A favorite song can be like a favorite film. One can listen to a favorite song and seemingly never tire of listening to it. Just like one can watch a favorite film, and seemingly never tire of watching it.
The song Just Don't by Raphael Saadiq does it for me, from his album Stone Rollin. The song Set Fire To The Rain also does it for me, by six time 2012 Grammy Award winner Adele from her album 21. When she sings that song, it's as if the storm clouds were suddenly breached by rays of sunlight.
And then there's Skyfall as among my favorite of James Bond 007 films and winner of two Academy Awards for 2013, winning in a tie with Zero Dark Thirty for Best Sound-Editing, and also winning for Best Original Song. And who was the person who won for that song award? Adele, who had both co-written the song as well as sung the theme song for the film Skyfall. Let's face it that lady's got some pipes!
A favorite film like a favorite song captures you. Both arrests your attention by taking hold of your consciousness and your heart, working it on in there, seizing all of you and refusing to let go in that moment. For obviously there's a certain aspect or a theme within a favorite song as well as a favorite film that attracts you. And on June 14 th opening day, and last week again one week from that day, for me it was the latest reboot Superman film Man of Steel.
Money talks in Hollywood, we all know. Because they don't call it show business for nothing.
Yet despite mixed reviews Man of Steel came out on top on opening weekend at $125.1 million. Yes it did fall 64 percent after the second weekend recently at third behind World War Z. Still, as noted by Nicole Pedersen at collider/weekend-box-office, Man of Steel soared above $345 million worldwide. And some say higher than that at $400 million. This is despite the critics who either gave the film 2 ½ stars or who hated the film.
The question is why do I like the Superman reboot so much? There are several reasons why. But one involves a scene in the film while trying not to reveal a spoiler by not going too deep.
There's a scene where the visual consciousness of the deceased Jor-El (biological father of Kal-El/Clark Kent) meets the grown up Kal-El for the first time. In that scene Jor-El explains to his Earth-raised son, the meaning behind what's known as the Kryptonian genetic engineering Codex, and how he and his beloved deceased wife Lara (Kal-El/Clark Kent's biological mother) both broke with Kryptonian tradition by having a wiser far nobler use for it. And it was Jor-El a leading scientist, who also tried to warn the stubborn high council on the planet Krypton of their once great civilization's impending doom.
Again most critics I've read gave the film 2 ½ stars. One gave it three until finally recently; I came across a review titled Man of Steel: review by Brandon S. Todd on June 19, 2013, who gave the film five stars. It is an excellent review, very well written and very in-depth brilliantly explaining all major aspects of the film such as story, acting, CGI action scenes and cinematography. A definite must read.
One of several complaints among critics about Man of Steel, was that the battle scenes were long while depicting an overkill of destruction in the city of Metropolis. Well in Mr. Todd's review in a paragraph he explains that, within a sentence with Superman, "...confronting beings with powers equal to his that will inevitably lead to a brutal battle." That happened to be the second of three topics I've covered to counter three main critic's complaints, all in my previous HuffPost blog Man of Steel: Was Superman Super? For I mentioned that naturally there's to be a protracted fight, within my paragraph later ending in a sentence with the words with mankind was now witnessing the most powerful beings ever to walk the face of the earth.
The point being the second time I saw Man of Steel I counted about ten Kryptonian soldiers including General Zod who all landed on Earth, all with powers equal to Superman. And that is along with the advanced alien Kryptonian technology these ten alien soldiers bring. So it stands to reason an epic battle would result in near mass destruction of the city of Metropolis. Critics who've complained about this in the film obviously haven't looked at a superhero comic in a long time.
When superheroes fight in comics especially with amped up amazing powers like Superman, Thor, Wonder Woman and the Hulk, if they fight villains of equal might they could lay waste a whole city block. Many times that if they are fighting several super powered villains, or superior like Galactus or Darkseid. There are no Marquis of Queensbury rules in comics and it's not like a Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez fight at MGM Grand.
And then what also astonishes me is that Rotten Tomatoes.com critics had rated Superman Returns (2006) at 75 percent starring Brandon Routh (last name said like South) as Superman, yet they rated the recent Man of Steel starring British actor Henry Cavill as Superman at 58 percent. This even shocked Grae Drake Senior Editor at Rotten Tomatoes.com who said on Fox Business TV, that as much as she loves and respects the critics at Rotten Tomatoes she is shocked at the 58 percent rotten score of Man of Steel. She closed by saying the movie is not perfect but it is a good movie.
About Superman Returns (2006) I don't blame lead actor Brandon Routh, or any other actor in the film responsible for Rotten Tomatoes.com audience rating at 67 percent, whereas Man of Steel was given an audience rating at 82 percent. I blame the script concept, about Superman mysteriously missing from Earth for five years. Of course he later revealed to Lois Lane once he returned that he sought to discover the remains of his home-world Krypton.
Then there was the Lois Lane Pulitzer Prize winning article titled Why The World Doesn't Need Superman which she wrote while he was gone. And following later she tells Superman why, "The world doesn't need a savior. And neither do I." Now Superman could have responded with, Lois did I not just yesterday save your life and a plane load of reporters and the pilots from crashing, after an experimental rocket-ship launch malfunctioned atop your plane? But Superman being Superman, then took her in his arms before responding in his own unique way.
Overall I blame the script, and the director who shared in the story in Superman Returns. And I honestly thought Brandon Routh was good as Superman. Yet Man of Steel exceeds by a quantum leap. To which Brandon S. Todd agrees as he says in his five star review, "This is the Superman film we've been waiting for. Unlike 'Returns' this movie is composed of well- orchestrated, explosive, and dramatic action and story. It has style, substance, and Superman at his best." And obviously worldwide audiences so far at the tune of $345 million do agree.
He represents the best of two civilizations, as said by the visual consciousness of Jor-El half way into the film. But to go a step further he also represents the best of two father figures, Jor-El the scientist, and Jonathan Kent the farmer. Mr. Brandon S. Todd applauds the film as well as Ms. Grae Drake Senior Editor at Rotten Tomatoes.com. And of course so do I. Superman is back and here to stay.