#383: Serenity (2005)

Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Sean Maher, Alan Tudyk, Gina Torres, Jewel Staite, Adam Baldwin, Morena Baccarin & Chiwetel Ejiofor



The crew continues their adventures on the outer rim of Joss Whedon’s visions of the future, where China and the United States merged to become the powerful Alliance. The mentally unstable and psychic River Tam is being hunted down by The Alliance because she might have obtained top-secret information from while she was being studied in the government’s laboratories. Luckily, River has been under the protection of Captain Malcolm Reynolds and his crew, who have evaded both The Alliance and the mysterious, murderous monsters known as Reavers. The ship directs its ways through the ‘verse to discover what dark secret is being hidden by the authorities.

Whedon’s imagination of the future is so colorful, it’s got so much to take in. Aside from the fusion of Western cultures with Chinese, the lingo used is witty and smart with a great dose of comedy. No character overlooked – each has a highly distinct style in appearance, speech and attitude.

Whedon’s style is very distinct, using a very high level of contrast in color. For example, the characters will be plunged into shadows until a brilliant white light is shot directly on to them. Not only was there contrasts in the color used on set, but it’s clear that they raised the contrast during the editing process as well, making the characters appear in a comic books style.

BEWARE: SPOILERS AHEAD

As far as plot, there is not much that I can complain about as far as the film goes. However, there were some disheartening choices when seen in the context of the entire franchise. The Firefly series hinted at a very colorful history to Shephard Book, but not only did he have an extremely small role in the film, but he was killed off while there is so much more to answer. Another major character, Wash, was killed off almost unnecessarily at the end of the film as well. It makes me think that Whedon was running out of time, had too many ideas, and tried to squeeze it all together.

A must see for all Firefly fans, nonetheless, and probably one of the best films to be made based on a television series.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• There is an inside joke printed on some of the crates in the cargo bay. Some of the crates have the message "Reusable Container: Do Not Destroy" printed on them (they are visible behind River after the Reaver has been shot). The original set for the ship, from the show "Firefly" (2002) was destroyed (even though creator Joss Whedon swore he'd make use of it again), and therefore could not be reused for the movie (the set had to be rebuilt from scratch).
• This is the first film to be released by Universal on HD-DVD (High Definition DVD).
• Among the buildings shown in the opening sequence (where voice-over narration describes the "terraforming" process) are the Emirates Towers, key features of the skyline of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. A skyscraper in the foreground of the same shot is based on designs by Sir Norman Foster (Lord Foster), including the Commerzbank headquarters in Frankfurt and the HSBC building in Hong Kong.
• The key phrase, that Dr. Simon Tam uttered to put River to sleep, "Eta Kooram Nah Smech!" in Russian means literally "this is for hens to laugh", meaning "this is very ridiculous".(presumably also as it is so random a sentence as to never be spoken by accident)

#437: Spiderman (2002)

Director: Sam Raimi

Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe & James Franco

Peter Parker was an average science geek finishing up high school when a bizarre twist of fate altered his plans for the future. While on a school trip, he gets bitten by a "genetically enhanced" spider whose venom alters Parker's genes to become a superhero with spider-like abilities. Soon after he gains his abilities, his uncle is killed in a hijacking, teaching Peter a valuable lesson in responsibility. Peter trains his abilities to fight a madman who is destroying the city, all while being the secret admirer of Mary Jane, the girlfriend of Peter's best friend, Harry.

Today, this film is just another blockbuster to watch on TNT when nothing else was on. But do you all remember how big of a deal it was when it came out? It was a return of comic book heroes to the silver screen... aside from the awful Batman films that were coming out in the late '90s. But even more important than that, it was a return of the good guy. Even Batman, with all his good intentions, has a very dark side. Peter Parker, on the other hand, is all about goodness, and there's really no other actor than Tobey Maguire to represent a good guy.

Maguire had some really intense training to get the body he needed for this role, and he really ends up perfect for the role in both acting and physique. James Franco is also a great addition to the film - it's unfortunate that he hasn't had any big breakthrough performance, because he is actually quite talented. Kirsten Dunst, on the other hand... well, let's just say she's done what we'd expect of her.

The lessons Peter learns along the way are good, albeit now cliché from the comic book world, so there's not really a whole lot else to say about this film or its sequels, besides the fact that they're loads of fun.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• The Green Goblin was chosen as the film's main villain since Sam Raimi felt the father-son theme (Norman and Harry Osborn and Peter Parker) would make the film deeper.
• Several Spider-Man costumes were created at a cost of up to $100,000 each. Four were stolen from the set in early April of 2001 and Columbia Pictures posted a $25,000 reward for their return. The costumes were not returned.
• One of the chief difficulties that Tobey Maguire experienced in the now-famous upside-down kissing scene was that his sinuses kept filling up with water as it was performed in driving rain.
• In order to come up with the look of the high school kids, the costume department sent disposable cameras to schoolteachers in New York City and had them distribute them among their students to take pictures of each other.
• Color costume considerations meant that Spider-Man was shot in front of a green screen, while the Green Goblin was shot in front of a blue one.
• The original trailer for the movie depicted a theft of a bank, with the robbers making a getaway in a helicopter. A close-up of the helicopter was shown, until the helicopter stopped, apparently caught in mid-air. As the camera zoomed out, it was shown that the helicopter was caught in a spider web, suspended between the two towers of the World Trade Center. After the attacks on the towers 11 September 2001, however, the trailer was changed.
• David Koepp's fourth screenplay to hold the opening weekend box office record. The others are Jurassic Park (1993) (June 1993),Mission: Impossible (1996) (May 1996) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) (May 1997).
• The scene in which Peter Parker catches Mary Jane's lunch on the tray involved no CGI. With the help of a sticky substance to keep the tray planted on his hand, Tobey Maguire eventually (after many takes) performed the stunt exactly as seen.
• During the conversation outside the library, Uncle Ben quotes to Peter the famous words, "With great power comes great responsibility." This well-quoted line actually came from a 1962 published issue, so it debuted there 14 years before a short story by Isaac Asimov which later was made into the movie Bicentennial Man (1999), which some attribute wrongly as the source of this phrase.
• The diner that Mary Jane Watson worked at is the same diner (at least the exterior) where Monica worked in the early seasons of"Friends" (1994).

#449: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Director: George Lucas

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman & Jake Lloyd

In the midst of a trade war, Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi are stranded on the desert planet Tatooine, alongside Queen Amidala. They enter a store seeking replacement parts for their ship, where they meet Anakin Skywalker. Immediately, Qui-Gon Jinn recognizes the child's potential. Qui-Gon Jinn uses Anakin's help to get his ship back in the sky by means of a racing bet, and finally begins Anakin's adventures that we know will soon transform him into Darth Vader.

As the first of the prequels, I hoped for something a little simpler. Rather than introducing countless new droids and species, why not elaborate on the origins of those that we're familiar with from the originals? I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that most of this film was made simply to use special effects. Even with so much emphasis on visuals, we're left with what looks like a huge video game.

I'll be blunt: the script is awful. I don't know who thinks it's still a good idea to use words like "Yippee!" and "Ouch!" in a more serious script, but whoever they are, they need to get their heads out of the 1950's sitcom.

The characters aren't relatable. Not-a-one of them. If I had to describe these characters in one word, this is how it would go:

Anakin - Young

Qui-Gon Jinn - Wise

Obi-wan Kenobi - Training

Queen Amidala - Decorative

Darth Maul - Gingivitis

One of the highlights of the film is Anakin's pod-race. While watching it, I couldn't help but think back to the Ben-Hur chariot race. It's a bit pitiful when there's more suspense in an action sequence from a film nearly half a century prior to this one. Even with all they're special effects, even that scene didn't seem all that exciting.

Probably the only good thing to come out of this film is Duel of the Fates. You can always count on John Williams to put a little good in a film.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• George Lucas made a similar deal as he did in the original Star Wars (1977). Both Lucas and Fox Studios agreed that he would forego his salary as a director provided he owns the entire negative of the final cut of the film as well as ancillary rights of all toys and commercial tie-ins.
• There is only one shot in the film to which no visual effects were added at all: the shot of the dioxis gas pouring out of the vent in the meeting room.
• During filming Ewan McGregor made lightsaber noises as he dueled. It was noted and corrected during post production.
• The name used by the Queen while in disguise (and, later, after her term as Queen ends), "Padme", is the Sanskrit word for "lotus". "Yoda" is also derived from the Sanskrit word for "warrior".
• In the German language version of the film, the collaborating Trade Federation leaders have a French accent, while in the Italian language version they have heavy Russian accents. They also have Russian accents in the Czech version, except for the Viceroy, who speaks fluent Czech for reasons unknown.

#450: King Kong (2005)

Director: Peter Jackson

Cast: Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Jack Black & Andy Serkis

A sleazy film producer finagles his way into getting an entire cast and crew onto a ship headed for a mysterious, uncharted island. When they arrive unexpectedly, they find an unwelcoming tribe of indigenous people living on the island. The crew is attacked, and actress Ann Darrow is kidnapped to be sacrificed to Kong. The giant ape snatches her from her perch, but both Kong and Ann are surprised to find themselves fast becoming friends. However, the crew continues their rescue mission to find Ann, intent on killing the beast.

This is the second remake of the original King Kong, released in 1933. The original, of course, is a classic in film history, and many film buffs will argue that a classic should never be touched. In a sense, I do agree, but Jackson did a really fine job with this remake.

Naomi Watts was a perfect fit for this role. She had a remarkable performance, demonstrating her extensive talents. The finale was truly heart-wrenching, while her action scenes were thrilling, and she even performed Chaplin-esque slapstick routines with gusto. Bravo, Ms. Watts! I hope to see more of your skill soon.

Being directed by Peter Jackson, you can't expect anything less than phenomenal special effects, and this holds true in this film. The action sequences will have your head reeling, particularly one in which Ann finds herself caught between Kong and a couple of dinosaurs.

There are two complaints I have about the film, and I'm sure these complaints are pretty common among the audience of this film. First of all, Jack Black? Really? Having such a huge face from the comedy universe just shouldn't ever be given this role, even if he had a tremendous audition. I was never sure how seriously I should take his character. Sure, he can play a sleazeball, but then he starts spouting out proverbs and classic lines (ahem, the finale), which simply doesn't even fit his sleazy, semi-comedic role. The second complaint: it's too damn long. Jackson loves getting his cinematographic groove on a little bit too much. He's got some great shots, but too many of them!

This is a perfect popcorn flick. Some very good performances, and a fun film overall.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• The insects attacking Jack Driscoll at the canyon bottom are gigantic versions of the Weta, a species native to New Zealand and the namesake of Peter Jackson's production studio.
• The "Ancient Proverb" cited by Carl at his premier served as the prologue in the original version of the film.
• The score being played in the New York theatre when Kong is revealed is the same score from the original King Kong (1933). The same is true for the costumes being worn by the performers on stage-they are similar to the island inhabitants from the original King Kong.

The digitally-rendered 1933 NY is so detailed that it contained 90,000 separate buildings.

#453: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen & Ray Winstone

Indiana Jones returns, twenty years after his previous adventures. He's been kidnapped by the KGB, who are in seeking the remains of an extraterrestrial at a government base in Nevada. After his escape from Area 51, Jones meets a greaser named Mutt, who lets Jones know that his old colleague Oxley has been kidnapped in Peru after he found a crystal skull. Myth tells us that whoever returns this skull to the hidden city of Akator will be presented with its powers.

The best way I can describe this film is with an analogy. Let's say that Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade are beautiful gardens. Going into this film, you are presented with an empty lawn. The filmmakers through seeds all willy-nilly onto this lawn, in hopes of forming another beautiful garden. However, it turns out that that's not the way of a great horticulturist. They ended up with a mess.

The plot was just too crazy. Indiana Jones belongs as a film of the 80s, where action-adventure was in its glory days (Back to the Future, anyone?). The over-the-top action has been overdone, which is why today we've begun to back off and make our heroes more realistic (see my previous post).

As for its special effects, the majority of it was so overdone that it looked like a video game. The only part that I was very impressed by was the very end, in which I thought the special effects were really top-notch.

Yeah, that's just about all I've got to say about that.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• In 2002, high profile screenwriter Frank Darabont, who'd penned several episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, was brought on board the project during what was probably the most publicized of the many failed attempts to find a screenplay for a fourth Indiana Jones film. Darabont collaborated closely with Steven Spielberg for over a year, resulting in a script entitled "Indiana Jones and the City of Gods." While Spielberg reportedly loved the script (according to Darabont he called it the greatest script he'd read since Raiders of the Lost Ark), George Lucas rejected the draft for reasons that were never disclosed, and the film was sent back to the drawing board once more.
• The only Indiana Jones film to not receive any Oscar nominations. The first three movies in the series had won at least one Oscar each.

#471: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

Director: Alfonso Cuarón

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint ...

Harry is back at Hogwarts for his third year, and danger seems to be following him around every corner. Over the summer, the mysterious Sirius Black escaped from the island prison of Azkaban. Black was convicted as a supporter of You-Know-Who, and is believed to be hunting Harry to help Lord Voldemort come back to power.

Out of every Harry Potter movie, this is the only one that deserves particular attention. Firstly, the plot is spectacular. Out of most Potter fans (based on personal experience and my quick rummage through the cyber-world), most claim that this is the best book of the series. There are twists everywhere in this film. There's a twist in the main plot, a twist in Hermione's subplot, and even a twist that was first set up from the very beginning of the series.

The budget was clearly larger in this film than the previous two. The special effects are far superior in quality than the previous two, and Cuarón wasn't afraid to strut his stuff. The most obvious scenes in which Cuarón laid the special effects on thick are the dementors and Buckbeak's flight. The dementors are legitimately creepy - I couldn't imagine being a young kid watching the scenes with them. Buckbeak's flight has some great music, but aside from that, it's really just an excuse to use some great special effects.

It's not just the special effects that set this film apart from the rest of the series. In my personal opinion, this is the last film of the series in which each character is a caricature. After this film, all of the characters are known so well that there's no surprises to be found, perhaps partly because of the longer plots that had to be squeezed into a film.

This film also separate from its predecessors because it is the first to reach out to its English audience. Previously, there was nothing but a mention of Harry living in London. Finally, in this film we see some shots of London itself in Harry's ride on the Knight Bus. Aside from the visuals, the film also includes some of Rowling's ideas on British culture that was occasionally hinted at in her novels. For example, it is the first time we see the Minister, who represents the conservative views of members of Parliament who rarely look at what is actually happening in their own homeland. I also personally believe that the opening seen with Aunt Marge is paying homage to one of England's greatest achievements, Wallace & Gromit.

This is the first Harry Potter film that can be taken seriously, thanks to its abandonment of solely child-friendly material and an introduction of a dark style and a sense of foreboding. This is also the only Harry Potter film that I had absolutely no complaints over, as far as changes from the book.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• Honeydukes "is floor-to-ceiling psychedelia" and includes Mexican skulls made of sugar. The cast was told that the Honeydukes candy was lacquer-coated, when in fact it wasn't, to prevent candy from disappearing between takes.
• The tattoos on Sirius Black's body and hands are borrowed from Russian prison gangs. They are markings which identify the person as a man to be feared and respected.
• Alfonso Cuarón coached Daniel Radcliffe in one scene where the latter had to act awed: "Pretend you're seeing Cameron Diaz in a G-string". It worked.
• The film contains several commemorations to director Alfonso Cuarón and his Mexican heritage. On the fountain in the courtyard in front of the clock tower, there are several statues of eagles eating snakes. This exact image appears on the Mexican flag. Also, among the many candies offered at Honeydukes are skulls made of sugar, which are a popular treat in Mexico on "El Dia de los Muertos," or the Day of the Dead. And, after Dumbledore says his final lines outside the infirmary, he goes down the stairs humming "La Raspa", the Mexican Hat Dance.
• When Harry, Hermione and Ron are returning to the school from Hagrid's hut after witnessing Buckbeak's execution, Hermione hugs Ron and Harry hugs Hermione, a reference to Alfonso Cuarón's movie Y tu mamá también (2001).

#475: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

Director: Gore Verbinski

Cast: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom & Keira Knightley

I hate these movies. The first one was okay. I thought it was complex. But then! Disney thought it'd be a great deal to blow all their moolah on special effects and make a completely convoluted plot that's nearly impossible to follow. Look, I can't even write my usual synopsis in my first paragraph.

The acting is overrated. I've always said that Johnny Depp is overrated in this role, as he was for Sweeney Todd. He's got so much potential, and he's completely wasting it. Keira Knightley is also somewhat talented, but this doesn't show much. Orlando Bloom just isn't talented.

Even the music was a waste - it was exactly the same as the original. I believe this is because Zimmer decided to be all larger than life in his score for the first film, there's just nowhere for it to go.

I have to admit, I'm not even all the way through as I write this, which I've never done before on this list. At least I've seen it before and know that nothing's really going to happen that changes my mind on this waste of Disney's money.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• In most shots of the cannibal island, the background scenery has been digitally altered. Some overview shots are completely computer generated.
• Tia Dalma's swamp is a recreation of the opening bayou scene in the ride in Disneyland complete with fireflies.
• The scene where Sparrow's character is hurled across a canyon and landing on his feet while tied to a pole, is amazingly not using CG nor any other sort of camera trickery, not even wires. A man was actually tied hands and feet to a pole and then, by the use of specially created rigs (along with a dose of scientific pre-calculations for acceleration, distance etc), physically catapulted over that junction, doing a somersault mid-ways in the air and landing perfect on his two feet - all in one take! (Source: The "World Stunt Awards" TV show, 2007)

#491: Ben-Hur (1959)

Director: William Wyler

Cast: Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet

First of all, I'd like to say... whoever at Empire decided that Ben-Hur isn't as good as the latest Indiana Jones film deserves a spanking. I'd also like to say that finally, after 23 years, you've all lost your opportunity to punch me in the face for never seeing this film before.

Ben-Hur is a historical epic about a Jewish nobleman who encounters an old childhood Roman friend, Messala, for the first time in years. Messala is a new Roman representative in Jerusalem, and urges Ben-Hur to persuade his fellow Jewish countrymen to accept Roman authority. Ben-Hur refuses, and declares his loyalty to his culture. This leads to Messala's arrest of Ben-Hur and his family after Ben-Hur's sister accidentally loosens a tile from her building's roof, hitting the new Roman governor as he parades down the avenue. The next three - yes, three - hours of film show Ben-Hur's trials to escape from imprisonment and find his family.

There is so, so much to admire in this film. There is no question that the film deserves its 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Music. The picture quality is outstanding. Despite its slightly Technicolor features, the shots could easily be mistaken to be from twenty years later. The music by Miklós Rózsa is astounding, using a full-sized orchestra including chorus. And of course, the famous chariot race is renowned as one of the most exciting scenes in cinema history.

I'm pretty much flabbergasted. There's just too much to say about this film. Despite its tremendous length at three and a half hours, I never felt bored, and only paused the film when I felt really really thirsty when Charlton Heston was being led through the desert. The film has everything, and I can't emphasize this enough: if you have never seen this film, SEE IT. NOW.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):*

*Note: There are a lot more of these than usual, but I highly recommend reading them, because they're really interesting or really funny.

• MGM wanted an authentic-looking Roman boat for the live battle scenes. To design the boats, they hired a person who had spent his whole career studying Roman naval architecture. When he presented his designs to the MGM engineers, Mauro Zambuto(set engineer) exclaimed, "But this is top heavy! It will sink!" They built the boat anyway and launched it in the ocean, and at first it seemed to float. Then however, a little wave came along, a wake from another boat, splashed against the highly unstable boat, and tipped it over. MGM then put the boat in a large pond with a huge painted sky backdrop. To steady the boat, they ran cables from the bottom of the boat to anchors on the bottom of the pond.
• Another problem concerned the color of the water in the pond holding the boat; it was too brown and murky. They hired a chemist to develop a dye to color the water Azure Mediterranean blue. The chemist dumped a huge sack of some powder into the pond, which, instead of turning the water blue, formed a hard crust on the surface of the water, which had to be chiselled off the boat at great expense. They finally found some dye that would make the water blue. During one of the battle scenes, an extra who fell into the water and spent a bit too much time there turned blue, and was kept on the MGM payroll until it wore off.
• When it came time to film inside the boat, it was discovered that the large 65mm cameras wouldn't fit. The boat had to be taken out of the pond, cut in half lengthwise, and placed in an Italian sound stage. The oars wouldn't fit in the sound stage, so they had to cut them off just beyond the hull. This resulted in an extremely light oars which, when rowed by the actors, didn't look believable, since you could move them with one hand. To solve the problem, Mauro Zambuto sent an army of production assistants to all of the hardware stores in Rome to buy the kind of spring-and-hydraulic piston mechanisms that are normally attached to doors to force them closed but to keep them from slamming. Placing these devices on the oars and the hull gave enough resistance to make the rowing scenes look realistic.
• The film used over 1,000,000 props.
• Over 300 sets were built for the film.
• Featured more crew and extras than any other film ever made before it. There were 15,000 extras alone for the chariot race sequence.
• Charlton Heston was taught to drive a chariot by the stunt crew, who offered to teach the entire cast. Heston was the only one who took them up on the offer. At the beginning of the chariot race, Heston shook the reins and nothing happened; the horses remained motionless. Finally someone way up on top of the set yelled, "Giddy-up!" The horses then roared into action, and Heston was flung backward off of the chariot.
• The chariot race has a 263-to-1 cutting ratio (263 feet of film for every one foot kept), probably the highest for any 65mm sequence ever filmed.
• Paul Newman was offered the role of Judah Ben-Hur but turned it down because he said he didn't have the legs to wear a tunic.
• Besides Burt Lancaster, Rock Hudson was also offered the role of Ben Hur. Hudson seriously considered accepting the part until his agent explained to him that the film's gay subtext was too much of a risk to his career.
• According to Gore Vidal, as recounted in The Celluloid Closet (1995) one of the script elements he was brought in to re-write was the relationship between Messalah and Ben-Hur. Director William Wyler was concerned that two men who had been close friends as youths would not simply hate one another as a result of disagreeing over politics. Thus, Vidal devised a thinly veiled subtext suggesting the Messalah and Ben-Hur had been lovers as teenagers, and their fighting was a result of Ben-Hur spurning Messalah. Wyler was initially hesitant to implement the subtext, but agreed on the conditions that no direct reference ever be made to the characters' sexuality in the script, that Vidal personally discuss the idea with Stephen Boyd, and not mention the subtext to Charlton Heston who, Wyler feared, would panic at the idea. After Vidal admitted to adding the homosexual subtext in public, Heston denied the claim, going so far as to suggest Vidal had little input into the final script, and his lack of screen credit was a result of his being fired for trying to add gay innuendo. Vidal rebutted by citing passages from Heston's 1978 autobiography, where the actor admitted that Vidal had authored much of the final shooting script.
• During the 18-day auction of MGM props, costumes, and memorabilia that took place in May 1970 when new owner Kirk Kerkorian was liquidating the studio's assets, a Sacramento restaurateur paid $4,000 for a chariot used in the film. Three years later, during the energy crisis, he was arrested for driving the chariot on the highway.
• This is believed to be one of only two MGM films where the studio's trademark Leo the Lion did not roar at the beginning of the opening credits, apparently because of the religious theme in the film. The other was "The Next Voice You Hear" (1950), another film with a religious theme. (The lion used in 1968's "2001: A Space Odyssey" was the illustrated lion from MGM's record label, not a real lion, and so doesn't count.)

#496: Superman Returns (2006)

Director: Bryan Singer

Cast: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth & Kevin Spacey

Superman's back from his vacation to Krypton, and he's found that Lois has turned her back to him. She decides that the world doesn't need a Superman, and neither does she. Lex Luther is back, as well, with a brand new diabolical scheme.

There's really not much to say about this film, besides it's a pretty entertaining Hollywood blockbuster-type film. It has some good special effects, and the acting isn't bad. The score - aside from the original themes, of course - is ridiculously cliché. A fun film, nevertheless.

This film definitely doesn't belong on the top 500 films of all time. I'll still recommend it to anyone who gets a chance to see it on the big screen. For cheap, anyway.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• "Alias" (2001) creator and writer J.J. Abrams wrote a complete shooting draft of the script, which both Brett Ratner and McG were planning to shoot when they both left the project for both creative and budget reasons.
• The chemical name of Kryptonite is given as "sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide with fluorine." In 2007, Dr. Chris Stanley of the London Natural History Museum discovered the very same mineral, albeit without fluorine, in Jadar, Serbia and named it Jadarite. In reality, it is a white powder rather than a green crystal.
• The crew in Tamworth grew their own corn. It took twelve weeks for them to get the corn just right.
• The last line of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) (the one before "Returns") is Superman saying to Luthor, "See you in twenty." That scene was filmed in 1986. Coincidentally, twenty years later, in 2006, the next Superman movie was released.
• In an interview on "Larry King Live" (1985), director Bryan Singer said that had he not had access to John Williams' original music, he would not have done the film.

#498: Back to the Future II (1989)

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Cast: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson & Thomas F. Wilson

Marty McFly is one of my heroes of 20th-century film, and understandably so. In this sequel, Marty travels first to the future, then back to the present, and finally returns to the past that he had already visited in the original. With this structure, Marty experiences the worst case of the butterfly effect, having his entire livelihood affected by the purchase of a book from the future.

There's so much to love about this film. It is chock-full of pop culture references, including dozens of references to the original film. The special effects are quite a bit ahead of its time, the soundtrack by Alan Silvestri is memorable, and the acting is great - despite its being intentionally overdone in the cases of Lloyd, Thompson and Wilson. And of course, the story itself is remarkable. The intricacies throughout the entire script stand out well enough to notice and follow, but are performed in a fluid and natural way.

This is by far the best sequel that has ever been made. What's been lost on a lot of sequels is that it becomes simply a second story about the same characters. In this case, it not only adds on to the original, but it in fact enhances it. If only Zemeckis could have kept that going in the conclusion of the trilogy, which understandably was not chosen to be on Empire's 500.

And now, the trivia. And there's lots, because this film deserves it.

Fun Trivia (stolen from IMDB):

• Crispin Glover played George McFly in Back to the Future (1985), but was replaced by Jeffrey Weissman in Part II. Weissman was made up to look like Glover so that this film could incorporate excerpts from the original. All shots of Weissman are either from the back, at an angle, or with Sunglasses so that the audience wouldn't notice that it is a different actor.
• Elisabeth Shue was cast as Jennifer, and all the closing shots of Back to the Future(1985) were re-shot for the beginning of this film. Claudia Wells (Jennifer in Back to the Future (1985)) was unable to reprise her role as she had stopped acting because her mother had been diagnosed with cancer. She returned to acting for the independent film Still Waters Burn (2008).
• A movie theatre advertises "Jaws 19", directed by "Max Spielberg". Executive producer Steven Spielberg, who directed Jaws (1975), has a son Max.
• First film appearance by Elijah Wood.
• The tagline for Jaws 19 is "This time it's really, REALLY personal".
• When Marty visits his neighborhood in 2015, a dog can be seen in the background being walked by one of the robots from *batteries not included (1987).
• The football scores Biff hears on the radio while driving are all actual scores from November 12, 1955, and the UCLA/Washington game he and old Biff listen to did indeed end with UCLA kicker Jim Decker hitting a last second field goal to win.
• In 2015, when Doc and Marty look at the USA Today newspaper and see the headline change, the following headlines and blurbs are:

1. Cubs Sweep Series In 5 (a World Series sweep would be in 4 wins, thus implying the playoffs have been expanded in the future)
2. Washington Prepares For Queen Diana's Visit (the film was released 8 years before Princess Diana's death)
3. Swiss Terrorist Threat
4. President Says She's Tired
5. Pitcher Suspended For Bionic Arm

Two gigantic thumbs up!