9/17/2008 - Superman (It's Not Easy)

I couldn't tell you exactly why my favorite DC superhero turned out to be Superman when I was a kid. I can say for sure that he remains my favorite superhero for a completely different reason than whatever it was back then. As he is depicted now, Superman is a hero whose motives are completely pure... and that's a rare thing in this era of anti-heroes like Batman and Wolverine. Superman is an alien whose powers make him one of the most powerful beings on Earth, and he could have used those powers for purely selfish reasons, even for evil if he wanted to. Yet, it was his upbringing by his adoptive human parents that led him to become a hero and protector for the rest of mankind. It's such a powerful statement if you think about it. Being a hero, of course, is not without its burdens either. You'll have enemies that you must protect the world from... enemies that you constantly fear could target your loved ones. Even though Superman has super-speed, there will be times that he cannot be at two places at once, and those situations make for some tough decision making. The 5 for Fighting song about him pretty much sums it up:



Indeed, it's not easy being Superman, but the world would be better if we could all be like Superman.

12/9/2007 - 200th Post!

Wow, 200 posts already... I can't say it's not difficult going through so many YouTube videos to pick out a few gems for me to put on this little blog here. I don't know how many views this page is really getting, but I don't really care. It's just been fun venting my thoughts, and I don't feel as guilty as I would if I were just to watch videos all day without being a little productive while doing so.

So I think I'll take a little break from blogging like I did after my 100th post. I'll definitely be back in the new year with a reloaded queue of videos. So I wish happy holidays to all my readers and I have the perfect video for such an occasion. It's from the great YouTube user "ItsJustSomeRandomGuy" who made those great Marvel/DC videos. He is a true fan of the genre and produced this cool holiday-themed skit featuring Batman as a natural Scrooge-like character. Let's just say it's easier to believe a man can fly than it is for Batman to believe in the holiday spirit...

10/28/2007 - Superman - The Helicopter Sequence

Despite all these new comic book movies out there using the latest and greatest special effects, Superman (1978) still remains a favorite of mine. All the praise in the world has been heaped onto Christopher Reeve's performance as Clark Kent/Superman and it is all deserved. Chris is the definitive Superman and no one else has come close. The way he carries himself in flight is a special effect all by itself. Take, for example, the second movie where the Kryptonian villains also have his powers of flight. The actors in those roles did the best they could, but they all seemed stiff and unnatural in flight. If you have the Superman Returns special edition DVD, you saw how Brandon Routh had to train underwater for his flight sequences. And yet, he still wasn't able to match Chris Reeve's grace and ability in the air.

Some have complained about his bumbling as Clark Kent, but I've always liked that performance. He really does act like two completely different people, and made his "disguise" feasible. The way he was able to just modulate his voice, stand with a different posture, and change his mannerisms really did give him an alternate personality that nobody would confuse with Superman unless you looked closely enough.

My favorite part of the movie has to be the helicopter sequence. I watched that so many times in my childhood and it still excites me today. While I don't feel the peril of the situation as I did before, I appreciate it for its technical prowess and as the greatest entrance of a superhero ever. As for the spectacular music, you can't do better than John Williams. Screw Star Wars, I think this was his best work in a movie. Just this sequence proves it. The music builds, and builds, and hits the high note during the famous shirt rip. And I just love how Clark's face is off-camera during the S-insignia reveal. The director Richard Donner knows that this moment was bigger than the actor, that it was bigger than the movie itself. This was about presenting a legend that future generations will experience.

9/20/2007 - Superman Reborn

WARNING: Spoilers for "Superman Returns" below:

I'm probably one of the few people out there that really liked Superman Returns. It definitely has its flaws in it, but I could see what Bryan Singer was trying to do with the movie. I mean, the concept alone of it being a sequel to the first two Superman movies was brilliant. It got us past another origin retelling and it put is back in a universe we were familiar with. As a bonus, the great John Williams score did not seem out of place as it would have been if it had been a complete reboot of the series.

There were some things I would have changed, though. Probably the most glaring disappointment was that Supes didn't fight a super-powered enemy. In fact, he didn't even throw a punch. Second, the pacing was a bit off. I would have preferred a slower opening like the original Superman. We didn't need to see him go back to Metropolis right away. I wanted to see a little more of Smallville and more interaction with Ma Kent. While the beginning was too fast, the end was definitely too slow. I mean, right after Superman threw the Kryponite island into space, the movie slowed to a crawl. I was checking my watch at that point. Really, movies DON'T need to be over two and a half hours. I mean, I appreciate getting my money's worth, I guess... but if it's too long, it becomes tedious.

I do think they might have painted themselves into a corner with potential sequels by having Superman have a son, though. What can they do next with that? I did like the metaphor of Jason having an adoptive father in Richard though. Even though Jason is biologically Superman's son, Richard will raise Jason just as Jonathan Kent raised young Clark Kent. This would not be the case, of course, if Richard wasn't a good man, but the movie made it clear that he was.

While I think Brandon Routh did well as Clark Kent/Superman (he looks so much like Cristopher Reeve), he was just a bit too young for me. I mean, I think if they were going for a younger Superman, they might have just went with Smallville's Clark Kent, Tom Welling. I'm sure eventually we'll see him in the red and blue tights, but probably not until the series ends. He does a pretty good job on the TV show, but we don't really see him in the Clark Kent "disguise". Here's a fan trailer for what a Superman movie would be like with Tom Welling in the title role. It's probably the best Photoshop job I've seen that's put into motion. The even painted the Hulk to look like Darkseid and Doomsday. Nice!

9/1/2007 - GTA: San Andreas (2 Videos)

Rockstar really started a revolution in video gaming when they developed Grand Theft Auto III as the first sandbox video game. Before the Playstation 2, there simply was not enough horsepower or storage to contain a virtual world the size and scope of Liberty City, where you can use your human character to unleash havoc upon its citizens in ways that you would never dream of doing in real life. That kind of freedom to cause mayhem in a realistic environment is the hallmark of the Grand Theft Auto games and has been copied numerous times by other developers with often mediocre results.

The last Playstation 2 game of the series, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas really elevated the series by giving you an entire state to play in as opposed to just a single city. They also gave your character the ability to develop himself physically (by exercising) and socially (by dating), just to make it all that much realistic. The coolest addition, in my opinion, was the ability to ride a bicycle. Sure, it may sound like small potatoes compared to carjacking a Porsche, but riding a bike was surprisingly fun. I just wish I could do some of the cool stunts displayed in this video:



Of course, if you want to have total freedom in the game and alter its realism, you can mod it. Like that Back to the Future mod I featured in an earlier blog entry, you can do a lot with the PC version of the game. One of the coolest mods I've seen is this Superman mod, where your character is replaced by none other than the Man of Steel himself. I really like the inclusion of the John Williams score in this vid. Ironically, this may just be the best Superman video game ever made.