Crowd Reports Thread

[CJohn]

Seriously? The third one was fucking horrid. I could barely finish it.

But kids loved it because of the dinosaurs. This one is pretty much 100% in the Ocean and on a pirate boat made out of ice...

[MovieGuyKyle17]

I felt the 3rd Ice Age was very strong and very funny

[Cmasterclay]

Our turn off the cell phone ads are sponsored by Sprint as well. It's an ad about what happens to the cell phone when it gets shut off and whether or not it dreams, which TBH just makes everybody feel bad for the phone. Anyway, I'm seeing Spider-Man tonight (Miami area) with a group of about 15 people (girls and guys), so I'll drop a report when I get back.

[grey ghost]

Brief crowd report Amazing Spider-man (midnight show)85-90% fullCrowd talked through most of the commercials and trailers until TDKR, Bourne, and Total Recall. All three got complete silence, couldn't get a read on it. People laughed at all the right scenes and during the emotional scenes there was appropriate silence. The movie is very adult oriented and I predict this will not play well with the under 10 crowd.Almost the entire audience clapped at the end. Always a good sign.grade = A (would've earned an A+ if it had a memorable music theme but the overall movie was a exceptional)

[reddevil18]

Was TDKR trailer the Nokia one?

[tonytr87]

Was TDKR trailer the Nokia one?

Yes.

[reddevil18]

I wonder how it looks on the big screen. Spectacular?

[tonytr87]

The Amazing Spider-man80% fullTrailers:Total Recall - silenceThe Dark Knight Rises (Nokia trailer) - whispers...yes, looks spectacularLawless - silenceThe Watch - laughsFun Size - nothingMovie: B-Good - Good performances, especially from Garfield, Stone, and Leary. Great VFX with the exception of some obvious green screens. The comedic scenes with Peter at or school or Peter discovering his powers are the most enjoyable of the film. The romantic banter between Peter and Gwen is fun and engaging. There are individual scenes that stand out such as

Peter on Gwen's roof, listening to sirens in the distance/Spidey sitting on a spider web in the sewer/Capt. Stacy's unmasking of Peter/Capt. Stacy's death

Bad - The Lizard is a beat for beat copy of the Green Goblin, except now with a

silly plan to turn all of New York into giant lizards.

There are many plot holes regarding Oscorp security, Peter's ability to

magically acquire the web fluid (which by the way is not his creation) from Oscorp.

, and the logic of a

machine that was shut down by Oscorp years ago still in working capacity in Connors' lab.

Peter's courtship of Gwen is rushed while the

search for Ben's killer draaaags, and then it's dropped just like that.

Uncle Ben's death doesn't have the emotional oomph that it should have.The first hour is pretty good and entertaining despite a few flaws and the fact it's covering old ground, but the second hour and change falls apart. Audience response afterward was mixed. A lot of "it was okay."

Edited July 3, 2012 by tonytr87

[Cmasterclay]

The Amazing Spider Man sold out one 2D and one 3D last night and got a 2D added show nearly half full.For my 2D showSold out in 169 seater (Good mix between genders, like 60-40)Previews (started late)Half of the Watch- Awkwardly started up the trailer in the middle so hard to get a real reactionBourne Legacy- WhisphersThe Dark Knight Rises Nokia Trailer- Best reaction for a TDKR trailer yet, actually. Lots of positive talk and buzz afterwards, even a clap or two.The Movie:I'll preface this by saying while I certainly enjoyed the Spider-Man trilogy as a young kid, it just has too much of a layer of fluff and cheese looking back on it. It never nailed the tone, and McGuire was good but just too ehhh to be lovable. THIS is the Spider-Man movie I always wanted. The movie features an absolutely brilliant performance from Andrew Garfield. He nails the comedy, the action, and the dramatics. Emma Stone takes a potentially boring character and makes her charming and lovable as hell. Martin Sheen is an absolute standout as Uncle Ben- the film really excelled when him and Garfield were on screen together. The directing was top notch, and for a guy whose never done action, Webb did a great job with these fights. The comedy is Avengers level good. Lizard was very similar to Green Goblin in the "talking to myself and going crazy" way, but Ifans added a Molina-like level of sympathy for the character from the start. Overall the only things that held it down were the forgettable score( one of the true triumphs of the Raimi trilogy) and the crappy CGI in certain parts.I give this a solid A! It had much more character developmental and emotional gravitas than the Avengers.

Edited July 3, 2012 by Cmasterclay

[Impact]

Going to see TASM later today

[Goffe]

A RT consensus has never been more accuratewithout Marc Webb, the movie would be a stinkerGreen Lantern's level

[CoolioD1]

The Amazing Spider-Man (In Spectacular 2D)6:45PM.280 seats, like 90% full.Trailers:Skyfall - Cool. Cool cool coolThe Bourne Legacy - Looks good to me, the projector went all funny just before the trailer finished so we had to wait 15 minutes for it to start up againTotal Recall - MehThe Dark Knight Rises - Pretty awesome. This is an audience that talked all the way through the other ads and they got all silent for this. So I guess that's a good sign.Movie: Decent, I guess. Stan Lee's cameo got a big reaction from the audience. Apart from that it was hard to gauge.

[Jandrew]

The Amazing Spider Man 2DAmstar 14 $6.00 7pm 85% fullTotal Recall- looks better on the screen, still looks like a redboxer to me, but mild reactionsThe Dark Knight Rises- mild reactionThe Watch- the trailer with Prometheus, not Ted- non-stop laughs with the audience, best reaction of the nightBreaking Dawn 2- you could feel one big "oh lord" in the air when this came on, mildest reactionWreck It Ralph- not as big of reactions as i was expecting, but still decentHere Comes The Boom- bigger reaction than what i was expecting, the basketball fail gained the biggest laughs of the night.Fact: DO NOT BRING SMALL CHILDREN TO THE MOVIES, YOU WILL BE JUMPED. EMPHASIS ON WILL. These grandparents brought their small 3 or 4 year old grandkid to the movie, and good lord the entire theater was ready to pounce. This kid was acting like he was in Toys R Us; throwing stuff, crying, small talking, and the grandpa barely did anything because he was too interested in the movie. The kid had ZERO interest, he was turned around in his seat looking at people most of the time. I bet the people in front of them asked for refunds. Unacceptable, im surprise theater management didn't come in, this is worse than people using their phones. I hope none of you guys have to go through this experience for 2 hours, luckily the scenes i missed were clips ive already seen online. Sorry for the rant.I dont understand all the Spiderman hate on the internet, the general audience loves this character. A lot of my friends are excited for this; I went with 3 others. Ill go ahead and say the acting and action is better than Spiderman 1, and yes the story has a few issues. Spidey and Lizard, who looks a lot better and more realistic on screen, have a lot better chemistry and are more entertaining to watch than Spidey and Goblin. Garfield and Stone's acting may also look off in the clips, but watch on the big screen and they did a great job. Leary, Field, Sheen, and the guy who played Flash, all brought their A-game. Yes, some parts feel repeated, but Webb did an okay job of differentiating them, such as Uncle Ben's death scene; it will feel familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time. The SFX were great, the swinging was more realistic and fluid, Peter was more likeable, Lizard's accent worked well, and the humor for the most part worked- Leary's "Tokyo" joke fell flat. The score also worked a lot more than it sounds in the clips, like the gym scene. I honestly feel that if Avengers or TDKR wasn't released this year, Spidey would be getting a little more internet love, but either way, this was an enjoyable movie; there was brief clapping at my showing and most people seemed to enjoy it, if anyone had an unenjoyable experience, I bet it was more from that obnoxious kid, than from the movie. I know you guys take these movies a lot more seriously, and some of you are rooting for it to fail, which i don't understand, but trust me, this was a lot better than what they announced in January 2010; if you hate the reboot idea, stop complaining, just don't freaking watch it, you've been complaining for 2 1/2 years, give it a rest, but Webb did bring an enjoyable movie to the screen, and if you've truly been waiting 5 years for this, it won't disappoint. Full review tomorrow in my blog. 8/10

Edited July 4, 2012 by jandrew

[Andy Stitzer]

The Amazing Spider-Man (in Eye-Popping 2D!)

11:30AM Tuesday, July 3rd

AMC Boston Common 19 & Lie-MAX

Theater Capacity: 300 (roughly 30% to 40% full; couldn't get a good read on the audience breakdown because I got into the theater a bit late)

Ticket Price: $6!!! (I need to see films before noon more often!)

Concessions: small Coke Zero, medium popcorn ($10.50)

TRAILERS: (*It's possible I missed a couple trailers because I arrived late... I would've loved to see a TDKR trailer & reaction)

Bourne Legacy - great trailer, lots of action, no reaction from audience

Here Comes the Boom - this looks like a total comedy rip-off of one of 2011's best movies--Warrior. Even so, the crowd gave a good reaction to this trailer.

The Watch - this looks funny and got a great reaction from the audience... especially for Jonah Hill.

Total Recall - sexcellent trailer! I'm officially really pumped for this movie. Not only is the three-boobied woman in it again, but also... well... hey, the three-boobied woman is in it again!!!!!! Tepid reaction from audience, the guy in front of me saying, "They're redoing this too?"

THE FILM:

Similar to the Batman franchise circa 1997, Spider-Man 3 left a bitter taste in many audience's mouths. Fortunately, Sony learned a lesson from Warner Brothers' choice some years back to reboot their franchise with some new talented blood (referring of course to WB selecting Christopher Nolan--> Batman Begins). Who better a director to reboot the Spider-Man franchise than a guy named Marc Webb? For those who don't know, Webb is the mastermind behind 2009's cult hit (500) Days of Summer, and although he lacks any other film work to his name Webb is near the top of my list of favorite directors working in Hollywood today. See The Amazing Spider-Man and you'll understand why.

The Amazing Spider-Man (TASM) may give you deja vu as it reestablishes Peter Parker's origin story much like the 2002 Spider-Man film. However, this film dwells more on the back-story component to Peter by concentrating more on his youth and prescribing a very healthy dose of character development. Very similar to Batman Begins (in so many ways) and Rise of the Planet of the Apes, TASM successfully creates a personality for its protagonist that audiences can empathize with and, thus, root for later in the film when the opportunity presents itself.

Andrew Garfield possesses the talent, charisma, and physique to pull off the Peter Parker/Spider-Man character effortlessly. His co-stars--Emma Stone, Sally Field, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, et al--make for an A+ ensemble, which only adds to the film's laundry list of awesomeness. There's a very palpable chemistry between Garfield and Stone, which looking back I think was a bit forced between Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. Like (500) Days, this film has a great soundtrack; however, the really definitive musical feature for TASM was its score. During several of the scenes, I felt like I was listening to a mash-up of scores from Titanic and A Beautiful Mind, and then some Alfred Hitchcock sounds in others (*keep an eye open for the Hitchcock homage). Also of note, the effects--they're great! While a lot of CGI was employed for the film, I was impressed by how seamlessly it intertwined with the real sets/locations (I especially liked a fight scene that takes place in the sewer).

Thanks to its contemporary feel, great acting, fresh writing, beautiful music/song selection, stellar direction, and Grade-A special effects, The Amazing Spider-Man is a film I recommend without reservation. It's definitely a step above the previous Spider-Men and certainly enjoyable on a 2D screen (although I'd be lying if I said I'm not curious/anxious to watch it in IMAX or 3D). Whether you're a hormone-crazed teenager, a romantic comedy-loving cougar, an architecture enthusiast/Nolanite (***the Hearst lobby is the OSCORP HQ, I nearly died!), or just a casual filmgoer looking to watch something fun with your friends, The Amazing Spider-Man has something for everyone.

GO SEE THIS, AND HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

Experience - 28/30 (would've preferred a bigger audience)

Story/Writing - 20/20

Acting - 15/15

Tech Specs (Cinematography, Editing, Effects) - 15/15

Direction - 10/10

Music - 10/10

Bonuses - Special Effects Caliber, 4; Awards Caliber , 2 (at the very least it should sweep the MTV MOvie Awards)

THE VERDICT: 104/100, A+

Edited July 4, 2012 by Andy Stitzer

[Jandrew]

Your reviews are always great Andy! Ive read them since the BOM days; i actually try to model mine a little after yours, you need to be counted on RT or Metacritic, keep it up, man!

[reddevil18]

Has anyone mentioned lately how flawed your rating system is, Andy? Also, no, it won't sweep the MTV Awards...there's still one more Twilight atrocity to come.

[Impact]

Amazing Spider-Man2:30PMAbout 60% full, mostly young kids. (More kids in this then there were in Brave and Mad 3 )Trailers:TDKR: Talking.Bourne Legacy (new trailer): Some talking.Skyfall: Bunch of talking that it looked good.I go "So far great trailers!" I ruined it with the next one....Breaking Dawn 2: BLAH! Some kid behind me "BOOOOOOOOOO" :lol:Total Recall (new trailer): This was a long trailer.Paranorman: Wow actually a new trailer! And its shorter then the teaser.Wreck it Ralph: Laughs.Movie: Pretty good. The music I did enjoy even if it did sound like A Beautiful Mind (I was wondering if it was James Horner-I was right!). Garfield is a better actor then Maguire (That isn't that hard). Kept on making jokes on how old the "highschoolers" looked. Loved Stan Lee's cameo. Visuals were great. It is on par with SM2. Much better then SM3 and SM1. The 3d was meh. (mad 3 had the best 3D I've seen this year) The mid credits sequence was good.A-

[Andy Stitzer]

Has anyone mentioned lately how flawed your rating system is, Andy? Also, no, it won't sweep the MTV Awards...there's still one more Twilight atrocity to come.

Yes, they have:

You gotta change that scoring system of yours. If it's a "good" movie...then it deserves higher than a C.

A = great

B = good

C = okay/mediocre

D = bad

F = horrible

This is the universal standard.

And to that I responded with this.

Feedback is always appreciated, so thank you. By your grading system, my grade for the film is accurate: C, i.e. okay/mediocre.

And anyway, I'm not only grading the movie, I'm grading the whole crowd experience. That's why I post exclusively in the crowd report section vs. the "Review That Movie" threads. I choose to watch movies under the best circumstances possible to maximize the overall experience, because at $10-$18 per ticket I'm paying for an experience. That's why I'd rate Snakes on a Plane opening midnight in theaters an A+ experience, and The Dark Knight four months after release playing at your local dollar theater a less-than-A experience.

Besides, I've received far more praise for my crowd reports than negative feedback, and my current grading system--which was modified beginning January 2012 forward--is the culmination of all feedback from previous crowd reports.

I wouldn't call it flawed, it's just different.

[Andy Stitzer]

The music I did enjoy even if it did sound like A Beautiful Mind (I was wondering if it was James Horner-I was right!)

I had no idea until I read your post that it was James Horner! How funny is it that the two films I immediately thought of were Titanic and A Beautiful Mind?!

If it ain't broke, why fix it?

[Impact]

I had no idea until I read your post that it was James Horner! How funny is it that the two films I immediately thought of were Titanic and A Beautiful Mind?!

If it ain't broke, why fix it?

Yep! I was going during the film "is this James Horner?" and "Okay I now picture Russel Crowe"