Are Your Spidey Senses Tingling? Amazing Spider-Man 2 Adds BJ Novak as Another Villain

Originally published on For Your Excitement.  4 February  2014.

B.J. Novak’s role in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has finally been revealed thanks to an offhand tweet from director Marc Webb. Novak is Alistair Smythe, owner of the deadly Spider-Slayers.

For those of you who do not have an encyclopedic knowledge of Spider-Man canon or, more importantly (and sadly), Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Alistair inherited his robots and hatred for the Webslinger from his father, Spencer. The Spider-Slayers are made specifically to hunt, capture and kill Spider-Man, solidifying Smythe’s villain role.

But with three baddies (Electro, Rhino and Green Goblin) already in the film, how much with Smythe figure in? A viral Daily Bugle article that mentions Smythe’s invention seems to hint that Alistair will be more central to The Amazing Spider-Man 2 than we thought.

The number of villains in the sequel is reaching extravagant terms but this may all be set up for the rumored Sinister Six film that is coming. Adding fuel to this fire are the appearances of Doc Octopus’ arms and Vulture’s wings in the film’s first trailer.

Coming back to Smythe though, Novak looks like a great choice to play the young corporate evildoer. If the film series decides to follow Smythe’s transformation into the Ultimate Spider-Slayer (where he encases himself in armor), that could pit the supervillain directly against our hero in future installments. The third and fourth films already have release dates in 2016 and 2018, respectively.

First up though is The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which hits theaters May 2, 2014.

D23 Expo 2013: Tom Hanks is a Perfect Walt Disney in 'Saving Mr. Banks'

Originally published on TheFlickcast.com.  12 August 2013.

Saving Mr. Banks is more than a movie about bringing Mary Poppins from the page to the screen. It is a tribute to Walt Disney and his incredible team of filmmakers.

The biographical drama follows the journey of adapting P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins books into the feature film we all know and love. Emma Thompson plays a lovely stoic and proper Mrs. Travers. She is the perfect contrast to Tom Hanks’ enthusiastic Walt Disney.

Exclusive clips shown during D23 presented a film that is both entertaining and poignant. The movie is the first time an actor as portrayed Disney in film but Hanks is more than up to the task. He brings Disney’s signature warmth and excitement to the screen with ease.