MOVIE REVIEW: Superman Returns

After twenty years Superman has finally made his way back to the big screen, and I was very impressed with the flying effects and the overall look of the film. Now mind you, I only saw it on DTS not on IMAX, I'm hopefully going to be seeing it in 3D this Sunday, so we will hold out for another article on the effectiveness of the CGI. I have to say watching the opening credits with the original John Williams score did give me goose bumps, I mean the last time I saw Superman on the big screen I was nine, so I think I'm entitled. On top of that the last time I saw Supes he was being chased around by a nuclear guy with a spray on tan, girly fingernails and bad hair. This was a shitty movie and although it wasn't Batman and Robin shitty it did leave me with a terrible impression of old blue boy. Now for the last fifteen years or so Superman has been pawned off on one director/actor team after another, until finally settling in the hands of Bryan Singer.

Overall I enjoyed the film, but I didn't love it. As I write this I am trying to figure out why this film, for all of its potential, cannot touch the original Superman film in its greatness. I mean Superman uses a couple of lines from the first movie, which I guess is supposed to invoke some continuity, but while he made coy little references to the first two films he never really addresses them, so it's a little strange. I know that Singer loves the first two movies, especially Richard Donner's, but this movie feels like it is too much in the shadow of the Superman of the past, not the Superman of Tomorrow. I always believe that a good Superman story is very difficult to write because of many things but mostly because he's so damn invulnerable that you can go in only two directions; you tell a story that attacks his emotional state of mind or you create some alien badass with the same power of Superman to duke it out to the end. For instance one of the things I liked most about the first Superman is the warning that his father, Jor-El, gives him at the very beginning of the film. He says that he is forbidden to change the course of Human History; ergo he is not to use his powers to time travel in order to change an event. When Superman's earth father dies of a heart attack he wonders why, with all of his powers, was he unable to do anything to stop it. Fast forward to the end of the movie when Lex Luthor uses rockets to blow up the San Andreas Fault causing a massive earthquake in California. Supes saves the day but is too late to save his true love Lois Lane; she dies in a rock slide. So by the time Superman gets there she is already dead, Blue Boy goes into a rage, and breaks his father's ultimate rule. In one of the cooler scenes in cinema, Superman alters the rotation of the earth, causing it to rewind, thus saving Lois. This was a great plot point it challenges Superman to do bad things with his powers even if it's for a good cause. It shows while he is an alien he can also be selfish. In the new film Superman is poised with an interesting dilemma he has returned from a five year hiatus to find the love of his life Lois Lane with child and engaged to be married. This proves unsettling to the caped wonder, but unfortunately Bryan Singer does not dig into this point as much as he should have. You also have a great mystery about the whereabouts of Superman for the last five years, and then they don't really explore it, that really pissed me off. The only thing they say about it is that Astronomers thought they found Krypton so Superman left to go and check it out, apparently he found nothing and it took him five years to do it. I thought this explanation was a little lame. I mean, he knows and we know that the planet exploded, so what is he really looking for? Also, if you are going to present this as a possibility wouldn't you want him to find something of interest that could link him to his past? This was a totally wasted opportunity.

Anyway I thought that Brandon Routh as Superman was pretty good, he did have a lot of similarities to Christopher Reeve. The use of Marlon Brando's Jor-El from the first film was awesome and added a nice dramatic lift to the film. I thought that Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane was a bit of a miscast but she did ok overall. Sam Huntington was annoying as Jimmy Olsen. Some people think Jimmy is supposed to be this dork in a bowtie. Maybe in the fifties that worked, but even the Lois and Clark TV show got rid of the stupid bowtie and gave him a little more development. Frank Langella as Perry White was fine, but I guess his character made me also realize why Superman can be, well...boring--Everyone loves the big guy including the newspapers. I guess that's why I like Spider-Man more; it's tougher to be a hero when even the people you try to save hate you. James Marsden is the other man and I think he does an admirable job as Richard White, nephew to Perry. There isn't enough tension between Supes and Richard but I think that it was nice that he was not the clichéd dickhead boyfriend that obviously is not going to compete with Superman; he is actually a good guy. Of course Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor was fun, he was evil as always, he kept a sense of humor and he gets to stab Supes with some Kryptonite. Parker Posey as Kitty, Lex's girlfriend, was funny at times but she felt like a tired Ms. Teschmacher from the original film.

So don't take what I said too much to heart. I did enjoy this film overall and I think most viewers will too. Superman is an iconic character that represents the birth of comics as an art form, while telling the story of a powerful immigrant who came from the stars to take on the traits of his adopted home: truth, justice, and the American way. Superman is America, and what better way to celebrate the birth of a nation by watching its greatest champion.
Grade: 3 Buckets

MOVIE REVIEW: The Breakup

After seeing this movie I have to say Vince Vaughn is --- mental, but he is also extraordinarily funny. I thought that the movie was not a typical chick flick with a dose of male bonding just to appease the better half. I felt that it made a decent case for both sides and why everyone, male or female can contribute equally to a crumbling relationship.

Gary (Vince Vaughn) and Brooke (Jennifer Aniston) at the start of the movie meet at a Cubs game where Gary uses his bizarre crazy/coolness to blatantly hit on and actually win Brooke from some guy with some really bad plaid shorts. Thus they show their illustrious two years of happiness through a montage of photos showing how happy they are and blah, blah--opening credit sequence--blah blah. Then we see them at their jobs. Gary is a tour guide with one of those tacky buses showing tourists the sites in Chicago. Brooke is an art dealer for a quirky but funny Judy Davis as Marilyn Dean. They come home Gary wants to sit and watch the Cubs game, Brooke wants him to get ready for company. It all starts out so innocently, when he gets freaked out at dinner by her "not sure if he's gay" brother (John Michael Higgins) and she gets pissed at him when he won't do the dishes. "That is when people stop being polite and start getting real." (I know shameless Real World reference.) Brooke explodes by dumping Gary which sets off a chain of events that causes the couple to absolutely despise each other. He buys a pool table to replace the dining room table, she kicks him off their couples bowling team, they spar back and forth, mostly Brooke trying to make Gary jealous by bringing over different suitors. One of them was a complete moron the other one ended up liking Gary more than Brooke. Ultimately neither one of them wants to leave their cushy digs and apparently neither one of them can afford the apartment on their own. The supporting cast was great Jon Favreau was solidly funny as Gary's friend Johnny O and Cole Hauser as Gary's perverted brother Lupus.

Like Wedding Crashers, The Breakup, was funny and the chemistry between Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston was perfect especially when they were at each other's throats. If you love Vince Vaughn then you will get a good laugh, and for all of you Jennifer Aniston fans out there, Jen gives as good as she gets and you get to see great backside, literally.
Grade: 3 Buckets

MOVIES: Superman Takes Off On IMAX

This Wednesday IMAX will be featuring another Big Summer Blockbuster, Superman, but it's going to be a little different than usual. This is the first time a Hollywood live-action movie has been converted into IMAX 3-D. With some new high falootin' technology IMAX is able to convert 2D into 3D for about twenty minutes of the film. Those twenty minutes I hear are going to be of the spectacular aerial shots of Superman speeding through the sky. I'm pretty much a fan boy when it comes to this kind of stuff so I am obviously excited. There have been some early reviews mostly positive but I was hoping to hear more words like Amazing and visually fantastic. So far Entertainment Weekly said it was just ok, but everybody from Variety to the New York Post has enjoyed it immensely.

Superman has been pretty terrible since Richard Pryor and the Nuclear Man and that was 1987. Over the years many writers, directors and actors have come and gone on Warner Brother's payroll to make the Man of Steel fly again. Sometimes I forget that at one time they cast Nicholas Cage as Superman, which had to be the worst bit of casting I have ever heard of. That's like casting Jack Black as the Green Lantern or Danny DeVito as Wolverine. I mean Nick Cage looks like a cross between an insurance salesman and a crack addict; it's those sunken eyes of his. I think if you wanted to make the movie with Nick Cage as Superman worse, you couldn't do any better than Tim Burton as the director. Now before anyone goes off on me about the greatness of Tim Burton, I just want to say that I think he's great. I enjoyed both Batman and Batman Returns but Tim Burton is too creepy to take on Superman. You need the Fourth of July, apple pie, good ole' American Boy Scout look to it, something that is completely foreign to Burton. The next writer director team slashed from the list, my favorite writer J.J. Abrams of Alias, Lost and the new Mission Impossible III. He also took a stab at writing two drafts for the new Superman movie, but alas he pissed off everyone including myself when he tried to rewrite Supes' history by claiming that Krypton didn't blow up. Now we come to the MTV director McG---The same McG of Charlie's Angels fame--Charlie's Angels? I've seen both and other than the fact that the women in that film are hot, these movies suck beyond anything made by the Olson Twins or Hillary "Make me want to puke" Duff. It boggles my mind that Warner Brothers would ever relinquish the directing reigns to a pole smoker like McG.--His name is friggin' McG people, that's your first clue.

So what makes this team of director Bryan Singer and writers Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris any better than the previous group? I think that Bryan Singer, who is not necessarily a comic book fan, directs comic book movies very well. I think he understands the audience but he also is capable of creating a realistic environment for his super hero characters to exist in. Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty both co-wrote X-Men 2 which has always been my favorite of the X trilogy and one of the best so far of the comic adaptations. With the addition of Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor this movie continues to look better and better.
So remember to go and see Superman Returns on Wednesday or this weekend and make sure you see it in IMAX, don't be a cheapskate, I'm still out of work and I'm gonna fork over my fifteen bucks, it'll be worth it---trust me.

DVD REVIEW: House of Sand and Fog

This afternoon I decided I would finally sit down and watch House of Sand and Fog. I had this movie on my queue at Netflix for at least a year. The reason I have held off on watching this film is due to the depressing nature of the trailer. I kept telling myself this is going to be a good film, and it really is, but just watching the trailer makes me think in the back of my head that it's going to depress me to the point of putting a bullet in my brain. So today of all days I decided what the hell, it's a good movie it's got Jennifer Connelly in it and she look gorgeous in the trailers and it also has Sir Ben Kingsley, who tends to do a lot of crappy movies of late, but this is also the guy who played Gandhi and Itzak Stern from Shindler's List.

Kelly, (Jennifer Connelly) is evicted out of her house by the local government because of a business tax she claims to have never owed. Kelly is already deeply depressed as she is a recovering alcoholic, her husband has left her and it seems that she has a lot of trouble staying afloat financially. As she is being evicted she is comforted by a deputy Sheriff, Lester (Ron Eldard), who becomes romantically involved with Kelly. Almost as soon as Kelly is thrown out literally, on her ass, the government auctions off her house and it is bought by a former Iranian Colonel named Behrani. (Sir Ben Kingsley) In the beginning he appears to be a cold unsympathetic man, but as the story digs deeper we see a man who is out of place in the United States and it's culture, a proud man who loves his family, but has allowed his wild dreams of returning to Iran, and his house on the Caspian Sea, control his destiny which takes a turn into a cruel tragedy. While on the other hand Kelly has lost her sense of purpose and identity and decides that the house she was mistakenly evicted from is the cure to all of her suffering. Her new boyfriend Lester, who is convinced Kelly has been wronged not only by the government but the Behrani's themselves, tries fervently to push the Behrani's out of her house. While Kelly falls deeper and deeper into an almost suicidal tailspin.

Sounds like a fun movie huh. As depressing as this film was it was shot very well by the very talented Roger Deakins. The performances were extraordinary, especially from the ensemble cast like Behrani's wife Nadi (Shohreh Aghdashloo); she brought a Middle Eastern grace to the role that I have never seen in mainstream film before. In a sense this film also did what I felt Crash did last year, smashing the differences between ethnicities, old world and new world.
This was a powerful film about generally good people who have many chances to take a step back and do the right thing, unfortunately, because of their human weaknesses they end up turning the blade rather than stop the bleeding.
Grade: 4 Buckets

CELEBRITY BUCKET 'O DUMB: Brittany's Birthing Hotspot--Namibia?

Movie stars and Celebrities do and say stupid things and what kind of an entertainment blog would we be if we didn't write articles reveling in their dumbness. Hence the Celebrity Bucket 'O Dumb. This week's winner is-----Brittany Spears!

As you all know Brittany Spears is the pop starlet who wrote and performed some of the most god-awful bubblegum songs ever created on this little planet of ours. Songs like "Hit Me Baby One More Time" and "Oops, I Did It Again." Pop stations used to play these songs ad nauseum for years until finally K-Fed knocked Brittany up and got her off the charts. The good news is that she doesn't seem to be recording anything the bad news is the paparazzi and other entertainment news mags will not just let the girl fade into the night. Brittany has had her baby and now I can't watch even my respected news programs without them mentioning how Brittany is a bad mom. She drops her children in public and she apparently doesn't know how to operate the child seat. Now I will say in her defense that these snaparazzis get out of hand endangering the subjects they take pictures of and not allowing them any privacy, but I will also say that Brittany to some degree did do this to herself. There are many celebrities in and outside of Hollywood, some bigger than others, but if you really want to safeguard your privacy then you have to work for it. Most publicists like to think that any publicity is good publicity, and that is mostly true, but if you are considered a recluse and you rarely cause a scene, then after a while the public forgets about you. This isn't always the case but it can be, if said celebrity would try, but she's not going to Namibia to hide; she's going to Namibia to make more babies and get a little press.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were recently in the African country of Namibia where she gave birth to their first child. Apparently they were shielded from the mainstream press by the Namibians and allowed to have as much of a normal birth as possible. Although I have to say I at least respect Pitt and Jolie for trying to make an issue out of these third world countries and allowing the U.S. to see how the other side of the world lives. Ms. Jolie obviously seems to care about these people and made a point by accepting 4.1 million dollars for pictures of their new baby and giving the money to a Namibian hospital. I have to say, that was very nice of them, and it shines a spotlight on Hollywood to lead by example. Anyway, going back to the reason behind Brittany’s Bucket award--she wants to go to Namibia to have her second child, not as it would seem because she too wants to help a third world country like the Pitts, no, that would assume that Mrs. Spears knows where Namibia is. She says that her husband K-Fed really enjoys African-American culture and that he'll feel at home rapping with the natives. Um, okay... But here's the real reason why Brittany wants to have her child in Namibia, she says to Matt Lauer on NBC, "I heard that Namibia has laws that let celebrities say whether or not journalists are allowed in the country. That's so important, even more important than getting the same villa that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had." Are you frigging kidding me? This is a country with a high poverty rate and terrible living conditions; unless Mrs. Spears is looking to be even shallower than I believe she already is, it might behoove her to shut the hell up crank out that baby in sunny Los Angeles and never speak of this fairy tale place Namibia again.
(Please note: To show that I am not heartless, check out the links to Namibia. Click here, here and here as well )