The Amazing Spider-Man...

I was not a fan of the Sam Rami Spider-Man movies. I thought Tobey Maguire was all wrong; Kirsten Dunst was not in the least like Mary Jane Watson - even the colour of her hair was off. The only characters I thought they got right were Aunt May and J. Jonah Jameson.

I was disappointed, because I love, truly love, Peter Parker - one of the greatest characters ever created in comics, and Stan Lee's best masterpiece.

So I approached this Spider-Man movie with trepidation. I'd seen the trailer, and though I thought Andrew Garfield looked much more like Peter Parker should than Tobey Maguire, he wasn't what I picture when I read the comic. He's more Ditko than Romita, and it's the John Romita Sr. Peter who is most firmly in my head.

So... I went to the movie yesterday. And I surprised myself by loving it. I kept getting sniffly over it, not because of what was actually happening, but because I've loved these characters for so long, they meant something to me.

( A few specifics... )

This still isn't quite the Spider-Man movie of my dreams, but it's getting closer.

Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a made-for-TV movie from 1998. I have in my time watched rather a lot of cheaply-made TV movies based on comics - Generation X and Doctor Strange come to mind - and this was so far the worst I couldn't believe it.

I mean, it's Nick Fury. One of my greatest childhood crushes - who grew up to be James Bond. Of course I always love him. Right?

David Hasselhof manages to make Fury half-thug and half-idiot. Not a cliche is spared in the plot or script, but that might not have been so bad if Fury had shown any depth of personality or vestige of charisma. He can't even chew a cigar convincingly.



Dum Dum Dugan had no red hair, no bowler hat, and, worst of all, no mustache. This is not a Dum Dum Dugan I can recognize.

Lisa Rinna as Countess Valentina de Allegra Fontaine was maybe the best thing about the movie - which isn't saying much, but she was nicely personable. Baron Strucker and his Nazi offspring were silly and boring.

Really, the best thing in the movie was the outer shots of the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier in flight. Pretty cool. But then the interior shots were ghastly - shabby battleship interiors that made me think of the technology of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., made thirty-five years earlier.

I'm not Samuel Jackson's biggest fan, but his Nick Fury is a thousand times more interesting and admirable and believable.

And I still want to see Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the role.

Teeth...

I went to the dentist today. I'd been fearing and dreading and needing this ever since I'd been diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome; and the last time I saw my dentist, he mentioned my dry mouth, and gave me advice about it.

That was a year ago.

Now my condition is worse and my teeth are worse, and my anxiety about both was bothering me. Which meant it was necessary to face the problem and deal with it, sooner rather than later. ("Deal with it" includes somehow paying the dental bills.)

In an hour of treatment, and Dr. Barnes fixed the teeth that were actually bothering me, and his sympathetic Oh, no! when I told him about the Sjogren's was balm to my worried soul. He said he thinks autoimmune diseases are on the rise because of all the chemicals we ingest and interact with. I could only agree, as well as one can agree with a mouth full of someone else's fingers and instruments and tooth-fixing compounds.

His advice: sip water as often as possible, don't rinse the toothpaste out after brushing, and use dental tape instead of dental floss.

Right.

I have a follow-up appointment on Monday, and knowing it's there does a lot for my peace of mind.