This weekend is traditionally the launch of the summer movie season and with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opening, the tradition continues.
Already grossing $132 million overseas, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 looks to be yet another successful blockbuster for the Marvel comic book character and, like the second instalment of the first series of Spider-Man movies, it looks to be better than the first.
Andrew Garfield returns as the web-slinger, as well as Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey, Sally Field as Aunt May and introducing Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn.
Villains include Jamie Foxx as Electro and Paul Giamatti as Rhino.
The story continues the struggle Peter Parker has with being Spider-Man—the joys of having super powers and getting the girl of his dreams and the responsibility of protecting those he loves and the entire city of New York.
And if you are looking for a tie-in with the rest of the Marvel cinematic universe, it will likely not happen as Sony/Columbia Pictures has the movie rights to Spider-Man, and Marvel Studios (owned by Disney) has the movie rights to The Avengers characters. However, Sony is now seriously considering movies based on other Spider-Man characters including Venom and The Sinister Six (of which Electro was a member in the comics).
And here is a little spoiler: Even though 20th Century Fox has the rights to X-Men, the now-expected scene at the end of the credits is actually a teaser for X-Men: Days of Future Past.
And since Fox also has the rights to The Fantastic Four (which is being rebooted next year), I would expect to see a crossover between them and X-Men in the future.
You almost need super-human mental abilities to keep track of it all (or as my wife calls it: A head full of useless movie information).
•••
This weekend could also see the start of a new tradition—Morning Cinema at Landmark Cinemas Grand 10 and Landmark Cinemas 8 Xtreme. For early risers it will be a great opportunity to see some of the biggest movies starting at or after 10 a.m. (up until noon) for discount prices. Morning Cinema will be at the Grand 10 on both Saturday and Sunday and Saturday only at Xtreme, West Kelowna (because Westmount Church has their services on Sunday mornings).
Check www.landmarkcinemas.com for more details.
