REVIEW: Superman Returns

Director: Bryan Singer


Starring: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, Parker Posey, James Marsden and Sam Huntington


Trailor: Superman Returns


Plot: Astronauts find some remainings of Superman's planet, and so he goes off to see what he can find and to do a little soul searching I guess. But five years goes by, and the Man of Steel is BACK!! But he finds that some things have changed liiiiike, Lois Lane has a son... and a fiance. (awww man!) Some things have stayed the same though. Lex Luther is still the greedy, malicious evil-doer and now has himself a big ol' evil plan that Superman will have to stop of course. What ensues is a couple hours of vicous FUN and exciting entertainment. :-)


Critique:

Ohhhh my gosh I loved, LOVED this movie! Where do I even begin?? First of all, Superman (along with Batman I'd say) is by far the BEST freaking comic book hero in history. Not only is he just this big, strong flying man... he's FULL of heart, and in LOVE! (Nothing more attractive on a guy :-*.) He just wants to make his dad proud, you know? And save freaking, EVERYBODY. I love it.


What truly made this movie great, was that it kept all authenticity of the original Superman. I believe that no true fan will be disappointed when they see Singer's design. Because they stuck with everything! Even Marlon Brando as the dad! They didn't add they're own gimmicks or make changes "for the better" or anything and THAT truly makes a difference in a remake. By the way, that is so freaking 80's, it's becoming more and more rare that you see directors doing that anymore. But that's a good thing, no a great thing. We peeps are only interested in the REAL story, you know? sheesh... don't EVEN get me started with that crap. (ahem Troy, Batman and Robin...) Anyway, yea, NONE of that here. It had the same vibe the 1978 Superman had with Christopher Reeves. Same kind of humor, same sweet love story, same dorky Clark Kent, same music which is amazing. Choreographed by John Williams of course, whom also is credited for creating music for other movies such as Star Wars, Jaws, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Hook, Close Encounter of the Third Kind and oh, pretty much everything else. Amazing.


Computer Graphics. Ok, DUH there's a lot of it. And yea you can tell in most parts... but alright if YOU can think of a better idea to make a man fly through the air and catch an airplane look like the real thing, then let somebody know. I gotta say, I didn't care that it looked fake. Whatever, you know? It didn't even look BAD! There are different kinds of "looking fake". There's Legolas-Horse-Flippin' fake, and Superman soaring over the Earth fake. I'd go with the latter of the two quite honestly. Lego-Flippin' is cheesy, and just plain unecessary. What they did with Superman was FUN! And expected of course because, well... humans can't fly afterall... It's astonishing really how far we've come. Good job team, the film looked phenominal, truly.

oKAY, here we go. I've been wanting to talk about this man for awhile now. Can I just say... NOT... BAD there casting director! Where in the world did you find this guy?! He's absolutely perfect. I was skeptical before coming into the film, wondering just HOW they think they can convince us that there is ANY other actor better for the Man of Steel then Mr. Reeves. But wow... he knocked my socks off with his performance. Brandon Routh is his name, and those ARE in fact his muscles under the suit. (phew...) He gives off that Superman VIBE! Undoubtedly powerful, yet extremely vulnerable and kind. You can tell that Brandon WANTED to do his best, and KNEW that he had a lot to live up to with this role. He nailed it, he really did.

I gotta tell you all. Seriously, WHAT the heck is Lois Lane thinking?! Clark Kent is JUST about the cutest thing I've ever seen. If I had to choose which "personality" of Supe's to fall for I'd definitely go for this one. (But I've always gone for the nerds anyway... tee hee! kidding.)








Kate Bosworth, ANOTHER fantastic choice. What a great idea, casting her as Lois Lane. Stong, independent, yet very feminine. Heck, I'd fall in love with her. Except her hair bothered me a bit. I really wanted to take a comb and do something with the front. But oh well, what the heck do I know about hair. Kate Bosworth has two colored eyes!! I didn't know this until I saw this movie. One is brown, one is blue. How cute! I heard her Lois Lane doll even has that aspect. Kate didn't bother me at any point in this film. Her character was very hurt about Superman leaving for five years, yet when he comes back, she couldn't deny her feelings for him. Gosh, such a sweet story there. And terrific job to both Kate and Brandon for delivering such worthy performances. :-)



I love Kevin Spacey. As soon as I saw that he was casted as Lex Luther I was thrilled. He's one of those actors you just kind of KNOW that he'll go a good job. He's already had some experience playing the bad guy in flicks (Se7en... ooo creepy) and I personally think that is where he is strongest. He's got that... evil... charisma. And you know what? He was pretty funny in this movie. Lex Luther's character is actually a pretty charming guy... he's just got something up his rear end I guess.







You know... sigh, you're supposed to hate this guy because he's Miss Lane's fiance... but he's just so cuuuute. He's no Depp, ok. But he does a swell job in this movie. But mostly... yea he's just nice to look at. Which isn't bad, but he does need to go away because Superman HAS to have Lois. No other way around it. Go back to X-Men world there, James.









Alright, it's true that this movie is now ranked as one of my top favorites of all time. But it wasn't COMPLETELY flawless I have to admit. I'll tell you what bothered me about this flick. The bad guys. Not Kevin, but his little followers. Usually I LIKE Parker Posey. My lord she was hilarious in Best In Show. It just didn't seem like she fit her role here. What was she, Luter's wife? Yea... I think she was trying to hard, because she came off really annoying here. And the other five or six lemmings... they were SUPPOSED to be funny, but again, just plain annoying. And why didn't any of them say more than two words? They just STOOD there, like Singer needed to fill in space or something that's all. OOO! You know what would have made them cool? Maybe instead of making them look like some cheap gang group, they could have dressed them up like Lex. You know in Armani suits and stuff, that would have given a whole other feeling... not soooo amateurish I guess.



Ok, that's all the critique I have! There are other things I wanted to say... but I don't want to give anything away so you're just gonna have to see it for yourself! And that's cool, because this is one of those movies one could watch over and over again. Honestly, in my opinion this movie pretty much has every aspect a good movie SHOULD have (finally...): Action, fantasy, romance, humor, incredible stunt coordination and digital effects. It had sophistication, morale, suspence and originality. This film was an add-on to the Superman epic. It didn't change any characteristics, it brought it all back! Of course, in a more modern way. This movie was... exciting. Authentic. Exactly what our Superman is.

Rating: 5/5

TAG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



A) Four jobs I have had in my life:

1. cashier
2. high school tutor
3. movie theater supervisor
4. chuck e cheese party hostess


B) Four movies you would watch over and over:

1. Braveheart
2. The Little Mermaid
3. The Princess Bride
4. Moulin Rouge


C) Four places you have lived besides where you live now:

1. Apple Valley, MN
2. Tualatin, OR
3. Salem, OR
4. Aberdeen, WA


D) Four TV shows you love to watch:

1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Rescue Me
3. MXC
4. Cops


E) Four places you have been on vacation:

1. Maui
2. Disneyland
3. Oregon Coast
4. Chicago


F) Four websites I visit daily:

1. JoBlo.com
2. Apple.com
3. Addictinggames.com
4. Blogs!


G) Four of my favorite foods:

1. cheesecake
2. blueberry muffins
3. milkshakes
4. cheeseburgers


H) Four places I would rather be right now:

1. the ocean
2. Aleecia's house
3. movie theater
4. with David


I) Four friends I think will respond:

1. I
2. don't
3. really
4. know!



I TAG.... McKenna!!!


Love you all,
Steph

REVIEW: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Director: Gore Verbinski


Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightly, Jack Davenport, Bill Nighy, and Jonathan Pryce


Trailor: Dead Man's Chest


Plot: Octupus man Davy Jones has a chest. Everybody wants to get the chest. Why? Who knows, and is there anybody out there who cares?



Critique:
I'd hate to say it guys... no big deal. This movie was ok. Why I say that? Because it's a lot like any other adventure film out there, only this one was very expensive. I try to rate a movie by it's originiality, by it's attempt to really be authentic. I rate it by how much it covers ALL traits of filmaking. Plot/Screenplay, Musical Score, Art Direction, Cinematography, Character development, Computer Graphics, Stunts...etc. You can't just judge a movie by how good it looks, and THAT'S the mistake Pirates II made. This movie LOOKS amazing. Phenominal, really. But there ARE some missing traits. Let's take Star Wars episode IV as an example of a good movie. Doesn't matter if you're a Star Wars fan or not just listen. Here's a movie that used orchestra music during the disco 70's. Here's a movie that included a walking sasquatch, a beeping robot with feelings and a sword made of light. How ridiculous does that sound? How in the world did this movie win SIX Oscars and $798 million worldwide during its original theatrical release? Because Lucas said, "screw 'em." and created something completely and totally different then what the world had seen. Lucas and his team gave it their all, covered all aspects of a film, not even sure if they would be somewhat successful with the whole thing and look what happened. They rocked the box office. People were blown away by it's immense creativity. Not just Star Wars. How about movies like Pulp Fiction? The Godfather, Titanic, Dr. No, Fight Club, The Color Purple, Se7en, Shawshank Redemption, Casablanca, Schindler's List, Indiana Jones, Amadeus... oh I don't know Taxi Driver, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Jaws, Aliens, Back to the Future, Gladiator, Braveheart... These are GOOD movies!! THESE are the BEST movies of all time. Can we all just calm down, and stop calling the Pirates series one of them?


Action. TONS of action that which made this film very fun and interesting to watch. No really, it was fantastic! However, a little TOO much action? Where were the characters? Where was the story? WHY the HECK are people looking for this chest?! What happened to the love story between Will and Elizabeth? It felt GONE. I involuntarily winced when they did their ONE kiss sequence. There was a major lack of chemistry between the two of them in this movie. If it weren't for the first one, I would never have guessed that they were in love. What else... OH! ok and as exhilirating as it was to watch all those fast paced fight sequences, not all of us ARE diagnosed with A.D.D. so I think it would have been ok to keep one shot on the screen for longer then 0.2 seconds... sheesh.


Graphics. Whoa big time awesome graphics in this flick. They did such a great job I totally just didn't even wonder what was fake and what wasn't. The antagonists or "bad guys" in Pirates II were cursed (again?) sea creatures or something I don't know. Davy Jones was a big ol' octopus with slimy tentacles reaching out of his face. Other crew had scales, starfish or sponges freaking stuck to their faces moving around and stuff. UGH. I seriously wanted to puke in the theater and my stomach is turning just now as I think about it. Very gross, and another reason why I was turned off by the film, truly. But you know what? That's seriously saying something about how well the team did in creating those images. So well done.


Pirates II is full of eye candy. The very beginning of this movie has Elizabeth Swan kneeling on a dock in the rain, dressed in a drenched wedding dress and a veil. It was a gorgeous image, but... can SOMEBODY please tell me what the heck she was doing there? Was she waiting to get married? Did Bloom Boy not show up? The wedding was "interrupted" but I have no recollection of the reasons why. Just what I was saying, this film LOOKS fantastic, but that's not ALL a film should be focusing on, alright?


Ok, ok I'm done complaining now. I don't mean to really, I was just disappointed in this movie and slowly grew pissed off the more I heard about how much people loved it. So... sorry. But alright I'm ready to get into some fun stuff. You all know what it is... Les Acteurs!



WooHoo! We've got out Depp in all his mascara back. There was nothing I didn't like about Depp in this film. SO funny...SO freaking hot. Look at his ensemble! Very impressive. Ooo! That was something good I forgot to mention about this flick. INCREDIBLE costumes. Truly. Ok but back to Depp... this man was my FIRST celebrity crush. I mean I fell in love with this man watching The Astronaut's Wife what seemed so long ago. How old was I like 11? I watching it all by myself at home, nearing the end right? My dad comes in from work and overhears Johnny say GASP! The F-word! sigh... so my dad turns it off and says I shouldn't be watching it. My lord you should have seen me. I stomped, pouted, screamed and cried at him for about half an hour. I actually remember saying to him, "You don't understand, daddy! I HAVE to watch him!!" Insane I know. No big deal though, I went back and finished watching it the next day... But anyway Johnny is one of those "proud" actors, you know? He doesn't waste time on commercial advertisements and is NEVER caught by the paprazzi. Sheesh he freaking moved to France to get away from all that. And I admire that about him. He uses himself sparingly, you know? So it's impossible for us to get sick of him. AND it can honestly be said that Johnny Depp is a GREAT actor. So versatile. I can easily see him play ANY role. Bravo Mr. Depp. Hey, does he get to keep that Pirate costume? Talk about role play... ;-)



Oh my god where has this guy BEEN?! I missed him. Mr. Bloom comes back full force in Pirates II and completely blows us all away with how brave and heroic he becomes, unlike the first one where he comes off as somewhat of a... um how should I say this really... princess? haha but no in my opinion HE was the star of this film. Look at him... do I really need to say anything more?




Whoa...hold the phone. Look at Norrington here! Jack Davenport my, my, my I didn't know you had it in you! What movie was it that I saw him in... OH! The Wedding Date. He was such a sissy too. Hah! And we all hated him in the first one. WHO knew he could be so ruggedly hot? Did NOT expect that and was extremely pleasantly surprised. The three boys got into a bit of a sword fight with eachother, and I seriously could not decide who I wanted to win. In fact I really didn't want them to stop... ever.







Keira Knightly. Ok no one ever heard of this girl until the first Pirates came out. Now she's all big and famous which was not surprising because I thought she did extremely well in her debut. But I've got to say she's falling on the scale. She's picked up some weird... manly, overly independent woman thing and it totally didn't fit with this sequel. I thought she was very sweet in the first, "independent" ok but much more woman/lady like. I don't know, the fact that her hair wasn't combed, and all of a sudden was a professional sword fighter just bothered me. Did not enjoy her performance at all. Harsh? Well maybe, but ok she was pulling a Tom Cruise! She's not playing her character ROLES anymore. I didn't see Miss. Elizabeth Swan, I saw tomboy Keira Knightly. (Loved her in Pride & Prejudice though.)




Bill Nighy plays the gross Davy Jones. Although I couldn't really look at his character in fear of vomiting all across my lap, I did rather enjoy his performance. And you know, I've enjoyed him in other things as well! Remember him in Love Actually? Funny. How about Underworld? Not so funny but still pretty cool. He's no Depp or Geoffrey Rush but definitley impressive nonetheless. Too bad no one can even tell who he is in the movie though.



I did enjoy the new characters brought into this film, as well as all the ones they brought back. That was another great aspect of the film. They literally brought EVERYONE back from the first Pirates. Very cool and really makes a big difference.


All around this movie had a very good feel to it. But the two words I probably only need to describe Pirates II: Pretty and Fun. Notice that "original" isn't in there however. Just felt I needed to point that out. But definitley watch this movie, because it IS entertaining. If anything it's not BORING, are you kidding me? Not with Depp and Bloom swinging their hair around for most of the flick anyway. (yummy.)

Rating: 3/5

REVIEW: The Devil Wears Prada

Director: David Frankel

Based on the Novel by: Lauren Weisberger

Starring: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci

Trailor: The Devil Wears Prada

Plot:
Andy Sachs (Hathaway) has recently graduated from college and has just landed a job as an assistant to Miranda Priestly (Streep), the editor in chief to one of the biggest fashion magazines in New York. Meanwhile Andy knows nothing about fashion, but thinks she's landed a pretty decent job anyway, one that may give her the connections she wants to score her dream job as a journalist. But soon she realizes she's taken on way more than she can handle, and we follow her on a hilarious journey as she tries to juggle the stress of sustaining her personal life, while keeping up with the boss from hell.



Critique:
I have to tell you, this was a fun one! I didn't think I was going to enjoy this film as much as I did. I remember people just raving about the book and everything, but then when I heard that a movie was being produced I thought, "Oh great, here we go again..." Geez, how many flops have been made based on a best-selling novel? Like, The DaVinci Code. That was a GREAT book! DULL movie, and just unnecessary.
Prada has done very well, and I've read that it marked the number two spot in the Weekend Box Office, making just about half as much money as Superman did. Not surprised! This was a perfect little chick flick. I wouldn't even know whether or not to consider it a "chick flick" anyway. There were plenty of men in the auditorium, along with my older brother who seemed to enjoy it very much. Hey, it's an Everybody movie! It's very cute, hilarious in some parts, and come on, Meryl Streep is a genious. Which brings me to my next subject: ACTORS!



Like I said, genious. I mean, this woman is talented. She pretty much can play ANY role, but the cynical, snooty boss of a runway fashion magazine has got to be one of the best ideas for her. All the associates treat her like a god, but at the same time look up to her, you know? Are inspired by her leadership. See? Perfect match for Meryl, right? If you're a fan, you'll LOVE this movie. If you're not a fan, then you've been living under a rock for thirty years and need to crawl back under it because she's magnificent. "That's all."








This girl's doing pretty good for herself, isn't she? I was impressed with her performance in this one. She was the character the audience was supposed to connect with, relate to and... yea, I did. That kind of role presentation can be hard to do, but Hathaway got away with it. She seems to be very comfortable with the cameras and it's very "easy" watching her. I'm glad she's stepping away from the whole "fairy tale princess" image because she's a grown woman, you know? The role as Andy will do well for her career, and I am looking forward to future films with her. :-)






Who is this girl? She was fantastic! Meryl of course gave me some good chuckles but I have to say most of my laughter was from Emily Blunt. Very comical and I'm wondering where else I've seen her... but yea she was great. Was a very good asset to the film.










I love Stanley Tucci, always funny. He was the gay/friend/coworker in the flick, and fit the role perfectly. How FUN are gay men?! I used to have a friend named Kaleb. We sat next to each other in Biology class and we always had the BEST conversations. I remember the first time I actually found out he was gay. I was talking to him about how I had just seen The Astronaut's Wife for the first time, and I couldn't believe how incredibly hot Johnny Depp was. He looks at me, gasps, and says, "Oh I know, there's just something about his eyes...and oh god, have you SEEN his biceps?!" hahah I miss that guy.





Ok anyway, let's get back to Prada... but crap now all I can think about our Johnny's biceps... ummm yea, ok this was a just an all around enjoyable movie. Funny, but has some seriousness to it. All girls are faced with some kind of drama, so a chick flick wouldn't be a CHICK flick without someone dying or getting a divorce, you know? I recommend this one to everyone though, not just the gals. Although some of the film's "independent woman" anecdotes may make a guy wince, come on... Meryl Streep! hahah but yea, was never boring, had an easy flow through the entire thing, nice strong co-actors, plenty of groovy music (Madonna's Vogue was a very cool add in), and I gaurantee you it will leave you feeling uplifted. :-)

Rating: 4/5