Welcome to The Thinking Lens!
I'm just a Montreal based geek who's passionate and eager to analyze and discuss all things media of past and present.
Here You'll Find: DVD & Blu-Ray Collection Updates, Film Reviews, Television Show Reviews, Smallville Related Topics and Commentary on Movies, Music, Video, Games, Television, and Pop Culture.
Expect a few surprised as well!
DVD Update #29 "Destiny"
Date Posted: November 30, 2011
Summary: New DVD & Blu-Ray Collection Update. Check out my new DVD collection update featuring Smallville: The Complete Series DVD Box Set. Show Review Included.
Smallville Info
Plot: Young Clark Kent grows up in Smallville, Kansas where he faces trials and tribulations, makes friends and enemies, and grows closer towards embracing his destiny as Superman!
Executive Producers: Season 1-8 Al Gough & Miles Millar (Spider-Man 2) Season 8 Todd Slavkin & Darren Swimmer (Melrose Place) Season 8-10 Kelly Souders & Brian Peterson
Starring: Tom Welling (Cheaper by the Dozen), Erica Durance (The Butterfly Effect 3), Kristin Kreuk (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li), Michael Rosenbaum (Breaking In), Allison Mack (Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves), Eric Johnson (Flash Gordon), Sam Jones III (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), Jensen Ackles (Supernatural), John Glover (Gremlins: The New Batch, Heroes, Payback), Aaron Ashmore (Warehouse 13), Laura Vandervoort (Into The Blue 2), Cassidy Freeman (CSI: New York), Sam Witwer (Dexter, The Mist, Being Human), Justin Hartley (Passions), Callum Blue (Dead Like Me, The Tudors), with Annette O'Toole (Superman III) & John Schneider (The Dukes Of Hazzard) as Jonathan Kent.
Destiny: The predetermined, usually inevitable or irresistible, course of events.
The
Zack Snyder directed and Christopher Nolan produced reboot of the Superman film
franchise has been in theaters for nearly a week and yet, in spite of my best
efforts, a video review of Man of Steel
on my Youtube channel has yet to be filmed.
Considering reactions and debates regarding the film are THE hot topic of the film,
nerd, and internet world, I have opted to post some bullet point form opinions
of my own while the conversation remains relevant.
A
full video review will be available soon with further details explaining my rationale,
but until then, please enjoy…
DVD Update #22 "Justice" Smallville Season 9
Date Posted: September 11, 2010
Summary: Smallville The Complete Ninth Season Best Buy Exclusive T-Shirt. Justice: The upholding of what is just, especially fair treatment and due reward in accordance with honor, standards, or law.
DVD Update #17 "Doomsday" Smallville Season 8
Date Posted: August 26, 2009
Summary: Smallville Season 8 DVD. Doomsday: The day of the Last Judgment, at the end of the world; a time of catastrophic destruction and death A fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by DC Comics who killed Superman. Subscribe to DVD Collector and Smallville fan CaptianJackHarkness4: http://www.youtube.com/user/CaptainJackHarkness4
My reaction to the newest trailer for the upcoming film: Man of Steel.
I analyze the latest trailer for Man of Steel and discuss my overall excitement, fears, and hopes for the upcoming Superman film. Are director Zack Snyder and producer Christopher Nolan the right choice for Superman? How do Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe and the rest of cast seem to be? Will the score by composer Hans Zimmer be worthy of such an iconic superhero? Will we finally see The Last Son of Kryton display the full extent of his super powers? All this and more is explored!
"The Thinking Lens": Commentary on Film, Music, Video Games, Television, Politics and Pop Culture.
Where You Can Find Me
The Thinking Lens Blog: http://thethinkinglens.blogspot.ca/
Tumblr.: http://thethinkinglens.tumblr.com/
Gomiso: http://gomiso.com/u/crisrav1138
last.fm: http://www.last.fm/user/SexySeb1138
Film Aficionado: http://crisrav1138.filmaf.com/
letterboxd: http://letterboxd.com/crisrav1138
The various use of media material is protected by the Fair Use Clause of the U.S Copyright Act of 1976, which allows for the rebroadcast of copyrighted materials for the purposes of commentary, criticism, satire/parody and education.
I haven't exactly kept my disdain for Zack Snyder and most of his filmography a secret. 300 and Watchmen were mediocre at best, if I'm being generous, and Sucker Punch appears to encompass every single problem I have with Snyder in terms of style of content. I get that you can dismiss my lack of enthusiasm for the slow-motion, the all CGI worlds, and the horrendous use music/covers at inappropriate times...but you'd be wrong. You can disagree that those traits are even problems to begin with, but insisting they are traits unworthy of criticism is simply mistaken.
So naturally as a HUGE Superman fan whose watched and loved the Richard Donner Superman films, the Superman prequel television series Smallville, the Superman animated series, and countless other related media...I was not elated to hear Snyder would helm Warner Bros. latest attempt to revive the film franchise of the worlds most famous superhero.
Surprisingly, I was also wary of Christopher Nolan being the films guide and story writer. While his grim, gritty, and realistic style is PERFECT for Batman, Superman is a character designed to inspire hope, bring brightness, and clearly exhibit abilities beyond the realm of reality. So this didn't feel like a right fit for either Snyder or Nolan, much less the combination of both artists. However in recent months, since the success of The Avengers to be exact, I've come to appreciate this teaming up of Snyder and Nolan.
I have to get say out of the gate: I really love The Avengers. It's a fun, exciting, and humorous popcorn ride filled with visual awe and a great cast. It's entertaining without being stupid and delivers on the imagination we all shared when dreaming of a big superhero team-up. Having said that...it is far from a perfect film. Some of the dialogue is pretty awful (The exchange between Loki and Fury about ants having quarrels with boots is laughably bad), the story is predictable and offers little sense of true suspense, dread, or surprise, and the first hour is oddly paced and rushed in terms of character relationships and individual development.
Yet somehow films like Brave, The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Dark Knight Rises can share these exact same traits and be lambasted while The Avengers is praised as a groundbreaking new gold standard for superhero films. Sorry...but no. In terms of costume design...okay, I guess it is the only film with the balls to make them look exactly like the comic books designs......if you ignore films like Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy or The Fantastic Four films. It certainly isn't the only superhero film to be "light-hearted" and "fun" and I cannot fathom how anyone could consider it to have a better script than The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 2, Iron Man, or Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Not good enough? Well maybe there is a superhero film that combined a great script with the courage to be all out silly and comic-booky...like the very first big one- Superman: The Movie. The Avengers fine and fun film....but hardly the revolutionary, does things no superhero film has ever done before, gauntlet smashing film that some are making it out to be.
Now in recent days the new Star Trek Into Darkness teaser and every other genre film that has the audacity to apparently take itself seriously has been criticized by some (idiots) for pursuing a 'Dark Knight' style in a post-Avengers world....because now apparently no matter what film you are, screw characters and story...being goofy and fun is all that matters!
Suddenly this teaming up of a director with the skills to create engaging stories and characters with another director with an admittedly passionate flare for visual action is beginning to really excite me. Man of Steel needs to really hit the ground running for Superman fans and while the latest trailer doesn't entirely excite me, it does indicate that there is enough there to ensure the future of superhero films will continue on the path of a PRE-Avengers world.
So what stand out about this trailer?
1) The negatives first: I smiled a little when Kevin Costner's Jonathan Kent appeared in clothing similar to the Smallville Jonathan as played by John Schneider. However that joy quickly faded when Jonathan suggested that perhaps Clark should have let a bus full of children die in order to protect his secret powers. That really bugged me. In my experience Jonathan Kent has always warned Clark about the dangers of exposing himself, however it was never at the expense of the lives of others. This line just felt very un-Pa-Kent-Like and I very much hope that conversation take a different turn in the final film.
2) Overall the trailer didn't exactly excite me. As I shall explain there are aspects of it worthy of enthusiasm, however for the most part there wasn't much of a "Wow that was cool!" or "I need to see how this turns out!" moment.
3) Now for some positives...the mythic vibe of it all really impresses me. I'm not a fan of the music, but the overall feel of the trailer does emphasize that Superman is a character of epic and godlike stature in appearance and in terms of what the character represents. The shots of Superman in the arctic preparing for and eventually taking off into the sky truly felt like the stuff of legend.
4) I love that we will appear to experience a story that is deeply personal for Clark Kent/Superman. Moments such as his mother and father comforting and teaching him in times of weakness or uncertainty really capture the important fact that Superman is who is because of the Kent's and how they raised Clark. These scene looks like they will provide some of the most emotional moments of the film.
5) Superman questioning his purpose in the world and whether or nor humanity is ready to accept him provides huge relief that the film will actually have an inner character journey that isn't simplified or easily dismissible. It gives Superman not only an arc for audiences to engage in, but possibly even a reason to rejoice beyond the typical 'hero saves the day' joy as Superman will now have something to prove to himself and the world. These are the types of stories that superhero films can and should aspire to.
Overall the trailer is fine. The aren't many awe inspiring moments but there are signs that the film will succeed in providing solid character and story depth, which frankly is the best sign the film could have given me. For some characters/franchises bright colors, gags every few moments, and fan service is not only fine, but required for a faithful adaptation. However in other cases, treating superhero films, their stories, and their characters like any other great film would, in other words taking them seriously, is more in line with what I hope to see in the future for the genre.
Plot: Clark Kent begins a journey searching for the answers behind his origins and learns both who he is and where he came from. However his journey also reveals a destiny set into motion by his biological father. Meanwhile as Clark grows closer to Lana his relationship with Chloe is strained due to her unrequited love for Clark and Lex Luthor wages war against his father as they both try to uncover the secrets of the Kawatche Caves.
Executive Producers/Developed For Television by: Alfred Gough & Miles Millar. Superman Created by Jerry Siegel & Joel Shuster.
Starring: Tom Welling (Cheaper by the Dozen, The Fog), Kristin Kreuk (Eurotrip, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, Chuck), Michael Rosenbaum (Justice League, Cursed, Breaking In), Sam Jones III (ZigZag, ER, Blue Mountain State), Allison Mack (Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, The Ant Bully, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies), John Glover (Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Robocop 2, Batman & Robin), Annette O'Toole (It, Stand By Your Man, Superman III), and John Schneider (The Dukes of Hazzard; Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman; Nip/Tuck) as Jonathan Kent.
