Man of Steel

I have waited a long time for this!  Ever since I heard that Man of Steel was going into production, I have anxiously awaited the reboot of Superman.  Having grown up watching Christopher Reeve fly on the screen for 4 movies (only 1 good one out of all of them), Superman has always meant much more to me personally.  As time has moved along, superhero movies have come out one year after the other.  Superman attempted to relaunch back in 2006, but it never really took to the fans.  Batman has come and gone, Spiderman has had one trilogy and a reboot already.  The Avengers have flourished in single movies and dominated in one big one.  The Green Lantern has.....well he showed up!  While Warner Brothers and DC Comic have tried, The Man of Steel has never found the success it was looking for.....until now!

 

Only one word defines this movie:  EPIC!  From the beginning where we see the destruction of Krypton to the final scene of Clark Kent arriving at the Daily Planet, this movie took us on a trip that told the story of an outsider who didn't feel that he would be accepted to finding his place in the world.  If I had one conplaint about this movie, it could of been longer.  I loved the flashbacks to his upbringing in Smallville, if anything it opens the door to more flashbacks for future movies and (Spoiler) killing off Kevin Costner wouldn't feel like we've seen the last of him playing Jonathon Kent.  I thought Jor-El's part was excellent, surely didn't have me journey back to the days of Marlon Brando and his long winded speeches.  As for Henry Cavill, HE IS SUPERMAN OF THIS ERA!  As much as Christopher Reeve embodied Superman in the 70's & 80's (and for all that he did after becoming paralzyed), Henry Cavill embodied Superman of the modern era, much more than Brandon Routh could.  No knock on Brandon, just that his Superman was not as tortured as Henry's, which makes the best superheros.  I thought Amy Adams did more for Lois Lane than Kate Bosworth did in Superman Returns.  Amy's likeability came over more than Kate's, in my opinion.  Yes, there were changes in this one.  Superman doesn't wear red underwear, Jimmy Olsen is now Jenny Olsen, and Perry White is black.....and none of it mattered.  Lawerence Fishburne is awesome as Perry White as he had the same wit that Jackie Cooper and Lane Smith brought to the character, although Lane's Perry was more comical.  As for General Zod, Terrence Stamp was brilliant as General Zod in 1978.  Michael Shannon was brilliant as General Zod in 2013.  Both Zod's are different, but both have the same means to an end for their character.

When this movie came out, I read people say, "Oh the music isn't the same", "too serious, too dark", "too much CGI, not enough story".....these people have missed the point!  In Superman Returns, Superman didn't throw a punch.  In Man of Steel, he takes out Smallville and Metropolis in his war against General Zod.  Fans that have stayed close to the making of this movie knew that it was going to be dark, after all, we're talking about an alien who is trying to find his place in this world, and to me, you just don't smile about it and brighten the picture up with colors.  It's moody because these are moody times!  As for the "not enough story" comments, we're seeing the world through his eyes, not watching to see what he'll do next.  From kids who bullied Clark in school, we see how he couldn't fight back and how much it killed him.  When the truck driver tries to pick a fight with Clark, to later find his truck turned inside and out, we see the struggle he's gone through.  Most important of all (another spolier), we eliminate Lois not knowing that Clark Kent is Superman.  For years, the question has always been, "How does a world renowned reporter not know that the man sitting directly in front of you wearing glasses IS NOT the Man of Steel?"

The one review that gets me the most is, "How come they couldn't do the same for this that they did with The Dark Knight?"  Let me ask you a question, how much do you remember of Batman Begins?  All that movie did was re-introduce the character to the public, The Dark Knight blew the doors with Heath Ledger as The Joker.  For those who think Man of Steel didn't do enough for them, if you weren't blown away by this one, just wait!

Shrek 4

After delaying this movie as much as I could, I broke down and took the kids to see it the dollar theater on fifty cent day. After watching Shrek the 3rd years ago, I was a little apprehensive about seeing the newest, and possibly, last installment of the Shrek franchise. After the movie was over, I walked out of the movie feeling pretty good that I finally saw it. By far, this movie put the last one to shame. I enjoyed the storyline of Shrek playing the "what if" scenario. I thought Eddie Murphy's donkey wasn't too over the top like he was in previous movies. I thought Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz did a great job in re-creating the characters that we all came to know and love from Shrek. All in all, the movie ranks in my top 5 of summer movies this year, even though I have probably only seen 5 movies this summer.

It's Complicated

Coming from a person who isn't the biggest Meryl Streep fan, I have to say I'm starting to buy into how great of an actress she is. I thought Alex Baldwin was great as the ex-husband who wants a "friends with benefits" relationship with his ex-wife. My only problem with the movie was Steve Martin. While I like the character he played, I wished his character could of been funnier. I know that this is rather picky, but when he turns out genius roles in The Jerk, My Blue Heaven, and Parenthood, you kind of expect that in every other movie. Even in Father of the Bride, Steve Martin can play it straight and just have the comedy fall around him. Like I said, I know it's picky. All in all, the movie was good, buy not great! It does drag a little for me, but the ending doesn't leave you hollow, like most movies do nowadays.

Swing Vote

For what I thought was going to be a blow off movie, I really enjoyed this film! I loved the premise about how two presidential candidates only need to campaign to one person to become president. Kelsey Grammer was excellent as The President of the United States, who would be willing to switch his party's direction to get Bud (Kevin Costner) to vote for him. I also thought, even though it was evident that he was on his way out, that Dennis Hopper came off as being believable as the Democratic hopeful. My only issue with this movie was Kevin Costner. His character was comparable to his character in Tin Cup. Bud and Roy McAvoy were almost the same person to me. That didn't deter me from liking the movie, however. I thought Madeline Carroll stole the show as Bud's daughter. This movie is a must see!

The Karate Kid (2010)

This movie is truly a remake! Everything from the storyline to the dialogue, this movie is a copycat of the 1984 version of The Karate Kid. Even with the story taking place in China, as opposed to California, I was sitting there telling myself what the next scene would be. However, that's not a bad thing! Jaden Smith is a true star in this movie (God knows the last thing the world needs is for Will Smith and Jada Pinkett to have successful off-spring). Jackie Chan is, well Jackie Chan. While he's not as lovable as Pat Morita, he is enjoyable enough for me as Jaden's teacher. It's a great movie, and it will be interesting to see if they follow up with it.

Toy Story 3

Far and above, the Toy Story franchise sets the standard of Disney animation. Toy Story 3 closes the chapter in one sense, but possibly opens a new book with this one. I loved the characters, as I did in the first two, and the story was very heartwarming. To be honest, I found myself tearing up a few times in the movie. By far, the best family movie of the summer. Hopefully, it's not the last of the series, but if so, it went out with a bang!

Wonderful World

This movie isn't in my top 5 of Mathew Broddrick movies! Granted, I didn't expect Ferris Bueller, but I was looking for a little bit more than what I got. The story is pretty simple, lonely guy's roommate collapses, flies in sister, falls for sister, they break up, he finds himself throughout all of this. I thought he did a good job in the movie, but I was pretty bored with the love story. The biggest problem I had was the title. No where in this movie did I get the impression that this was a wonderful world for him. The movie is worth a shot, just don't get your hopes up!