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 "Nosferatu"

I'm a Robert Eggers fan. I have three of his four movies now, and all 3 I have enjoyed very much. Last week my dad and I decided we were going to see "Nosferatu". We try to see a movie during the holiday season and this was one that we both wanted to see. I had high expectations because I love "The Lighthouse" and "The Northman" is one of the coolest movies that has ever been made. The early reviews were also very favorable. As we settled in and sat back, I was ready to love Eggers vision for "Nosferatu".

And, it delivered on every level for me as a movie goer. This movie was an absolute homerun. I have only recently seen the original from 1922, and Eggers and crew do that movie some solid justice. The story is pretty much the same, but they added dialogue and made it a little more understandable. We also get to see Count Orlok early on in this movie, and we get to hear his horrifying voice. Bill Skarsgaard does an admirable job as the Count. He plays him menacingly and unforgiving. He is a truly wretched being, and Skarsgaard nailed it. I am more impressed with each role I see him in. He is a good actor and he seems to have found his niche in Hollywood. Lily Rose Depp is undeniably great as Ellen, the one whom Orlok is obsessed with. She is pitch perfect here. The convulsions and visions also felt very real to me. Depp never dives into cliche stuff with this role. She embodies this sickness and it shows on screen. Nicholas Hoult is very good as the husband. You buy his naivete at first, but then when he encounters Orlok, his whole outlook on the world changes, and Hoult embraces the madness incredibly well. You can see the agony and fear on his face when he goes to sell the Count the new home he is purchasing. Aaron Taylor Johnson and Emma Corrin give very good performances as the married couple friends of the Hutter's, who take on Ellen when Thomas is sent away. They have a family and a life, but all that is on hold when Ellen comes to stay with them. You see their grief and frustration. Ralph Ineson, a buddy of Eggers I presume, is wonderful as the doctor trying to help Ellen with her issues, but he won't buy into the occult. Instead, he enlists his former professor, played excellently by Willem Defoe, to take on the patient. Defoe is magnetic. I loved every single second he was on screen. Defoe is one of my favorite actors, and he is more than game for this role in this movie. From his dusty jacket to acting with live rats, Defoe nails it here. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Simon McBurney as Knock. He is Orlok's pet so to speak. Everything he does is in service to Orlok, and he will go to great lengths to get the job done.

Outside of the cast, the cinematography and the story are dynamite. There are some shots in this movie that are impeccable. When Hutter meets the chariot that takes him to the castle at a fork in the road, that was an amazing shot. Every time we get more of a glimpse of Orlok, it gets spookier and spookier. The castles are big and beautiful to look at on screen. The story is simple enough, but the actors have totally bought in and they really sell it to the viewer. I was on the edge of my seat the entire two plus hour long runtime. I didn't want to miss a thing. For as gross and gory as some of the stuff in the movie was, it was all needed to move along the plot and let us know why we were in certain situations.

"Nosferatu" is truly an achievement and a movie I think a lot of people should see on a big screen. I cannot recommend this movie enough. 

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.