June In Review

June isn't officially over yet, but since I have stuff I need to do today, odds are I won't be online blogging much.  Because that's the case, I decided to look back on the month that was June.  It started off great because of my birthday, but as the days and weeks went on, June was a tough month to go through.  Three of my friends left Massachusetts to begin their lives anew in new states, I almost failed my midterm, and all the local sports teams I've rooted for have had some sort of trouble or another.  Sigh...added on with this ridiculous heat and humidity, you wonder how a person's supposed to get by, but I have with some standout moments this month.  I've seen some friends I haven't seen in months/years at events like the Scooper Bowl, saw "Man Of Steel", and had a fun memorable and day hanging out with one of my newer friends Franny, who's been awesome with everything she's helped me with.  Because of her, I was able to give one of my dearest friends a card I made, which they loved!  I may not have been able to see my friend, but I was glad I was able to put a smile on her face.  June may of been a tough month, but it had its share of good moments, which make me look back on it fondly.   

Goku vs. Superman

My friends and I used to have a lot of arguments/debates back in high school.  All of them were pretty hysterical and memorable, but one that I'll always remember is Goku vs. Superman.  We used to talk about it constantly, but we never took it seriously enough to get a real answer.  Now that I'm watching Dragon Ball Z, and have seen the new "Man Of Steel" film though, there's no doubt that Goku would reign supreme over Superman.

For those of you who may disagree, I actually think it's simple why Goku could beat Superman.  He's had more training, can go all the way up to Super Saiyan 4, and gets stronger after every batter, which is something Superman can't do.  Yes, Superman is basically indestructible, with only one known weakness, but like Goku, he cares too much about humans, which could be his downfall.  Also, he tires out, which Goku rarely does, and if it somehow does happen, he has senzu beans.  It may not be the best argument to why he's win, but no one can disagree that Goku is cooler.

How about everyone else though?  Who do they think would win in a fight, Goku or Superman?

Man Of Steel

Man Of Steel (PG-13)

Grade: B+

• Directed by: Zack Snyder
• Produced by: Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, and Deborah Synder
• Screenplay by: David S. Goyer
• Starring: Henry Cavill (Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman), Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Michael Shannon (General Zod), Kevin Costner (Jonathan Kent), Diane Lane (Martha Kent), Laurence Fishburne (Perry White), Russell Crowe (Jor-El), Antje Traue (Faora), Ayelet Zorer (Lara Lor-Van), Harry Lennix (Lieutenant General Swanwick), Christopher Meloni (Colonel Nathaniel Hardy), Richard Schiff (Dr. Emil Hamilton)
• Cinematographer: Amir Mokri
• Music by: Hans Zimmer
• Studio: Legendary Pictures, Syncopy, DC Entertainment
• Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
• Released: June 14, 2013
• Running Time: 143 minutes/2 hours and 23 minutes
• Language: English

"You're not just anyone.  One day, you're going to have to make a choice.  You have to decide what kind of man you want to grow up to be.  Whoever that man is, good character or bad, it's going to change the world."

-Johnathan Kent

Superman is the most famous superhero of all time.  And when it comes to his powers, few are equal to him, but when it comes to films though, Superman has had his share of hits and misses.  "Superman I" and "Superman II" were great, but all the ones that followed after were duds.  As time passed, the films and actors have changed with the times.  We've gone from Christopher Reeve, to Brandon Routh, to now, Henry Cavill, in the newest Superman flick "Man Of Steel".  I didn't have many expectations coming into this film since the original trailers didn't show much, and I'm generally not a huge fan of the superhero genre, but "Man Of Steel" was a film that I thoroughly enjoyed, despite not being perfect.

"Man Of Steel" doesn't present anything new to us.  Instead, it combines the plots of "Superman I" and "Superman II", focusing on Jor-El /Krypton, General Zod, and of course Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman.  The film starts off showing Kal-El's birth, then shows how closely Kyrpton is to destruction because of it's unstable core.  Jor-El has a plan to save it, but General Zod has a plan to save it too, that doesn't involve everyone, leading to mass violence.  He murders Jor-El, but not before he sends his son off to planet Earth, with something he wants.  For his crime, General Zod and his accomplices are imprisoned in the Phantom Zone, but they eventually break out, vowing to find Jor El's son.  The rest of the film shows Kal-El, who is now Clark Kent, and how he must adapt to life on Earth with his ever-growing powers, enemies, and life problems.

The praise of "Man Of Steel", starts with Henry Cavill, who played Superman in a way I haven't seen since Christopher Reeve.  He's handsome like Reeve was, pulled off a decent enough Clark Kent, (which is always difficult in the Superman films), and he brought sensitivity to the character, which was rare to see, since Superman is basically indestructible, yet Cavill showed with his acting that even a superhero has emotions he must deal with.  Cavill wasn't alone though; I thought Russell Crowe did a great job as Jor-El too because he was a strong, knowledgeable male figure, with an actual important role in the film, which is something I couldn't say with Marlon Brando in "Superman I".  Along with the acting, the fight scenes are fun to watch.  Some of them may drag on, or be Dragon Ball Z/video game-like, but if you're like me, then you just like watching Superman beat the crap out of people.  It's good triumphing over evil.  What can be better than that?      

Of course, with the praise, comes criticism, and "Man Of Steel" has that.  Like I said before, the film doesn't present anything new in terms of plot, which isn't a bad thing, but if you're an old school Superman fan, I can see why that would be boring, like in the flashback scenes for instance.  They may be helpful, but we all know the story so well, that it's distracting, and interrupts the flow of the film.  Another flaw I saw with the film, which may just be something I feel, is the lack of excitement for the cast.  Amy Adams is good looking, and I like Kevin Costner and Laurence Fishburne, but they didn't fit their parts or do much in the film at times, so to me, they were a waste, and just a ploy by the film to sell tickets.

With everything I've just said though, "Man Of Steel" is a good film that I recommend worth seeing if you're a fan of the original film, animated series, or just Superman in general.  It has a few flaws, but they don't take away from the work Henry Cavill did, or the achievement "Man Of Steel" is.  Sure, you could argue it's like "Superman Returns", but this film pays homage to two of the original films, instead of one, and it just looks better, let's be honest!  I know reception to this film is varied, but give it a chance.  It might surprise you like it did me.  Or I may just like it because I'm still a kid inside, and part of me just loves seeing Superman return, looking the part, kicking butt, and saving the world.  Superman is back everyone, and he's here to stay!

Ed Markey

Ed Markey beat Gabriel Gomez in the senate election for Massachusetts yesterday.  It's not a shocking result, considering Markey is a Democrat, but I actually expected Gomez to win because Massachusetts has surprised me before.  They elected Scott Brown, who was a Republican, and elected other people I couldn't stand like Deval Patrick.  Also, Markey is old and his views/beliefs seem outdated.  If the people of Massachusetts didn't want to vote for older candidates, like in Presidential elections, why do it for their senator?  It just doesn't make sense, but goes to show how unpredictable politics can be.  I don't know if Markey will do anything, but hopefully he does something, or else this will be another wasteful campaign.

The Green Hornet Show

Over the weekend, I was flipping through the channels, when I landed unexpectedly on The Green Hornet TV show.  I had heard about it before because I knew it had Bruce Lee in it, but had never seen it before.  Watching it, I thought it was ridiculous with it's plot and special effects, but it was what I expected, considering it was made by the same people who made the Batman series with Adam West.  What I did like though, was the seriousness of it, and the fact that Bruce Lee's martial arts skills were on display.  It wasn't anything spectacular, but I still thought it was pretty cool to see the legend in action at all.  In today's culture, it seems like people forget about Bruce Lee because he lived so long ago, and there are other martial arts stars/actors, like Jackie Chan and Jet Li, but let's not forget who started it all, and paved the way for them and Asians in the United States.

Losers By Name, But Winners In Our Hearts

The story isn't supposed to end this way, at least not for the good guys.  They're supposed to win and triumph over the villains, but that wasn't the case with the San Antonio Spurs or the Boston Bruins.  For the Spurs, I wasn't shocked because they were playing the Miami Heat and Lebron James (although they should have won Game 6).  For the Bruins though, I was disappointed like everyone they lost because they outplayed the Chicago Blackhawks in almost every game, but blew so many chances to close them out.  I know it's just sports, and we as fans can move on, but this Stanley Cup Finals run was more than just an attempt at another sports title; it revived the city and gave them hope after the Boston Marathon tragedy.  You may not believe that, but lots of teams have revived cities after tragedies, like the New York Yankees after 9/11, etc.  Unfortunately, it seems like the right team never wins.

I could get into analyzing how the Bruins lost, but no one wants to read that (and you can see that anywhere on ESPN).  I just want to take this small space I have to say thanks to them for a great title run.  They may have fallen a little short, but for what they accomplished, thrilling us Boston fans, we'll look back on these Stanley Cup Finals with more smiles than frowns. 

The Bruins are holding their heads down after losing, but they raised our spirits in ways we Bostonians never expected after the Boston Marathon tragedy