DVD THE GOSPEL OF `SUPERMAN'.Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor A superhero su·per·he·ro n. pl. su·per·he·roes A figure, especially in a comic strip or cartoon, endowed with superhuman powers and usually portrayed as fighting evil or crime. with a messianic complex Messianic complex is a psychological state in which the individual believes him/herself to be, or is destined to become, the saviour of the particular field, a group, an event, a time period, or in an extreme scenario, the world. -- what a surprise. Well, don't they all. Still, ``Superman Returns'' -- Bryan Singer's take on the Man of Steel -- goes a lot further. There's no question that Singer and his screenwriters (Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris Dan Harris, born in 1979, is an American screenwriter and director best known for working with Michael Dougherty and Bryan Singer, and whose writing credits include X2 (X-Men 2) and Superman Returns. ) must have seen Richard Donner's 1978 ``Superman,'' oh, about a thousand times before diving into ``Returns,'' which loosely picks up five years after ``Superman II.'' In the form of flashbacks (some actually taken from the older movies), we see how Lois discovers Clark Kent This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details. This article has been tagged since September 2007. is really Superman, sleeps with him, but is made to forget with an amnesia-producing kiss. When the action picks up in ``Return,'' Superman/Clark(newcomer Brandon Routh Brandon Routh (born October 9, 1979) is an American actor and former fashion model. He grew up in Iowa before moving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, and subsequently appeared on several television series throughout the early 2000s. ) has been gone for five years, searching for his home planet of Krypton krypton (krĭp`tŏn) [Gr.,=hidden], gaseous chemical element; symbol Kr; at. no. 36; at. wt. 83.80; m.p. −156.6°C;; b.p. −152.3°C;; density 3.73 grams per liter at STP; valence usually 0. , and the world has moved on, including Lois (Kate Bosworth) who now has a fiance (James Marsden) and a son (Tristan Lake Leabu). Because of a technicality, his arch enemy This article is about the Swedish band. For other used of the term, see Archenemy (disambiguation). Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, formed in 1996 by ex-Carcass guitarist Michael Amott. , Lex Luthor Lex Luthor (Alexander Luthor) is a fictional DC Comics supervillain and is the primary antagonist of the Superman franchise. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, he first appeared in Action Comics #23 (1940). (Kevin Spacey spac·ey adj. Slang Variant of spacy. Adj. 1. spacey - stupefied by (or as if by) some narcotic drug spaced-out, spacy unconventional - not conventional or conformist; "unconventional life styles" ), is out of prison, has money and wants revenge. There are inevitable comparisons to the early films, and Singer doesn't let you forget them -- even Marlon Brando Marlon Brando, Jr. (April 3 1924 – July 1 2004) was an Academy Award-winning American actor whose body of work spanned over half a century. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential actors of all time. (using scenes shot and not used for ``Superman II) is back as Jor-El, the Man of Steel's Kryptonian father. And, as he was able to do before with the first two ``X-Men'' films, Singer tries to make ``Returns'' more than mere pop entertainment. This Superman doesn't just fly around saving the world for truth, justice and ``all that,'' as the movie says. Like a god, he has the gift and the curse to hear the cries and pleas of those who need help, but he yearns to simply be a man. The similarities to the Jesus story are purely intentional, including our hero floating in space, arms stretched out as though he's on the cross. It's too bad Singer didn't hew hew v. hewed, hewn or hewed, hew·ing, hews v.tr. 1. To make or shape with or as if with an ax: hew a path through the underbrush. 2. more toward the humorous and less toward the iconic in the new film. We all know the poor guy's got problems -- not to mention a split personality -- but, unlike Christopher Nolan's superior ``Batman Begins,'' Singer never manages to smoothly meld the psychological underpinnings of the character with his bigger-than-life persona. It's too bad, too, that Luthor's scheme is just a variation on ``I.'' Nolan was smart enough to move away from Tim Burton's ``Batman'' in a grittier direction while still delivering the big thrills. Singer's ``Superman,'' while it hasn't forgotten about the snap, crackle crackle /crack·le/ (krak´'l) rale. , pop needed in comic adaptations, sometimes forgets about the comic. There was something always absurd about Superman. Who could believe no one would notice that Kent was the Man of Steel? Christopher Reeve as Superman in the originals was marvelous in exploiting the comic values in the character. Routh does his best. The extras include featurettes on why it took so long to finally bring ``Superman'' back to the screen after nearly 20 years, as well as one on the making of the film and deleted scenes. Due to financial and/or creative differences, Richard Donner, who had directed the 1978 ``Superman,'' was fired off ``Superman II.'' Donner supposedly had filmed some 75 percent of the movie while making ``I,'' but wasn't allowed to complete ``II.'' Subsequently, British filmmaker Richard Lester (``The Three Musketeers'') took over and filmed new scenes and refilmed others -- enough so that he received credit as director and Donner was left out. This is the shorthand version of the story, and if you're interested, there are plenty of long Internet accounts. Fans of the films, however, have been asking to see Donner's version ever since, and Warners has finally obliged them. ``Superman II -- The Richard Donner Cut'' is the closest he could come to his original vision, the director says on the introduction to the film. (It took a scavenger hunt scavenger hunt n. A game in which individuals or teams try to locate and bring back miscellaneous items on a list. of sorts to recover some of the footage.) Is it better? Well ... it has moments. Lester's version is more comic and has forward momentum, while Donner's is more about the comic-book myth and angst, especially between Superman (Reeve) and his father, Jor-El, played by Brando, who was dropped from the film for financial reasons. It was good to see Reeve get a chance to display more emotions. (He was always underestimated as an actor and had to live with the ``Superman'' tag throughout his career.) But a lot of the rewrites between Clark/Superman and Lois (Margot Kidder) work better in Lester's film, and while his offbeat off·beat n. Music An unaccented beat in a measure. adj. Slang Not conforming to an ordinary type or pattern; unconventional: offbeat humor. wit may have irritated serious fans, for the rest of us (abuse) for The Rest Of Us - (From the Macintosh slogan "The computer for the rest of us") 1. Used to describe a spiffy product whose affordability shames other comparable products, or (more often) used sarcastically to describe spiffy but very overpriced products. 2. , it was just a comic-book movie. Donner's film is part of the ``Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition,'' which also includes ``Superman,'' ``Superman II,'' ``Superman III,'' ``Superman IV: The Quest for Verb 1. quest for - go in search of or hunt for; "pursue a hobby" quest after, go after, pursue look for, search, seek - try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the Peace,'' ``Superman Returns'' and the documentary ``Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman.'' There is little reason to watch ``III'' and ``IV,'' except curiosity, but the rest has merit. Another forgettable for·get·ta·ble adj. Fit or apt to be forgotten: a movie with very forgettable characters. Adj. 1. forgettable - easily forgotten unforgettable - impossible to forget film, ``Supergirl,'' is also being released. NEW FILMS There's a bonanza for the fans of Kevin Smith, the champion of slackers. ``Clerks II,'' his 12-years-later follow-up to his tale of life around a New Jersey mini-mart, and ``An Evening With Kevin Smith 2 -- Evening Harder,'' a sort of concert film where the director does some stand-up stand·up or stand-up adj. 1. Standing erect; upright: a standup collar. 2. Taken, done, or used while standing: a standup supper; a standup bar. and has a question and answer session with the audience, are both out. Though it starts out in black and white like the original, ``Clerks II'' is in color and shows a bit of growth by Smith. A bit because Smith -- who doesn't pretend to be a great filmmaker -- learned how to polish the edges, but the film, like the first, is still a lot of trash-talking by guys who don't want to grow up. But it's often funny, and Smith, who has directed more sentimental fare like ``Jersey Girl,'' gives it some heart and romance. ``An Evening'' is definitely as funny as well as equally R-maybe-X rated. Smith could have been a comedian had he not become a filmmaker. His longtime friend, Jay Mewes, of the Jay and Silent Bob (Smith) characters of the ``Clerks'' film is also on board. OLDER FILMS Criterion is releasing a remastered disc of one of the more daring films of the silent era, German director's G.W. Pabst's 1929 psycho-sexual melodrama ``Pandora's Box Pandora’s box contained all evils; opened up, evils escape to afflict world. [Rom. Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 799] See : Evil ,'' which stars Louise Brooks. The American actress plays a showgirl named Lulu, whose lifestyle of abandon sends her on a downward path that results in a terrible end. Brooks was a fascinating figure in Hollywood, and that magnetic personality comes across on film. Her controversial life is examined in the 1998 documentary ``Louise Brooks: Looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. Lulu,'' narrated by Shirley MacLaine is one of the extras, as well as commentary by film historians. The Barbra Streisand-Kris Kristofferson 1976 ``A Star Is Born'' is probably the worst of the three versions of the soapy tale of the love between two artists -- one rising, the other falling. (In the first two versions, they were actors; in Frank Pierson's film, they're musicians.) Still, Streisand displays a lot of her huge talent in the musical numbers. Kristofferson, however, was miscast mis·cast tr.v. mis·cast, mis·cast·ing, mis·casts 1. To cast in an unsuitable role. 2. To cast (a role, play, or film) inappropriately. and there is little chemistry on screen. TELEVISION During the '80s, it seemed that ``St. Elsewhere'' survived from season to season by the skin of its teeth. The first season of the acclaimed show (1982-1983) is finally on disc. The biggest star on the box is Denzel Washington, who wasn't the biggest star on the show, although he's certainly gone on to be the biggest. The series, which careened from black comedy to drama, had no shortage of good actors -- besides Washington -- like Ed Flanders and William Daniels, Ed Begley Jr. at the beginning, and later Mark Harmon, Alfre Woodard and Ronny Cox as part of the staff at the downtrodden down·trod·den adj. Oppressed; tyrannized. downtrodden Adjective oppressed and lacking the will to resist Adj. 1. St. Eligius Hospital. ``St. Elsewhere'' was never a hit, but the gritty drama had faithful fans and picked up a number of Emmys. The thing that separates all the many crime procedurals on the air these days is the cast. Fox's ``Bones'' is one of the more enjoyable ones (maybe because it cuts back on the science). Emily Deschanel plays Dr. Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist who works on difficult cases with FBI agent Seely Booth (David Boreanaz from ``Angel''). Brennan is a reserved sort -- all science -- but with Deschanel playing the role, sexy. Boreanaz is a perfect yang to her yin (or is it the other way around?), fiery, a believer to her agnostic. They are two reasons to watch the show. Rob Lowman (818) 713-3687 robert.lowman@dailynews.com SUPERMAN FILMS ``Superman Returns'' (Warner; $29.98 for the single disc, $34.98 for the two-disc set) ``Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition'' (Warner; $99.98) ``Superman II -- The Richard Donner Cut'' (Warner; $24.98) ``Supergirl'' (Warner; $14.98) NEW FILMS ``Clerks II -- Two-Disc Full Screen Edition'' (Weinstein; $29.95) ``See No Evil'' (Lionsgate; $29.98) ``An Evening With Kevin Smith 2 -- Evening Harder'' (Columbia; $28.98) TELEVISION ``Bones -- The Complete 1st Season'' (Fox; $49.98) ``Joan of Arcadia Joan of Arcadia is an American television fantasy/family drama, which aired on Fridays, 8-9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS from September 262003 until April 222005. It is currently in syndication with episodes airing in high definition on HDNet. -- The Second Season'' (Paramount; $49.98) ``7th Heaven -- The Complete Third Season'' (Paramount; $49.99) ``St. Elsewhere -- Season 1'' (Fox; $39.98) ``Criminal Minds -- The First Season'' (Paramount; $64.99) ``Dane Cook -- Vicious Circle vi·cious circle n. A condition in which a disorder or disease gives rise to another that subsequently affects the first. (HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy ; $24.98) ``Little House on the Prairie -- Special Edition Movie Boxed Set'' (Imavision; $39.98) ``Touched by an Angel -- The Third Season, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2'' (Paramount; $38.99 for each volume or $80.82 for a combined set) ``Ellen -- The Complete Season Five'' (A&E; $49.95) ``Marie Antoinette'' (PBS/Paramount $24.99) ``Marshall University -- Ashes to Glory'' (Docudrama; $26.95) ``The History Channel Ultimate Collections: World War II'' (A&E; $59.95) OLDER FILMS ``Pandora's Box'' (Criterion; $39.95) ``A Star Is Born'' (Warner; $19.98) ``Van Wilder -- Two-Disc Van Gone Wilder Edition'' (Lionsgate; $19.98) FOR KIDS ``The Ant Bully'' (Warner; $28.98) ``The Cheetah Girls 2 -- Cheetah-Licious Edition'' (Disney; $26.99) ``Molly -- An American Girl on the Home Front'' (Warner; $14.99) ``Robin Hood -- Most Wanted Edition'' (Disney; $29.98) CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Kate Bosworth and Brandon Routh portray Lois and Clark in a scene from ``Superman Returns.'' (2) no caption (``Superman II - The Richard Donner Cut'') |
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