Spider-Man: Homecoming, starring Tom Holland as a true and proper teenage Spider-Man/Peter Parker, is a welcome and refreshing clean slate for the character. It's too bad it took three franchise attempts to get here. Filled to the brim with both easter eggs, supporting characters, swell touches of character, and zesty heart, this is the Spider-Man film you've always hoped for. Enjoy my full spoken review layered with an interactive whiteboard lesson for the latest "Movie Classroom" video review on this website's YouTube channel:

MOVIE REVIEW: Spider-Man: Homecoming

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.

2017, 4 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanJune 29, 2017AMC River East 212017, 2017 Summer Movies, Marvel Films, Marvel Comics, Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sony Pictures, Sony Entertainment, Dolby, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Iron Man, Avengers, The Avengers, John Watts, Cop Car, Michael Keaton, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Kurt Russell, Batman, Beetlejuice, Donald Glover, Bokeem Woodbine, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Chernus, Hannibal Buress, Martin Starr, Mac Gargan, Kenneth Choi, Michael Giacchino, Steve Ditko, Deadpool, John Hughes, Captain America, Captain America: Civil War, Marvel Studios, Christopher Ford, Horrible Bosses, Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, The LEGO Movie, Jacob Batalan, Tony Revolori, Zendaya, Laura Harrier, Aunt May, Vulture, Shocker, movie review, film review, movie commentary, film commentary, comic book movie, comic book films, Comic Book Guy, comic book movies, film franchises, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, life lessons, life lessons from movies, life lessons from film, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Jon WattsComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Jason Bourne

Here’s one word this writer never thought he would use to describe a Paul Greengrass-directed Jason Bourne film starring Matt Damon: FORMULAIC. After a tremendously successful trilogy (and not-so-successful spin-off) that had the right ending nine years ago, Greengrass and Damon were coaxed back into another cat-and-mouse spy game. Its rote construction and stakes that always feel like an arm-length away from stronger impact, “Jason Bourne” may be questionable enough to make us wonder if we’ve been seeing the same film four times now.

REVIEW RE-RUN: The Expendables 2

HUMOROUS DISCLAIMER: I had pretty overwhelming feeling going in that The Expendables 2 was going to be a carbon copy of the first movie from 2010, only bigger, louder, busier, and very few minor differences of note. Well, I was right. While redundant enough to come across as Xerox as The Hangover Part II was to The Hangover with just a change of setting, this doesn't make The Expendables 2 any less awesome. To have a little fun and prove this point, I have copied my EXACT 2010 review of The Expendables word-for-word below (follow the link and see) and added strike-through edits and red text additions of those very minor differences. Enjoy!

MOVIE REVIEW: Guardians of the Galaxy

"Guardians of the Galaxy," on paper, was supposed to be that movie that tested the studio's resilience and ability, yet it's aiming to be the big August hitter for the summer of 2014. Ladies and gentlemen, it will win that title and then some. As out-there as it is, this is the most flat-out fun a Marvel movie has ever been. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" might be the better overall film and "The Avengers" will always be the first cornerstone off this combined universe's monumental success, but "Guardians of the Galaxy" might be the movie you keep watching year after year as a new favorite. The catchy and entertaining trailers nearly don't do it justice.

MOVIE REVIEW: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Every single positive piece of praise and advanced buzz about this movie is completely true. The is the best movie I have seen this summer, by a landslide. This film is tremendous on every single level. This is the summer blockbuster you need to pay to see. This is the movie you'll make a point to put on the shelf or the digital library in the future. This is the movie that, years from now, you will point to as the coming out party for something even bigger that's happened since. This is the movie we were promised and were waiting for. This one is going to leave a mark on our cinematic memory.

MOVIE REVIEW: Chef

Buyer beware, do not go into this movie hungry. You will chew the arm off of the person next to you and that's never a good date move (unless you're watching a zombie flick, which this is far from). Folks, do the dinner before the movie on this one, ladies and gentlemen, or you will willingly overeat afterwards. I warned you now. You'll see.

MOVIE REVIEW: X-Men: Days of Future Past

The successful revitalization brought by “X-Men: First Class” and the unfaded star power of Hugh Jackman have brought us to “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” Original series director Bryan Singer, fresh from “Jack the Giant Slayer,” and “X-Men: The Last Stand” screenwriter Simon Kinberg have returned to correct old mistakes, untangle the knots, and realign this previously failed franchise for a healthy new lease on cinematic life and relevance.