Pondering: Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Its Multiple Parts

PSX has come and gone and while it wasn't exactly filled with as many announcements people thought it wouldve been, there were still fun things to see. The biggest thing of all, for me, was the new Final Fantasy 7 Remake gameplay trailer. Everything looks really great and it felt Square Enix was really giving us the game everyone has been pleading for. However, not so fast, the next night, Square announced that the game will be broken into multiple parts. The internets reacted like it always does...

Avengers: Age of Ultron Review

AVENGERS 2 REVIEW!!!

You should know by now I love the MCU movies; comic book movies in general, actually. So, I went to see AoU the day it came out, the first big movie that I haven't gone to a midnight release in a long time. I have to be honest, I might never go see a movie on a midnight release or at night in general, ever again. I went to see it at 3 PM and it was AMAZING. There were three people in the auditorium, other than my girlfriend and I. You know what that means? No one was near us, no one talked, no CRYING BABIES, no one on their phones....and if they were on their phones, I couldnt care because I couldnt hear them. Everyone that wanted to see it was ACTUALLY there, so no one was just there because they couldn't find shit to do. I loved it. Moving on, I have to write something ACTUALLY interesting after my horrible(not so bad but still not so good so on the internet that makes it rated horrible)mock draft, which was rushed, got like 10 views, since I didnt share it anywhere. I wouldnt like to say I need to stick to reviews but they are definitely my strong suit at the moment. So, while I work on improving my skills on other things, I'll continue to keep pushing out the stuff that everyone loves. 

Before I start, I wanted to mention something, I got yelled at by some random reader in a former article, that I spoil too much in my reviews and that I should either mention that there are spoilers in my review or try to leave them out altogether. See, this is because people dont think, "hey....here's a guy who has seen/read/listened to something that I havent and about to write his thoughts on it and explain why he feels that way....perhaps I should hold back on reading this until I have also seen/read/listened to it as well."

Nah....not in the age of immediacy that we're in now. Though, I cant hate, I do want more readers and I do want it to be easy for readers to come and read a review without having to worry about me ending the world for them. So, in respect to all of those people, I have decided that I will no longer....

Kendrick Lamar To Pimp A Butterfly Album Review

So....I apologize that I've been gone for so long but see I had a lot of stuff going on in my life; trials and tribulations, you could say. But....ya'll dont want to hear about any of that crap, huh? I understand that. I feel you. Im not mad at you, either. I've been looking for ways to get back into writing again and keep it interesting. However, I just couldn't find that great topic or review that would generate that much interest from my readers ALONG with myself. Then this here little album came along...

Eagles Season Review and Thoughts on Future

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN THIS ARTICLE!!!!!

So yeah, just be ready. Generally, I'd just like to give brief thoughts on the season and then some more on what they need to do this season(possibly some wishes and dreams will be spoken as well. WHICH MEANS ME MOST LIKELY TALKING ABOUT TRADING UP FOR MARCUS MARIOTA!!! YAYYYY!!!!

How the people tired of hearing about MM look now

So as always, Im gonna get started; after I thank you for reading this! Thank you.

Logic Under Pressure Album Review

The Best Debut Album Since "good kid, m.A.A.d. City"

 

Out of my past three reviews, this is the one I couldn't wait to do. After his Young Sinatra mixtapes, Under Pressure has climbed up a lot of rap fans most anticipated albums. He employs great lyricism and the ability to tell great stories with every song and every bar. He has shown the ability to make great music. I would do my typical DBZ narrator "will this continue? Find out blah blah blah" stuff but I'm pretty sure that the heading gave the answer away. This is my fifth time listening to the album as I'm writing this review and I'll listen to it a few more times while writing. 

To be honest, Under Pressure just plays so smoothly and you can just let it play through and go about your daily activities; of course you're better off listening to every word closely, to truly appreciate its meaning and the part it has in his story. It's taken me this long to write this album because of the fact I get caught up in just listening to it; seeing if I notice something I haven't the previous listen.

I haven't heard someone mix everything so well since the best rappers to ever do it. Yet, without further ado let's finally get into it...

1. Intro

A tale of what inspired the name of the album, how Logic got to where he is now, how he felt beforehand and his thoughts on life as a whole. This also starts the sequence of skits, starring an automated voice, Thalia to give the album the feel of a tour into his life. Great start. 

2. Soul Food

 

In Dreams and Nightmares, Meek Mill starts off slow and smooth; halfway through the beat changes and Meek Mill goes harder, becoming very loved by many fans. Logic does something similar with Soul Food but instead of speaking louder(almost hollering), Logic just comes with harder bars and increased lyricism. There are many topics covered in both verses. Sort of a rehash of the first song, Logic covers growing up in Maryland and his family, loss, so on and so forth. The second verse is covering how he got here now and will not slow down. Also, leaving messages to everyone, fans, haters and fellow rappers. Loved it. 

3. Im Gone

Logic talks about how he is above others because he has graduated to a higher standard in rapping. Everyone is still rapping about the same stuff and he's already surpassed the simple rapping part of his life, which is a common topic in the album. After mentioning how he has surpassed those types of rappers, he raps about those types of things "females, marijuana, etc." effortlessly and shows how easy it is to him, while making a better song than his competition could. 

4. Gang Related

Usually you expect a song called "Gang Related" to be about the singer/rapper partaking in gang related actions. However, this song is more so a story about Logic witnessing them every day of his life. Actually a breath of fresh air, Logic actually talks about how it affected him instead of saying he was just as hard as everyone else. He didn't condone the actions, he questioned them. 

5. Buried Alive

This song tells everyone they should continue to persevere even when you feel like you've reached your limit. Not only is he telling the listener this, but telling himself as well. Making it through his own self-doubt allows him inspire you to get through yours. At first, I think it's the constant keyboard playing over the whole beat bothered me, but after awhile I warmed up to it.

6. Bounce

 

There are a lot of references to many other songs in this and mentioning "Nikki" for the first time...Logic starts to talk about how he's meant to take on the game. I don't necessarily believe these references were challenges but more so just shouting out who the rappers he considers himself amongst. "God Goddamn" sounds like an adlib in K. Dot's Good kid m.a.a.d. city song. "Take a trip, little trip" flows and sounds like "crush a bit little bit" in Pursuit of Happiness by Kid Cudi. He also references Project Pat and many more throughout the song.

7. Growing Pains III

The third installment of the series of songs, Logic talks about how his growth has stressed him out at times which has caused him to need his precious Nikki once again. The tour continues.

8.Never Enough

Sounding very soulful at first, this is a quick song about taking over and not needing any help. It's a shorter version of bounce in a way. Probably the first song I didn't quite LOVE but I still didnt hate it or anything like that either. Tight beat, still pretty damn great lyrics. I think it served as a way to progress to the rest of the album though, possibly.

9. Metropolis

Perhaps Im looking too much into this...but obviously Superman lives in Metropolis, Logic referring to himself as Superman, is talking about the city he grew up in(Smallville for Clark Kent) and also references his love "Nikki" again, which might also be his own kryptonite. Also talking about going through the issues through his life to get to Superman's level and leaving Smallville(normal life) to get to Metropolis(fame).

10. Nikki

One of these is the love of his life...which one?

What's the difference between love and addiction? Is there a difference? You need both of the things in your life, right? Both make you feel better when you have them; even if they're not good for you or worse, killing you. Nikki is actually Logic's nickname for nicotine and throughout all these songs, the girl he's been talking about being in love with is actually just that, nicotine. As mentioned in my Game album review this is my favorite symbolism in music. Logic talks about the only thing in life that has gone through it with him from the start, the thing that keeps him alive, the thing that kills him at the same time. He can't live with or without it.

11. Under Pressure

Being nine minutes long, you dont even realize it's that long if you're just doing normal daily activities. The song progresses and Logic switches his flows and certain aspects of the beat accordingly to keep your interest throughout. In a way, I also think he's trying go against what a lot of rappers talk about when it comes to money, a lot of rappers only want to talk about money. Logic has it, but when it becomes the main topic, he gives everyone the dial tone. To be honest this song has so much in it....its actually kind of the whole album's topics in one song. It's hard to cover all the topics but his life, his friends life, their problems, his haters, his dad who wasnt there for him, so on and so forth. You can really just dive into this nine minutes and not get bored.

12. Till The End

The end to the regular album, he ends his story, for now, talking about the improvements he's made because of everything mentioned in the rest of the album. That is why everything is all connected and laced with the tour guide like narrator. You're supposed to experience the same epiphany and realization that Logic came to from reaching fame and while making this album.

13. Driving Ms. Daisy ft./ Childish Gambino

Surely it cant be over though right? Can we keep going, please?

Mr. Glover approves

The fact that two of my favorite rappers are on the same track together made this amazing for me. This is about appreciating the good things that life gives you and being yourself. A lot of references and word plays connecting to driving are heard throughout the song. 

14. Now

Second bonus track..

This is about his doubters and how they've switched up over the time he went from nothing to something. He's mocking them; now showing off in front of them. Probably the hardest beat on the album as well.

15. Alright ft./ Big Sean

I kind of feel like Big Sean was just put on here to...I guess attract some fans, I dont know. Dont get me wrong, I like Big Sean, but he just doesnt seem to even fit in the track at all. An otherwise well put together song, he seems to ruin the mood and chill feel that the beat along with Logic's lyrics establish early on. Probably should've made this a song to come on earlier instead of the finish to a great deluxe edition.

Final Thoughts...

This is possibly my favorite album of the year. Honestly, straight off the top of my head, its the hip-hop album of the year. A lot of people talk about how it feels so 90s...I disagree. I just feel that the album perfectly utilizes what true hip-hop is, similar to how it was IN THE 90's. This is exactly what music needs right now. A few small issues cant keep this from being a...

10 out of 10

Now rewind...

 

and replay..

T.I. Paperwork Album Review

Im a huge T.I. fan. There was a time where he was in my top 5 favorites. I still believe he is very under-appreciated, but sure enough the top 5 talk has subsided. T.I. although rough in a lot of his music, he still shows how intelligent he is from his vocabulary. T.I. has done a lot; he was even floating fitted hats over his head, way before Bobby Shmurda ever did.

1. King

This is your typical, Im the best and I will do this and I will do that and I will do it as I please...even though he got caught doing stuff with Miss Piggy in jail multiple times and had to be punished accordingly. But hey...we're not going to hold that against Cliff....we all have our moments where we need a little something something. In a way it feels he's just trying to remind you of the good ol' days T.I.P. other than actually showing it with this song. There is a lot of "I will/would" instead of "I have/am". If you get what I'm saying. Some cool references and connections to the mafia and all that but it isnt like anyone has ever done that before..

2. G' Shit ft./ Jeezy and WatchTheDuck

This beat SCREAMS Pharrell and sure enough it is produced by the man himself. The trio of T.I., Jeezy and Watch The Duck(tf?) made a great feeling, coming of age in the hood, as a hustler story together. I have to say Jeezy and T.I. together is reaching AT LEAST Schoolboy Q and A$AP Rocky levels. I mean they aren't at Jada and The Ghost, Jigga and Yeezy or Run DMC levels yet...but they are a great team and they feed off each other well. 

3. About the Money ft./ Young Thug

Bustin' out the bando
A nigga jewelry real metal like a can opener
I went from rags to riches to a feature with Tip
I went from Smart Car to a bitch with some smart lips
And the F&N make my hip limp
I'm goin' fishin' with these little bitty shrimp dimps
And my bank roll got a big dip
She gon' bring it on a big ship
Quite trill, no Quik Trip
I got drugs in the alley, know Tip there
She just wanna have a good day
Smoke way more weed than a guy in L.A
I want them birds 'til next May
Never let em fly away
What!? Aye buddy, aye buddy 

That's the lyrics and a link to RapGenius to understand what the hell it is this...I dont even know....is saying...because I know none of you could because I can't either. 

The funny thing is I actually feel the song as a whole. I mean maybe not being able to understand him is what makes Young Thug tolerable to his fans...does he have fans or just people in a trance? I dont know...but Im actually not going to take any points off. 

4. New National Anthem ft./ Skylar Grey

I like this song...and I love Skylar Grey on the chorus. This is a song about what America has become and how we are nothing like what this country originated from anymore. This is supposed to send that message to everyone and maybe make a change. It's supposed to stand against police brutality. It's supposed to stand for making a change. But I kind of feel an outside source forced the whole "guns are bad" talk. Other than that I approve of a deep song with meaning and attempting to get people thinking. Placing this song right after the Young Thug feature might actually be quite strategic as well.

5. Oh Yeah ft./ Pharrell

So after attracting some young people with a fun song about money, followed by something with a bit of meaning and to switch their way of thinking on something that ACTUALLY matters.....maybe they're starting to see things a bit differently and with this song T.I. is reestablishing himself as the man in charge and the best to follow. Or maybe Im totally just over-thinking here, which I probably am. I have to say I prefer this approach to showing he'll take any challenge or that he is the strongest over what he did with King earlier.

6. Private Show ft./ Chris Brown

It's hard to take over the world without any females...so if you want to be with the King youre going to have to take it off for T.I....you see although Clifford is quite the busy man challenging God for runner of the universe and all that, he still needs to spend all that money he makes off of hustling. So here he is with Chris Brown trying to show some coolness in the strip clubs. There's nothing like taking advantage of females with low enough self esteem to dance near nude for men, right? It's kind of cool though.

7. No Mediocre ft./ Iggy Azalea

Iggy Azalea knows what life is like in the hood. Everything in Australia is poisonous. On the toilets in America, we only worry about the STD crabs....in Australia there are ACTUAL crabs on the toilet seats. I mean shit is real out here.

Bruh....look at the ferocity in dude's eyes at the end...

The song is just corney and too simple for my interests. Plain and simple

8. Jet Fuel ft./ Boosie Badazz

Tip and the walking spelling bee BLESSED this track, man. I mean sure, it's only about smoking the best weed but I'd prefer that over any other drug. The song is catchy. The flows utilized by Boosie and T.I. were perfect. 

9. Paperwork ft./ Pharrell

This song is filled with SOUL. Pharrell is PERFECT at making some old school, magical sounding music.

Sometimes too perfect.

And once again the team of T.I. and Pharrell make a great sounding song. The song is best described in the quote "money makes the world go around" and pretty much you need it to get the perfect life. 

10. Stay ft./ Victoria Monet

The songs are getting a lot better...but at this point Im a little burnt out on the low quality from previous tracks. This one is basically about him wanting to do anything he could to get her to "stay"...its a good song. I enjoyed it.

11. About My Issue ft./ Victoria Monet and Nipsey Hussle

About time Nipsey Hussle is on something! He saved the song IMO which the song is about taking every issue head on and even dying if they have to.

12. At Ya Own Risk ft./ Usher

See usually I despise this type of song here...but here I like it. See, he's pretty much telling this chick that even though she has a man it's okay to still come along with him...but SHE is the one that has to accept she's a whore, if she does so; I can live with that. Usher did his thing as well.

13. On Doe On Phil ft./ Trae The Truth

It was cool....it was really just bars to me; no set meaning to the song. Trae was the weak part of the song. He had to finish every bar with n*gga and it was pretty annoying. 

14. Light Em Up ft./ Pharrell and WatchTheDuck

Dedicated to his buddy Doe B...this is a song mourning for him and anyone who has lost someone who should still be here can relate. It was a story of memories with him and how they came to point of him passing away. Suffering can also truly be felt from the way each artist expresses themselves in each song.

15. Let Your Heart Go ft./ The Dream

The yup in the background wasn't needed. This song is connected to the last one in a way that even though he still grieves he's going to let life go on but never forget. I can never complain about two very deep songs in a row.

16. Sugar Cane

Nope not those kind of canes

I like the feel of the song but there isnt much I can say about it. What sounds like a TLC-esque bridge towards the ending, an uncredited singer sounded really good and made the song click.

17. I Dont Know

Actually kind of creative. The instant you hear this song you're expecting it to be just another song about how T.I. doesnt take shit from anyone. This is true...but it's even more true when it comes to his children. T.I. will defend/protect them at all costs, no matter what they think about it afterwards. I'm sure any parent can connect with this song.

18. You Can Tell How I Walk ft./ Rick Ross

Ricky's weight loss has him comfortable rapping about all sorts of different things now....including exercise and how he does it. However, he didn't take the time to shout out all the peach out there who helped him get where he is now. This is a good song and T.I. closes out somewhat like he opened...showing he's in charge and making the rules. Rick Ross put out some ignorance as usual. 

This was better than I thought it would be..the worst thing about it was that I got kind of tired of listening to it after a while.

5.5 out of 10

Ab-Soul These Days... Album Review

THESE DAYS... ALBUM REVIEW

See the thing about this dude is... I actually wasnt a huge fan at first... It actually took me until I listened to Control System and was enlightened to the amount of lyrical prowess this dude possessed... To be honest this dude probably is actually deeper lyrically than K. Dot... and that's saying something... anyone who knows me knows that's saying a lot...

So here we are in 2014 and pretty much any TDE fan has been waiting on this with great anticipation... And it is finally here... 

Before I get started... I want to do something I havent done in any of my reviews before and mention the album cover... Now, I just want to talk about something I had the dissatisfaction of experiencing... This shit had and still has people uptight and offended and feeling disrespected all types of emotional over their religious views... Wars of words clashing and keyboards being brought to their utter limits just because of a picture... People were making sure strangers around the world knew what they felt about this album cover and then arguments about God and the big bang broke out and evolved into something to the point where it wasnt even about the album cover anymore...  it was just a big mess... (if I ever find it again I'll post some screenshots)... The amount of bigotry and ignorant fury, in that forum, was something Im shamed to know exists but at the same time, I'm not surprised... But whatever... Moving on...

1. God's Reign ft. SZA - Vintage Soulo here... A great way to start off the album with the melodic voice of SZA... Just listening to his first five or six bars you can hear some examples of his lyrical prowess I was mentioning earlier... The song is about his low points and his high points in life and where God sits in his life... He also talks about the constant cycle in his life with money amongst other things... As I said before its a great way to start the album because of the meaning behind it and the consistency with his previous work...

2. Tree of Life - This was leaked long long ago, so if you havent heard it yet, I dont know where youve been... Honestly, its not hard to get what this song is about... Getting high but not just through smoking weed... Im pretty sure every song on this CD will have lyrical greatness and the wordplay will be superior so I'm done saying it after this point but it was...

3. Hunnid Stax ft. Mac Miller and ScHoolboy Q -  THe party antHem for tHis album... If you know anytHing about Mac Miller and Quincy, tHat's wHat tHey like to do... This song is all about tHe good life and getting money... THis is wHere you start to realize tHat Soulo really is tHe least popular of tHe Black Hippy crew and needed to bring some serious features to get some attention to His album... Out of all of tHem He's the only one to ensure His teammates were all on His album... THats because of How "out tHere" his subject matter is... Needless to say His music isnt really for tHe average music listener... Its for tHe super open-minded critical tHinkers... THis is Him trying to attract a wider audience, wHicH is understandable. I mean wHo doesnt mind Hearing a Mac Miller mumble(otHer tHan me?) and a ScHoolboy Q adlib altHrougH tHe song? Also tHe Lana Del Rey(aka my goodness tHem lips) sample fits pretty well for tHe meaning of tHe song too... Let me know if I missed any "H's" Q...

4. Dub Sac - Before ya'll get any ideas... Ab-Soul tweeted this song isnt all about smoking weed... So its like symbolism instead or something like that... Nah... Its just a message to his competition of why theyre not on his level... Theres more to that, of course... but I gotta say its not my type of song... Although, I really liked the take your quarterback like McNabb line. Take your quater(of weed) back like McNabb which nab means taking...because he can afford all the weed he wants now. Not that crazy but I like lines like that...

5. World Runners ft. Lupe Fiasco and Nikki "Thank God not Minaj" Dean - Bruh...

Forreal though... Go run for president or emperor to this shit... Go buy a skyscraper and look down at the city...Go in a bar and fight everyone to this shit... This is some shit you hear while Rocky is chasing around chickens and running up some steps in Philly... This is the new eye of the tiger... this is the summer anthem for everyone and when I say everyone I mean me... GOOD LORD SOULO HOE YOU KILLED THEM WITH THIS... Ill be back in a few hours... Until then... Enjoy this... 

Now that I'm done having a eargasm because of this shit... allow me to cover the amount of topics and references this dude and Lupe uses in this song to talk about running the world and shit; John Lennon, nursery rhymes, relationships, POSSIBLY the illuminati, Prince, egyptians and rich people schemes and Freddy Kreuger all in one line which also refers to the Prince reference in the last line... Im done... lol...thats just the first verse and a half... This song goes in... Then Lupe comes in and you can really hear where Ab-Soul gets a lot of his inspiration from... Im gonna move on before this looks like an obsession...

6. Nevermind That ft. Rick Ross - Cold... Ignorant... Rick Ross is always that... This is definitely for the people into that sort of shit... Like I said earlier though... Ab-Soul definitely went out of his way to make sure he had some quality features on this album... He wanted as many people to hear his message as possible...

7. Twact ft. Jinx and Short Dawg - I dont like this shit... Too I dont know what it is... I guess radio you can say? Shits straight wack and gay and all sorts of repugnant insults to the listener and this album...

8. Just Have Fun - At least this shit is just that...fun... Way better than that last song and better lyrics too. I mean it doesnt have completely the best message but its also saying make the best of your life... I cant be mad at that... Do your thing and enjoy it while youre at it... Its the lighthearted version of World Runners...

9. Kendrick Lamar Interlude - 

10. Closure ft. Jhene Aiko - Favorite song on the album. The heart and soul and feeling he put into this is evident. This is about the past and present loves of his life. Ab-Soul's girlfriend died and this song is the continuance from Book of Soul. You can hear the suffering he went through with that and as a guy in a relationship and the extent of importance she is just speaks to me on so many levels. Damn Soul. 

R.I.P. Alori Joh

11. Sapiosexual - J. Cole produced this shit and its pretty tight... Cant be mad it... If you dont know... Ab Soul's nickname is YMF short for Young Mind Fuck... This is about him using his mind to seduce women and why he acquired that name in the first place... 

12. Stigmata ft. Action Bronson and Asaad - Man... this shits hot... I mean I really feel that Em should be on this it wouldve gotten Ab some attention and its just perfect for Slim Shady to go in on... However...I will say Action Bronson is one hell of a consolation prize and doesnt deserve to be slept on... Asaad did his thing too... This is probably the first song since the first or second that goes back to his normal type of music as you heard before on Control System... Lots of religious references...

13. Feelin Us ft. Jay Rock and Ravaughn - This has a nice easy bob your head to it and shines because of Jay Rock's verse... This is pretty much the 4th song hes on that he has taken over... This doesnt hit like the other ones UOENO, Money Trees, etc... However you can definitely tell that Jay Rock refuses to be the Tony Yayo of the crew if you know what I mean...

14. Ride Slow ft. Danny Brown - Its about time they get him in a song man... This shit is the darkest feeling track on the CD... Its not Terrorist Threats but its nice regardless... 

15. WROH - We really out here my n*gga... You can hear him say it all the time... This is the song dedicated to that at first... Afterwards you get to hear a 17 minute battle with Daylyte which has some great gems here and there... Spoilers Daylyte won...

16. These Days - STRAIGHT SOUL Nothing ELSE!!!

17. Leak - I feel he was going for a sort of what anyone's shit sounds like when they first start rapping and music altogether... like trash... no point in reviewing this otherwise...

So that is it. I dont know if this really lived up to expectations but it was certainly a dope album... There were some low points in These Days but the pros outweigh the cons... Id listen to it again and I cant wait for his next piece of art along with any member of TDE... I'd rank it behind GKMC but ahead of Oxymoron... 

-0.1 out of 10 Fuck black hippy...ya bish...

Amazing Spider-Man 2 Review

Spoilers may follow

Constructive Criticism is highly welcomed and appreciated !

Oh the amount of memes and .gifs I can't wait to use in this one! 

What's up, world? This is is you're man, Eazy in the world of writing once again. You might not know this about me, but if you know me, you know I do. So, I've definitely been looking forward to Amazing Spider-Man 2 and all its glorious action. I haven't written a movie review in a while and its my first on the blog, so without further ado. Here it goes...

The Mechanics...

The story of the film is probably where the film lacks the most. Not because its bad. Its just very jumbled together. It begins with Richard Parker talking about Oscorp and seeming to be in a hurry. Yes, the second film took a bigger focus on Peter's parents. The intro to the movie is a recap of the beginning of the first Amazing Spider-Man, you just get to see more into it. Although a certain Peter Parker discovery does light a spark inside him, later on in the movie, it just wasn't a necessary piece to the story. This brings back the familiar feeling that the director, Marc Webb, did certain things, to avoid being too much like the original Sam Raimi films. Which is understandable, of course. The first one only came out 12 years before this one. Where certain additions from him work well, the Richard and Mary element of the film just doesnt fit in.

After the flashback, it brings you back to present day. Spider-Man(Andrew Garfield) is saving the city and having a good time being himself. He has Gwen Stacy(Emma Stone). He's graduating. All is well. Except for the visions he has of Gwen's father. This is the first domino falling to make Peter's life suck in the film. This leads to the introduction of Max Dillon/Electro(Jamie Foxx) and later on, Harry Osborn/Green Goblin(Dane Dehaan), the main villains of the movie. Trying to develop them both at the same time, while Peter is trying to figure out his parents, as mentioned earlier, its easy to see why it could get jumbled, pretty quickly. Even though its 2 hours and 22 minutes, it almost feels like too many things were left out. And it feels like it ended too soon.

However, a good part of the story is the love between Gwen and Peter. The love story roots are obvious in Marc Webb's DNA. This is where Amazing Spider-Man seemed to flow the best. If it wasn't because of the comfort Webb had in this situation, it was definitely due to the chemistry between Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield, who are actually dating in real life.

Really? I thought that guy was gay.

The script is another con to the movie, overall, but just like the chemistry between Stone and Garfield, saves the complicated parts of the story. The rest of the cast really delivers. While Tobey Maguire pretty much nailed his portrayal of Peter Parker, Andrew Garfield is easily a superior Spider-Man than anyone before him. Garfield talked about how honored he was to be cast in this movie and it shows. Hes fun to watch, the wise cracks are there in full effect. He is constantly worried about his loved ones, yet as all know know, he is the furthest thing from perfect. 

Emma Stone is charming as always. She portrays Gwen Stacy well. People probably dont realize how good, actually. The caring science nerd, who's as hot as she is smart. In fact, probably as smart/or smarter than Peter is. A scene talking about Spider-Man's webbing was a great example of that.

Jamie Foxx plays Max Dillon and Electro well. Dane Dehaan follows up his performance in The Chronicle greatly and is very convincing as Harry Osborn. Too bad you dont get to see a lot of him as Green Goblin because the small portion of the movie he is, is the best the film has to offer, which is also the biggest twist, as well. 

Sally Field is a sweetheart as Aunt May. Paul Giamatti doesnt really get enough time to shine as Aleksei Sytsevich, which he will in the future, so thats perfectly fine, since the film was already a little crowded. Plus, its still a little weird seeing the robotic Rhino suit.

Peter Parker seems to be portrayed as sort of a hipster with the way he dresses. Yet, this is probably the BEST Spidey costume in a live-action movie before.

The size of the eyes really make a difference.

If there is something that the Amazing Spider-Man 2 did right, man oh man, is it the costume. It took everything right about the original and just made the eyes bigger. Perfection. The rest of the costumes that they wore were done well too. It is pretty obvious the influence the story and character appearances get from the Ultimate universe, despite the title being Amazing. This is welcomed because its hard to modernize something from way back in the 60s. Some of the ways they introduced characters in the Ultimate series works out a lot better as well, especially for Electro.

New York will probably always be a perfect place to have a superhero movie take place. Especially for Spider-Man. Web slinging around NYC just seems so right. Every scene in the movie had the perfect set design to match it. 

The music in the movie, with Hans Zimmer as the big acception here, was pretty forgettable. Honestly, it just depends on the viewer's tastes. Although, the old school spidey theme used as a ring tone and a techno Itsy Bitsy Spider was cool.

Thoughts and Opinions...

As I said before, I really enjoyed the performances. That really made this movie grand. Sure its a little messy and inconsistent, it doesnt quite hit like its Disney counterparts. Its still a good movie. I grew up on Spider-Man, he's probably my favorite superhero. He was a game changer for Stan Lee when he was thought of and very different at the time. Since I started reading and watching Spider-Man things, there hasnt been a more accurate representation of the character and his story. That includes the animated shows and Sam Raimi's films. As far as ranking goes, I'll definitely put it like this...

Spider-Man 2 > Spider-Man 1 > Amazing Spider-Man 2 > Amazing Spider-Man > Spider-Man 3

Right in the middle there. And it deserves to be in the middle, I think. I get while certain people are just used to the Raimi films, others just wont be happy because its not dark and gritty enough. Which is far from what Spider-Man is anyway. Others just can never be pleased. Some just wont like it because they dont like Spider-Man. And I'm not going to care about that too much because Spider-Man probably doesnt care either.

See...I told you.

All in all, it was entertaining and I feel anyone who complains about the movie, most likely didnt read a Spider-Man comic in their life. They more so, like the idea of Spider-Man than they do the actual character himself. I digress...I have mentioned its not the perfect movie. And nothing is. It isnt DKR or Avengers. It is probably as good as Man of Steel though. I dont know...maybe if one of the actors actually died right before it was released people would've given it a more attention. Not saying thats happened with a movie before or anything.

I talked before about how Richard and Mary's part dont fit in. I think that maybe it wouldve been better if Disney owned the franchise and that part of the story could benefit from the huge universe Marvel has going on right now. Ari Avad is making his own little universe with this smaller franchise, to compete with Disney and Fox. That's part of the reason the movie feels crowded. They already announced Amazing Spider-Man 3 and unofficially the fourth as well. Plus, they announced two spin-offs, Venom and The Sinister Six, as well. Nothing wrong with that. Its always wise to plan for the future....but not when it negatively affects the present to the point, that the future might not have the chance to become. 

And what they're doing with this movie kind of does that. Rhino is only in the film for a few minutes at the most.....and its screen time that couldve gone to something else. Perhaps, they couldve just hinted at it like they did with Doc Ock's arms, Venom's symbiote and Vulture's wings. 

Ari Avad forced Venom on Sam Raimi and I feel some of the things, in the film, were forced on Marc Webb. That's why we didnt get a Spider-Man 4 with the originals. That's why Marc Webb is gone after Amazing Spider-Man 3. I respect Ari Avad and he's an important part in getting Marvel Studios started let alone Spider-Man. But that dude is really enjoying the hell out of his power too much. I do hope that some day they can sell it back to Disney I mean IMAGINE the possibilities!

Hopefully, the future movies can take advantage of the money it made in the first weekend and continue to do better, since the second movie was so much better than the first. This movie wasnt a let down but it wasnt a game changer. It wasnt a horrible film but it wont win any awards either. It is a decent movie. 

It is a 7.75 out of 10.