rey's ramblings

Superman Returns to the big screen

Plug-in: Crazy (James Michael Mix) - Alanis Morissette

Last night, I went for the Superman Returns premiere at GV Grand
with vanessa. A very last minute arrangement but nevertheless, still
smooth-sailing. The venue was at the site of the previous IMAX theatre.
The technology was all moved to the Science Centre but the curved
screen was still in place, albeit cut down to half its original size.

Superman Returns, in a word, was spectacular. Just like its other DC
counterpart, Batman, it seems that fifth time round under a great director
(Batman Begins with Christopher Nolan at the helm) for Superman helped
give the series a revival-shot in the arm. Especially after the previous flop
sequels Superman III and IV ruined his image (the caped crusader too in
Batman Forever and Batman & Robin with those frightening nipple-suits),
the Man of Steel has made a comeback both cinematically and in the story.

Performances from the cast were fairly okay. Kevin Spacey conveyed Lex
Luthor's anger and quirkiness well but as many followers of his work would
agree, his character was a lot more "Spacey" than "Luthor". Parker Posey
played bimbotic Kitty Koslowski to near-perfection with a combined sense
of aloofness and moral direction. The casting people certainly made a wise
choice with Brandon Routh by picking a virtual unknown who could still
portray the mannerisms and look of Clark Kent/Superman with amazing
similarity as the former Superman, Christopher Reeves. The understated
humour that is an invariable part of Clark, still stays. However, it remains
to be seen whether Routh can break out of the typecast he fits so perfectly.
Out of the primary cast, Kate Bosworth shone the least as reporter Lois
Lane. Her role as Lois Lane was somewhat stilted and a lot less enduring
compared to Margot Kidder's version in the original series. However, since
this movie is obviously intended as the first in a series of films, many critics
believe she should age nicely into the part.

A highlight of the film was its beautiful score, done by John Ottman who chose
to incorporate bits of the old score with new arrangements. It helped elevate
action-packed moments and set a tone of sentimentality for its quieter ones.
Kudos goes to Bryan Singer for choosing to focus on the mythical and emotional
aspects of Superman instead of opting for extended fight scenes and expounding
on the good vs. bad theme. It is difficult to keep Superman relevant nowadays in
a world where the superheroes thrive by being cynical, brooding and morally
complex. However, by posing the age-old question (with a twist) of "Do we
really still need a virtuous superhero?" to both Metropolis and audiences alike,
Singer helps place Superman Returns in the category of emotionally resonant
comic-book movies such as the Spiderman series and Batman Begins, instead
of falling into the stylish and slick but impersonal popcorn flicks like Fantastic 4
and Daredevil.

Apart from that, Singer has not only paid homage to the original Superman movie
throughout Returns (most prominently with the reworking of Marlon Brando's
Jor-El archival footage) but has also put in place a plot development building on
one of the existing comic storylines that would put the DC editors to shame.

What makes Superman Returns unique though, is Singer's ability to mine the
Superman mythos, extrictate the dormant, underlying, often ignored theme of
alienation and heighten its relevance by making Superman return to a world
that has seemingly forgotten and moved on without him. This dilemma extends to
his battles with Lex Luthor, who hatches an elaborate plot that turns out to be not
really all that interesting, but it does force Superman to make a great sacrifice.
As a result, "Returns" is a profoundly personal take on a universal icon who is
larger-than-life in terms of power, ability and confidence but whose inner heart
is still essentially similar to that of any ordinary human at the end of the day - lonely
and seeking acceptance from others (in Superman's case, more urgently, from Lois
Lane). In fact, the biggest compliment that can be given to the movie is that it doesn't
really leave you wondering who Superman will be fighting next but what's the next step
he will take with his life.

Film Rating:

4 out of 5 stars

"They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason
above all - their capacity for good - I have sent them you...
my only son."

I crossed the bridge at 11:08 PM

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Novocaine baby, did it do you any good?

Plug-in: I Write Sins not Tragedies - Panic! At The Disco

Holidays, especially the month-long ones, are the times when sleeping
cycles are completely reversed in such a manner that you could say
that day becomes night and vice versa.

But I feel it's a lot more refreshing(?) once you get the hang of it.
It's a lot more different from usual 5:30, 6:00 wake-up hangovers
which never fails to be nauseating for me. I'm just not a morning
person and it doesn't help that I'm lactose-intolerant during dawn
hours. Erk.

Anyway, wee morning hours have this tranquility and calm about them
that puts starkly in contrast with the time we spend under the sun. To
put it simply, it's a lot less stressful. Still, I'm not really advocating late
night sleep or anything, obviously with its bad health effects and all.

World Cup season this year has been interesting so far, but not as exciting
as 2002's championship. I'd expect a lot of entertainment from the World
Cup since its the only soccer league that I ever watch. Still, this 06 edition
has been quite a lot of fun following, with many referee foul-ups (especially
the hilarious three yellow cards given to the same player by Graham Poll)
and player problems. England's always facing many obstacles, especially
how someone like Michael Owen can get injured 2 minutes into the game
all by himself.

I'm rooting for Portugal and/or Germany, since I rooted for Brazil in 2002
the last time and with mostly same players in the team from four years ago,
supporting them this time round wouldn't be exciting enough, since they are
such a shoo-in. I'm quite convinced that Germany can take the Cup home,
not only because of the added pride of being on home soil, but also because
they are more determined than ever, having been narrowly defeated by Brazil
the previous time in 2002.

Oh well, it's about time to get back to school. It's been one of the more uneventful
holidays so far but suprisingly enough, it didn't feel short either. I think it's good
because that's a lot less distraction from studies.

time of our lives

I crossed the bridge at 1:25 AM

Friday, June 16, 2006

Car Toons with a heart

Plug-in: Life Is a Highway - Rascal Flatts

The holidays have been pretty decent so far, the ever-present hectic
schedule taking the gruesome form of studying for the O levels. This
unwholesome and somewhat mind-numbing activity has taken up a
rather substantial portion of the first three weeks of the holidays so far.
As a result, they have swallowed up any prospect of pure, unadulterated
fun. However, I intend to change that for the remainder of the holidays.
Though, I must stress that the key word here is "intend".

To be honest, there has been some minimal escapism. For example, a
day-time Johor Bahru weekend getaway, if that counts. But all in all,
the proliferation of enjoyment is somewhat limited compared to past
holidays. Anyway, on the topic of escapism, "Cars" which I watched
on wednesday at the cathay with javier, had a lot of it. It was your
typical Pixar movie with a moral story but was more escapist in terms
of its context, compared to previous outings by the animation studio.
It also banked less on intense action sequences (they were only at the
beginning and at the end, in the form of the racing sequences) but more
on character development and plot. Not forgetting that most of the
backdrops were stunningly beautiful.

You see, the thing about Cars is that even though it has by far the most
literally mechanical characters in a Pixar movie, it also has a more nuanced
feeling than the others. The animated film revolves a lot around the themes
of sentimentality, nostalgia and diversity but more importantly, what ties
all these up is the message of learning to take the slower path in life sometimes.

Although, I felt that Cars will still resonate more with the American viewer.
The movie has a very Americana feel to it because of its setting and mood.
But nevertheless, Cars is still a meaningful feel-good movie without going
too overboard at any time.

After the movie, we played at the arcade for a couple of hours. I think we
made a lot of improvement on the X-Men vs Street Fighter game, landing
in the high scores (something that rarely happens at the arcade for me,
considering the amount of time and effort that the regulars would put into
these games).

Movie Rating:

3 1/2 stars out of 5

better slow than never

I crossed the bridge at 3:52 PM

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Inseperable identities and the faux bishop

Plug-in: Crazy - Gnarls Barkley

The Chinese 'O' s on monday were relatively okay compared to previous
years. I personally thought that Paper One was very doable, probably
even easier than the mid-years, but Paper Two's difficulty surpassed
expectations and the standard of the mid-years. Unfortunately, my
estimated grade says I'm highly unlikely to get an A... More likely to
land myself around a B3 or B4. Quite disappointing actually, was hoping
to get an A2 at least. Hopefully, moderation will come into play?

Anyway, left after the exam with changming for lunch at ps and then
adjourned to The Cathay later to watch X-Men: The Last Stand with
chris, gareth and some others.

There has always been something greatly appealing about the whole
x-men culture/story/universe not just because of its wildy fascinating
endless storylines or its many diverse, intriguing characters and their
awesome powers but mostly due to its underlying theme of alienation.
As many have previously speculated, the X-gene can basically stand
for any minority that mainstream society has prejudicial tendencies
towards - race, religion, sexuality, culture, perhaps even gender.
This is what plays a crucial element in making the x-men series one
of the most popular and widely followed comic book franchises.

The conflicting philosophies of Professor X and Magneto on how they
handle the oppression is also another interesting and powerful allegory on
the two different paths that the persecuted can be forced down: Xavier's
more pacifist and reunion oriented approach or Eric Lensherr's darker,
hardline stance.

That being said, The Last Stand does not meet up to the expectations
of its highly potential theme and plot premise. It has the quintessentials
of a summer blockbuster - stunning special effects and perfectly orchestrated
action scenes. However, character development, plot progression and subtlety
have all gone down the drain thanks to director Brett Ratner (of Rush Hour fame)
and his wham-bang in-your-face style. After having taken over the reins from
his predecessor Bryan Singer (who ironically enough, left for the project that Ratner
was kicked out from: Superman Returns) , he has converted the subtle quality
of the first two films into a loud mish-mash of action scenes and cheesy dialogue.
Singer, who worked magic with the first two movies (especially X2, a personal fav
and rated one of the best comic book-movie adaptations alongside Spiderman) ,
built great interest in the X-Men saga by lending depth and interest to the
characters. Dialogue was also carefully chosen and much of it had an underlying
meaning or impact. Under Ratner's direction, the great potential of the plot has
been obliterated by the need for sheer action bombast. Sure it may be a lot of
fun to watch for the moment, but otherwise, it has no transcending significance.

The Last Stand, make no mistake, will still perform marvellously at the box-office.
But this is attributed more to the beautifully crafted legacy that Singer has left
behind, than its own mainstay appeal that will draw audiences to the multiplexes.
The X-Men trilogy will still be cemented as one of the better comic book adaptations
in cinema history but a regret perhaps, is that Singer could have given this opus
a more befitting and stylish conclusion.

Another summer flick I watched was The Da Vinci Code on tuesday night with my
family. Religious controversy and implications notwithstanding, the movie was just
slightly above average. Contrary to the critics' lashing at Cannes, the movie wasn't
really that extremely bad. However, true enough, it was just crammed with too much
information and this made watching it more akin to solving a humongous mathematical
equation than having a thoroughly enjoyable blockbuster experience. Perhaps the
problem lies in the fact that the information overload and numerous elaborate conspiracy
theories in Da Vinci Code is best reserved for reading eyes only and is just too abundant
to be fully fleshed out onscreen. The end result is that the movie becomes rather stuffy
and convoluted, a lot more talk than action, which can seriously bore most viewers. It's
certainly more riveting as a novel. In the acting department, Sir Ian McKellen's delightful
portrayal of Sir Leigh Teabing was really quite the gem. As for two-time Academy Award
winner Tom Hanks, his role as Robert Langdon certainly did not rank amongst his career
defining standards and felt unusually ... cardboard.

Predictably, this is probably going to be the most dull and boring june holidays
I've ever had so far. Thanks to the approaching O Levels (but more importantly
enough, the prelims) , revision and practice will become a daily necessity and
perhaps more. Hopefully, I'll still find the time to get out every now and then.

what's it gonna be, self-conscience or self-denial?

I crossed the bridge at 3:34 PM

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