KNOWLEDGE, MADE USEFUL
Explore practical, editorially structured guides across 11 industries.
21 results
Some of the most important people in Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) are not those wearing the most elaborate costumes. Peter Parker's schoolmate Ned Leeds, adult ally Happy Hogan, intimidating contact Nick Fury and exhausted teachers Roger Harrington and Julius Dell each pull the story in a differ
7 min read · 1 Nov 2026
A convincing neighbourhood superhero story needs people whose ambitions do not revolve around the hero. In Jon Watts's Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Flash Thompson wants status among schoolmates, Aaron Davis wants to protect the people in his neighbourhood while keeping his own business private, an
7 min read · 1 Nov 2026
Every superhero origin requires a city full of people worth protecting, but an audience needs particular individuals to make that abstract duty emotionally meaningful. In Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Martin Sheen's Uncle Ben, Denis Leary's Captain George Stacy, Sally Field's Aunt May a
7 min read · 1 Nov 2026Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 (2007) brings three different kinds of male supporting performance into conflict with Peter Parker. James Franco's Harry Osborn wants to avenge his father, Topher Grace's Eddie Brock wants professional recognition, and J. K. Simmons's J. Jonah Jameson wants attention for his
6 min read · 1 Nov 2026
Mechanical arms emerge from a laboratory, grip walls, break medical equipment and eventually surround a scientist who cannot control the danger he has created. The technical spectacle of Spider-Man 2 (2004) is memorable, but the artistic reason those arms matter lies in their relationship with human
8 min read · 1 Nov 2026
In Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002), the supporting men around Peter Parker demonstrate kinds of influence that cannot be defeated with webbing. J. Jonah Jameson shapes public opinion, a wrestling announcer sells an identity, Uncle Ben offers guidance and Harry Osborn searches for his father's approval
7 min read · 1 Nov 2026
Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker and Jamie Foxx's Max Dillon are both unusually sensitive to how other people see them. Peter enjoys his place as a masked hero but struggles to live honestly with Gwen Stacy. Max is convinced he does not matter to anybody until an encounter with Spider-Man gives him a
7 min read · 1 Nov 2026
Edward Norton and Brad Pitt perform two strikingly different versions of confidence in Fight Club. Norton plays an unnamed narrator whose intelligence rarely translates into ease; Pitt plays Tyler Durden as a man who seems to have solved problems the narrator cannot even name. The performances are d
6 min read · 1 Nov 2026
Michael Corleone's tragedy in The Godfather Part II depends on people who cannot be reduced to supporting pieces on a chessboard. John Cazale as Fredo, Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen, Lee Strasberg as Hyman Roth and Michael V Gazzo as Frank Pentangeli each create a different pressure on the central char
6 min read · 1 Nov 2026