Of Movies And Cubes

posted by Tygrrius @ 5:02 PM

"Thanks to my solid academic training, today I can write hundreds of words on virtually any topic without possessing a shred of information which is how I got a good job in journalism."
--Dave Barry (Dave Barry is from Mars and Venus)

I need a break from what I'm supposed to be working on right now, so I thought I'd come by and ramble on for a bit about nothing in particular.

It's funny, when this year started, I was most excited about seeing Star Trek XI, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Dark Knight, and Get Smart, in that order. Now, the list has almost turned upside down.

Star Trek XI was bumped to next year, so that's out of the running for now. The Indy IV teaser trailer seems to have deflated some of my enthusiasm for that movie. I'm still looking forward to it, just not as much for some reason. The death of Heath Ledger has dampened my enthusiasm for The Dark Knight.

That leaves Get Smart as my most anticipated movie for this year. All of the clips I've seen from this one, in both trailers, have looked fantastic. Both Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway seem to be taking the right approach to the characters. Who knows what I'll be doing three months from now, but I sure plan to find the time to have a seat in a theater that weekend to check this one out.

Of course, there is also the unexpected gift of Star Wars: The Clone Wars this year, but that animated movie just doesn't take the spotlight away from Get Smart for me. Besides Star Trek in 2009, a movie I'm really waiting for is the sequel to Superman Returns - maybe 2010.

* * *

Do you know that I have two, count them, two Rubik's cubes here on my desk? One is the standard version and the other is a miniature keychain version. Both share one thing in common, though: They are unsolved. They will likely remain that way, too, as the only reliable way I've found of solving a Rubik's cube is to disassemble and reassemble it. (Sure, you could take the stickers off and reapply them, but that's not a very elegant approach.) The only other way I've found is to work step-by-step through a solution book or site. It's a lot more efficient to just disassemble it, though.

I found that trick in a solution book I read when I was a kid. I also worked through the manual solution portion, but found the disassembly trick to be a lot more convenient. It all comes down to the fact that, when it comes to Rubik's cubes, I'm pretty much an idiot. I've never been able to beat the cube without cheating. I doubt that will change anytime soon. Maybe I should get one of those new 2x2 versions - but what if I can't even solve that? Better not to know.

How To Spend An Extra Day

posted by Tygrrius @ 11:05 AM

"The only thing worse than watching a bad movie is being in one."
--Elvis Presley

Finally, February is over and spring is almost here. Now that we've made it to another month, it's time for me to once again apologize for neglecting this section of The Film Frontier. I've had a hard enough time keeping up with all of the news lately, much less add in reviews and my idiosyncratic thoughts on life.

Though I'm no fan of February, it does have one redeeming factor: Leap Day. I spent part of 2008's extra day watching Superman Returns. February 29 is Superman's kinda-sorta birthday, after all. It's been nearly a year since I last watched this movie and I continue to be impressed by it. I hope that both Bryan Singer and Brandon Routh will return for a sequel within the next two or three years. I've seen rumors on both sides, but no confirmation either way.

I also watched some Star Trek episodes on Leap Day. No real connection there, I just felt like watching. I watched the original versions of "The Apple," "Mirror, Mirror," and "The Deadly Years." Turns out that "The Apple" is also this weekend's episode of Star Trek: Remastered. This means I won't be watching, though, because "The Apple" isn't an episode I could watch twice in the same weekend.

No Star Wars on Friday, but I did sneak in an Elvis movie - Harum Scarum. Definitely not one of his best, but interesting to me as an Elvis fan since I haven't watched it in a long time. Mary Ann Mobley sure made a beautiful princess in 1965. Earlier that same year, she had a smaller role in another Elvis movie, Girl Happy.

When I was a kid, the local UHF syndicated station seemed to show Elvis movie marathons nearly every Saturday afternoon. Coming from a family of Elvis fans, I spent a lot of time watching them. I won't lie to you and tell you that Elvis made the best movies, but most of them do have a quirky fun about them. He had a real gift for comedy that a lot of the mainstream really doesn't know about. Check out Viva Las Vegas, for instance.

Elvis made 31 movies as an actor, but some of them seemed to turn up on those Saturday afternoons more often than others. Harum Scarum and Easy Come, Easy Go, for instance received a lot more airplay back then than, say, Jailhouse Rock or Change of Habit.

When the UHF station wasn't playing Elvis movies, it filled Saturday afternoons with Godzilla and other monster movies instead. I watched a lot of those, too. My favorite of these was Godzilla vs. King Kong-mostly because of the epic nature of such a bout. Elvis never made any monster movies, but it sure would've been cool to see him take down Godzilla with a karate chop and then nurse the beast's wounds with a song in Elvis vs. Godzilla. You know, maybe I watched too much TV as a kid.

Hey, I wonder if Quantum Leap fans use Leap Day to celebrate their franchise? There's even an Elvis connection to Quantum Leap. The last episode before the series finale featured Sam leaping into the body of none other than Elvis Presley, on the brink of being discovered. Though filled with inaccuracies regarding Elvis, it's still a fun episode.

One neat bit of trivia is that when Sam looks in the mirror to see the face of the body into which he has leaped, Elvis is portrayed by Michael St. Gerard - who had also played him on the short-lived but excellent ABC television series Elvis. He also appeared as Elvis in the Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire. St. Gerard actually looks enough like Elvis that my local paper once accidentally put a small picture of him next to an article about the real Elvis, with the caption: "Presley."

Due to an unforeseen circumstance, I had the day off on Leap Day this year (though I probably would've requested it off anyway), but doesn't it seem that Leap Day should be a worldwide holiday for everyone?

Does your employer or school really deserve an extra day of your life? It's the perfect day to catch up on time, life, and movies. Let's start the Leap Day Holiday movement right here on The Film Frontier. We'll all work really hard on it - every four years or so.

The Film Frontier 2007 Christmas Gift Guide

posted by Tygrrius @ 4:57 AM

It's December already, so that means it's time for The Film Frontier's annual Christmas Gift Guide for the Star Trek, Superman, and Star Wars fans in your life.

Gifts for Star Trek fans

Star Trek: Academy-Collision Course by William Shatner and Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens: Due mostly to school, which took away much of my leisure reading and blogging time, I've not finished reading this one yet. The good news is, I'm on winter break as of yesterday so look for a review soon. In the tenth novel of their team-up, Shatner and the Reeves-Stevens set the clock back to the 23rd century and we see the first meeting of Kirk and Spock prior to their time at Starfleet Academy. This is not to be confused with JJ Abrams' Star Trek Babies (AKA Star Trek XI), which hits theaters next Christmas.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan-USS Enterprise 16" electronic starship: For those of us who are not model-building experts, those frustrating days of attempting to align our warp nacelles while trying not to pass out from glue fumes are over. Continuing their "starship legends" line, Art Asylum has released a Star Trek II version of the USS Enterprise. Yes, technically the Star Trek II version of the ship could just as easily be called the Star Trek: The Motion Picture version, but Star Trek II is the superior movie, after all, and is celebrating its 25th anniversary. If you can't find the Enterprise at your local toy store, StarTrek.com has it a reasonable price. I have the Star Trek IV (or was it Star Trek VI?) version of the Enterprise-A by Art Asylum. It's not perfect, but it at least allows me to continue procrastinating on that Polar Lights Enterprise-A model kit currently sitting in my closet.

Star Trek: The Original Series-Remastered 10-disc set: All 29 episodes of the 1966-1967 first season of the original Star Trek are presented in remastered, high definition format with new special effects. For most, this HD DVD/DVD combo set is a budget-buster, but it is certainly worth buying if you can squeeze it in. On the plus side, this new set has led to massive price reductions on the unaltered episodes released on DVD back in 2004. In fact, you could actually buy your favorite Star Trek fan all three unaltered seasons for about the same price as this one remastered season. Take your pick, as both incarnations feature Star Trek at its best.

Gifts for Superman fans

Action Comics and Superman comic book subscriptions: Though it seems it will be years before the next Superman movie, keep up with his monthly adventures in Action Comics, Superman, and other titles without the hassle of visiting a comic book store. The DC Comics subscription service delivers issues to your door only a couple weeks after they arrive in stores and at less than cover price.

Superman vs. Doomsday Collector's Action Figure Box Set: These action figures of Superman and Doomsday are sculpted to look like the comic book art from The Death of Superman, a reprint of which is also included in the set. Be warned that there's also a Superman: Doomsday action figure set floating around out there with the figures sculpted to look like the awful 2007 direct-to-DVD movie.

Superman: The Ultimate Collector's Edition 14-DVD set: This is the one holdover from last year's list. Since it completely sold out last Christmas, Warner Home Video re-released this set in May of this year. You can still find it in stores now. It includes Superman Returns, all four Christopher Reeve Superman movies, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, and tons of other features. Value-priced at well under $100, this is a must-have for all Superman movie fans.

Gifts for Star Wars fans

Star Wars stamps: This year, Star Wars finally joined the ranks of Superman, Star Trek, George Washington, Elvis Presley, Ronald Reagan, and other legends. Star Wars imagery now graces official US postage stamps. Choose from a sheet of 15 different images or a sheet of 20 Yoda stamps. Both should still be available at your local post office, or order online from the United States Postal Service.

R2-KT action figure: Sales of this action figure, which honors a young Star Wars fan who passed away in 2005, benefit the Make-A-Wish foundation. Click the link to read more about the story behind R2-KT. The limited edition figure is still available from Hasbro's online store.

The Making of Star Wars book by J.W. Rinzler: An in-depth account of the making of George Lucas' 1977 classic, Star Wars. Features many never-before-published interviews conducted prior to the movie's release. This is the definitive look at the movie that started it all, and a must-have for Star Wars fans that enjoy going beyond just watching the film.

How DC Killed Superman Again

posted by Tygrrius @ 10:00 PM

Earlier today, JS posted his review of Superman Doomsday here on The Film Frontier. Though I'm not going to post a formal review, I still want to give some of my random thoughts on the movie that arrived in stores Tuesday.

My comments may contain slight spoilers if you've lived in a cave for the last decade and a half.

As is more often the case than not, my pal JS and I agree on the forest but not the trees. Meaning, we are of the same mind on major concepts but clash over execution and details.

We're both huge fans of Superman, Star Trek, and Star Wars. That's why we have this site, after all. For the most part, however, we are fans of these franchises for totally different reasons. I'd like to think our often opposing perspectives on life and Trek help to strengthen The Film Frontier.

With that being said, my two-cents--which is only worth half that...

· A massive disappointment, Superman Doomsday is surprisingly awful, considering this is supposedly DC's big chance to do things their way when it comes to adapting Superman. Decades of whining about how the various Superman movies and series do not follow the comic book source material closely enough and Superman Doomsday is what DC delivers?

· Though I would've preferred a style more in keeping with the comics (which became a moot point since this is not inspired by the best-selling graphic novel of all time, despite what DC's marketing may have led you to believe), the animation style is okay. However, I agree with JS that Superman's cheekbones are overdone. They make him look old, resulting in an odd contrast with Lois who looks about 17. She makes up for it by sounding about 67, though.

· As with Superman Returns, I still miss the yellow "S" on the back of his cape especially since it is a prominent part of an image used to market this release (said image from the bestselling graphic novel of all time, which inspired the marketing if not the movie itself).

· The movie has little entertainment value. It never made me want to get a big bag of popcorn. It never made me care.

· The fights, though interesting at first, quickly become mundane and repetitive. I never thought it could be so boring to watch super-powered beings pummel each other.

· Some of the more violent moments often feel just thrown in, caked on, with little regard for effect or story. "Oh, it might be cool if we did..." etc. They obviously really wanted that PG-13 rating to get the fanboys going. They even throw some curses in there to make sure.

· So, they won't show Superman bleed. Fine. But then they will show blood spurting from his mouth and onto Lois' face? Sick.

· And Doomsday headed for Metropolis because...?

· Contrast the scene in Superman Doomsday where Superman collapses an entire office building by slamming Doomsday into its roof to give him time to save Lois and Jimmy from the helicopter with the one in Superman Returns where Superman is on his way to save Lois from Luthor's yacht when he realizes that a tidal wave that could kill thousands is heading for Metropolis. In Superman Returns, he races back to Metropolis and has to leave Lois to her own devices. Which is the right depiction of Superman?

· Speaking of the above scene, I didn't really care for the September 11 style building crashes. I think it is a cheap attempt to evoke a certain reaction from viewers. Had this Metropolis (and movie) not been apparently devoid of life, there would've been tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, dead from the battle. They would have had a lot more people than Superman to mourn.

· After awhile, I was just wishing for the whole thing to be over. The 75 minute running time feels like double that. It was like I was being forced to watch WWE and my brain cells were being drained away.

· There is absolutely no dramatic impact to Superman's death in this movie. None.

· Perhaps that was because I never bought into the fact that I was watching Superman. And I don't mean the animation... it just didn't feel like Superman or a Superman movie.

· As I hinted at above, Anne Heche's vocals are awful (Lois). My idealized Lois voice is Teri Hatcher, who also has the advantage of not sounding like Marge Simpson on her deathbed. The rest are just okay, with the slight standout being James Marsters as Luthor. Though the whole "Why did you leave me???" thing is overplayed...but mostly due to the poor writing, I'd imagine. Speaking of bad writing, did they really use the "Who's your daddy?" line?

· The interactions between Superman and Lois were particularly horrible. Also, she's been dating him six months (and not just dinners, either) and still officially knows him only as "Superman"?

· And the point of Jimmy joining the National Voyeur was...?

· At least there is a great preview for I Am Legend starring Will Smith.

· I'm hoping the other bonus features will save this disc. Otherwise, I'm selling or giving it away. I had hoped to put it in my normal viewing rotation of Superman movies, but I'd rather watch Superman IV: The Quest for Peace an extra time. Seriously. At least Superman IV isn't repulsive.

Folks, I always give you my honest opinion and I just can't recommend this one. Superman Doomsday does a disservice to Superman's mythos and fans. Save your money.

Random Thoughts From Another Frontier

posted by Tygrrius @ 7:14 AM

I don't have a lot of time this month, so this will be a short entry. Don't expect any kind of theme, either. Brace yourselves for randomness.

I flew for the first time earlier this week. Not Superman-style, but in an airplane. Awesome experience! I looked out the window the whole time for the three-hour flight. The only downside is that I was in a flying sardine can. I was an idiot and brought a book along to read, thinking that I would actually be able to move a muscle in order to flip the pages.

Oh well, it was still incredible to see the United States at 36,000 feet. Flying amongst the clouds was fun. I must admit, I kept hearing the "Love Theme from Superman" in my head as I watched the beautiful clouds. I'm weird like that.

It was interesting to look down and see the shadows on the ground that were in the exact shape of the clouds. You just can't get a feel for that from the ground.

I haven't watched HBO in years, until stuck here at the hotel. Didn't HBO used to show movies? It's Home Box Office, right? It seems all they show now are crappy "original series." I guess that's part of the de-evolution of cable channels. MTV (Music Television) stopped showing music videos. TNN (The Nashville Network) stopped covering country music (but at least eventually changed its name to reflect that).

Though, actually, HBO does happen to be showing a movie at this very moment: Back to the Future, Part III. I loved the first one. They should've stopped there. Still, it's more interesting than the morning news.

JS will be bringing you any stories that catch his eye. Yesterday, he covered that William Shatner will apparently not be in Star Trek XI, while Leonard Nimoy will appear. If the Nimoy appearance turns out to be true, that raises a couple of interesting points.

For one thing, Nimoy has generally been picky about scripts over the years. He turned down directing and appearing in Star Trek Generations, after all, when Rick Berman refused to listen to his script concerns. Veteran TNG television director David Carson eventually took the helm on that film, while the Spock cameo role was slightly rewritten for Scotty (James Doohan). While Generations was an okay movie, we can only imagine what Nimoy would have done if given control.

More recently, Nimoy has also mentioned that he would only be interested in appearing in Star Trek XI if it was more than a cameo. Does this mean he will have a significant, non-cameo role in the film?

If Nimoy and, hopefully, Shatner can get work out of Star Trek XI, that's great. They both deserve it. From an artistic standpoint, though, I think the characters of Kirk and Spock had the best exits possible in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. While I'm excited to see their early adventures, I think the later years have already been perfectly wrapped up.

Honest, I Don't Live In My Parent's Basement

posted by Tygrrius @ 12:01 AM

A few months ago, I read an interesting interview with Michael Thau, by Dharmesh over at Superman Cinema. One of Dharmesh's comments has been in the back of my mind ever since.

He watches the first Superman movie only once a year. Every December 24 at 3:35 PM, to be exact. The timing is so that he'll be done in time for Christmas Eve dinner around 6 PM. Limiting his viewing of Superman to once a year is to sustain the magic by not completely memorizing the entire movie, he says.

He touches on an issue that all of us franchise fans face, whether we're talking about the Superman, Star Wars, or Star Trek movies. We love watching these movies so much that we, of course, tend to watch them often. Dare I say, far too often?

I probably watch The Wrath of Khan, The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars, Superman, The Voyage Home, The Undiscovered Country, Return of the Jedi, and Superman II three or four times a year each. I just love these movies, so it's hard to resist indulging in them whenever possible.

While they still have their magic, it is true that my experience is never quite as fun as when I do take a bit more time off between viewings. I think it was Harve Bennett who mentioned that if you eat turkey every day, Thanksgiving doesn't seem so special anymore.

With that in mind, I decided to make a year-long schedule for the movies of The Film Frontier's key franchises, to make my watching them feel like events again. By a sheer stroke of genius, I mean, pure coincidence, each movie weekend occurs just before anticipated publication dates of this blog.

That way, if I don't have an idea for Proverbial Galaxies on a given weekend, I can always just write about whichever movie is on the schedule. You see, I not only offer little resistance to temptation, but I am also quite lazy, uh, busy so it's nice to have a fall-back plan.

So, here's my movie-watching schedule. Just in case you want to play along at home.

May 25, 2007
Star Wars (1977) [Unaltered]

June 4, 2007
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) [Director’s]

Weekend of June 22
Superman (1978) [Theatrical]

Weekend of July 6
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Weekend of July 27
Star Wars: Episode V-The Empire Strikes Back (1980) [Unaltered]

Weekend of August 3
Superman II (1981) [Theatrical]
[I'll probably watch this one out of sequence, though, as I've not yet reviewed the Special Edition DVD. Depends on whether or not my procrastination holds out until August.]

Weekend of August 17
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) [Director’s]

Weekend of August 31
Star Wars: Episode VI-Return of the Jedi (1983) [Unaltered]

Weekend of September 14
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Weekend of September 28
Superman III (1983)

Weekend of October 12
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Weekend of October 26
Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace (1999) [Extended]

Weekend of November 9
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Weekend of November 23
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

Weekend of December 7
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

Weekend of December 21
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) [Director’s]

Weekend of January 4, 2008
Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones (2002) [Extended]

Weekend of January 18
Star Trek Generations (1994)

Weekend of February 1
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)

Weekend of February 15
Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003-2005)

Weekend of February 29
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Weekend of March 14
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Weekend of March 28
Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Weekend of April 11
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
[I plan to be "sick" and unable to watch movies this weekend. Otherwise, I might really get sick.]

Weekend of April 25
Superman Returns (2006)

Weekend of May 9
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

I will tell you right now, though, that I don't have the willpower of Dharmesh. The first time a friend or family member wants to watch one of these movies out of schedule, you can bet I'll cave in. Or if a Special Extendo Ultra Director's Cut is released of one of my favorites, yeah, I'm not waiting til the scheduled date to watch it.

On the other hand, this schedule is a bit optimistic in that real life has a way of interfering with such plans. That's one of the reasons I generally chose to schedule by weekend rather than specific date and time.

Though I was tempted to schedule Superman for 3:35 PM on Christmas Eve, just to see what it was like.

Superman Returns II: The Wrath Of Zod?

posted by Tygrrius @ 6:16 AM

Last time, on yet another exciting entry of Proverbial Galaxies, I began tossing around thoughts and concepts for The Man of Steel, the 2009 sequel to Superman Returns. All of this is pure fan speculation. And now, the conclusion. . . .

Besides updating the Superman suit a bit, the most controversial aspect of Superman Returns was the introduction of Jason White, the five-year-old son of Lois Lane and Superman. For those just looking for a mindless action flick, he was nothing more than another Jar Jar Binks or young Anakin Skywalker.

For me, Jay-El was far from the ruination of the movie. In some ways, he may have been its most important element. Bryan Singer's instincts were right, for the character adds a whole new dimension to Clark and the overall mythology.

Though Clark may have temporarily lost his romantic connection to Lois, the two are now irrevocably attached through their son. Not only does Jay-El bind Clark to Lois but he also binds him to Earth, even stronger than his ties to Martha Kent or Lois. His human son makes him one of us.

Of course, Jay-El also presents Clark with a new vulnerability - in many ways, even greater than that of Kryptonite. Luthor had obviously surmised Jay-El's heritage by the end of the movie. He evacuated that yacht very quickly after learning of Jay-El's handiwork, after all.

Since only one Superman movie has not involved Luthor (he's kind of like Star Trek's Klingons in that regard), he will likely return for revenge in The Man of Steel. On the surface, the kid seems like a much easier target and Luthor may try to use him to manipulate and control Superman.

Though this is not spelled out anywhere as far as I've seen, there is some evidence in Superman Returns that Kryptonite affects the half-human Jay-El a bit differently than his father. My interpretation is that exposure to the rock actually revved up Jay-El's latent superpowers for a bit, rather than weakening him. This could prove to make things a bit tricky for Lex if he thinks he can contain Jay-El with Kryptonite.

However, the movie in general should downplay Jay-El's powers. As much as I like the concept of the character, it could easily be overdone into "Superman . . . and Son!" We saw a bit of his powers in Superman Returns and I'm sure they'll pop up somewhere in The Man of Steel, though hopefully not as a convenient plot cheat.

But let's not have him flying around, or even leaping through cornfields just yet. There'd be a huge mistake in going overboard to make him a Superboy type character. Keep most of those powers dormant and not accessible at will. And don't grow him up too quickly by rapid-aging him into a teenager, as Hollywood is prone to do. He should be about eight-years-old next time, if I do my math correctly.

Jay-El seems to already have the whole Clark is Superman thing figured out, not to mention some sort of psychic bond with his father. In the subplot, I'd like to see those areas explored a bit more.

Jay-El is a great character that should not be ignored. Nor, however, should he be over-emphasized. The trick will be finding the right middle ground. I have confidence that Singer will pull this off, much like he did in Superman Returns.

But what of the movie's villains? I've already mentioned that I'm sure Lex will be in it, but obviously it's also time for Clark to take on a superpowered villain this time out. I'm hardly the first fan to call for this. Bryan Singer has hinted at it. Even Brandon Routh is hoping for it.

But who should this supervillain be? Let's take a look at a rogue's gallery of potential adversaries.

General Zod

It is tempting to bring back a popular villain like Zod, the leader of the Phantom Zone criminals from Superman and Superman II. However, giving in to this temptation would be a huge mistake.

Some criticized Superman Returns for being little more than a remake of 1978's Superman. Structurally, there may be some merit to a comparison of the two movies but overall I disagree. Using the villains of Superman II in the Superman Returns sequel would serve only to add massive amounts of fuel to that fire, though.

As I said last time, The Man of Steel needs to firmly establish its own identity away from the Reeve/Donner/Salkind movies this time out. Resurrecting Zod would destroy any such chance of that.

Instead, bring in a supervillain who has never graced movie screens before. There are many contenders, any number of whom could be effective.

Doomsday

Unfortunately, I have to eliminate Doomsday. To do justice to the original comic book story, Clark would have to die. We just went through all this business in the last movie of getting him back, so let's leave Doomsday out for now. If the Doomsday story is ever presented in a live-action form, it should be a trilogy of movies -- which would be a tough sell. A variation of the Superman vs. Doomsday tale will appear in an animated, direct-to-DVD movie later this year.

Mxy and Bizarro

I'm also going to dismiss Mxyzptlk and Bizarro. While they may work in the comics and animated versions, neither character would play very well to modern movie audiences. The only way these characters could work would be in brief cameos, but certainly not as the key villains.

Darkseid

Thus far, the Superman movies have essentially existed as their own island. One doesn't get the impression that the rest of the DC Universe is out there. While Darkseid is potentially a fantastic choice of supervillain, I'm not sure he would work as well within the otherwise normal context of these films. Perhaps save him as the key adversary of the Justice League movie, as long as Clark gets a key role in the film as well.

Metallo

A supervillain whose time has come for the Superman movies, Metallo would offer room to show off modern effects and present a formidable opponent for Clark. No matter the villain, what The Man of Steel needs is a massive battle to make Superman II look like an opening act. For that, Metallo may be the perfect foe. Just as long as he's not played by Scott Valentine.

Brainiac

Brainiac has taken on many forms over the years, which would allow Singer plenty of creative room - especially given modern effects technologies. This would also allow for at least two super battles, an earlier one in which Superman appears to win before Brainiac reinvents himself to wreak further havoc in an altered and even deadlier form.

Of course, I've only scratched the surface of Superman villainy here. These are the marquee villains, but other worthy candiates could include Mongul, Imperiex, or even Parasite. This time out, given the scope of the Superman movie universe to this point, Brainiac or Metallo are the way to go.

* * *

Have you voted for your favorite Star Wars stamp yet? An e-mail address can vote once every 24 hours, so I imagine a lot of my fellow fans out there have already voted dozens of times each by now.

Me, I simply picked one stamp and voted once on the first day. In a sense, this vote is not that important. All of the stamps will be available for purchase together, no matter which one wins the vote to earn a solo sheet.

The winner will likely boil down to Darth Vader, Yoda, or Boba Fett. After much consideration, I didn't vote for any of those stamp images, though.

For me, the most important aspect of the stamp release is to honor the 1977 film. Yoda and Boba didn't appear in the original movie, of course, and the Vader stamp image appears to be from The Empire Strikes Back.

Wanting to stick with the first Star Wars movie, this cut my choices from 15 to 8 (the Falcon, Luke, Leia and Artoo, Threepio, Obi-Wan, Chewie and Han, the X-Wing, and the Imperial Stormtroopers).

Star Wars contributed immensely to movies, but its most groundbreaking feat was the unbelievable special effects. Wanting to honor the people who worked on those original designs and effects, my choices were quickly narrowed down to the Falcon and the X-Wing.

A tough decision, to be sure. I've grown to love the Falcon almost as much as I love the Enterprise-A. The best Falcon scenes are in The Empire Strikes Back, though. It is the X-Wing that shines in Star Wars, so that's the one that earned my one and only vote. It has no chance of winning, but c'est la vie.

It is still hard to believe that Queen Amidala and Darth Maul will have US postage stamps. Or that a marketing image from a 2005 movie will appear on a stamp just two years later.

What's missing from the big Star Wars anniversary celebration? Find out in two weeks by returning for another high-impact entry of Proverbial Galaxies, brought to you by the number 30.

Bryan Singer For A Day

posted by Tygrrius @ 6:12 AM

We're still a couple of years off from the release of The Man of Steel, the sequel to 2006's Superman Returns. Obviously, nothing's definite yet on this film. Even the title is tentative. For most of its production, after all, Superman Returns was titled Red Sun.

Anything and everything is still subject to change. Which means this is the most creative time for the movie, when potential is still limitless. Before the rumors start flying in full force, I want to toss around some of my own concepts and thoughts on the next Superman movie. Think of it as my Superman movie wish list.

I'm pretty sure producer and director Bryan Singer doesn't read The Film Frontier. That's not his fault. After all, we don't advertise a lot. Or at all. After Superman Returns, I'm confident he's going to make a fantastic sequel. So, he doesn't need to read this anyway. As for the rest of you, you're stuck here. Just remember that all ideas and concepts presented in this article are pure fan speculation.

It's time for Clark to grow up. We saw a bit of this near the end of Superman Returns, such as when he was talking with his son, Jason (Jay-El). The Kryptonian crystals are gone (presumably in orbit on New Krypton), so Clark is left to his own devices now.

And that's how it should be for the movie, too. Like Clark and the crystals, the Superman movies must now put Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve behind them. Superman Returns was an incredible tribute to both of them. But it's time for this version of the Superman myth to fully establish its own identity.

One step towards distinguishing this film from previous entries is overhauling the Fortress of Solitude. The Fortress of the movies, to this point, has essentially existed only to house the crystals -- providing a means for Clark to "communicate" with his long-dead Kryptonian parents. Now that the crystals are gone, it's a perfect time for Clark to do some redecorating.

In the comic books, the Fortress (though it now, too, includes crystal interaction with a bearded man who looks nothing like any previous rendering of Jor-El but, apparently, is, in fact, him) seems to be more of a museum than anything else.

In future movies, I'd rather see it as a highly advanced base of operations. A Superman command center, if you will. Let's see a mixture of Earth and Kryptonian technologies, as it only makes sense that Clark would draw from both. Since Luthor knows the location (he's been there at least three times now), it may be time to move the Fortress or otherwise hide its continued existence.

Brandon Routh did a great job in Superman Returns of finding his own middle ground between the bumbling Clark Kent disguise established by Christopher Reeve and the sophisticated Clark Kent as portrayed by Dean Cain.

One of Singer's nice touches was that he made Lois Lane nearly oblivious to Clark. Five years is a long time, and whatever professional relationship they once established was obviously gone by the time Clark returned. He has a lot of work to do.

For The Man of Steel, I'd like to see the beginnings of a return to that professional relationship. I'd also like to see a bit of the competitiveness that has traditionally existed between the characters in the comic books and various other incarnations.

In Superman Returns, Singer makes it obvious that Clark (in Metropolis, anyway) is the disguise, while "Superman" (including Clark in Smallville) is the true identity. And that's fine but in emphasizing that point, a lot of the journalistic aspects of Clark are lost. I'd like to see a bit more of the Daily Planet/reporter stuff this time around. Perhaps that's the Lois & Clark fan in me talking, though.

As for a personal relationship with Lois, Clark obviously has a lot of work to do there, too. The question is, does he want to? While he obviously still loves Lois, there is no good way for him to interrupt her relationship with the seemingly perfect Richard White. For the time being, Clark may be stuck on the outside looking in.

I don't think this aspect will or should be resolved in this movie, though. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Lois either marries Richard in the course of the movie or is already married to him by the time the film begins. Clark and Lois belong together, but it's going to take awhile to get there -- Superman Returns III at the earliest.

How will Singer eventually get Richard out of the way? I'm betting he'll die a heroic death, possibly near the end of The Man of Steel. This won't immediately open the door for Clark, of course, and in fact could add another layer of complexity to re-establishing the relationship.

Another possible out for the Richard character is to turn him into a villain. We've already seen the beginnings of his jealousy towards Superman, just a nudge or two more could reveal the uglier side of the "perfect" Richard. This would almost be too convenient of an out, though.

Let's not forget that Clark, too, revealed a great deal of jealousy in Superman Returns. Turning nice-guy Richard into a villain may be too cynical for a Superman movie, and make things way too easy for Clark.

Should Jay-El go the way of Jar Jar? Who should be The Man of Steel's "Khan"? Find out in two weeks by reading the exciting conclusion of "Bryan Singer For A Day." Same Bat-time, same Bat-place!

The All-New Challenge Of The Saturday Morning Cartoons

posted by Tygrrius @ 11:52 PM

Saturday mornings were some of the best times to be a kid. No school. No rush. And, most importantly, plenty of time for watching cartoons before starting the rest of the day.

Each Fall, a special about the new Saturday morning shows would air on a weeknight in prime time. Would last season's incarnation of Scooby-Doo be renewed? What arcade games would become cartoons this year? Would the Wonder Twins finally be replaced? These were the kinds of questions we worried about back then.

Though I enjoyed many Saturday morning shows, certain ones stand out amongst the others when I think back on those days. I've limited this Top Five list to Saturday morning cartoons that produced new episodes between 1977 and 1986, my main cartoon watching years. Well, okay, yeah, I still watch cartoons. But I watched them even more back then. Really.

#5: Pac-Man
I enjoyed this cartoon series almost as much as the video game itself. Unfortunately, the TV show is not one that really holds up over time. I still tend to visualize Pac-Man in this animated style, though. The game still holds up, at least. It is just as fun and frustrating as ever!

#4: Dungeons & Dragons
I was too young for this role-playing game at the peak of its popularity, but I do remember all of the fuss about it from certain adults at the time. The game was accused of being Satanic, and causing young people to separate from reality. This, of course, made for a great cartoon! I doubt it was very much like the game, but I definitely enjoyed the show.

#3: Smurfs
I seem to remember first becoming aware of the Smurfs through the tiny toys long before running across the cartoon. I know people make fun of it now, but I always loved this show. I even collected trading cards and other items from it, including a "Smurf Ahoy" game. A CGI movie version of Smurfs is apparently in the works.

#2: Jim Henson's Muppet Babies
Yes, the popularity of Muppet Babies led to such travesties as The Flintstone Kids, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, and Tom & Jerry Kids. But Muppet Babies itself was a great show, most noteworthy for its hilarious parodies of various movies, usually those of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. My favorite episode, of course, was one in which Kermit, Gonzo, Piggy, and the others make their own home video version of Star Wars.

#1: Super Friends
This one went by many titles over the years, but we always called it Super Friends. Featuring Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, and Aqua Man, this was by far my favorite cartoon. Despite its annoying aspects (Zan, Jayna, and Gleek), Super Friends embodied the best traits of the Justice League, the world's superheroes working together for the common good.

Honorable mentions
Other favorites included, in no particular order, Dragon's Lair, The All-New Popeye Hour, Pole Position, The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse, and Ewoks.

Yes, you read that right, I liked Ewoks. Much better than the Droids cartoon, anyway. And I didn't mind the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi, either.

The places where they wore thin on even me were The Ewok Adventure: Caravan of Courage and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, those really bad, live-action TV movies. And even in those movies, the Ewoks gave the most convincing acting performances.

Though not always a cartoon, I also must mention the ABC Weekend Specials series, hosted by Captain O.G. Readmore. One of my favorite episodes was "Homer and the Wacky Doughnut Machine," in which a boy soups up a doughnut machine at a diner and it won't stop making doughnuts. And a rich lady's diamond bracelet gets lost in one of them, which results in a contest to find it. Well, anyway, it was pretty good at the time. But I do, after all, like Ewoks. And Smurfs.

ABC Weekend Specials also featured Miss Switch the Witch, another favorite. Sure, lots of students may have suspected their teachers were witches, but Miss Switch really was one. Fortunately, she was a good witch--more like Glenda or Samantha Stevens than the Wicked Witch of the West.

Another favorite was "The Seven Wishes of Joanna Peabody" in which a girl from a poor family is granted seven wishes by a genie of sorts who lives inside her television. Of course, wishes never turn out quite like you expect. This was followed by a sequel, "The Seven Wishes of a Rich Kid," which was pretty much the same story except about a boy from a wealthy family. Not sure if that second one actually turned up on ABC Weekend Specials, but I remember seeing it somewhere along the line.

Yet another great ABC Weekend Special was The Mouse and The Motorcycle, the classic Beverly Cleary novel about Ralph S. Mouse. I could do a whole column on Cleary's books.

Okay, so maybe ABC Weekend Specials deservers more than just an honorable mention here. I'm going to bump it up to Grand Champion of Saturday Morning. Sorry, Super Friends.

The Real Best Picture

posted by Tygrrius @ 6:19 PM

Though I am not succumbing to the lazy side of the Force like JS, I’ll use an excuse from another pointy-eared Jedi, “Sick have I become. Old and weak,” to explain today’s delayed and shortened Proverbial Galaxies entry.

I’ve been a bit under the weather lately, which means I’ve neglected the site. Now that I'm mostly recovered, I’ll be catching up on news from the last two weeks over the next several days. And hopefully be throwing a couple of reviews in there as well.

One of those forthcoming news stories will definitely be the Oscar nomination of Superman Returns yesterday for Visual Effects. It’s up against Poseidon and that pirate movie.

I’m sure the odds are on the pirates (“Never tell me the odds!”) but I’m hoping the water/boat movie vote will be split and result in Superman finally taking one from the pirate.

Sadly, though not unexpectedly, that was the only category for which Supes got nominated. Hey, I’m just glad the film got that at least.

Still, were there any Justice in the Oscars, we would be hearing these words next month:

“And the Oscar for Best Director goes to Bryan Singer, Superman Returns.”

Wishful thinking? Or maybe a lingering touch of delirium?

The Film Frontier Holiday Gift Guide

posted by Tygrrius @ 10:52 PM

You know, I had a streak going for a few years where I had all of my Christmas shopping complete before Halloween. Those days are long gone, though. In the last three or four years, I've joined the rest of mankind in shopping between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.

While I do approximately half of my Christmas shopping online now, I still like to make an effort every year to get out there with the masses and visit actual stores in person for the rest of it. As to why I like to do this, I have no idea. Once I get to those stores, I often begin to question my own sanity.

Today, I made a vain effort to finish my shopping. I braved the horrible traffic, got run over a couple of times by the same lady in a card store (she was eighty, so I couldn't really do much but give way), but somehow survived. Other than picking up a box of milk bones for JS (who hopefully isn't reading this), I managed to accomplish very little in the process, though.

As I returned home, defeated, I at least came up with a topic for today's Proverbial Galaxies: a holiday gift-giving guide for the film frontier fans in your life.

And by "film frontier fans" I don't really mean a fan of this site, as that would not prove to be a very useful guide since we have no fans. I'm instead referring to people who are fans of Star Trek, Superman, and Star Wars, which are our key topics and do have fans. Lots of them.

I'll also have a gift of sorts for our readers (both of you). Something unprecedented in the nine-year history of The Film Frontier, something no other science fiction site is bold enough to do: the first-ever, never-before-seen, Film Frontier holiday recipe! (Now, I really hope JS isn't reading this--mostly because I don't want him to quit the site out of sheer embarassment.)

Gifts for Star Trek fans

Star Trek: Captain's Glory by William Shatner and Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens: In a time when most Star Trek novels seem to have hit the same wall of mediocrity that toppled the Rick Berman era, a Shatner/Reeves-Stevens book is most welcome. This is the ninth novel in the trio's adventures of James Kirk.

USS Enterprise NCC-1701 Hallmark ornament (2006): Celebrate Star Trek's 40th anniversary in style with a finely detailed reproduction of Captain Kirk's original USS Enterprise. Comes with a great display base, no need to actually hang this on your tree and risk damage. Pressing a button on the base lights up the ship and, unfortunately, plays a pretty bad version of the theme song. Still, a fantastic-looking ship!

Star Trek: The Complete Animated Series 4-DVD set: All 22 episodes of the 1972-1973 Saturday morning cartoon series. Notable for being the last Star Trek production to make it to DVD and unofficially filling in the final two years of Kirk's first five-year mission.

Gifts for Superman fans

Superman: Up, Up & Away! graphic novel: One of the best-written Superman stories ever. Even better than the Superman Returns movie, which I loved!

Superman Returns: Special Edition DVD: Bryan Singer's take on the superhero brought the Man of Steel into the 21st century in a big way, without forgetting his roots. Terrific movie, a real-must have for any Superman fan. Be sure to get the 2-disc special edition, in order to see the excellent 3-hour Requiem for Krypton: Making Superman Returns documentary and deleted scenes.

Superman: The Ultimate Collector's Edition 14-DVD set: Why stop at Superman Returns when you can get bonus-feature-packed versions of all of the Superman movies? Plus, it is much cheaper to buy them this way than individually.

Gifts for Star Wars fans

Sculpting a Galaxy: Inside the Star Wars Model Shop by Lorne Peterson: In the tradition of Industrial Light & Magic: The Art of Special Effects, except focused totally on Star Wars, this book is full of wonderful pictures.

Star Wars: Unaltered DVD: Every Star Wars fan should own the 1977 version of the first movie of George Lucas' saga. Back when it was just Star Wars. None of this Episode blah blah blah stuff. A real nostalgic treat. Also includes the 2004 version, with enhanced visual effects and additional scenes.

The Star Wars Poster Book by Stephen J. Sansweet and Peter Vilmur: This 2005 coffee table book contains many full-page pictures of some of the beautiful (The Empire Strikes Back Style "A" by Roger Kastel) and not so beautiful (just about anything by Drew Struzan) Star Wars posters from the saga's first 28 years. I'm hoping for a Volume 2 in 2007. There are still many more posters to go! ***And now, as promised, my gift to you. Incidentally, if you do not celebrate Christmas, please feel free to substitute your favorite day of winter, holiday or otherwise, in the recipe name. The rest of the recipe should still work the same and be just as tasty.

The Film Frontier's Merry Christmas Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks butter
¾ cup sugar
1¼ cups brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups Hershey's milk chocolate chips
¾ cup Reese's peanut butter chips

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs in large bowl until creamy. Slowly beat in flour mixture. Stir in both varieties of chips.

Roll teaspoons of dough into ¾-inch balls and place on baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown. Yields about 72 cookies. Serve warm with a tall glass of cold milk, while watching your favorite movie. And try not to eat them all. Unless it's Christmas Eve and your name is Santa. In which case, feel free to eat them all. You've earned them, buddy.

Superman's Top Cinematic Moments

posted by Tygrrius @ 9:21 PM

Richard Donner’s run on DC’s Action Comics Superman title begins next month, so I thought this would be a great time to look back at the ten best Superman moments.

Since Superman has such a huge tapestry of history from which to choose, I’m limiting this list to the five modern Superman movies—beginning with Donner’s Superman from 1978.

Though most people who care have probably already seen the movie by now, I'd be remiss if I didn't give a spoiler warning here since information from Superman Returns appears in this list.

#10 Reversing the magic kiss
Film: Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

No, you didn't read that wrong. I'm actually including a scene from Superman IV as a top ten Superman moment. Though Superman IV was certainly the worst of the movies, far too many people simply toss out the whole thing as being a complete waste of time.

I specialize in finding the good in disappointing franchise installments. I’m also a Star Trek fan, after all. And even Superman IV had its moments.

Faced with a tough decision on just how far to directly interfere with human affairs, Clark reveals his true identity to Lois once again. “You’re the only one I can talk to, Lois,” he tells her.

All of her hidden memories from Superman II come flooding back. Though the moment is fleeting, Superman/Kal-El is able to be his one, true self with Lois.

“‘Never love one of them above the rest. Love all humanity instead.’ That’s not fair,” he tells her sadly before kissing away her memories once again.

#9 The people rise up
Film: Superman II (1980)

After battling Zod, Ursa, and Non throughout Metropolis, Superman appears to have been soundly defeated. A crowd on the street gathers. “Superman is dead,” one of them says in disbelief. “They killed Superman,” says another.

“Let’s go get them.”

With that, the people Superman has sworn to protect band together to face down the three supervillains who have apparently killed their hero.

Super breath mixed with director Richard Lester’s slapstick humor puts an end to the moment quickly, however. Perhaps the Donner version coming in November will offer a better take on this moment.

#8 Clark (almost) tells all
Film: Superman (1978)

Just after the “Can you read my mind” flight with Lois, Superman changes to his Clark disguise and arrives at her apartment for their date. As Lois gets ready, Clark seems to make a decision.

He takes off his glasses, straightens his posture, smiles—almost relieved—and says, in his serious, Superman voice, “Lois, there’s something I have to tell you. I’m really—” but as she re-enters the room, he loses his confidence and trails back into Clarkspeak, quickly putting the glasses back on: “—I mean, I was, at first, really nervous about tonight, uh, but then I decided that, well, darn it, I was going to show you the time of your life.”

Still mesmerized by her flight with Superman, Lois replies, “That’s clark, Nice.”

Reeve does an incredible job throughout the movie, but this simple little scene is perhaps his best acting performance. The transformations in his inflection, posture, and demeanor between the Superman and Clark personas are brilliant here and make the disguise much more believable than it is with other actors.

#7 Lois saves Superman
Film: Superman Returns (2006)

How many times have we seen Superman save Lois Lane over the years?

She notoriosuly manages to find her way into trouble, time after time. In Superman Returns, she gets to turn the tables in one scene and save him for a change. I'm sure this isn't a true Superman first, but certainly the first time for the movies.

Being a hero when you have nearly unlimited superpowers at your disposal is one thing, but risking your life to save another when you're just an average human being is quite another.

However their relationship ultimately works out, it is quite obvious that Lois still has a love for Superman in her heart.

#6 Superman gives everything up
Film: Superman II (1980)

Faced with the ultimate choice of love versus superpowers, Superman chooses love and gives up all of his powers in order to be with Lois. “Mother, I love her,” is his simple yet poignant explanation to a concerned hologram of his Kryptonian mother.

Apparently, “super style” is one of his lost powers, too, for he is transformed into an ordinary man in regular clothes with a dorky haircut. Even Lois seems momentarily taken aback.

Whether or not it violates “Superman ethics,” the pair wind up in bed and Jason (or, as I prefer to call him, Jay-El) is presumably conceived—though he won’t make his first appearance until Superman Returns. We’ll save Superman movie timeline fun for a future installment.

Unfortunately for Superman and Lois, it turns out that he gave up his powers at the worst possible time. But how were they to know that General Zod, at that very moment, was taking control of the Earth?

#5 Clark defeats Superman
Film: Superman III (1983)

Though not a stellar entry, Superman III also had some redeeming moments. The best of these was “The Enemy Within” style battle between Superman’s dual personalities.

Amplified by a kryptonite variant, Superman’s darker personality traits have taken over. (Interestingly, the “evil” Superman suit worn by Christopher Reeve for these scenes greatly resembles the muted colors of Brandon Routh’s Superman suit from this year’s installment.)

Unable to be held below the surface for long, Superman’s “good” personality traits take on the physical form of a strengthened version of Clark Kent.

The junkyard battle that ensues could well have saved the movie had it been expanded into the film’s climax.

#4 Superman kneels before Zod
Film: Superman II (1980)

Betrayed by Lex Luthor and facing the prospect of Lois being killed by Ursa, Superman once again steps into the molecule chamber to give up his powers.

(Observant audience members [hey, I was only six at the time so this one probably slipped past me] no doubt noted that Superman retained his super style this time: the classic Superman suit and hairdo remained in place, rather than converting to dork style.)

Defeated, Superman returns from the chamber and kneels before Zod. Almost unable to contain his glee, Zod commands, “Take my hand and swear eternal loyalty to Zod.”

Superman takes his hand. Zod’s victory over Earth is now complete.

Complete, that is, until there is the not unpleasant sound of Zod’s bones crushing as Superman reveals that it is actually the villains who have lost their superpowers. Incredible moment.

The Superman ethics of what happens next will also be saved for some future column.

#3 Superman's rage
Film: Superman (1978)

This movie makes it quite clear that Clark fell for Lois the moment he met her. As he sits down at his typewriter on his first day at the Daily Planet, he can’t seem to keep his eyes off of her while she pays attention to everything except him.

Clark/Superman’s love for her builds throughout the film. As Luthor’s scheme unfolds in the finale, however, Superman is unable to stop both nuclear missiles in time. The earthquake which ensues traps Lois.

Superman arrives too late to save Lois and she dies. Superman, the greatest superhero ever, has failed. And for Superman, the failure is absolute.

For he has lost Lois.

In his eyes, the rage builds. There is a silence. A moment of peace. Until Superman lets out a gut-wrenching roar and tears off into the heavens. He had been powerless to save his adoptive father, but he was not going to let that happen to Lois.

Was reversing the Earth’s rotation to turn back time and allow Superman to save Lois a Hollywood cheat? Maybe. But the film makes it work.

Though the sheer strength required to pull off such a feat would seemingly make any future battles quite pointless, the scene is more about Superman’s humanity than it is his superpowers. Torn between differing paths offered by both of his fathers, Superman chooses the path of his Earth father. Though not born of Earth, Superman proves he is as human as any of us.

#2 The return of Superman
Film: Superman Returns (2006)

Since nineteen years had passed since his last appearance on the big screen, Superman’s return to Metropolis . . . and theaters . . . had to be big. Could director Bryan Singer and star Brandon Routh pull off the impossible and make us believe again?

As a private space plane plummets out of control back to Earth with Lois aboard (of course), Clark chooses to resume his Superman identity and save her.

While appropriately reverential to the earlier movies, Superman Returns shows off what can be done with today’s effects in this spectacular sequence, wowing 2006 audiences in much the same way that 1978 audiences were wowed with the best Superman scene ever. . . .

#1 Superman begins
Film: Superman (1978)

The first Superman movie has an epic scope. It is well over an hour into the film before Superman makes his first appearance in Metropolis. But this is one of those rare movies where the payoff is actually worth it.

Clark exits the Planet building and notices a commotion on the street. A helicopter accident has left Lois dangling from the top of the building and her purse plummets to the ground.

Realizing that he must now take very public action for the first time, Clark looks for a discrete place to change. He glances at a phone stall (a nod to the classic phone booth changes of previous Superman incarnations) and makes his way to a revolving glass door.

The John Williams music begins to kick in as Clark rips open his shirt in classic form to reveal the S. The audience cheers and Superman arrives just in time to save Lois as she falls.

“Easy, Miss, I’ve got you,” he tells her.

“You’ve got me. Who’s got you?” she asks, incredulous.

The helicopter falls over the edge, too, straight for them. Lois screams, but Superman is unconcerned, easily grabbing the helicopter with a free hand and landing them both safely on the roof with the Williams theme in full force. At that moment, the movie has us.

* * *

There you have it, Superman’s ten best cinematic moments ever.

At least as of today.

Return of the Frontier

posted by Tygrrius @ 12:07 AM

Welcome to the first edition of Proverbial Galaxies, which will be an ongoing column of the Film Frontier. Proverbial Galaxies will feature my opinions and random thoughts on just about anything, but usually related to science fiction & fantasy adventures.

This raises a couple of questions. For starters, who am I? And why should you care about my opinions?

Who I Am

I'm just a fan of entertaining movies, probably not unlike you since you've found your way here. I'm in my early 30's (when did that happen?), which means I grew up in the late 70's and the 80's.

And as any American male from that time can tell you, this meant Star Wars was everywhere. Like everyone else, I played with the action figures, read the storybooks, listened to the records, and begged and pleaded to see the movies whenever they came out.

I was only two-years old, but I remember asking for the 1977 Star Wars action figure set for Christmas that year. That is, until my brother told me that it would just be an empty box. Not seeing the value of an empty box, I chose something else over what would eventually become one of the most sought-after Star Wars collectibles. I finally got my first Star Wars figures about three years later, for The Empire Strikes Back.

I also recall watching the 1978 Star Wars Christmas TV special. In fact, this special was the first Star Wars production I ever saw. Though I was "action figure-aware," I had not yet seen the actual movie. Since I was probably close to the target age-range of the special, I suppose it must've made a good impression in that I am still a Star Wars fan nearly thirty years later.

The first movie I ever saw at the theater was a re-release of The Jungle Book, but the second was Superman. By this time, I was already familiar with Superman from cartoons and reruns of The Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves.

I remember not being able to see a whole lot because the people sitting in front of me were much taller than I was. Who am I kidding, pretty much everyone in the world was much taller than I was back then. Thinking back on Superman is a reminder of how frustrating it could be to see movies in the theater as a little kid. Luckily for me, my brother held me up a few times so that I could see over their heads. One of those times was during Jor-El and Lara's scene on Krypton, which is actually my most vivid memory of seeing the movie that afternoon. After seeing Christopher Reeve's Superman, he became my favorite super hero.

While Superman and, eventually, Star Wars dominated my early movie-going experiences, one of the highlights of TV when I was young was watching reruns of Star Trek. As far as the Trek movies went, though, I actually missed seeing the first two in the theater. Didn't my family realize they were depriving me of research and anecdotes for my future website?

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock was the first Trek movie I saw in the theater. In addition to the larger scale of the story compared to the episodes, I was awed by how incredible the Enterprise looked. By that time, I had managed to see at least Star Trek: The Motion Picture on TV and most likely Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan as well. There was no comparison between seeing the refit Enterprise on a small TV screen versus a gigantic movie screen.

However, it was the debut of the Enterprise-A in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home a couple of years later that solidified my status as a huge fan of the Star Trek movies.

For each of these movies, I read all the material I could get my hands on. Initially, I accomplished this through borrowing books and magazines from the library. Later, I slowly grew a collection of my own. No single volume told the whole story of each movie's production, but I realized that bits and pieces from each one could be woven together to form a more complete tapestry.

The First Frontier

In 1997, I opened the first version of this website, which was then called "Star Trek: The Film Frontier." I spent that entire summer compiling information and quotes from dozens of sources and assembling them together for each of the first eight Trek movies.

Though this site now looks completely different than it did back then, many of those same Production Notes are still in use. You may even run into them on other sites as well, but they were here first.

A New Frontier

After a hiatus, I decided to bring the site back earlier this year. This new version is a bit different from previous incarnations. Rather than focus exclusively on Star Trek, I am expanding it to include Superman and Star Wars—those other classics of my childhood. To reflect the change, the site is now known simply as "The Film Frontier."

Putting Superman aside, how can Star Trek and Star Wars coexist on the same fan site? Don't Star Trek fans hate Star Wars, and vice-versa?

Through this site and this column, I'll show that it doesn't have to be that way. Why limit yourself to only one universe when there's plenty of fun to be had in each of them?

While news coverage has begun for all three topics, only the Star Trek movie section is currently online. You can expect the beginnings of the Star Wars and Superman movie sections to arrive later this year.

Questions and Answers

What a year of news it has already been for Superman, Star Wars, and Star Trek.

For Superman, the biggest question of the year has already been answered: Will Superman Returns be any good?

We are only weeks away from answering the Star Wars question of the year as well: Will the Star Wars: Unaltered DVDs be worth buying? Elsewhere, you've probably read vehement complaints about them having poor picture quality and being non-anamorphic. As far as I'm concerned, though, the jury is still out until the DVDs arrive.

As we approach the 40th anniversary of the debut of Star Trek, 2006 is turning out to be a very important year for a movie series many thought dead. With Paramount's announcement that J.J. Abrams is writing and producing the next movie, the biggest Trek question is: What kind of movie will Abrams make? As tightlipped as he and others on the project are being, that may very well be the Trek question for next year as well. I have a feeling Abrams will make some kind of announcement by the end of this year, though.

This is an exciting time to be a fan of these franchises. I'm looking forward to covering these and many other stories for you in the months and years to come.

So, there you have it. That's who I am, or part of me anyway.

But wait, I still haven't told you why you should care about my opinion on anything.

Why You Should Care

In the end, I'm just one voice among many competing for your attention. The blessing and the curse of the web are that it's full of opinions. Anyone with access to a computer can pound some keys to form words and publish them within seconds. The sometimes hateful rantings of "fans" on many Star Trek and Star Wars sites seemingly rival some of the most heated political rhetoric.

With the Film Frontier, my goal is to always keep everything within a certain perspective, that perspective being that I have a genuine affection for these movies. Even the "bad" ones. That's not to say I'll sugarcoat reality or avoid being critical. I'll continue to call them as I see them, but you won't see "George Lucas ruined my childhood!" or similar muck here. My childhood memories are safe and secure.

I hope that you'll find something of value here. Maybe you'll be reminded of yourself, or you'll see new ways to look at seemingly old things. Perhaps something on this site will make you think. But don't think too hard. These are just kids movies, after all. And the whole point of these movies and, ultimately, this site, is to have fun.

Thanks for joining me in my little hobby. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.