Superman Returns

Picking up where Christopher Reeves left off in the 1980s, director Bryan Singer resurrects Superman from obscurity to one of the best Superhero movies in a long superhero movie streak. When scientists find the remnants of Superman's home world, Krypton, Superman leaves Earth to search it out. Five long years later he returns to find the world in chaos and Lois Lane a mommy, engaged to be married, and a Pulitzer Prize winner for a piece entitled "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman". When Lex Luthor devises a sinister scheme that will kills billions for his own profit, Superman must rise once more to save mankind. But Lex Luthor nearly killed him once before and Luthor may have more than one trick up his sleeve. Will evil triumph or will Superman overcome? See Superman Returns and find out.

I very much enjoyed Routh's Superman. He did an excellent job, no overacting, which was a relief, and he really plays the part so accurately. Plus, he's a Reeves look-alike. Anyway, he really did a good job. Bosworth was enjoyable as Lois Lane, but Kevin Spacey's performance as Lex Luthor really is fabulous, as well as being wonderfully entertaining. James Marsden also costars as Lois' fiance and as always delivers a great performance.

In addition, the effects are impressive and the story is very well done and moves along well. Also, we are not really formally introduced to any characters, but it's as though we just come in to the middle of the story and are expected to know the characters already, which furthers Singer's concept of a sequel/remake. And the script isn't stupid either, which is a relief. I can't get over Routh's performance, he really does pull his role off very, very well. I like the subtleties of his acting. The reintroduction of Superman is great. It's dramatic and entertaining and manages some great comic relief as well.

Conclusion: Definitely see Superman Returns it's entertaining and not what you'd expect.

Rated: PG-13 for some intense action violence. It's okay for kids 8 and up, it's certainly not scarier or more violent than Lord of the Rings, so...

Trivia:

• The last line of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) (the one before "Returns") is Superman saying to Luthor, "See you in twenty." That scene was filmed in 1986. Coincidentally, twenty years later, in 2006, the next Superman movie was released.
• Bryan Singer wanted Christopher Reeves to make a cameo appearance in the film but Reeve died before filming began. Singer then decided to dedicate the film to him.
• Brandon Routh put on 20 pounds of muscle for the movie.
• The corn on the Kent farm was grown by the crew in Australia, a particularly difficult feat since Australia was in the middle of a 7-year drought.
  

I Am Legend

This is definitely Will Smith's masterpiece. I have never seen finer acting from him, and he's a legend in and of himself. Very, very well done. For two hours the camera focuses on him, his face, and pretty much nothing else. It is difficult to captivate an audience for that long, particularly when the only source of interest is Smith's face. But he really does pull it off.

A cancer wonder-drug backfired, went airborne, and wiped out all of human existence. Save for one man. Dr. Robert Neville, a brilliant scientist, for some reason survived the onslaught and lived to fight back. He is the last human on Earth, but he is not alone. Mutated humans, little more than animals now, now roam the streets at night looking for a snack, sniffing for blood, hungry. For three years Neville has been searching for a cure, desperate, and hoping that he's not alone, but for three years he's been utterly disappointed. How long can he hold out? How long can the last human survive in such hopelessness, such madness, such fear, and so hunted? Every day is a fight for his life.

Brilliantly directed by Francis Lawrence, Legend really takes the cake as one of my favorite movies this year. Excellent, really excellently done on Smith's part. You truly believe in Neville, his character. And you see yourself in his place and wonder what you would do in his position. Of course, all zombie movies, even the glorified Will Smith versions, must have ubercounts of jump scenes, but it really adds to it all. It makes you just as paranoid as Neville. Give yourself a good scare without the horror of something like Saw. It's fun.

Conclusion: If you're looking for a good scare without the blood and gore of a normal movie like this, then Legend is right for you.

Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence.


Trivia:

• The studio spent an estimated $5,000,000 for a 6 night shoot in New York involving the Brooklyn Bridge. To film in this location, the producers needed the approval of up to 14 government agencies. The producers had to bring in a crew of 250, plus 1,000 extras, including 160 members of the National Guard in full combat gear.


• In the scene in Times Square, there is a billboard for the fictional "Superman/Batman" movie, slated to open 5/15/10.

Winter Films

These are the films I most look forward to seeing this December, January, and February.

The Golden Compass Release: Dec 7
Director: Chris Wietz

Starring: Dakota Blue Richards, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, with the voice talen of Freddie Highmore and Ian McKellen

Synopsis: In a parallel universe, young Lyra Belacqua journeys to the far North to save her best friend and other kidnapped children from terrible experiments by a mysterious organization.

Based on the children's series His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman

Tag: There are worlds beyond our own - the compass will show the way.










I Am Legend Release: Dec 14, 2007
Director: Francis Lawrence

Starring: Will Smith

Dr. Robert Neville must find a way to reverse the effects of a virus that has turned everyone on earth except him into mutants.

Tag: The last man on earth is not alone





Charlie Wilson's War Release: Dec 25, 2007
Director: Mike Nichols

Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Synopsis: A drama based on Texas congressman Charlie Wilson's covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.

Tag: A stiff drink, a little mascara, a lot of nerve. Who said they couldn't bring down the Soviet Empire.





Cloverfield Release: Jan 18, 2008
Director: Matt Reeves

Starring: Nothing definite

Synopsis: A small group of people must survive a monster attack on the city of New York.

Tag: 1.18.08










The Spiderwick Chronicles Release: Feb 15, 2008
Director: Mark Waters

Starring: Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger

Synopsis: Upon moving into the run-down Spiderwick Estate with their mother, twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of faeries and other creatures.

Tag: Their world is closer than you think.





The Other Boleyn Girl Release: Feb 28, 2008
Director: Justin Chadwick

Starring: Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johanssen, Eric Bana

Synopsis: The story of two beautiful sisters, who, driven by their family's blind ambition, compete for the love of the handsome and passionate King Henry VIII (Bana).

Tag: The only thing that could come between these sisters...is a kingdom.

Rescue Dawn

Full of utterly raw emotion, Rescue Dawn is absolutely breathtaking. Fantastically directed by Werner Herzog, Rescue Dawn is the true story of Dieter Dengler, an American polot shot down over Laos during the Vietnam War. He is captured and taken to a POW camp. There he meets Eugene DeBruin and Duane Martin, two other pilots also shot down over enemy territory. Starving, the cadaverous pilots plan a daring escape.

Dieter is beautifully portrayed by actor Christian Bale (Batman). Steve Zahn (Sahara) is his surprising companion as Duane Martin. Zahn does an incredible job, expressing utter desperation, embodying Tragedy itself. The part of Eugene deBruin is brilliantly, brilliantly done by actor Jeremy Davies().

This phenomenal cast coupled with the cinematography and the story being told makes for a truly incredible film. Realistic, raw, painful, Rescue Dawn tells a story of courage, optimism, self-reliance, and loyalty in a whole new way.

Conclusion: This isn't your everyday, run-of-the-mill war movie with lots of explosions and guns. It is just as frightening but with more thought behind it and a more artistic storyteller.

Rated: PG-13 for some sequences of intense war violence and torture. Do not take small children to see this movie.

Moulin Rouge!

No Laws. No limits. One rule. Never fall in love.

Gorge yourself on the spectacular spectacle that is Moulin Rouge! It’s a feast of color, a banquet of beauty, the heartbreaking tale of two doomed, forbidden lovers. Starring Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman, Moulin Rouge! is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. It is a breathtaking psychedelic adventure of beauty, freedom, truth, and love.

Set in 1899 in the heart of Paris, a young penniless writer named Christian (McGregor) meets the beautiful Satine (Kidman), a promiscuous dancer, through a case of mistaken identity. They fall in love and would like nothing more than to live happily ever after, but for a man named Zidler and a repulsively evil duke. The Moulin Rouge is a seedy dance hall turned theater that could give Satine everything or ruin her. Will Christian and Satine overcome, or will the evil forces at work destroy their happy ending? Find out behind the red curtain of Moulin Rouge!, “A spectacle beyond imagination, a fantastic world where nothing is forbidden and everything is possible!”

An incredible musical by Baz Luhrmann, Moulin Rouge! cannot be missed. Both Kidman and McGregor perform their own songs (impressively well, I might add), and I have never seen a better acting performance by either.

Conclusion: Stop reading this, go rent it right now and experience the Moulin Rouge!

Rated: PG-13 for sexuality. Kids under 13, maybe even 15, shouldn’t see this movie. It could be hard to explain.

Trivia:

• Filming was halted for two weeks in November 1999 after Nicole Kidman fractured two ribs and injured her knee while rehearsing a dance routine for the film. Many of the scenes where she is seen only from the chest up were shot while she was in a wheelchair.
  
  
• The necklace worn by Nicole Kidman was made of real diamonds and platinum and was the most expensive piece of jewelery ever specifically made for a film. The Stefano Canturi necklace was made with 1,308 diamonds, weighing a total of 134 carats and was worth an estimated US$1 million.
  

Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates 3 was, unfortunately, one of the not-so-great movies I've seen this year. Great acting yes, but the actors are working with a crappy script and an even worse plot. Jack Sparrow's character has been further distorted from his original personality. And now he's apparently **SPOILER** schizophrenic. Most of the effects were pretty good, but at some points I wondered how they could have come out with such low-grade effects when their budget was so huge. The characters spend most of the movie following a side plot. A SIDE PLOT. and then by the last 30 minutes they get back on track. It had a pretty good ending, but the plot has so many holes it's like...well, just go ask a ninja. Keith Richards was great, Chow Yun-Fat totally sold out, Knightley, Bloom, and Rush are great but, as usual, overpowered by Depp. Go see it because you have to finish out the trilogy, but don't expect anything that will change your life or blow your mind. As one reviewer put it "I wanted to like it, but..." Read the full review at IMDb.com.

Conclusion: It's entertaining if you can try to forget about the plot holes, etc., so go see it.

Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of action/adventure violence and some frightening images.

Trivia:

• Captain Barbossa can be seen wearing an Eagle Scout ring in several sequences. This ring signifies that some one in Boy Scouts has earned the highest rank known as Eagle.
• They started filming without a finished script.

1-18-08

J.J. Abrams, the producer of the hit tv show, Lost, is producing a movie, due out 1-18-08 that has generated a huge amount of hype. Those who went to see Transformers may have seen the trailer for this mysterious film which is, as of yet, untitled. The preview featured a home video camera filming a going away party, when suddenly the party is interrupted by an earthquake, or perhaps an explosion. The party-goers run out onto the street. The camera is shaky, people are screaming, running everywhere. Someone screams "I saw it, it's huge!" A fireball comes out of the sky and hits the New York street. It is the Statue of Liberty's head. "1-18-08" flashes on the screen and the trailer is over.

The film reflects Abrams previous projects, like Lost, which has also fueled the most amount of speculation over a tv show. Ever. No title has been given for the film, just a date at the end, 1-18-08. Fans are calling the film "Cloverfield". Abrams is famous for his closed-mouth projects. Actors don't know what part they're auditioning for, they don't even get to read the script. Fans will be kept waiting in breathless anticipation until the day the movie comes out. Two different names for the film, "Monstrous" and "Wreck" were been leaked from the inside, and Abrams promptly changed the title. Abrams has also begun a website: http://www.1-18-08.com/. Fansites have sprung up like crazy, but this is the only official site. Some have speculated that the film is yet another Godzilla movie, but this is impossible since Paramount (who is distributing Cloverfield) doesn't own the rights to Godzilla.

The general storyline seems to be about people trying to survive a monster attack in New York City. The cast has not been officially released, but little-known actors and actresses have been spotted in the trailer. $30 Million is the estimated budget, and it was filmed on location in New York City. Those are really the only official facts known right now and even those are iffy. I look forward to seeing this movie and seeing if my predictions are right.

Either way, I hope Cloverfield can live up to the hype it started. Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloverfield for more information about the movie.