SPIDER

Spiders intrigue me, especially after watching movies on Spiderman. I always wonder if these small house spiders bite us?

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2

I am really loving this Marvel Comics remake of the Spiderman movies although I must admit I didn't quite like it in the first movie. The chemistry between the leads Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone as Peter Parker aka spidey and Gwen Stacy really came through so genuinely that it made the movie believable. Every scene they were in were lit up with sparks and together they were so likable.

So the ending was really sad when the movie makers decided to kill Gwen off, as in the comics, due to a whiplash effect. Emma came a long way and I am starting to really like her since the first time I saw her in "The House Bunny" in 2008. It is almost as if Peter Parker is nothing without Gwen. I imagine her coming back as Mary Jane Watson with a different hairdo in the next movie but subsequently I read that Shailene Woodley took on the role of Mary Jane, to my great disappointment. Shailene may be good in "Divergent" but no way close is she going to replace Gwen. I am just glad that the producers did the right thing by not introducing Mary Jane's character in this movie soon after Gwen's passing, otherwise audiences like me would hate her since Emma set the bar so high for anyone else to reach. Mary Jane's character is best left to part 3 after everyone has calmed down.

Sally Field's character Aunt May looked almost in tears in every scene and I started to see her as just a sad and pitiful widow with nothing that could cheer her up since Ben Parker's death. The new Harry Osborn aka Green Goblin in this movie in the form of Dane DeHaan also couldn't replace the James Franco's portrayal in the previous remake. Jamie Foxx's character as Max Dillon aka Electro was kind of silly and shallow. The other characters Rhino and Norman Osborn were just plain boring and seemed like insignificant fillers to make the movie so long.

Something that stuck with me was the poignant valedictorian speech made by Gwen at her graduation ceremony:

"Hmm, I know that we all think we're immortal. We're supposed to feel that way, we're graduating. The future is and should be bright, but, like our brief four years in high school, what makes life valuable is that it doesn't last forever, what makes it precious is that it ends. I know that now more than ever. And I say it today of all days to remind us that time is luck. So don't waste it living someone else's life, make yours count for something. Fight for what matters to you, no matter what. Because even if you fall short, what better way is there to live?"

Strangely, the easter egg that followed after the movie was on X-Men's Mystique in an army camp, supposedly as a lead-up to the upcoming "X-Men: Days of Future Past" movie.

the chemistry is undeniable

can the real Sally Field stand up?

Peter and Harry Osborn with a sleek but flat hairdo

a hideous Green Goblin

Max's deluded behaviour is unconvincing as an electrical engineer

Max transformed into Electro after an industrial accident

Gwen at her last moments before she fell to her death

this is the comics version

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION

This week, I caught the above sequel starring Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum, Dwayne Johnson, Lee Byung-hun, Adrianne Palicki, D.J. Cotrona etc.

Channing had only a brief role as Duke, the leader of the elite G.I. Joes team, and was killed off early in the movie. Dwayne who played Roadblock, took over the leadership role as one of three Joes who survived a surprise attack on them. He enlisted the help of General Joseph Colton, acted by Bruce, with the two other Joes (Lady Jaye and Flint) and Snake Eyes etc to investigate the matter to avenge the deaths of their teammates.

Lee Byung-hun had a meaty role again as the bad ninja Storm Shadow who initially with the bad guys Firefly, Cobra Commander and Zandar, joined forces with Roadblock and team to redeem himself from the accusation of assassinating his uncle the hard master. He did asians proud by reprising his role as a formidable opponent from the dark side.

I didn't like it as much as the original movie and the best part for me were the ninja fighting scenes on the cliff-faces. The opposing ninjas of two, Snake Eyes and Jinx, were dueling against many red suit ninjas and were swinging from cliff to cliff, much like spiderman.

On a side note, I noticed square-jawed D.J. Cotrona, who reminded me of a younger Tom Cruise, much like I noticed Tom Hardy in the 2010 movie "Inception" before he was cast as Bane in the 2012 "The Dark Knight Rises". If I am a talent scout, I would definitely say he has the potential to be a bigger star. Interestingly, I found out that he was cast as Superman in Warner Bros. movie "Justice League: Mortal" but due to the writers' strike in 2007-2008, the film was never made. What a pity! However, if he has it and his performance made producers and directors notice him, then we would surely see more of his films coming our way sometime.

BACHELORETTE

This movie was compared to "Bridesmaids" by numerous sources. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan, Isla Fisher, Rebel Wilson, James Marsden, Adam Scott, Kyle Bornheimer and Andrew Rannells, this story is about a super-sized girl Becky who's getting married, much to the surprise of her bff Regan and other friends Gena and Katie, who were all roped in to be bridesmaids on her wedding day.

Kirsten Dunst was Regan, who was downright irritating. I didn't like Kirsten as Mary Jane in the Spiderman movies, and neither did I like her as a foul-mouthed, selfish and hypocritical girl friend of the so-called "pig-face" Becky of their high school class. The insecure Becky got Regan to be her chief bridesmaid to help organize her bachelorette party and wedding reception, but the latter with her pot-smoking friends Gena and Katie almost screwed up her wedding.

Fortunately, it all ended on a happy note although I wasn't too thrilled by it. I think, no I most definitely feel, that "Bridesmaids" has a much better storyline with more humour. What struck me when Kirsten and James first appeared on the scenes were how much they seemed to have aged. They no longer looked youthful with their now sagging facial skin and loss in mass. But then again, it is also happening to me. Time and tide really waits for no man.