Film Capsule Reviews

Okay, I’ve been promising Ryan for many weeks now that I was going to share my opinion of “Superman Returns”- a film that both of us were awaiting with bated breath. He’s already reviewed it, since he saw it opening night. I, on the other hand, am finally ready to put my finger to the keyboard and talk about it. Granted, I’ve now experienced it in three various incarnations (regular screen, IMAX and IMAX 3D- in Chicago), and I’ve also figured that I’ll share my thoughts on the other recent films I’ve seen, too.
First and foremost, Superman Returns lived up to its hype, and was one of the best movies I saw this summer. I had complete faith the Bryan “X-Men 1&2” Singer would remain true to the pathos and mythology of the character, as well as pay tribute to the first two Richard Donner films of the 70s (cue the John Williams theme music). And he succeeded, with some interesting choices that didn’t live up to their promise. Brandon Routh was excellent as Clark Kent/Superman and in conveying his ‘alien’ quality and the fact that superman really doesn’t fit in. His speech to Lois Lane’s son at the end was heartbreaking as his flight into space was exhilarating. Kevin Spacey was an inspired casting choice as Lex Luthor, far superior to the comedic persona that Gene Hackman portrayed, even going so far as to really be sinister-scary. Granted Luthor’s real estate scheme was tired, even in the 70s, but it did climax with a painful scene in which Superman is ‘sacrificed’ (and, while the Jesus/Messiah similarities are painfully obvious, they don’t feel forced). Now for the things that, I feel, didn’t quite work: Parker Posey’s character didn’t have much presence and was predictable, Kate Bosworth didn’t make for a convincing Lois Lane. It seemed like she was too subtle or in an entirely different than everyone else around her, but each time I saw the movie my arguments against her seemed less and less Now, the IMAX 3D viewing was pretty spectacular even though the total amount of 3D footage was no more than 20 minutes- the final scene, Superman’s return saving the plane Lois was on (another wink to the original film), and the final showdown between Luthor and Superman- but it was plenty worth it. Grade: B+.

The Lady In The Water was a movie that I was looking forward to, if only for the potential of M. Night Shyamalan’s vision and I felt just as disappointed as his last two films have left me. It started off well, but then it got fairly complicated really fast. There’s a song in the show “Urinetown” called “Too Much Exposition” and this movie had an overabundance of it. I thought the general sentiment and moral were relevant to today (It takes a village and the resonance of myths in today’s world) but it quickly became too complicated and messy and it left me without any investment in this world. Grade: C.

The Night Listener, based on the book by Armistead Maupin, was a fairly faithful adaptation of this “is he or isn’t he” thriller. Robin Williams did not disappoint in his role as broadcaster Gabriel Noone, who strikes up a conversation with an HIV-positive child and his caregiver (the always fantastic Toni Collette), but may also be the victim of a con game. Grade: B-

The day after I got back from Chicago, I felt like I wanted to experience the chills that The Descent has promised, via Entertainment Weekly’s and horror-meister’s StephenGregory’s positive review of it and it did not disappoint. Evoking the same bleak outlook that “28 Days Later” did, this underground thriller does for spelunking what “The Blair Witch Project” did for camping. Leaving much to the imagination the suspense just keeps piling on until the end. Now, about that ending, I felt it slightly problematic and too ‘shlocky.’ I know that this was an alternate ending than the original UK version and can’t wait to see the different ending on DVD to see if it holds up as well. Grade: B+

I also caught The Devil Wears Prada a second time and still enjoyed it. If it wasn’t for Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt’s scene-stealing performances as antagonist Amanda Priestly and First Assistant Emily, this would’ve been just another lightweight summer comedy and they steal this movie from lead Anne Hathaway, who is less than dazzling. Since it was my second viewing, I was able to just focus on the performances and enjoy the scenery. There are some great one-liners and just watching Meryl say so much without saying a word was truly worth it. If she doesn’t get an Oscar nomination for this role then there is no God. Grade: B+