Disneyland's Avengers area to open in June with Spider-Man, shawarma

LOS ANGELES -- A new Avengers-themed area featuring a Spider-Man ride, roaming superheroes and a shawarma food cart will open at Walt Disney Co’s Disneyland Resort in California on June 4, the head of the company’s parks division said on Thursday.

The debut will come weeks after the resort in Anaheim, about 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles, begins welcoming back guests for the first time in a year starting on April 30.

Disneyland, the original Disney theme park, and neighboring California Adventure were closed in March 2020 to help prevent spread of the novel coronavirus. The shutdown thwarted plans to open the Avengers Campus in July 2020.

Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney parks, experiences and products, announced the new opening date as he offered a glimpse of the Avengers attractions during a pre-taped video shown to reporters.

In a new Spider-Man ride called “Web Slingers,” which combines physical and virtual environments, guests will team with Spidey to capture out-of-control Spider-Bots.

“You will swear Peter Parker’s right there,” said Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, referring to Spider-Man’s alter ego.

A swinging Spider-Man character also will perform acrobatics above the park’s rooftops. The character is a “stuntronic” robot designed to perform somersaults while flying 60 feet in the air, Disney said.

Black Panther, Black Widow, Doctor Strange, Iron Man also will found in the park, as well as a Quinjet, an advanced aircraft used by the Avengers.

“There’s only one place you can see one of our Quinjets,” Feige said. “It’s either in the movie or it’s here.”

Food options will include a cart offering shawarma, a nod to a scene at the end of the 2012 “Avengers” movie when various superheroes ate the Middle Eastern dish together after saving the world.

Visitors to Disneyland will need advance reservations and must follow COVID-19 safety precautions including wearing masks and social distancing.

-reuters-

'Spider-Man: Far From Home' earns nearly half a billion pesos

"Spider-Man: Far From Home", the wall-crawling and web-swinging friendly neighborhood superhero, is going from strength to strength - earning a mammoth P464.07-million in Philippine cinemas in its first two weeks of release. 

This has made it Columbia Pictures’ all-time biggest grossing movie in the Philippines, with no sign of slowing down. The film smashed the studio record on Day 13 when it outperformed the final gross of 2014’s Amazing Spider-Man 2 at P451.9-million.

The top three biggest theater receipts came from SM Mall of Asia (P13.8-M), SM Megamall (P13.3-M) and Trinoma (P12.37-M).

In the Top 15 rankings are SM North EDSA (12.33-M), Glorietta IV (P8.6-M), Power Plant (P8-M), Greenbelt (P7.3-M), Alabang Town Center (P5.9-M), UP Town Center (P5.765-M), SM Aura (P5.760-M), Ayala Cebu (P5.71-M), SM Cebu (P5.65-M), Robinsons Magnolia (P5.60-M), Vista Mall Evia (P5.5-M) and Greenhills (P5.2-M).

The Tom Holland-starrer is still playing in over 200 screens across the country, going on its 3rd week.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Movie review: ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’

[WARNING: This review contains spoilers.]

We all thought comic book character Spider-Man already had his definitive film version when Tobey Maguire played him in Sam Raimi's trilogy from 2002-2007. Marc Webb tried to reboot the series with Andrew Garfield in two films 2012-2014, but these were too dark to gain any lasting public favor, stopping after two episodes.

In 2016, Sony entered a special licensing agreement with Marvel to allow Spider-Man to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with "Captain America: Civil War." We got our first glimpse of then 20 year-old Tom Holland play our friendly neighborhood web-slinger. We would get to meet him more in his stand-alone movie "Spider-Man: Homecoming" (2017).

In "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018) and "Avengers: Endgame" (2019), we saw Spidey dusted by the Thanos finger snap and came back to witness the death of his mentor Tony Stark. In this newest film adventure, 16-year old Peter Parker will deal with the aftermath of Stark's death and his fledgling career as a superhero.

Simply wanting to enjoy the carefree joys of being a teenager, Peter Parker went for a European trip with his classmates without his Spidey costume. He just wanted to buy MJ a special gift in Venice and give it to her on the Eiffel Tower after professing his love to her. Powerful monsters of water and fire called the Elementals came along to spoil all his plans. However, Peter meets a new superhero Mysterio whom he saw to be a new mentor.

Like "Homecoming" before it, Tom Holland was such a lovable Spider-Man. He had that vulnerable high-pitched squeaky voice which immediately makes you care for him as your own son. We can feel his inner conflicts as a teenager in puppy love, who also recognized that his great power came with great responsibility. We can feel his anguish for his departed mentor and his desperation for another guide as a superhero.

Back from the Blip (as the dusting is known) were his best friend Ned (Fil-Am actor Jacob Batalon), arch enemy Flash (Tony Revolori) and lady love MJ (Zendaya), and they were all along on the grand European getaway. We meet his inept nerdy teacher chaperones (J.B. Smoove and Martin Starr) and other classmates like pretty girl Betty Brant (Angourie Rice) who had taken an unexpected fancy on Ned, and pretty boy Brad Davis (31 year-old Remy Hii), Peter's rival for MJ's attention.

Back to their SHIELD duties are Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders). Throughout the film, you sort of feel ol' Nick was not his usual cool and collected self, and you'd have to wait for the extra scene after the end credits to clear that one up. Stark's bodyguard Happy Hogan (an ever-congenial Jon Favreau) kept an eye on Peter, but he also had another eye trained on Peter's pretty Aunt Mae (Marissa Tomei). And then there is the hero on the block, Mysterio (a charismatic Jake Gyllenhaal), whose relationship with Peter made an indelible impression on the teenage hero.

Director Jon Watts continues his winning streak in telling yet another tale about our web-slinger as he matured another level in the superhero business. There was never a dull moment throughout, as the focus shifted from breathtaking Elementals action to funny classmates comedy and back, ever so fluidly and entertainingly with scintillating special visual effects. There were several surreal scenes where illusion and reality became indistinguishable from each other for both the characters onscreen and us -- this was top-notch film editing in action.

By the last frame of the movie, I rated it a 9/10. But then came that AWESOME mid-credits scene that threw me, and everyone else, completely off our tracks. This was one major super surprise twist (and cameo guest) which no one saw coming. I just could not hold my applause while catching my breath on what unfolded in those couple of quick incredible minutes. That one extra scene pushed my initial rating up one full point, making my final rating a solid 10/10.

This review was originally published in the author's blog, "Fred Said."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Spider-Man to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe

MANILA - It's official: Spider-Man is heading home.

Marvel Studios and Sony Entertainment have announced a landmark deal on Monday that will see the web-slinging superhero appear in an undisclosed film within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), joining the likes of Iron Man, Captain America and the rest of the Avengers.

 The debut will be followed by a Spider-Man standalone film from Sony marked for a July 28, 2017 release date, that will be co-produced by Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige and outgoing Sony Pictures co-chair Amy Pascal.

It was also noted that Sony Pictures will continue to finance, distribute, own and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films.

"I am thrilled to team with my friends at Sony Pictures along with Pascal to produce the next Spider-Man movie," said Feige in a statement.

"Marvel's involvement will hopefully deliver the creative continuity and authenticity that fans demand from the MCU. I am equally excited for the opportunity to have Spider-Man appear in the MCU, something which both we at Marvel, and fans alike, have been looking forward to for years," he added.

Marvel first sold the rights to Spider-Man back in 1985. It was eventually acquired by Sony Pictures Entertainment and went on to become a powerhouse franchise, grossing more than $4 billion worldwide.

"Spider-Man is one of Marvel's great characters, beloved around the world. We're thrilled to work with Sony Pictures to bring the iconic web-slinger into the MCU, which opens up fantastic new opportunities for storytelling and franchise building," said Bob Iger, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company in a statement.

The new deal means that four upcoming Marvel Studios films will now have new release dates.

"Thor: Ragnarok" will now be shown on November 3, 2017, while "Black Panther" will make its way to theaters on July 6, 2018.

"Captain Marvel" will hit the big screen on November 2, 2018, and "Inhumans" will now debut in July 12, 2019.

 It was also reported that actor Andrew Garfield will not be reprising his role as Spider-Man.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Andrew Garfield to give message to Pinoys on Earth Hour

MANILA - "Spider-Man" star Andrew Garfield will be giving a message to his Filipino fans this weekend during the annual Earth Hour switch-off, organizers announced Thursday.

The message from the 30-year-old actor will be shown at the Eastwood City Open Park at around 8:30 p.m.

Spider-Man, the Marvel superhero portrayed by Garfield on the big screen, is the official celebrity endorser of this year's Earth Hour 60+ campaign.

According to organizers, Eastwood City's switch-off is one of the biggest single Earth Hour switch-offs in Metro Manila with 19 residential towers, 10 office buildings, three malls, and a hotel participating in the annual event.

Garfield's part in the Earth Hour campaign leads up to the release of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," which will hit theaters in the Philippines on April 30.

In an earlier interview with ABS-CBN News, Garfield turned emotional as he gave a message to the millions affected by super typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan), which devastated parts of central Philippines in November.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com