Spider-Man: Homecoming counts as a clean slate for Peter Parker’s web-slinger. Now nestled into the established Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tom Holland is a true teenage Spider-Man, one that was never successfully conveyed by two previous franchises and their over-aged actors. Aiming to please and bursting with effervescent zest at every flip, swing, and turn, John Watts’ Spider-Man: Homecoming succeeds as a brand new jumping off point for a character that badly needed course correction.
Read MoreContrary to how well the Mythbusters pulled it off, you can't shine sh-t, not turds of the TV or film variety. Terrible TV shows make terrible movies. Asking for anything more is asking too much, and there's nothing wrong with that. All of the zing and jiggle audiences enjoyed in eleven seasons and 242 episodes of Baywatch get the amplified and gaudy movie treatment an entertaining guilty pleasure deserves. Enjoy what you enjoy and don't be ashamed of it.
Read MoreTo this writer, the success of a remake, reboot, or sequel is contingent upon matching the tone of the original work to the best of its ability. If a film gets that tone right, it can be a drastic revision full of changes and updates and still feel respectfully aware and in tune with the previous well-remembered greatness the new film is trying to emulate. That's the taste test that should be put on "Vacation," the new long distance sequel/update of the 1983 National Lampoon comedy classic.
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