The View From The Mountain

Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse (2018) was a fantastic superhero film that just happened to be an animated feature. Starring Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) as Spider-Man, the film dealt with the multi-verse—which is a scientific theory that states there are a multitude of universes out there, each existing on its own plane of reality. This idea isn’t new to comics; I’ve read countless stories about superheroes dealing with denizens from other universes—and it’s also an idea that’s been used often in science fiction, like the In A Mirror Darkly episode of the original Star Trek . Recently, the MCU has used this theory in the last ten or so of its films. Into the Spider-Verse has Morales dealing with several different Spider-Men, and Spider-Women, from alternate Earths—one of whom is Spider-Man Noir, voiced by Nicolas Cage. The Spider (as he’s known in the TV series) is the Spider-Man from a 1930s era New York City. He’s a private eye named Ben Reilly (played on screen by ...

While I’ve always considered myself more of a DC Comics type of guy (with Batman being my all-time favorite), I’ve also been a huge fan of Marvel’s Spider-Man since I first saw him in the cartoon show as a little spud (“Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can….”). And so I’ve also enjoyed the Spider-Man movies produced by Sony: the Tobey MacQuire Spider-Man films, the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man films, and the absolutely fantastic Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which is my favorite Spider-Man film, bar none. But I was never a big fan of the Tom Holland Spider-Man films. I have no problem with Holland himself; he’s a genuinely talented actor who gives it all with what he’s given to work with, but that’s not much. Spider-Man: Homecoming had Peter Parker act like he’s the ward of Tony (Iron Man) Stark, and even after Stark kicks the bucket (and good riddance) in the Avengers films, Peter is still living in his shadow in Far From Home. ...

Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley team up for Chaos Walking , a science fiction film that’s based on the book The Knife of Never Letting Go by author Patrick Ness. Ridley plays Viola, an astronaut who crash-lands on an alien planet that’s already been colonized by a first wave of settlers from Earth. The only problem is, she winds up in a settlement that consists only of men, with the women having vanished years before. And all of the men have a strange affliction where their thoughts can literally be seen and heard in the air around their heads. Holland plays Todd, the youngest member of the colony who comes to Viola’s aid--although it becomes an equal partnership as Viola and Todd fight to survive in a world gone mad! Chaos Walking was directed by Doug Liman, who’s done some pretty good films in the past (Edge of Tomorrow, Go), and it runs with its interesting premise of how all of the males’ thoughts on this planet are an open book (women’s thoughts remain ...

What's up, danger? One of my favorite movies in recent years is Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse . I had a Spider-Man metal figure in 1/32 scale from Andrea Models. A re-watch of Into The Spider-Verse inspired me to create my own Spider-Man Diorama. While I was deep into this diorama, I realized that Spider-Man looked lonely. So I made him a playmate: The Lizard. Spidey's worst nightmare is made from a blank 1/32 figure that had the head and tail from the Tamiya raptor set. I used Apoxie Putty for his clothes and feet. I was a little worried about the Lizard when I put him together, but after painting him, I was pleased with how he looked. The brickwork on the building is also from Tamiya. It's their 'brick wall set.' The roof, back wall and trimming were made from sheet styrene. The Andrea Spider-Man has a nice, dynamic pose. I figured Spidey is leaving this bad situation with the Lizard because he wants to draw the Lizard away from a populated area befo...

Note, this review has spoilers. The Russo Brothers are probably the best things to happen to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These sibling directors did an outstanding job turning Captain America: The Winter Soldier into a gripping action film that was genuinely exciting. They worked their same magic on the sequel, CA: Civil War , turning what could have been a mish-mash of superhero cameos into another enthralling thriller. When I heard that they were directing the final two Avengers films, I felt confident that the future of the Avengers saga was in good hands. And when I saw Avengers: Infinity War , I was not let down. After teasing us with a glimpse of Thanos at the end of the first Avengers film (as well as at the end of the second Avengers movie) we get a full blast of the legendary Marvel Comics villain, who was created by writer/artist Jim Starlin, here in Infinity War . No longer content with letting others do his bidding, Thanos goes on a personal crusade to collect the ...

This weekend, Netflix debuts Marvel's The Defender s, which unites the heroes from the superhero series Daredevil , Jessica Jones , Luke Cage , and Iron Fist into one action-packed adventure. I've already seen The Defenders and it's immensely enjoyable and comes highly recommended. In honor of the Defenders debut, here's a list of my top ten superhero films (subject to change if or when new superhero movies come out, or if I change my mind--which is often). Let's start the countdown. 10: Ant Man -- Paul Rudd as a superhero? Oh yes, please. More of a comedic heist flick than a straight up superhero film, Ant Man is a great deal of fun. And any superhero movie that’s got the divine Evangeline Lilly in its cast can’t be all bad. 9: Iron Man -- the film that launched the present cinematic Marvel superhero universe still stands as a great flick in its own right. Superhero tropes are challenged here while Robert Downey Jr.’s considerable charm is allowed to run ...

Spider-Man: Homecoming is the sixth Spider-Man film in less than twenty years, starring the third actor (Tom Holland) to play the superhero. Thanks to a new deal between Marvel and Sony (the studio that owns the cinematic rights to the Web Spinner) Spider-Man can now appear in such super fantabulous movies like Captain America: Civil War , and the upcoming Avengers sequels, Avengers 3: Where Are Those Infinity Stones, Already? and Avengers 4: Get The Hell Off My Lawn. While I admit that I was getting to the point of being Spider-Manned out, I have to say that I really liked Tom Holland’s introduction as the Wall Crawler in CA: Civil War . The original Spider-Man, created in the comics by artist Steve Ditko and writer Stan Lee, was just a high school kid who was struggling to balance being a superhero and getting his homework done on time. Tom Holland perfectly imbued his Peter Parker/Spider-Man with that same youthful vigor--being all ‘golly gee-whiz’ at the fact that he was helpin...