movie reviews, July 13

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Much Ado About Words (Printable Version , E-mail to a Friend )
Crossword puzzles doc, Wordplay is brilliant; Superman Returns to mixed reviews

We’ve got the reader-submitted Superman Returns reviews this week, so I won’t take up too much of your time.
 
I’d planned on watching A Scanner Darkly last weekend, but apparently I forgot to check Troy’s AMC update email. If I had checked, I’d have known A Scanner Darkly doesn’t open in Tulsa until later this month.
 
Ah, well. Gives me something to look forward to, which is nice.
 
After all, what the hell else is coming up? Look at the stuff this weekend. Little Man and You, Me and Dupree! Are you kidding me?
 
Next weekend looks to be awesome, what with A Lady in the Water and Clerks II opening. I have hope for Clerks II, even though I know I shouldn’t.
 
But in the meantime . . . Owen Wilson and A Scanner Darkly (hopefully). Oh, crap. I completely forgot about My Super Ex-girlfriend. That opens this weekend as well. How about that. Two movies with an Owens brother starring.
 
You, however, have options. You can still check out Pirates of the Caribbean if you happen to be one of the two people who haven’t seen it already.
 
Or, you can go to The Circle and see Wordplay, an awesome documentary about crossword puzzles.
 
Yes, I’m serious. It is awesome and it is about crossword puzzles. Stop looking at me like that.
 
Wordplay basically comes off as a love letter to cross word puzzles, and in particular, the NY Times crossword puzzle (which has been carried by UTW in our Classifieds section for many a moon), and by proxy, the Times’ crossword editor Will Shortz and his legion of fans.
 
These people are freaks (and I mean that in the good way, of course). They time themselves. With stopwatches. One guy does a whole crossword puzzle in two minutes and two seconds. That’s down and across, kids.
 
Honestly, the film is fascinating. There are a handful of celebrity interviews, including Jon Stewart, Bill Clinton and Mike Mussina. But those are just the icing.
 
The best part of the film is meeting all the crossword junkies out there, and then seeing them pilgrimage to the annual crossword convention in Stamford. There’s even a three-way deathmatch! Finish him! Okay, it’s not crosswords to the death, but that kind of tension is there.
 
Loved it. I know I have a thing for well-made documentaries (even ones I don’t agree with), but this one’s for a general audiences and imminently likeable. It’s at The Circle until July 27. Try to see it, you know, before then.
 
Just FYI, on July 18 the Circle is sponsoring Movie Night at the River West Amphitheatre as part of the Starlight Concert Series. You can expect something with Laurel and Hardy.
 
That just leaves us with . . . the alien boy scout in blue tights with his briefs on the outside.
 
Let’s get down to brass tacks, shall we?
 
You guys really came through on this Superman Returns thing. I got a lot of good submissions, and I read all of them. If I had the space, I’d run the lot.
 
However, I do not and the paper does not, so we’re left with what I considered the cream of the crop.
 
It occurred to me while reading the reviews that by having already admitted my bias on the matter, were I to select a negative review of Superman Returns, you guys might cry foul.
 
Quite a predicament, eh?
 
Okay, not really. I just picked one from each camp. Oddly, the submissions sort of split down the middle. Half of them gave it a good review, half did not. On the side of the big boy scout and director Bryan Singer, we have a review by John Russell. On the other side, we’ve got a reluctant negative review by Jon Christopher Dresser.
 
Thanks to everyone who submitted a review. I really enjoyed reading them and appreciated the time and effort you put into it. Like I said, I wish I could run them all.
 
Anyway, thanks again.
 
Without further ado . . .
 
Superman Returns (Solar-powered Version)
 
By John Russell
 
I love movies.
 
And of the many stories and characters that I have had the pleasure of seeing on the big screen, there are almost none more iconic than Superman. Created in the comic books in the 1930s depression era, Superman was exactly what America needed; a hero who fought for "truth, justice, and the American way."
 
Sure, those ideals have been somewhat tarnished by the collective cynicism of modern society, but those are still ideals many people aspire to. Superman has commanded a presence in pop culture for decades, from comics to television, and from musicals to motion pictures.
 
Back in 1978 my parents took me to the Fox Theater and didnt tell me what we were seeing. As the screen flickered to life and Superman: The Movie began, my love for movies (beginning with Jaws and Star Wars before it) was instilled forever. Director Bryan Singer has re-invigorated that feeling with the summer hit, Superman Returns.
 
Taking place five years after Superman II, it is faithful to the core, yet more than simply a valentine to the former Superman films. It is a lovingly crafted new chapter in the saga. Even the familiar music by John Williams is featured throughout.
 
Superman (Brandon Routh) returns to earth after being absent for five years. While attempting to re-enter his life disguised as newspaper reporter Clark Kent, he discovers that a few things have changed in his absence. Namely that the woman of his affection, Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), has moved on to another man – fellow newsman Richard White (James Marsden).
 
Other changes include his arch-nemesis Lex Luthor (played devilishly by Kevin Spacey) getting out of prison and hatching a scheme to conquer the world (well, it is a comic book story, after all).
 
The first action sequence involves Superman in the spectacular rescue of an airplane disaster. In fact, it is in this moment that any doubt or skepticism you might have had about the movie or about Routh as Superman is put to rest. Brandon Routh “is” Superman, like Christopher Reeve before him.
 
Fittingly, Routh also contemplates the advice of his Kryptonian father (Marlon Brando). Brought to life from 1978 footage, it is Brandos unmistakable voice that gives consciousness to Superman. Telling him things like “Even though you’ve been raised as a human being you’re not one of them." It is Routh’s riveting portrayal of this inner conflict that makes this film potentially succeed its predecessors.
 
The story rounds out with Lois being abducted by Lex, Superman making a monumental sacrifice to save mankind, and one truly astonishing revelation. That revelation and Superman’s ultimate act of selflessness are what make this film so endearing and inspiring.
 
It’s a great feeling when the audience actually cheers for a movie; this was the case at this screening. Superman Returns made me feel like I was a kid, back in 1978 at the Fox Theater. Bryan Singer has given us the fountain of youth, and for that alone I love this movie.
 
 
Superman Returns (Kryptonite-Poisoned Version)
 
By Jon Christopher Dresser
 
First, let me pre-empt my review by saying that since a young age, I have been a Superman fan. In my parents’ vast archive of home movies, my Dad captured a six-year-old me in 1986 donning blue pajamas and a red cape prancing about the yard pretending to leap tall buildings.
 
I have a deep admiration and nostalgic love of the Richard Donner film versions of Superman. In fact, the “Love Theme from Superman” was my parents wedding song at their nuptials in 1979.
 
I took in the noon show at Promenade opening day, hoping to avoid the undoubtedly sold-out screenings and the bevy of obnoxious children that normally accompany a ‘hero’ film of this magnitude.
 
And this ‘hero’ film is sure to make a boat-load of money. After five-plus years of hype, director changes, and script rewrites, not to mention an eight-month international marketing campaign . . . the film should break records. [Doesn’t look like that’s going to happen – ed.]
 
It does open brilliantly--Marlon Brando’s voice heard over images of a deep space exploration culminating in the explosion of Krypton. Admittedly, I couldn’t help but tear up when the familiar music makes its furious crescendo and big red ‘S’ emblazons the screen. I know . . . call me sentimental. 
 
The PG-13 rating does take care of most unruly children and also allows the film to be slightly darker than previous incarnations. The film implies that America is at its decadent worst and in desperate need of a savior. 
 
We learn that Superman has been gone from Earth for five years, searching space for the remnants of Krypton. Lex Luthor is up to his old antics and that nosey reporter Lois Lane is currently a Pulitzer Prize-winning, unwed mother. 
 
When Superman does return, it is impressive--but not for long. Aside from Spacey’s performance turning Luthor from campy to suave, and an enjoyable 10 minutes of Parker Posey, the actors are too young, not right, or over-doing it.
 
Brandon Routh does a decent job as Superman despite his acting inexperience and uncanny resemblance to his predecessor, but in parts his performance feels like a sub-par Christopher Reeve impersonation.
 
Don’t get me wrong, the cinematography is beautiful, the special effects are excellent and plentiful--but something is missing. The film has its fantastic, glittering moments for the new generation and older fans will notice an homage to the Action Comics artwork of the 1930’s.
 
The real disappointment comes in a plot twist near the end of the film that nearly ruins the entire production. I’m not going to spoil the film for those of you who have not seen it, but Superman even gives a teary-eyed speech to mark the occasion. Blah!
 
Bryan Singer is a talented director however, if I could go back in time, I’d suggest to Mr. Singer that he helm X-Men 3 (instead of letting another director nearly ruin it) and leave Superman in the remake vault where it belongs. 
 
In summation, I was merely entertained, not blown away as I had hoped I would be. The film lacked a certain magic that the late Christopher Reeves, a fine actor and exceptional human being, gave the character without the use of over-done graphics and a dull, plastic-looking costume. Reeves played Superman with such sincerity that you watch the original believing he could take flight.
 
This inadequate version had the potential to be stellar and fell short. If I’m being completely honest, the most enjoyable part of the entire movie-going experience was the teaser trailer for Spider-man 3 due out next May.
 
Cheers!