Monday, July 31, 2006

The Heat is On

Man, it is hotter than hell outside. It doesn't help that my browser keeps throwing up Heat Advisories for Wood Dale that stretch until 9:15pm tonight. 9:15PM?? Man. It staggers me that people actually go to the beach in the heat for their vacations. Crazy.

We saw Pirates 2 over the weekend. While the company was good, the movie was just 'eh'.

Monday, July 24, 2006

You don't tug on Superman's cape...

Been a busy last few weeks. All sorts of things going on around our house. Crazy.

Anyways, I thougth I would write up some thoughts I had about Superman Returns, seeing as how I've seen it three times. (theater, IMAX, drive-in)

I enjoyed the movie, but as many have said, no as much as I had hoped to. It's a tad too long...the ending drags on few minutes past the logical end point. I enjoyed the story, but there was one bit that I thought was a missed opportunity. Not to put too fine a point on it, but since Superman actually 'returns' after a 5-year absence, it seems to me he doesn't really consider what that actually 'cost' others, besides what it cost him in terms of Lois. How many people didn't get saved, etc? It was just a thought I had.

The action is amazing. There's a plane rescue sequence that beats the 'Kong fighting T-rex' scene as the most amazing thing I've ever seen on a movie screen. Superman flies seamlessly...there's even sonic booms at times.

Brandon Routh plays a great Superman and a bumbling Clark Kent...just as it should be. There's one point there two characters start thinking Clark might be Superman and he gives such a dorky reaction that it puts those thoughts out of their heads right away. I thought Routh did a fine job. Kevin Spacey is a good Luthor too...kind of a middle point between the Smallville Lex and the Gene Hackman comedic Lex. There's one point towards the end of the movie where Lex is coldly brutal towards Superman...and it elicited a pretty strong negative reaction from me. (which I guess is the point)

I thought Kate Bosworth was a little too young to play Lois...plus, having a 5-year-old kid to boot. She did a nice job acting the part though. I thought that the Lois from Smallville might have done a better job.

I enjoyed the little bits that referred to the original Richard Donner Superman film...like the Kryptonite being discovered in Adis Ababa, Glen Ford being Pa Kent, Kitty saying that it seemed like Lex had visited the Fortress of Solitude before.

Anyways...the movie was't the total smash hit I had thought it might be, but it's made decent money. There'll probably be a sequel. If so, I'll go see it.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Great Minds...

ESPN.com: Page 2 : Why I love the World Cup: "4. There's something fascinating about the underlying baggage in every game. My buddy Kurt e-mailed me last week, 'If you're a Nazi war criminal who escaped the Allied forces after WWII, who do you root for tomorrow: Germany, who propelled you to the top of their system, or Argentina, who took you in and helped hide your crimes against humanity?'"

I know I said I wouldn't be all about the links anymore, but I made this same joke last week while the game was being played while we were eating at the airport on Friday.