The Daily Planet Review Section

QUICKIES

The Amazing Spider-Man - An enjoyable movie, moreso than Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man movie. However, it is not without its flaws. There are an awful lot of plot contrivances that propel the movie. Add to that the villain is one dimensional and his ultimate plan leaves you scratching your head in bewilderment. It being a Marc Webb movie it is not surprising that the strongest part of the this movie is in the relationships -- mainly the relationships between Peter and Gwen/Uncle Ben. The cast is a mixed bag, with Sheen stealing the film for the brief period he is in it. An enjoyable first outing in this new cycle of the Spider-Man franchise. I look forward to seeing where the sequel takes us. Final Rating: 3/5

Batman: Year One - A wonderful adaptation of the best Batman story ever told. The voice cast is almost perfect (Alfred being poorest voice acting) with McKenzie, at times, sounding like a younger Kevin Conroy. The animation perfectly captures the look and feel of Mazzucchelli's art. It makes you wish someone will come along and make the live action version. Final Rating: 5/5

Watchmen - It takes balls to adapt the greatest comic book of all time. A book so layered that you find more and more with every reading. Snyder does his best in trying to be faithful to the comic and to create a film narrative. Unfortunately he does not fully succeed. The opening credit sequence is one of the best ever committed to celluloid, Billy Cudrup's softly spoken Dr Manhattan captures the character in a way that seems completely in step with his comic counterpart and the ending, though controverisally changed from the comic, does make sense in this setting. The true star of the show, however, is Haley's Rorschach. Final Rating: 2.5/5

Young Frankenstein - Young Frankenstein rides the fine line between homage and parody. A fantastic cast, Marty Feldman stealing the movie every time he is on screen, with a sparkingly funny script. This was Mel Brooks at the height of his power. One of, if not the, funniest movie ever made. Final Rating: 5/5

Sex and the City - It is the complete pointlessness of this film that really galls. The narrative starts and ends in pretty much the same place with every inbetween vacuous, unfunny, self-indulgent and borderline racist. An overlong and unfunny movie filled with totally unlikable characters. The true highlight of the movie being the credits beginning to roll. Truly an awful piece of cinema. Final Rating: 0/5