Ty Watches "Superman"

Last Monday I wrote about the alt right griping about the new "Superman" movie. I also stated how much I wanted to see the movie, even more so after all the complaining. Yesterday me and my family all went out to see it, and I really, really enjoyed my theater going experience.

I was going to like this movie from the get go. I wanted to see it, my son really wanted to see it and after seeing the "backlash", that made me more excited to see it. The movie is fun from start to finish. There isn't really a dull moment throughout. The battle scenes are fun, the villain is chewing scenery and the story is a fun and easy one to follow.

I really enjoyed the guy who played Superman. His name is David Corenswet. I didn't know much about him prior to this movie. I saw he was in "Pearl" and "Twisters", among other things. He was dynamite as Superman/Clark Kent. He had the look down pat. There were moments in the movie when he, to me, looked exactly like Christopher Reeves. It was uncanny to me. He played Superman great. He was sweet, he wanted what was best for the world. He fought injustice and he had some funny things to say throughout the movie.

Rachel Brosnahan was very good as an updated Lois Lane. I like how she questioned things and when she would get into crazy situations, like pocket universes, she acted like what was happening was nuts, because it was certifiably insane what she was seeing. I appreciate that from an actor.

I mentioned scenery chewing earlier, and Nicholas Hoult did just that as Lex Luthor, and he was awesome. He was so bad, with zero redeeming qualities, and that is exactly what I want from my villains. He was bad through and through.

My personal favorite part of the movie was the Justice Gang. Green Lantern, Hawk Girl and Mr Terrific made up the Justice Gang. Two thirds of the group did not like this name by the way. Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner/Green Lantern was my favorite thing in the whole movie. He was gruff and mean and stupid and fun as hell. He seemed to be having a great time playing this character and that really came off watching him onscreen. Isabela Merced was Hawk Girl, and while she didn't have a whole lot to do in the movie, she owned the screen time she got. She was also pretty funny with her quips. And Edi Gathegi was dynamite as Mr Terrific. He was funny, the smartest one in the Justice Gang and had the most memorable performance of any of the side characters. I am stoked for him that he is getting to do more of this super cool, and new to me superhero. I really like what he did with this performance.

As for the story, and why I guess some alt right idiots are mad, it is all about big tech and how they are ruining our world. Luthor is out for nothing but clout and fame and fortune and will stop at nothing to get it. He even tortured poor Crypto by making him chase fake squirrels. Crypto was adorable by the way, but that also doesn't mean that people should be mindlessly adopting puppies right now, especially if they can't take care of them. Anyway, Luthor is your typical tech bro who has more smarts. Superman doesn't like what he is doing in other countries or on Earth. He is just trying to keep the world a nice, and as normal a place that it can be. And all along the way he and the Justice Gang have to fight in pocket universes, help fight wars that Luthor has helped to start, fight Earth breaking into two parts, fight the past and the present and everything in between.

When we left the theater I said to my wife that I like James Gunn's direction because he knows how to make "fun movies". And that is what this "Superman" movie is, a fun, sweet superhero movie. I really liked it and am curious to see where they go with this new vision. It is off to a very promising start for me. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "The Suicide Squad"

My wife and I watched "The Suicide Squad" on Sunday. I wanted to sit with my thoughts on this movie for a few days before I decided to write a review.

First things first, I enjoyed this movie. I am more of a Marvel fan. I have made that very apparent on this site and on the podcast. Wolverine is my favorite superhero, I like the shows they make, I like most of the movies they make and Marvel was my gateway into the whole superhero universe. I just like them more than DC. DC does have some good stuff. The original "Superman" movies are good. I like the old school "Batman" show. I love Christopher Nolan's versions of "Batman". I also like Tim Burton's "Batman". I enjoyed "Shazam" and the first "Wonder Woman" movie was fantastic. But, for me, DC is usually too dark in tone and color. I find it to be their crutch. And that was my main problem with the first "Suicide Squad" movie. It took itself way too seriously, especially for the source material, and that movie fell flat. Again, for me.

Then I saw that James Gunn was directing this new "Suicide Squad", and I enjoy his movies. I love his take on "Guardians of the Galaxy". They are perfect. I also like his early stuff. The movie "Super", with Rainn Wilson, is awesome. I liked "Sliver" a lot. "LolliLove" is quirky and fun and an ode to my hometown. And his early Troma stuff was my entry way to that very bizarre and sometimes terrifying genre of movies. Gunn knows what he is doing. I also appreciate that the only returning characters from the first movie were Harley Quinn, Rick Flag and Amanda Waller. The rest of the people, for the most part, are better actors than the people who portrayed some of the DC characters in the first "Suicide Squad".

That was another thing I liked about this movie. The new "Suicide Squad" let it be known that there are many Suicide Squads. There is not just the one from the first movie. This movie had two squads in it, and alluded to more. As for the actual movie, like I said up top, I liked it. I did not like it as much as I thought, but I still liked it. The stuff I wasn't so crazy about is little nit picking things. I thought the movie was a bit too long. I did not want to hear all of the main characters' backstories. I could have done away with some of the slower stuff. But again, this is me nitpicking little, unimportant details.

For the most part though this movie works. I love that we are introduced to an entirely different squad at the top of the movie. I'm going to be as spoiler free as possible, but do not expect to see too much Nathan Fillion, Pete Davidson, Michael Rooker or Flula Borg. They are not long for this movie. Only after the opening ten minutes do we get to the main squad we will be with for the duration of this movie. When we do meet them, I really enjoyed that montage scene. And as much as I like some of the actors in the original, this cast is much better. Idris Elba is an upgrade over Will Smith, and I like Will Smith. Margot Robbie seems to be having much more fun in this movie than the first one. She nails it. John Cena was my favorite part of this whole movie. He can act. He was hilarious and terrible. Steve Agee not only plays a worker for Waller in the movie, but he also does the motion capture for King Shark, and he is great. Daniela Melchior is so good, and I had never heard of her until this movie. She is the heart of this thing. David Dastmalchian, as Polka Dot Man, was so good. And Peter Capaldi, as Thinker, was perfectly cast. I also liked that they took the most ridiculous baddie I could think of, Starro, and somehow made it work in this movie. I also like that they shot a ton of the fight scenes, including the big one, in daylight. You could see everything. I also appreciate when directors and writers get to show how violent and gory these powers can be, be it a good guy or a bad guy. This movie takes full advantage of the R rating, and it works.

My thoughts? I like this movie. I recommend this movie. I think fans of both comic book worlds will enjoy it. I wish it were shorter, but for the most part "The Suicide Squad" is a solid movie and I think people should check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.