#12 SPIDERMAN 3

Here is the last movie on the list for this blog. Coming in number twelve with $336,530,303 is Spiderman 3. I had never seen this one all the way through till I wrote this blog and I must say that it was a little out there and dramatic but this I liked it a lot. In fact the way that this Spiderman movie went I expected it to be the last one that they would make. Everything seemed to come full circle and be final with the way things end. The Sandman tells Peter what really happened the night that his uncle Ben died and how that was not the way that it was supposed to go. Peter’s real goal though is to figure it all out before he loses everything. This time is different then that last time however, this time he has it all. He is frustrated with Spiderman and the burden that comes with it, but other then that he has Mary Jane and he is really to propose. It is all going his way it seems, but when this new sandy villain pops up in kind of raises some memories that he does not want to have to deal with.

Then there is the new twist that really makes this movie better then the other two. The black entity that seemingly bonds with Peter and causes him to have a duo personality which you do not really see at first but then as time goes on it starts to become more and more apparent. He kind of takes on this bad boy demeanor because the black entity molded with the suit and with himself in turn, makes him so much stronger. It is like the entity puts him on a permanent rush of adrenalin but with it comes this darker Peter.

This puts an end to Peter and the way that his life was going. Instead he has become one giant pain in the butt and no one knows how to handle him so they all just stay away. He becomes self absorbed is the best way that I can think to describe it and no one likes a guy with an overly enlarged ego. Plus he pushes people away when he is not the caring Peter that he usually is. The hardest part is that no one knows what caused the sudden change. Lastly the blackness seems to make him this way because he is a little revenge driven right now, ever since he found out that uncle Ben did not die the way that he originally thought it to have happened. Something that he regrets more then anything that he has even done or had to deal with in his entire life I would have to say.

Like the other two this Spiderman is of course action packed with the doings of an evil villain verse the great superhero Spiderman. This is what the male population seems to enjoy the most when it comes to movies that are based of the comic book hero’s of their childhoods. They want to see the action sequences float of the paper onto the big screen so that they get to watch Spiderman kick super villain butt in real time. Not only are there the external battles but internal ones this time around with the black entity and that is something that even the boys can enjoy.

However I would have to say that the black entity stands on its own as a separated or division point between the typical male and female stereotypes that have been present in the other movies. There are the actual battles that Peter has with his other self like when he gets rid of the black entity when he really starts to realize what it is making him into. Then there are the more internalized and relationship and mental battles that he has that are more geared towards women. The entity makes him into another person that regardless of if you are male, female, or whatever type of movie you prefer it keeps you interested.

Then of course there is the usual romantic storyline with Peter and Mary Jane. It all is going to well and then he has to go and screw it up with his new attitude, thank you black goop. Then there is the new information that he learns about his uncle Ben and revenge and man it makes for an intriguing story line and one that keeps you interested.

I think that maybe it was just a little to complicated especially with Harry and Eddie taking on villain status for parts of the movie. There was just to much going on it one movie and when things get to confusing people can lose interest. The graphics and everything they made was great and all that but the storyline has to be descent and at least a little straight forward for that to matter. IMDB give this movie a 6.4/10 and I give it a 7/10 because not matter how much I liked it, it was confusing and a little to much.

#11 LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS

We are drawing close to the end so we're just going to pack them all in :)

Our journey has almost come to an end here with the second to last on our list of movies. Lord of the Rings the Two Towers I would have to say that if you are looking for action and drama this is the Lord of the Rings to watch. There are quite a few epic moments in the second movie that just bring this movie into the bracket of highly ranked movies. With the original position being seventeenth and it having moved up to eleventh since its release I would say that the $341,786,758 that it has made is well deserved for more then one reason.

First of all like all of the Lord of the Rings movies there is the journey that is the plot line for them all. Along the way people join and fall away from their troop with each step that they make they seem to run into more and more trouble, but it is their work and persistence that is so commendable. It really hooks you in with the struggles that they have and you kind of want to jump in there and try to help them succeed. With so many obstacles standing in their way you just hope that there is someone there at the next step so that they may continue on.

The monsters are bigger, tougher, and have far greater numbers then before. Not that they didn’t have a ton before but come on it’s like they are appearing out of thin air or mud that is. Along with those monsters the ringwraiths have returned in a new and horrible fashion then they were before, aka now they are flying around on big nasty beasts that kind of resemble dragons. A friend is lost and sent away, Boromir, and one that we thought was lost forever returns to help them along the way in anyway that he can, Gandalf the White this time around.

In other news Sam and Frodo have entered a new leg of the journey in that they have made it all the way to Mordor. Here not only do they meet resistance in the monstrous way but also in a human fashion. There is a certain human that is supposed to be watching the thrown until the return of the kings but he has let it go to his head a bit. The fall of man is coming from all sides and there is nothing that can stop it so it seems.

On the other hand there is a great deal that does happen the sword of the kings if re-forged into its former glory and a new hope is born solely with that one act. So they go on and that alone is important to them winning more then one battle in the future from that point.

Others that are not part of the journey however do not have the same courage as Aragorn or Legolas. I’m speaking of the elves in this case. For the most part all of the elves are starting to depart to a safer place, there are few that stay behind. Warriors are sent to assist in the battle, but for one specific Elrod does try to send Arwen away but she returns just a little upset because she has found out that there is hope.

And so they get back on track a little bit. Here we have the recurring story of love that usually appeals to the female population. The forever bond that Arwen and Aragorn share and that shall never be broken even through the ripples of time. So romantic, however there is a little hiccup when Arwen thinks that she’s leaving and they are apart. She fears that he will not return and that it is not safe here so she decides to leave and just forever morn what they had together. Then there is Eowyn whom develops a thing for Aragorn and so becomes the third wheel in a love triangle that isn’t really a love triangle because well Aragorn isn’t really in love with her like he is Arwen he just likes her. She turns out to be a great asset in the end anyway during the battle, she kills the biggest and scariest ringwraith. Not only do we have this main relationship with Arwen and Aragorn but there are more and more family like ties being made with the members of the fellowship and it makes them stronger. Sure we like to see the happy couple together but the family love that’s going on even between Legolas and Gimli is great to see as well.

Then there are of course the epic battles for middle earth that are sporadically placed throughout the movie that well…really make it a Lord of the rings movie. I mean there is nothing to the story if there isn’t the battle for life as they know it to go on. That is really what it is all about. When they say that they are fighting for middle earth they are right. Saruman might be working for the great eye aka Sauron but the goal that they both have is to destroy the world of man and kill them all. Yes Sauron wants the ring back but that is because it is power and something that holds a great deal of his affection and for as long as it survives so does he. The ring instigates the fights and the fights follow the plotline to make the movie what it is.

In truth I am disappointed that this Lord of the Rings is so far down on the list. I have read all the books and nobody gets everything perfect, but I still thought that they were great. There is a lot that goes on and it can be a little gruesome at times, so don’t let the little kids watch it necessarily, but it has a lot going for it. IMDB give this movie a 8.7/10 and I give it a 9/10. For having to live up to such a great series of books I think that it’s a job well done.

#10 JURASSIC PARK

This is one of the few movies on the list that I had never seen until I wrote this blog and that was really interesting for me to see a movie that came out just after I was born. Seeing the way that graphics have changed and how technology has developed in the last decade is really cool and interesting.

So the plot is very much the same as other movies there is a rich guy that decides to use his money to make something that no one has ever seen before and low and behold there is one of his workers that just doesn’t like that. Even though it was unintentional the “bad guy” in this case shuts off all the power in the theme park while trying to steal some dinosaur embryos and in the process lets all the dinosaurs out and they go crazy.

The main part of this movie is the fact that they have brought these outsiders to the island and now these issues have arose and nobody knows what to do to protect themselves. The dinosaurs have gone on a killing spree. They tear up everything and everyone in their path.

This is all a phenomenon to the guests; they can’t believe that this is even possible that the dinosaurs can really be here. Not only the fact that they are back but that they are real that it’s no hoax. It’s something new, something different, and something out of this world.

I mean how many little kids when they are little play with dinosaur toys and pretend that they are real. When they go to the museum one of the first things I remember coming out of a little kids mouth was “I want to see the dinosaurs!” and they wish that they could see one in real life. Better yet it’s not just little boys but little boys and girls that want to see these huge beasts come to life and they use their imaginations to do so. You can only imagine the reaction that fanatics have to this unimaginable feat coming to life in the movie. Unfortunately it was kind of a violent movie so the idea of little kids seeing it is a little bit out of the question. For those of us that were once kids however this is like a dream come true, other then the fact that the dinosaurs are devouring people, it’s pretty awesome.

This movie I would have to say is so down on the rankings just because it is kind of a one track movie. There are dinosaurs and gore. Not really to heavy of gore but fighting and people being eaten and well there isn’t really much to be left to the imagination with this movie. They did a great job I mean I’m no dinosaur aficionado but I thought that for the time that the movie was made the dinosaurs looked pretty real and accurate. This to me is pretty surprising after seeing other movies from the same time, in other words they seemed to be ahead of their time in what they were doing with the technology. Other then that the movie doesn’t have a lot going for it in my opinion.

The main points to me are fighting for survival, action, adventure, and fantasy. Yep that’s about it. I mean it’s difficult to have range with such a straight forward movie like this but it was bland in the intellectual sense. For those of you out there that don’t like to be surprised I wouldn’t watch it and that is the reason that I never saw it before this. I’m not a big fan of scary movies and having a big scary dinosaur fly at you while you are trying to get away, well it made me jump every time that the dinosaur came out of nowhere. So there was a lot to me that appealed to male population but not so much for the females or youths that might have thought that it would be an interesting movie to see.

There was a lot to this movie but there was a lot that it lacked as well. IMDB gave it a 7.9/10 which I think constitutes it to deserve the $357,067,947 that it made. As for me I give it a 7/10 just because I think that there are certain things that they should have done or added to make the movie more viable for a greater range of people.

#9 SPIDERMAN 2

This here is all about the second installment of the three Spiderman movies that are out. Personally out of all the movies this was my least favorite because it seems like everyone is just off their rocker and that they can’t keep their lives straight. This is especially true when considering Peter Parker himself. He is struggling really with his personal life Mary Jane Watson is engaged to someone else and Peter doesn’t know what to do about it. Spiderman is being attacked by the press and because of all that drama he isn’t doing so well is school and he can’t hold a job. In other words Peter Parker is gradually falling apart piece by piece. He’s losing faith in himself and so he lets Spiderman fall away and let those that believe in him think that he has just gone away.

Peter isn’t the only one whose life is falling apart though. Dr. Otto Octavius is giving a presentation to Harry Osborn when it all goes horribly wrong and the doctor’s wife is killed in the process and he becomes fused with mechanical tentacles that do what he makes them do. So another villain is born and like the others before him Doc Ock has a vendetta against Spiderman because what Harry Osborn wants more then anything in the whole world is revenge against the person he believes killed his father.

So Doc Ock and Harry make a deal. Harry agrees to give Octavius the last piece to the puzzle that he needs to complete the experiment that went wrong and Doc Ock will get Harry Spiderman. So ensues a fight and what not and Doc Ock takes down Spiderman and brings him to Harry and the exchange is made. Little known to Peter because he is unconscious when he is brought to Harry’s but he’s up when Harry removes his mask. It would be an understatement to say that Harry wasn’t a little more then upset by the fact that his best friend is Spiderman and that Peter in turn then is the one that killed Norman Osborn.

So that is really the major part of the storyline for this story. Like I said everyone’s life is really in the dog house with this movie and there isn’t a whole lot going on other then that. No one is really all that happy even Mary Jane that is engaged isn’t really happy and she knows it she just doesn’t know what to do about it. So the story goes on everyone just stumbling along trying to make ends meet and come out alive and well in the end.

I would have to say that out of all the super hero movies there are this is the least well done. I just wasn’t a big fan. The Spiderman movies aren’t my favorite to begin with but there was just so much drama and heart ache that it was almost too much to have in one movie. Don’t get me wrong it was well made and the sequences were put together well, it worked it really did I just didn’t like it as much as the other two or other movies like Batman and Iron Man.

Peter is forced to make a lot of tough choices and deal with the repercussions of those decisions all on his own. He feels misunderstood and doesn’t really know what to do other then give up this double life that he has been living. So he has a choice live a life of his own and lets those that believe in him down or be the hero that leads a life of chaos and terror. It is quite epic when you think of it in that sense and ask yourself what would I do if I were in his shoes.

On those notes then I say this. Spiderman is a good movie not one of my favorites but it is good all the same. There isn’t a whole lot of range with this movie because it is a lot of gloom and doom but they still hit the two main groups of viewers.

For men there is the action. From Doc Ock and his tentacles reaping havoc on the city trying to get what he wants. To Harry putting his two sense in there about wanting Spiderman to pay for what he did to Harry’s father. To Peter as Spiderman and his attempts to make the city a safe place to live and thrive in what seem to be never ending times of difficulty and failure.

Then for the women as always there is a love story. Not only with Peter and Mary Jane, we will get back to that later, but now you have the tragedy of Dr Octavius and his wife. The action and horror that springs from Doc Ock is really fueled but the sadness the he feels from losing his wife and knowing that it was his fault. They were so much in love and she believed in him but she was to close when the experiment went south and he survived but she didn’t and he just can’t get over that. Then as always there is our hero and his love interest only this time it has gotten complicated. Peter and Mary Jane love each other but Peter doesn’t want her to suffer because he is Spiderman and in order to insure her safety he can’t be with her. It kills him to say it and let her go but he does it anyway, well at least for as long as he can stay away that is.   

There are many twists and turns, and they did do a fair job with this movie so here in 9^th place I say it deserves the $373,585,825 that it made. IMDB gives it a 7.7/10 and I give it an 8/10.

#8 LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING

With this final installment to the Lord of the Rings series they really just hit it out of the park. Honestly when I first looked at the list of movies I expected it to be higher up on the list because like Avatar this movie was really just above and beyond the norm. First there are the graphics; the work that they did with this movie was just great there was so much work in the computer generated characters that….I can’t even tell you. Me personally, I got shivers when I saw some of the scenes especially the flying ones over the volcano it was spectacular.

Once again Lord of the Rings the Return of the King and Avatar I think really paralleled each other. They are both great graphic accomplishments of their time, they both have romance, action, battle, war, and the list goes on and on. Most importantly they signify the survival of a world and a struggle to save home and the lives of many.

So the graphics aside there is the multiple sided plot line that encompasses not only the journey of the ring to be destroyed but the story of each of the individual characters. To start with there is the growing up with the hobbits, even though they are older then they look they are children in reality that have never really had any troubles in their lives until now.  So there are Merry and Pippin the troublemakers’ gone war bound and in the process becoming men, no longer stealing fireworks and causing trouble. Then there is Sam whom at the end of the story has a family and children, and a story that will be passed down from generation to generation. Finally there is Frodo whom in the end can never go back to the life that was once his because he can never be the same person after bearing the burden of the ring. So at the end of his story he leaves on the ship with the others that have lived only to see the moment when the ring was destroyed. On that ship with Frodo is; Gandalf, Elrod, Bilbo, ect those that have seen far to much in their lives to even live among men again and so in the end they sail off to a happier place for them.

It’s all just so emotional I don’t know about you guys but the good bye’s and especially the reunions made me want to cry. My favorite is when Aragorn is made king he meets Arwen they share a happy moment and kiss, but then he continues on through the crowd and when he comes to the hobbits it is not them that bows to him it is he and everyone else there that bow to them. It was just such a feeling of true gratitude and of finality that you just know that it’s done it’s over with and that everyone is going to be going their separate ways. I know that a lot of die hard Lord of the Rings fans cried when the movie ended.

In a separate sense;

One we have the battles and gore that I usually equate with the male population. They are all over the place with the sequences that they created; in the air on birds, on the elephants swinging around, on the ground man to man, and on horse back. All well thought out intricate and fantastic. They really put some thought into where they put everyone and they different fighting styles that they have, all the way down to the competition between Legolas and Gimli. It all contributes to the overall effect of the adrenaline pumping action that they have going on.

Two we have the love story between Arwen and Aragorn the love that is kind of forbidden but that in the end everyone just accepts that it has happened and that it isn’t going to change. Besides if you ask me everyone wanted it to happen so it was going to happen whether you like it or not. It’s more of a female thing but it really brings something to the way that things end in the movie and that they end up happy together.

Three for both sides we have some hot male and female actors, and who doesn’t love a good looking flying around crazy talented elf. That’s right you know who I’m talking about…LEGOLAS and ARWEN!! That’s right who doesn’t want to watch Orlando Bloom sprinting around shooting down enemies with the deadly shot of his arrow, and anyone that says that the fine Liv Tyler isn’t amazing as the unearthly beautiful Arwen is crazy.

All in all I say that this movie has a little bit of something for everyone. It is once again not something that I would recommend for younger kids because…well frankly the Orcs are some creepy looking creatures, and having blood and guts flying around well just isn’t really for younger kids. Other then that I think that it’s a great movie and they finished out the series with a bang, it was a top-notch finish to a great book tribute. IMDB gives it a 8.8/10 and I give it a 9/10 I think that it more then deserves the $377,027,325 that it made and honestly I expected it to be higher up I liked it some much. Nice Job!

#7 STAR WARS EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH

When most people think Star Wars I would say they think maybe a little nerdy depending upon which generation you come from. Some will think the original movies that were a little cheesy and well to be honest I just don’t know what to think of them since the first three episodes were made. Its all most like they went backwards in time instead of getting more advanced and what not the ships are the same or look old and dysfunctional, although I guess you have to take into consideration the fact that they’ve been in a war for some time now. Enough of that though. With a great many of my generation and an ever growing group that is they think action, battles, sleek space-cruisers (not ships that’s to old school), lightsabers, stormtroopers, revenge, love, and loss. That’s a lot to be going on in one single blast, but I would say that for such an old story Star Wars Episode III well deserves the $380270577 that it has taken in.

Episode III is really devoted to the development of Anakin as a person and his transfer over to the darkside that all those involved saw as inevitable due to his attachment to those that he loves. He goes against all the rules and falls in love with Padme and worse yet he actually goes as far as to marry her and get her pregnant. Big problem and not the easiest thing to hide from those around you your especially friends for that matter. In the long run the deciding factor for Anakin really is his relationship and his love for Padme he gives up everything for her so that he can save her because he sees her dying and because of that he causes it.

There are a lot of complicated scenarios in this episode that I think the others were really missing. For the others it is really more of a battle prone movie set-up where they are fighting for their lives through most of it, there is the underlying power struggle and the fight between good and evil but nothing like this one. With Revenge of the Sith they take more of a storyline and add the battles to the storyline. The main story is the change in Anakin and the break down of everything; power, the republic (or more precisely the change to the federation), the jedi, friendships, family ties, the list just goes on and on.

As is with all Star Wars movies the primary weapon of choice to the jedi’s and sith alike is the lightsaber so for those science fiction buffs that we have there are the battles of the elite that have mastered this weapon. Then there are the respective allies that come with both sides. So we take the singular battle and blow it up so those that like action, and gore in a peculiar way, have a satisfactory all out war waging between the two sides. If that doesn’t make it interesting enough we have betrayal to throw into the mix. There are the drones that fight with the sith or darkside and the stormtroopers that fight with the jedi, at first that is. Little do the jedi know the stromtroopers have been honed into the slaves of the sith and will betray them. In a single fell swoop they manage to kill just about every last jedi that there is left. The only ones that escape and survive are Yoda and Obi-Wan and Anakin but at this point he is really Darthvader and a sith so I wouldn’t count him.

Talk about an agenda…and so the plot thickens. This is what makes the movie so great is the balance between what is really almost intellectual because of how elaborately it is planned out and the pure muscle of the battles and warfare. It makes it so that no matter what kind of action you like the movie really does have a god fit. However the movie isn’t all action as I said before. There is love and relationships, and friendship that all tie into the action.

Padme is the key to it all just because the decision of good and evil really lies with Anakin. They are the ones that you want to have together for things to work out and everything be all right, but they are also, for lack of a better statement, the star crossed lovers like Romeo and Juliet. It is really their story that defines and decides the fate of the universe and the path that life will take when they make that decision. Then there is Obi-Wan and Anakin they think of each other as brothers but when push comes to shove they are separated by beliefs of right and wrong, and are forced to fight for their lives…against each other L. Then there is family Padme is brought to safety before she dies but in their words ‘she has lost the will to live’ so she has the babies names them and dies. However that leaves what is to be done with the babies up in the air. They figure they need to hide them from Anakin so old family from Tatooine is called upon to take the young Luke and Senator Bail Organa and his wife offer to take Leia.

There is emotion, action, plot, and theme all rolled into one and it makes for quite a wonderful movie that appeals to a lot of different people. This episode out of all of them I would have to say was the least appropriate for little kids but it was great all the same. IMDB gives it a 7.8/10 and I give it an 8/10. Great job and even though it has been a while I hope they make the rest of the movie. It would be super cool!

#6 TRANSFORMERS REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

Not that I didn’t love the first Transformers movie but I have to say the second one…WOW…it was top notch in my book. The story continues in the sequel to Transformers with some new and some old faces, more comedy and more danger. In Transformers Revenge of the Fallen, coming in our sixth place with $402111870, Sam Witwicky is off to college and Mikaela Banes is home doing her own thing. They are seeing if their relationship can stand the trial of space when Sam has a mental melt down in a lecture after touching a piece of the cube. In turn giving back as we all know the transformers are so great at doing the cube makes Sam a fountain of knowledge to the history of the transformers. Hmm not something that the decepticons can let pass especially since they want what is in his head. So once again Sam is thrown into the war between good and evil, decepticon verse autobot.

Not only are there the our two favorite characters and couple returning to the action but the hunky Major William Lennox is running a new task force that’s main concern is taking care of the unruly transformers that have decided to terrorize earth with their presence. Lennox is in the midst of trying to keep the aliens invading a secret from the public population when he and Sam are both, in a way, called to action to try and solve the decepticon problem with a more focus and a plan. They are going to try and beat the decepticons to the key that will probably completely destroy earth.

Wow talk about complicated circumstances. Sam and Mikaela are just trying to go on with life like everything is normal, trying to live with the fact that the autobots, who are their friends, are here to stay but that with them come the decepticons. Sam is trying to keep Mikaela out of the line of fire but she refuses to let him go at this alone, unfortunately his family also happen to get involved so Sam has to worry about all of their safety while trying to save the world. That’s a lot of pressure for one guy to have to deal with when he doesn’t really understand the information that he has been given in the first place.

For those action junky movie goers this is the cream of the crop. In fact that is really the core to this movie the battle that is ever going on between the good and evil transformers, decepticon verse autobot. The autobots have aligned themselves with the humans in order to try and save earth from destruction, so that what happened to their home planet doesn’t happen here. They also have a little secondary bit of incentive with the hope of finding the all spark the key power source to saving the transformers or at least to keep them going. “The Fallen” want revenge on earth for preventing the power harvesting of their sun to power the all spark and they have chosen know to take it by activating the harvester on earth. Yea bad news for the people of earth, I say death by freezing not so pretty.

So fighting, slashing, battling…etc. All great fun but I would say that the underlying story is what is really important and makes the movie such a great success. Of course for those that love a good love story there is Sam and Mikaela, the slacker nobody that gets the hot popular girl. Surprisingly they work together and they are like a normal couple. Like real life they are struggling, they go off in their own direction start to live their lives and struggle with the long distance relationship. They love each other yet they hate each other, he wants to protect her, she doesn’t want to go without him. Its cute and me personally, I want them to stay together and beat this and survive to go on and live life. Even though they come from different worlds in more then one way they seem to be meant to be together which gives a little extra to the storyline.

The relationship between the humans involved and the autobots is the one that I dub the most important, no matter how much destruction they go through they go at it and try to make things right. Optimus Prime is the leader of the autobots and he works strategically with the military to help them try to get the upper hand on the decepticons and to try and give them technological advantages so that they can fight against them. Then there is Bumblebee that is like Sam’s own personal protector. He has stayed with Sam since they first met up in the first movie and there is very little that can be done to separate Bumblebee from Sam’s side. When trouble starts to arise Bumblebee goes to school to find Sam and warn him that there is trouble arising. They truly feel sorry that the humans have to suffer and host all these mechanical monsters that are trying to destroy them. For alien machines they seem to have quite an emotional connection to the people and doing what it right. This really gives substance to the plot line and the overall effect of the movie.

IMDB gives this movie a 6/10 I however think that they deserve a lot more credit and would say that this movie is at least an 8/10. It was a little violent for younger kids and you did really have to like action and adventure in order to get into it, but it was well done and an enjoyable watch.

#5 SPIDERMAN

This is the first installment of the Spiderman series where we are first introduced to the young Peter Parker the nerdy photographer for the school paper. They go on a class trip to a lab where they are testing on spiders Peter Parker is watching Mary Jane Watson trying to work up the courage to talk to her when his friend Harry Osborn beats him to the punch in a way. He’s trying to flirt and tells her to pose so he can take a picture for the paper. She does but gets beckoned and goes afterwards and ….oh my god Peter gets bitten by a spider!

At first he doesn’t realize what is happening he just doesn’t feel well at first then all the sudden he wakes up and feels great. Better then he ever has before. Better yet he has muscles and doesn’t need his glasses any longer. It’s like a miracle and he just doesn’t understand how it could have happened. With these new found factors he also finds that he has quite the grip and reflexes, and because of these Peter finds himself in some sticky situations like at school he catches Mary Jane and her tray before they crash in the lunchroom. Then because of it a big jock comes after him and to everyone’s surprise it isn’t Peter that needs to go to the hospital. With his new ‘spidy-senses’ he sees the attack coming and dodges it and takes the other guy down and gives him a black eye.

No Way

!

With this he decides to start experimenting and tries to use his new found talents for personal gain. Rule number one don’t do this. Let’s just say cage fight…Peter gets ripped off by the pit boss…lets the robber get away…REVENGE! Ben is guardian and uncle gets shot and killed in the escape. It makes for a very complicated and sentimental set up. Off trying to find yourself when your world is turned upside down and inside out. Peter has suddenly gone from the scrawny nobody to the super hero kid trying to figure it all out.

It’s a huge conflict, for a kid in reality, to take on. Not only that but what has happened to him is not normal so it’s not like has can really turn to anyone for advice. Then there is Mary Jane the girl that he loves but he’s trying to push away so that she doesn’t get in harms way. He’s so confused and feels like everything is his fault for such a time that he kind of gives up on what he has been doing, protecting the city. He just goes back to being Peter Parker but he knows that he can’t do that forever that he has to get out there and follow his destiny even if it kills himself in the process of trying to make things right.

WOW…talk about confusion and action. This is the epitome of a great comic book to movie cross over. Personally I have never read the comic so I don’t know if it corresponds but the story live that they have got going on is great and really meets the expectations that I think a lot of people had for this movie. There is the comic hero storyline for the male population, those that are of the younger generation and older. Then there is the romance and complicated family maters that are more along the lines for the female population.

The hero part is blow up and expanded out into the heated battle scenes with the Green Goblin and the attacks that are made on those that Peter loves because Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin has figured out that Peter and Spiderman are one in the same. Not only has Peter lost practically everyone in his life but those that are left are being threatened and targeted all the time. May Parker is nearly killed the night that Osborn aka the Green Goblin figures out Peter’s little secret of being the Spiderman. Talk about complicated family matters that need to be resolved. The heated battle between the two expands out into the rest of the family when Harry declares war on Spiderman for the wrongful death of his father. Hmm…Harry and Peter best friends, most of the time, Harry and Spiderman mortal enemies in the eyes of Harry.

All in all the combination between the heated fights where Spiderman is swinging through the city and when he is saving people and the base storyline of Peter trying to maintain a home life and everything together with his struggle to keep the ones that he loves, Mary Jane and May, makes for a great combination movie for a great many viewers. Once again a little violent for younger kids but not so much that they can’t see it at all. It defiantly deserves the $403706375 that is has made. IMDB gives it a 7.4/10 but I give it a 8/10 for the great movie that they put out there but also the great snippets of Tobey Maguire without a shirt on and in that slimming spandex J.

#4 PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST

The second movie in the pirates of the Caribbean series that raked in $423315812 starts out with the twist of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan being sentenced to death by hanging. I guess most people do not think that pirates are as much fun as the young couple seems to think they are. The adventure has ended Will and Elizabeth are getting ready to settle down and have a nice full life. Yet the troublesome Jack Sparrow manages to get them into trouble once again. However Will has an opportunity to get out of it, all he has to do is get Jack’s compass and give it to Lord Beckett of the East India Trading Company.

This starts the trip to find the heart of Davy Jones which is the reason why Lord Beckett wants the compass. He needs the heart in order to control the loose canon that is Davy Jones. Jones is like the gate keeper he is Captain of the Flying Dutchman which makes its way with the crew from hell.

There are so many twists and turns with this addition to the series that there is not really a dull moment to be heard of. Elizabeth and Will are separated and rejoined many times. Will is served up on a silver platter to Davy Jones by Jack for the soul that he owns without Will knowing it, sufficient to say that Will is pretty upset by this. The battles that unsure are heartbreakingly awesome though. Pirates swinging back and forth, strange native people worshipping Jack, Jack than getting chased by those natives, and so on and so forth. It is just a movie filled with the characters getting themselves into trouble time and time again.

In general terms of speaking it makes for an excellent movie for a variety for people to go see. For those guys out there, there are the battles with the swords and guns and canons. Which make for a very exciting watch you never really know what is going to happen next. There is the romance for the women with not only Elizabeth and Will but possibly with Elizabeth and Jack, they sort of do a skirting act during the movie where Elizabeth does not seem to know what she wants. They causes some heat with Will and Jack not that they were the best of friends to begin with but now they are practically at each others throats. After Jack gives Will to Davy Jones Will is locked up and family suddenly has a meaning in these movies. Will finds his dad on the Flying Dutchman and works to try and free him while simultaneously trying to get the key to the trunk that holds Jones’ heart. It’s a mess. As for kids who does not love pirates and treasure. It is a little violent but not so much that younger kids could not see it.

The planning that went into this movie is what really makes it great. In this movie it is the graphics that makes it special. With all the new characters, specifically the crew from hell and Jones, there come the special effects. They are all made out of part human base but with parts of sea creatures that they have accumulated depending on how long they have been on the cursed ship. They computerized characters are if I do say so myself pretty mean and scary looking, a band of pirates that even I would be scared to go up against. Them there is the Kraken that can be deployed and take out a whole ship in one fell-swoop.

There is so much going on and the story line is so interesting that it keeps you captivated and just waiting for what is going to happen next. I loved the energy that was there in the filming and the final product. You can just tell that there is a lot of thought and feeling going into the work that the actors put into this movie, as well as the crew. They created a story that can continue on for as long as they so choose it to continue on. Its versatile so they can change it up and add characters or take them away. They created a movie that is multifaceted and very much able to stand the sands of time. I loved it and wait for when the fourth one will come out J

I give this movie a 8/10 and IMDB gives it a 7.3/10 great job and keep at it!

#3 THE DARK KNIGHT

The Dark Knight is our third place winner with $533,345,358. I would say that with the short time span that it has been out it has a well deserved place on this list.

The number one reason being that it was really the last big movie that we got to see the late Heath Ledger in. It was a sad moment in time that made the movie all the more memorable. It gave us a taste of the ambition and commitment that this actor had in his life, and it really showed through in his part as the Joker in The Dark Knight.

Number two is thinking like a girl…because I am one…WHO doesn’t like to look at the hot hunk Christian Bale as the buffed bad ass Bruce Wayne aka Batman. In this installment of the Batman movies Bruce Wayne is in a dark place he has just lost everything and he lets Batman take over his life. Even Rachel has been lost to the smooth talking crusader Harvey Dent.

This theme of chaos and destruction is constant throughout the entire movie. Prisoners escape the Joker is wreaking havoc on the city. People are trying to be Batman themselves and getting themselves killed in the process, it’s safe to say that it’s a huge mess in Gotham City. Not only that but Bruce has become kind of self destructive himself, but he has made it so that it affects all those around him. He is the handsome billionaire; troubled, mysterious, player. He purposely runs into Rachel and Harvey when they are out to dinner. Not only that but he shows up with not one but two girls who are rather young and unprofessional (aka promiscuous) they make a scene he flaunts his money. In simpler words he makes a general all around fool of himself instead of impressing anyone and I don’t think he cares.

Despite the tomfoolery and ridiculousness that Wayne presents the emotional relationships and the heightened emotional circumstances within the movie create a mood for a great picture to watch with anyone and just about everyone. It is a bit violent and scary for the young ones.

There are the action packed scenes where Batman is cracking skulls and getting the bad guy. Then there are the emotional ones like when Rachel and Harvey are in trouble and Wayne as Batman has to make the tough choice to save Harvey and not Rachel. He was the moment after that with Alfred when he’s telling him that she was going to wait for him, she was going to be there when it was all done and over with. When he could let Batman go. Alfred takes pity on Wayne and burns the goodbye letter that Rachel wrote to him so that he doesn’t have to be crushed a second time.

Although it is action packed and is about a comic book hero, aka kind of a guy movie, they did a great job of making this movie for a multitude of different movie goers. I thought that it was well made and one of those movies that you just can’t wait for the story and the characters to come back and continue where they left off.

It has a fantastic cast and will stand the trail of time in my book. IMDB gives it a 8.9/10 and I would have to agree and give it a 9/10. Bring on the next Batman Movie!  

#2 TITANIC

This week our subject is Titanic coming in second with a whopping $600,788,188. I know right? You might be asking yourself right now, “How did that happen?” I would have to agree with this statement. Personally I thought that the Titanic movie was sadly over rated. On the other hand there are those that are were incredibly pleased with the movie and thought that the romantic story has the greatest ever.

So let’s go with my negative view of the movie first!

I know I’m a girl I should love the romantic fast beating of the heart romance that is the main story. Ha, you don’t know me very well. I literally hated this movie. I thought that it was over the top dramatic and that they should have paid more attention to the details of the real Titanic story, the sinking of the ship the way that it would have looked. I remember reading somewhere when the movie first came out that some of the set-ups were just way off and not even close to the way that it should have looked, and the captain or officer whatever he was, I don’t remember, killing himself was just ridiculous. For me though it was really just the romantic story I mean this really only appealed to the traditional romanticized woman, and the man that she dragged along with her. I mean sure I guess it would make a good date movie, but get real straight up looking at each person individually it was crap. It barely applied to more then two groups of people; romantics and the whipped dates that go with them. J

However there was the positive side that others see.

A lot of people were originally really excited about this story being told, I mean how cool having a movie made about one of the greatest ship wrecks to ever happen. I mean it was the unsinkable ship and what happens its first voyage it hits an iceberg and sinks. I think with that alone there was an attraction for history buffs that thought that the story of this great ship was going to be told. Then when the movie came out and it was a love story that didn’t even necessarily have all the right facts. But that hype that was created got a lot of people to go see the movie anyway. Really though it was the hardcore romantic story that spiked the most interest in the movie. I know that when all of my friends talk about this movie that they ooh and ah over the hot Leonardo DiCaprio and how he was young cute and still kind of an up and coming actor at the time. Having an attractive cast is just another component of the appeal to try and get viewers to come and see your movie. Although it might make me want to vomit the love story was the key to why this movie made so much money.

They took a tragic moment in history and built upon that. They took the misery and surprise of that accident in history and created a parallel story line to go along with it. At the moment that the boat hits the iceberg they are at the top or their game they cruise is going smoothly nothing wrong and that is when the kiss happens everything is in perfect order and happiness. The ship hits the iceberg and bam everything comes crashing down. They fight then there’s the theft and the accusation and oye! Drama drama drama.

They did a good job of creating an emotional and infatuating story to suck people in. unlike other movies that go for a variety of movie going types they focused really just on one specific group of people and it obviously worked for themJ they came in with that whopping intake which only would be possible if they had done something right. The emotional ploy was complicated and interesting with twists and turns that left you reeling, and the ending with Jack dying and Rose surviving but then the flip back and the older Rose throws the “Heart of the Ocean” into the water and then she goes and dies. She manages to survive this ordeal just to tell her story of the whirlwind romance and finish her own unfinished business, and then it’s done. It ends the story is told it’s out there that is all that matters, she can finally rest in piece. Her heart has been returned to its rightful place to be with Jack forever now.

It was a beautifully directed and made film that moved and great many and had true reverence to the horrible accident that was the sinking of the Titanic, sure I thought that it was a little corny but that’s just me! IMDB gives it a 7.4/10 I personally say 6/10 because of its lack of range. Overall since its release in 1997 its held its own so it deserves it place at second.

#1 AVATAR

This week is movie number one the phenomenon AVATAR!! I had already seen this movie, but this week I decided to re-watch it so that I could give my opinion and report on what it made and whether it is justified at the top of the list with $760,167,650 as it’s lifetime gross since it only came out in 2009. In my opinion…Avatar is awesome and completely justified at the top of the list. It did so well that in the city that I come from it was re-released a SECOND TIME because it was so good. I now have seen it 4 times. I only saw it in the theater once, but the other 3 times I watched it at home with friends and family. It was just one of those movies that each time you watch it you see something new and notice more and more, whether it be about the graphics or the movie itself. From the big screen to the little screen it was amazing all the same.

James Cameron took the movie screen and used it to make a movie that was out of the ordinary and different then anything that has ever really been seen before. There was the physical aspect of the movie with the real people doing their own parts; Sam Worthington playing his part as Jake Sully the paraplegic that takes the place of his brother in the Avatar program, and in the movie Jake get their consciousness transferred into Human/Na’vi hybrids as well as Sam getting digitally transferred into the hybrid in real life. Not only was this done once but with several different characters.

Not only is there the amazing graphical accomplishments, but there is the diversity and plot development itself. There is military force with greedy business fuel that creates the main focus for the movie, but there is also romance and cultural struggle. Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles is working with Parker Selfridge a business man, played by Giovanni Ribisi, to mine this element that they have found on Pandora that fetches quite a load of dough on the market. Because of this their main goal you could say is to destroy this civilization. Now the romance comes in the form of two civilizations clashing. Sigourney Weaver’s character Dr. Grace Augustine brings Jake onto the project because the hybrid that they have was made for his brother, but he died L. Jake is brought into action with the Doc and Trudy Chacon (Michelle Rodriguez) they go out and are there to make contact with the natives. When Jake is separated from the others he survives and runs into Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). This is where the romance springs from.

With these two aspects alone there is a diversity that can appeal to boys, girls, men, women, and families. There is the intensity of action and warfare that appeals to a great deal of the male race, and the sensitivity and complexity of romance and relationship that in most cases appeals to the female race. Not only that, but add in the syfy twist  of the story and the out of the box thinking and you have a movie that appeals to practically all movie-goers. They took an idea and morphed it into something that they could try to develop into something that all people would enjoy and go see. The more people that want to see it and enjoy it the more they will recommend it to their friends and the more times they will go see it. When it comes out on dvd and bluray the more people will go out and buy the movie.

The reason that this movie is top of the list is that they took an idea and made it will rounded. They took a single idea and looked at all the sides to make it appeal to as many as possible. That is the point of movies and entertainment to make something that has substance but that is enjoyable for the viewers. Make it interesting but not so complicated that they viewer looses interest.

I give Avatar an 10/10 and IMDB gives it a 8.3/10. They truly made a movie that I believe will be able to survive time and outlast many others.