TV Review: Lanterns Episode 1

 

I love Hal Jordan.

While he is not my favorite Green Lantern, what Geoff John’s was able to do with him during his legendary run was amazing and some of my favorite comic stories of all time.

So when I heard they were doing a TV show about him and John Stewart, I was excited.  But then I saw that Tom King was going to be involved.  After witnessing what he has done to some of the greatest heroes of the DC Universe, I became very wary.  In fact, I was so wary that I at first decided not to watch the show at all.  I am so sick and tired of stories that try to tear down he classic heroes that I love.

But I kept hearing so many conflicting things about that first episode from people saying that it was a travesty that ruined the characters to saying that it was a modern day classic.

Finally, curiosity got the better of me and I bit the bullet.  And now I understand why people love it and why they hate it.

And it all comes down to how much you trust the producers of this show.

The story takes primarily the point-of-view of John Stewart (Aaron Pierre).  He is the trainee for the older, reckless Green Lantern veteran Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler).  To say that the two do not get along is an understatement.  Stewart views Hal as an arrogant, bullish, problem to the Green Lantern Corps.  Hal treats John like he is a child, often calling him "Junior," and constantly criticizing his lack of experience and street smarts.  But things turn when a message tells them to go to a small town in Nebraska where there has just been a mass shooting at a high school football game.  Hal suspects aliens are involved and as a member of the Green Lantern Corps, he investigates with John in tow.  They work in a semi-antagonistic way with Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald), who is married to Billy (Jason Ritter).  But Billy's father Will (Garret Dillahunt) runs a militia ranch where he tells Hal and John that he is interested in taking out any alien threat.

That is as far as I will get without spoiling anything.  There will be spoilers later on in this review, but I will hold off for now.

There were a lot of things about this show that I enjoyed.  The directing was excellent, very atmospheric.  People have been comparing this to True Detective, but I would say it had a stronger kinship to No Country for Old Men.  There was a strong sense of isolation and alienation.  The ring effects are used sparingly, but when they are, they look great.  I was also surprised by how much I enjoyed the dialogue.  Both Hal and John come off as smart while at the same time having completely differing and polarizing voices.  There is a great scene where Hal is interrogating someone he thinks is an alien and the dialogue is deceptively clever.

But my favorite thing about the show so far are the performances.  Pierre and Chandler spark off of each other completely.  John is a military man, used to taking abuse from superior officers, so he holds discipline while seething inside.  Jordan is weary from decades on the job.  He resents John as an upstart that he thinks could replace him.  Watching them have to work together while dealing with these complicated issues was fascinating.

Having said that, the show has problems, some of which I will address in the spoiler section.  One of the issues is a stylistic choice.  This is a very HBO-y show: it has a lot of gratuitous language, sex, and it promises some graphic violence.  I always find this to be a bit off-putting, especially in this context.  The darker tone works for things like Watchmen or Logan.  But this is not what I would want in a Green Lantern series.  As a teacher, I've noticed how some teens revel in using vulgarity because it is an immature way to feel mature.  I get that same vibe from this show.

And while the dialogue is fairly sharp, I'm not sure that it's themes are.  It is still early, but Will seems like a thinly veiled knock on people who identify as MAGA.  I'm not against stories having a political bent, but I find that when they fall into political allegory, the writing gets very lazy.

The other big problem is that they don't get Hal Jordan right.  I'm one of the few people who really like the 2011 Green Lantern movie.  It wasn't perfect, but they got a lot right about a young Hal Jordan.  And while there is precedent for a more cynical Hal in the comics, this goes against the work that DC has put into the character over the last 15 years.  It would be like making a movie with Thanos and having him be a Spider-Man villain who rides in his Thanos Helicopter (see Spidey Super Stories #39).  It seems wasteful to tear down a character that they've spent so long building up.

But are they actually tearing Hal down?  

This is where the trust factor comes in.

SPOILERS FOR THE REST OF THE ARTICLE

The episode ends in a flash forward 10 years from the main story where Kerry shows John that Hal has been murdered.  IF this actually is Hal, then I have no faith that this story will honor him in any way.  I am incredibly dubious that they will right the ship because one of the main people involved in this show is Tom King.

King is famous for taking established DC characters and wiping his nose with them.  He wants to write about depression so he makes Mr. Miracle hopelessly depressed.  He wants to write about war crimes so he decides to make Adam Strange a war criminal.  He wants to write about PTSD so he writes the absolute worst comic every written about Wally West.  I think that the evidence is clear that King does not care about the characters as persons but as vehicles for his themes.

And this is not a small thing when you are dealing with characters with whom readers have had a relationship for decades.  If you don't trust the producers to care about Hal, then you will assume the worst.

Now, there is a way that all of this can be made right.  However, the problem with mystery shows like this is that the fan theories tend to be much better than the actual resolutions.  Just look at the response people had to the finale of Stranger Things.  But there is a way that this could all turn out great in the end.

Throughout the show, Hal keeps telling John "My gut is never wrong."  It is an arrogant statement, but it is one that fits Hal's intuitive nature.  In the previews for the upcoming episodes, we are told that the Manhunters will be a major part of the story.  It is said of them that they can shapeshift to look human.  One of the ways that the show could be redeemed is if the dead "Hal" is really just a Manhunter and Hal has gone into hiding.  But that is not the twist that would make this story great.

At the beginning of the show we see that as a child, John and his military father had some kind of obsession with Hal.  John's father tried to make him fearless.  One of the ways he does this is by shooting apples off of John's head to see if John flinches.  As an adult John calls his father to complain about Hal, but his father talks about how they trained for this time.  Here is the my theory that would make the show work:

John's father is a Manhunter.

If John's father is a Manhunter, then we see that he has trained his son to be fearless so that he could infiltrate the Green Lantern Corps.  And all the outward evidence points to John being the ideal Green Lantern, Hal's gut tells him something is wrong.  This would validate Hal's seeming paranoia.  And you would not need to make John a villain.  This could be thematically strong where he has to stand up to his tyrant father and take possession of the ring not for his father but for himself.

Will they do this?  

My guess is that they will not.  Like I wrote earlier, it comes down to faith in the producers.  And with Tom King on their staff, I have no reason to believe that they will honor Hal.  And it is a shame if they think that they need to denigrate Hal to lift up John.  John Stewart is a great character all on his own.  I don't know why modern movie and TV writers think that in order to build up their own heroes that they have to tear down the ones who came before (e.g. Luke Skywalker).

I am curious enough to still follow this series to the end.

But I'm afraid that this could be a headlong journey into Blackest Night.

Sunday Best: 50 Most Beautiful Moments in Cinema - #20-#11

    

This is a continuation of this series started here and continued here and here.

You can go there to see numbers 50-31.  You can also check it out to remember the ground rules and criteria for choosing.  A brief recap:

1. A moment can be only about 2 minutes (unless it is an unbroken shot).  

2. Only one moment per movie.

3. All the context matters.

4. The subjective element of beauty is real.

5. Beauty only.

So, with those in mind, I will now share #30-21 of the most beautiful moments in cinema.

I will provide Youtube links to the videos rather than embed them here.  I would imagine that because this is critical commentary it qualifies for fair use, but I'd rather not take that chance.

You can click any of the links below to see the clips (most of them should be timestamped to begin at the moment referred.

SPOILERS FOR ALL THE MOVIES BELOW

20. Gladiator - "Opening shot"

This one shot sets up the entire character arc of Maximus.  It holds for such a long time because it gives you a tactile sense of the moment.  You don't see Maximus's face, but instead you feel what he feels: peace and safety in the pastoral paradise.  And this golden moment is contrasted with the cold devastation that follows.  But in this one moment, it touches on something primal: the masculine need to protect that which is precious.  Contrast this moment with the opening of The Sound of Music, where Maria revels in the ecstatic joy of nature.  Here, Maximus holds this nature as a fragile memory: something to hold on to in order to fight through the hell of war.  It holds the key idea that men will fight and die to preserve a home they will never see again.

(On a side note, a friend of mine honeymooned in Italy recently and found this exact field and had his wife take his picture in the Maximus pose.  What was funny was that he said there were about a dozen other men who were having their women take their picture there as well)

19. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Concerning Hobbits

Like the shot in Gladiator, this accomplishes a similar effect: it gives our heroes a home worth fighting for.  What separates this one from the previous example is that this one is free from the melencholy: it is simple joy in a simple life.  Particularly, the shot of the children running through the rolling hills is something that has stayed with me since I first saw the film.  The Shire theme swells and fills your heart with a longing for this wonderfully innocent life.  You feel this especially in Gandalf and you experience his joy and the fireworks and fun of it all.  Again, as beautiful as the moment is, the music does so much of the heavy lifting.  I remember hearing this score before seeing the movie and I could swear I could see Hobbiton in my minds eye simply from that beautiful tune.

18.  Superman - "In the Fields"

This is the greatest superhero movie of all time, hands down.  One of the reasons why is because director Richard Donner wanted to create something epic and mythic.  This shot of Clark in the fields with his mother is so perfectly composed it is like something out of a pastoral painting.  The sea of wheat feels like it could swallow them up, but it also feels warm and safe.  Because of this, you feel the heartache Clark feels at leaving this perfectly nurturing environment to head out into the cold world.  And the emotion of the scene is perfect where the son must leave the mother and the mother must give up the son.  It is a true moment in that relationship.  And I will say whenever I hear the lyric "amber waves of grain," I always think of this moment.

17. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles - "Walking Together"

People remember John Hughes primarily for his writing.  But I think that this does a disservice to his skill as a director.  And this one shot hits you like a punch to the heart.  The entire movie has been this outrageous and silly quest to get home for Thanksgiving.  That's all Steve Martin's Neal cares about.  And he is saddled with John Candy's Del who lugs around his comically large steamer trunk.  But just when Neal is on his final leg, something doesn't sit right and he returns to Del, where he learns the truth: Del doesn't have a home because his wife died several years ago.  It is a touching scene with gentle music.  But then Hughes hits you with a hard cut and a musical sting that shocks you into attention.  And then you see this perfectly executed shot.  Neal and Del walking side-by-side, each carrying the steamer trunk as they make the final leg home.  So much is going on this these few seconds.  The symmetry of the composition is perfect.  They are perfectly framed by the street and trees.  They are walking towards the audience, coming in from the cold and entering into our memory.  And it has this amazing image of friendship: Neal is helping carry Del's burden so that he can come to his new home.  All of this is in this one simple shot as the music pushes you to one of the most cathartic endings in movie history.

16.  Much Ado About Nothing - "Final Shot"

Like his other movie on this list, Henry V, director Kenneth Branagh composes a single shot that is completely gorgeous.  In fact, this is one of my favorite films in terms of cinematography.  I love the opening credits image of the men arriving at the villa or the scene where Benedick falls for the lie about Beatrice.  But this final shot goes on so long in order to hold onto this wild and joyous ecstasy that we call romantic love.  It captures what it feels like to be in that moment where you feel like your own "happily ever after" is about to begin.  And by holding it in a single shot, he holds onto that unbroken emotion, culminating in that crane shot looking down on all the revelers lost in the joys of love.

15.  Saving Private Ryan - "Silhouette"

This movie is a masterpiece and there are so many shots to choose from.  I almost chose the last shot of Ryan and his family, because Spielberg does so much emotional work with how he moves his camera.  But instead, it is this simple shot that touches me the most.  Tom Hanks' Capt. Miller has just given his speech about how far away from home he feels.  And as they bury the body of the soldier who got killed, Spielberg gives us this backlit silhouette.  There is Miller, enmeshed in the barbwire entanglement of war, looking longingly, to the peaceful world represented by the tree.  He is so close and yet so far.  Home is almost within reach, but the sting of violence still ensnares him.  All he can do is look with love and longing.

14.  The Shawshank Redemption - "Andy's Free"

I think that when most people replay this movie in their heads, this is the shot that they hold onto.  One of the things that makes this movie work so well is that it gives you happy endings that are earned.  Andy goes through hell, but because his spirit is unbroken, he comes out on top.  We see this in the dankness of his crawl to freedom.  We feel the horrid, noxious claustrophobia of his journey and we breath deeply when he gets out.  And as he gets out, the rain like a divine baptism washes away the evil of the past as he strips away his old life.  The high angle shot of him is such an interesting one, because usually a high angle diminishes a subject, which is something you wouldn't think to do in a triumphant scene.  But it works here because with Andy's arms raised high, he fills up the screen, standing out against the darkness.  I was once given the acting note: "Freedom looks up," and you can feel that in Andy's body language as he opens his arms to freedom (and the audience) to share in his joy.

13. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers -  "Gandalf and the Rohirrim

Again, with any moment from Peter Jackson's trilogy, it is hard to find only a single moment.  But in The Two Towers, this one stands out.  The entire battle of Helm's Deep has felt like a slow, but heroic, defeat.  Our heroes ride out for "death and glory."  But then we get that striking figure of Gandalf against the sky.  And then Eomer shouts, "To the king!"  It was either GK Chesterton or CS Lewis who said that there is a natural inclination in human beings to kneel to something greater.  This is why monarchy has been so common in history.  Ultimately, this refelcts a natural impulse to kneel before God.  But in Eomer's shouting, you can feel the power of noble fidelity to a king.  But then the shot of them riding down into the darkness, bringing with them to light of day as they break the ranks and give hope just as the musical score stings your heart like the sunlight stings the eyes of the enemy.  Truly beautiful

12. Braveheart - "Last Shot"

This film is in my to ten movies of all time.  It is hard to believe that this was only Mel Gibson's second feature film he directed.  Not only are the epic battles something that has been copied over and over again in cinema, but his quiet and intimate moments are powerful as well.  And perhaps I should have seen it coming, but when Wallace shouts "Freedom," it hit me like a splash of ice water to the face.  But the most beautiful moment is that last shot.  That single sword waving in the wind, planted on the battlefield.  It stands not only a testament to the warriors but as the Christian cross of sacrifice, a reminder of what Wallace did for the people.  The slow disolve from the brave Scots and the voice over hit just the right note.  So when Gibson delivers that last line with that final note of the bagpipes, that single image leaves a haunting impression that stays with you.

11. ET - "Moonshot"

This is the fourth moment from Steven Spielberg on this list.  It might be his most iconic moment, so much so that it is the logo for his film company.  Not every iconic moment is the most beautiful, but this one is.  ET only works because Spielberg is able to see the entire story from that of an innocent child and is able to communicate the entire movie from that perspective.  He captures the wild days of suburban childhood when you would go out into the woods and explore the world on the your bike.  And as a child you felt that maybe, just maybe, there would be some magic out there for you to discover.  This moment from ET captures all of that.  There is the terror of new heights followed by the thrill of the magical.  That shot where he crosses over the moon shows us how Spielberg takes the most homely and innocent of images (a child on a bicycle) and marries it to the cosmic grandeur of the silvery moon.  It's no accident that these are also the main elements of the logo for his studio, DreamWorks.  In this single shot, he promised all of us that even in the ordinary there exists the possibility of the extraordinary.

Film Flash: The End of Oak Street

 

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

Jurassic Park in a Poltergeist setting that is only half as good as either film.

Sunday Best: Ranking the Spider-Man Movies (updated 2026)

  

With Spider-Man: Brand New Day in theaters now, I thought it would be good to look back at the previous outings of this iconic character and see where they rank.  Looking back at a few of them, I was actually fairly surprised at how my thoughts and opinions have evolved over time.

So of the 10  Spider-Man movies that have already been theatrically released, here are my rankings:

11.  The Amazing Spider-Man 2

What is so frustrating about this movie is that there are moments of actual greatness here.  We finally get to see that wonderfully horrible moment from the comic that defines Peter's tragedy as an adult Spider-Man.  The problem is that the main antagonists are absolutely awful and it is surrounded by an overblown conspiracy that doesn't really go anywhere.

10.  Spider-Man 3

A lot of people blame the villains here, and there is much to be said about how poorly they were handled.  But the main problem is with Peter himself.  It's okay to see him tempted by the dark side.  That isn't the problem.  People are okay with heroes fall a bit from the light.  They do have a problem with their hero acting like an... a word I can't say on this blog (but begins with "a" and ends with "e".). This isn't even the problem that occurs with the Venom suit.  Peter already becomes a self-centered $*^$#&@ before any of that.  It makes for a very unpleasant watch

9.  The Amazing Spider-Man

I liked this movie a lot more when it first came out, but the sequel spoiled a lot of it.  It removed a lot of the cheesy elements from the Raimi trilogy, but it lost a lot of heart in translation.

8. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

This is a worthy follow-up to Into the Spider-Verse, but feels too much like an incomplete film.  Obviously as this is meant to be the middle film in a trilogy, it should look both forwards and backwards.  But it doesn't have quite the same magic of the original.  

7. Spider-Man: Far From Home

What I like about these MCU movies is that they really explore Peter's life and struggles as a metaphor for the high school experience and growing up the way a show like Buffy the Vampire Slayer did.  This movie isn't great, but it is fun and very re-watchable.

6. Spider-Man: Homecoming

See my note above.  I love how Tom Holland brings a youthful energy to the character that we never quite got with the other two.  I love watching his relationship with Tony.  And Keaton is great in his role as one of the most sympathetic villains in the MCU, I almost rooted for him.

5. Spider-Man: Brand New Day

This movie has the advantage of building on 10-year goodwill of Tom Holland's Spider-Man and being a wonderful mixture of disparate MCU elements and characters.  Having seen this twice now, I was entertained the entire time and it defintely deserves to be in the upper half of Spider-Man movies.  And it left me wanting more of this Spider-Man

4. Spider-Man 2

As I've written previously: What the movie captures so well so early on is how much of burden it is for Peter to be Spider-Man.  Unlike Batman or Iron Man, Spider-Man does not have unlimited resources.  Heck, even Clark Kent does better than him in the same field of journalism.  But Peter's life is on the rocks.  Director Sam Raimi captures in such nice visual touches Peter's poverty.  It is such a nice carryover from the first film to see how Peter refuses to make money off of his power.  That path led to the death of his Uncle Ben.

And these early scenes set up the main struggle of the film: is being Spider-Man worth it?  Being the hero leads to an overall decrease in his quality of life.  He barely makes rent, he cannot help his Aunt May, he cannot be with the woman he loves... and he still tends to be hated.  This is a crucial step in the hero's journey, reminiscent of the events of Superman II.

3. Spider-Man

I recently rewatched this one and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.  A few years ago, this movie did not even make my top 25 Best Super Hero Movies of All Time.  The reason why is that there is a cheesiness in the films that I found to be a real turn-off, particularly most scenes with the Green Goblin.  I think they handled him poorly.

But upon rewatch, the tone came off less like cheesiness but innocence.  There is something incredibly wide-eyed and wondrous about watching Peter discover his powers.  I love how Raimi handles the scene where Peter lets the robber go.  If you don't know the story, you completely feel his nasty vindication and so can follow along with his horrible guilt.  The performances are mostly excellent.  Even Norman Osborne, when he isn't the Goblin, is actually fairly nuanced.  But the best is JK Simmons as Jameson.  He hit the nail on the head exactly with broad comedic character without going completely into caricature.  And I love the fact that they got his character right when he refused to give up Peter's identity in order to save his own life.

If you haven't seen this one since it came out nearly 20 years ago, you should give it another look.  It has aged very well.

2. Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse

Everything about this move works.  As I wrote:

This is the best Spider-Man movie that has been made.

I don't say that lightly or in the mode of a fanboy who is pre-set to love anything comic book related.  I have several times noted my dislike of Miles Morales (the main Spider-Man character in this movie) from the comic books.  He was made up out of thin air by Brian Michael Bendis and inserted into the Spider-Man mythos with no connection other than his powers were similar.  He had no connection to Peter Parker or any of the larger Spider-Man family.  He was also incredibly boring as a character, not given any real flaws or even universal appeal.  He was as bland and as uninteresting as you could make a character.

Thank goodness for Into the Spider-Verse.  It is the best thing to happen to Miles Morales.

...

1.  Spider-Man: No Way Home

As I've written before on this blog:

Going into the theater, I thought Spider-Man: No Way Home would be a fun Marvel adventure.  On that front, I was not disappointed.  But the movie was much better than I had anticipated.

Martin Scorsese criticized super hero movies as something closer to theme park rides than cinema.  I understand what he is saying, but I think his point misses out on the magic of the ride.  When you are on a thrill-ride, you lose yourself for the briefest of moments and become engrossed in an overwhelming emotion.  This is not an easy thing to accomplish in a movie, but No Way Home did that.  There were times, even upon multiple viewings, that I was filled with a sense of excitement and happiness.

...

Usually at this point, most creators would take the heroic figure and try to deconstruct him (as they did with Luke Skywalker in the Sequel Trilogy).  But instead, the makers of No Way Home decided to multiply the heroism and push him even further.  While young in the MCU, the story shows that Peter is the hero among heroes.  There is a reason that Spider-Man is the THE flagship Marvel character.  This movie shows you why.

All of these themes are explored while engaging in a finely plotted film.  This is a coming of age story for the MCU.  The trappings of childhood from the earlier part of the trilogy are left behind as Peter grows into a man.

Film Review: Spider-Man - Brand New Day

 

Sexuality/Nudity Acceptable

Violence Acceptable

Vulgarity Acceptable

Anti-Catholic Philosophy Acceptable

It has been 10 years since we first encountered Tom Holland's Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Over the years we have watched him grow up from a "Spider-Boy" into the Spider-Man.  And this movie builds on all of that good will and familiarity to give us one of the most enjoyable Spider-Man movies.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day takes place after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home.  To save the multiverse, everyone forgot who Peter Parker (Holland) was.  This includes his love MJ (Zendaya) and his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon).  Over the course of about five years, Peter avoids his loneliness by throwing himself into crime-fighting.  As a result he is externally loved by the people, but inside his emptiness is eating him up.  But then Peter finds himself fighting a mysterious enemy who has to power to mentally posses innocent people.  This antagonist is attacking a government organization called "Damage Control" led by Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman), whose job it is to clean up post-superpower destruction.  The antagonist draws deeply into Peter's life just as he begins going through some complicated and violent mutations.  To help with this, he seeks out the help of Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), who has learned to suppress his Hulk mutation.  But the strain of trying to catch the antagonist and the pressure to protect those he loves may be overwhelming for him.

Now with this fantastical premise, it may sound out for me to say that I love how this story is more grounded.  What I mean by that is this is not a reality-shattering crisis like No Way Home, Avengers: Endgame, or even Thunderbolts.  People are in danger and lives are at stake, but it is localized to New York City.  Despite all of the super-powers involved, the movie does not lean on some existential threat for dramatic weight.  Instead, it has to be much more character driven: the movie pulls us in because we care about the characters.  I genuinely feel for Peter as he sits on the outside looking in.  There is a scene where he wanders into a party hosted by Ned and MJ where he has to pretend to be a stranger.  The "so-close-yet-so-far" feel of the scene breaks your heart.

These MCU Spider-Man movies have a new director in Destin Daniel Cretton.  And he is a very welcome shot in the arm to this series.  The best part of his previous MCU film, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," was the pratical fight choreography.  You can tell whenever possible he would have the actors do live stunt fights rather than use CGI characters.  There is a something more tangible and dynamic about this.  It gives a extra visceral punch and thrill to the scenes.  That isn't to say he doesn't use the special effects effectively.  Even the simple swinging scenes are enjoyable to watch.  Very early on in the film, I told my wife that we would have to come back and see it in 3D because his use of depth and height would be something to see.  The scenes with the Hulk are the most intense since probably Age of Ultron.  But Crettton brings visual personality and depth to even the quiet scenes.  This movie has better use of shadows and physical environments than any of the previous Spider-Man movies so that the movie feels more dramatically and emotionally grounded.  Even the effect of the mental possession is done primarily as an in-camera stunt rather than special effects.

The performances are some of the best of series.  Holland clearly still has a passion for this character.  He plays the part with such pathos and intensity, really letting us feel how Peter is almost trapped by his own goodness.  He's in a prison he would not break out of even if he could.  He lets you feel how Peter is buring the candle at both ends and his outbursts of rage are scary to see.  The movie also works so well because Holland has fantastic chemistry with the entire cast.

This is never more apparent than in his scenes with Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/The Punisher.  Their good cop/bad cop repartee gives us some of the best lines of the entire film.  They foil off of each other perfectly where their disdain for each other is matched only by their unspoken affection.  Bernthal has been amazing as Frank in everything he's done and he sparks off of Holland in just the right way so that you can't wait for them to share the screen again.  Holland's chemistry with Zendaya on Batalon has not lost a beat and in fact is helped by this last decade of groundwork that has been laid.  Batalon is still affably nerdy and when there is something horribly comfortable and familiar when he geeks out with Holland.  And you can see the subtle grown in Zendaya from teen to young adult.  There is a little more self-possession and self-confidence.  Even Ruffalo, who I've felt has been phoning in his Banner performances for the past few years, brings subtle intensity.  This is probably his best MCU performance his debut in Avengers.  

I also have to mention Sadie Sink.  I won't say who she is playing until the spoiler section below, but her performance needs to ground much of the last half of the film.  She has to play someone who projects power and intimidation while also letting us in to see her vulnerability.  She showed that she was one of the best actresses on Stranger Things, but this shows that she has the potential to be a leading woman in a franchise.

The movie is long, but it never feels over-stuffed.  I never felt the length because I wanted to spend more time with these characters.  The story has enough enjoyable twists and turns without feeling like it is trying too hard to subvert expectations.  Instead, it simply won't let Peter get away with easy answers.  And his mistakes have consequences that he has to own up to.

Thematically, I love how this movie deals with very human struggles.  Ultimately, this movie is about human connection.  No matter how altruistic Peter is, he will lose himself and his humanity without some kind of community.  I'm reminded of the wisdom of Our Lord in that He creates His Church because He knows that humans cannot flourish unless they are in community.  I also like how the film tackles self-repression and change.  As Peter starts mutating, he works very hard to suppress his new powers.  When they start manifesting, he does everything he can to put them away and keep things the way they are.  But the movie tackles the truth that repression just makes the change stronger and will fracture us inside.  The goal is not to suppress our "darker side" but to integrate our shadow towards positive ends.  And the movie wrestles with the question of whether people are good or evil and whether they can be trusted.  This is where Peter's greatest super-power is on display: his compassion.  Because of who he is, Peter as the power no only to save lives, but to redeem hearts.

I do have a few critiques of the movie.  The first is that in every scene of Frank Castle in public, he should be swarmed by cops.  Frank is mass murderer who is wanted by the police, but the movie treats him like he is just another vigilante.  My other two critiques require spoilers so be warned:

SPOILERS AHEAD

The second critique is that one of the main bad guys is so obviously a bad guy that when the twist is revealed it has no satisfaction.  I don't know if it was because how this person was set up or the obviously aloof performance, but I remember thinking very clearly that they were not subtle enough in this person's introduction.

The third critique has to do with Sink's character.  We find out half-way through the film that she is Jean Grey who we can presume will be part of the upcoming MCU X-Men movies.  And while I think that this is actually an inspired and out-of-the-box choice for an antagonist, the movie may have accidentally burned their bridges with this character.  The movie wants you to movie from antagonism to sympathy for her and Sink does most of the heavily lifting here.  But the problem is that she crosses so many lines when she is the main villain.  Mind-possessing people is such a horrible violation, like Kilgrave (David Tennant) in the MCU Jessica Jones series.  And while it shown to be a scary power, it's moral consequence is mostly ignored.  But there is one particular moment where she possesses someone and lets him get hit by a car.  I hate to sound Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons, but I really hope they address this sometime in continuity and make clear that this guy lived, otherwise Jean is an outright murderer.  And she would worse than Frank Castle who only kills the guilty, she would be a murderer of innocents.

END SPOILERS

But above all, I left the movie moved and entertained.  The inner comic book geek in me thrilled at the strange cocktail of Marvel elements.  There is one moment where Spidey is dragging the Punisher away from the Hulk while Frank empties out his gun and screaming.  That shot brought me such simply delight that I turned to my wife and said, "I just got my money's worth from this movie."

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has everything that you could want in a Spider-Man film.  It has action, heart, and that special thing that makes Spider-Man stand out from all other heroes: no matter what specatcular adventure he is in, Peter Parker is and always will be one of us.

And after watching Brand New Day,  you won't be able to wait for the next adventure of Spider-Man.

Sunday Best: 50 Most Beautiful Moments in Cinema - #30-#21

   

This is a continuation of this series started here and continued here.

You can go there to see numbers 50-31.  You can also check it out to remember the ground rules and criteria for choosing.  A brief recap:

1. A moment can be only about 2 minutes (unless it is an unbroken shot).  

2. Only one moment per movie.

3. All the context matters.

4. The subjective element of beauty is real.

5. Beauty only.

So, with those in mind, I will now share #30-21 of the most beautiful moments in cinema.

I will provide Youtube links to the videos rather than embed them here.  I would imagine that because this is critical commentary it qualifies for fair use, but I'd rather not take that chance.

You can click any of the links below to see the clips (most of them should be timestamped to begin at the moment referred.

SPOILERS FOR ALL THE MOVIES BELOW

30. Sleeping Beauty - "Final Shot"

I have a strong attraction to traditional romantic imary, and I blame this movie for that.  I saw this when I was a kid, I didn't realize what an impact it had on me.  You can argue that the couple dancing in the end have very shallow character arcs.  But they are there more as archetypes.  The operatic nature of the music and the classic, idealized medieval setting would set my young imagination on fire.  And in that innocent mind, this image was burned into me as an ideal of romantic love.  Sometimes I'll dance with my wife while singing this end tune.  The two glide on the screen to that timeless ballad as they literally dance on the clouds giving us an eternal yearning for that "happily ever after."

29. The Truman Show - "Touching the sky"

What I love about this scene is how much it emphasize the tactile nature of our bodily existence.  Truman believes that his world is not real.  And even seeing the fake horizon isn't quite enough.  He has to reach out and touch it.  The look of utter relief on his face as he does is so cathartic.  When he rails against his cage you can tell that he has finally been set free from all of his doubt and that he has been vindicated.  Director Peter Weir wisely drops the sound from the scene and let the visuals and music take over so that can move into Truman's heart.  And I love the way he shows him "walking on water" as he moves to ascend out of his prison.

28,  Ghost - "Seeing Sam"

I know that this movie is remembered, but I don't think it ranks high enough in people's minds as it should.  While this sequence is about 4 minutes long, I'm going to focus on the first 2 minutes.  The entire movie has been about Sam no longer able to connect to Molly.  Earlier we had the scene where he possesses Oda Mae and they can finally touch.  But in this scene she can see and hear him one last time.  I love the way they use the ethereal light to make Sam look like he is made of that same light.  And that light rises as the orchestral version of "Unchained Melody" swells.  What makes this even more beautiful is the wonderful contradiction of overwhelming emotion that are surging through this scene.  Look at the way Sam turns to look at Molly with a big smile on his face because he is going to heaven, but watch as it turns to heartbreak because now they have to part.  And she communicates her sorrow, but also her joy for him.  And this is followed by an ethereal kiss that is such sharp contrast to the very earthy, tactile love scene from the beginning of the movie.  And almost all of this is communicated wordlessly.

27. Henry V -  "No Nobis Domine"

This might be the longest clip I have on this list at over seven minutes long.  But it fills my excemption because it is one single shot.  I remember seeing this movie in high school and this shot stayed with me a long time.  First of all, I love how the music starts diegetically with the singer praising God for the victory, but then it swells into a full orchestration.  Director Kenneth Branagh does two contradictory things simultaneously: he gives you a powerful victory march while at the same time making you feel the carnage of war.  The mud, the bodies, the arrows, and the wounded all remind you that horrible things happened on the field.  But the song reminds us that God brought them through the horrible things.  The relentless single shot makes you feel like the battle took place in an absolutely grand scope, which makes the miraculous victory all the more impressive.  And keeping it all together is the shot of a king carrying the body of a lowly squire, idealizing the nobility of what a monarch should be.

 

26.  The Passion of the Christ - "Pieta"

If you asked me what the greatest movie in the world is, I would say it was a tie between this movie and another to be mentioned later.  Mel Gibson was able to tell the story of Jesus almost completely through the visuals, and he does it in a way that is so powerful that you don't feel like you are watching a movie, but are transported to another world.  There are so many amazing shots in this film, but the one that stays with me is this one.  When Mother Mary breaks the fourth wall and looks directly at you, it is piercing.  She doesn't have to say a word, but you can feel volumes spoken right to your heart and soul.  She looks at you and takes the movie out of being a passive observance and hands the Gospel story to you, presenting her Son to us.  I cannot help but be stirred and challenged every time I look into her eyes and behold the Body of her Son.

 

25. Pride and Prejudice - "Darcy on the Moors"

I had not seen this movie in years, but this shot always stayed with me.  It is such a bold choice to stay on the figure of Darcy walking towards the camera for almost a full minute.  Any actor will tell you that one of the most difficult things to "act" is simply walking.  It sounds odd, but true.  But the beautiful gloom on the dawning moors reveal Elizabeth's love breaking free from the clouds of her bride.  And the use of music is just stunning.  It starts as a soft piano as he is far away.  But the music stands in the place of her beating heart.  As he approaches, all of her swirling emotions rise in a cacophony of love as he approaches.  Those who have fallen madly in love know this feeling, which this moment captures.  And Darcy is scene here as the most masculine of men, striding through nature, directly toward the woman he loves to sweep her off her feet.

24.  Camelot - "Never Could I Leave You"

(I could only find this shot in a montage on Youtube)

I love this movie.  I love that it perfects the classic trope of movie musicals by being innocent and happy in the first act and then tragic and heartbreaking in the second act.  I remember seeing this movie when I was very young and it was one of the first times I understood that movies use visual symbolism.  The final shot of the song shows Lancelot and Gwyneviere with a cage in the foreground.  They are trapped by their illicit desire.  All of the tragedy that follows could be avoided if they just turned away from their sin.  What makes this shot work so well is that by using the cage in the foreground, you can see that they are not in an actual cage.  They are free but they choose to be trapped and cling to each other as they damn the world around them.  It is a shot that stirs me every time I see it.

23.  All is Lost - "Drowning"

This is a beautiful film in general, one filled with struggle and despair.  With almost no dialogue, Robert Redford fights a losing battle to stay afloat in the ocean.  This final moment is so powerful in its resigned sadness as he lets go and allows the ocean to take him.  The shot looking upwards at the moon and the burning raft contrast the distant celestial beauty of the moon and the chaotic agony of his struggle: a shot of heaven and hell.  It captures that moment when life is slipping away how its beauty is more manifest.  But in all that comes the light of grace.

22. The Ten Commandments - "Final Shot"

There is a reason that when this 70-year-old movie is played on network TV, it has more views than all of its competition.  It's themes are as relevant today as when it first came out, with a defining performance by Charlton Heston.  But this last shot always takes my breath away.  If you had told me that the final moment with Moses was actually from a Renaissance painting, I would not doubt you.  The composition is pefrect and gorgeous.  Moses, bathed in the light of heaven stands as the intermediary between God and man.  He waves goodbye so that there is sorrow, but there is triumph and hope.  He is off in the distance because he stands as the great teacher whose wisdom will guide generations of civilization.  The colors mix with subtle life while the bombastic music swells.  Even though you don't see it, you can feel the heavens open up.  A truly beautiful moment.

21.  Dead Poets Society - "Final Shots"

I remember this movie's ending was so unexpected for me when I first saw it when it came out.  The utter saddness and injustice of what happens was hard for me to overcome.  The world is unfair and the world has little use for men like Mr. Keating.  But the world is just men.  And if these boys can stand up as men then the world is changed.  That is what is really at stake in this movie.  It isn't just about honoring their teacher.  It is a statement that they will rise above and make their lives extraordinary.  I love that the show Keating from their point of view, a high angle shot.  High angles diminish the character, but this works because that is Keating's goal: he wants his students to rise above him.  The wide shot of the 10 students standing is the best.  It is a low angle so that they tower over.  The look on Keating with love, gratitude, and admiration.  They are not standing on desks; they are standing on his shoulders.  And then the remaining boys keep their heads down, ignoring Keating and the other boys, hunched over into annonymous, faceless lumps.  Gone is the headmaster from this shot.  This is one shot is about the future.  It is about who they will become.  And from Keating's point of view he can see that there is hope for the future.  What more could any teacher ask?

Film Flash: Spider-Man - Brand New Day

 

 

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

Pure, super-hero awesomeness!  Great action/performances and characters that we have grown to love.