Cinema Dispatch: Superman

Superman and all the images you see in this review are owned by Warner Bros Pictures

Directed by James Gunn

James Gunn may be a fantastic filmmaker, but no one has managed to recapture the magic of the Richard Donner films; not even Christopher Reeve who tried to make the fourth film into a passionate a poignant message for the world, though I’d still take Superman IV over Man of Steel any day. Sure, the franchise has been reliably bankable which is why Warner Bros isn’t about to give up on it yet, but for Gunn to go after this white whale is a show of supreme confidence, and possibly the kind of show-off move you’d want to make if you were also entrusted to shepherd an entire movie studio towards relevance again. I trust James Gunn to pull it off, but I’m still crossing my fingers all the same. Can James Gunn make us believe that a man can fly while also putting him in a good movie? Let’s find out!!

Whether you know him as Superman, Clark Kent, or Kal-El (Davud Cirebswet), the Big Blue Boy Scout is three years into his career and is doing what he can to make the world a better place. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people invested in the world not being better, so he’s come under fire for stopping a war between the US ally of Boravia and the neighboring country of Jarhanpur. Until now, he was the golden boy who could do no wrong and looked good in Tik-Tok videos captured by the citizens of Metropolis, but with this foray into a politically charged conflict, he’s drawn a few side eyes from ostensible allies such as the Justice Gang composed of Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and, most distressing of all, his own girlfriend Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) whose worried he hasn’t thought through the implications of such action and how it could come back to haunt him. She’s not wrong either as Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) has been gunning for him for years now and sees an opportunity to turn the public to his side, so with the help of his corporate drones and a few powered-up henchmen, he starts a smear campaign against Superman and even infiltrates his Fortress of Solitude to uncover more secrets. Are there problematic and terrifying skeletons in Kal-El’s closet that could keep him from being the hero he wants to be? What else does Lex Luthor have up his sleeve beyond the mud raking, and will it bring further chaos to international conflict that Superman tried to stop? Most importantly, who’s gonna feed Krypto if something happens to him!?

“My flesh is impervious to heat, so you’re gonna have to eat me raw. Is that gonna be a problem for you?”     “WOOF!”
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Super Recaps: Tom Goes to the Mayor (CNE)

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Tom Goes to the Mayor and all the images you see in this recap are owned Warner Bros and Adult Swim

Created by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim

We’re back with another episode of Tom’s Anatomy as Tom is forced to confront his greatest enemy yet; the Pharmaceutical Industry!  I’m calling it now; dude’s a total goner by the second act.  The episode begins with a magical scene of Tom and some beautiful lady gallivanting in a world of rainbows and unicorns; sharing moments of happiness that clearly cannot last because this is Tom and everything that’s great in his life eventually turns to garbage.  Now you can probably surmise form the inclusion of rainbows and unicorns that this is all one big dream sequence, but where things start to turn is when Tom has a… a-hem… accident in his sleep.  No, not number one or even number two… number three.  Well that’s not necessarily a BAD thing, right?  I mean sure, it’s inconvenient to have to wash the sheets, but a good time is still a good time, right? Well… not quite.  You see, the moment he… finishes, he’s violently woken up as the act seems to have caused him a great deal of pain as well as the condemnation of his lovely wife Joy who by the way wasn’t the woman in his dream.  These abrupt interruptions are also wreaking havoc on Tom’s sleep schedule to the point that when he visits The Mayor the next day, he ends up collapsing right there on the floor before he can even propose his latest get rich quick scheme.  The good news is that Tom wakes up in a hospital bed instead of The Mayor’s basement or his underground lair beneath his office.  The bad news?  Well it looks like Tom’s issues are not just a lack of sleep and a few uncomfortable wet dreams.

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“I’m afraid that you have TV cancer.  You’ll cough up a spoonful of blood every once in a while, and a wacky character actor will teach you the meaning of life before you die.”

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Super Recaps: Tom Goes to the Mayor (Vehicular Manslaughter)

TGTTM

Tom Goes to the Mayor and all the images you see in this recap are owned Warner Bros and Adult Swim

Created by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim

We’re back with another episode of Tim & Eric Do Lower Class America, and this one’s a doozy with one of the show’s most noteworthy guest star making their first appearance!  Oh, and don’t worry if none of what I’m about to describe makes any sense.  The whole point of this episode is that Tom is flying by the seat of his pants from one absurd situation to another, so a bit of confusion is to be expected!  Now then, the episode begins with the funeral of famed Renaissance Man Dr. Michael Ian Black (see what I mean?), who Tom is giving a Eulogy for under rather ambiguous circumstances.  CLEARLY this requires a flashback which is just what we get as Tom begins to remember the events that led up to this tragic moment.  It all starts with his latest scheme to be a true ENTREPRENEUR by trying to sell City Council on his new energy plan for Jefferton which will turn everyone’s crap into electricity!  I’m rather skeptical that Tom Peters has the engineering skills or the background in ANY related sciences to come up with a system of turning poop into power, but City Council seems to be behind the idea and is ready to move forward.

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“I’m Tom Peters, and I’m here to tell you what POO can do for YOU!”

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