Colleen Houck

“I took hold of that scourge -filled ship and crushed it between my limbs, hurtling it into the second sun, the red one that gave me strength. But I was too late." Terraformer

Colleen's blog

  • Movie Review: The Amazing Spider-man 2

    May 23, 2014

    Movie Review: The Amazing Spider-man 2

    Colleen’s Movie Review

    Romance: The romance between Peter Parker and Emma Stone…er Andrew Garfield and Gwen Stacy er…you know what I mean. Feels as real as it is. It’s cute. It’s sweet. It wasn’t much of a stretch to believe these two are in love.

    Special Effects: Pretty awesome. I can’t think of anything I didn’t like. Would really like the super desk that belongs to Harry Osborn.

    What I Liked: The villains. The eels. The fact that Spider-man was totally willing to follow Gwen. The cuteness of their relationship.

    What I’d Change: Not much of anything really. I thought this one was fun and I can’t remember any major holes in the story. There were several times I thought Electro knocked Spider-man down way too hard for him to bounce back but I got over that pretty quickly. One thing that’s bothering me is the hyphenating of Spider-man. Why can’t we just say Spiderman like Superman or Batman? Spider-man seems wrong.

    The Tagline: There were three actually.

    1) No more secrets

    2) His greatest battle begins

    3) Rise of Electro

    The most commonly used one was number two which is the best though I don’t think any of these villains represent Spider-man’s greatest battle. Rise of Electro is okay though he certainly didn’t rise for long. Secrets doesn’t really apply at all in my mind. The biggest secret is his identity and his girlfriend already knows who he is.

    Hunky Hero: I really, really, really like Andrew Garfield. He’s just so young that liking him at all in a hunky hero kind of way feels all kinds of wrong. I don’t get that feeling with Chris Hemsworth. Andrew is like the YA version of Spider-man. Now that I think about it, his age and life inexperience might be why they hyphenate his name. He hasn’t grown into a man yet. In another five years he can graduate to Spiderman.

    The Villain: There were two in this film and I thought they didn’t really get the endings they deserve but I feel good knowing that the Green Goblin will likely rise again.

    Jamie Foxx as Electro was freaking awesome! I loved him as a human and I loved him as a misunderstood villain. His ending was a little bit lackluster and I totally predicted it. He needed and deserved a bigger send off. Fantastic makeup and powers. The eels creeped me out and I think his origin story is brilliant.

    Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn and the Green Goblin was an excellent casting choice. Dane reminds me of a young Leonardo DiCaprio. He’s interesting, dynamic, and there’s always something going on behind his eyes. He’s capable of so much…more. Loved him in nearly every way. It only got silly when they put the makeup on him. He came off as too much of a monster then. I would rather see him only slightly altered but I liked how his story wove into everything and his connection to Peter Parker.

    Best Line: I love Andrew Garfield’s humor as Spider-man.

    Aunt May: Last time you did it, you turned everything blue and red!
    Peter Parker: I was washing…[stammers] the American flag! My flag!
    Aunt May: No one washes the flag!
    Peter Parker: Not anymore.
    Aunt May: No one washes the flag!
    Peter Parker: Alright, laundry sheriff.

    Best Scene: The eel tank where Max becomes Electro.

    Recommended for YA fans: Absolutely. It feels like a teenage superhero movie and a well done one at that.

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    Trailer

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    Grandma’s Review

    2014-01-19 15.04.07

    Grandma’s Bio: My name is Kathleen and I’m Colleen’s mom. I’m a mother of seven and grandmother of seventeen with one bun in the oven (not my oven). They’re all great. None of my kids are duds-you know, like the popcorn kernels that don’t pop. My father taught me to love science fiction and mysteries. I’m a dreamer whose secret wish was to be an actress and sing and dance on stage. I have lots of things I still want to do. A few of my favorite things include-discovering new restaurants, going to movies, traveling, seeing plays, children, my dogs, Elvis, reading books, The Beach Boys, and Rhett Butler because he doesn’t give a damn AND he can carry Scarlett up the stairs.

    Definition of Kicky-providing a kick or thrill, exciting

    Review:  Spider-man 2 was visually exciting. The story was compelling. The acting was great! The whole movie kept me captivated. It was a great movie that should appeal to all ages. It was nice to see Sally Field. I always loved her in movies. I give this movie 10 out of 10 kicks.

    Karate Girl Sticker Car Window Decal Fight Woman Kick Neat Gift Vinyl Black Belt

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    A Guy’s Perspective

    2014-02-01 22.54.02

    Bio: I’m Colleen’s husband, Brad. I’m the youngest of four kids. I’ve been Deaf since I was five so I watch every movie with caption glasses. I love sports and reading (I’ll admit I’ve read Twilight but prefer thrillers like Jack Reacher). My favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip. I’ll never turn down a taco. I write poetry. My man credentials include: a high school career in wrestling, watching sports every time my wife is too busy to notice, a receding hairline, two repaired ACL’s, and a stockpile of Axe body wash.

    Review:
    Yeah, Pretty Darn Amazing!
    I, for one, am delighted that Hollywood has revitalized the Spider-man franchise with a new series of “The Amazing Spider-man” films, which is the title of one of several Spider-man comic book series produced by Marvel. I know this because as a kid-nerd, I collected The Amazing Spider-Man along with Marvel Tales Spider-Man, Marvel Team-Up Spider-Man, and Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man. (geeky overmuch…?) This second film installment was rather well done, featuring not more than three of Spidey’s enemies, keeping the conflict level as high as the skyscrapers of New York. But by the end of this long movie (2.5 hours), three enemies certainly felt like overkill. The Rhino (Paul Giamatti) was just filler who barely did anything but shout and flex his laughable Rhino suit. Electro (Jamie Foxx) literally lit up the screen with such dazzling and sizzling effect, which I’ve never before witnessed on film. The CGI surrounding Electro is really impressive.

    Dane DeHaan was effective as Harry Osborne aka Green Goblin who was featured in a silly circus mask in the original Spider-Man film (2002). Although this mask-less Green Goblin has very little screen time, the conflict centered more on friends Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) and Osborne vying for Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). The on-screen romance between Peter and Gwen is really believable and Garfield, in my opinion, is a fantastic Peter Parker, far more than Tobey Maguire ever was. One narrative I enjoyed was Peter’s search to understand his biological parents’ absence and the secrets they withheld for years. A flat-out fun movie with electrifying effects and drama with typical Marvel humor sprinkled throughout, and I was far from disappointed. I’m already looking forward to the next Spidey film in 2016! I give this film 8 Hulk Smash Fists out of 10.

    Brad

    hulk fist
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    This entry was posted in A Guy's Perspective, Grandma's Review, Movie Review.

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    Colleen Houck

    New York Times Bestselling author Colleen Houck is a lifelong reader whose literary interests include action, adventure, paranormal, science fiction, and romance. When she's not busy writing, she likes to spend time chatting on the phone with one of her six siblings, watching plays, and shopping online. Colleen has lived in Arizona, Idaho, Utah, California, and North Carolina and is now permanently settled in Salem, Oregon with her husband and a huge assortment of plush tigers.