The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, and Rhys Ifans
Directed by: Marc Webb
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Grade: A++

As much as I love the original Spider-Man movies (with the exception of the third one we shall not mention), this one easily tops them. I was also skeptical about the casting choice of Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. As much as I loved him in The Social Network and Never Let Me Go, I just wasn't sure that he could handle a leading action role. Boy, did he prove me wrong! He was great in the soft moments as well as the moments of action. His chemistry with Emma Stone is one of the best I have seen in a long time and it makes sense that they are dating in real life. In this reboot, Peter Parker (Garfield) has a difficult life, being relentlessly bullied and going unnoticed for much of his high school life. He has lived with his Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field) after his parents disappeared. He is led to the mysterious Dr. Curtis Connors (Ifans) by information from his even more mysterious father (Campbell Scott), who supposedly died in a plane crash when Peter was little. While at Dr. Connors workplace (OsCorp, which is owned by Norman Osbourne, AKA the Green Goblin in the comic books and original movies), he sees that Dr. Connors' intern is Gwen Stacy (Stone), whom Peter is in love with and who reciprocates these feelings. When Peter gives him an equation, Dr. Connors is finally able to fix his formula for a drug that eliminates human weakness. But, when he is forced to start human trials early and decides to test the drug on himself, he turns into the Lizard, a vengeful reptilian being who is out to turn the world into lizard beings just like him. It was a great reboot and, after the very vague scene during the credits, I can't wait for the next film.  

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)
Starring: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Julianne Moore
Directed by: Glenn Ficara and John Requa
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Grade: A+

I didn't know about this movie when we started it. But it ended up being hilarious! Steve Carell is always awesome, as is Ryan Gosling. I rarely like Julianne Moore in movies but I actually really liked her in this one. And, of course, as is the case with any movie she's in, the shining light is Emma Stone. Cal Weaver (Carell) is shocked when his wife Emily (Moore) announces that she wants to get divorced because she didn't think they were in love anymore. She also announces that she had an affair with David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon). Instead of fighting for her, Cal just gives up, moves into another apartment, and starts going to a bar every night, leaving their kids (Jonah Bobo and Joey King) confused. Jacob Palmer (Gosling) has what every guy would consider a great life, a lady's man always "scoring". But, while at the same bar ever night, he starts to notice Cal and thinks he's a sad loser who just needs a little help. After taking Cal shopping, Jacob starts to help him talk to women. Meanwhile, Hannah (Stone) gets rejected by her yuppie boyfriend Richard (Josh Groban), she goes to the bar, meeting up with Jacob and taking advantage of his willingness to do anything for a woman. Overall an adorable movie. Great performances by all of the cast and even a little surprising at parts.

Easy A

Easy A (2010)
Starring: Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, and Amanda Bynes
Directed by: Will Gluck
Tagline: Let's not and say we did.
Grade: A+

This movie really surprised me. I had never seen Emma Stone before this (I saw this before Zombieland) and she is awesome. The movie sounds kind of slutty (and it kind of is) even though she doesn't actually do anything. Olive (Stone) is a girl with a really good reputation. To avoid further abuse from her best friend (Alyson Michalka), she tells her that she "did it" with a mysterious guy (who isn't real). She and her friend's conversation is overheard by the most popular girl in school (Bynes) and Olive is quickly branded as a slut. She then decides that her life kind of parallels the novel The Scarlet Letter, so she decides to sew a letter A on her shirts and start helping nerdy guys by letting them lie about doing it with her. But, she eventually learns that being popular for being sleazy is not the same as being popular.

Zombieland

Zombieland (2009)
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Tagline: Survival Rule #4: Don't be a hero.
Grade: A++

This movie is amazing...gross, but amazing. The world has been taken over by zombies. Columbus (Eisenberg) is searching for his family, who are from, hence the name, Columbus, Ohio. He is a shy and inexperienced college student who has only survived the zombie apocalypse by following his many rules, such as always look in the back seat, double tap (shoot the zombie twice), and avoid public restrooms. He meets up with Tallahassee, a "good-old boy" from Florida, who loves to hunt zombies. After a while of traveling on their own, they find con artist sisters Wichita and Little Rock. They join together to get to Pacific Playland, the place they believe to be the last place in the country that was zombie-free. They go to a lot of interesting places along the way, including the mansion of a famous actor...