Man Of Steel: The Blue Boy Scout Grows Up...And Kicks Ass (spoilers)

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  • Re: Man Of Steel: The Blue Boy Scout Grows Up...And Kicks Ass (spoilers)

    Just saw this, and I stayed away from this thread til now. Actually, I'm kinda regretting even reading it.

    I enjoyed it (and I used my free movie ticket and I swear that had nothing to do with my quantifiable enjoyment for this flick, Moonhill ).

    I thought it was pretty good, and though I think Waid does bring up a couple of negative comments in his spoiler review that I agree with, overall, it was a good flick.

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    • Kryptonian Konversations

      I've stayed away from THE MAN OF STEEL and enjoyed not seeing it immensely.

      Apparently, a Canadian linguist was employed to help produce some of the Kryptonian speech and writing that appears in this recent film.

      An expert in linguistics, she helped movie producers develop a new Kryptonian language, creating a vocabulary consisting of about 300 words and working with graphic designers to develop a Kryptonian script.

      "Because Superman is such a large franchise, there are so many things to look at," [Christine] Schreyer said. "We looked at names previously used in the comic books, and movies and TV shows to see what kind of sounds were available."

      Schreyer said her work with indigenous communities who want to revive ancient languages helped with the process.

      And, her familiarity with made-up languages, such as Star Trek's Klingon and the Na'vi language devised for 2009 film Avatar, also provided a starting point in helping her understand how other linguists have created languages for movies.

      Schreyer said she also lay down the foundations for Kryptonian grammar.

      "We changed the sentence structure from English, which is subject, verb, object, so it would be subject, object, verb. Then looked at how words could be made from the sounds we had chosen."

      In the end, the scenes where the language is spoken were cut in the film, but Schreyer says the language is far from dead.

      Her work is evident whenever Kryptonian script appears on uniforms, weapons and spaceships throughout the movie.

      ~ CBC News (July 7, 2013)
      Having designed keyboards for typing a number of languages, (including the syllabics for Inuktitut and for a Shavian alphabet in English), I'd wonder if a keyboard for the Kryptonian language is shown in the film.

      Previous examples of Kryptonian writing appear quite silly to me; for example: http://kryptonian.info/lang/writing.html

      The Shavian alphabet uses phonetic English, can be easily read with a few hours of practice, and reduces the number of characters in words; for example: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/shavian.htm


      A YouTube trailer with Kryptonian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjrZVGhYnIE
      JEKYLL & CANADA (free .mp4 download @ Vimeo.com)

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      • Re: Kryptonian Konversations

        Originally posted by Fortean View Post
        Having designed keyboards for typing a number of languages, (including the syllabics for Inuktitut and for a Shavian alphabet in English), I'd wonder if a keyboard for the Kryptonian language is shown in the film.

        The Shavian alphabet uses phonetic English, can be easily read with a few hours of practice, and reduces the number of characters in words; for example: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/shavian.htm
        Did you fall off the toilet when standing on it and bang your head on the sink sometime around November 1955?
        M.A.G.A.

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        • Before 1955...

          Originally posted by SundownInRetreat View Post
          Did you fall off the toilet when standing on it and bang your head on the sink sometime around November 1955?
          Not exactly....
          JEKYLL & CANADA (free .mp4 download @ Vimeo.com)

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          • Re: Man Of Steel: The Blue Boy Scout Grows Up...And Kicks Ass (spoilers)

            Originally posted by Richmond Weems View Post
            I enjoyed it (and I used my free movie ticket and I swear that had nothing to do with my quantifiable enjoyment for this flick, Moonhill ).

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            • Re: Man Of Steel: The Blue Boy Scout Grows Up...And Kicks Ass (spoilers)

              Something must be seriously wrong with me, because in a movie featuring talking holograms and antigravity beams and aliens from the Phantom Zone, the one thing that had me saying "that couldn't happen!" was when the sun was somehow shining on North America and the Indian Ocean simultaneously.

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              • Re: Man Of Steel: The Blue Boy Scout Grows Up...And Kicks Ass (spoilers)

                Finally caught this with my six year old. It was okay. My son looked bored to tears and confused half the time. It pretty much felt like Batman Begins to me - the same reboot formula was applied which isn't a shock given Nolan and Goyer's involvement.

                I'm surprised to see so many positive remarks about Shannon's performance. I love him as an actor but it didn't seem like he was given a lot to work with here. The villain role of the film felt pretty one note and over the top. I'm sure there was some clever nod to 'Merica in there but that's old at this point in terms of these superhero/comic book movies. I also feel like Terrance Stamp gave an iconic performance and to go there again you better be ready on all fronts (like Ledger and Nolan were in Dark Knight) and to me they just fell short with every aspect of the new Zod...the one-note writing, the overly complex and ever-shifting plan/goal, and the over the top cartoonish performance. Somebody should have dialed Shannon back a few notches. He seemed enraged all the time and never really confident. I had a feeling something would be up with the performance when it was almost absent from most of the trailers save for one mediocre one that gave away Zod's coolest moment in this film.

                You MUST have an excellent antagonist for a good super-hero movie to really work -- a high quality and well-written antagonist in these types of films can mask and band-aid so much. It just wasn't there so the wounds of using the Batman template which is still so fresh in a lot of people's eyes and minds are left gaping.

                Can't believe I'm saying this but the coolest thing about this film might have been Russell Crowe, who felt downright Obi-Wanesque in a cool way.

                Cavill was solid. I couldn't tell at times if his performance was a clever, subtle nod to the old Superman character George Reeves had so much fun with in the 50's....or if he just reminded me of Hayden Christenson.

                Hopefully they step up to the plate more with Lex.
                "I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.- - Don Draper

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                • Re: Man Of Steel: The Blue Boy Scout Grows Up...And Kicks Ass (spoilers)

                  I would definitely agree that it's not a movie for a six year old.

                  I simply have to disagree with you about the film's Zod, which for me was a primary reason why I enjoyed it. I absolutely loathe -- loathe to the point of wanting to walk out -- any film that features a two-dimensional "power-hungry" villain. The old Zod in the Donner films is the textbook example. It's surely the most sickening cliche in film. These characters are always meant to be cartoon Nazis, whether they are explicitly Nazis or not. "I vant to rule zee world...powerpowerpower." Ugh.

                  These days, that kind of villain can only be seen as comic -- and in many ways, the Donner films are Superman action-comedies, if you like that sort of thing (though they do also have some touching moments -- just like comedies do).

                  But the Zod of Man of Steel had a compelling and understandable motivation. When he expresses the rage of his emptiness after Kal-El has destroyed his ship, and with it the inheritance of Krypton -- in essence, Zod's entire raison d'etre -- I found that genuinely moving.

                  Zod sees himself as the savior of his people, a goal before which he is willing to sacrifice everything. He is the perfect antagonist to crystalize Kal-El's dilemma: is his first loyalty to the heritage of his birth or that of his adopted world? And in fact, the film shows Kal-El hesitate for one moment before he destroys Zod's vessel, when Zod tell him, his ship is Krypton.

                  I can't say that I found much fault in the performance, nor in the conception of the character.

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                  • Re: Man Of Steel: The Blue Boy Scout Grows Up...And Kicks Ass (spoilers)

                    The performance was played like the typical raving lunatic, though. There was no subtlety or confidence conveyed really.

                    I mean several times Zod just screams at the top of his lungs for no apparent reason.

                    I'm fine with you digging the character motivation which honestly felt solid to me but poorly executed -- I mean when the character himself has to explain his motivations via an overlong monologue it's not ideal, ya know? Even so, motivation alone does not make for a good, well written character.

                    Heath Ledger's Joker, widely considered to be the ultimate antagonist for these types of films, had no clear motivation and a constantly shifting goal. It worked, though, because he nailed the peformance through subtleties and deep layers.

                    Look, I love Michael Shannon but he swung and missed here. In his defense, I think he was sent up to the plate with a whiffle ball bat as opposed to a Louisville Slugger.

                    And I'm sorry but it's a sad state of affairs for superhero movies when the six year olds of the world aren't at least considered by the filmmakers. Hopefully the next one will be more fun.
                    "I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.- - Don Draper

                    Comment


                    • Re: Man Of Steel: The Blue Boy Scout Grows Up...And Kicks Ass (spoilers)

                      Originally posted by joe9alt View Post
                      The performance was played like the typical raving lunatic, though. There was no subtlety or confidence conveyed really.

                      I mean several times Zod just screams at the top of his lungs for no apparent reason.

                      I'm fine with you digging the character motivation which honestly felt solid to me but poorly executed -- I mean when the character himself has to explain his motivations via an overlong monologue it's not ideal, ya know? Even so, motivation alone does not make for a good, well written character.

                      Heath Ledger's Joker, widely considered to be the ultimate antagonist for these types of films, had no clear motivation and a constantly shifting goal. It worked, though, because he nailed the peformance through subtleties and deep layers.

                      Look, I love Michael Shannon but he swung and missed here. In his defense, I think he was sent up to the plate with a whiffle ball bat as opposed to a Louisville Slugger.

                      And I'm sorry but it's a sad state of affairs for superhero movies when the six year olds of the world aren't at least considered by the filmmakers. Hopefully the next one will be more fun.
                      When I was six years old, I found Superman 78 dull, and I was a smart six-year-old. I wouldn't have seen MOS if the filmmakers rehashed the camp.
                      "A screenwriter is much like being a fire hydrant with a bunch of dogs lined up around it.- -Frank Miller

                      "A real writer doesn't just want to write; a real writer has to write." -Alan Moore

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                      • Re: Man Of Steel: The Blue Boy Scout Grows Up...And Kicks Ass (spoilers)

                        Originally posted by Madbandit View Post
                        When I was six years old, I found Superman 78 dull, and I was a smart six-year-old. I wouldn't have seen MOS if the filmmakers rehashed the camp.
                        Wha--? You didn't like Superman the Movie? Talk about a bolt from the blue.
                        M.A.G.A.

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                        • Re: Man Of Steel: The Blue Boy Scout Grows Up...And Kicks Ass (spoilers)

                          Originally posted by joe9alt
                          And I'm not talking about "camp" or "corniness" - I'm talking about a fun element. AVENGERS had it. The first IRON MAN did, too. This movie didn't.
                          But what I'm getting at is how hopelessly subjective "fun" is.

                          I didn't derive any fun whatsoever from either of those movies, and I certainly don't consider them serious films. They are indeed pretty campy (Iron Man doing his MacGyver bit when reconstructing his power source, and Loki with his Tyrant Lite routine).

                          On the other hand, since I've appealed to the box office to support my hope for more superhero films in the serious vein, I can't deny that the good box office for those movies means that there will likely be more superhero movies in that style too.

                          And that's all for the good. Those who prefer the less serious style can see those films, and those who prefer the more serious approach -- which I consider to be more fun -- can see those.
                          Last edited by karsten; 07-08-2013, 04:52 PM.

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                          • Re: Man Of Steel: The Blue Boy Scout Grows Up...And Kicks Ass (spoilers)

                            Our film experiences are greatest when we're young, don't underestimate children, man of steel would be a wonderful experience for any kid.
                            It's the eye of the Tiger, it's the thrill of the fight

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                            • Re: Man Of Steel: The Blue Boy Scout Grows Up...And Kicks Ass (spoilers)

                              Originally posted by karsten
                              Just my opinion, but I think 6 is young to be taking any kid to an action-superhero film in the theater
                              I was 6 when I watched Jaws and Jaws 2 at the cinema. 8 when I watched An American Werewolf in London (VHS) and 9 when I watched The Thing on VHS.
                              M.A.G.A.

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                              • Re: Man Of Steel: The Blue Boy Scout Grows Up...And Kicks Ass (spoilers)

                                I was 8 when my grandmother took me to see Jurassic Park. Single most defining moment of my childhood.

                                She said I sang the theme song for like 2 weeks. When I told her I was acting and writing, she said, "What about music too?"

                                God, I love her.

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