Good Article

I liked this article from a month ago in the Boston Globe on Superman.

Number 7

I saw it again on Sunday -- that's viewing #7 for me, and just one short of my all-time record which was Fellowship of the Ring. The prints are getting whack and the screen is so small, the film spills over the edges. But its still worth seeing.

We arrived at the theatre at 3pm for a 3:15 show and it was sold out! Apparently, the rain sent everyone scurrying to the movies. We came back for the 6:30 show and got in, but the theatre filled up quickly. We were pleased, as it helps the film's bottom line.

I also found another Superman Ken doll in the store today. I bought one a few weeks ago and haven't been able to find another. The first one I bought has a paint defect on the S logo, so I wanted another one. Also, this way I can open the first one and keep the second one intact. I also bought a Lois Barbie, just to have the set.

Superman News from Comic-Con

Bryan Singer was at Comic-Con on Friday and here's the news:

He did NOT announce a sequel, as many expected. He did say he's in negotiation with Warner Bros. and expects there to be a sequel in 2009. He said he plans to go all "Wrath of Khan" in the film and that there will be much more action. He said he'll put Superman through the wringer with an alien foe. Quote: "There'll be plenty of crazy, scary sci-fi shit in the next one."

Singer also said NO extended edition (disappointing). He showed a gag reel (details here). He blamed the marketing department for the lower-than-expected box office (I do, too, and will be writing more about that). And he was joined by Richard Donner, director of the '70s Superman movie, who is re-cutting Superman II into the movie he wanted it to be.

(If you don't know the history of this, Donner actually shot both I and II at the same time, or at least he got 3/4s of II done -- but costs were crazy and by the time they finished I, Donner and the producers were no longer speaking. So they hired Richard Lester to finish II and most Superman fans find the movie not so great, me included. I am very much looking forward to a Richard Donner cut of the movie. It'll be out on DVD this fall, I think.)

Singer also talked about what was to have been the opening sequence of the move -- the Return to Krypton. They spent $10 million on this, but Bryan ultimately felt it didn't feel like a part of the same movie. If you were wondering why Superman is so weak at the beginning of the movie, when Martha finds him, it has to do with some green kryptonite he encountered on the voyage to Krypton. Apparently, he only has enough strength to say "home" and the spaceship brings him back to Earth.

Anyway, a mixed bag of news from Comic-Con.

My First Review of Superman Returns

I posted this on my other blog the morning after I first saw Superman Returns:

Saw it last night -- loved it, loved it, loved it! Quick thoughts: beautifully shot, fabulous directing by Bryan Singer. Good script, nice humorous touches, and I was very affected by the bad stuff that happens to our hero. Of course, great special effects and nice homages to the Superman mythology and to the previous incarnations.

Routh grows on you as Superman -- I can pinpoint my moment of conversion to loving him when he meets Lois on the roof of the Daily Planet. Spacey is very good as Luthor and Parker Posey is a hoot. But Kate Bosworth carries the film. I'm not kidding. I did not expect that at all. But think about it -- what does Superman have to do but look good and perform fantastic feats? He doesn't even have that much dialog. But Lois Lane has to represent everyone -- the people of Earth in the film AND the audience -- in her emotional reactions to Superman's absence and return. Plus, Lois has always been an odd mixture of fire and ice and Bosworth pulls it off.

Interestingly, as I read reviews, I notice that in general women are giving the movie higher marks than men. I'm sure you understand why.

Superman has always been my favorite superhero (I still have some comics I had when I was a little kid in the early '60s and I've been buying the DVD sets of the old George Reeves TV series which I totally loved as a kid). He's also very universal -- the audience last night was one of the most diverse I've ever seen.

Planning to go see it again today. This one was worth the wait!

Why the World Needs Superman

I created this blog to deal with my obsession over Superman. I've always loved the Man of Steel. I watched the George Reeves TV show (in reruns -- I'm not that old!) as a child and read the Superman comics in the early '60s. In fact, I still have 4 or 5 issues that I particularly liked (and no, they're not worth much, maybe $10 -- the only ones worth real money are pre-WWII). Of course, I loved the Christopher Reeve Superman movie and have waited a long time for another movie.

Now that Superman Returns is out, my obsession has returned full fold. I have seen it 6 times (I think my 7th viewing will be later today). Its not that its a great movie -- although it is very, very good -- but it fulfills my escapism needs.

I've always liked Superman because he's a superhero who exists only to serve mankind. With all his powers, he's like a god in the Greek-Roman sense. But while those gods were basically petty dicators, Superman has made a choice to be not a god, but a servant to humans. He sacrifices all -- nearly his own life -- to help humans.

And while a god, Superman is also human. His nature may be superhuman but his nurture is human and he longs for love and companionship just like any one of us. But this really isn't possible for Superman, is it? He has to settle for the admiration of humankind, instead of a loving relationship with Lois.

So I'll be filling up this blog with my observations on the movie and on Superman as a cultural icon. Hope you enjoy.