Seriously? OMG! WTF?

Just like in the comics and the movies, Superman is receiving much adulation while dodging Kryptonite as he faces movie critics today (Tuesday) in advance of midnight screenings of Superman Returns. The critics are about equally divided over whether Superman flies. "Man, oh Man of Steel, it’s good to have you back," Jack Mathews fairly shouts in his review in the New York Daily News. William Arnold in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer describes the film as "immensely satisfying … magnificently mounted." Claudia Puig in USA Today calls it "a rousing spectacle… an action-packed saga with exhilarating special effects and dazzling production design." To Terry Lawson in the Detroit Free Press, it’s "an elegantly rendered, perfectly pitched homage to the golden era of comics." Lou Lumenick in the New York Post writes that with this sequel, "Bryan Singer’s super, soulful and very expensive new resurrection of the venerable big-screen franchise ups the ante with must-see results." Amy Biancolli expresses thanks to the filmmakers for not trying to invest Superman with angst as the makers of Batman Begins did with their superhero. "because an angsty Superman is no Superman at all." Ty Burr in the Boston Globe also remarks that "this isn’t a reinvention of a beloved franchise. It’s a renewal." He concludes that the film is "a generally thrilling entertainment that’s not quite the grand slam you want it to be." Similarly, Michael Phillips in the Chicago Tribune dishes out what he calls "qualified praise" to the film, but refers to the title character as "the savior from Krypton." But Manohla Dargis in the New York Times takes the criticism a step further, accusing director Bryan Singer of turning the superhero into a kind of Jesus. Referring to his earlier work on the X-Men franchise, Dargis remarks: "Mr. Singer likes to make important pop entertainments that trumpet their seriousness as loudly as they deploy their bangs. It’s hard not to think that Superman isn’t the only one here with a savior complex." Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times makes a similar point: "This is a film that tries too hard and wants too much," he writes. And Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times simply dismisses it as "a glum, lackluster movie in which even the big effects sequences seem dutiful instead of exhilarating."

IMDB 

The Superman franchise has always been plagued by bad luck and the latest installment, Superman Returns, is no exception, according to Premiere magazine. Producer Rob Burnett was mugged by four guys who broke his ribs, giving him a concussion and a black eye. Editor Adam Robitel fell through a closed window and was impaled by a glass shard that punctured his lung and injured his spine. Associate producer and cameraman Todd Stanley fell down a flight of stairs, fracturing his skull and tearing his pinkie finger so badly it had to be partially amputated.
 
The man in blue tights has been rumored to be cursed since TV Superman George Reeves was found dead of a single gunshot wound. The big screen’s most famous Superman, Christopher Reeve, suffered a paralyzing horseback riding accident and Margot Kidder, who played Lois Lane, suffered a nervous breakdown. Superman III star Richard Pryor was stricken with multiple sclerosis. Lane Smith, who played Clark Kent and Lois Lane’s boss, Perry White, on the Lois & Clark television series, was diagnosed with the rare Lou Gehrig’s Disease in April 2005 and died of the disease two months later.
 
Is Superman Returns star Brandon Routh worried? “To this, I say, ‘What curse?’ ” he says. “I don’t think in those terms. I have control over what I do. If something happens to me, I’ll deal with it. I’m not going to worry about it.”

US Weekly 

So far only Smallville seems curse free…unless did I just jinx them. 

Comic book hero CLARK KENT, the alter ego of SUPERMAN, has been described as the stereotypical Jew by rabbi and writer SIMCHA WEINSTEIN. Weinstein, whose new book UP, UP AND OY VEY explores the concept of the Jewish superhero, insists the Man of Steel’s cape conceals a "bumbling, nebbish Jew". He says, "Only a Jew would think of a name like Clark Kent. He’s a bumbling, nebbish Jewish stereotype. He’s WOODY ALLEN. "Can’t get the girl. Can’t get the job – at the same time, he has this tremendous heritage he can’t express."

Contact Music 

---

 Next entries »