Trailer Thursday

Welcome to another edition of “Trailer Thursday”.

This week’s trailer comes from the year 1984 (thanks, Karen).

These days, superhero movies are all the rage, but there was a time when they were cheesy as hell. Just take a gander at the trailer for the not as bad (or good) as you think film, Supergirl

We lost a legend this week in Harold Ramis. As it just so happens, ’84 might have the year that his biggest success was released.

You may have heard of this little film called Ghostbusters

RIP Harol Ramis (Egon)

Superman: Unbound

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

The opening credits show a montage of Coluan scientist Vril Dox subjecting himself to extensive cybernetic and genetic enhancements, transforming himself into the towering cyborg Brainiac.

Offering herself as a hostage, Lois Lane is caught in an aerial confrontation between her terrorist captors and the unpredictable Supergirl arrives before Superman. Soon after, knowing Superman’s civilian identity, Lois attempts to get Kent to make their relationship public despite his fear of the consequences, but their argument is halted by a Daily Planet staff meeting before Kent leaves when they are being alerted to a meteor. Intercepting it, Superman learns the meteor to be a robot and that he promptly defeats before activating its beacon and taking it to the Fortress of Solitude. With help from a fear-filled Supergirl, Superman learns the robot is actually a drone controlled by a being named Brainiac, who seized and miniaturized Krypton’s capital city of Kandor prior to the planet’s destruction.

Fearing more drones would come, Superman goes flying all through the galaxy in an attempt to track down Brainiac before finding his drones attacking a planet. Though he attempted to stop them, Superman witnesses Brainiac capture the planet’s capital like he did with Kandor before firing a Solar Aggressor missile to have the planet be consumed by the exploding sun. The explosion knocks Superman unconscious and he is brought upon Brainiac’s ship, coming in the examination room and fighting his way through the vessel before he discovers a room full bottled cities prior to being attacked by Brainiac, before. At this point, confirming that he spared Krypton because of its eventual destruction, Brainiac reveals that he has been collecting information of all the planets visited before destroying them. On Earth, Lois learns from Supergirl of why Superman left, and alert the Pentagon for Brainiac’s arrival. Using Superman’s spacecraft, Brainiac decides to attack Earth while sending Superman into Kandor. Inside Kandor, his strength waning due to the artificial red sun, Superman meets his uncle Zor-El and aunt Alura. After spending time with them, Superman formulates a plan and escapes Kandor using the subjugator robots. From there, Superman disables Brainiac’s ship and spirits Kandor to Earth.

However, Brainiac repaired his ship and eventually arrives to Metropolis with everyone, including Supergirl, doing their best to fend them off. But in the end, Metropolis is encased in a bottle and both Superman and Supergirl are captured. Having hooked Superman up to his ship, revealing that Earth offers nothing to him, Brainiac tortures Superman to obtain Kandor before destroying the planet. However, telling his captor what Earth means to him, Superman breaks free and then frees Supergirl and convinces her to stop the Solar-Aggressor from hitting the sun. Remembering Zor-El’s words about Brainiac, Superman knocks him out of the ship and forces him to experience bacteria and micro-organisms among the various chaoses outside his artificial environments he created. Eventually, the strain reaches its toll on Brainiac as he combusts and is reduced to ash and molten machinery. After restoring Metropolis, taking Kandor to another planet to restore it to its normal size and establishing a Kryptonian colony, Superman makes his love life with Lois public as Kent and proposes to her in marriage. However, placed in the Fortress of Solitude, Brainiac’s remains are still active

REVIEW:

It seems that this is to be a Superman weekend as I will be going to see Man of Steel at some point and just finished watching the newest DC Animated Universe release, Superman: Unbound. I’m curious as to which will ultimately be the superior film, though I have my suspicions.

What is this about?

In this animated Man of Steel adventure, Superman has to muster all his physical and mental mettle to save Krypton’s capital city of Kandor, which has been seized and miniaturized by the ruthless android Brainiac.

What did I like?

New blood. Braniac is far from being a new villain. As a matter of fact, outside of Lex Luthor, I do believe he is Superman’s arch-nemesis, and yet in every Superman films, live-action or animated, Lex is always there, but no mention of Braniac (with the exception of a few episodes of the various cartoon series). It was nice to not have even an allusion to Luthor in this film, but to also get a villain that we should see more often, and a bit of his origin, as well.

Fight. I was watching clips of the live action Superman films this morning and one thing was painfully obvious. As good as they are…some say that they still are the gold standard for comic book movies…Superman doesn’t really do anything but fly around saving Lois or Jimmy and whoever else is in trouble, but he never really gets into any action-packed scenes. That isn’t the case here, as he Superman is involved in fist-to-cuffs nearly almost every chance he gets. I guess in animation it is easier to fight than in live-action.

Entrance. We open with Lois as a hostage (big surprise, right?). After some banter with her captors, Supergirl comes in and lays the smacketh down. Just as it seems she’s about to go a bit too far, the big guy shows up. It is one of those scenes that takes your breath away when you see him actually show up. It is a little thing, but the filmmakers did build the tension up a bit before bringing him in, which was a nice touch.

Human. For Kryptonians, it cannot be easy being human, and there are a few scenes where we get that, especially coming from Supergirl, as she feels like a bit of an outcast and that she needs to do something extreme now that she has powers. Typical teenage girl overreacting and all that jazz, you understand. However, Superman manages to be a calming influence on his young cousin (who is actually older than him) through some sage words of wisdom.

What didn’t I like?

Character design. I guess this is some sort of fad and I do not care for it. Yes, I do like anime, but not in non-anime form. The design of these characters didn’t sit well with me. Superman was as muscular as he should be, or at least close to it, but he was a bit more elongated than I would have liked for him to be. I miss the 90s version of him, I suppose. I also had a problem with Lois’ eye color. They sort o made her look evil or possessed.

Love. Early on, there is some strife in the relationship between Clark and Lois. That is, they have a slight argument about her needing to be saved, even from slimy guys in the office that are jus flirting, something that doesn’t seem to sit well with Clark. I know that this is such a tiny thing, but they way they just skimmed over it bothered me. Why even go through all the trouble to go there if you’re not going to delve into it a bit more?

Supergirl. I mentioned earlier how in almost every Superman incarnation we get Lex Luthor. Something that I have noticed about all of Superman’s animated films is that he is never alone. Usually, Batman makes an appearance, but this time they chose to use Supergirl. I don’t have a problem with Supergirl, especially since the way the film plays out, it makes sense for her to be there, but why is it the big guy can’t be in his own film alone?

Voices. John Noble did a great job as Braniac and, while she wouldn’t have my first choice, Stana Katic made for a decent Lois Lane, rivaling the immortal performances given by Dana Delaney in that role. However, Molly Quinn (you may know her as Castle’s daughter from Castle) did nothing for me as Supergirl, which is pretty bad because that is a role that all you have to do is not be annoying and it should work. Also, Matt Bomer does not work as Superman. He has a decent enough voice, but there is a lack of warmth and compassion that one would expect when it comes to the Man of Steel. Interesting side note, or bit of trivia…in the next DC Animated film, Sam Daly will be voicing Superman. His father is Tim Daly, who was the voice of Superman in the 90s cartoons.

All in all, I had a fun time with Superman: Unbound. However, I wasn’t blown away like I expected to be. Sure, this is a decent animated adventure, but it is also quite forgettable. In my heart of hearts, I really wanted to love this film, I really did, but it just didn’t happen. I guess it is worth a viewing or two, but not much else. Check it out, if you’d like.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars

 

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse

PLOT:

Weeks after the events that led to Lex Luthor’s arrest, the impeachment of his presidency, and Batman’s success in saving the world from the impact of an arriving meteor, a spaceship lands in Gotham City Harbor and a young girl with no knowledge of English or any other human languages emerges. Upon arrival, she accidentally causes all sorts of havoc with her Kryptonian-like powers until the Dark Knight catches her with a piece of Kryptonite from the ship. With Superman’s help, they discover that the girl is Kara Zor-El, the niece of Jor-El and Superman/Kal-El’s biological cousin. While Superman welcomes Kara with open arms and teaches her English and how to behave in society, Batman remains suspicious.

Tipped off by Batman, Wonder Woman and a group of Amazons ambush Clark Kent and Kara in a park and take Kara to Themyscira, on the basis that only there can she learn to control her powers. Superman reluctantly agrees, but still prefers to watch over Kara himself. Elsewhere, on the planet Apokolips, Darkseid learns of Kara’s presence on Earth, and orders her to be captured and brought to Apokolips as a possible candidate to lead the Female Furies since the departure of Big Barda.

Whilst Batman and Superman are checking on Kara on Themyscira, a horde of Doomsday clones appears from Apokolips. Superman, Wonder Woman and the Amazonian army fight them for a while until Superman vaporizes all of them with a single blast of his heat vision, but Batman discovers that Kara is missing, and her friend Lyla who was with her has been killed by Darkseid’s Omega Beams while trying to prevent her abduction. Distraught, Superman vows revenge.

Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman locate and recruit Barda to help them through their way on Apokolips. Once there, Superman tears his way to Darkseid’s palace while Wonder Woman and Barda go through the sewers directly into the fighting arena, where they are ambushed by Granny Goodness and the Female Furies. After a long fight, Granny and the Furies are subdued. Batman, meanwhile, makes his way underground and finds the Hell Spores, the source of the fire pits on Apokolips, and activates them.

Superman encounters Darkseid, who sets the brainwashed Kara on him. Kara pummels Superman around while Darkseid watches, until Batman confronts Darkseid and informs him that he has activated the Hell Spores, all of which will destroy Apokolips. He issues Darkseid an ultimatum: free Kara and promise to leave her alone, and Batman will deactivate the Spores. Intrigued, Darkseid admits his admiration for Batman’s tactics. Acknowledging that neither Superman or Wonder Woman have the “strength of character” to destroy an entire planet, Darkseid relents. Superman manages to defeat Kara, and Barda and Wonder Woman present Darkseid with the subdued Granny. Defeated, Darkseid allows them to leave Apokolips.

With their lives normal again, Clark decides to take Kara to meet his adoptive parents in Smallville. However, they are ambushed by Darkseid, who was waiting to kill Superman: he had promised to leave Kara alone, but not Superman or Earth. After a lengthy battle, in which Darkseid beats Superman and Kara severely, Superman gains the upper hand and pummels Darkseid. As Darkseid grabs Superman and begins torturing him with his Omega Beam, Kara uses Darkseid’s motherbox to activate a Boom Tube, which Superman pushes Darkseid through. While Superman anticipates Darkseid’s eventual return from Apokolips, Kara informs him that she changed the coordinates to a random spot in space, leaving Darkseid floating around, frozen in ice.

Having saved her cousin’s life and found her place on Earth, Kara decides to use her powers to fight for altruism under the alias of Supergirl. She is met with applause by Wonder Woman, the Amazons, and finally, Batman. Superman and Supergirl then fly off to Metropolis.

REVIEW:

 Honestly, I don’t know why they didn’t just call this Supergirl, because that’s what it was. Actually, I think this is what fans expected instead of the Helen Slater Supergirl film from the late 70s.

That being said, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse is quite enjoyable, albeit a bit more dramatic that I would like. What I mean by that is that while there is plenty of action to go around, they lace it in to the heavy drama of Kara rebelling against Clark. Perhaps if the film was a bit longer, they could have gone more into this and justified it, but as it stands, there was no reason to focus on the drama. I can guarantee you that the people who watch this DVD are not watching it for some drama.

I’ve seen better animation from DC studios than this. Many of the characters seemed like they were still in the early sketch phase, or at the very least, attempting that look that late 70s-early 80s cartoons have. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work here. Also, why did Superman look Asian? Not that I have anything against Asians, mind you, but that’s just the way they made him look in some scenes, and not in others.

The action is great and is what most people will watch this for. For the most part, though, they will be disappointed. Not in the action itself, but the lack of it. This is a Superman film after all, and for some reason it is like a cardinal scene for there to be lots of action in movies involving him. The best fight scene, though, comes at the film’s end. A climactic battle between the Kryptonians and Darkseid that is well worth sitting through the 70 minute runtime to get to it.

Voice casting is pretty good. I’m always glad to hear Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy reprise their roles as Superman and Batman, respectively. In my opinion, they’ve done the best job bringing those characters to life and should always be the ones who give them life, but that’s just me.

Ed Asner as Granny Goodness was nice.

Andre Baugher really sells Darkseid as a scary, obscenely powerful, omnipotent being. I wonder who would win between him and Marvel’s Apocalypse?

Summer Glau is perfect for Supergirl, though I’m not quite sure this incarnation suits her. Seeing as how this is a very young Supergirl, maybe it would have done better to get someone with a younger sounding voice? Not saying that Summer did bad. She was awesome! I’m just saying that perhaps a younger voice would have worked a little better, in my opinion.

So, what is my final verdict on this film? Well, it isn’t as good as some of the other DC studio films, but it is really enjoyable. There isn’t that slow pace that some of the earlier films suffered from, which is extremely nice. Superman/Batman:Apocalypse isn’t for everyone, though. There is some coarse language that is sure to offend someone, especially in this day and age when a person sneezes and offends someone. Having said that, I think the added bonus of not being ties down to kiddie language really helped this film along. I highly recommend it to everyone!

4 out of 5 stars

Supergirl

PLOT:

Kara Zor-El (Helen Slater) lives in an isolated community, a Kryptonian city called Argo City, in a pocket of trans-dimensional space. Zaltar (Peter O’Toole) allows Kara to see a unique item known as the Omegahedron, which he has borrowed without the knowledge of the city government, and which can infuse an artificial structure with life. She uses it under the tutelage of Zaltar to make a dragonfly-like creature; this creature breaches a window of the community and in the decompression that follows, the Omegahedron (which also powers the city) is sucked out into space. Kara follows it to Earth in an effort to recover it and save the city, which will die without it.

On Earth, the Omegahedron is recovered by Selena (Faye Dunaway), a would-be witch, who quickly realizes that it can be used to allow her to perform real magical spells. On the radio, Selena hears that Superman has just left on a peace-seeking mission to a galaxy several light years away. Kara, now dressed as Supergirl, arrives on Earth and discovers her powers. Following the path of the Omegahedron, she takes the name Linda Lee, identifies herself as the cousin of Clark Kent, and enrolls at an all-girls school. Supergirl and Selena are both enamored by Ethan, who works as a groundskeeper at the school. After Selena misuses the Omegahedron to make herself a “princess of Earth”, she drugs Ethan with a potion to make him love her and serve as her consort. Supergirl rescues Ethan and breaks him of Selena’s spell.

Supergirl and Selena repeatedly battle in various ways, until Selena uses her powers to put Supergirl in an “eternal void” known as the Phantom Zone. Here, stripped of her powers, she wanders the bleak landscape and nearly drowns in an oily bog. Yet she finds help in Zaltar, who has gone into self-imposed exile for losing the Omegahedron. Zaltar sacrifices his life to allow Supergirl to escape. Back on Earth, she regains her powers and defeats Selena. Ethan admits his love for Kara, but knows it is possible he may never see her again and understands she must save Argo City. The final scene shows Kara returning to a darkened Argo City, which promptly lights up again.

REVIEW:

I’ve long been fascinated with the Supergirl, but never knew anything about her other than she was Superman’s cousin and had the same powers. This film did allow me to become more familiar with the character.

Helen Slater may be exclusively know for being Supergirl. I’m not sure if she’s had any other major roles since this film. Her performance isn’t the best in the world, but I’ve seen much worse. It is my understanding that this is her first role, so I’m going to cut her a little bit of slack. Not to mention, she doesn’t look to shabby in that outfit.

A few weeks back I saw my first film starring Faye Dunaway, Bonnie & Clyde. Now that I’ve seen her in another role, I have an even deeper respect for her talents. Now, I will say this is not the best character in the world. As a matter of fact, I’m not even sure she exists in the comic, but for Faye Dunaway, it works. It looks like she enjoyed herself in the role, and that’s all that matters in the end.

Peter O’Toole isn’t on screen long, but the short while he is he gives a performace worthy of his talents. As I was watching this, I was thinking, why doesn’t he have a bigger role in this film?

The film isn’t as bad as many would have you believe. It’s nowhere near a masterpiece, and there are many things that could be done to improve it, but hey, it was still enjoyable.

The plot is a pretty nice story, but I was wishing Christopher Reeve would have made an appearance somewhere other than as a poster and being mentioned a few times here and there.

Given the fact that this film was made in the 80s, one must take into consideration the limits of technology back then. Having said that, the effects in this film are ok, but they put me in the mind of a direct to video film.

Another thing that bothers me, is Linda’s costume changes. It’s never explained how she can change her appearnace so drastically inclding her hair color. Maybe that’s one of the differences between her and her cousin.

Fans of superhero movies will love this, but everyone else will wonder where their two hours went. I hate to say that, but its true. This is a below average film, and of not for Faye Dunaway, who somehow manged to get top billing, and Helen Slater in costume as Supergirl, this film would have been unbearable. Still, I’m sure there are fans and move buffs out there who would enjoy it. Are you one of them?

2 1/2 out of 5 stars