Form of Sexy Hispanic!
Shape of Comic Fan Boy!
I loved “Superfriends.” It cashed in on the Scooby-Doo franchise by giving us two human teen characters and an annoying dog, and also introduced some of the stupidest superheroes of all time like Apache Chief, and the Wonder Twins. Ah, the Wonder Twins, a product of the disco era with a bit of “Xanadu” and pure retardation thrown in for good measure.
“The Bourne identity” took me by surprise; it was certainly a most welcome surprise. “The Bourne identity” and “The Bourne Supremacy” are two different movies, and the Jason Bourne from both movies are different people. Now here, he’s no longer a man discovering his past, now he’s just a man struggling with it and the severity of his crimes and deeds he performed as Jason Bourne, he’s a ghost of the past struggling with his unforgiving demons of his past, and he’s a ghost who can not escape them no matter how hard he tries.
You just have to appreciate Paramount’s willingness to continue the “Mission: Impossible” franchise in the face of lackluster stories, with very good directors who fix the series to their own styles, yet keep the spirit. There was Brian DePalma’s overrated and cerebral original installment, then John Woo’s brainless, nonsensical but fun sequel, and now, as a last ditch effort, we have J.J. Abrams, creator of one of the most popular spy shows of all time, “Alias.” They have the right idea in mind. Spy movie, recruit spy show director. Voila. Instant magic. Instant magic? Not particularly.
Aside from the utterly fascinating concept, Linklater re-visits the same wonderful animation he enlisted in the fantastic “Waking Life,” with this visceral piece of druggie science fiction that instead focuses on the mechanics of the mind rather than in machines and science. As usual, Linklater prefers to delve into the human psyche and he gives it his best effort with some brutally beautiful animation. I dare you to look away from the Scramble suit. I dare you. Beyond that, the stand out performance is by Robert Downey Jr. as a druggie scientist who is both brilliant and mad, which is not hard to believe for a man who has no screws.
“Curious George” takes the adaptation in the right direction, with new character changes that work well. As a fan of the book series, and as someone who grew up reading this wonderful series, I was anxious to see “Curious George.” And the child in me wasn’t let down. The man in the yellow hat is now named Ted. And his yellow suit is one he was tricked into wearing. And I like it. Many other questions are answered in this big screen animated adaptation (How did George get his name?) that I can describe as one of the most adorable animated films I’ve seen in years.
In “Proof,” Catherine is a woman who doubts her own sanity, after her dad dies. And when her sister Claire arrives from out of town, her tension and doubts become much too apparent. Claire doubts her sister’s sanity, and after the first twenty minutes you will, too. Madden’s film is based on the play of the same name, and judging by the way the entire film is conducted, it’s not hard to fathom. “Proof” conducts itself like a play. There are simple and scarce set pieces, all of which are there to serve the actors who stand around trading dialogue at rapid fire paces, screaming at the top of their lungs. They think it’s dramatic, but often times it’s utterly shrill.
Season four is when “Lois & Clark” started to fall apart. While this series basically was just Luke & Laura a la Krypton, by season four, we saw Lois and Clark finally wed, and that’s when the series began to topple, because that’s when the romantic chemistry died, and the “Moonlighting” dichotomy faded; thus season four was the final season of this series, now on DVD from Warner Brothers Home Video.
Those who know me, know I’m a hardcore passionate Superman fan, have been since I was four. But those at the superman site I discuss the character with also know very well that “Lois & Clark” was probably the worst Superman adaptation I’ve ever seen.