You can learn a lot about our culture by how we treat our comic book movies. That’s a funny sentence to say, but in terms of cinema, it’s the nerds’ world, we’re all just living in it. From the campy heyday of the Adam West Batman to the childlike wonderment of Richard Donner’s Superman to …
The term ‘Plot Hole’ has grown legs and begun a marathon sprint in the last few years. In most cases, the vast majority of accusations were false, revealing a common misunderstanding of what plot hole means.
Man of Steel can best be described as inconsistent and certainly a missed opportunity. Now, with news of the mutated sequel coming in every week, it seems a good time to really explore these flaws.
With casting news about Ben Affleck donning the capped crusader’s spandex and rumours of a possible Lex Luthor appearance drifting in cyberspace, it only seems logical to compile a list of the top five people we’d like to see in the upcoming Superman and Batman team-up film slatted for 2015. While it’s highly unlikely that …
It seems there is a standard line about Pacific Rim that is taking hold in a lot of the conversation I’m seeing about the film. The line I keep reading some variation of is that “Pacific Rim is big, dumb, fun.” The film is two of those things, but what I find perplexing is the …
Walking out of Man of Steel this weekend, I couldn’t help but think of the way in which this was particularly a creation of the modern DC Comics mindset. With its dour, somber lead, bombastic, faux-operatic plotting, and general grim and gritty outlook, this was a Superman film that fit in well with Nolan’s Batman …
Superman Directed by Richard Donner Written by Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman and Robert Benton 1978, USA High school pals and cartoonists Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster sold the character of Superman to Detective Comics, Inc. (later DC Comics) in 1938. Ever since, the history of the widely considered national cultural icon continues to …
Man of Steel Written by David S. Goyer Directed by Zack Snyder USA, 2013 Come back, Superman Returns; all is forgiven. Upon its release, Bryan Singer’s take on the most iconic comic-book hero of all time was rightly criticized for being poorly cast, too beholden to the Christopher Reeve era and prone to bouts of distracting …
One of the better elements of Zack Snyder’s adaptation of Watchmen, and widely considered its best sequence, was that film’s opening credits montage, which forcefully played with pop culture iconography to impressive degrees. In a way, that sequence was an effective hint of what was to come with Snyder’s reboot of the Superman property; a cultural icon lavishly portrayed in a titanic fashion.
With Scott Snyder’s highly anticipated Batman: Zero Year just around the corner and Man of Steel hitting the box-office this month, I felt that it was a perfect time to delve into some of the best re-vamped origin stories in comic books. While many may fall flat (looking at you Marvel: Season Ones) some have …
[callout] In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time. Clark Kent/Kal-El (Cavill) is a young twenty-something journalist who feels alienated by powers beyond anyone’s imagination. Transported to Earth years ago from Krypton, an advanced alien planet, Clark struggles with the ultimate question – Why am I here? …
NYC’s Bottleneck Gallery (who have raised over $7k for charity recently), will be releasing two entries in Marko Manev’s Superhero Noir series; one featuring the God of Thunder, Thor, and the other featuring the Last Son of Krypton, Superman. The following pair of prints will go on sale via the Bottleneck website: Last Son by …
For lovers of comic book superheroes, the one that made the best crossover into mainstream film would arguably be Superman. Ok, so if you love your comic book characters, you’ll probably like most of the superhero movies that have been made over the years, but whereas even the latest trilogy of Batman movies appeal to …
2013 is here. Obviously its extremely early in the game, but the biggest moneymaker of the year so far has been Texas Chainsaw 3D. That says something about a landscape of movies full of reboots, remakes and sequels.What it says is that they work. Is this a sad fact? Yes, in some ways its a …
In a July 28 post, (www.popoptiq.com/will-we-ever-see-a-classic-superhero-movie/), my Sound on Sight colleague Deepayan Sengupta pondered the admittedly arguable premise that, for all their entertainment and box office value, the superhero movie has yet to provide a true cinematic classic. Back in March, I came at a vaguely similar idea but from a different angle (www.popoptiq.com/how-serious-can-a-comic-book-movie-be-discuss/). I …
Marvel Films are sitting pretty at the moment. Their co-productions, dating back from 1998 with Blade to The Amazing Spiderman, the current reincarnation of the web-slinging hero, have dominated box-offices worldwide and reintroduced comic book superheroes to a new generation. In June 2012, Warner Bros. announced their intention to release a film based on DC Comics’ premier superhero …
We know by now that Henry Cavill has filled the boots of the titular Man of Steel and Amy Adams as Lois Lane shouldn’t disappoint many. His biological and adopted family has been cast and all that was left was the rest of the intrepid reporting team of the Daily Planet. Now that’s one step …
One of Hollywood’s most famous and yet unfairly remembered stars of recent generations has to be Mr. Kevin Costner. Despite a prolific first decade or so to his career, riddled with true classics and sterling performances (let’s not forget Bull Durham, The Bodyguard, and Wyatt Earp, all of which didn’t make my list), his name …
File this under strong contender for now. According to Variety, the cast of Zach Snyder’s Superman reboot Man of Steel is close to being rounded out. The latest name attached is Aussie Russell Crowe who is apparently in final negotiations to join the film as Jor-El, Superman’s Kryptonian bio-daddy (reportedly beating out Sean Penn and …