Topic: The Movie Thread

Speaking of Batman: Hush, and I might be bias but Jim Lee draws the best looking Batman, imo.

@WanderingBullet I kind of agree... I really like Simon Bisley's stuff - but Lee is certainly on point - with the entire League actually.

I think I've mentioned this before, but Batman: The Long Halloween will always be my favorite Batman GN. Fantastic, complex mystery story with noir-ish overtones. Great version of the Two-Face origin story, too. And very atmospheric art.

I can't stand Frank Miller's art or stories, so I'll leave those be.

The Killing Joke... I think it's too dependent on an almost adolescent fascination with cruelty and evil. Watchmen and V for Vendetta are much more interesting narratives from Alan Moore.

@RogerRoger I've never read a Superman comic, either. No interest.

And the first Christopher Reeve movie sucks. Never watched the others.

Man of Steel wasn't awful, but it also wasn't very good.

@RogerRoger i remember The New Adventures of Superman, i used to watch that every week

and like you i'm more Movie than comic but mainly because if you look at all the recons and reboots in the comics it becomes a huge mess to try and figure out where to start

at least with the movies you get a pretty much consistent series, well apart from those Batman movies, i still shudder when i think of Batman and Robin

@RogerRoger Nah, that's a good pitch. I watched the first Superman expecting a decent movie, which is why I was so disappointed. Going in expecting entertaining trash from the start will absolutely alter my expectations. I'll keep you posted.

@Ralizah I actually have no words....
Perhaps start with Superman 3, it's at least good trash - and Reeve is in the best shape of his life in that film.

@RogerRoger love me a bit of Lois & Clark, damned shame it was canned when it was, but they were all happy to stop working on it. The working schedules for some great shows of the 90s were brutal. But the inventions of Tempus and Lord Nor were masterful!

As for the comics. If I could get you to read one Superman story, it really would be All Star Superman. There is no finer straight up story about a big hitter super hero out there. None.
The animated adaptation is really well done too, so you could just plumb for that.

@FullbringIchigo Please don't remind me of those terrible movies, I've tried to wipe those from my memory!

@JohnnyShoulder here go get yourself something to help you forget

Why's that?

Looks at username and avatar

Oh.

Alrighty. Is Superman 2 in that same sort of "so bad it's good" range?

@Ralizah i know this is going to get up someones goat BUT Superman Returns was actually a pretty fun movie you should watch that one after Superman 2 because even though it has different actors it's actually a sequel to it (it completely ignores Superman 3 and 4 which is a good thing as they were really bad)

Hmm.

Maybe I'll just sit down and watch all the other Superman movies and share my impressions in this thread.

I agree. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I first saw that. While you are there watch Jaws 3-D for a giggle/grimace.

Has anyone seen The Prophecy? That is one the greatest terrible movies of all time. It's full of the best moments in cinema. The bear and sleeping bag moment in particular is amazing.

@Ralizah Superman 2 is fantastic! It's more in the vein of Superman The Movie though.
It was shot primarily by Richard Donner back to back with the first film, but a fall out with the producers led to them hiring another director to re-shoot enough of the film so that they didn't have to give him credit. There is a 'Donner Cut' of Superman 2 with some interesting changes to the theatrical release, but it's actually not quite as good, or fun.

From there the producers (bearing in mind, that despite the excellent end product of Superman The Movie, the Salkinds were basically only interested in having a cash cow) felt that comedy was the way to go so hired Richard Pryor for Superman 3 thinking that he'd ad-lib his was through filming; he was a big fan of Supes so he stuck to the script religiously. Superman 3 is far from awful though - it's just corny, and hammy - and wonderful for it. It's actually a better film than Superman 2 in many ways - and harbours my favourite scene ever committed to film.
As an aside, I highly recommend seeking out the original treatment for Superman 3. The Salkinds initially wanted an epic to rival the first film and came up with an absolutely bonkers plot involving Supergirl, Braniac and time travel to medieval England!

Superman 4, is a bit of a shame. The rights to Superman had slipped and ended up in the hands of the dreaded Canon production company. While the story (by Reeve) is rather worthy, on paper - it really could have been quite something. But Superman on a shoestring budget was never going to work.

@FullbringIchigo Returns is a shame. While it was nice for Singer to try to continue the series with a soft reboot - it is largely as close to a remake of Superman The Movie as he could've gotten to. I really like the aesthetic, the cast, the effort and John Ottman's work with Williams' theme is exemplary - but even in 2006, 'Superman lifting things' wasn't really enough. He should've gone with Braniac as a villain.

@Jaz007 The Prophecy series is brilliant viewing!

@RogerRoger

@RogerRoger Scott Bakula said the same of Quantum Leap in his Chaos on the Bridge interview.

@RogerRoger Not the snap - just the crushing weight of always being at work.

@RogerRoger yeah, I've seen it. I prefer Chaos on the Bridge, though you get the sense that there's massive amount of unused footage from those interviews - also because it confirms what I'd long suspected: Avery Brooks is crackers!

Who can argue with two of the best cover versions going?! (Rocket Man, Common People)

@KALofKRYPTON @RogerRoger he wasn't always like that though, maybe he's ill?