I joined CTV NewsChannel anchor Roger Peterson to have a look at new movies coming to theatres, including the rebooted “Superman” and the chilling “Sovereign.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join the Bell Media Radio Network national night time show “Shane Hewitt and the Night Shift” for “Booze & Reviews!” This week I review the return of the Man of Steel in “Superman” and then suggest some supersized cocktails to go along with the movie.
Click HERE to listen to Shane and me talk about the 1978 Superman, the highest grossing actor of all time at the box office and the Disney – Playboy crossover that never happened!
For the Booze & Reviews look at “Superman” and some supersized cocktails click HERE!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to make the bed! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the rebooted “Superman,” the chilling “Sovereign” and the documentary “Apocalypse in the Tropics.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: “Look, up at the IMAX screen! It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s the rebooted Superman!” Set in the DC Universe, the new film is the story of 30-year-old Metropolis journalist and Kryptonian Clark Kent, a.k.a. Superman (David Corenswet) and his commitment to the old-fashioned values of truth, justice, and kindness. “My parents sent me to serve the people of Earth and be a good man,” he says. His benevolence has left the cynical public skeptical of his motives, including tech billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) who is tired of being overshadowed by the Man of Steel, and is steadfast in his belief that Superman’s unrestricted power is a threat to humanity. “Superman is not a man,” he says. “He’s an ‘it’ who somehow became the focal point of the entire world’s conversation. Nothing has felt right since he showed up.” Capitalizing on the fear of the “other,” Luthor uses technology and disinformation to dehumanize and destroy Superman.
CAST: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, María Gabriela de Faría, Wendell Pierce, Alan Tudyk, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell, and Milly Alcock. Directed by James Gunn.
REVIEW: The new “Superman” is a state-of-the-art movie with whiz-bang special effects that nonetheless feels old-fashioned. The moody, sombre vibe of the Zack Snyder films has left the building, ushering in a heartfelt story that harkens back to the optimistic, earnest tone of the 1950s and ‘60s comics.
Where Snyder portrayed the Man of Steel as a modern god, new DC head honcho James Gunn frames him as an extraterrestrial with human foibles. “They’ve always been wrong about me,” Superman says, “I love, I get scared… but that is being human. And that’s my greatest strength.”
It’s a throwback, but there’s a timeliness to it as well.
Gunn’s “Superman” reflects a polarized public, poisoned by tech billionaires, the government and on-line toxicity. Hope is a rare commodity, and anger is the new normal.
Sound familiar?
You don’t have to look further than your X feed to see the real-world inspiration for Gunn’s Metropolis. He weaves hot button references to the Russia–Ukraine war, grooming, Fox News and even bot farms that stoke outrage 24/7 into the story’s fabric. Shows like “The Boys” and the animated “Invincible” have used similar methods to essay the world’s current cynicism, with often grim results, but Gunn flips the script, opting for optimism.
Is it corny or is it heartfelt and hopeful? It’s all that, and proudly so.
Under the superhero’s S-shield is a beating heart, brimming with compassion for a world in which goodness is as rare as a hair on Lex Luthor’s head. It’s a gear shift from Snyder’s dark, introspective storytelling; not necessarily better, just different. It’s more surface, but it’s a pretty good surface. The messianic messaging is gone, replaced by a Clark Kent conflicted by his dual identity as an alien and a human, raised on a Midwestern farm. Mix in some of Gunn’s trademarked goofy humour, and a riff on John Williams’ classic “Superman” theme and you’re left with a character-driven film that values uplift over angst.
David Corenswet brings both nostalgia and a modern sensibility to his charismatic take on the Man of Steel. His heroics recall the Supermen of the past, but his Clark Kent is of the present day. In a less cartoonish performance than the exaggerated take of some earlier movies, his Clark is grounded in reality.
He shares great chemistry with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. Whether they’re sharing intimate moments as Lois and Clark, challenging one another as journalists and love interests, or in action as the movie leans into the big set pieces of the final third, Brosnahan’s dynamic Lois easily sits on the shelf next to Margot Kidder’s beloved performance.
Every superhero movie needs a villain, and Nicholas Hoult delivers a cold, calculating tech billionaire framed as a modern-day baddie.
There are fun supporting turns from Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific and Nathan Fillion as the abrasive Green Lantern Guy Gardner, but the film’s scene stealer is the CGI, scruffy-but-loyal superdog Krypto.
It would be easy to be cynical about a movie that wears its heart on its sleeve as loudly and proudly “Superman” does, and while it gets a little supermanic in its final half hour, it delivers an up-to-the-minute feel filtered through the nostalgic lens of a vintage comic book.
I join NewsTalk 1010’s morning show “Moore in the Morning:” and host John Moore to talk about how “Superman” director balanced the film’s nostalgic feel with a modern sensibiltiy.
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
My CTVNews.ca review of “Superman” is up!
“’Superman,’ the latest iteration of the Man of Steel now playing in theatres, is a state-of-the-art movie with whiz-bang special effects that nonetheless feels old-fashioned…” Read the whole thing HERE!
Richard’s interview with “Justice League” star Ray Fisher.
What’s it like playing Cyborg in Justice League? Ray Fisher compares his excitement to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
“It’s like someone handing you the keys to the chocolate factory and saying, ‘Go ahead, it’s yours now,’” says the 30-year-old actor… Read the whole thing HERE!
By Richard Crouse – Metro Canada
What’s it like playing Cyborg, the technologically enhanced human superhero of Justice League? Ray Fisher compares his excitement to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
“It’s like someone handing you the keys to the chocolate factory and saying, ‘Go ahead, it’s yours now,’” says the 30-year-old actor.
Before he was a superhero, Cyborg was Victor Stone, a sports-obsessed young man who was cybernetically reconstructed by his scientist father after a nearly fatal car accident. Cobbled together with technology that allows him to weaponize his arms and mind, he becomes a reluctant superhero.
Fisher first played Cyborg in a cameo appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and audiences took notice.
“Fans have reached out,” he says. “There have been some who are amputees. There have been kids who have implants. For Cyborg to be able to represent the underrepresented in that way is a very special thing. I didn’t know the full scope of what he would represent when I took on the mantle.”
Fisher says he’s inspired by the fact that his character gives voice and power to those who feel marginalized.
“Cyborg represents not just people who are differently abled, he is also a representation of the Black community and people of colour within the Justice League. Being able to don both those mantles with the integrity which that character would need to be portrayed and was adhered to was something that was very important. I never felt that I was in too much danger of becoming a stereotype. I never felt like I was in danger of offending anyone with that particular portrayal because it could go wrong in so many ways.”
Growing up, he thought Cyborg was a “funny character but he didn’t resonate with me.” Live action heroes did, however. “I remember watching Wesley Snipes as Blade,” he says. “I watched Michael Jai White as Spawn. I even watch Shaquille O’Neal as Steel. I felt like seeing a physical representation, a non-cartoon representation affected me in a much different way.”
Although he didn’t read comic books growing up in the 1990s and 2000s, Fisher says he was a huge fan of the animated series and movies.
“It wasn’t until I booked the role of Cyborg that I was sent literally everything Cyborg-related from DC comics. I was able to fall in love with the original iteration of Cyborg from the Teen Titans. For me to be able to bring the character into the same sphere as the shows and the animated series I loved as a kid is coming full circle.”
Fisher, who made a name for himself playing Muhammad Ali in the Off-Broadway production of Fetch Clay, Make Man says he hopes his take on the character will make an impression on DC fans.
“Hopefully it resonates with people in a positive way,” he says. “I think there is definitely a message behind Cyborg that is needed for people to hear and what he represents and the resilience of the human spirit. I hope it means as much to people watching it as it meant to me to do it.”
By Richard Crouse – Metro In Focus
Let’s face it, without the batsuit Bruce Wayne is just another billionaire playboy with some cool toys. With it, he’s the Caped Crusader, keeping Gotham and the world safe. The clothes make the man, or in this case, the superhero.
To play the Dark Knight in the new Justice League movie, Ben Affleck wore a variation on his Batman v Superman costume which was a variation on every batsuit that came before it.
Designed to conceal his identity and frighten criminals, the basic batsuit is usually blue-black or dark grey, emblazoned with the chest-mounted Batsymbol. Add to that a flowing cape, finned gloves and a utility belt with a variety of crime fighting gadgets. All batsuits are topped off with a cowl with ears that mimic a bat’s head.
Costume designer Michael Wilkinson says Affleck’s new look is, “a little more aggressive.” To pump up the suit’s armour, Wilkinson drew on Bruce Wayne’s history of studying martial arts in Japan, creating new gloves based on samurai designs. Inspired by the Wayne Tech esthetic, he also revamped the cowl, adding in new ways for Batman to communicate with his trusty manservant Alfred.
Like Rick Blaine’s fedora or Annie Hall’s wide trousers, long white shirts, vests and men’s ties, the suit is crucial to Batman’s brand but it’s not always a comfortable fit.
“The first time I ever put on the (suit) myself I thought, ‘Oh, Chris (Nolan) has to re-do the cast,’” says Christian Bale, who played the Caped Crusader in three movies, “because the claustrophobia was just unbelievable.”
The Batman Begins actor says he discovered a meditative process that eased the anxiety of feeling trapped inside the hulking suit and estimates that he spent a total of 21 months encased in Batman’s armour.
He claims the discomfort actually helped him play the brooding character because he was always in a foul mood when he had to don the suit.
“Batman, he’s this very, very dark, messed-up character,” said Bale. “I found when I put on the suit I went, ‘I just feel like a bloody idiot if I don’t use this as a means to (show) his true, monstrous self that he allows to come out in that moment.’”
When Affleck took over the role from Bale he says the Welsh actor gave him one important bit of advice. “He told me to make sure I got a zipper in the suit,” Affleck laughs, “which was valuable, practical advice as it turned out.”
Perhaps the most beloved actor to wear the batsuit was the late Adam West. For 120 episodes from 1966 to 1968, West was Batman on the most popular show on television. He called putting on the suit one of his most memorable moments on the show.
“One defining moment was when I first put on the costume for real and was about to leave my trailer on the stage and walk out in front of the crew and the press, and into the light,” he told me in a 2010 interview.
“I thought, ‘Oh Lord! Are they going to laugh? What’s going to happen here?’ Well, I walked across the stage as dignified as I could and there wasn’t a sound. People stood there in awe and I thought, ‘Yes, this will work.’”
