That said, as I was watching the movie, I couldn’t tell if some of the not great bits were or weren’t just created for the movie.

Judging the movie strictly on its own merits as a standalone film, it’s not very good…and that’s being generous. If I was giving it a letter grade, I’d have to go with a D+. It’s the kind of movie that you would find on the bottom shelf of your local video store when local video stores were a thing. It seems like the filmmakers blew the vast majority of their budget on the Colossal Titan. I will say the Colossal Titan did look cool. Unfortunately, this came at the expense of every other piece of special effects in the movie. Eren’s titan form looked like a rubber suit – because it was.

My favorite parts of the movie were bits of dialog that were unintentionally funny. I don’t know if something was lost in translation, but the scene where that one girl asks Eren, “Do you want to be my daughter’s father?” followed by “Do you not like single mothers?” had me cracking up for days after seeing the movie. People who have gone through the trauma of sitting through this movie all the way to the end should use these quotes to identify each other out in the wild.

Besides the cool looking Colossal Titan, those two golden nuggets of dialog, if the movie was good at anything, it was in making me become an immediate fan of Potato Girl. I am 100% on #TeamSasha. My big hope for Attack on Titan: Part Two is that the movie is all Potato Girl. Yes, I will be watching Part Two (we bought our tickets before Part One opened. And this is a fun group. I’d see any not so good movie with them). Despite this movie not being good, it did get me more interested in the source material, so that’s a win for it, right?

Photo courtesy of @ilikecomicstoo.

October 21, 2015 by Billy Henehan

Are Nike’s Back to the Future 2 Sneakers Dropping Today?

The big rumor that swirled around the never ending line of Marty McFlys at New York Comic Con this year was a big one. As the Martys patiently waited for their Pepsi Perfect bottle, people started talking about the Nike Mag, the power lacing sneakers from Back to the Future 2. The rumor, one that every Marty McFly who heard it wanted to believe, is that Nike is going to drop the Nike Mag, complete with power laces, today, October 21, 2015. Why today? Because today is the day that Marty McFly traveled to in the future in Back to the Future 2.

There are reasons to believe this rumor is true. Nike announced last year that power laces are coming, to the delight of everyone who felt underwhelmed by the 2011 Mag release. But the thing that has me most believing that Power Lace Mags are dropping today is this tweet from Nike last night.

.@realmikefox see you tomorrow.

— Nike (@Nike) October 21, 2015

I can’t be the only one hitting F5 on the Nike site all day today. But I think Nike will stick to the time that Marty and Doc landed in the future and release the sneakers at 4:29 PM

We’re descending toward Hill Valley, California, at 4:29 pm, on Wednesday, October 21st, 2015. #BTTF2015 #FutureDay pic.twitter.com/cZVi15wx93

— Back to the Future™ (@BacktotheFuture) October 21, 2015

In the meantime, I’ll still be reloading Nike’s web store every minute today.

September 15, 2015 by Billy Henehan

Tuesday Night Comics Podcast 89 – DC Cancels Justice League Unlimited?!? Hawkman and Hawkwoman Costumes!

Big news on the podcast this week, as Billy and Dave discuss DC’s announcement of the cancellation of a number of titles, including Dave’s favorite comics, Justice League Unlimited. Say it ain’t so, DC!

Plus, the guys discuss the reveal of Hawkman and Hawkwoman’s costumes for DC’s Legends of Tomorrow TV show, and give their picks for new comics coming out on 9/16/15.

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August 28, 2015 by Billy Henehan

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl – Review

I was handed the novel Me and Earl and the Dying Girl on a Sunday afternoon. By Sunday night, I was halfway into it. I could not put the book down. I took a nap while reading the book, and upon waking up from the nap, instead of doing my usual – namely napping some more, I reached for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl so that I could keep reading it. If it wasn’t for my job getting in the way, I would have had the book finished by Monday. Instead, I completed it on Wednesday. I then immediately wanted to see the movie.

If you are a film student, have ever been a film student or just have a passing interest in film making, I think that Me and Earl and the Dying Girl will speak to you. A major part of the story is about two friends trying to make movies that don’t suck. In the book, the suck factor is definitely there, but in the movie, it seems that the suckiness of their projects is all in their heads. The biggest change from book to movie may be the quality of Greg and Earl’s movies. In the books, they’re legitimately bad. In the movie, they’re legitimately good, just with the punniest names ever (another good thing in my opinion). Someone told me that an entire second team created these 40-something shorts at the same time that the main movie was being shot. It’s amazing how well the movies come together. I loved them so much. I hope that when the DVD of the movie is released, we’ll have a special feature that shows us extended versions of all of these snippets. They were fantastic.

Which brings me back to why I think this book and movie would be enjoyed by current and former film students. Greg and Earl suffer for their art, both from their peers not getting it, and from their own self-doubts. This is the kind of self-doubt that plagues all creative types.

I think a big reason why the movie works so well is that the original writer of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Jesse Andrews, also wrote the screenplay. The movie makes a few changes from the book. Some of them are great, like the introduction of Ill Phil, who may be my favorite ridiculous character of 2015. Some of the changes are baffling, like the changing of the name of the fictitious high school in the novel to the real life Shenley High, while also changing the name of the real life University of Pittsburgh in the novel to the fake Pittsburgh State for the movie. Why change one school to a real name while changing the other to a fake name? One interesting change was the changing the look of Rachel with casting of Olivia Cooke in the role of the titular dying girl. In the book, Rachel is a Plain Jane type, but in the movie, she has a hipster-cool look to her. It was little weird that an actress was cast for Rachel who was just as pretty as the one cast for that of the school hottie who is supposed to be so good looking that she-might-be-dating-a-Pittsburgh-Steeler, Madison. Not to say that the actress who plays Madison, Katherine C. Hughes, isn’t good looking. They just really Hermionied up Rachel for the movie. And Madison looks really young, like “Hey Pittsburgh Steeler, why are you dating this child?” young.

Rachel (left) and Madison (right)

Nick Offerman is perfect as Earl’s dad. He’s not in the movie much, but he steals the scenes he’s in.

The city of Pittsburgh has a big place in my heart, so it was great seeing many familiar Pittsburgh sites while watching the movie. Of note, I almost leaped out of my seat when I realized Greg and Earl were shopping at Copacetic Comics, a great indie comic book store in Pittsburgh, and even more excited when the next time they were shown shopping at Copacetic, Bill from Copacetic was the one behind the counter. It’s little details like that that matter a lot. I wonder if Jesse Andrews is an Copacetic regular.

One great improvement to the movie over the book was the character of Rachel. Andrews does a great job in the screenplay of going deeper with Rachel than he did in the novel. She’s more a fully developed individual here than she is in the book. In the book, she just exists almost as a plot device, but in the movie, she’s given form and feeling, and even her own sense of style.

Both the book and the movie have me wanting to see Aguirre, the Wrath of God, and I’m guessing by the end of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, you will too. When was the last time any piece of fiction made you feel that way about a Werner Herzog movie?

August 26, 2015 by Billy Henehan

Jurassic World – Review

Jurassic World managed to pull off a rare feat in remake and reboot heavy Hollywood, and that is to feel 100% fresh. Too many remakes and reboots seem like mere revisions and retreads. Not Jurassic World. It captures all the magic of Jurassic Park without feeling like it was just walking through the paces of the original. I found myself as wowed by the special effect dinosaurs here as I did as a teenager watching Jurassic Park, and found myself caring for the characters just as much, if not more, than I did with the original.

Jurassic World was obviously inspired most by Jurassic Park, but there are definitely tones of Blackfish in there as well. The entire scene with the water dinosaur jumping out of the pool to attack the assistant had me thinking that director Colin Trevorrow had recently watched Blackfish. Or maybe it’s because I recently watched Blackfish. Either way, as I was watching that scene, all I think of was, “This is shades of Blackfish.” Side note: If you haven’t already, watch Blackfish.

I think it’s great that Jurassic World is building on the story first told in Jurassic Park. The original movie isn’t swept under the rug, but at the same time, you don’t need to have seen the original to enjoy this movie. There are subtle nods to the original movie interspersed throughout the film, but for the most part, they’re little Easter Eggs for fans of the original. None of the plot hinges on you having already watched Jurassic Park. There seemed to be no mention of The Lost World or Jurassic Park III. I’m not complaining.

If I have any quibble with the movie, it’s that for a large portion of the film, Bryce Dallas Howard’s character, Claire, is running from dinosaurs in a pair of heels. Why does she take forever to get rid of these shoes? She’s running in the jungle…in heels! And this is a muddy jungle! The last time I went trail running, it was a bit muddy and I thought I might break an ankle…and I was in running sneakers! Come on, it’s 2015! Do women still need to wear heels as they run in action movies? Any time they showed her heels as she was running, it took me completely out of the movie. Heck, Chris Pratt’s character, Owen, could have gotten her a pair of work boots from one of the many garages and supply closets they found themselves in throughout the movie. He seems like a practical guy. There’s no way he would have let her run in those heels. If boots were good enough for Laura Dern in the original, they’re good enough for Bryce Dallas Howard here.

Speaking of Chris Pratt, he’s as charming in this movie as he was in Guardians of the Galaxy. I’m still amazed that Bright from Everwood and Andy from Parks and Rec is a full fledged action star, but man, he brings it. For those of you who are fans of Chris Pratt’s body, I regret to have to inform you that he does not take his shirt off even once throughout the entire movie. Magic Mike XXL is playing down the hall.

If Jurassic World is still playing in a movie theater by you, I am giving it the strongest recommendation to see it in the theater. Like Interstellar, this is a movie that will be more enjoyable on the big screen, and the bigger the screen, the better. I also saw a 3D showing of it. It is 100% worth seeing in 3D. However, even if you’re able to find Jurassic World on the big screen these days, I doubt you’ll still find it in 3D. But if you do, buy that ticket.

For those of you keeping track at home, in the war of Best Summer Movie 2015, I have Jurassic World with the upset over Ant-Man as my favorite movie of this summer. Those of you who have read my reviews for some time now and know how much I love both Paul Rudd and superheroes may be surprised to read that. Or maybe not. In either case, Jurassic World rocks. Go see it.

July 29, 2015 by Billy Henehan

Ant-Man – Review

I’ve been a bit behind on my movie reviews. Looking over recent posts will definitely confirm this. I’ve actually seen a few movies that I just haven’t had to sit down to review. I’m hoping to turn the review train around with today’s review of Ant-Man.

Ant-Man is the latest movie from the consistently excellent Marvel Studios. Think about the comic book movies you’ve liked best over the past seven years. Chances are they’re mostly Marvel Studios movies. Yes, Warner had The Dark Knight and Fox gave us X-Men: Days of Future Past, but by and large, the great superhero movies are coming from Marvel Studios.

In the comic books, Ant-Man is founding member of the Avengers, but he didn’t make it into the first two Avengers movies. It’s safe to say that Ant-Man is definitely not a household name. Unlike Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man comics have not been met with much success over the past few years (decades?). That’s why I think it’s great that Marvel Studios has taken a B-list (C-list?) superhero and made an A-list movie out of him.

Spoilers follow after the poster. You’ve been warned.

Paul Rudd plays the title character in Ant-Man. Like in the comics, Rudd’s character Scott Lang is not the first to wear the Ant-Man costume. The first Ant-Man was Hank Pym, the scientist who discovered Pym particles, which allow things to be shrunk or enlarged. In the comics, Pym is a straight-up scientist turned costume adventurer. In the movie, a major change is made to his background. Pym is still a scientist, but also a secret agent of SHIELD. He’s like a tiny Winter Soldier – sent out on secret missions, with people thinking he’s nothing more than an urban legend among the military community. In the footage of Pym in action, it looks like enemy troops are being knocked out by a speck of dust, if anything at all. I like this change. It makes Pym more bad ass, and less Tony Stark Lite. And the cameo by an aging Agent Carter was fantastic.

When I first saw trailer for Ant-Man, I was tricked into believing that after Lang became Ant-Man, Pym would betray him and fight him as Yellow Jacket. But that’s not the case at all. The main antagonist in the movie is Pym’s former assistant, now current CEO of Pym Tech, Dr. Cross. There’s very little subtlety about Cross. He’s a maniacal laugh away from being a cartoon villain. Betrays his mentor? Check. Slightly (mostly?) unhinged? Check. Sells weapons to the highest bidder, even if that bidder is main Marvel Studios baddie Hydra? Triple check. Still, while borderline cartoonish, Cross definitely comes across as menacing, and makes for an excellent villain. With all the changes made to Ant-Man and the Wasp from their comic book origins to their movie iterations, there was definitely a feeling that maybe not every hero was getting out of this movie alive. That definitely helped Cross come across as a more dangerous villain.

The one issue I had with the Ant-Man movie was that it seemed like they took the spine of the movie directly from the first Iron Man movie. In Iron Man, a trusted subordinate (Stane) at a tech company (Stark Enterprises) makes a power grab and ousts the company from the owner whom the company is named after (Tony Stark). Stane wants to sell the Iron Man technology to some bad dudes, as long as the price is right. After Tony Stark becomes Iron Man, Stane fights him in a suped-up evil Iron Man armor, the Iron Monger. In Ant-Man, a trusted subordinate (Dr. Cross) at a tech company (Pym Tech) makes a power grab and ousts the company from the owner whom the company was named after (Hank Pym). Cross wants to sell the Ant-Man technology to some bad dudes, as long as the price is right. After Pym gives Lang the Ant-Man costume, Dr. Cross fights him in a suped-up Ant-Man armor, the Yellowjacket. The overt similarities in the structure to these movies is what prevents me from ranking Ant-Man too high in my list of favorite Marvel Studios movies. It’s hard to list it ahead of the original Iron Man when it borrow so much of its spine from Iron Man.

Actually, I had two issues with Ant-Man. What was up with that Evangeline Lilly’s wig?

Where Ant-Man really excels is its dialogue, its humor and its special effects. The movie is seriously funny, with witty banter going back and forth between Paul Rudd, and his criminals-with-hearts-of-gold associates. Michael Pena almost steals the movie out from under Paul Rudd as Luis, Scott Lang’s very detail oriented former cellmate. My favorite parts of the movie were when Luis was giving Scott the “details” of a plan. I wonder how much of this was Edgar Wright and how much of it was his replacement Peyton Reed. I’d love to see a breakdown of who contributed what.

The special effects were top notch. They harkened back to one my favorite movies growing up, Honey I Shrunk the Kids. I loved the thought that went into Ant-Man’s surroundings when he was small. The bathtub scene made me wish I was watching the movie in 3D.

I really have to commend Marvel for keeping a tight lid on Anthony Mackie’s appearance as the Falcon in the movie. I absolutely loved the scene of Ant-Man infiltrating the Avengers new headquarters and having to fight the Falcon. Speaking of the Falcon, can we talk about the final after-credits scene of Ant-Man, where we get the set-up for Captain America: Civil War? Captain America has found Bucky/Winter Soldier and enlists the Falcon to help him sneak him into the country. Falcon says he knows a guy who can help. Clearly, he’s talking about Ant-Man shrinking Winter Soldier down to sneak him in. This has me excited that Ant-Man isn’t off in his own little corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will be playing a role in Captain America: Civil War. I really think that Ant-Man is going to take over the Spider-Man story from the Civil War comic book, and that it will be Ant-Man, not Spider-Man, who is the hero stuck in the middle between Captain America and Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War. With Hank Pym’s obvious distrust of anyone with the last name Stark, I can see Ant-Man having a break from Pym, and initially siding with Stark. Once he has a change of heart and is hunted down by Stark, I can see Wasp coming to his rescue, and bringing him to Captain America and Pym’s hideout. Am I right? We’ll just have to wait until Captain America: Civil War.

I see Scott Lang replacing Peter Parker in this pivotal scene in Civil War.

Finally, I loved the little things thrown in for comic book fans, like the nod to comic book creator Archie Goodwin in the hotel’s name. Whenever something like that appears in a superhero movie, I smile.

This review is in memory of Antney (2015-2015). RIP.

May 4, 2015 by Billy Henehan

Avengers: Age of Ultron – Review (NO SPOILERS)

I’m going to keep this review short and spoiler-free for those of you who haven’t had a chance to see Avengers: Age of Ultron yet. A longer, more detailed review will follow shortly.

Are you asking yourself, “Should I see Avengers: Age of Ultron?” The answer is yes. I wouldn’t rank Avengers: Age of Ultron as the best Marvel Studios movie; that distinction belongs to either Captain America: The Winter Soldier or Guardians of the Galaxy depending on what day you ask me the question. But Avengers: Age of Ultron is good, perhaps as good or just shy of being as good as the first Avengers movie.

The action in the movie is fast-paced and the fight scenes are superbly choreographed. Marvel is really killing it with their fight scenes lately between this movie and the Daredevil Netflix series. The movie is full of great character bits, and introduces us to new interpersonal relationships between the characters. Plus we learn some secrets about one Avenger that completely threw me.

Ultron as a villain was excellent. Ultron is both menacing and creepy. While I liked Loki as the villain in Avengers, I felt like a lot of that movie was the team fighting endless hordes of facelss aliens. But here, we get a central villain that isn’t the pawn of another villain. Ultron is his own man, as he likes to point out repeatedly in the movie.

If you’re a fan of the Avengers comic, I think you’ll be very happy with the way the characters are portrayed. Quicksilver is brash. Cap’s shield bounces off things and returns to him (with a better answer than Cap just being great at throwing it).

Avengers: Age of Ultron is excellent. Overall, I would give it an 8 or 9 out of 10. See it in the theater, and see it in 3D. The 3D in the movie itself is cool, but not game changing. But if you see the movie in 3D, you’ll also see the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer in 3D and that alone is worth the price of the upgrade.

March 3, 2015 by Billy Henehan

About Time – Review

I had the choice between About Time or Thor: The Dark World. Some of us were going to see one and some of us were going to see the other. Walking out after Thor: The Dark World, I thought I made the right choice. Thor: The Dark World exceeded my expectations and now I’d be ready for the Agents of SHIELD episode that was advertised as tying into the movie. Besides, wasn’t Rachel McAdams in The Time Traveler’s Wife? That movie stunk (the book is so good!).

Well, now that I’ve finally seen About Time, I’m wondering if I made the wrong choice that weekend. Yes, I am a bit obsessed with Agents of SHIELD, which is part of the reason I needed to see Thor: The Dark World on opening weekend, but I would have understood that episode even if I hadn’t seen the movie. It didn’t tie in as much as Captain America: The Winter Soldier did. Now that was a game changer for Agents of SHIELD.

About Time is fantastic! It is a terrific romantic comedy about a time traveler who can only travel pack in time along his own life. Sure, that’s a limited form of time travel, but think of the possibilities if you had that power! All the things you could go back and not say, or go back and say! About Time uses the time travel power to its fullest, using it to comment on the relationships between lovers, friends, parents and children, and siblings. I defy you to watch this movie and not want to call your dad afterwards and tell him that you love him.

Bill Nighy steals this movie. He is amazingly charming as the father of main character and time traveler Tim. He wins at being a dad, but he does have the unfair advantage of countless do overs.

The relationship between Tim (Domhall Gleeson) and Mary (Rachel McAdams) makes good use of Tim’s time travelling powers to tell the story. This movie is what I wanted the movie adaptation of The Time Traveller’s Wife to be.

Seriously, go watch About Time. It is one of those movies that you can throw on at any time and just feel better about the day after watching it. It’s super cute without being saccharine.

Am I glad I saw Thor: The Dark World in the theater? Yes. Do I think the people who saw About Time that day saw the better movie? Also yes.

February 24, 2015 by Billy Henehan

Interstellar – Review

The Matthew McConoughey renaissance continues!

Interstellar is definitely a movie to see on the biggest screen available. If you can find an IMAX still showing it, by all means, see this movie on the IMAX, and in 70mm if possible. You will not regret it. But if you watching Interstellar at home, please do yourself a favor and watch it on the biggest TV you can find. If you own a 40” and your friend owns a 70”, maybe it’s time to pay that friend a visit. Treat that friend to a Redbox night and spring for a box of microwavable popcorn while you’re at it. Side note: I wonder how many times owners of bigger than big screen TVs are having to sit through yet another viewing of Interstellar thanks to yet another friend who owns a small TV.

I feel like Matthew McConaughey and Ben Affleck are having similar career trajectories. Both started out in the same indie movie, Dazed and Confused. Both went on to work on movies of varying quality. And now, both have recently found themselves getting pickier with their choices and putting out quality project after quality project. People point to True Detective as the start of the McConoughey renaissance. Those people clearly never saw Mud.

I expected Interstellar to be good. I’ve found that to be a good rule of thumb to apply to any Christopher Nolan movie. However, I didn’t expect it to be this good. I don’t know why I thought Nolan would only deliver a better than usual outer space movie. But he doesn’t just deliver that. Instead, he gives us a movie that transcends the genre. A sizeable part of the movie takes place on Earth before McConoughey and his team head to space, but it didn’t just feel like lengthy build-up. Instead it was a great story about the relationship between a father and a daughter, a relationship that underpins the rest of the movie.

Some spoilers follow. If you haven’t seen the film yet, come back when you have.

The effects in the movie are, pun completely intended, out of this world. When that ocean sized tidal wave is bearing down on the away team, man, the whole theater seemed to be filled with water. It was almost vertigo-inducing, watching that wave get ready to splash down the hapless scientist.

The biggest surprise in the movie definitely has to be Matt Damon being such an asshole. Sure, Matt Damon has played less than scrupulous people before, but has he ever played the villain like he plays here? Most of the movie can be described at man-against-nature, but when Damon shows his true colors, there is a definite shift to man vs. man. He is one legitimately bad guy in this movie. And he plays the part so well. Matt Damon’s Mann is a sympathetic villain, you definitely get where he is coming from, but he’s still a ruthless asshole.

I’ve heard people complain about the ending of the movie, the most common complaint being “that’s not what happens when you go through a black hole.” But that complaint is like complaining “that’s not what happens after you die,” because while science can infer what happens when you near or enter a black hole, until we send something or someone actually through one, it’s up to the imaginations of writers and artists and decide that.

Is Interstellar the best outer space movie of 2014? I think I would have to give that honor to Guardians of the Galaxy, but even comparing the two seems to be a folly. There needs to be a subdivision in outer space movies putting films like Gravity and Interstellar in one, and films like Guardians of the Galaxy and Star Wars in the other. What’s the dividing line? Whether or not the heroes are fighting aliens with laser guns? Maybe. But there’s no doubt that both categories of outer space movies produce gems, one of which is Interstellar.

Interstellar is a definitely-see.

February 10, 2015 by Billy Henehan

Spider-Man Is Coming to Marvel Studios!

Wow. I can’t lie. I never thought this would happen. Even after the news about the leaked emails between Marvel and Sony detailing talks that had been going on for some time. But happened it has. Marvel Studios now has the rights to Spider-Man.

This is huge news! We’re most likely going to see Spider-Man in Captain America 3. That movie is based on the Civil War storyline, which saw heroes siding with either Captain America or Iron Man over the issue of superhuman registration. Stuck in the middle between the two of them is Spider-Man. He was such a central part of Civil War that a Civil War movie without Spider-Man would seem incomplete. But that’s no longer an issue because Marvel and Sony have reached a deal that brings Spider-Man into the Cinematic Marvel Universe.

Not only that, but we get Spider-Man in the Avengers. I swear, as I typed those words, I let out a huge squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

There is some bad news associated with this. Andrew Garfield is reportedly out as Spider-Man. I’m not a fan of this decision. I thought Andrew Garfield was perfect as Peter Parker and Spider-Man. He was a perfect Spider-Man in two unfortunately very imperfect Spider-Man films. It would be great if Marvel reversed this decision and recast him as Spider-Man, but that seems unlikely.

It’s funny, looking back 20 years ago the film rights to Spider-Man were such a tangled mess that it looked like we would never get a Spider-Man movie. So many parties claimed to have rights to the film version of Spider-Man. It was a legal Gordian Knot. Read some news articles from then about the situation and you will find it amazing that we’ve had 5 Spider-Man movies made since then.

While I am sad that Garfield won’t be returning to the title role, Spider-Man coming to Marvel Studios is awesome news! When it comes to superhero movies, Marvel Studios has a reputation for quality that is unmatched by Fox or Sony. The worst Marvel Studios movie is arguably ~~the first Captain America movie~~ Iron Man 3, and that’s still a pretty good movie. But look at every other Marvel Studios movie! Name your top 5 superhero movies. Chances are, most of them are Marvel Studios films. Spider-Man is coming home and is going to be put in the best possible hands. Spider-fans everywhere are rejoicing and with good reason. We don’t know yet who will be wearing the Spider-Man mask, but for the first time in a while, I’m confident that whoever it is will be wearing it in a quality movie.

Now we just need Marvel Studios to make a similar deal for Wolverine.

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