pinartarhan.com

Fun and comprehensive entertainment blog feat. movies, TV series, actors, movie-makers, music & books: 1980 - Present

  • Home
  • Hire Me
  • Books
  • Privacy Policy

Superman: Man of Steel starring Henry Cavill and A lot of Oscar Winners (&Nominees)

Posted on June 19, 2013 Written by ripitup

Share

man-of-steel-man-of-steel-henry cavill-russell crowe-michael shannon
Image via fanpop.com. From left: Russell Crowe, Henry Cavill & Michael Shannon.

 

On the Cast and Crew

I don’t think a comic book movie has ever seen such a cast. Superman’s father is played by Russell Crowe, stepfather by Kevin Costner, stepmother by Diane Lane, love interest Lois Lane by Amy Adams. The main villain is played Michael Shannon, one of the most gifted actors of his generation – who is better known for awesome low-budget films (Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter).

The special effects are pretty spectacular-to the point of being overdone, but then again it’s Zac Snyder (300, Watchmen). The story is written by David. S. Goyer (Dark Knight trilogy)  and Christopher Nolan (Memento, Inception, the Dark Knight trilogy…)

As a fan of the 70s/80s Superman series, (as horrible the effects seem today and the story isn’t cool, it holds a tremendous nostalgic value for me . After all, it was my first superhero movie, and Christopher Reeve was my first Superman).  And it is hard to fill in Reeve’s shoes as an actor (and as Superman)- he had this uniquely suave look about him, and he stood at 6′ 4″ (1.93 m). So you hardly questioned Lois being head over heels, or him being an alien with super powers

 

christopher-reeve-superman
The late Christopher Reeve as Superman. Image via allposters.com.

But then Henry Cavill came, having worked out so much that he could have been the next choice as Wolverine (pay attention to his look and mannerisms in the first rescue scene.) He looked the right amount of innocent, frustrated and otherworldly. Something I don’t think Brandon Routh was able to bring.

 

henry-cavill-shirtless-on-set-5-762x1024-1
Henry Cavill as Wolverine. Oops, I mean Clark Kent. 🙂 Image via celebuzz.com.

Yes, with such cast and crew, you’d keep your expectations high. And I’m thinking you are more likely to be impressed than disappointed. Let’s go over the plot before moving on to other thoughts:

Man of Steel Plot

Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and his wife (Ayelet Zurer) manage to have the only naturally born son (Kal-El, later to be named Clark by his stepparents) in a long time in the dying planet Krypton. General Zod (Michael Shannon) tries to take over, hoping to save the planet under his rule. His hostility and betrayal aren’t approved by Jor-El, and he sends his son to earth, a plan he came up with his wife.

He sees that his baby leaves the planet safely, but ends up being murdered by Zod. Eventually Zod and his men are captured, sentenced to a very long time in a black hole.

Their capture doesn’t prevent the planet from ultimate destruction, however.

Later we meet the adult Clark (Henry Cavill) who has managed to keep his special abilities secret by working the odd jobs, and not staying in one place for too long.

Through flashbacks, we get to see how Clark struggled as a young boy to control and hide his abilities, but managed somehow through the guidance and support of his stepparents, Jonathan (Kevin Kostner)  and Martha Kent (Diane Lane).

Jonathan explains him that he came from another planet, though he doesn’t have a lot of details. He encourages him to keep his powers secret for the greater good of his planet’s and the earth’s.

The adult Clark’s final gig lands him in Canada, where Louis Lane of The Daily Planet is also on a case. When Lois follows Clark into the spacecraft (a vehicle that the army was trying to figure out), Clark gets to save her – revealing his powers, but not before having gotten the message of his biological father.

He leaves soon, and Louis writes about the mystery man. But when her boss (Laurence Fishburne) refuses to print it, she makes sure people hear her story via a conspiracy theorist. She later decides to track down the mystery guy herself. But when she finally finds him, he tells her about Jonathan and his doubts about the world being ready for someone like him. After this, Louis decides to keep his identity a secret, strengthening the bond already formed between them.

But things get out of her control when Zod announces that he’s coming to the earth with his men, and all he wants is the alien. And of course he won’t accept “no” in peace. This puts Lois at risk, and Clark knows better than to trust Zod.

And the real action/effects feast part of the movie start after we find out that Krypton’s demise has freed Zod and his men; and he intends to recreate Krypton on earth, while destroying humans…

 

*

Review

Man of Steel provides solid entertainment with substance.

It does a good job explaining the backstory and answering the questions of the superhero’s fans who don’t necessarily read the comics: Where does the name/costume come from, why there is an S symbol on his costume (and a lot of other places), how he “officially” became a hero among others.

It starts presenting Krypton in all its different glory and giving Crowe a piece of the action.

Then we move on to an adult Clark who has nothing to do with newspaper reporting or glasses, which is refreshing.

The movie does a fine job of balancing drama with action, though I have to say I prefer to part of the movie before Zod arrived in our world. Because the fight  sequences between Clark and Zod’s two soldiers took a bit too long for my taste- and as Transformers showed, too loud and long can be a major turn-off. And I can also say it for the final battle between Zod and Clark. However these are my only two complaints about the movie. I had a great experience. I can’t wait for the next installations.

I’m also happy to announce that the movie made more than half its budget at the box office on its first day. May Nolan and Snyder collaborate on more features.

How did you like the film?

 

Also on Kevin Costner:

The Company Men starring Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Maria Bello & Kevin Costner

Nicholas Sparks vs Happy Endings- Kevin Costner’s Message in a Bottle

Kevin Costner: An Amazing Lead Who Should Just Stay Away From Sci-Fi

When Adultery is OK- Revenge (Movie Review of Revenge, Starring Kevin Costner and Anthony Quinn)

The New Daughter starring Kevin Costner

 

Also on Russell Crowe

The Next Three Days starring Russell Crowe & Elizabeth Banks: Emotional, Captivating, Entertaining

 State of Play starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel Mcadams and Helen Mirren

A Good Year starring Russell Crowe and Marion Cotillard

A Beautiful Mind starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris & Paul Bettany

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share

Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Amy Adams, Christopher Nolan, christopher reeve, christopher reeve as superman, Diane Lane, Henry Cavill, henry cavill superman, Kevin Costner, man of steel, man of steel cast, man of steel movie review, Michael Shannon, russell crowe, superman man of steel, superman man of steel movie review, zac snyder

Jeff Nichols’ Take Shelter starring Michael Shannon & Jessica Chastain

Posted on February 14, 2012 Written by ripitup

Share

Take Shelter movie poster
Take Shelter starring Michael Shannon & Jessica Chastain. Feat. Kathy Baker.

Take Shelter Story

Curtis (Michael Shannon) is a family man in his mid-30s. He works in construction, and tries to deal with the fact that he has a deaf daughter as well as he can. He has a happy enough marriage with wife Samantha (Jessica Chastain).

The problem is, he has started to things that indicate a heavily destructive storm coming, and yet nobody else seems to either see them or care. These visions are combined with seriously disturbing nightmares, and Curtis tries to cope in two ways: He starts researching mental illnesses, inspired by the fact that his mother (Kathy Baker) was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and he also starts building an underground storm shelter.

He spends & borrows a lot of money without letting his wife know, and his visions have started to affect his work.

Is Curtis mentally ill? Or is he actually gifted in sensing things other can’t? Either way, it looks like Curtis’ personal and professional life will crack before he can find out…

*

Take Shelter: Worth watching – despite the pace

I was looking forward to Take Shelter ever since I saw the trailer, which does a great job of reflecting both the premise and the mood of the movie. The problem is, what looks extremely gripping in a 2-minute trailer may not always be that exciting in a 2-hours-plus movie.

The acting is top-notch-especially with Michael Shannon. He is so good, he leaves you wondering why the hell he hasn’t scored a Golden Globe or even Oscar nomination. Jessica Chastain also does a great job as the loving wife who doesn’t know what to do with her husband as he is not letting her in. So no problems with the cast.

I fell in love with the premise right after the trailer. Written and directed by Jeff Nichols, what can be more intriguing than a protagonist that is likable and relatable, but yet that secretly makes us fear the safety of his family- because of him. And we keep wondering about his mental state, and whether or not he is crazy.

The movie, to me, has only one weak point-and that is the pacing. The director takes a little more time than necessary, and effective, to show us Michael’s state of relationships and mind. The premise is strong enough and the acting is good enough to make you deal with the dragging parts, but I think the movie would have been a lot more effective, had it been about 20 minutes shorter.

But all can be forgiven if you make it to the end, as it is pretty good. Some believe it is open to interpretation, some believe it couldn’t have been less ambiguous. Decide it for yourself. But one thing is for sure- despite the too slow moments, this movie is just not the same old story.

It also has a brilliant title, and question. Should Curtis take shelter with his family against the storm, or should he shelter them against himself?

Currently rated at 7.7. on IMDB.  I will give it a 7, though if the pacing had been a little faster, this movie would be a deserving 8.

Share

Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: drama, Jeff Nichols, Jessica Chastain, Kathy Baker, Michael Shannon, movies, mystery, take shelter, take shelter 2011 movie, Take Shelter cast, take shelter movie

In the mood for a fun romcom novel?

Copyright © 2025 · Focus Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT