Blog Archives
‘I Have the Power’ to Transport Us Back to 1987
‘Masters of the Universe’ is a superhero movie released in 1987 that told the story of He-Man (Dolph Lundgren) and his skull-faced enemy Skeletor (Frank Langella).
Yes, that’s really acclaimed actor Frank Langella underneath that costume!
Mixing actors and practical effects with (then) state of the art graphics, this movie became a cult classic. Not exactly admired by critics yet some of our favorite movies have received similar (unfair) treatment.
What may surprise people is that this ’80s superhero classic featured young up-and-coming actress named Courtney Cox.
Again, that’s really true. And she delivered a great performance.
Oh, and the actor who played the principal in those ‘Back to the Future’ movies, James Tolkan, was in this movie too.
For this Throwback Thursday, let’s relax and enjoy the trailer for 1987s ‘Masters of the Universe.’
While a new live-action He-Man movie is set to be released in March 2021, it’ll be very difficult to match the ’80s superhero nostalgia and soundtrack of ‘Masters of the Universe.’ While it’s a movie that was made before its time, we should still be thankful that it was made when it was in 1987. It has a unique feel and cast that modern superhero movies just can’t match.
You can call it the differentiating (cosmic) key for ‘Masters of the Universe.’
Christopher Reeve Was Super; Man Who Inspired Hope
When your blog is called Jimmy’s Daily Planet, a random tribute to Christopher Reeve is perfectly normal.
And necessary on a Tuesday.
Here’s to hoping we can return to some degree of inspiring simplicity.
The Fallout From DC’s Superman Rumors
Please No. Please No. Please No!
As the creator and writer of a blog called Jimmy’s Daily Planet, this rumored breaking news today courtesy of the Hollywood Reporter has the potential to be sad in many ways.
While we await public reaction (or explanation) from Henry Cavill in the coming days, Mr. Cavill has said many times in past interviews–even quite recently–that he is was very keen on a ‘Man of Steel’ sequel with a more positive/Christopher Reeve/comic book feel. This rumored decision to part ways with the studio seems like it was (or would have been) strongarmed by DC because of bad movie planning and poor execution in the midst of trying to hit the reset button in the middle of its burgeoning–and not awesomely received–film universe.
It also seems like the bullish move by the power brokers of the DCEU (DC Extended Universe) to unnecessarily mirror Marvel’s cinematic playbook by growing too quickly too fast came back around with a painfully bruising left hook.
And potentially losing its Superman is a major–and foreseeable–consequence of that decision years ago.
Broadly speaking, DC Comics superheroes are better than Marvel. The actors in DC property films are better than the actors in the Marvel films. The writing has not been perfect for all of its recent films, but by-and-large DC screenplays are far superior to Marvel films.
Marvel will never create anything close to Richard Donner’s ‘Superman’ or Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy.
If DC’s cinematic planners would have just been patient and grown its extended universe slowly through gradual individual introductions of superheroes with interweaving storylines, then everything would be fine today.
They’d be able to handle moving faster than a speeding bullet at your local movie theater.
The Cinematic Fortress of Duopoly
Christopher Reeve is Superman. Christopher is Clark Kent. Christopher Reeve is Kal-El.
The portrayal, reaction and legacy of actor Christopher Reeve as all the above in Richard Donner’s 1978 cinematic classic and superhero benchmark ‘Superman’ changed the way we see the iconic character who believes in truth, justice and the American way. It’s nearly–if not completely impossible–to envision anybody surpassing Mr. Reeve in this acting role.
Flash forward to today and British actor Henry Cavill is giving the role a nice go. Reportedly, he wants to portray the man in steel more akin to Christopher Reeve in a ‘Man of Steel’ sequel.
Speaking of these two cinematic supermen on screen together…
Superman’s story is a hopeful one.