TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

In the movie buzz universe, nothing has been making a bigger splash than superhero news. Constant updates on the Batman vs. Superman vs. Wonder Woman vs. Lex Luthor vs. the World  project are going up, a Justice League movie in development, Ant Man ! Never before has the genre been more powerful or successful, especially with Age of Ultron  heading to theaters next summer. It's a good thing Marvel's most beloved superhero will be in it...oh wait a second... While Spider-Man may still be awaiting on a friend request he sent to the Avengers (I think it's actually just because of stupid studio politics he can't crossover) he gets his sequel to the reboot of a trilogy that had two really great films and one bloated villain sandwich of a third. As a kid, it was always Dr. Octopus, the Joker and the Rhino for my favorite bad guys, and seeing the latter two portrayed so well onscreen gave me hope for both the Rhino and Electro in this film, and to a lesser extent Harry Osb...

Entertainment Weekly's recent issue unveiled what new villain Electro would look like in the upcoming "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," and I had...mixed reactions. Jamie Foxx's villain resembles a high-tech "Avatar"-like character on meth, certainly a far cry from the original version of Electro I had growing up as a kid, the one with lightning bolts growing from his face in that ridiculous green leotard. I also find it interesting that while they hired a black man to take over the role of the Caucasian comic book antagonist, it looks like he'll be decidedly indigo for most of the film. Just a bit of a difference But those are mostly nitpicks. The fact that Foxx, one of Hollywood's brightest and talented stars, was employed with no outcry from the fans regarding his color shows progress in tolerance for sure. Mega comic book nerds probably have too much to whine about anyway, giving the "The Amazing Spider-Man's" somewhat polarized rec...

An appropriate "Wait, what?" was expressed by all when it was announced a Spider-Man reboot was getting a release this summer.  "Spider-Man 3," the one movie every one seems to hate but I kind of liked back in 2007.  5 years?  Is that all the time they're waiting to restart? Where's Mary Jane?  And then, once the cast was revealed, I gained a lot of faith.  In 2010 Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) and Emma Stone (Gwen Stacy) both released movies that showed they were ready if not overqualified to take on big Hollywood roles, in "The Social Network" and "Easy A" respectively.  These roles earned them Golden Globe nominations and an established part of young Hollywood, or whatever they want to call themselves these days.  And then the million dollar question still remained: would it go in the direction of "The Avengers," or southbound, a la "Green Lantern." I'm not sure if the box office success will match it, but th...