As a person who in my early childhood I did not like confined spaces, it stems from an incident being trapped alone in an elevator for a period of time. The irony of having that fear was some of the greatest stories I grew up reading and admiring were Vernes' adventures that the heroes traverse through tight knit spaces to explore wonderous lands.
Jules Verne was a French novelist, born in Nantes, France, Feb. 8, 1828. Educated in law, he gave it up to write unsuccessfully for the stage. In 1862, however, he wrote "Five Weeks in a Balloon", which initiated a new and enormously popular type of fiction. Basing his romantic adventure stories on possible scientific invention. Verne succeeded in fascinating and startling his audience , and made many predictions which have since come true. His books owed their popularity to their peculiar combination of fantastic detail and plausible scientific explanation, Among the best known of them translated into English were
A Sony Pictures reboot starring Andrew Garfield in the title role. Focusing on Peter Parker in his high school years and his first love interest Gwen Stacey. The film holds true to many aspects of the comic book, Revisiting the hero's origins, introducing older characters such as Captain Stacey, and revealing the fate of Peter's first love.
Most importantly the film and its sequel explores Richard Parker, and how Peter's parents influenced who he would become beyond his aunt and uncle.
The specter or mystery of why his parents left him that dark and stormy night had plagued Peter all his life, the film explores and shines a light on that untapped history. It gives a compelling and independent sub-story in both Amazing Spiderman movies. The parental history mirrors Richard Donner's Original Superman concept on how Jo-El being able to be there in guiding his son once he becomes of age in the aftermath of his own demise. To have his son become the hero he is destined to be. Both sets of parents met a fiery explosive ending and both left messages and a video representation of themselves that their son's were able to watch and learn from, carrying with it the secrets of where their powers come from and how they are different. The movie of father's and their children holds true in the both movies, with Gwen and her father, Peter and his adoptive parent Uncle Ben, and to some extent in Richard Parker's former partner Dr. Connors who Peter strikes a bond with in the field of study.
Peter is nearing the end of his High School years and is coming of age, Uncle Ben and Aunt May are pillars of support to guide him. Like the Kent's, Ka-El's adoptive earth parents, they shape and provide a grounded and supportive foundation for our hero, before he ventures forward .
Denis Leary plays Captain Stacey, a role he took on with great honor and pride in representing a fallen hero in the line of duty. The tone of tragedy and how the hero never forgets, is in many respects the thesis of Spiderman and what makes him different from most superhero archetypes, it always comes down to the basics of he rarely wins in his personal life, cursed with personal tragedy he finds a way to overcome his adversary to keep his neighborhood safe, but having experienced those losses is what shapes him, and keeps him grounded.
In the Amazing Spiderman 2, Peter is haunted by Captain Stacey's dying words, compounding the heavy choices he makes with love interest Gwen Stacey. Who as written in the comics - fulfills a dark destiny of her own. The film concludes on Gwen's climatic ending, However, finding cathartic resolution would take ten long years and a dark cloud haunting The Amazing Spiderman . The long awaited resolution brought on a full admission of guilt and loss followed by a redemption arc found only in Spiderman No Way Home; that provides a full and robust concluding trilogy to the Amazing Spiderman's story. The paradigm shift is the line given repeatedly over 20 years of Spiderman "With great power comes great responsibility", This re-telling of a singularity that is a cog for the 5 Sony Spiderman movies, Into the Spider-verse, and No Way Home.
The Amazing Spiderman 2 gave us a scope of loss then decided to end on a more somber note like the conclusion of The Empire's Strikes Back. We as a collective audience were begrudgingly given time for our hero to make his legendary return and close with a satisfactory third film. That was unfortunately not provided in the final act of Spiderman 2, The 2014 sequel only provided that specter of unfulfilled aftermath. With the hero out of high school, alone in the world, and conflicted. The Rosetta stone or North star to guide our hero back would be a commencement speech, written in truth by actress Emma Stone who drafted the speech herself as she did not become a valedictorian in her own life,
Thunder Force was filmed in Atlanta, and shot over a course of
three months, it concluded it's principle photography by the end of 2019. Making
it one of the last few movies unhindered by the pandemic. Thunder Force marks
the sixth collaborative effort between Writer/Director Ben Falcone and his wife
Melissa McCarthy.With what feels like a
fixed budget and possibly time constraints the movie has only a few set pieces.
However, within those pieces we are given stellar art direction, and an
adequate amount of special effects to tell its story which was a derivative of being
superhero movie with an origins story.
Married for 17 years, the duo have been in a relationship
for nearly 21 years, Ben and Melissa met working with the ‘groundlings’ an
improvisational and sketch comedy troupe.Falcone who self references himself as an actor and producer, has made a
few cameo appearances in some of McCarthy’s films.(The Heat, Spy, Identity Thief, Happytime
Murders, and Bridesmaids)
Ben Falcone, now an established
author had cut his teeth creatively being a writer and music composer for Looney
tunes, he will be releasing a limited series titled ‘God’s Favorite Idiot’
sometime in 2022.It is also to note
that Falcone who began as actor has kept largely producing in the genre of, comedy
or light hearted projects.He has written,
directed, or produced six projects that McCarthy has starred in, all of which were
the ones that critics have panned the most on, when reflecting upon Melissa
McCarthy complete body of work.The
first project was Tammy (2014)a script
they worked ontogether with the initial
intent of being an indie film, they sold it as a script first, largely in part
of Melissa clout and knowing producers to read and give it a chance.The script was designed to showcase Melissa’s
range and skill set outside of the fast talking and cute best friend characters
that she developed in television with Gilmour Girls and Samantha Who?.
As a married couple that collaborates in both writing and
developing, the duo takes large swings in the comedy by tying in equal amalgams
of drama and edgy tension, albeit tension catering to a broader form of comedy.
The latest project was the Netflix exclusive ‘Thunder Force’,
an original intellectual property that really parodies the superhero
genre.With the help of acclaimed
actress Octavia Spencer, the film begins on childhood, establishing the bond
and complexities of the heroes.As it
carries over and connects them to the present and their relationship moving
forward as the city’s protectors.
The film keeps the raunchy, physical comedy that has made
Melissa McCarthy a household name, and not since Life of the Party, has a
defined love interest for her character.As the star, Melissa McCarthy takes a commanding role and spotlights the
leading woman in the romantic relationship as well as anchoring the pace and
tone of the overall film.Ben &
Melissa had Just completed filming the movie Super Intelligence four months
prior , when they re-cast Bobby Cannavale who was her leading man /love interest in that
film.With the chemistry and ease of
working together; They had Bobby play the antagonist know as ‘The King’ and
really kept a character at odds with her character, and once again took big
swings in both broad comedy and its physicality of superheroes battling for the city.
