Say Hello (Again) to Your Friendly Neighborhood Superhero: My Review of Spider-Man: Homecoming

Another month, another superhero movie. After Wonder Woman smashed the box office with her lasso last month, now it's Spider-Man's turn to swing himself to the top of the box office charts. Yes, your friendly neighborhood hero is back with another whole new cast, another director and another story. As you all might have known, Marvel Studios managed to bring back the rights to include Spidey in their movies a few years ago and decided to end The Amazing Spider-Man franchise and replace Andrew Garfield (*sob*) with a much younger actor, Tom Holland. So Spider-Man now lives in the Avengers universe.

When I first heard the news, I was speechless. As you know, I'm a huge fan of Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and their work in The Amazing Spider-Man films. I know the second movie didn't do very well but knowing that Andrew and Emma were recast was heartbreaking. Tom Holland managed to convince me that the role of Spider-Man is in good hands when he made a special appearance in Captain America: Civil War, though. His Spidey is funny, charming, adorable, a little bit too chatty and so young and made me fall in love. As I walked out of the theater that played Civil War, I decided that I would go and see Tom Holland's Spider-Man movie when it comes out. The highly anticipated Spider-Man: Homecoming was released in Indonesia on July 5th. It is directed by Jon Watts. Tom Holland is accompanied by, the Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr., Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Zendaya, Michael Keaton and many more.

I always l love seeing Spider-Man sitting on the top of  a building with a view of his city like this.
Source: comicbook.com

Before I start writing down what I think about the movie, I want you to understand that everything you'll read below is my opinion. If you disagree with what I think, it is totally fine, but please don't attack me. And this review contains spoilers.

So yeah, I've seen Spider-Man: Homecoming and I have a mixed feeling about it. I don't think it's a terrible movie, but I don't think it lives up to my expectations. There are things that I really like about the film, but there are other things that I don't like too. So I'm going to list those things below because I find it difficult to cram them in paragraphs.

The things I like:

1, Tom Holland. Tom's version of Spidey is definitely the cutest, the funniest and the most adorable version of the hero. I think he should form an Adorable Superhero Club with Grant Gustin's The Flash and Melissa Benoist's Supergirl hahaha. Tom's Spidey definitely matches his title as the friendly neighborhood superhero. I like that he's so young, so inexperienced, and so eager to prove himself. A lot of people say that this Spidey is very close to the one they remember from the comics. I never read the comics so I can't say anything about it. And Tom basically leads this mega blockbuster movie by himself as he dominates the whole movie. That is pretty impressive for me.

2. The teenagers. In the comics and the films, Peter and his gang are always seen as high schoolers, at least at the beginning. However, let's be honest, the actors who portray Peter and his friends in the previous films were way too old for the roles. Things are different in Homecoming. Peter and his classmates actually look like teenagers here. I don't think any of the actors who portray the teenagers are older than 25 years old (Tom Holland just turned 21 before the film was released). The film spends a lot of time following Peter at school, which allows us to really see him as a teenage boy. They even make Peter a vlogger, which is so millenial hahaha. I like this because it makes the characters more believable. It's also kind of funny to see Peter paired with Tony Stark here. He looks like a baby compared to Uncle Tony hahaha.

Aren't these teenage boys cute?
Source: tumblr.com

3. Vulture's backstory. At the beginning of the movie, we can see how Vulture's business is ruined by the Avengers' pride. Vulture aka Adrian Toomes has made a deal to clean up a mess caused by the Avengers' encounter with their enemies, with a lot of money and many families' financial security at stake, but a team formed by Tony comes and takes over the gig without caring about what will happen to those worker if they get unemployed. This makes Vulture hate the Avengers and swear to create weapons that can match the Avengers' weapons for their own benefit. I think it's interesting how Marvel addresses this issue about what happens after those heroes finish their big final fights against their enemies. Who cleans up the mess? How many people get hurt or even die because of that? Are you a hero if you destroy the things around you while you're fighting the bad guys? I would love to see those things get explored. Unfortunately the issue is only used as Vulture's backstory here but hopefuly it will be explored deeper in the upcoming films. Probably in Infinity War? They already started touching on that in Civil War, right? With all that superhero identification thingy?

4. The diverse cast. Homecoming features many people of color. They even put people of color in roles that are traditionally given to white people, like the roles of Flash Thompson the bully and Liz the popular girl. I think this is a great thing. It would be cooler if they can make people of color the leads, though. The main protagonist and the main antagonist are still white people here, right? But they're going to do that in the upcoming Black Panther movie, which is super exciting.

5. The Star Wars reference. You know how much I love Star Wars, right? I even love people who love Star Wars too hahaha. In Homecoming, Peter and his buddy Ned are seen as Star Wars fans who spend their afternoons building Lego Death Star together. So yeah, I love you, Peter and Ned. And I just realized that Star Wars and the Marvel heroes are now under the same company which is Disney. So it's like they are in the same family. Isn't that crazy?

6. The humor. Spider-Man: Homecoming is probably the funniest superhero movie I've ever seen. I think it can even be classified as a comedy. It is really fun and refreshing to watch.

7. Karen. She is the voice that represents Peter's sophisticated costume. Our good boy Peter is really sweet to her and treats her like a real lady, which is fun to watch. Peter's scenes with Karen reminds me of the movie Her hahaha. I thought it wasScarlett Johansson, aka Black Widow aka the iconic voice in Her, who lends her voice for this part but it turns out that the actress who voices Karen is Jennifer Connelly, aka Betty Ross in Ang Lee's Hulk aka the wife of Paul Bettany, who plays Vision in the Avengers films and voices Tony's computer assistant in the Iron Man films. What an Easter Egg, huh?

8. The second post-credit scene. After the film is done, you need to wait until the end credit finishes because there are two post-credit scenes. You have to wait for a pretty long time for the second one but, trust me, it's worth the wait. The second post-credit scene is a hilarious one. The way Marvel makes fun of itself using that scene is just genius.

The things I don't like:

1. Lack of emotional connections. One of the things that make me love the previous Spider-Man films is how they allowed me to feel what Peter feels. You can call me sensitive, sentimental or whatever you want but I adore films that allow me to connect with the characters and feel what they feel, experience things from their points of view. This film is fun but it doesn't make me feel anything at all. I think the way Peter is portrayed (you know, underestimated but eager to prove himself) gives a lot of room to develop emotional scenes, but the film tries to be cheerful and funny all the time instead. In the previous films, Peter has a beautiful and close relationship with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben, but I didn't see that in this film at all. Marisa Tomei's Aunt May doesn't even have much to say and contribution throughout the movie. The relationship between Peter and Tony would be interesting to watch, if they realy want to make it about the Avengers, but Tony is just being the rich and more experienced superhero who is too busy to listen to our lovely Peter most of the time. It's annoying to see Peter being ignored and underestimated by Tony, and Happy, like that. I personally think Peter should have defended himself harder when Tony scolds him after the boat incident. That will make things, you know, more emotional, which I would like haha.

Happy and Tony and Peter
Source: imdb.com

2. Lack of familiar characters. Peter Parker is always associated with some other iconic characters from the comics like Aunt May, Unce Ben, Mary-Jane Watson, Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn, Green Goblin, etc. However, among those names that I mentioned, only two are featured in the movie. Peter does address Uncle Ben's death one time, but the uncle's name is not even mentioned. Instead of those characters, we get a bunch of unfamiliar characters like Liz and Ned. I know they are also from the comics and it's  always nice to see some fresh faces but, man, I want Gwen and Harry and Green Goblin and all those characters! I hope they will include those characters in the upcoming sequels.

4. Peter's powers. I feel like Peter's powers that come from the spider's bite, you know, his Spidey sense that likes to tingle, are not seen much in this film. Instead we see more of what his sophisticated costume from Tony can do. I hope they will show us more of what Peter can do with his own powers in the future.

Like or dislike?

1. Zendaya's performance. Teen idol Zendaya plays Michelle in Spider-Man: Homecoming, a girl who turns out be SPOILER ALERT our new MJ aka Mary-Jane Watson. I know she might be prepared for a much bigger role in the upcoming sequels but, man, she really does nothing in this film. What she contributes to the storyline is no bigger than what Stan Lee's cameo performance does to it. She really needs to be given more screen time in the next films. She is going to be interesting to watch because she is totally different from the Mary-Jane that we know from the Tobey Maguire version. Her physical appearance is certainly different from Kirsten Dunst's MJ, but it's not a problem for me. Her character description is the one that interests me, because here our MJ is like the female version of Jughead Jones from Riverdale hahaha. I hope we'll see more of her in future films. SPOILER ENDS

So that's what I think about the second reboot of Spider-Man. For me it is not a perfect movie, but it is definitely fun to watch. Go swing yourself to the theaters and watcch Spider-Man: Homecoming!

Rating: 3,5/5

A War Hero and His Faith in God: Thoughts on Hacksaw Ridge

Today I have a day off because it's the election day in some cities in Indonesia, including Jakarta. If you live in Indonesia, I'm sure you're aware that the election and the candidates for the governor of Jakarta have been hot topics these days. I've tried to follow the news and conversations about the election and the candidates just to, you know, keep myself informed and updated, but I find it quite hard to do that. I'm the kind of person who avoids arguments and confrontations, while talks about the election mostly take the form of heated arguments that involve sensitive issues like religion and race. I always cringe whenever I read or see news about the election.

Last week, when people were anticipating the final debate of the candidates, I chose to watch Hacksaw Ridge, not the debate. I know it may seem like there is no relation between the film and the election at all, but after seeing it, I feel like this movie has a story that is very important and needs to be heard by those people who are involved in those heated arguments and fights.

Hacksaw Ridge is based on a true story of Desmond Doss, played by my favorite actor who is now an Oscar nominee, Andrew Garfield. As a religious man who, as his father says, needs to sit down, think and pray before doing anything, Desmond joins the army to serve his nation. However, he refuses to use any weapon and kill his enemies as his religion teaches him not to kill. This gives Desmond a rough time during his training and an even more brutal experience on the battlefield as he insists to save lives instead of taking them.

Academy Award nominee Andrew Garfield as Desmond Doss
(Source: www.thecoli.com)

If you want to watch this film, you must know that this film contains very disturbing images that involve blood and body parts. Did I once say that Rogue One capture the harshness of wars? Well Hacksaw is on a higher level. The battle scenes are long and brutal. Luckily my friend Lia warned me about this before I saw this film, so I had the chance to prepare my heart and stomach first haha.

I know that some people think this films is a bit too dramatic, but I have to admit it really touches my heart. This film made me cry so much. I started crying five minutes into the film, I guess haha. There is a scene at the beginning, where deep regret slowly fills young Desmond's heart after he realizes that he almost kills his brother with a brick, that made me feel so connected to him. I could really feel him in that scene.

When Andrew Garfield takes over as adult Desmond, the connection that I felt didn't vanish. He has incredible scenes where he dramatically saves his wounded friends (75 of them) from a battlefield full of his nation's enemies alone. However, the scenes that really touched my heart are those where Desmond has these small talks with the people around him. The scene where he and Jack (Sam Worthington) talk as they're resting enables me to see Desmond from Jack's point of view. It made me think that Desmond is totally crazy and weird, but at the same time I realized that those qualities are the ones that make him different from others and admirable. The same thing happened whenever Desmond has scenes with his lady Dorothy (Teresa Palmer). Desmond's complex relationship with his dad (Hugo Weaving) is another emotional roller coaster. I couldn't hold my tears when Desmond tells the story of him holding a gun before his dad's head. He doesn't kill him but he says that he does kill him in his heart and swears that he will never use a rifle anymore after that. I cried with Hugo Weaving as he slides down the wall in front of his son in that scene. And then there is this scene where Desmond fails to save his friend Smitty (Luke Bracey) and has a breakdown. Smitty's last words ("I'm scared!") and Desmond's breakdown just gave me goosebumps. It's cool how Andrew is able to have such a strong chemistry with all his castmates. He is just amazing, like the amazing Spiderman (sorry I just can't help but adding this pathetic line hahaha).

After seeing this film, I spent some time thinking about it and realized that it is pretty relevant to the situation in my country right now. These days, a lot of people hate, fight and argue with each other when they try to defend their beliefs. There are people who hate those whose religions are different from theirs, and there are others who glorify their leader and see those who don't do the same as their enemies. It's just saddening, sickening and exhausting to see people hate and insult each other on a daily basis like that. When I saw Desmond in this film, I was stunned by how he could stay true to what he believes in without being aggresive at all. He shows me that we can fight with kindness and compassion as our weapons. He shows that strength and bravery that grow from kindness, compassion and faith in God are the greatest kinds of them. Desmond's story is a reminder that all religions teach kindness, not malice.

"While everyone else is going to be taking life, I'm going to be saving it." - Desmond Doss
(Source: MovieNewsPlus.com)

Besides that, I think this story also speaks to those who have been bullied by other people. I think all of us have experienced being laughed at because we do things a bit differently, being labeled as a weirdo, being told that we are ugly, wrong, pathetic, not good enough... Desmond has to face all of them too but he doesn't let that bring him down. I know it's not easy at all but, if you get bullied for being who you are, you should stay strong like Desmond because, as Desmond says, how are you going to live with yourself if you don't stay true to what you believe in?

So, Hacksaw Ridge feels like a very religious film for me. However, I think the message that it carries is universal and can be applied by anyone no matter what their religions or races are.

Rating :4,5/5

Get Ready for the Awards Season!

As we enter the last month of the year, discussions and predictions regarding the Oscars and other prestigious awards start to emerge. Critics' Choice Awards announced its list of nominees for this year and, from there, I think we can see which movies are likely to dominate the awards season this time. Just click here to see the complete list of nominees in the film categories. The list of nominees makes me really excited for the 2017 awards season. Some of my favorite actors like Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone (hmmm) are there. Some films that I really want to see are nominated too, and I'm going to write about them in this post.

All images are taken from each movie's official Twitter account

ARRIVAL

I first found out about this film when one of my friends told me about it. He told me the movie was about alien spaceships that have landed on Earth, which made me think of alien invasion movies where the humans fight the aliens like Independence Day and War of the Worlds. However, it all changed when I saw this trailer.

Arrival is about a linguistics expert named Louise Banks (Amy Adams) who is summoned to investigate mysterious alien spaceships that have landed on our planet. Having no idea what the aliens' intentions are, Louise must use her knowledge to understand the aliens' language in order to be able to communicate with them before a war is declared. The film is directed by Denis Villeneuve (Sicario) with some high profile actors like Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker in the cast.

As someone who learned linguistics at school and does translation jobs, the involvement of a linguist in an alien movie makes me somehow thrilled. I never imagined someone like me could be involved in a situation like that, so it would be interesting to see how it goes in the movie. Besides, Arrival receives 10 nominations in the Critics' Choice Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Amy Adams, so it must be a pretty impressive movie.

HACKSAW RIDGE

This film has been on my list of anticipated movies even before the trailer hit the internet because one of my favorite actors (and celebrity crushes hahaha), Andrew Garfield, is in it. I became more and more curious about it when I saw this trailer, which I think is really moving, and when I heard that it receives positive reviews and even Oscar buzz. An Oscar-worthy movie with Andrew Garfield as the lead actor? Count me in! This film has been released in my country but I haven't got the chance to see it. I hope I can see it soon.

Hacksaw Ridge is based on a true story of Desmond Doss, an American soldier in World War II who saved many lives in Okinawa without using any kinds of weapon. Doss refused to use weapons and kill people but insisted to join the army. He really wanted to serve his nation but believed that there are other ways besides killing to do that. The inspiring man received Congressional Medal of Honor for his merit. Hacksaw Ridge is directed by actor/director Mel Gibson. Andrew Garfield leads a cast full of, again, high profile actors which includes Teresa Palmer, Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington and Hugo Weaving. It receives 7 nominations in the Crtitics' Choice Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor for Andrew (Woohoo!) and Best Director for Mel Gibson. I really hope Andrew wins.

LA LA LAND

Yeah, I ship Stonefield (Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield, in case you don't know...) but the reason why Emma's latest movie La La Land is on my list is not because I'm obsessed with the ex-couple. It's because this movie looks soooo amazing. Take a look at the dreamy trailer below if you don't believe me. I was so moved and almost cried when I first saw it. The way Emma sings the song is the kind that makes you want to smile and weep at the same time.

La La Land follows the journey of two people, Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), who fall in love with each other as they struggle to pursue their dreams to reach success in the show business. As you might have guessed after seeing the trailer, it's a musical, so, yes, ladies, you can see Ryan Gosling sing and dance in it haha. It's not a full-on musical like Les Miserables, though. It's more like Grease where the characters burst into songs when they feel like talking can't express their feelings. La La Land is directed by Damien Chazelle, whose previous film, Whiplash, dominated the 2014 awards season. This film leads the Critics' Choice Awards nominees with 12 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Damien Chazelle, Best Actress for Emma Stone (Hooray!), Best Actor for Ryan Gosling and two Best Song nominations. I have a feeling this movie will win big this awards season.

LION

Lion is led by another actor that I admire: Dev Patel. In this film, Dev is accompanied by Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara and directed by Garth Davis. Like Hacksaw Ridge, this film is based on an extraordinary true story. When he was a little boy, Saroo (played by Dev in the movie) got separated from his family when he was lost on a train. He was then adopted by an Australian family. Haunted by the memories of his biological family in India, adult Saroo used his memories and Google Earth to track his lost family. It sounds like a movie that will make me cry and want to hug my family members haha.

Lion is nominated in six categories in the Critics' Choice Awards, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Dev Patel (Yay!) and Best Supporting Actress for Nicole Kidman. Sia has a song called Never Give Up which is taken from this film's soundtrack, but unfortunately it's not nominated for Best Song in the Critics' Choice Awards.

Do you want to see those four films as much as I do? Or maybe you're more excited for the red carpets and the awards ceremonies? I just hope those films and the awards ceremonies will be played in our country haha.