Superman Returns Review

Okay, the movie's out, but is it good? Yes. For the most part. I know that director Bryan Singer is a big fan of the original Donner film, so I expected one or two homages, but there's a lot more similarities that I thought. Even to the degree that some may just want to call this a remake of the original, rather than a sequel.

The cast is one of the stronger elements of the film. Brandon Routh is believable as Superman and as Clark Kent, though I don't think he'll top Christopher Reeve in the hearts of many, again this due to the fact that Routh plays Kent/Superman too close to the way that Reeve did it. If he added more of his own spin, then he might have done an even better job. Kevin Spacey does another great job as the villain, combining charm and twisted anger. Unfortunately, his character is too isolated from everyone else and only has one major scene with Lois and one scene with Superman. The new Lois Lane is okay, but she seems too cold or reserved. Also, I'm older than her, and I'm not even 25.



Two actors deserve acknowledgement: Parker Posey and James Marsden. She's funny; he's sympathetic; and they're both in the movie more than I thought they'd be. Posey provides a more three dimensional Girl Friday to Spacey's Luthor, but she doesn't do anything in the last hour except to look guilty. Marsden, at least, gets to help rescue Lois... and Superman.

The second strongest element is the special effects. All 250 million dollars worth. Breathtaking and spectacular, especially the plane disaster in the first hour of the film. Also, I thought it would worth noting that each of Superman's powers, including heat vision and super breath, are used in this film.

There are only little things that bother me with this film. The beginning jumps around too much, and the last 30 minutes drag on for too long. John Ottman gives us another compelling score, using John Williams' themes, but should have focused on editing the film. It's too long. Seriously, it's too long. Also, there's the kid. Not as annoying as I thought, but he's just an ugly continunity problem waiting to happen.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's an entertaining film, but it had dared to get out of the shadow of the Donner film, it could have be, well, super. B

Kikaida CD Review

Over at Godzilla Monster Music, I wrote a review for the 2 Disc Special Collector's Edition Kikaida/Kikiada 01 Set. While the music may sound dated to you, Kikaida fans, like me, can't get enough of this music. Check it out.

Movie Review: X3

Not a Dream! Not a Hoax!

I'll admit that I admire the sheer guts of this movie, for everything they did in it. Or should I say everything they did to the characters. Phoenix comes off as a very powerful and very destructive force, even though she does just stand about for the second half of the film. There's a much darker tone than I was expecting, but director Brett Ratner just doesn't have the same touch than Singer.

The best way I can describe my feelings for this movie is to talking about the third Patlabor movie. It's well written and has a good Labor VS kaiju battle at the end, but the main characters had only a sparse role compared to the detectives investigating the case. In this movie, all the characters I liked either were died, dying, or not even used, leaving me with not much to cheer on except for Jackman and McKellan who do their usual best and TV's Frasier doing a decent job on Beast.

I wish I could be more positive about this film, but I can't. Comic book purist may agree with me. Definately not recommended for Marsden fans. Like me. C

Godzilla VS Sea Monster Review

(For the record, I watched Sony's uncut, widescreen version on DVD.)

Nothing seemed to be going this movie. It was originally a King Kong movie, rewritten for the Big G, and Jun Fukuda, the new director, had to follow up the famous Ishiro Honda. The story follows Ryota Kane who was convinced that his brother was alive and steals a boat with some total strangers and ends up on an island run by the Red Bamboo.

The weak point of this film is that it's not much of a kaiju film. Godzilla and guest star Mothra both sleep through most of the film. Godzilla's nemesis in this film is a large shrimp assisted by a crazed condo, both employed by a SPECTRE wannabe. The film just isn't ambitious enough for it to be a great film.


But it is a fun film, probably the first Godzilla movie with a sense of humor. I mean, it's nice to have social commentaries. (There's one squeezed into the end of this one as well.) But it's also nice to just watch a entertaining film that's doesn't take itself too seriously.

I have no complaints about Jun Fukuda, and it's almost understandable that he choose to focus on the human aspect since it's his first monster film. Masaru Sato adds a wonderful score, and the special effects were still supervised by Eiji Tsuburaya. While it's not the best Godzilla movie, it's still a good start for Fukuda. B-