'The Amazing Spider-Man' Really is Amazing

Today I went with a friend to see the new Marc Webb reboot of the Spider-Man series - The Amazing Spider-Man. Currently falling short of the first film in the previous series, Spider-Man (earned $821,708,551 in box office total), The Amazing Spider-Man sits on $341,600,000 as of 8th July, setting a new record for a Tuesday opening previously held by Transformers (2007).

While reviews swing back and forth on preferences between the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man films vs Andrew Garfield in the new adaption of The Amazing Spider-Man, I and all for the new adaption in more ways than one.  

I'll try to keep it as spoiler-free as possible!

The biggest criticism that The Amazing Spider-Man seems to be receiving is repetition of plot. Now, I can see where reviewers are coming from, but I also ask the question - what did you expect? Of course the reboot of a series is going to start again with the origins of the superhero - this includes being bitten by the spider (duh) and Uncle Ben still needs to die (no matter how much we love Martin Sheen). I do think Marvel and Marc Webb have completely aced it this time around. The story is much closer to the original comics (aside from Gwen knowing who Spider-Man is early on), we have insight to Spider-Man's parents and the mystery surrounding their disappearance and just how it affected Peter Parker - plus it's modernized: Peter has to deal with bullying (on both ends) and lets face it - he's freaking good looking.

Andrew Garfield's performance as Spider-Man is charismatic, funny and believable. And he lets Peter Parker's intelligence shine through, something we only saw snippets of in the previous series. Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey is completely exhilerating. There were moments I wished I was the one taking her out, completely mesmerized by her smile, eyes and voice. Combined, the chemistry is undeniable, with Andrew admitting in interviews the hardest part of filming was the romance scenes with Stone, as she was in his words: terrifying. It's easy to see how the two became a couple in real life.

 
 
 Garfield put his heart and soul into this movie, and you can see it on screen. Skateboarding was added into the script due to Garfield's input, and a whole scene involving a carjacking and Spider-Man taunting was included as Garfield remembered as a kid how important the humour and wit was of the original comics. "That was a fun night, because it was all improvised and free. There was nothing scripted about that. That was awesome." To me, that was the biggest problem with the old series of Spider-Man movies - it took itself way too seriously. And by the time they really got a feel of Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man in the 3rd movie - the maze of story lines just created a headache for viewers rather than an enjoyable experience.

Instead of being just another superhero movie, The Amazing Spider-Man is a film that deals with acceptance of change, of being lost and found and overcoming struggles in the face of adversity. As Uncle Ben says, "with great power comes great responsibility", and this film embodies this entirely. 
I can honestly say there was no point I was bored (like other Marvel movies that have been released the past few years), and I even shed a tear or two. Again, Garfield and Stone were absolute perfect casting!

A great movie for all ages, 2012 really seems to be the year of the Superheros!

Ace of Hearts Accessories Stitching Up Beginnings

Ace of Hearts Accessories humble owner and bow maker, Cailey, describes her online store as a "place to find adorable handmade hair bows and earrings of characters, because it makes me happy". Arguably, there isn't a better reason to start any thing in this life!

A brief selection of the types of bows Cailey currently has in stock at Ace of Hearts Accessories.

Cailey, 23, lives in Sydney with her partner and their collection of comic books. When I asked her to describe herself, the inner ramblings of a truly modest woman responded with "cats" and "Disney". While she may not be sure how exactly to summarise herself, what she knows for sure is that she is happy.


It all began when on a whim months back Cailey bought a sewing machine after buying many products bought from retailers like Diva, Equip and other online stores only to have witness them "fall apart in my hands after only one wear". She thought to herself, "I can do a better job," and before she knew it, she was selling handmade bows all around the world.


"I was gob smacked," says Cailey, "I couldn't believe the ridiculous mark-up on especially flower-stud earrings in Australia and after some research just decided to do it myself".

One of many of Cailey's superhero bows, this one featuring
Spiderman and Captain America.

While she had trouble at first getting the hang of it, making bows was almost therapeutic for her. She explains, "I wanted to create something, to be productive...Once I started doing it, I just wanted to keep doing the activity." Having been diagnosed with social phobia when she was 18, Cailey has found bow making her own creative outlet, and says the most important thing to stay in control is to "just be occupied".


A lot of the things she stocks in her store are simply things she wanted for herself, so bought the materials and made them (plus a few dozen extras, just in case there were like-minded people somewhere in the world). And she believes honesty and trust is key - posting pictures of the packs of all her bows so you can see the stitching, whether she used a hot glue gun, or what type of pin the bow is attached to, to ensure you see EXACTLY what you are buying.


Her real fun comes in sourcing fabrics and following the trends - if you look at her page now, you'll notice a collection of Superhero bows, completely fitting for all the superhero action films being released this year. She stocks all types of pop-culture related accessories, from Marvel to My Little Pony and is hoping to incorporate her customers further in the future with taking requests.

And it's not all just a hobby to her. Cailey has recently listed some adorable hair pins with rainbow hearts (pictured above) at $3.00 a pair, with all proceeds being donated to Australian Marriage Equality to support LGBTI marriage rights here in Australia.


Sarah (pictured left with the Rose hair bow), her cousin and model, volunteers her time to help Cailey with the endeavour, and since she's stepped on board Cailey's page views have grown thanks to a different way to display the bows, and her magic smile.


Even though she is on her journey to fullfil her dream of becoming a florist (weddings in particular), it's a long journey that will take plenty of time. Cailey is happy moving one step forward and hopes to expand her small business even further. At the moment she is in the process of mastering bow ties, although they are a lot trickier and require more fabric, however the concept of Thor and Spiderman bow ties is no doubt something that will be in hot demand!


As a returning customer of Ace of Hearts Accessories, it is no doubt that they are good quality, value for money and most importantly, made with love. What more do you need? Go and buy one already! ;)




 Her online store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AceOfHeartsAU
 Her blog: http://aceofheartsaccessories.com/

Being Completely Oblivous

One of the promotional photos taken for Lara Bingle's new show.

If you missed Channel Ten's first episode of their highly publicised new series, "Being Lara Bingle", GOOD! 


The show was an attempt at making an Australian "Keeping up with the Kardashians" and a complete failure at that. While I mean nothing harsh to Lara Bingle personally, the show has left her portrayed as nothing but a completely spoiled ditz. From driving without a license to walking around in her bedroom in the nude with blinds open, Bingle's absolute common sense mistake's have become trivialised to the point where she is completely un-phased from breaking the law, but in her defence it's probably too hard for her to comprehend. I mean, I know 6 year olds that aren't that oblivious!


However, my description really does not do the episode justice. At all. Other misadventures we are witness to the frustration of moving from a perfectly decent apartment, to an even more lavish one living with her brother and best friend. But the real punchline - it's all in an attempt for us to relate to Lara Bingle as just another Aussie girl.


You might ask yourself, why do they even bother?! 


Well, the peak of over 1 million viewers would be why. (But lets not mention that the ratings soon halved that number before the show was over)


But the Twitterverse united in making there opinion known of Ten's new "hit":

And, my personal favourite, lets make the best of a bad situation...

I'm closing the book on this one, and I think I'm not the only one. Lara Bingle is just another superficial, spoilt and immature girl who does not need her own reality television series to further add to her empty fame from her vacant, good looks. While she does seem like a fun girlfriend to have on your nights out (aside from the fact she would no doubt constantly be the attention seeker she came off as on the show), she is definitely not the type of person I would want to subject my kids to as a roll model. Unless of course you're the type of parent that's into "Toddlers in Tiara's", in that case - go right ahead (or seek professional help, you're choice).

'Battleship' sinking

What do a chicken burrito and a soccer game have in common?
They both had absolutely no purpose in the film.


Hasbro, You really did sink it.
You managed to turn a much loved children's board game into a multi-million dollar colossal waste of my time. While I was accompanied by some who enjoyed the film, I found it 2 hours of plot holes, unnecessary scenes an ridiculous sound effects. Yes, Transformers earned Michael Bay a lot of money - but how about for next films, Peter Berg (that use almost the identical story premise), you use actually some different sound tracks and special effects. Even the cinematography and computerized graphics I should have been impressed with only left me thinking "seen that, what's new?".
As for the direct and memorable movie quotes that were stolen - only Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher can get away with saying "I've got a bad feeling about this".

Scenes in Battleship (above) bore striking resemblence to special effects used in Transformers films (below)

And where did Rihanna come from by the way? Her acting is almost as brilliant as her voice without auto-tune. If you missed the sarcasm, she was terrible. The few actors that could have potentially saved the film from a complete dud to something semi-entertaining (Liam Neeson and Alexander Skarsgård) were in it nowhere near enough and Taylor Kitsch only showed us what we already learnt from John Carter: he has worse acting skills than my brother's old cat.

The only think Rihanna made me believe, was that she
was in fact terrible at being believable.

And if you are still interested in watching the train wreck of a film (you will regret it), do not see it with the tiniest inkling of a headache. The constant screeches of robotic (for some reason when it was supposed to be alien...just one of many flaws) sounds and more flashing lights than a Skrillex concert will leave you physically covering your eyes and ears on the verge of walking out of the cinemas. I wouldn't even take my younger male cousins to see this as a typical fast-paced explosion type movie - it honestly was that bad.

'The Raid' Rampage

The story is exactly as the name suggests: about a raid. A raid on one of the biggest drug lords of Jakarta. Like any good action story, there is always more to it then meets the eye. I will avoid spoilers, as I strongly urge everyone to see this film. 

Deep in Jakarta slums, an apartment building stands as a safe house for some of the cities worst murders, criminals and gangsters. The notorious crime lord who runs the building, Tama Riyandi, is considered untouchable - even by the police. The story focuses on the perspective of rookie officer Rama (Iko Uwais) and the 20 man SWAT team sent in with 1 mission - to take Riyandi down. Of course, Ruyandi is aware of their presence and announces anyone who helps to kill the SWAT team will become a "Permanent resident. Rent free". And so it begins...


While you may have the ability to guess some of what is coming around the corner, you’ll get flanked by what creeps behind you around another. Let’s just say, it’s not a classic “good guys vs. bad guys” film. Add in some commentary on corruption in Jakarta, and and you've got a well constructed bloody massacre of extremely talented martial artists.

Iko Uwais (left) in action

As foreign films go, you don’t even realise this is one. The fast paced story makes for one with little dialogue and incredibly acting portraying a story through incredibly emotional expressions. The choreography is almost like ballet, each punch and kick completely mastered and you can only think that you do NOT want to get on the bad side of either team. You become enchanted with the movements and the creation of truly unique deaths on screen that the whole cinema is cringing in their seats.


You'll go home enchanted and terrified at the same time, and a part of you will always want to keep an axe handy, just in case. 

A wonderful simple yet highly visual story well deserving of 4/5 stars.