Superman Returns I got the DVD!

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I'm so jealous of you guys getting it, when i get i am honestly gonna watch it non-stop, i seriously cant wait!

 

[LadyVader]

If it's any consolation i won't have time to properly sit down and enjoy it for another week or so.

 

[Kabuki_Jo]

I'm not jelous at all, but I hope you have a good time watching it, UltimateFan.
As for me, I'm getting the 4-disc dvdboxset of Seinfeld - Season 7.

 

[JamalYIgle]

Thats a great review from someone who initially hated the movie, but thoroughly enjoyed it second viewing. I think if more haters watched SR again, a lot would learn to like it. I know i didnt like SR as much as i do now after seeing it for the first time.

I think you're going to find a few more people who upon seein g it at home are going to realize that the movie is really good. I watched itagain ( I know, I'm a Superman geek) with my fiance , who didn't see it in the theater. Now, keep in mind that while she loves comic books, she hates Superheroes for the most part(With exceptions of Hellboy and Daredevil) and she really liked the movie. Her only sticking point was that she thought you didn't get to see Superman be emotional enough. Which is funny considering the prevailing opinion amongst the 'haters' is that he's too emotional in the film.

 

[MFM]

I think if more haters watched SR again, a lot would learn to like it. I know i didnt like SR as much as i do now after seeing it for the first time.

Funny, I started as a supporter of SR, and I support everything about this movie, albeit not as much as other, but you can find some of my positive posts some months prior to the release of the movie. And I quite enjoy it on my first viewing. It was after my second viewing, and then after I give a thought to certain controversial aspects of the movie, and then after reading some reviews and opinions online, that I shifted my alignment towards "disliking" the movie. It was not that immediate though, but quite a while.

So I don't think I would like the movie the more I watch it. Because the more watch it, the more I learn to hate it. Maybe that's just me though...

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Funny, I started as a supporter of SR, and I support everything about this movie, albeit not as much as other, but you can find some of my positive posts some months prior to the release of the movie. And I quite enjoy it on my first viewing. It was after my second viewing, and then after I give a thought to certain controversial aspects of the movie, and then after reading some reviews and opinions online, that I shifted my alignment towards "disliking" the movie. It was not that immediate though, but quite a while.

So I don't think I would like the movie the more I watch it. Because the more watch it, the more I learn to hate it. Maybe that's just me though...

Well i only liked it the first time i saw it, now, after watching it another 6 times, i LOVE it. Yet my brother watched it once only and LOVED it and cant wait for the DVD!

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I think you're going to find a few more people who upon seein g it at home are going to realize that the movie is really good. I watched itagain ( I know, I'm a Superman geek) with my fiance , who didn't see it in the theater. Now, keep in mind that while she loves comic books, she hates Superheroes for the most part(With exceptions of Hellboy and Daredevil) and she really liked the movie. Her only sticking point was that she thought you didn't get to see Superman be emotional enough. Which is funny considering the prevailing opinion amongst the 'haters' is that he's too emotional in the film.

Well yeah i think a lot of people will come to realise it is a good movie after seeing again, obviously a lot will still dislike it also, but there will always be a split with this movie seemingly.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

It´s been released here in Brazil on november 9 (I don´t have pics, but ask any Brazillian fans). First of all, I still very much enjoy this movie and continue to defend it, and it still puzzles me why some fans are so harsh with it. Call him whatever you want, Supes didn´t do anything out of malice and certainly didn´t make any unforgivable mistakes - definitely nothing worse than interfering with time continuum or abandoning his powers altogether. I wasn´t depressed or bored and he didn´t come off as mopey to me. I´ll conceide to some things - he could have fought somebody, Bosworth is a good actress but way too girly-looking, Lex was still a little too comedic and no, they shouldn´t have done another land plot.

On the DVD itself. the documentary on the shooting feels like a big video journal where you follow the production almost every step of the way - I missed a bit more on the post-production stuff, actually. You get to see a lot of important scenes in the movie as they´re shot. Here´s some highlights:

- Jon Peters stands next to Singer and admits the director had a better take - for you Singer haters, remember when Sean Penn was considered an ideal choice for the "eyes of a ****ing killer"?

- You get to see Brandon trying different glasses and getting a much needed haircut for his addition.

- The costume designer actually acknowledges she was bound to get some backlash for the changes in the costume, but she rightfully points out Superman still stands out as the brightest-looking character in the movie.

- You actually see Singer arguing with Guy Dyas (set designer?) over the Daily Planet globe, the director acknowledges his famous temper problems but states that he´s known to be getting more "mellow". Later on, he plays a prank on Dyas.

- A constant joke on the documentary is the guy asks Singer and Routh four or five times how it is to work together.

- Lotsa great wire footage, including Singer using it himself.

- It´s very apparent through the shooting how extensively the movie relied on practical FX.

- You see Routh on the gym and he looks in terrific shape. You see a lot of underwater preparation he did for the flying poses.

- You actually get to see the infamous backstage moment where Kevin runs around in the golf car dragging a Superman doll and saying "Superman must die!" with a bullhorn.

- During the farm shooting, Eva Marie at one point is all hands on Routh in his spaceship costume. She all but grabs his butt...

- In one of the best moments, in the end, after wrapping, Routh makes a speech in costume. Even though the actor comes off as nothing but nice through the documentary, he actually admits and apologizes for not being always nice, and recognizes he had some very stressful moments during shooting.

- My favorite blooper is Routh in costume walking in a very imposing way till he trips.

- Among the deleted scenes, there are some fun and amusing ones, but the only one that really could have added to the story is the "are you dating" one, where Clark gives his "not easy being who I am" speech that was in previews and there´s an explanation to how he justified his absence.

- They explain step by step how Brando was "resurrected" for the movie.

I absolutely love the hell out of Returns (that goes for Batman as well as Superman). It's magnificent and effortlessly superior to Raimi's Spider-Man B-movies. All Returns is lacking is the warmth and emotion of Donner's version. It's Singer's biggest problem as a director, but once he cracks it, he's going to be a genuinely great director.

 

[SolidSnakeMGS]

It's magnificent and effortlessly superior to Raimi's Spider-Man B-movies.

One conclusion I came to is that Returns has more individual 'memorable' or great moments in it than all of the Spidey movies so far. I mean just the part where Superman catches the Daily Planet globe is better than anything in Raimi's movies.

To me, Singer > Raimi. Any day.

 

[Maze]

I agree. (even if the game of comparison,seeing how this forum is ,can bring more fights )

ps: Thanks a lot Ultimatefan great review

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

QUOTE=SolidSnakeMGS]

One conclusion I came to is that Returns has more individual 'memorable' or great moments in it than all of the Spidey movies so far. I mean just the part where Superman catches the Daily Planet globe is better than anything in Raimi's movies.

To me, Singer > Raimi. Any day.[/QUOTE]I'm going to stalk you now and say that Singer has to be one of the lamest directors working today and not one scene in SR came close to being as good as anything in both Spider-Man movies.

Nothing about Singer's directing style stands out, I can't say the same for a director like say Nolan who actually infused some emotion and heart in Batman Begins, despite my complaints of badly edited/directed fight scenes.

Singer believes that letting the camera stay on people for a long time means that his movies are emotional and smart. I say not when the characters are bland and played by miscast actors.

My biggest problem with his directing er style (if I can even use that word when talking about him) is that it is flat, nothing ever pops out on screen in his films and they should when they are Superhero/action adventure films and when they are a freakin Superman movie! Superman Returns came close because atleast the cinematograpthy wasn't a dreary and lifeless as the first two X-Men movies, but still no potatos and the problem with his action scenes is that you can never see what the hell is going on. I gleamed that from the X-Men movies who's action consist of superpowered people shoot each other and wires pull them threw a foam wall and most of these scenes were akward close ups of that same crappy thing happening. Oh well atleast we had the Wovle DeathStrike fight...what? you couldn't tell what was happening in that fight either and there was still more crummy painfully obvious wirework.

As for Superman Returns action scenes...it didn't really have any and the exact same Globe lifting scene was handled miles better in the animated series.

 

[SolidSnakeMGS]

QUOTE=SolidSnakeMGS]

One conclusion I came to is that Returns has more individual 'memorable' or great moments in it than all of the Spidey movies so far. I mean just the part where Superman catches the Daily Planet globe is better than anything in Raimi's movies.

To me, Singer > Raimi. Any day.

I'm going to stalk you now and say that Singer has to be one of the lamest directors working today and not one scene in SR came close to being as good as anything in both Spider-Man movies.[/quote]

OMg liek Singar is so laaaame.

I can picture you saying that with a 90210ish valley girl accent.

Nothing about Singer's directing style stands out, I can't say the same for a director like say Nolan who actually infused some emotion and heart in Batman Begins, despite my complaints of badly edited/directed fight scenes.

Singer believes that letting the camera stay on people for a long time means that his movies are emotional and smart. I say not when the characters are bland and played by miscast actors.

Hahaha, you came across sounding incredibly dumb with that remark.

My biggest problem with his directing er style (if I can even use that word when talking about him) is that it is flat, nothing ever pops out on screen in his films and they should when they are Superhero/action adventure films and when they are a freakin Superman movie! Superman Returns came close because atleast the cinematograpthy wasn't a dreary and lifeless as the first two X-Men movies, but still no potatos and the problem with his action scenes is that you can never see what the hell is going on. I gleamed that from the X-Men movies who's action consist of superpowered people shoot each other and wires pull them threw a foam wall and most of these scenes were akward close ups of that same crappy thing happening. Oh well atleast we had the Wovle DeathStrike fight...what? you couldn't tell what was happening in that fight either and there was still more crummy painfully obvious wirework.

As for Superman Returns action scenes...it didn't really have any and the exact same Globe lifting scene was handled miles better in the animated series.

What a surprise. I SEE SPIDEY is back with her biased, stalker-esque unjustified tirade against Bryan Singer and Superman.

I have to go to work now, but I'll be glad to be back later and prove how little you know about anything.

 

[Showtime]

I watched the movie again last night, I brought the DVD over to watch with my dad who hadn't seen it yet. He absolutely loved it. This is a guy who falls asleep through most movies, he was glued from beginning to end. He was happy that they made the movie more realistic and not "fake" like the previous versions. He was the one who first introduced me to the Donner movies as a child, so it was a nice moment. My mother actually had come with a big group of us on opening night, and was already impressed.

Watching the DVD again made me appreciate what Singer was trying to do even more. All the overbearing and Dawson's Creek like dialogue that the Spiderman movies have given us was noticably absent in Superman Returns. He let the characters do the talking with the camera, something Raimi has not found the ability to do as of yet.

 

[Maze]

You know you're not going to" prove" her anything : she doesn't like Singer , that is all...

after that of course what she says is "wrong" imo ..not saying that you summarize a director to that Spidey but a great director style is not just defined by quick cut "weird camera" angle or wild camera movement (or a guy like Polanski would be really a bad director and that is of course not the case )..but i think because (maybe)Singer is not up to your taste you don't necessarely see his style (or lack of style in your opinion ) ..after that i can find flaws in his work yes , i can say that action scene has not always been his forte .But personnaly i've never found them confusing (apart maybe some part of the two sabertooth fight)but rather visceral , and imo he is getting better and better ,and some of his are some of the best imo since some years ( Nightcrawler white house scene and Superman plane sequence come to mind )anyways a director is not defined either by action scene and personnaly i did some times ago a study in depht about his style ..in french ..i will traducce it and put it here.


But , in the meantime i'm eagerly awaiting to see how you talk about Singer work Solid..

 

[ultimatefan]

I absolutely love the hell out of Returns (that goes for Batman as well as Superman). It's magnificent and effortlessly superior to Raimi's Spider-Man B-movies. All Returns is lacking is the warmth and emotion of Donner's version. It's Singer's biggest problem as a director, but once he cracks it, he's going to be a genuinely great director.

I disagree on B-movie, that´s a rather unfair statement to how much Raimi accomplished, especially in terms of warmth and emotion, which, as you recognize yourself, is not Singer´s strongest points. All these are B-movies in the sense that they´re fantasies, and they all get at least a little over-the-top at times. Spacey´s Lex was at times as over-the-top as anything you point out from Spider-Man 1 and 2.

 

[Maze]

Well personnally i find the Singer movies moving( and especially Sr and X1) ..now no they are not Donner Warm..(Raimi movies are more in this tone ), and even if i like Donner , i'm glad Singer didn't go in that direction ( what would the "haters" would say ! Lol) it is just not his style

 

[ultimatefan]

]I'm going to stalk you now and say that Singer has to be one of the lamest directors working today and not one scene in SR came close to being as good as anything in both Spider-Man movies.

Nothing about Singer's directing style stands out, I can't say the same for a director like say Nolan who actually infused some emotion and heart in Batman Begins, despite my complaints of badly edited/directed fight scenes.

Singer believes that letting the camera stay on people for a long time means that his movies are emotional and smart. I say not when the characters are bland and played by miscast actors.

My biggest problem with his directing er style (if I can even use that word when talking about him) is that it is flat, nothing ever pops out on screen in his films and they should when they are Superhero/action adventure films and when they are a freakin Superman movie! Superman Returns came close because atleast the cinematograpthy wasn't a dreary and lifeless as the first two X-Men movies, but still no potatos and the problem with his action scenes is that you can never see what the hell is going on. I gleamed that from the X-Men movies who's action consist of superpowered people shoot each other and wires pull them threw a foam wall and most of these scenes were akward close ups of that same crappy thing happening. Oh well atleast we had the Wovle DeathStrike fight...what? you couldn't tell what was happening in that fight either and there was still more crummy painfully obvious wirework.

As for Superman Returns action scenes...it didn't really have any and the exact same Globe lifting scene was handled miles better in the animated series.

I shouldn´t even bother to comment on ISS´s post, knowing her and all, but... A person who tells me moments like the airplane rescue or Superman going towards the sun and taking new krypton away or Superman flying above the cloudes don´t pop out on screen... Well, I didn´t see the same movie. Not at all. I´ll even take Bosworth being miscast to some extent, but Routh, totally not, to me he was instantly likable as Clark/Superman.

 

[Maze]

moments like the airplane rescue or Superman going towards the sun and taking new krypton away or Superman flying above the cloudes don´t pop out on screen... Well, I didn´t see the same movie. Not at all. I´ll even take Bosworth being miscast to some extent, but Routh, totally not, to me he was instantly likable as Clark/Superman.

Totally agree

 

[ultimatefan]

I agree. (even if the game of comparison,seeing how this forum is ,can bring more fights )

ps: Thanks a lot Ultimatefan great review

Thanks!

BTW, I love SR and I´m also a big fan of Raimi´s Spider-Man movies so the people who´ve come up with the Raimi/Singer dispute, my thread is not the place for that.

 

[Maze]

Thanks!

BTW, I love SR and I´m also a big fan of Raimi´s Spider-Man movies so the people who´ve come up with the Raimi/Singer dispute, my thread is not the place for that.

Your welcome

ps edit : i was telling the same thing in my other post lol

 

[Kevin Roegele]

I'm going to stalk you now and say that Singer has to be one of the lamest directors working today and not one scene in SR came close to being as good as anything in both Spider-Man movies.

Nothing about Singer's directing style stands out, I can't say the same for a director like say Nolan who actually infused some emotion and heart in Batman Begins, despite my complaints of badly edited/directed fight scenes.

See, that's exactly the point. You're saying nothing 'stands out' in Superman Returns. Of course not. Returns is made, like all Singer's movies, in a late 70's style, where the narrative is everything. Action scenes and effects must not overshadow the storyline. That's the style. It's deliberate. Chris Nolan also uses the same style.

With modern blockbusters, they are all about action set pieces, cool CGI money shots, long-awaited kissing scenes, and so on, all they are is a collection of standout scenes. The Charlie's Angels movies are the pinnacle of this, and the Dukes of Hazzard is similar. No real story is told, it's just a series of spectacles and gags.

I can see why kids of today would not enjoy Superman Returns. It's a proper film, like Donner's Superman, rather than a blockbuster spectacle. For that, I am extremely grateful.

 

[LadyVader]

Well, I literally fell in love with the scene of Clark, Martha and Ben. Great great scene. Clark is Clark and not Kal El. I love it! And Brandon says his line:
"Are you two dating?" in such an incredulous tone. Just like a kid.

Such a shame it didn't make it into the movie.

 

[Showtime]

I disagree on B-movie, that´s a rather unfair statement to how much Raimi accomplished, especially in terms of warmth and emotion, which, as you recognize yourself, is not Singer´s strongest points. All these are B-movies in the sense that they´re fantasies, and they all get at least a little over-the-top at times. Spacey´s Lex was at times as over-the-top as anything you point out from Spider-Man 1 and 2.

Although I like the Spiderman movies Raimi really does hammer home all his points with dialogue, its a stretch for him to be creative without dialogue exploding all over the film.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

I disagree on B-movie, that´s a rather unfair statement to how much Raimi accomplished, especially in terms of warmth and emotion, which, as you recognize yourself, is not Singer´s strongest points. All these are B-movies in the sense that they´re fantasies, and they all get at least a little over-the-top at times.

Of course they are fantasy, science-fiction, action adventures. My point is how the director approaches the material. Singer is trying to make an epic on a religious scale, yet using his focused, sober style. Raimi is attempting to make more personal films about a young man's troubles within the usual trappings of a blockbuster movie. You could certainly argue Raimi's energetic, gaudy, melodramatic approach reflects the style of the source material (the 60's comics). But you can also argue that they are B-movies, albeit extremely expensive ones.

Spacey´s Lex was at times as over-the-top as anything you point out from Spider-Man 1 and 2.

Whilst I agree with this, I didn't point out anything from the Spidey films, nor use the term, 'over-the-top'. Let's put the villains aside. The point I am making is that Singer elevated the source material (comic to religious epic), while Raimi lowered it (comic to B-movie).

 

[SolidSnakeMGS]

I SEE SPIDEY doesn't even like Superman, so I don't know why she would care that the movie based on him isn't good (to her, that is) and would buzz around this forum. Not to mention she straight up hates....yes, hates Singer and anything and everything he's ever touched.

And then she would come on a SUPERMAN BOARD to again demonstrate her biased, unbridled hatred, admitting she would stalk me because I berated her beloved and overrated director lover idol whatever.

If that isn't textbook troll, I don't know what is.