Superman Returns has it problems. It’s too long and the pacing is odd in places. The ending also feels a little bit too anti-climactic for a film that’s trying to reinvigorate a character and a franchise. None of these things stopped me from enjoying the movie however. There were times during “Returns” when I felt transported back to 1978 and I appreciated Bryan Singer’s reverence for the Christopher Reeve films. I was also glad that the movie had more on its mind than being a simple action story. The themes relating to fathers and sons and families in general did manage to resonate with me a bit.
So Superman Returns was a little wonky, but I liked it much more for its successes than I begrudged it its failures.
Superman Returns
Bryan Singer, Director
*** (out of five)
Well, me and the Mrs. picked up stakes this weekend and went a little deeper south into Southern California. The move was a move like any other (IE not much fun), but we’re set up at the new place now and things are looking good. The new neighborhood’s very pleasant and I’m near most of the stores I like (Border’s, Best Buy, etc.). So far, so good.
(Not to mention the fact that I’ve cut my commute time in half. I’ll be listening to less Stern, but I’ll be in the car a whole helluva lot less).
(Now well-qualified to represent the LBC).
I realize that this post has limited appeal, but I did want to mention my new friend the Nintendo DS Lite. The Lite is the new and improved, highly streamlined version of Nintendo’s popular DS handheld gaming system.
I picked up one of these babies last week and have been playing the heck out it ever since. It’s really a terrific bit of engineering –and the games I’ve acquired so far are all a blast to play. What the DS has most in its favor I think is the WiFi capability. Just about every weekday now, work comes to a complete standstill for an hour or so as eight of us all race one another in Mario Kart DS –and all completely wireless! Best 129$ I ever spent!
Snag yourself one from Amazon by clicking on the image below:
And don’t forget the game:
Well, the good news is Cars is the best-looking film Pixar has done to date. The bad news is it’s also the most Dreamworks-like picture they’ve made so far. I expect not only great visuals from the boys from Emeryville, I also expect storytelling of a much higher caliber than any of the other animation houses. I wasn’t nearly as engaged by the characters here as I wanted (or expected) to be. This was especially disappointing since Lasseter himself was in the director’s chair again. My interest kicked back in in the film’s third act, but, overall, I was not nearly as moved or as entertained as I have been by prior Pixar fare.
Is it a wash? No, you should definitely see it. Just don’t go in expecting something on the order of The Incredibles or Toy Story 2.
Cars
John Lasseter –director.
*** (out of five)
Recent Comments