Superman Returns is a quintessential summer blockbuster that turns out be very satisfyingly entertaining. To be completely honest, this is not my type of movie. I wasn’t even going to see it until I found myself on “the list” for a free Warner Bros. screening. Suddenly I knew my male friends would kill me if I didn’t take one of them. So into a testosterone packed theater I went seeking really nothing more than a nice over air-conditioned evening with a friend. But as soon as the Superman music started I actually felt myself getting excited. (Don’t worry … no spoilers!)
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The ideas behind many of David Cronenberg’s films are so ahead of their time that he must have a crystal ball hidden somewhere in his home. Many filmgoers credit The Matrix as the first film to truly explore the possibilities of virtual reality, however, the reality (pun intended), is that Cronenberg had already charted the concept in his film Existenz. The same can be said about the newest X-Men movie, where a pharmaceutical company tries to subject a population, Cronenberg, again, was already there with Scanners.
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With almost every major studio coming up with its own computer animated feature nowadays, competition on the animation field is tough. Very tough. Cars, supposedly planned to mark the final collaboration between long-time companions Disney and Pixar, was originally scheduled for a 2005 fall release. The fact The Mouse and The Lamp decided to push back its release date to the summer of 2006 wasn’t a good sign, according to experts. It certainly wasn’t intended to make way for the mediocre Chicken Little (a solo effort by Disney). Was this delay meant to improve the already extensive imagery or to fix the story? And admittedly: the teaser trailer that showed up right before the release of The Incredibles wasn’t very promising. The cars looked like the lead in Fergie’s children books Budgie. How on earth could talking cars steal the heart of any audience?
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When I first heard that a remake of ‘The Omen’ was in the works, I thought it was a nifty idea. When I heard those responsible wanted the film to capitalize on a targeted release date -June, 6, 2006 – my heart sank. Feels like a gimmick. Still, some regard Richard Donner’s orginal to be a horror classic. I’m not one of them. See, when John Moore took over, I was sort of hoping, even if writer David Seltzer updated the story and script, that the update would go in other possible directions, and not use some of the plot trappings of the original. The remake turns out not to be a bad film. So why am I disappointed?
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Written by Brian Nelson, directed by David Slade, and filmed – in sequence – in only 18 days, Hard Candy is about Jeff (a thirty-ish photographer) and Hayley (a fourteen year old girl), who meet up after chat-sessions on the internet. Once they retreat to his house, Hayley turns the tables on Jeff, convinced that he is a paedophile meriting some overdue punishment.
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Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon epic poem and the first major work of English literature. It tells of Beowulf the Geat sailing to Daneland to vanquish the troll Grendel, who is raking havoc at the court of Dane king Hrothgar. After Beowulf defeats Grendel by cutting off his arm, Grendel’s mother comes to avenge her child. Beowulf kills her too and returns to Geatland. He rules peacefully for decades before he is fatally wounded when slaying a dragon. This movie is Icelandic director Sturla Gunnarsson’s take on the poem. It is by no means a faithful depiction of its content (the film takes great liberties with the source material and the third part of the story is completely missing), but rather a spiritual tale about the flipside of being a hero.
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Once upon a time, not too long ago, when screenwriter Shane Black put pen to paper, he would get an offer from Hollywood studios for the script. After taking a few years off, he returns to Hollywood with a new script, Kiss. Kiss, Bang, Bang and gets shot down by development executives who have forgetten that he wrote Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout. Black inquires to his old friend, producer Joel Silver, and for a modest budget, winds up directing an entertaining murder-mystery that also pokes fun at the Hollywood life, with nods to pulp novels of the 40’s and 50’s-but set in present day.
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“Running Scared”, an action film intentionally alluding to Grimm’s fairy tales, is a tough movie to watch. It’s an interesting and bold mix, which may have lost viewers earlier this year, although moviegoers in the US seemed to flock to Paul Walker’s other film that month, the one with the dogs. That film wasn’t bad, but boy, did people miss out on “Scared”- Walker’s best acting performance he has done to date.

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The packaging on Tamara suggests a Final Destination connection; it resides with writer Jeffrey Reddick, who originated the characters and story for that successful horror series. Usually when I see a promo line like that I’m skeptical- ‘from the person/people who brought you ‘Movie X’ and it turns out the key grip or obscure executive producer is the only link to ‘Movie X’. The new film here needs some eyegrabber since it lacks big names. When you lack names, get the credit sheet. Indeed, helmer Jeremy Haft hasn’t directed anything I’m familiar with. Until now. After watching this film twice – the second time for the commentary- I was curious. Why is it Lion’s Gate didn’t push this out in theatres in 2005 a little more? The answer is right in front of me the second time around.
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Usually it is not a good sign if a director or screenplay writer has to advertize his or her idea for a film all across Hollywood for several years, in order to get it realized. A good example was John Travolta’s attempt to get Battlefield Earth financed and green lighted. Those who have seen it, know what I mean. Something similar happened with Robert Towne’s attempts to get Ask the Dust, based on John Fante’s novel, launched. Towne, once responsible for screenplays for films such as Chinatown, Shampoo, The Firm and the first two Mission: Impossible flicks, had to hawk his project for almost fifteen years. Once the studio executives had given it a go, they were released from Towne’s nagging, but with a flop bestowed upon them.
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