3 Razors

Superman: Red Son

  • Title: Superman: Red Son
  • IMDb: link

Superman: Red Son Blu-ray reviewBased on the comic mini-series of the same name, Superman: Red Son re-imagines a world where Superman‘s (Jason Isaacs) rocket crashed in the Soviet Union rather than Kansas. As with Mark Millar‘s comic, the film’s greatest strength is the set-up and the juxtaposition of seeing Superman grow up under a Communist regime rather than learning to fight for truth, justice, and the American way.

The script by J.M. DeMatteis makes changes from the original comic which are most evident in in the character of our protagonist who is far darker than as presented in the comic. DeMatteis certainly take’s the nurture over nature view as this Superman has far less respect for life than any we know (with the exception of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel). A common conceit is that Lex Luthor (Diedrich Bader) would have been a great hero if not for Superman. While still a flawed human being, the version of Lex is certainly less gray than even the Red Son mini-series portrayed.

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Adventures of Superman – Superman on Earth

  • Title: Adventures of Superman – Superman on Earth
  • IMDb: link

Adventures of Superman - Superman on Earth television review

Throwback Thursday takes us back to Metropolis and the adventures of a mild-mannered reporter for a great metrolopolitan newspaper who was faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. The first episode of the 1950s Adventures of Superman offers an origin story for Superman (George Reeves), with much of the episode dealing with Krypton’s final days where Jor-El (Robert Rockwell) is ridiculed for his predictions about the oncoming disaster (plot pulled directly from the comics) and sends his son to Earth where he is found and raised by the Kents (Tom Fadden and Frances Morris). Though goofy, the sequences are still relevant today. If you pinned “Make America Great Again” on the Kryptonians you might think you were watching Trump supporters ignore science at the cost of their own lives.

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Spider-Man

  • Title: Spider-Man (1977)
  • wiki: link

Spider-Man review

Throwback Tuesday takes us back to the mean streets of New York City and the first appearance of a certain wall-crawling hero. 1977’s made-for-television movie Spider-Man casts Nicholas Hammond as college student and part-time photographer Peter Parker. The story, however, doesn’t open with Peter but with a mind-control plot involving a brainwashed lawyer and doctor who rob and bank and then crash their car on command from an unknown criminal (Thayer David) threatening this is only the first of many such attacks unless the city pays his ransom. The plot plays on 70s cults (as one turns out to be responsible for the brainwashing) as well as providing an origin story for Spider-Man whose further adventures would be continued in The Amazing Spider-Man television series.

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Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular

Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular comic reviewThe latest DC 80th anniversary issue celebrates various Green Lantern characters including Alan Scott (the Golden Age Green Lantern who isn’t part of the Green Lantern Corps) but there are some notable absences of fan favorites as well such as Ch’p, Arisia Rrab, Katma Tui, Tomar-Re, G’nort, or Sojourner Mullein (who is at least included in a one-page art insert).

Along with the Alan Scott story, we get Earth’s greatest Green Lantern Hal Jordan in stories involving being trapped on a desolate world with his power ring running out, a team-up with Green Arrow written by Dennis O’Neil, and a story featuring Hal, John Stewart (who also gets a solo story), and Kyle Rayner (who sadly also gets a solo story) set years in the future.

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The Invisible Man

  • Title: The Invisible Man
  • IMDb: link

The Invisible Man Blu-ray reviewThere have been several versions of The Invisible Man over the years. The latest, from writer/director Leigh Whannell puts the focus on the victim of the title character rather than the Invisible Man himself offering a thriller about an abusive husband using advanced technology to gaslight the wife who has left him. Elisabeth Moss stars here as the terrified woman who even those closest to her believe is going insane.

When the film stays grounded (as grounded as a film about an invisible man driving his wife mad can be) it succeeds, leaving both Moss and the audience to question where the Invisible Man is in every scene (or if he’s even there at all). I think The Invisible Man would have made an excellent short film. As a feature, Whannell struggles to keep the suspense in place as the film gets increasingly goofy when our antagonist ups his game. The film’s unimaginative boilerplate ending also left me cold.

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