Review of TOGETHER: Sticky but Smart

August 14, 2025

When she got accepted to teach English in an elementary school in a rural area Fullton County, Millie (Alison Brie) and her musician Tim (Dave Franco) left the city and their friends.  During their send-off party, Tim changed outfits when friends said they looked good in matching jackets. When Millie sprung an unexpected public wedding proposal on him, Tim hesitated with his answer. Millie could not help feeling that Tim become distant from her lately.

One day, while hiking in the woods near their new house, they got lost in a sudden rainstorm. While looking around, Tim fell into a hole in the ground, and Millie fell in after him. They decided to build a fire and wait the rain out inside. When they got thirsty, they drank from a pool of water inside the cave. When they woke up from sleeping, their legs were stuck together. It was painful to pull them apart, but eventually they were able to.  

This psychological and body horror film was written and directed by Australian filmmaker Michael Shanks, his first full-length feature film. Like other horror films by Australian directors, the pace of the storytelling took its time, slowly but surely letting the horror build up. Tim had trauma as a young boy and still did not have a driver's license even at age 30, making him more susceptible to whatever "curse" that was they got from the cave. 

The body horror part ensued when their bodies began becoming literally stuck to each other when they came into contact. That episode of the stuck legs was just the beginning for more incidences to come, from hair swallowing to seeming vaginismus. This would later escalate to a degree that their bodies were literally being pulled towards each other, their bodies contorting unnaturally as they desperately fought the irresistible magnetism to stick togehter. 

Franco and Brie both give intense, unsettling performances. The cinematography by Germain McMicking, film editing by Sean Lahiff and musical score by Cornel Wilczek all helped to build up the uncomfortable suspense. The cave itself with its symbolic bell and rumors of a New Age cult as told by helpful neighbor Jamie McCabe (Damon Herriman) further add to the puzzling mystery. That choice of a Spice Girls pop song during the climax was genius. 7/10  

Review of THE NAKED GUN (2025): Drebin's Dry Drollery

August 13, 2025

Sergeant Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) was a Detective Lieutenant of Police Squad, a special division of the LAPD. The day after he stopped a gang of bank robbers while disguised as a schoolgirl, his chief (CCH Pounder) reassigned him and his partner Ed Hocken Jr. (Paul Walter Hauser) to the case of a crashed Edentech electric car in Malibu that claimed the life of software engineer Simon Davenport.

Drebin received a visit from Simon's sexy sister Beth (Pamela Anderson), who was a writer of true-crime stories based on fictional stories she made up. She believed that Simon's boss Edentech owner Richard Cane (Danny Huston) was involved in her brother's death. While questioning a bank robbers, Drebin discovered that the safety deposit box stolen in the robbery also belonged to Simon Davenport. 

This current incarnation of "The Naked Gun" is a reboot of a trilogy of "The Naked Gun" films released in 1988, 1991 and 1994, starring Leslie Nielsen as Detective Frank Drebin. The first two of these films were directed and co-written by David Zucker. The character of Drebin actually made its debut earlier in a short-lived 1982 television series entitled "Police Squad," co-created and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker.

This present film also used the same silly slapstick comedy style that "Police Squad" and the original "The Naked Gun" films were known for. Aside from outrageous sight gags (like those of Drebin and Beth in the kitchen as seen through infrared glasses), the script was chock-full of naughty or dry jokes of various degrees of cleverness (like how Drebin pronounced the word "manslaughter" or how some lines frustratingly wound up as non-sequiturs).  

Seeing 73-year old Liam Neeson as Detective Drebin Jr. is already comedy enough in its anachronistic senselessness in relation to the original films. Ever since "Taken" (2008), Neeson has been in several dead serious action B-movies. So seeing deadpan Neeson here in idiotic scenes wearing a short schoolgirl skirt with underpants showing or getting caught upside down with his pants pulled off, will make even the toughest nut chuckle.

Pamela Anderson played a perfect femme fatale as the elegant but clumsy Beth Davenport. Her comic chemistry with Neeson was electric (although that animated snowman bit did not exactly fly), and she even had a surprising jazz scatting song number. Hauser's character was the son of George Kennedy's character, but he was underused here. Weird Al Yankovic has his fourth cameo in four films. Great to see Priscilla Presley in a cameo, but it was too short.  7/10

Review of LASTING MOMENTS: Forgetting to Feel

August 12, 2025

Aki Orteza (JM de Guzman) and Sophia "Pia" Suarez (Sue Ramirez) are very much in love and have been living together for some time now. Aki worked as a teacher of Philippine history, while Pia worked as a marketing executive under her boss Carlo (Victor Silayan.) Aki and Pia are saving up for their upcoming wedding next year, followed by a honeymoon in Singapore. They have also started to make payments on their dream house.

One day, Aki was made to realize that he had been missing a lot of his classes. He had also been forgetting a lot of important dates, prior commitments, and pending bills. These issues soon made Pia feel very stressed and unhappy. On the day that Pia was promoted to senior account manager, Aki was fired from his job because of his irresponsible lapses. Carlo's offer of a job position in Singapore had now become very tempting to Pia. 

Many Filipino films released on Wednesdays do not even reach the weekend anymore and get pulled out prematurely. However, starting with "Sunshine" on July 23, the three local films released July 30 -- "How to Get Away from My Toxic Family," "P77" and "Lasting Moments" -- all made to a second week. Of these three, "Lasting Moments" picked up the most momentum, even doing better than the releases of August 6 -- "Meg & Ryan" and "Lola Barang."  

"Lasting Moments" is a weepy melodrama with a capital M (and apparently this is what Filipino moviegoing audiences want?) The problem with Aki seemed pretty obvious already early on. However, writer-director Fifth Solomon chose to stretch out the length of the drama to its bursting limit. The second hour felt interminable in its repetitiveness. Also we really did not need to be spoonfed a montage of everything Aki had been forgetting in the first half. 

The lead actors were very committed to their flawed characters, making their love feel so genuine so that their separation felt so painful. JM de Guzman portrayed the confusion of Aki well, but his sudden outbursts can get very jarring. Julianne Moore's more controlled Oscar-winning portrayal of this condition in "Still Alice" (2014) was more sympathetic.  Sue Ramirez once again proved here that any character of hers is likable by virtue of her winsome screen presence and acting versatility. Pia may have been too self-absorbed not to recognize Aki's real problem early on, but because she was played by Sue Ramirez, we forgive her. 6/10

Review of FREAKIER FRIDAY: Complicated Change-ups

August 11, 2025

Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan) is a music producer who is raising her daughter Harper (Julia Butters) as a single mom after her husband passed away. Harper was a rebellious teenager who loved to go surfing before going to school in the morning, much to Anna's distress. Anna's mother was Dr. Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis), a noted therapist and best-selling author, still happily married to her husband Ryan (Mark Harmon). 

One day, Harper and her new British lab partner Lily (Sophia Hammons) had an accident in chemistry class, so both their parents were called to school. Anna was swept off her feet when she met Lily's father Eric (Manny Jacinto), who was also a single parent like her. There was a whirlwind romance and the two were engaged in six months. Harper and Lily did not get along, especially when the issue of moving was brought up. 

This new film is the sequel of "Freaky Friday" (2003). The central plot of that original film involved the switching of personalities of Anna and Tess in the first film. To make this sequel twice as exciting, of course they had to up the ante by switching the personalities of four people -- Anna and Tess switching with Harper and Lily. This four-way mix-up caused a more complex comedy of errors as they pretend to be each other. 

In the first film, there was also a coming wedding between Tess and Ryan, with Anna was rebelling against it. There was also an element of the occult that caused the earthquake that caused the switcheroo --  the fortune cookies of Grandma Chang (Lucille Soong) in the Chinese restaurant of Pei-pei (Rosalind Chao) the first film, and a palm-reading fortune teller Madame Jen (Vanessa Bayer) in the sequel. 

Aside from the cameos of Soong and Chao, there were many other callbacks from the first film which loyal fans will enjoy. Mr. Elton Bates (Stephen Tobolowsky) is back as the insufferable detention teacher. Anna's band Pink Slip with Maddie (Christina Vidal Mitchell) and Peg (Haley Hudson) performed. Anna's love interest in the first film Jake (Chad Michael Murray) also returns, with references to his short-lived but intense crush on Tess. Anna's younger brother Harry (Ryan Malgarini, now 33) had a short cameo at the rehearsal lunch. 

While it was fun to watch Lohan and Curtis play Anna and Tess again, Butters and Hammons as Harper and Lily were rather hit or miss in their scenes. Of interest for Filipino viewers is the definitely the casting of Philippine-born Canadian actor Manny Jacinto as Eric Reyes, Lohan's leading man. When Eric's family came over, Manila and Tagalog were mentioned in the dialog, and the Filipino gesture of respect called the "mano" was highlighted. Jacinto also got to show off his dancing skills during the rehearsal scenes of the wedding dance.  7/10

Review of MEG & RYAN: Crazy Challenges

August 7, 2025

Architect Ryan Canete (JC Santos) had been a "good boy" all his life. He never smoked, never drank. After his father suddenly passed away from a heart attack when he was a teenager, Ryan was raised in conservative traditions by his loving mother (Ces Quesada), a die-hard romantic and fan of K-dramas on Netflix. Therefore, Ryan never had a serious girlfriend up to his present age of 35, so he was still very much a virgin. 

Meg Zamonte (Rhian Ramos) grew up hating her rich philandering father (Cris Villanueva). This hatred grew more especially after the death of her beloved mother two years ago. She found solace in getting drunk with her girlfriends who shared her destructive vice. When her gang got together, they engaged in reckless challenges, like one called "Kisslock," or kissing the first cute guy they see in the hotel corridor.  

So the Kisslock challenge was Meg and Ryan's first physical encounter with each other. However, they would not know each other's names until a full year later because of another chance encounter which brought them together again. These coincidences would then suggest that they are fated for each other, as what usually happened in K-dramas, perhaps those that inspired writer Gina Marissa Tagasa to come up with this formulaic story. 

As typical romance stories went -- boy meets girl, they fall in love, someone does something foolish, they have a major disagreement. Then, the audience just waits for the ending to see whether they end up together or not.  Actually the first two acts of this movie were actually not so bad. However, that final challenge went too far in its craziness, I simply cannot suspend my disbelief enough to accept that someone can actually do something that stupid.

I felt that the title being based on the actual name of a real Hollywood actress was contrived and corny. JC Santos and Rhian Ramos may be good actors individually, but their romantic chemistry together did not crackle. Meg and Ryan's personalities were too contrasting with each other to be believable that they even clicked as a couple. The ending was also executed and wrapped up in too much of a rush, a letdown given all the buildup.   5/10

Review of MATERIALISTS: Luxury of Love

August 6, 2025

Lucy (Dakota Johnson) was the star achiever of New York City-based matchmaking company Adore. In her job, she had met a lot of women and heard all sorts of standards they've set for their ideal man. One day, while attending the wedding of one of her successful clients, she was drawn to the groom's smart and wealthy brother Harry (Pedro Pascal). Unexpectedly, she also bumped into her ex-boyfriend John (Chris Evans), who was a waiter at the wedding. 

Upon reading the synopsis, the plot of this film seems to be a run-of-the-mill love triangle scenario. However, the main reason for watching this film is exactly the the simplicity of the story nor its all-star cast. The significance of this unassuming little film is that this is the second film written and directed by Celine Song after her impressive debut last year with "Past Lives" (2023), Oscar Best Picture nominee and Best Original Screenplay winner.  

Here, Lucy was a relationship expert, someone who possessed the uncanny instinct of matching compatible people together. However, she cannot seem to apply her matching principles on herself when she was caught between two men on opposite sides of the financial spectrum. Going with Harry promised her a life of sure luxury, but how come she still kept on thinking of her ex John, whom she already dumped years ago because he was poor?

Again, Song's eloquent screenplay manages to charm and mesmerize as her words were brought to life by her impossibly attractive actors. On  paper, the occupation of being a professional New York City matchmaker may feel contrived and risky, but Johnson's portrayal of Lucy was winsome despite her obvious materialism. Between him and Pascal one-dimensional rich guy Harry, it was Evans's underdog John who was easier one to root for.   

It has long been accepted in our society that diamonds are a girl's best friend and that we are living in a material world. Lucy was already living on top of the world, with rich suitor at her beck and call. Not considering that he looked like Chris Evans, does a poor guy like John realistically have any chance of getting this girl whom he loved despite being way out of her league? Now, you will need to go watch this film to find out. 7/10 

Review of WEAPONS: Disappeared into the Dark

August 5, 2025

One morning, Ms. Justine Gandy (Julia Garner) entered her classroom in Maybrook Elementary School as usual. However today, she was taken aback when she the room was practically empty. Out of the 18 students in her class, only one was present -- a shy little boy seated at the back row, named Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher). When none of the other children showed up anymore, the police were called in to investigate their disturbing disappearance. 

School principal Andrew Marcus (Benedict Wong) tried his best to protect Justine, but some parents still think that she was responsible for the children going missing. The most aggressive among them was like Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), who was very distraught over the loss of his son Matthew (Luke Speakman). The police investigation also involved interviewing Alex, along with his father (Whitmer Thomas) and his visiting old aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan). 

This is the second horror film written and directed by Zach Cregger. His first one was "Barbarian" (2022), a low-budget film about an AirBnb in Detroit with a very dark past which had just been double-booked. The film earned a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes (RT) with 207 reviews, and was a commercial hit as well. Hence, this sophomore project of Cregger is very highly anticipated. Thus far, the film had already earned a 100% on RT with 19 reviews.

Instead of the typical linear style, Cregger told his story from the points of view of different people -- from Justine, Archer, police officer Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), drug junkie James (Austin Abrams), Marcus, and finally Alex. Therefore, we get the finer details of the story served in small installments, allowing the audience to just piece and solve the whole mystery together in our heads, leading up to one ultra-violent, yet very satisfying, climax.

Cregger played with several types of horror tropes within this 128 minute-long film, from jerky jump scares to suspenseful tracking shots, to creepy nightmare scenarios. Body horror played a significant part in the fear factor with grotesque facial appearances, with mutilation scenes of escalating violence and gore. The build-up may have been a slowburn at first, but the finale sequence had everyone at the edge of their seats, while having fun along the way. 8/10

Review of SUNSHINE: Advocating for Agency

 July 23, 2025

19-year old Sunshine Francisco (Maris Racal) had been a serious rhythmic gymnast for 9 years already.  She had been successful in local and international tournaments, so she had a legion of admirers. She had daily training sessions with her coach (Merylle Soriano), as the Olympic team qualifying competition was coming up in three months.  One afternoon, she collapsed in the middle of her ribbon routine. Her worst fear was confirmed by a test kit.

A Filipino film about a woman contemplating abortion for an unexpected pregnancy is bound to be controversial. During the 18th Cinemalaya Filmfest, "12 Weeks" (2022) by Anna Isabelle Matutina told the story of Alice (Max Eigenmann), a 40 year-old journalist whose unexpected pregnancy in middle age shook her self-confidence, so she thought of aborting it. (I'm not sure if Matutina's nickname Sunshine somehow inspired the title of this new film.)

Now if that film raised eyebrows, what more this new film? Here, veteran director Antonette Jadaone that told the story of Sunshine, a teenager who naively engaged in unprotected sex with her boyfriend Miggy (Elijah Canlas). He was the first person she told about her predicament, and the creep just hastily ordered her to get rid of it, with no remorse nor compassion, leaving her all alone to solve her problem herself, in the streets of Quiapo.

Sunshine lived in a small house in a poor neighborhood, with her elder sister (Jennica Garcia) who was struggling to raise an infant on her own. The circumstances why their situation was like this was never even brought up. It was enough to know that Sunshine knew how much sacrifice it entailed to be a young mother without a responsible partner. Sunshine certainly knew she did not want this baby, and missing the Olympics team was not the only reason.   

If her coach (Meryll Soriano) knew the truth, Sunshine knew she would be out of the national team outright. Her BFF Thea (Xyriel Manabat) chose to obey her mother's close-minded instructions to abandon her friend. However, Sunshine did have someone playing devil's advocate and external conscience for her. There was this mysterious unnamed little girl (Annika Co) who randomly appeared to argue against Sunshine's decisions. 

This film did not shirk from showing the harrowing consequences of attempting an abortion. It showed how desperate girls blindly trust shady pills bought from a street vendor, or a neighborhood "hilot" with questionable unsterile techniques, not knowing how it could cause severe complications that could bring them to the brink of death. Then, they have to face judgmental and sanctimonious doctors (like Dra. Asuncion played by Madeleine Nicolas) who deride them for being rash and immoral.

It all boils down to a woman's right to have agency over her own body, not anyone else. And as long as abortion remained illegal, women with unwanted pregnancies have to resort to medically-unsafe ways of getting rid of the fetus, putting their lives in danger. However, no matter how this film ends, abortion will always be a contentious issue that will probably not gain much traction in ultra-conservative, predominantly Catholic Philippine society any time soon. It certainly took chutzpah for these filmmakers to produce a film like this. 

That said, the film was very well-made, with excellent camera work by cinematographer by Pao Orendain and that suspenseful musical score by Rico Blanco.  In the titular role, Maris Racal gives a performance with grit and honesty well outside her usual comfort zone. Her ribbon routines look very authentic, thanks to editor Benjamin Tolentino. Garcia, Co and Rhed Bustamante (as pregnant 13 year-old Mary Grace) gave strong supporting turns.  8/10

 

Review of THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS: Fighting as a Family

July 22, 2025

On the alternate reality world of 828 Earth, the Fantastic Four were celebrating their anniversary as a team of protectors of the planet. They were astronauts who gained their superpowers from an exposure to cosmic rays during an interstellar mission. Upon their return, they used their super-human abilities to fight various nefarious villains, earning them the love and admiration of humans. They even had their own Saturday morning cartoon show on TV.

At this time, Sue was pregnant with her first baby after several years of trying. Husband Reed was very concerned about if their baby would inherit any of their superpowers, while their other two teammates / housemates were excited to be the best uncles to this special child. Meanwhile, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garder) appeared on Times Square as a herald to a planet-eating entity named Galactus (Ralph Ineson) who had Earth next in line to destroy.  

The Fantastic Four were led by Reed Richards or Mr. Fantastic (Pedro Pascal) who can stretch his body like rubber; his wife Sue Storm or Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby) who can generate force shields and turn invisible; Sue's younger brother Johnny Storm or the Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) who can turn himself into a flying rocket of flames; and Reed's best friend Ben Grimm or The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) whose skin was made of rock.  

The first film about Marvel's First Family was "Fantastic Four" (2005) starring Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, and Chris Evans in his Marvel debut. Despite the mixed reviews, it had a sequel "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" (2007), which also had middling to bad reviews. A forgettable reboot "Fantastic Four" (2015) starring Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Michael B. Jordan in his Marvel debut, was a critical and commercial disaster.

Directed by Matt Shakman, the look was totally different, as the new production design, pastel color palette and retro costumes had a classic vibe, reflecting how the first FF comics by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee came out in the early 1960s, with futuristic elements like a flying car and a delightful robot butler H.E.R.B.I.E.  As a reboot of a franchise that struggled to be portrayed on the big screen before, this one had a totally fresh vibe, a clean start and re-introduction.

It tackled the same Silver Surfer and Galactus storyline from the 2007 film, but it incorporated the birth of Reed and Sue's son Franklin into the mix. This made the stakes more personal for the FF team than ever, as this baby became the bargaining chip upon which the salvation of planet Earth hinged on. As a result, the final showdown between FF and Galactus became a showcase for the emotional dynamics of this team as a family with heartfelt sincerity. 

The personalities of the four members of FF felt different from how they were portrayed in films before. Pascal's Reed Richards was a ball of insecurities beside the cool confidence of Kirby's Sue Storm. Quinn's Johnny Storm was a funny guy, but his reputation as a ladies' man was played down here. The pure loyalty Moss-Bachrach's Grimm came across solidly, as his budding crush for teacher Rachel (Natasha Lyonne) was only hinted at, so far.  

The throwback feel may slow at the start, especially as the FF's origin story was summarized as a flashback narration for a TV special of talk show host Ted Gilbert (Matt Gatiss). However, the film really came alive whenever the bad guys were on the screen. The production's decision to gender-switch the Silver Surfer and to represent Galactus as a solid armored colossus proved to be astute, tweaking their portrayal in the 2007 film for the better. 7/10

Review of BRING HER BACK: Foster with Fear

July 17, 2025

17 year-old Andy (Billy Barratt) was a good elder brother to his visually-impaired step-sister Piper (Sora Wong). When their father suddenly died, they had to be taken to stay with a foster parent. They were assigned to veteran counselor Laura (Sally Hawkins) to take care of them. Laura seemed friendly even as she was still mourning the death of her blind daughter Cathy (Mischa Heywood) and was also raising a deaf-mute boy Ollie (Jonah Wren Phillips).  

In the last decade or so, Australian horror movies have been picking up momentum, and being appreciated all over the world for its unusual take on the usual horror tropes. The first Australian horror I've seen was of the disturbing, psychological kind. "Dead Calm" (1989), starring Sam Neill with pre-famous Nicole Kidman and Billy Zane, was about a couple sailing on their yacht who picked up a marooned stranger who may be a killer .

However, the current attention with Australian horror was revived with "The Babadook" (2014), about a widow raising her disturbed young son, who believed the monster in his bedtime storybook is alive. Following that, there was "Killing Ground" (2016) about a family vacation gone grisly wrong, "Hounds of Love" (2016) about a couple on a serial killing spree, and the depressing "Relic" (2020) about an elderly widow dealing with dementia. 

In 2022, twin brothers and YouTubers Danny and Michael Philippou made their directorial debut with "Talk to Me." This was about a group of teenagers playing with a ceramic hand, which allowed the holder to communicate and be possessed by spirits.  "Talk to Me" was co-produced by Causeway Films, which also produced "The Babadook." This film now ranks among the biggest worldwide box-office hit films distributed by A24. 

"Bring Her Back" is the much-anticipated second film of the Philippou twins, also co-produced by Causeway Films and distributed by A24. The centerpiece of its horror is the completely unhinged performance of Sally Hawkins as Laura, a woman driven to murderous psychosis by the death of her daughter. From the start, Laura exuded an air of weirdness, which Hawkins expertly escalated into full psycho-biddy mayhem with measured skill.

Barratt's Andy was abused and gaslighted, but he would still do what he can to protect his sister. Wong, really visually- impaired with her inborn coloboma and microphthalmia, was naturally vulnerable in her film debut. Wren Phillips's Ollie had the most disgusting scenes here, including a knife-chewing stunt sure to make you flinch.  Child abuse is true horror, never easy to swallow, especially now when disturbingly magnified on the big screen like this. 7/10

Review of SUPERMAN (2025): Concerning Clark and his Choices

July 7, 2025

After gaining access to files from the Fortress of Solitude, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) has accused Superman (David Corenswet) of being sent to Earth to subdue it in the name of Krypton. With his powerful henchmen -- the nanotechnology-charged Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría) and the mysterious masked fighter Hammer of Boravia -- Luthor was able to bring Superman down on his knees and incarcerate him in a pocket dimension. 

Writer-director James Gunn began the film with an intro recounting events from 3 centuries ago, 3 decades ago, 3 years ago, 3 days ago, 3 hours ago, up to 3 minutes ago until we see a severely injured Superman hurtling down from the sky into the snows of Antarctica. He was involved in an armed conflict between two countries -- Boravia and Jarhanpur. Of course, Luthor was behind the scenes manipulating the strings of the war, and the Hammer.

As we have previously seen in his previous Marvel films -- the "Guardians of the Galaxy" series (2014, 2017 and 2023) and the reboot of "The Suicide Squad" (2021) -- Gunn's signature brand of action and humor and pop rock music are also all over his version of "Superman." With this heartful story that made Superman the unexpected underdog, Gunn was able to restore our emotional connection to this beloved superhero from planet Krypton. 

A major factor for this film's success was the casting of David Corenswet as the Man of Steel. Aside from his relatively unfamiliar and unwieldy name, Corenswet is coming in with the disadvantage of taking over the role many fans think should have stayed with Henry Cavill of the Zack Snyder DC films. However, Corenswet brought to his Superman a winsome charm, as well as a tangible sense of human vulnerability that makes us care for him.

The humanity of this Superman are obvious in his various personal relationships. Corenswet's Clark Kent has an electric chemistry with Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane, certainly more than Cavill and Adams did. The scenes he shared with his Earth parents Jonathan and Martha Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell) creates a wave of filial nostalgia. Even how Superman treated the robots of the Fortress, like Greg (Alan Tudyk), evoked pure kindness.

Particularly delightful among Superman's relationships was the one he had with the super-dog Krypto.  It is a Kryptonian breed, but it looked furrier and more terrier-like than the cartoon Krypto.  This naughty canine would just do whatever chaotic activity it set its mind on doing, while poor Supes helplessly tried to order him to stop, to no avail, resulting in some of this film's most unpredictable and unruly scenes. Dog owners will identify, and smile. 

Superman also interacts with a new group of heroes called the Justice Gang. Their Green Lantern  (Nathan Fillion) with a weird streak and who sported a blond bowl haircut. Their Hawkgirl (Isabel Merced) was a fearsome flying fighter, but had a grumpy attitude about her.  The coolest of these new heroes was Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), whose extraordinary techie action scenes elicited spontaneous applause. Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan), a metahuman who can convert his body into any element, is introduced with a conflict of dramatic heft. 

And then there is the classic genius villain -- Lex Luthor. Nicholas Hoult gave him an air of angry pride we did not see from previous actors. The way this Luthor was "personally" fighting Superman virtually by calling out every punch and kick delivered by the Hammer was ingeniously executed. This Luthor evil was borne out of extreme envy, the intensity of which Hoult conveyed with such remarkable restraint, which may make him Oscar-bound.

There were several callbacks to the original 1977 "Superman" film by Richard Donner from which Gunn gained his inspiration for this version. Of course, the iconic theme music by John Williams was heard many times, evoking memories of younger days past. The singular silver font and presentation of the closing credits was met with cheers. Christopher Reeve's son Will Reeve even has a cameo appearance as a news reporter. 

The Daily Planet crew were all there, led by their gruff editor-in-chief Perry White (Wendell Pierce). For serious DC fans in the know, there were cameos by government agent Rick Flag, Jr. (Frank Grillo), and tech billionaire Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn), who was the corporate sponsor behind the Justice Gang. Before the film ended, there was also a sneak preview of a certain Super relative who is set to have a movie of her own in 2026. 

Overall, Gunn's vision of Superman was old-fashioned and sentimental, but updated with complex science fiction with innovative technology. How Lois Lane can pilot a new-fangled air craft or how Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) could be an irresistible ladies' man may seem silly, but chalk those up to Gunn's campy sense of comedy. I have high hopes this film could give the struggling DC film universe the boost it needs to reach new heights it deserves. 9/10