Sorry for anyone reading this, that i haven't updated in quite a while.
But the Wulf is back with some news. First off, Left Of Center is now on of BLUBRRY.COM, you anyone wishing to hear the latest film and DVD reviews can go there as well. The last few DVD's i have reviewed have been from the Criterion Collection, DAZED AND CONFUSED, and EQUINOX. Both of those DVD are definately worth checking out, and if you're not sure, just listen to the reviews.


Secondly, i just saw Richard Linklater's latest film A SCANNER DARKLY. i will be reviewing it later this week at LOC, but i have to say it was pretty good. It could have done without Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder, but i guess you have to take the good with the bad.


Also, i saw SUPERMAN RETURNS a few weeks ago but haven't said much about it except for on the INTERSTATE 1002 podcast. Well here it is: SUPERMAN RETURNS takes place five years after Superman's disappearance from Earth to check on reports that his home planet of Krypton may not have been destroyed completely. Superman has returned, finding nothing left of Krypton, and he attempts to rejoin society as Clark Kent back at the DAILY PLANET. On the other side of things, Lex Luthor, released fom prison on a technicality (Superman didn't show up in court as a witness against Luthor, so he was released) and has just inherited a great amount of wealth from an old woman who has just died. He then steals the crystals from Superman's Fortress of Solitude as part of a diabolical master plan. The on thing he didn't count on was that Superman has just returned.
To make matters even stranger, Clark learns that Lois Lane moved on in his absence and now has a child and lives with the child's father. Noticably dismayed, Clark turns to his alter ego to explain to Lois why he had left, and that he is back to stay.
The rest is pretty self explanitory, Lois and her son get kidnapped snooping for Lex, get trapped on a sinking yaht, Lex finds some Kryptonite and finds new and exciting ways to hurt superman with it until his plans are foiled in the end by the Man Of Steel.

All in all, the film wasn't that bad. Director Bryan Singer did try and pay homage to Richard Donner's original SUPERMAN, and Brandon Routh plays a wonderful Clark Kent/Superman. I especially liked that the original Superman theme by John Williams was not forgotten in this film, and i also like the retro opening credits reminiscent of the original films.
There are some visuals in the film that are out of this world, but there are also plenty of pointlessly long special effects sequences that could have been shorter. Both the beginning airplane rescue and the "earthquake" scenes were really too long. I mean come on, the film is about Superman, not how many parts of a crashing plane can we have fly at the screen, or how many digital windows can we show shattering in buildings.

Another complaint is the casting of Lois Lane. Kate Bosworth is just too freaking young to play Lois Lane. Lets do the math here. Kate is 23 years old, and she was involved with Superman before he disappeared 5 years before. That would mean that Kate's Lois Lane woiuld have been 18 years old when Superman left. That would mean Lois Lane was a world class reporter at the Daily Planet at 18 years old, straight out of high school, no college or nothing. Now you can say that Lois Lane is older than the actress playing her, but dammit, make her look older then. Kate Bosworth doesn't look a day older that, maybe 24. yeah, so gimme a break with that crap.

And then there's the evil plot hatched by Lex Luthor, which i won't give away here, but lemme tell ya, its pretty lame as well. And so is Kevin Spacey's portrayal of Lex Luthor. I really thought he would do a better job, but he flat out didn't.

Anyway, those things aside, SUPERMAN RETURNS, is a decent summer special effects blockbuster to go and check out on the big screen, but if you can, wait for it to hit DVD, which i'm sure it will in a few short months.

Thats all for now, but check back with Left Of Center later this week for my review of A SCANNER DARKLY, and look for a review of Kevin Smith's CLERKS II later this weekend.
thanks for reading.
Wulf-