Superman DID Return... or so it seems

Okay, I've seen the movie and like I said, I watched it with an open mind. So here's my take on this film. Be careful though, as you might read some spoilers. So if you haven't watch it and don't want my review to spoil it for you, don't read on.

After 5 years missing in action, Superman returns to earth. Apparently, the earth doesn't need him anymore, and so does, the love of his life, Lois Lane. Lois Lane, upset that Superman didn't even say goodbye, moved on, had a kid (Jason) and has a fiancee (Richard) who happens to be a nephew of their editor Perry White. Lex Luthor, on the other hand, was granted bail because of lack of evidence against him. The only thing that would've put him behind bars permanently was Superman's testimony. Now that he's free, and Superman nowhere in sight, he returned to Superman's Fortress of Solitude and took every piece of information that he needed from Jor-El's recorded databanks and took also all the crystals with him. If all the information that he gathered was true, a piece of crystal would be just like a seed. If you plant it and water it, it will grow. In this case, the crystal would grow to be like the Fortress of Solitude (ref. Superman I), and a dozen of those crystals would make an entire new continent. And now that Superman's back from his worthless journey through space, he finds that Krypton is now settling on earth and it's up to him to stop Luthor's evil plans. Also, Superman has to win back Lois' heart.

As you all know, I'm a huge fan of the first Superman movie. And probably by now, you can also see (and read) that Bryan Singer is also a big fan of the film. And it gives me the chills watching Superman Returns because of its big homage to Richard Donner's Superman film. First of all, the opening sequence. Bryan Singer made do of the old Superman movie opening sequence with all the cast and credits flying towards the screen with a big outer space backdrop. Though, the CG artists probably overdid it because, it was sort of dizzying as it moves so quickly passing each bits and planets (which I don't really recognize except earth and the moon) like it's in a hurry. Then there's this old toy train set which Luthor was toying around with, that actually resembled the whole California earthquake scenario in the first Superman film. The old Kent farm looks exactly the same as the one from the first one. Though, I don't really know if it's actually the same one, but it does resemble it. There's also a photograph of Glenn Ford (who played Jonathan Kent in the first Superman film) in the Kent house. Also, there are many lines there, one might not be keen on noticing, which sounded like they took from the first two films. They also used John Williams original composition (and tweaked some of it a bit). Though, you might get an ear-full of it since they practically use the Superman theme on each heroic act that he did. And the most wonderful homage was the ending of the film, where Superman flies over the earth with the sun rising in the distance then cuts to a close up of Superman flying towards the upper part of the screen with the earth below it. Sigh... nostalgia. ^_^

Though, I'm not really sure whether it IS an actual sequel to the first two Superman films. They used Marlon Brando's voice to say lines which was taken from the first one like "it's forbidden to interfere with human history" and so forth. And while Lex and his cronies are inside the fortress of Solitude, Lex's bimbo asked him, "Lex, it's like you've been here before." (ref. Superman 2). Though Lex didn't actually replied to that comment leaving the viewers to wonder if he did. And like in the first two films, Lois Lane still has a spelling problem, a smoking problem and got the Pulitzer Prize which she really wanted. They also mentioned about Lois' first article on Superman: "The Time I Spent the Night With Superman"... which I think has a double meaning for this film.

The movie is actually one big eyecandy. If we were dazzled in Superman's flight scenes in the first two films, then this one will hit the jackpot. By using CG, they actually help make Superman's flight scenes more believable and dynamic. Heat vision, Super Breath, you name it. It's wonderful to look at. Come to think of it, there are more scenes in the movie that are just there for eyecandy. Storywise, I hate to admit it, but it's kind of intriguing. The whole twist about Lois Lane having Superman's kid is interesting and making a whole new Krypton is more than ingenious. But still, somehow I feel there's still something missing. Acting wise, I don't buy Lex Luthor's antics. I find Gene Hackman's Luthor more scary. And like I said before, Brandon Routh's Superman is lame. I don't feel an ounce of heroic-ness in him when I see him doning that red and blue outfit. As Clark Kent, though, he really got the whole Chris Reeve feel. Well, but then again ofcourse, as I said, it's just me.

The movie, over all, is nice. It's not that good, but it's nice. As we say here in the Philippines, "Ok lang." I guess the movie stirred the fanboy in me. Still, looks like I have to eat my words. ^_^

Bounce!

Here's My Heart... Take It... please?

I feel like singing today...

narito, ang puso ko
inaalay lamang sa'yo
aking pangarap kahit saglit
ang ikaw at ako'y magkapiling
minsan pang makita ka
damdamin ay sumasaya
lungkot napapawi
buhay ko'y ngingiti
sa sandaling pag-ibig mo'y makapiling

puso ko'y narito
naghihintay sa pag-ibig mo
ikaw lamang ang inaasam
tanggapin mo ang puso kong narito
hanggang matapos ang kailanman

bawat kilos mo't galaw
minamasdan, tinatanaw
laging nangangarap, kahit saglit
ang ikaw at ako'y magkapiling

puso ko'y narito
naghihintay sa pag-ibig mo
ikaw lamang ang inaasam
tanggapin mo ang puso kong narito
hanggang matapos ang kailanman

kahit di malaman o maintindihan
kahit na masugatan ang puso
naghihintay sayo
maghihintay ako

puso ko'y narito
naghihintay sa pag-ibig mo
ikaw lamang ang inaasam
tanggapin mo ang puso kong narito
hanggang matapos ang kailanman...

The song's title is Narito, which means "Here" in english. Sung by one of the Philippines' best performers, Gary V. Sigh... I totally feel like singing this song today, for some apparent reason.

Bounce!

Superman Returns???

Last week, while I was walking around the movie theater waiting for the next screen time of Cars, I happened to see this big poster of Superman Returns. The poster was awesome... until I saw one minor detail. Superman's boots!

You know, to be perfectly honest, I hate the way Mr. Singer messed with Superman's costume. A small emobossed "S" in exchange for the old big and flat "S" on his chest, the belt with a "S" ensignia, dark red colors that looks more like maroon (more reminiscent of Superman 3 where Superman went bad), close necked shirt and the low waist inside-out undergarment. We know he has his reasons, but still if you've seen Mr. Singer's weblogs on the internet, you'll find his reasons... uh... unreasonable. The old costume worked with Christopher Reeves, why will it not work for Brandon Routh? I thought that was the worst of it, till I saw that poster where we can see the sole of Superman's boots filled with "S"s. Okay, so we'll not get to see alot of that on the big screen but still, why'd they have to put that one in? Was it really necessary to add those S's? Sigh...

Also, I don't like Brandon Routh. I haven't seen his acting but that's not what I don't like about him. I don't like the way he looks. He looks so young. The movie should be called "Superboy" rather than "Superman". Tom Welling (Smallville's Clark Kent) is more mature looking than he is. I'm not saying that they should have chosen Tom over Brandon. Tom doesn't fit the Superman role either. It's just I think they should have chosen some one more mature looking. Still an unknown, but more mature looking. Kevin Spacey on the other hand looks awesome as Lex Luthor. Now THAT is a great pick.

Anyway, I'm still going to watch this movie. A Superman movie is STILL A Superman movie, if you know what I mean. I wouldn't pass this chance to watch a Superman movie in the big screen again. The last Superman movie I saw on the big screen was Superman IV. I'll try to be as open-minded as possible in watching this movie. Lois Lane has a kid? Who gave Mr. Singer that idea??? Sheesh.

Bounce!

La Di Da

It's been a boring past few weeks. Nothing exciting has happened in my life. A little sideline here and there. Sigh... My brother asked me why I don't write something interesting about myself this past few days. All I write are some reviews about Korean dramas. Well, for one thing, I love watching k-dramas and also, it keeps me inspired. My life isn't complete without watching one (or two). Recently, I've been browsing YouTube.com and found this korean gameshow called X-Man. So recently, watching it keeps me up all night. Funny thing is... I don't quite understand what they are all saying since there are no subs available. But I do enjoy watching my favorite korean actors and actresses compete against one another and be the so called X-man. It's fun to see them making fools out of themselves.

Also, I'm planning to take up Korean lessons. I would really like to learn korean so all those k-drama/k-movies watching won't end up in vain. (Some k-dramas that I bought have very poor english subtitles, so it's really a pain understanding what the actors are saying). Well, but then again, if you know me better, this would probably just end up as a plan and won't go anywhere. Feh. I really want to, that is, if I have the budget.

I didn't realize before that my car's headlight on the right side is not working. I think it's an electrical thing since both bulbs on my headlights were bought and installed at the same time. Problem is, I can't take it to a service center tomorrow since it's Independence Day here in the Philippines (reads public holiday). Speaking of Independence Day, Happy Birthday to my cousin Patrick (formerly known as KP). Yo! Kuya KP. I hope you don't mind if we keep calling you KP. It kinda stuck. Anyways, Happy Birthday.

For those of you who haven't seen Disney's/Pixar's CARS, go watch it. It's such a nice film about talking... uh, cars. It's a film for the whole family. Pixar has done it again. Being a 3D animator myself, I just can't help being in awe while watching the film. There goes the 3D industry. Every film that Pixar puts out, it adds a notch to the level of quality for a 3D feature film. Small 3d studios (or big ones even) can't help themselves being compared to that monster company. It's really hard to catch up with Pixar.

Anyways, I feel like I've been babbling here for a couple of hours. And it's already midnight. Got to watch x-man... or rather, go to sleep I mean. heheh..

Bounce!

Review: ReBirth (KBS)

Rebirth, Resurrection, Revenge... call it what you want. There were are a lot of different titles for this K-drama. But the literal translation would be Life Again... thus Rebirth making the closest title. After reading a review about it in the internet, I had this sudden urge to watch and see what all the fuss was about. And to my surprise, afte watching an episode, I got hooked. The story revolves around police officer Seo Haeun (Eom Tae Woong). Unknown to him, he has a dark past that was revealed to him eventually when he tackled a case that was linked to a crime commited 20 years ago. He found out that his real name is Yoo Kang Hyeuk and was actually a son of a former police officer who was handling the 20 year old case and that he has an identical twin brother, Yoo Shin Hyeuk. After finding out all these pieces of information, he tried to contact his twin brother and tell him that he was alive and their dad didn't die of a tragic car accident, but was murdered. After 20 years, Haeun and his twin brother met and formed an alliance to solve their father's death. But as all stories go, this happiness was short lived. The people behind the crime wanted Haeun dead. And by some weird twist of fate, Haeun's brother was killed instead of him; mistaking Shin Hyeuk for Haeun. Haeun did the unexpected and took on the role of his twin brother and let the criminals know that Haeun really did die. He later found out that his brother is a vice president of a big construction company and later used this power to hunt down the people who murdered his father and brother and make them pay for their crimes. The story is very complex but was well written. Though, while watching it, it gave me a sense that I've seen this kind of story before. Researching Rebirth in the internet, I found out that it was actually inspired by Alexander Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. Cool.

Sadly, this k-drama didn't get higher ratings when it was aired in Korea. Because of the Kim Sam Soon phenomena, people watched My Lovely Kim Sam Soon rather than Rebirth. But when Kim Sam Soon ended, the ratings for Rebirth doubled. And according to my research, the drama's lead star, Eom Tae Woong, had a strong following and was later called the "Eom force". For those people who watches k-drama, you might recognize Eom Tae Woong as the ruthless movie producer in Sassy Girl Chun Hyang. To be perfectly honest, I had doubts about Eom Tae Woong because I really hated his guts in Sassy Girl Chun Hyang. But upon watching Rebirth, I totally respected his acting. It's tough to act two persons at a time. Rather, make that three. I'm referring to the dark figure that was the equivalent of the two personas merged together.

The soundtrack is also awesome. None of those candy pop music. The theme and music was really heavy and dark. Upon hearing the music, one can not help but get suck in to the drama as well. All in all, I suggest for those k-addicts out there (as well as those who aren't) to look for this k-drama and watch it. It's so engrossing.

Bounce!