The film is bloated, it’s busy, it showcases numerous failures at human communication, and doesn’t hit some points it needs to. And yet, Spider-Man 3 screenwriter Alvin Sargent managed to weave together the many plotlines thrust on him to make a script with a message – although not necessarily the one director Sam Raimi had in mind. Tim and Mulele examine Raimi’s final Spider-Man film. (Originally published on Patreon May 23, 2020.)
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To this day, Spider-man 2 is considered one of the best superhero movies. How does it stand up to Tim’s first viewing, after watching all the MCU movies that came after? What does Mulele notice about the look of the film that’s a little annoying? How is Spider-fan Tim feeling about the portrayal of Peter Parker in these movies? These points and more! (Originally published on Patreon April 25, 2020.)
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Tim and Mulele begin reviewing the Sony (pre-MCU) Spider-man movies with a look at 2002’s Spider-man, directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire. After watching all the MCU movies, how does this film feel different? How was it affected by 9/11? And more. (Originally published on Patreon April 11, 2020)
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We conclude our look at 2015’s Fant4stic, directed by Josh Trank. Trank’s behavior on the set (and on Twitter) have been nothing but bad for his career, and studio meddling was nothing but bad for a film that wasn’t a good take on the FF, but might have at least been a better film if Trank had been left alone. As it was, we’re left with yet another FF movie that’s short on explanations of Dr. Doom’s objectives.
Videos drawn on for this episode:
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Should a director re-interpret a property when nobody wanted it re-interpreted? 2015’s Fant4stic, directed by Josh Trank, turns getting superpowers into an exercise in body horror. Much of its inspiration comes from Bendis and Millar’s very straightfaced Ultimate Fantastic Four comics, Trank threw in a liberal helping of The Fly and Scanners. Tim, Kumar, and Jordan (in another crossover with the Comic Book Movie Oblivion podcast) look at the first appearance of the Negative Zone in Fantastic Four #51 by Lee and Kirby, and at Ultimate Fantastic Four v. 1, before beginning a look at the film itself.
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FLASHBACK! Eileen Gray: A House Under the Sun is a slim graphic novel by Charlotte Malterre-Barthes and Zosia Dzierzawska, about the titular famous Irish architect that most people have never heard of. Kumar and Emmet found it beautiful and intriguing; here’s their review. (Originally published August 28, 2019.) This episode includes a new intro from Emmet, referring to the recent film about Gray.
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This week we look at the movie that was based on the “Galactus Trilogy” of Fantastic Four #48-50, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. How does it stand up against the comics, and against the 2005 film? How do we feel about Galactus being a cloud of smoke? Does Doom finally have a real plan in this one? Once again, Tim is joined by Kumar and Jordan of the Comic Book Movie Oblivion podcast to dig into this film, as we count down to the upcoming MCU debut of the FF.
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One of the most famous Fantastic Four stories is the “Galactus Trilogy” from Fantastic Four 48-50 in 1966. This story has been adopted more than once, including in the 1990s FF cartoon, and in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Leading into our discussion of that movie next week, this week Tim, Kumar, and Jordan, in another crossover with the Comic Book Movie Oblivion podcast, look at the original comics story. While it’s been quite lauded, and very influential, why can it also be considered flawed?
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While the 2005 film Fantastic Four gives us, debatably, a well-casted group of heroes, with plenty of comics-accurate details, the script does no favors to Dr. Doom. What are his goals, other than “taking everything back” from Reed? Why is he a CEO instead of a despot? Who the heck gives a frightening metal mask as a thank-you gift?? This time, Tim, Kumar, and Jordan (in a crossover with the Comic Book Movie Oblivion podcast) conclude their look at this film, and cap it off with a review of its endless development process.
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After the fiasco of the 1994 unreleased Fantastic Four movie, development proceeded on a big-budget FF film, which finally hit theaters in 2005 — a better film than the ’94 attempt in some ways, but frustratingly as bad or worse in others. This week, in another crossover with the Comic Book Movie Oblivion podcast, Tim is joined by Kumar and Jordan to begin a two-part look at this film (as well as a few 1980s FF comics).
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