Topic: Superman Marathon

[addicted2dvd]

Wow!... I don't know what hit me.. but I just wasted most my day... after seeing my daughter off to school (7am) I went back and laid down for a bit.... fell asleep and just now getting up (noon). Oh well... I am sure I will still get Superman Returns in today... maybe even start the second serial. 

[RossRoy]

Wow!... I don't know what hit me.. but I just wasted most my day... after seeing my daughter off to school (7am) I went back and laid down for a bit.... fell asleep and just now getting up (noon). Oh well... I am sure I will still get Superman Returns in today... maybe even start the second serial. 

 

Good thing it happened now. It would've made quite a dent in your allotted time for October's marathon! 

 

[addicted2dvd]

  Tell me about it... and that is after sleeping all night too! 

Actually I am kinda happy that it happened today. Maybe I can stay up for the whole HTF Chat with Warner TV And Animation tonight! 

[addicted2dvd]

Superman Returns
'HE'S BACK'. A hero for our millennium. And not a moment too soon, because during the five years (much longer in movie-fan years!) 'Superman' sought his home planet, things changed on his adopted planet. Nations moved on without him. 'Lois Lane' now has a son, a fiancé and a Pulitzer for "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman." And 'Lex Luthor' has a plan that will destroy millions - no, billions - of lives.

Filmmaker Bryan Singer ('X-Men', 'X2') gives the world the Superman it needs, honoring the legend everyone loves while taking it in a powerful new direction. Brandon Routh proves a perfect choice to wear the hero's cape, leading a top cast that includes Kate Bosworth as Lois and Kevin Spacey as Lex. And the thrills - from a sky-grapple with a tumbling jumbo jet to a continent-convulsing showdown - redefine 'Wow'. "I'm always around," Superman tells Lois. You'll be glad he is.

My Thoughts:
This is the first live action movie since Christopher Reeve was no longer able to play the character. My fear going into this is how it would feel seeing someone new in the role after seeing the wonderful job Christopher Reeve did. But I have to admit Brandon Routh did a great job and it felt like he showed the role the respect it deserves. I enjoyed Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor as well. I can't think of anyone that could have done it any better. Then we come to Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane... this is where I was left feeling a bit cheated. I just didn't buy her as Lois Lane. I don't know what it was about her.... but it just didn't feel quite right. As for the story itself... I think they did an outstanding job. While watching this movie I got the feeling while watching that I haven't had since the first couple movies. I think that alone is a great accomplishment. This is one I would definitely recommend... and would love to see more movies come... as long as they don't start replacing the title role with every new movie like they did with the Batman movies.

[Najemikon]

Glad to hear something positive about Superman Returns! Nice review, Pete. I'm in agreement on all points. Some fans have said there wasn't enough spectacle and Singer was too nostalgic to let his hero get into any real battles. Whereas I pretty much disagree (the plane was marvellous!) and enjoyed it because it was nostalgic (right down to the music and the shot composition), he has said he would let rip in the sequel, tentatively called Man of Steel.

A tentative title is all we get though. Somehow all talk of the sequel has just drifted off and sadly taken Routh with it. Last I heard, Warners were thinking of a "reboot", which Incredible Hulk style will mean new actors, new director, new bloody everything and what an absolute f***ing shame. Pardon my French, but situations like this really annoy me. Look what Singer did with X-Men! A cautious, solid first part, followed by one of the best sequels ever. Why not let him do the same here?

(click to show/hide)

The only thing I didn't like was the angle with the son and it needs a sequel to close that for me. The whole idea seems like soap opera to me and Kryptonite giving him power when he's close is open to both cheesy and subtle twists.

However, in these very Internet fuelled cynical times, I feel in the minority when I say I trust Bryan Singer wholeheartedly and I really hope he can see it through to whatever vision he originally had.

[Jimmy]

Can't say what I think of this one (I've bought all the Superman movies and Supergirl in 2006), I've tried to watch it three times with always the same result... I fell asleep 

I've decide to not retry it, if it can't keep me awake three times maybe this is a hint from my subconsious 

[addicted2dvd]

Jon...
I completely agree with you on what you have in the spoiler tag. I forgot to even touch on that in the review. But over-all I was thrilled with the outcome. Don't know what to think about a sequel now though. 

[Najemikon]

Can't say what I think of this one (I've bought all the Superman movies and Supergirl in 2006), I've tried to watch it three times with always the same result... I fell asleep 

In a coincidence, I've dropped across this article. While I'm not sure about the attack on Fraser, he's hit the nail right on the head! Jimmy's comment is funny considering a line toward the end...

[Tom]

Boy am I glad that the script Brendan Fraser had read was not made. This doesn't sound the Superman I know at all. World War 3 with different planets  . Almost as bad as the script Kevin Smith had to write in the 90s.
Superman Returns was perfectly fine like it is. Sad that the chances for a real sequel are so small.

[Achim]

A tentative title is all we get though. Somehow all talk of the sequel has just drifted off and sadly taken Routh with it. Last I heard, Warners were thinking of a "reboot", which Incredible Hulk style will mean new actors, new director, new bloody everything and what an absolute f***ing shame. Pardon my French, but situations like this really annoy me. Look what Singer did with X-Men! A cautious, solid first part, followed by one of the best sequels ever. Why not let him do the same here?

I heard the same sad news. I agree that Singer deserve the chance to do the second one; IMO he has proven to be worthy the material.

(click to show/hide)

The only thing I didn't like was the angle with the son and it needs a sequel to close that for me. The whole idea seems like soap opera to me and Kryptonite giving him power when he's close is open to both cheesy and subtle twists.

Now wait a minute... Is that something I missed?

(click to show/hide)

Are you saying that (potential) son appeared to gain his powers when he was near Kryptonite? As oppsoed to Superman himself... That would be really weird. Anyway, while the basic idea of Superman's son is somewhat funny, I enjoyed how they slowly introduced the concept and there's basically only one scene that appears to be openly exposing the fact...(the piano scene, of course).

[Najemikon]

Now wait a minute... Is that something I missed?

(click to show/hide)

Are you saying that (potential) son appeared to gain his powers when he was near Kryptonite? As oppsoed to Superman himself... That would be really weird. Anyway, while the basic idea of Superman's son is somewhat funny, I enjoyed how they slowly introduced the concept and there's basically only one scene that appears to be openly exposing the fact...(the piano scene, of course).

(click to show/hide)

It's a while since I saw it, but I seem to remember the kid was quite sickly? Asthma or something. But when he was in range of Kryptonite, he was fine and then the piano bit hinted at more than fine! Certainly it is open to interpretation, which is why I'd like to see it continue in the sequel that will probably never be.

This is going the same way as Hulk, but that was at least near enough to a flop. Warners seem to be worrying about this because it didn't set any records despite being a hit. I know they'd sunk a lot of money on development for about 20 years, but that's not Singer's fault.

[addicted2dvd]

Atom Man vs. Superman (Chapters 1-5)
Superman manages to eventually save Lois, Jimmy, Metropolis, and the Earth, from Luthor's schemes involving coin tokens that transport hoodlums, synthetic Kryptonite, ray guns, rockets, and a Directional Cyclotron!

My Thoughts:
So far I am really enjoying this serial. I think I like it even more then the first one. They came up with a couple improvements that I noticed. First on the flying. Superman still turns into a cartoon most the time... but it does show some live-action closeups of him flying too. So that is pretty cool. Then there is the X-Ray Vision. Instead of seeing a rectangle of a lighter image (Think shooting a movie on the wall) they fade the entire wall (scene) out and it is like you are viewing from inside the same room.  I also enjoy the fact that in this serial he is going up against Lex Luthor. In this serial Lex is played by Lyle Talbot. He is the same actor that played Commissioner Gordon in the serial Batman and Robin.

[Jimmy]

Do you plan to review this one too?

I know she's not Superman, but she's his much more sexy cousin 

[addicted2dvd]

LOL.... I wasn't planning on it at least. Let me see if I still feel up to it once I finish off my Superman movie collection.

I just noticed something while putting headshots into dvdp... In the Superman movie serials Jimmy Olsen is played by Tommy Bond. Looking him up on the net... he played Butch on Little Rascals when he was a kid. I thought that was pretty cool.

[addicted2dvd]

Superman: Brainiac Attacks
Embittered by Superman's heroic successes and soaring popularity, Lex Luthor forms a dangerous alliance with the powerful computer/villain Brainiac. Using advanced weaponry and a special strain of Kryptonite harvested from the far reaches of outer space, Luthor specifically redesigns Brainiac to defeat the Man of Steel. But when Brainiac betrays Luthor and reveals its sinister plans for world domination, 'Superman' must brave the mysterious 'Phantom Zone' to find the strength to survive this deadly showdown.

Fly with this all-new, feature-length spectacular and experience the action, adventure and excitement that only Superman can bring home!

My Thoughts:
This is a good animated movie... I enjoyed it just as much as the animated series it came from. I must say though... even though I did enjoy every minute of the movie... I did not carre for the look they gave Brainiac After Lex helped him combine with the satellite. I liked the look of him in the beginning of the movie much more. I also liked how they did the Phantom Zone in this movie. Story makes this release well worth it... but unfortunately the dvd itself is lacking.not much for extras what so ever... just a handful of trailers.