From the best and worst from the Superman mythos, I mull over all of The Man of Steel’s cinematic offerings including his DC Universe Animated films, and beyond. Superman has the distinction of being one of the very first superhero movies that became a blockbuster showing critics and skeptics alike that a superhero movie can depict the lore of its character with an adult tone and dramatic tension. With a fine director like Richard Donner at the helm, and a cast like Marlon Brandon, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, and Christopher Reeve, “Superman: The Movie” was the start of something big, and also showed what could happen when a studio lost sight of its goals for franchise success. Beyond the live action films there were also the mixed animated efforts that were hit or miss for most fans, but still gave us the man of steel in all of his glory. With “All Star Superman” on the way, we hope for big things and yet another fantastic depiction of the Last Son of Krypton.
Category Archives: Rot Your Brain
A Tribute to Superman
In anticipation of the much anticipated animated adaptation of “All Star Superman” in stores this year, and the upcoming Zack Snyder/Christopher Nolan re-boot of the Bryan Singer re-boot “Superman Returns,” we have taken the time to voice our love for the character Superman and ponder on his more unique and endearing aspects that will surely be ignored in favor of the man of steel lifting tanks and destroying buildings with one force of breath. We hope Zack Snyder can invoke much of what made “Watchmen” so excellent and stow what made “300” so absolutely vapid and dunderheaded. Or at least find a balance. With that we continue to our “Superman Tribute.”
There was a journalist over five years ago who wrote an article about Superman who mocked the Man of Steel openly, and oh so sternly explained that among Superman’s fans, you’d be hard pressed to find any who would openly admit to being a fan of Superman in public. Oh how wrong he was and how wrong he continues to be. I’ll admit as a fan of Superman, that he is not the most popular hero in modern pop culture. In a world of cynicism, violence, and dread, the more enduring characters are all the darker ones with demons and shades of turmoil, all donning Bat costumes, garnering giant white skulls on their chests, or waving around claws from their knuckles.
Let Me In: Crossroads #1
Intent on following on its own path from the original film, Dark Horse releases the official prelude to the 2010 film “Let Me In,” an introduction four part comic book that takes the time out to remind us that this is its own beast but also very much like the story it takes from with this new version. And much like the remake currently in theaters, the prelude is about as dull as the live action narrative primarily because as a story about a vampire the entire atmosphere drains the life out of the reader from page one. Rambling and meandering, the entire comic takes so many pages of dialogue and drab art to set up the ultimate hook of the entire prelude which will lead in to Abby and Thomas moving in to the apartment tenement that leads Abby to meet Owen.
Cura Te Ipsum (Webcomic)
In the interest of full disclosure, creator Neal Bailey is a former contributor of Cinema Crazed, and a long time close friend, but we’re reviewing his comic anyway because it’s entertaining.
Web comics are a tough sell. I know for a fact. There are thousands of them out there by many talented artists and writers (I’ve read more in my time than I could hope to list), all of whom have something unique or hilarious to give readers and sadly most of them are a dime a dozen in terms of entertainment. Sometime you’ll come across something original like Penny Arcade, Nedroid, or Movie Comics, and then sometimes… there’s stuff obviously drawn on MS Paint. In the same vein, if they’re stand alone comics that have a different story every day, audiences attention spans can waver and they tend to move on and wait for better comics.
Superman: Earth One
“Superman: Earth One” verifies exactly what I’d feared. Superman is emo. Superman is selfish. Superman is “edgy,” and worst of all by the time the tedious graphic novel is over, we’re told by Jonathan Kent that Superman should serve a being higher than himself alluding to religious ideals. What a waste of time. Not since “Smallville” have I seen a less sympathetic portrayal of Superman and Clark Kent before my very eyes. Clark Kent, even with modern fashion, and a jacket and hoodie that’s meant to be his signature look indicating a nerdy but sexy persona, is so absolutely boring and one dimensional in “Earth One” that had I been introduced to Superman for the first time here, I would have never read another piece of fiction with this character ever again.
Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale
Shepherd Book is one of the greatest male characters of the Whedonverse, one who is bound by his strict sense of morality and religious beliefs, but one who isn’t at all overbearing. He uses his religion as an instrument to help and guide folks, he never uses it as a means of clubbing non-believers over the head. When we see him in the first episode of “Firefly” he meets a band of wicked sinners and criminals, but he never judges. He lives and lets live and that’s likely why he’s become such a beloved fixture of the “Firefly” universe for such a long time. He’s not only the heart of the crew, but he’s also the wise father everyone on the ship needs. By the time we reach “Serenity” and the crew are on their last options against the operative, even Mal has realized that Book is the man he needs in times of great stress who can offer wisdom, knowledge, and strategy where everyone clearly lacks it.
Kick-Ass 2 Issue #1
Okay so I didn’t love the first mini-series/graphic novel from Mark Millar, and sure, I thought “Kick Ass” the movie was pretty crummy, but overall I was pretty interested in seeing where Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. would go with volume two, the highly anticipated follow-up to the comic book series that proved to be most controversial. I mean sure it’s fishy that this came along right after plans for a sequel were talked about, and fine, many of the new characters seem oddly capable of being…oh… put in a movie with a big star at the helm, but nonetheless I was open minded to the first issue of volume two that sticks true to the first arc of the comic book and thankfully doesn’t adhere to the events of the live action movie.