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| Superman Returns
Going into this movie I was pumped. I had watched the Donner
original the night before and there is just something magical about
it. It's visual style rivals that of most modern superhero films
and it is still in my mind the greatest superhero/comic book film ever
made. Not because it was the most loyal to the stories, or to the
way Metropolis looked, but that they got the characters right and it
just had that great triumphant feel we got whenever we saw Superman
(Christopher Reeve) up on the screen. It just made you feel good
to be alive, and Christopher Reeve's performance was more than
just a performance. He WAS Superman. It didn't feel like an
actor playing a part, he felt part of the role. He was totally
convincing that he was the Man of Steel. Not to mention that when
John Williams' score accompanied him on screen, he became iconic,
almost godlike. The film is bigger than just a superhero movie,
it's a Classic, and there are few that would dispute that.
So when I heard that Bryan Singer was going to direct this film, I was
a little skeptical. I thought, like he did with X-Men, he would
change a lot of things. Things that made Superman feel like
Superman, his costume, the heroic music, his hair color, the way his
hair is styled, the "S" symbol on his chest. All these are things
that make Superman feel like Superman. In "X-Men" he did
change the costumes, he changed character origins, the way certain
characters acted to circumstances. I was afraid that would be his
approach to Superman.
I followed the film on the internet and when I heard that the film was
going to be a lot like the Richard Donner original, I breathed a sigh
of relief. I was like "They might actually get it right."
And as I walked into the IMAX theatre last night, I wasn't nervous like
I normally am for a big release for a film. I just had a gut
feeling in me that there was nothing to worry about. And boy was
I right. From the beginning shot as the Krypton theme started to
play, I was immersed. And then when the classic Superman theme
started to go and the main titles started (in the same style as the
original), I knew that this was going to be a wild, fun ride. I
just let my mind get totally immersed and collapse intot he world that
Bryan Singer brought to the screen. He created a mix of what was
Donner's Superman and the Superman from the comics. Metropolis is
Metropolis, not NYC. And yet Superman is a mirror image of
Christopher Reeve and I think he would have been extremely proud of
Brandon Routh's performance. Routh doesn't overact it, he simply
compliments Reeve's performance and adds some elements of his
own. Never once when I was watching the movie did I feel that he
wasn't Superman and was just an actor playing a part. He felt
like Superman to me, just as Christopher Reeve did. And while he
wasn't as good as Christopher Reeve, I never felt threatened by
him. I never felt like he would turn in a bad
performance. This had to be a lot of pressure on him and really
big shoes to fill, yet he did it with grace and class.
Lex Luthor....I was a huge fan of Gene Hackman's performance in the
original film (I even felt he deserved an Oscar nod for Supporting
actor as some of his lines in the film are legendary), despite it not
following true to form of what Lex was in the comics at the time.
Really at the time he was kind of a stale bland villian in the comics
and I felt Hackman breathed life back into the role with the comedic
element to him. When Kevin Spacey was cast for the new film, I
just knew he would be good in the role, but I was worried that he might
play it too straight. I was relieved that he kept bits of the
comedy that is Lex Luthor and yet he feels much more deadly in this
film. You feel like he can kill Superman himself, something that
Hackman's performance never really had. Yet he doesn'tt have the
same presence that Hackman had as Lex, but that doesn't take away from
him. In fact I would say the appearance and way that Spacey
played him is the most loyal truest form of Lex Luthor ever put on film.
Kate Bosworth felt like Lois Lane to me, she just worked. She may
not have been as good as Margot Kidder or even as good as perhaps Teri
Hatcher. But like Routh you never feel like she's playing a
character, she feels like Lois Lane. And her Lois is different
because she is at odds with Superman for much of the film, she's not a
real nice Lois Lane. There are even times where she takes out her
frustrations on Clark. In fact one of my only complaints about
the film is that I felt there wasn't enough interaction between Lois
and Clark. It always feels like James Marsdan's Richard White is
in the way, although his character was a nice surprise. Instead
of hating him, like you would think most would of Superman's rival for
Lois, he's actually a good guy who's very likable. Will miss him
as Cyclops though and wish there would have been a better solution to
that problem than killing him off in X-Men 3.
Seeing Marlon Brando resurrected was great but I expected more out of
it, who knows, maybe they'll be able to put that CGI to the test and
create a full bodied Brando for the next film in like a flashback scene
or something. It was a real nice touch to have the film dedicated
to Christopher and Dana Reeve, I only wished it would have been at the
top of the film, instead it's in the middle of the end credits, and I
think it would have been great to hear the applause at the beginning of
the film for Reeve.
The effects - These are the effects I'm sure Richard Donner dreamed
about having when he made the original film back in 1978. You
really feel like Superman is flying and doing all these amazing
things. It's amazing what 30 years of technology will do.
You really do believe a man can fly, stop a 747 from crashing, catch
the Daily Planet ball in mid air, and carry an island that is growing
to the size of a continent. These are top notch effects and it's
going to take a lot for something to beat them at the academy awards.
All in all, this is my favorite film of the year thus far. It had
everything I expected out of a Superman movie and was as much a tribute
the original as it was a new film. There are elements that are
new, and there are some that are repeated but I felt like it was the
perfect mix. Go see this film and if you can see it in the IMAX
3D which is the future of movies. It truly is amazing and I can't
wait to see how good that technology gets in the years to come.
Superman does indeed return this summer....
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| Sorry for the lack of updates. Saw Superman Returns last night
and I absolutely loved that film. Will post a full review later
on tonight.....later gang
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| Couldn't go into work today, was too tired. So I'm just here at
home, bored out of my mind watching Lois and Clark on DVD.
It sucks when you have a real late night (thanks to the person who
called me, though I didn't mind it) and are so tired that you just
can't get up in the morning to go to work. What sucks is I need
the money, and I can't afford to take any days off. But hell,
maybe if I drank coffee, that might help. LOL!!
I just feel like doing nothing today than just chilling on the couch
and watching TV and movies. Oh I feel like shit....lol
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| it's 3am on a Saturday night and I'm tired, but thanks to Bel 
I'm watching one of my favorite movies, Robin Hood : Prince of Thieves
(thanks sweetie! ;))....I don't know why some people didn't like
it...it's a classic and such a better movie than some of the crap
that was made back in the early 90s. Alan Rickman is a
god!!!! And Kevin Costner was pretty damn good in it, true he
didn't speak with a british accent, but who cares...whoever said Robin
Hood needed to anyway??
I got a webcam today, so now anyone who wants to see me can on yahoo instant messenger, YAY!!! glc_hitman2003
Super super tired.....
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| Well that's it, Sabres lost tonight 4-2. To put it simple, they
were outplayed and at times they looked like they were sleeping out
there. I don't feel sorry for them, I feel sorry for the city of
Buffalo. Buffalo put it's heart and soul into this team, as if
they were the one thing that could get this city out of the depression
it's in. They is no way of knowing now what a Stanley Cup would
have meant to this city, a city still reeling after losing 4 straight
Super Bowls. I feel sorry for the fans. It's just too bad
that this team couldn't have played as hard as they did in Game 6 and I
hope they don't make the excuse that they had so many injuries.
Injuries are a part of the game and you play through them. I also
hope that maybe announcers on like ESPN and such will give this team
some credit, they have been saying all along how Carolina was better
and were the bigger stronger team, I hope they at least give the Sabres
some credit. They had one of the most memorable seasons in the
history of the city of Buffalo, it's just a shame it had to end like
this.
Not sad, just disappointed because I know if they played their best, they could have won it all.
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