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Flash Movie Review: Superman
A PILE OF HAND-ME-DOWN comic books was my first introduction to Superman. I read and reread them many times over until I started buying comic books at the local five and dime store in our neighborhood. Superman’s strength was what attracted me to him, along with his X-ray vision. Not being much of an athletic kid, I wished I had muscles like Superman. The reason I wanted his X-ray vision was so I could spot someone hiding to ambush me when I was walking home from school. From allowances and getting money for returning soda bottle for the deposit, I bought every issue that came out. Besides Superman, I had enough money to buy Batman comics which was my other obsession. The array of gadgets Batman had always fascinated me. I think my thrill for fast cars was due to the Batmobile. Though, it was a toss-up for which car I liked better: James Bond’s car or Batman’s, both were equipped with amazing inventive tricks like machines guns hidden behind headlights, smokescreens and rocket launchers. Whether it was Superman or Batman, I loved all the special abilities they utilized in fighting “bad guys.” One of my biggest regrets was selling my comic books from my summer lemonade stands; little did I know how much they would be worth today. DESPITE ALL THE READING I DID of Superman, I did not focus on his ability to fly until I saw the live action television show. Seeing an actual person flying, sparked my imagination and desires. As a little kid, I thought the actor was actually flying. Now, whenever I happen to see a clip of the old television show, it looks more like Superman is just lying on a flat surface and either strings or a fan is making his cape move, to look like the wind is blowing it. I had dreams about flying; most of the time I was flying to escape getting picked on or beaten up. Summer days, I would sit out on our back porch and study the height of the trees nearby, wondering what would be a safe height for me to practice flying. Of course, my imagination was fully engaged with ideas about building some type of apparatus to help me fly. I thought about the possibility of attaching fabric to wing shaped wooden frames that I could build, then strapping them on my arms with belts. Or, maybe having someone sew fabric directly to my jeans and shirt so that the wind could get in it and float me up like a kite. Gratefully, I never acted on any of these thoughts that I just realized got nudged in my brain after seeing this action, superhero adventure. CONFLICTED BETWEEN HIS HERITAGE AND HUMAN upbringing was not the only thing that was causing Superman/Clark Kent, played by David Corenswet (Twisters, The Greatest Hits) stress and grief. Encountering a being as strong as himself was something new. With Rachel Brosnahan (Patriots Day, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel-TV) as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult (Nosferatu, The Order) as Lex Luthor, Alan Tidy (The Trouble with Jessica, Resident Alien-TV) as Gary, and Bradley Cooper (Maestro, Nightmare Alley) as Jor-El; this reboot’s script was written for today’s current climate, with dashes of humor thrown in. The CGI dog was strictly there for comic relief. I was conflicted by this mix and wished there had been a stronger sense of doom in the plot. Though the actors did a good job, I felt their characters were a bit cartoonish and not fully fleshed out. At some point it seemed the scenes were jumping from one action fight to another. Maybe the intention was to make Superman more human, which I do not have an issue with, but I like my superhero characters to have a stronger foundation. Overall, I enjoyed watching this picture and felt everyone involved did a good job. Maybe I was hoping for a great job instead.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Wish
I WAS CONVINCED AT A VERY early age that my wishes would come true if I could blow out all the birthday candles on my cake with one big breath. One of my earliest memories was wishing for a tool set. After making my wish and successfully blowing out all the candles, when the time came to open my presents one of them was a brightly colored tool set. The tools were each a different color and were stored in a red toolbox, each one clipped into its own storage compartment. I was so excited about getting them and the realization that every year, whatever I wished for, would come true. I still remember the first time I used my set of tools; I decided to take the doorknob off from the front door. The funny thing though, is I had no idea what I was going to do with it; however, I thought it would be a good project to work on. When I tried to unscrew the screws with my screwdriver, I had a hard time because the screws did not want to move, forcing the head of my screwdriver to bend. So, I went to where my parents kept their toolbox and took a screwdriver from it to help me. Now I was getting somewhere with the doorplate around the handle; except when I removed the last screw and the plate did not move, I got scared for some reason and put back all the screws. FROM THAT EARLY START FROM CHILDHOOD, I eventually learned not all wishes come true immediately. I was disappointed but got used to it, though I never gave up hope. My wish choices changed depending on my age and what was taking place around the time I was making a wish. I went from toys and books to clothes and music; then, went to gift cards and home accessories and good health. Throughout the years, even when it was not my birthday, I made wishes. I think they are a wonderful option to throw into the world and see if they take root, receive nourishment, and possibly return as one’s reality. I love the fantasy of wishing for $50 million dollars and then fantasizing about what I would do with that much money. Unless I win the lottery, I know my chances are slim; however, by stating that wish I noticed I started changing my shopping habits by cutting back to increase my savings. It may be baby steps, but one never knows how a wish could come to fruition. A perfect example of what can happen is on display in this animated, musical, adventure comedy movie. YOUNG ASHA’S, VOICED BY ARIANA DeBOSE (West Side Story, The Prom) wish must have been truly powerful because it brought down to her kingdom the star she wished upon, who decided to help make her wish come true. With Chris Pine (Star Trek franchise, Don’t Worry Darling) voicing King Magnifico, Alan Tudyk (A Knight’s Tale, Rouge One: A Star Wars Story) voicing Valentino, Angelique Cabral (Friends with Benefits, Life in Pieces-TV) voicing Amaya and Victor Garber (Titanic, Family Law-TV) voicing Sabino; it appeared to be that Disney wanted this film to be the centerpiece for the past 100 years of Disney’s classic films. There was so much thought and effort put into reminding us of their past treasured films that this movie suffered. The musical numbers were not memorable or provided one song that would become a classic; however, the animation was wonderful. The story was weak to start with and as the writers kept throwing as much as they could into the script, I was quickly bored by it all. The villain did not hold a candle to the classic villains from the early pictures. I will say the actors did a great job voicing the characters, but the one thing that stood out to me was listening to the music during the touching film credits that included recreated images of the classic characters that came out of Disney studios. It was a sad reminder that this movie did not live up to those wonderful old, animated films. There was one extra scene during the credits.
2 ½ stars
moviejoltz 