Jarod’s Den

Superman Returns

OMG! It’s finally here!

I saw it this afternoon. When the opening scene started and the moment the theme song began, I felt a strong emotion welling up inside me. I wanted to cry. I wanted to shout. I wanted to leap with joy.

I grew up watching all 2 of the superman movies. What? There’s more than 2? You mean the other abominations? Nope. Never saw those. You can’t make me admit that I saw those. You have to kill me first.

Bryan Singer made a good casting choice. Don’t know who he is, but Brandon Routh fits nicely into the Superman character. It helps that he looks like the original Clark Kent, Christopher Reeve. Kate Bosworth is fine as Lois Lane but I think I prefer the Teri Hatcher version. Kevin Spacey is excellent as Lex Luthor. But still I would like it better if Michael Rosenbaum played him.

Not gonna give any spoilers here. You can read it at imdb. Just suffice for you to know, this is a must-see. It stays true to the original 2 movies (of my time. I know there’s a few more before my time). The actors are great. The movie direction is great. Everything is great. Go see it.

Tags: brandon routh, movie, superman

X-Men 3: The Last Stand

I caught X-Men: The Last Stand with my friend last week. There were two reactions after the movie. My friend, who knows nothing about the X-Men universe enjoyed the movie. He was ‘wowed’ by it. As for me, I was totally disappointed. Somebody needs to shoot that Ratner guy.

[Spoiler warning: Continue reading at your own risk.]

In this movie, the entity known as the Phoenix force is now reduced to become Jean Grey’s split personality. Thanks to Professor Xavier.

Cyclop’s and Rogue’s characters is totally insignificant. Cyclop is killed off about 15 minutes into the movie. Rogue just showed her face here and there and disappeared until the end of the movie. Charles Xavier’s role is ridiculously pathetic as the mutant professor we came to love and respect.

This is Phoenix aka Jean Grey. I don’t have the picture to show but when she’s angry, she reminds me of the Elf queen Galadriel when tempted by the One Ring. She’s so powerful, she can literally disintegrate anything. Shouldn’t she be Dark Phoenix instead?

I was looking forward to seeing the new X-Men like Kitty Pryde, Angel, Colossus and Beast. Unfortunately, only Kitty and Beast has some significant screen time and dialog. I think Colossus only had 1 line of dialog. Angel only flies around.

Another thing I was looking forward to was the showdown between Iceman and Pyro. And again, another let-down. All they did was shoot at each other with their fire/ice blast and then in the end, Iceman just knock Pyro on the head and he crumbled.

However, there is one scene that I thought was pretty cool. That was when Magneto moved the Golden Gate Bridge over to Alcatraz. That was the only scene worth watching. By the way, I think it would be a good idea if San Frisco authorities can build a bridge from Fisherman’s Wharf to Alcatraz. That way, there won’t be any problem for tourists to visit the Island. They can just strolled over there in the cool weather instead of paying the ridiculously priced tickets for the ferries. Just a side point.

So basically Phoenix killed Cyclop, Xavier and a number of other mutants. Wolverine killed Phoenix. Mystique became ‘one of them’ (human). Magneto and Rogue lost their powers. Storm now runs the School and Wolverine continues to be cool. In conclusion, if you’re an X-Men noob, then you might enjoy it. As for the X-Men fans out there, I doubt they’ll enjoy it.

Oh, by the way, if you stay back after the credits, there’s another short clip implying that Xavier may not be gone after all.

I guess that means there’ll be an X-Men 4. I wonder what it will be titled as… X-Men: The Apologies?

Tags: disapointed, movie, x-men

Da Vinci Code - The Movie

I have finally caught the movie. I made a 3-day advance phone booking but most of the cineplexes are already fully booked for that show. Finally, I managed to get tickets at a cineplex that is so far from my house you think you need a passport to get there.

Anyway, the movie was a disapointment (at least to me). It just didn’t feel as intriguing as the book. Also, there were some scenes from the book which was changed. The most noticeable is the one where Remy died (or murdered) and the one where Langdon finally found the sarcophagus of Mary Magdalene. I like the book better.

At the cinema, there were many different kinds of people watching. And there were many different reactions. The type of reaction ranges from “I thought this is a movie about conspiracies. Why is it talking about the Holy Grail?” (talk about being blur!) to “Hmm… interesting…” (yup it’s pretty thought provoking). And yes, I’ve looked. There were no one picketing, protesting, complaining or strapping bombs to themselves. It’s just like any other movie day. That’s what I love about my country. People use brains here.

All in all, the movie is not a bad watch. But if you’ve read the book, chances are you’ll like the book better. If you haven’t read it, then go watch it first.

By the way, Tom Hanks is getting old. And I think I’m falling for Princess Sophie. How can you not love her smile?!

Tags: Books, conspiracies, da vinci, movie