Showing posts with label Brandon Routh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brandon Routh. Show all posts

Monday, June 22, 2020

Connect The Plots: How DC had a shared universe and didn't capitalize on it

(0:36 until the end of the 1994 American Gladiators theme plays as it cuts to James as he morphs into The Last Of The Americans with the half team TLOTA on his right and the other half on his left as the camera pulls back to see the slab with the markings “The Last Of The Americans”. Fade cut to James in his room at his house)

TLOTA:
I'm James Faraci The Last Of The Americans and Yeah still at home, but thankfully I can still "Connect The Plots"!(Cut to a scene of James trying to connect certain things together like the theatrical version of "Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers" & "Halloween: H20", All the movie adaptations of Stephen King, Superman Returns to the original Salkind Superman movies, the first three X-Men movies to the newer ones and the "Wolverine" & "Deadpool" movies before cutting to James strapped down in a straight jacket all the while a kid sings "Connect The Plots La-La-La!" before panning down to see anything that might have a minor connection spell the words "Connect The Plots" before cutting to every single movie in the MCU and the recent DC Movies as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
With Marvel now officially the dominant Comic Book movie production company it seems that DC's movies are on life support and their recent movies haven't helped at all as they've been trying to play "Keeping Up With The Jonses" even though they claim "We're gonna do our own thing" it's clear that they're still fighting Marvel with every tactic they and the corporate execs with the charts, the graphs, the test audience scores they have and it's clear the tactics they have aren't working. (Cut to James physically)

TLOTA:
And believe it or not, they had the makings of a DC Movie Shared Universe with two movies that came out back to back! (Show title cards of "Batman Begins" & "Superman Returns", cut to clips of both movies as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
These two like "Iron Man" & The other movies in the First Phase of The MCU could have been the starting point of DC's Connected Movie Universe, instead one went into a different direction and the other went by the wayside. But there is a linking moment that does happen and it happens in Superman Returns. I'll get to it in a moment.(Cut to James physically)

TLOTA:
For now, let's focus on where they could've started with Batman Begins! (Cut to Title Card of "Batman Begins" then clips of "Batman Begins" as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
It is here that this is where their movie universe could've started for all intent and purposes a reboot of "Batman" and it wasn't connected to the Batman 1989 and the movies and guess what they could've done anything to slowly start their connected universe. By having a character make a reference that while Bruce was gone twice as long as that a certain "Big Blue Boy Scout" had been gone. But that is where I would've made the reference and guess what then build and make the Batman up for the rest of the movie. (Cut to James physically)

TLOTA:
And here is where it goes in with Superman Returns and for those of you who have seen it, I will be talking about one scene in particular. (Cut to "Superman Returns" as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
In the scene after Lex takes the Kryptonite at the Daily Planet people are excited at Superman's return and at one point Gotham is mentioned though briefly. No mention of Bruce Wayne or Batman which is a mistake in my opinion. (Cut to James physically)

TLOTA:
And also what was a mistake was releasing Superman Returns right after "Batman Begins", I have my reasons! Let me explain! (Cut to stills of other DC properties that got a movie before the DCEU and characters that should've gotten a movie as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
To me they should've built up other heroes like Wonder Woman before the DCEU, Heroes like Green Lantern without having Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively in the role. Okay granted I wouldn't have casted Jack Black in there but still it would've been a good idea to have some unknown in terms of real acting like Mike "The Miz" Mizanin. An Aquaman movie which would been like the first Thor Movie but wouldn't have an exact duplicate of the first Thor movie, I would've also hired Joshua Jackson from "The Mighty Ducks" and "Dawson's Creek" as Barry Allen AKA The Flash and in his movie I would've gone through his origin and all that did happen in the first season of what would be the first season of The Flash series with Grant Gustin on the CW save for the season finale, then released "Superman Returns" and have Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor be rescued by the villain of the "Aquaman" and build to a Justice League movie that wasn't a complete and total clusterbank to sit through. (Cut to James physically)

TLOTA:
However that never happened as "The Dark Knight" came out that killed any future DC Movies until the finale of The Christopher Nolan "Batman" movie series happened and we all know what happened afterwards with both DC and Marvel Movies. DC went downwards and Marvel went up until... (Show poster of "Avengers: Endgame" and the fact it bears on it "The No. 1 Highest Grossing Movie Ever!" Cut to James physically.)

TLOTA:
Do I hope DC can truly capitalize on a Shared Movie Universe. Well if the stories of "Flashpoint" being the reboot so the DCEU can wipe out a lot of the crap that happened with the exception being that of the Wonder Woman movie, maybe, Just maybe DC can get back in the race. But for now... (Cut to clips of "Batman Begins" & "Superman Returns" as James does a brief voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
I can say I enjoyed these movies for what they are and what they could've started if DC had pulled the trigger. If you think that there is some validity to what I'm talking about, check them out and see what should've been the start of the real DCEU! (Cut to James physically)

TLOTA:
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to set up a palate cleanser list of tv series and movies to watch after what I have to deal with next month! I'm James Faraci The Last Of The Americans and that's my opinion!

Friday, June 12, 2020

Superman and the Seven "Returns"

(Scene begins with a laser hitting a slab of Titanium as the music of the 1994 American Gladiators opening theme plays the angle of the camera goes into the laser as three shadowed figures with a lasered outlines appear as the shadows reveal themselves to be James Faraci in the center, Paulo Fonseca on the right and Rebecca Yaun on the left as their names appear above the characters. As the three run out of frame moving forward, four more shadowed figures with lasered outlines appear and the shadows reveal themselves as Brenda Fonseca on the right, Nick Yaun on the left and John and Mike Santos and their names appear above the characters. As they run out of frame moving forward, five more shadowed figures with lasered outlines appear as they reveal themselves to be Renee Miller and Eric Kurtzke on the right, Andrew Beach and Ed Champion on the left and Olivia Horvath appear in the center as their names appear above the characters. As they run out of frame credits of “Written and directed by James Faraci, Edited by Eric Kurtzke, Makeup by Olivia Horvath Produced by First Choice Productions” as it ends the Laser beam disappears and at the 0:28 mark of the theme song the words “The” “Last” “Of” “The” appear. At the 0:32-0:36 mark the word “Americans” start to come forward as it pulls down and  James’ Morpher and Sonic Screwdriver is flung into frame as James grabs both and morphs into The Last Of The Americans with the half team TLOTA on his right and the other half on his left as the camera pulls back to see the slab with the markings “The Last Of The Americans”. Fade cut to James in his room at his house)

TLOTA:
I’m James Faraci The Last Of The Americans and even though it is my Seventh Anniversary, for me, I have no reason to celebrate, I’m still stuck in Quarantine Lockdown, I’m dealing with even more hardships as with my luck, this will most likely be out in August, If I’m Lucky! (A Phone rings off screen) I’ll get it! (James walks off for two seconds.) Hello! (Cut to the Lindsay Nagel Exec as played by Olivia Horvath in her apartment which looks like James’ studio)

Lindsay Nagel exec:
Finally it took forever to get some signal here, I’m running on Solar Generators but regardless, I have been getting my execs with the charts, graphs and test audiences to work on a script for a movie! (Cut to James)

TLOTA:
First and only Question is Why? Don’t you know there’s a coronavirus quarantine that’s supposed to grind everything and everyone down to a halt! (Cut to the Lindsay Nagel Exec as played by Olivia Horvath in her apartment which looks like James’ studio)

Lindsay Nagel exec:
Uninspired writing, talentless acting and hack directors cannot wait! Besides, me and my execs have after numerous rewrites after numerous test audience results have finally written out the plo… Oh! Never mind, more test audience results show they don’t like the plot. But we’ll get the first draft in eventually, then we’ll show you that creativity, artistry, a real plot or story or anything that goes into movies! (Cut to James as he hangs up the phone)

TLOTA:
I’m going to be crazy by the end of the year, I can see it coming! (A Phone rings off screen again and James walks away for two seconds) Hello! (Cut to a man named Steven played by Johnny Berchtold covered in milk and pea soup as an infant is crying in the background)

Steven:
Yes, my name is Steven and I am currently taking care of Mr. Bryan Singer. (Cut to James)

TLOTA:
I can hear from the background. (Cut to Steven as an infant is crying in the background)

Steven:
Apparently, he’s not too happy and is blaming the audience and the critics not getting what he wanted to do. (Cut to James)

TLOTA:
With what, I’m afraid to ask. (Cut to Steven as an infant is crying in the background)

Steven:
A movie he made in 2006. (Cut to James)

TLOTA:
Oh well guess what, that happens to be the subject of my Seventh Anniversary Review! (Cut to Opening Title of “Superman Returns” as the John Ottman “Superman Returns” theme song plays in the foreground of the clips of “Superman Returns” and James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
Yes folks, no matter how much we as Superman fans tried to deny it’s existence, it’s real and I saw it in theaters, okay granted it was the same theater that a few years later I saw “Twilight” at but that’s besides the point. This strange anomaly is trying to recapture the glory days of the Donner Classic and somehow try to bring something new to elevate the Man Of Steel. (Audio of Steven coughing and saying Excuse Me. Cut to Steven Physically)

Steven:
Just what is the “Donner Classic”? (Cut to James)

TLOTA:
Oy, Here I go again! (Cut to the classic Christopher Reeve “Superman” Movies/ “Superman Returns” as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
In 1978, Richard Donner hired by Alexander & Ilya Salkind helped Superman be shown with Respect as opposed to how he has been seen by that point after JFK got assassinated which was as a joke and to many a writer to the Superfriends cartoons/ Superman’s own comic book lines dumping grounds for San Francisco & Fire Island jokes if not interceded by network and editorial censors at DC. However, the success of the first one wasn’t enough for either side to swallow their pride to finish Superman II, Richard Lester finished it, end of discussion on Superman II. Superman III is something my friends The Nostalgia Kid and Writrzblok already talked about, enough said. “Supergirl” the movie yeah, me and KiraKennedy just couldn’t get into it and the stupidity just hurt us both and after “Superman IV: The Quest For Peace” put the entire Superman movie franchise behind the shed and a Kryptonite bullet into Superman’s movie success it seemed after trial and tribulation that Superman would never fly onto the big screens again, that is until 2006 came and after Bryan Singer successfully brought the X-Men to the big screen twice by that point was brought in by Warner Brothers and Jon Peters to see if he can get Superman flying again. But does it still fly? Is the movie as good as the first two Superman Movies? (Cut to James)

TLOTA:
Let’s not waste any more time then necessary, this is “Superman Returns” (Cut to “Superman Returns” as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
The movie opens up with text that tells us that five years ago, someone had found signs of life where Krypton was, and Superman disappeared looking for what it was. We then… (Cut to James physically)

TLOTA:
One moment. (James pulls out a cell phone. Cut to Allison Pregler as she looks at what to review next for “Movie Nights” when her phone goes off.)

Allison Pregler:
Hello! (Cut to James)

TLOTA:
Allison, just for the record if you ever do “Superman Returns” for “Movie Nights” be aware that Marlon Brando’s Jor-El is back AND he’s been digitally brought back from the dead as Holograms and a voiceover. Just giving you a heads up! (James hangs up. Cut to Allison Pregler looking confused)

Allison Pregler:
What was that about? (Cut to “Superman Returns” as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
After the amazingly awesome opening credits we get… (Show clip as Noel Neill’s Character “Gertrude Vanderworth” talks to her husband Lex Luthor. Show clip of Lex Luthor as played by Kevin Spacey revealing himself. Cut to James physically)

TLOTA:
So the late Noel Neill, the first ever Lois Lane appears in the movie cameos as a wealthy old woman and her husband is Lex Luthor played by Kevin Spacey. I know I shouldn’t make the joke because it’s Kevin Spacey, but the fact is that Lex Luthor married and did GOD knows what else to her, I… I… It’s in my head! IT IS IN MY HEAD! (James takes his glasses off as he feels this need to toss his cookies and grabs two tranquilizer guns and tranquilizes the people he’s with while in Quarantine and James runs to the bathroom and reenacts the “Ace Ventura Einhorn is a man” discovery perfunctory. Cut to “Superman Returns” as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
So after you deal with the “Oh dear god, Mama No!” revelation you’ll have to deal with. We cut to the Kent Farm where (Sounding like Ben Affleck Batman): MARTHA! (Back to normal): played by Eva Marie Saint is rocked by the sensation of the farm nearly buying it along with herself as we see a Kryptonian Ship landing in the yard as we’re introduced to Clark Kent AKA Superman this time being played by future Legend Of Tomorrow Atom Brandon Routh and his performance while trying to capture what Christopher Reeve had done for some odd reason well simply put, he never got a chance to truly fly as either character. But he did get a chance to show what he could do though limitedly as Superman which I will talk about later on. But in the meanwhile Lex Luthor and his crew which includes Kal Penn with no lines whatsoever yet he’s credited as an actor and Parker Posey who sadly shows no personality in the role of Kitty as her performance shows (Show all of “Kitty”’s scenes in “Superman Returns”. Cut to James physically)

TLOTA:
And worse she has shown she has range, personality, and everything in better roles prior to and after this movie. I think she should seriously get a new agent! (Cut to “Superman Returns” as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
We soon find ourselves going back to Metropolis and of course The Daily Planet where we catch up with Jimmy Olsen played by Sam Huntington and Perry White played by Frank Langella. As Clark settles back into the daily grind, we find out that Lois Lane played without an ounce of enthusiasm by Kate Bosworth is now a mother with a little kid named Jason played by Tristan Lake Leabu and has a good man by the name of Richard White who is Perry’s Nephew and is played by James Marsden post Cyclops in the “X-Men” movies, pre “Hairspray” and his current career which includes…(Show all of his post “Superman Returns” movie library including “Sonic The Hedgehog”. Cut to James physically)

 TLOTA:
Seriously, someone get HIM a better agent! (A Phone rings off screen) I’ll get it! (James walks off for two seconds.) Hello! (Cut to the Lindsay Nagel Exec as played by Olivia Horvath in her apartment which looks like James’ studio)

Lindsay Nagel exec:
Okay, after an eternity of Test Audiences, Charts, Graphs and all our usual voodoo that we do so well we’ve got our script, cast, crew and everything else! (Cut to James)

TLOTA:
NEVER CALL ME AGAIN! Wait a second, where are you calling me from? Wait let me write down the address.  428 Fai… HOW IN THE HELL DID YOU GET INTO MY STUDIO SINCE IT IS IN OMEGA LEVEL LOCKDOWN? WHAT DO I MEAN? I MEAN NO POWER, NO PHONE, CABLE OR INTERNET, NO RUNNING WATER. I EVEN SHUT OFF…. Oh, forget it! (James hangs up the phone when it rings again) What?! (Cut to Steven)

Steven:
Yeah, it’s Steven again, my employer is wondering who you would’ve chosen to be Lois Lane in “Superman Returns”? (Cut to James)

TLOTA:
Well like Richard Donner, I would’ve gone with a semi unknown actress like Christy Carlson Romano! (Cut to Steven)

Steven:
He said “A Semi unknown actress named Christy Carlson Romano” (Infant crying and throwing baby food and a bottle of Jack Daniels out of frame) Yeah, he said “You’re an idiot and if he could, he’d blame the audience for not getting the movie!” (Cut to James physically as he shuts his phone off)

TLOTA:
I’m not even through the first hour and I’m in pain! So, I’ve got to take a break and regroup! I’ll be back!

(James sits and rubs his forehead as he tries to deal with his continual headache as it fades to black then cuts to the 0:36 Mark of the 1994 American Gladiators theme as it shows James fully morphed with the half team TLOTA on his right and the other half on his left as the camera pulls back to see the slab with the markings “The Last Of The Americans”. Cut to the 0:36 Mark of the 1994 American Gladiators theme as it shows James fully morphed with the half team TLOTA on his right and the other half on his left as the camera pulls back to see the slab with the markings “The Last Of The Americans”. Cut to “Superman Returns” as James does a voiceover.)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
We soon discover Lex in the Fortress of Solitude where, as I warned Allison Pregler in the beginning of my review, Marlon Brando through the power of Digital Recreation reprises his role as Jor-El! Meanwhile Lois is covering a piggyback flight experiment for a shuttle just as Lex takes a tiny shard from one of the crystals which he ransacked from the Fortress Of Solitude as Kal Penn drops it into the water of a model inside the mansion. The results? A minor EMP that shuts down the power world wide for a moment and causing both the model to have sound effects of chaos and death and pain and all sorts of disaster and The Shuttle being piggybacked to suffer a computer failure forcing the launch of the Shuttle while still holding the airplane under it! This looks like a job for…Budwiser! Yeah, not kidding on this, instead of being aware right away about Lois’ peril Clark and Jimmy are at a bar tended by the late Jack Larson when after the minor EMP event that’s when Clark hears about Lois. And after nearly forty minutes Superman leaps back into action to get the shuttle off the airplane. The airplane itself however is falling like rock. (Show clip of plane falling and Superman trying to save the plane and it is landing in the baseball park thanks to Superman. Cut to the cockpit as the onboard computer as it says “Fly Up! Fly Up!” Cut to clip of Leslie Nielson from “Airplane!” as he says “I just want to say Good Luck! We’re all counting on you!”. Cut to Superman as he says how safe it is to fly, AGAIN!) And with that, Superman is welcomed back after a five-year hiatus with roaring applause! Lois handles it well! (Show clip of her fainting and sliding down the emergency slide! Cut to James physically)

TLOTA:
Well somethings never change, I guess. (A Phone rings off screen) I’ll get it! (James walks off for two seconds.) Hello! (Cut to the Lindsay Nagel Exec as played by Olivia Horvath in her apartment which looks like James’ studio)

Lindsay Nagel exec:
Oh James, we’re redoing the casting process! (Cut to James)

TLOTA:
Did you have a cast? (Cut to the Lindsay Nagel Exec as played by Olivia Horvath in her apartment which looks like James’ studio)

Lindsay Nagel exec:
Well we did but the charts from the…(Cut to James as he throws the phone into the trash can as it speed talks. Cut to the movie as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
Thrilled at the excitement of the return of Superman, Perry White decides that it is the biggest story for the Daily Planet and with her objecting all the way, Perry tells Lois to be on the Superman Story. Meanwhile Lois and Clark become friends again while introducing Richard to Clark as Lex plans a heist after hearing the return of Superman. Meanwhile Lois for some reason has a problem with Superman’s return. However Superman…(Show clip of Superman looking over Lois, Jason and Richard like a stalker. Cut to James physically)

TLOTA:
Okay believe it or not I seriously had a sketch in which Lois Lane files a restraining order on Superman for stalking her and her family. The Judge would’ve been played by my friend Rowdy, Lois was to have been played by Brenda Fonseca, Superman was to have been played by John Ross Santos and the judge would’ve granted it. The second case would’ve been Linkara as his Dude bro Batman being served with Restraining orders by every female in his rogues’ gallery and several of Bruce Wayne’s Ex-Girlfriends and Linkara’s Dude bro Batman accidentally outing himself as Bruce Friggin Wayne! (A Phone rings off screen) I’ll get it! (James walks off for two seconds and pulls the phone out of the garbage.) WHAT?! (Cut to Linkara as his Dude Bro Batman)

Dude Bro Batman:
How do I out myself? (Cut to James)

TLOTA:
By your own Stupid hand Bruce! (Cut to Dude Bro Batman)

Dude Bro Batman:
Your name is Bruce? (Cut to James)

TLOTA:
No, Linkara. I’m a very angry, tired and stressed out Internet reviewer named James Faraci The Last Of The Americans! AND YOU’RE GOING TO GET THE DARWIN AWARD FOR YOUR STUPIDITY! (James shuts off his phone. Cut to the Dude Bro Batman.)

Dude Bro Batman:
Wait, I’m The Last Of The Americans? (Cut to the movie as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
After stalking Lois, Superman decides to get to work saving people leading to one of my favorite moments as a gang with a mega heavy duty gatling gun tries to rob a bank and Superman saves the guards and after shooting off enough bullets to bury Charlie Sheen from “Hot Shots Part Deux” ten times over. The head thug decides “OKAY! I’m gonna shoot him in the eye! That’ll kill him!” (The Bullet bounces off Superman’s eye!) Now the look on his face speaks volumes as he looks up after the bullet does nothing to Superman, it’s basically him thinking “OH CRAP! I’M PUDDING!”. While that’s going down, Lex incognito decides to visit/take something from a museum which happens to be a green crystal from Addis Ababa!  While Kitty is bait for Superman in which after recreating the Iconic “Action Comics No.1” cover. The next day Perry not too happy about Lois trying to figure out the source of the blackout basically tells Lois to do to Superman article while Clark handles the blackout. However Richard decides lets all work together on both stories together and to Brandon’s credit, he doesn’t make Clark sound like a d-bag while Clark, Lois and Richard are together and tries his best to do what’s right for the sake of both stories and Jimmy Olsen acts as an expositional point to let Clark know that Lex got out on a technicality because Superman wasn’t around. (Cut to James physically as a Phone rings off screen again and James walks away for two seconds) Hello! (Cut to Steven as he gets further covered in baby food and other fluids)

Steven:
Yeah, Bryan isn’t happy you’re giving Brandon Routh any credit, he was too young and inexperienced when it came to him being Superman or Clark Kent. (Cut to James)

TLOTA:
Christopher Reeve was an unknown before he got the role of Superman and it did his career gangbusters until the accident that paralyzed him and nine years later killed him. (Cut to Steven as he gets further covered in baby food and other fluids)

Steven:
And Brandon…(Cut to James)

TLOTA:
Went on to become a character actor and reprise the role that brought him to the mainstream! (Cut to clips of the CW crossover “Crisis On Infinite Earths” as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
This is what I was eluding to earlier, last year The CW and their DC Shows had a massive crossover event loosely based on the DC Event Comic “Crisis On Infinite Earths” and while Brandon did play Ray “The Atom” Palmer he also revived his portrayal of Superman and even though it was a nice send off for that version of Superman it also did something I didn’t want to see happen, it basically canonized the new crop of DC Movies instead of erasing them from existence! But thankfully from what I heard their latest movies BOMBED at the box office and it’ll be a while if ever DC can get their act together to try again at a connected universe of movies. (Cut to Superman Returns as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
But back to the movie at hand, After Lois gives Richard an expositional dump on Superman, Lois head on up where Surprise! Surprise! Superman waits for Lois and she’s not too happy he left her five years ago. But one Superman flight later and while she’s not upset with Superman as much as she was, she’s still not at peace with what he did to her. The next day Lois hands in the article and then prepares to continue to work in secret on the blackout story just as Lois nearly forgets to pick up Jason but she gets him and takes Jason along to find the Mansion Lex Luthor resides in as well as the Yacht in which Lois and Jason are captured leading to some funny lines from Jason (Show clip of Jason’s lines saying to Lex Luthor “You’re Bald” and “Mommy tells me never speak to strangers”. Cut to Superman Returns as James continues his voiceover). Okay Lex, you have Lois and her son hostage, what is your plan, Cochise? (Show Lex’s plans to use the Crystals to build a new continent, destroying America in the process. Cut to James physically)

TLOTA:
So, yeah Real estate, again! OKAY, Why are you so interested in it? (A Phone rings off screen) I’m going to regret this! (James walks off for two seconds.) WHAT?! (Cut to Steven as he gets further covered in baby food and other fluids)

Steven:
Yeah, Bryan is upset at the obvious plot event that you’re missing! (Cut to James physically)

TLOTA:
And that would be? (Cut to Steven as he gets further covered in baby food and other fluids)

Steven:
That this movie takes Superman III, Supergirl and Superman IV out of continuity. Hence the reason for the obsession for real estate, again! Okay that is it! Come here you little! (Steven walks off to punish Bryan Singer for everything he’s done. Cut to Superman Returns as James does a voiceover.)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
Lex reveals he has Kryptonite which for some reason gets Jason interested and Lex wondering who Jason’s dad is. Well Lex I hate to break it to you but, you’re holding something bright in front of a Five-Year-old kid! OF COURSE, THEY’RE GONNA KEEP THEIR EYES ON IT! Meanwhile Richard can’t seem to find Lois and Jason and again I love this moment in which instead of being an a-hole Clark and Richard work together to try and find Lois and Richard. As that goes on Lex fires the Kryptonite laced Crystal which causes another blackout and after overhearing where they were Lois faxes the coordinates to The Daily Planet leading to a scene of a whole load of covers from the Daily Planet showing the succession of events leading to Superman’s disappearance showing Clark to become Superman again but noticing that the city is in danger goes and saves the people. After that bit of awesomeness, Lois’ ruse is discovered by a thug led to guard them, play Heart & Soul with Jason and if need be kill them when… (Show clip of the piano being slammed into the thug by Jason. Cut to chorused montage of “WHAT?!”’s from different characters in tune with the last minute and change of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture as the last “WHAT?!” comes from James shouting “WHAT?!”. Cut to the movie as James does his voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT JASON, THE CUTE LITTLE KID WHO HAS HAD NO BEARING ON THE PLOT, THE KID WHO GOT A SMILE OUT OF ME IN A LOT OF THE SCENES HE WAS IN, IS ACTUALLY THE SON OF LOIS LANE AND SUPERMAN?!!?!?!  (Cut to clips of “Man Of Steel” and the current DC Movies as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
Okay say what you want in the recent Superman/DC movies. Yes, Superman killing Zod was a bad move, The whole “Martha” moment was absurd, HOW EVERY SINGLE TROLL CELEBRATED SUPERMAN’S DEMISE AND CRIED “NO!” WHEN HE DID RETURN IN “JUSTICE LEAGUE” I mean yeah, every moment so far in the new Movies in this iteration of DC’s production is deplorable. (Cut to Superman Returns as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
BUT TO SHOW SUPERMAN AS A DEADBEAT DAD?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS MOVIE?! SERIOUSLY! (Cut to recent stills of the Superman Comic Books as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
Believe it or not, I’m actually giving the recent Comic Book iteration credit as it shows Clark AKA Superman as a loving and caring father to his son Jon Kent who like father like son has powers and is actually in the Comics the new Superboy! So, for this movie to do this assassination of Superman’s Character is worse than any curse the late Jerry Siegel and the late Joe Shuster can EVER dump on Superman, in any iteration! ARGH! (Cut to Superman Returns as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
At any rate, Richard makes it to the yacht and before he could get them out of danger a Crystal snaps the boat in half causing Lois to be rendered unconscious and to sink to the bottom of the ocean. However, before they can be killed Superman hoists them out of harms way. Superman then confronts Lex Luthor but not knowing about the Kryptonite, Superman gets ambushed and then shanked by Lex Luthor. (Cut to James physically)

TLOTA:
With a sharp Kryptonite shard, get your head out of the gutter. (A Phone rings off screen) It never rains in SoCal but when it pours it’s like Niagara Falls! (James walks off for two seconds.) WHAT?!

(Cut to the Lindsay Nagel Exec as played by Olivia Horvath in her apartment which looks like James’ studio)

Lindsay Nagel exec:
We’ve just finished filming and post-production, Now, we’re going to distribute this movie and show you what we’re capable of! (Cut to James)

TLOTA:
I await a call from you as the deluge of reviews bury your movie. (James shuts the phone off. Cut to Superman Returns as James does a voiceover.)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
Lois, Richard and Jason try to get Superman out of there, but everyone knows he must go and Stop Lex’s plans even if there is Kryptonite on the growing Crystalline structured Land mass. After a brief solar recharge Superman lifts the entire thing as Kitty drops the remaining crystals on the land mass as she, Lex and the Pomeranian get out of there. As Superman falls to the earth that land mass is never to be seen or heard from again, not even referenced in the CW “Crisis” DC Series crossover event I mentioned earlier! Emergency workers do everything to save Superman’s life while coalescing in the Hospital Lois brings Jason and whispers a thanks, letting Superman know she is now at peace with what happened, spills that Jason is their kid and hopes he survives long enough to get Child Support and Alimony meaning The Fortress Of Solitude will be Lois Lane’s property. Meanwhile we find Lex on an Island with a Helicopter that’s out of gas, Kitty and a Pomeranian that’s going to wind up as Chicken and Broccoli and we NEVER see them again! A couple of nights later Superman goes and visits Jason, gives him Jor-El’s Speech to him while Lois tries to work on an editorial asking “Why does the world need a Superman?” as Superman flies off letting Lois know he and her are cool and will be more in Jason’s life as well as be there for all of us. (Show ending of “Superman Returns”. Cut to James physically)

TLOTA:
So that was Superman Returns and to be honest, it’s not the best Superman movie ever nor is it the worst! (Cut to Superman Returns as James does a voiceover.)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
I’ll give credit to Bryan Singer for trying to blend a lot of the older iterations of Superman into this one and tried to make something for a future that never came. A lot of the dialogue was good as was a lot of the actors in this movie, but the pacing of the story plodded along like a man dragging a herd of dead cattle, the effects while good doesn’t hold up by today’s standards and everything that didn’t work shows in every second of film. My advice, if you are really bored and there’s truly nothing else to watch, I strongly recommend this movie for those who have nothing better to do for a couple of hours and hope to enjoy a relatively good Superman movie. (Cut to James physically)

TLOTA:
I’m James Faraci The Last Of The Americans and… (A Phone rings off screen) My last nerve just committed suicide (James walks off for two seconds.) WHAT?! (Cut to the Lindsay Nagel Exec as played by Olivia Horvath in her apartment which looks like James’ studio)

Lindsay Nagel exec:
Everyone hates our movie. (Cut to James)

TLOTA:
No, it’s your movie and it shows, I was reading and watching reviews, I’m not surprised by what happened so as far as I’m concerned. You set yourself up for failure and I am not wasting any of my time on your dreck! (Cut to the Lindsay Nagel Exec as played by Olivia Horvath in her apartment which looks like James’ studio)

Lindsay Nagel exec:
Well, you’re going to have to because I sent a copy of the movie to you. (Cut to James)

TLOTA:
What? (Two voices cry to James as he grabs his tranquilizer guns, walks off the sound of two tranquilizer guns go off as James grabs the mail and says off screen “Uh-Oh!” and Fade to black)

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Is there a real "Superman Curse"?

(Opening begins at the 0:36-end mark from the theme from the final season of American Gladiators original run play the camera pulls back to see James and everyone else on top of a slab with the words “The Last Of The Americans” on it before cutting to James in his office)

TLOTA:
I'm James Faraci The Last Of The Americans and the views that I'm about to express are that of my own and some of yours. With the recent passing of Margot Kidder and of course it being Superman's 80th birthday, a lot of people have been talking about something that needs to be de-mystified. The "Curse Of Superman"! (Cut to different iterations of Superman in either live action or animated forms as James does a voiceover)


TLOTA (Voiceover):
I mean it's not hard to understand how this supposed curse came to be! When Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster lost the rights to Superman to DC Comics they were plenty angry and for many of Superman fans many believe Siegel and Shuster planted the curse and the biggest victim is that of the "Curse" if there is one IS Superman, When George Reeves died in 1959 many believed it was either murder or suicide due to depression caused by being Superman. But I never put stock into that because by that point in George's career he seemed to be glad to be Superman and was looking forward towards doing more behind the scenes work including more directing episodes as much as he was acting in them and many believed this curse began when Reeves died, however the character seemed to be going strong in terms of Comic Book sales that is until November of 1963 Superman was at heights many superheroes now know of and there was going to be an issue in one of his comic books in which he and John Kennedy the President at the time were going to be together talking about the Space Program. I'm certain what happened to John Kennedy in November of 1963 pretty much put the bullet in Superman's popularity because after Kennedy died sales of his comics went down the toilet and an animated series that had Clayton "Bud" Collier returning after performing the character in Radio shows and the Fleischer Studios Cartoons was mainly seen as awful. There was a Broadway musical that tried to emulate the style of the Adam West Batman series to hopefully recapture some of the ground he lost but it fell to earth faster than a speeding bullet and a late night special that was adapted from the musical is so universally panned there is no known copy of it on DVD, yet somehow I found a Bootleg copy of it on YouTube. Don't ask me how, I found it and let's leave it at that. One of the ways the curse hurt Superman was when Editor Julius Schwarz made some dumbass decisions like making Clark a TV News Reporter, Lois be adamant towards her disdain towards Superman and some ideas like nixing Kryptonite and turning it into red Solar Radiation that can weaken Superman. So I was glad when Crisis On Infinite Earths happened because after that event comic they rebooted the character back to the core essence and thankfully even with the new 52 messing around a bit with changing him again DC got him back working at The Daily Planet, married to Lois Lane and from what I've read, they have a kid together so Mazel Tov to that. But that didn't mean the Curse didn't hurt Superman before that point. I refer you to the fact that had it not been for Standards & Practices every single Fire Island/San Francisco joke landing on the last son of Krypton in the "Superfriends" animated series. Meanwhile Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster must've been angrier than ever when it was discovered that Warner Brothers which at that point owned DC Comics in conjunction with Alexander & Ilya Salkind were going to make an 80 Million Dollar Blockbuster directed by Richard Donner, written by Mario Puzo, having Marlon Brando play Jor-El and all of that happening while the creators were scrapping by on minimum wage? Neal Adams, famed Comic Book Writer, Inker, Penciler, Editor and Publisher wasn't gonna have any of that! Neal Adams made a series of public appearances for the creators and have the duo tell their story as DC made millions while they made Peanuts in terms of financial success and the fact they weren't being credited as the creators of Superman. In essence, Neal Adams nearly committed Career Suicide to help Siegel & Shuster and it worked out the best for everyone. Not only did they get DC to give them royalties and a pension plan so the two can live comfortably the rest of their lives, Neal Adams got Siegel and Shuster the right to be re-recognized as the creators of Superman and in 2013 there was a settlement between DC and the Estates of Siegel and Shuster in terms of the Rights of Superman. Now you think that proverbial curse would end? To which I say "Have you not heard the behind the scenes chaos that happened during production?". While the first movie remains one of the best movies ever made, it's no surprise Superman II, Superman III, Supergirl & Superman IV are the way they are nor did it come to no surprise when DC thought the only way to revive interest in the character was to plan a wedding between Lois and Clark after not only having Lois discover Superman's secret of him being Clark Ken and they planned a funeral! I am of course talking about "The Death Of Superman" comic book storyline while sales went through the roof it also left everyone in the creative bullpen who worked on the story stymied on how to remedy the solution so they went all in with all the ideas. While it worked the curse apparently struck again as "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman" did decently in their first season, everyone in the creative side, Tracy Scoggins and Michael Landes were let go! But it didn't hurt the series run. In fact they had some pretty awesome episodes ranging from adventures with H.G. Wells to the second season finale in which Clark proposes to Lois with whom she had been dating apparently during this season and in the next season's opener well... (Show clip of Lois saying "Who's asking, Clark...Or Superman before cutting to James physically as he is left dumbstruck before returning to the clips of the series and other Superman incarnations as he does a voiceover) 


TLOTA(Voiceover):
That's right people, Lois discovered naturally that Clark Kent is Superman and throughout that third season the series went into unique places like having Nazis return to try and take over the United States and a psych-out moment that might've sent the series south when it's revealed that Lois Lane is in fact...A FROG EATING CLONE! WHAT?! Who in the writers room licked frogs and downed 100 lbs. of the Kryptonite Green Brownies to come up with such a whacked out convolution that'd send the post "Jumping The Shark" seasons of "Happy Days" into the funny farm. While the resolution to that is decent and the season finale would've been a good set up for a movie starring the cast of "Lois & Clark" while that didn't happen as the series got another season as in the comics Lois and Clark exchanged wedding vows. So as the comics did that, the series got another season which has the two tie the knot for real this time but by that point tragedy had struck Superman fans again, this time around with the first actor from my generation to wear the Superman suit Christopher Reeve suffered a life altering accident leaving him paralyzed from the neck down until he passed away nine years later then came the cancellation of "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman" got cancelled due to low ratings and the possibility of an new Superman movie coming out which didn't happen until a year after Christopher's and his wife Dana' passing. That movie is of course "Superman Returns", me personally I enjoyed the movie and if it's on, of course I'm watching it. But as for what happened to Brandon Routh, the actor who played Superman in "Superman Returns"? Despite what the movie "Ted" had implied, Brandon is now "The Atom" in the Flarrowverse. As a matter of fact after "Lois and Clark" both Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher had fairly successful careers. Teri Hatcher was a Bond Girl, won a Golden Globe for her acting on "Desperate Housewives" and went on to Cameo on "Smallville" as Lois Lane's mother and appear in the second season of "Supergirl" as Queen Rhea of Daxam which has Dean Cain appear as Jeremiah Danvers as a reoccurring character.
  (Cut to James physically)


TLOTA:

So did every Superman and Lois Lane away from the Salkind series somehow avoid the curse? Or should I ask, Is The Superman curse real? Honestly... (Cut to different iterations of Superman as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (Voiceover):
I really don't think the actors or performers  who have been a part of the legacy of the Man Of Steel are cursed because of Superman, I just think they've had some bad breaks and the connecting factor is Superman. But for many mentioned they somehow embraced Superman, aside from Dean Cain, Teri Hatcher and Brandon Routh. Christopher Reeve decided to use  the Superman Insignia as a symbol of hope and promise for his foundation to help find a cure to paralysis in addition to that the voice actors who played Superman in animated forms still have careers in Hollywood as well as ventures outside of it. But if there is a curse and there are people who wish the curse was real and would attack Henry Cavill, I don't believe in it and neither should anyone who believes in Superman. There is a reason Superman is iconic, he does what is right no matter what happens and nothing not even a curse, if there is one will stop Superman from being a symbol of Hope and of Truth, Justice and The Human Way. (Cut to James physically)

TLOTA:

I'm James Faraci The Last Of The Americans and that's my opinion!