Superman (2025) - Crossover with The Projection Booth x The Kulturecast

Welcome back midnight viewers to Midnight Viewing. Now, ordinarily this would have been follow Malone's Weekly round Up. In fact, I promised you a follow Malone's weekly round up covering the Sandman television series, which just returned on Netflix. But I was going to fold it into what's going to

Superman, the most powerful being on planet Earth.

We finally meet.

Now as planned.

I'll destroy you, and of course that reporter you always do interviews with.

Who raised you as a child.

I'll kill them too. No matter what you do to me, Luthor, your plans will work. Wrap it up. Good luck with that.

Nicko. They chose him.

Let them die.

Hi, quit messing around.

I'm not messing around.

I'm doing important stuff. Hey, buddy, Hi's up here.

Welcome to a special crossover episode of Midnight Viewing. The Culture Cast and the Projection Booth. I'm you, Elspike quite join me once again?

Is Father Malone look up in the sky?

Also joining us is mister Chris Statue.

If I call you bitch, does that make me super Girl?

We are gathered to discuss the twenty twenty five film from writer director Ed Hanco of DC James Gunn. It's the story. Well, I'm just going to actually reuse the intro I use back in twenty twenty one for Superman the Movie. The film stars David korn Sweat a sweat, Yeah, corn sweat or sweat yep, Koran Sweat as the titular

We will still be here. So Chris as.

The youngest one. As the youngest one here, what is your history with Superman and his various forms?

Sir?

Wow out me immediately. So I I had seen Superman Returns in theaters when it came out, which, as I'm sure we all remember, was such a filmic experience that they followed it up with nothing for a very long time. I then proceeded to avoid like the Plague, which of people apparently people don't mind not having anymore, the Man of Steel, which was primarily motivated by the fact that it was directed by Zack Snyder, who Yeah, I liked Yojimbo or is it seven Samurai when it wasn't five

Well, when I was a kid, there were no DC properties, There were no comic book properties at all. The first comic book character I saw in the BIGC was Christopher Reeve Superman in nineteen seventy eight. I was five years old. I'm sure Mike you had a similar story. So it was that and then Superman two, and then three and then four. I've seen every cinematic Superman on screen since he's been making flicks to greater and lesser interest and success.

Oh right, that's right. Superman Returns was technically a sequel to what Superman four.

Superman More, Superman two?

Yeah, two, okay, and four Okay. I was trying to remember if it was the we cut out, we cut a movie out scenario or not. That was a very

Well, and that's on the heel of us not getting the Tim Burton Superman movie that we'd all been the salivating over during the nineties and then, God damn, I kind of disagree with you. I think Henry cavill I don't think he was disinterested in playing that character. I think he wanted to play that character. I just think he was given the fucking most dour universe ever to be Superman in and who would want to play that version of Superman? Anyone to want to play this one?

Have understood that Watchman was visually compelling. What's about it? That's it, that's.

It, right, he gets surface things. That's why he used every music cue from the book in there. That's why he put fucking sounds of silence in there because he heard it in another movie. It's like, anyway, we are not here to discuss Zack Snyder. Mercifully his reign is over and all of his fanboys can shut up. Fuck up now, because I've really enjoyed this new Superman. I thoroughly. I had a good time. Honestly, I have a lot of fucking problems. Nevertheless, this was such a promising step

Very similar story. I think I have seen every Superman since seventy eight. I mean, I didn't watch you know, Superman versus the Molement or any of those.

But as far as I saw those in the theater, I was a kid. When I was a kid, there was a theater that was a revival house that used to show cereals. So I saw the Batman Sirius and the Superman serio.

Sorry, no, no problem. Something good to brag about, definitely, And yeah, I really well, I can't say I had a lot of hopes pinned to the two thousand and six Superman returns. I liked hearing the music cues. My friend Micah Thompson was recalling, you know, oh yeah, when we saw that trailer, we were just so happy about it. And he said, but what if they didn't use the music, what if they didn't use John Williams's score, would we have still felt the same? Probably not. And they were

But holy shit.

But yeah, this one, it's definitely a James gun film. It felt so James Gunn. It was more James gun than James Gunn. Could James Gunn at this.

Point you really think so?

Oh please?

I mean, James gun was holding himself back.

Oh no, I disagree.

I didn't realize we were giving our thoughts on the movie either, because I didn't give mine. I thought this movie was a step in the right direction. But just as your foot was landing, you tripped a little bit, just ever so slightly. It wasn't a full landing, because.

It was I will say that I enjoyed this movie absolutely.

I had a lot of.

Fun with it, just sometimes the James gunness of it got in the way a little bit. When it came to like Crypto, I was like, okay, yeah, I remember the dog from Guardians to the Galaxy three and the way that he would back and forth with Sean Gunn and all that, and just yeah, the Crypto felt so Rocket Raccoon meets whatever. I can't remember the name of the dog from the third Guardians film, who was also I believe in the special Christmas special.

I we're talking about Cosmo, And yeah, James Gunn has had a fixation with dogs and all all of his movies. That's fine, and now it's his dog as his dog now as an old Superman fan, look, I didn't think we were ever getting Crypto, and honestly I didn't want Crypto, so no one was as shocked as me. The Crypto was as well presented as he is, like. He was very fun for about twenty minutes, and then I was like, Okay, yep, okay, Crypto again, let's put him here again. At the end.

I didn't mind Crypto. I thought he was cute and everything, but he was just I kind of wish there was a real dog mixed in with the CGI version of the dog. I don't know if there really was a dog that was used in this film at all. It just felt like pure CGI the whole way through, and.

The dog is based off of James Gunn's real dog. Okay, good, Yeah, like literally, yeah, like that's he's I kept seeing my own dog and all the promotional stuff. It's like, all right, James gun all right.

But yeah, I mean I was surprised that Sean Gunn wasn't in it.

More.

I did like the little voice cameos from some of the folks that were in Guardians, you know, Palm and Michael Rooker I'm sure had a voice cameo with some of these superbots that he had. And I liked those Superman bots that he had because they really reminded me, you know. I was talking of that whole Tim Burton thing, the Tim Burton ordeal, the saga to get that film

But I have to be eradicator, yes.

Thank you, which loves to play squash on Tuesdays against the Yeah W Records.

And yeah.

But I have to say, as soon as they showed that video with Bradley Cooper, I was like, Okay, well, I know where this is going. He was sent here to conquer Earth, not to protect Earth. Eventually that's going to come out. And I just felt that sometimes it was a little too twenty twenty five with all of the stuff about online chatter and super shit, and then seeing all the monkeys with the brain implants and stuff, and I was just like, all right, this is a

Kind of like that he was playing it at eleven because he was like a rage baiting troll of the kind that you run into gaming online, like an actual, like fucking internet troll, but given the ability to actually, you know, use his brain as opposed to just typing the end word over and over again, this guy is much more of a nuanced asshole.

So he's actually lethal in person and thus not like an internet troll at all. He's exactly like a fly. He doesn't have multifaceted eyes nor wings, but he's definitely like a fly.

I mean, I think, at the end of the day, if you have a movie that's as narratively disjointed as this one, and you expect the audience to understand that coming into it, it's not going to be an origin story, which I don't think the issue of it not being an origin story is an issue at all.

Oh, I.

Get right to it, everybody.

I think it worked really well, but I don't think the rest of the plot, like you kind of alluded to, Mike, does anything other than kind of meer itself in a specific time and place. And we've talked about this before. It's something like the Twilight's own reboot and then something else that this the end of this movie, and Nicholas Holt in a lot of ways the framing device. And again I know James gunn Is when writing the script, just like I know who wrote the script for Ghostbusters

Don't make it this what plot? I would say During the entire film, I kept wondering what the plot was, and now twenty four hours later, I'm still wondering. The plot is basically Lex Luthors versus Superman, no matter what the scenario, and that always superos. That's fine, and I'm willing to go with that, but I do need to

I had it.

I had to vent my spleen about the fucking Jimmy Owlsen bullshit.

Manzanda, What did he do to hurt you? Father Malone.

He's unappealing, that's I mean, that's it. It's just, you know, he seems a very talented human being. Maybe he's a really nice guy. I don't like the look of him. It's like Billy Zaye. I know everyone loves Billy z Aye. That's the I get the same sort of ick factor from him.

Robin Wright Penn with me. I get it.

I get that one too. I get that. So yeah, yeah, I get it.

Get it. I will say. Skyler Goazando is very funny in the Vacation reboot where he's just having the ship beat out of him the entire movie.

So that was where I get there. That's where I learned to know. I actually learned to hate him there because I was like, this is our rusty.

This Yeah, but it's funny. I mean, we we just talked about vacation for the Chasing Chevy Chase podcast and I'm sitting there through three quarters of the movie just going that can't look so familiar.

Why do I know?

And I did like this weird thing where because he's not traditionally handsome whatsoever. And when they had the very attractive girls waving at him, I was like, are they waving at somebody behind him? And then later on when they see what eve Testmoker looks like, and it took me forever to realize that she was miss Testmcker. They just come calling her Eve through the whole thing. But when they find out what she looks like and they're like, what is it with you?

Jimmy?

Like why are all these girls throwing themselves at you? These very hot women? What is going on here?

I kind of like that.

I really wanted more Perry White. I really would have liked to have seen more of him, and you know, I really like the actor that played him, but Wendell Pierce, but it just felt like there wasn't a lot of them. And I guess I am not very smart when it comes to the Superman more. I kind of go back more to the old radio show and stuff when it comes to the Daily Planet, because I had no idea who this Cat Grant character is.

Oh, he's relatively new. She showed up in the eighties.

Okay, because I'm just like, who is this little blonde lady who looks kind of like Kristin Chenowith But isn't you know?

Yeah, it's a comparison.

Yeah, And I don't know, just the I think maybe it was overstuffed with characters.

Sometimes, yeah, I mean just having this time. No, but when you have this like bubble that they're in when it comes to the internet, when it comes to the media sphere, and it's almost like I'm done with it, you know, Okay, this bad thing happens. Then suddenly we cut to Michael Ian Black as cleaveless Thornweight doing his

Would you go to the movies to escape? Guys, you go to the movies to escape. And I know that this sounds fucking stupid, and I know it might sound pass, but I don't fucking need to be reminded about how shitty the world is outside in the fucking movies. I say, because holy shit, the world outside is rough as it is. But then it's it's Superman's dealing with the same stuff.

Why I am like, fucking cool, I guess whoop de dode like, I don't know, Like at the end of the day, yes, I'm glad we never had Iron Man was a drunk in the MCU.

But I think the MCU made the right call by not including that, because nobody wants to see Robert Downey Junior pretending to be an old version of himself that he didn't fucking and they avoid it.

No, they just puss it out. In the second one where they had that one.

With him, he's he's pissing in his thing.

So don't think that they fucking avoided that. They just didn't dedicate an entire movie to that story arc.

They did.

They played they played that arc out friend.

But they didn't give it a whole movie.

No, because you know, because nobody wanted to sit there for an entire movie. But I understand what you're saying about the times reflecting the movie and we want to get away from it and everything. However, all my fear going into this movie was I don't know that, given our fucking current political climate, when the world is on fire, that I can get behind some bullshit fucking like plot line of Superman and Lois Lane and Lex Luthor for

That's fair, But also, do we really want James Gunn to be the arbiter.

In this case? Apparent apparently yes.

I mean I guess, well, I guess, I guess, I guess when you piss an entire group of people on the internet off by saying and like, quote Superman is an immigrant, unquote, and.

I don't think he's being a rebel. He's not being a rebel there though. It's like the most basic fucking fact about the man. He's not from.

He is included in the Dean Kine Show, for fuck's sake. Literally, then the article about it, they quote an episode of that show. Like it's interminable at this point, how much people can't get out of their own way to just watch a fucking movie.

It's interminable that we have to even have the conversation, who gives a ship? What are you all talking about? It's fucking Superman. He is the fucking he is the moral center of this country and pop culturally speaking, Like, ever since the fucking thirties, he has been our beacon of hope, and we embraced the fact that he fucking came from somewhere else and could do whatever he wanted and chose to live in it and enact our ideal.

He disguises himself as a as a as someone from Kansas.

For god, he is from someone from Kansas exactly.

It's the I mean, here's and here's the thing. None of us are adopted. None of us can understand like direct adoption by two parents that are not ours. And that's the other thing that Superman brings is he's adopted by a family without children to be their son. And then he takes it upon himself to embrace that as a character, and that's part of his character. And in the movie, I think that's probably the best part of the entire movie for me, is those scenes with his family.

As Clark Kent was raised in Smallville, Louisiana, right judging from his parents accents.

There aren't.

They've never been to Kansas, but they know where it is on a map that was wild. The accents were wild. I was like people in Kansas, people in this part of the Midwest don't have any accents. That's actually the point. That's why so many call centers are in the Midwest because people don't have accents in the Midwest. So but yeah, they sound like they're choice.

Yeah, I mean, the whole idea of him being an immigrant is what a lot of the lex Luthor problem this when he's on the MICA, Sorry, how dare this alien come to our planet and think that he can do all of this?

Racist? He's a total racist? That should be enough.

Yeah, and then this whole thing of the two countries that he has fighting and all that. I was like, Okay, that's kind of your plot. So what I'm saying is if I was in the control room that I would probably turn down the whole thing about the media circus that is going on in our country that we have to deal with every single day, and maybe focus a little bit more on this maybe Ukrainian situation that we have when it comes to all of this. I mean, that is where the plot is heaviest for me, And

Any one thing.

I don't even know which she's okay with killing people.

I don't know which hot girl this is. There's a Thanagarian hawk girl, there's a hawk girl on Earth? Which one was she? Who knows, don't even know her fucking surname.

Yeah, and then to have the multiple villains and everything, I was like, okay, like maybe one rather than having Ultraman, which made me laugh every single time they said Ultraman. And then the Engineer, I'm like, oh, okay, but again they're medic humans, and if Lex hates medic humans, but.

He employs them too, well, I mean that Lex has always done that, you know. Yeah, I mean, but the Pocket Universe.

But employs them, you know, oh yeah, of course the movie.

Yeah, but I mean that's not small though. For ten seasons he was using them, you know.

So yeah, yeah, I like the Pocket Universe stuff. I really like the mister terrific stuff. I thought that was great. I kind of wanted a little bit more of Guy Gordon. I know he's insufferable in the comics. And my same friend Mike told me his origin story and he I love this back story, and I really hope they go more into it when it comes to the Lantern series that they're going to be doing. And I have to say I was a little delighted when I got to

Yeah, you know, they're going to have to explain that at some point, but I'm glad that we now see that as part of the thing.

I guess, yeah, they're just going to explain it off as some pocket universe of its own. Here's the thing about pocket universes, and this is always my problem with most super villains, is that they always introduce some technology to defeat the hero that in and of itself the patent would make them billionaires beyond their wildest dreams. Lex has effectively a teleporter. Why is there any battlefield at

Yeah, just destroy it.

Is I love a Pocket universe, They're get me wrong. I like the visualization of it here and some of the things they do with it. But as soon as that was introduced, I'm like, Okay, well, this is a whole new cosmic sort of situation. Now this has repercussions beyond just Lex hates Superman and wants them off planet. Like it made it a little too advanced along the plot, along the timeline of these movies, you know what I mean. I don't know.

Well, it's us slightly disconcerting for me, as someone who has not been a fan of any of the MCU multiverse stuff, for them to be introducing this kind of stuff this early on, knowing how poorly the MCU has handled it, and this is just getting started. Don't like you said, ba ba blah, don't go there. Now there's you can do a kryptonite box with Superman in it, like they effectively did that. Anyways, that was still part

Ain't invite Superman and bring Metamorpho with you.

I just I'm worried because I know the Peacemakers show with John Cena is gonna have to explain how he the original peace Maker from the DCEU, is now in the DCEU, which are two different things, and they're gonna have to explain it somehow, and they've already they've already alluded to.

The fact that it's just.

I want this to stay untarnished by shit like that, because it's been shown how easily you can just start getting into the weeds of stupidity with multiverse stuff. Because the MCU has like hardcore.

Yeah, I don't know if they'll ever do that. I just feel like the Suicide Squad was basically the start of the DCEU, the dc U, whatever this new thing is called. Well, and I read on Wikipedia that they're calling it like Phase one Gods and Monsters or something, or.

That he has been calling it since day one when he got the gig. He was like, Phase one will be gods and monsters, starting with creature commandos. And I'm like, you know what, I definitely want to think about Universal Pictures when I'm watching a Warner Brothers. Good work, James.

What do you guys think of Rachel Brosnahan as los Lane?

Loved her, He's great.

Yeah, I love that she's got a little Margot Kidder in her smile. I thought that was really nice. And I did really like Curry, and I really liked the scene of them doing the interview. I thought that was great acting on both of their parts, and I thought that both of these actors were terrific.

I knew we were in good hands when she made a choice as Lewis Lane to eat an individually wrapped butterscotch candy by putting the entire wrapper into her mouth and then pulling it out and then using her teeth to keep the butter scotch in her mouth. I'm that's great.

I think she's the best contemporary like you guys, said

You know, I can take colorblind casting like DRIs elba as Heim Dull, but I don't know where anyone got this idea that it's cool to make Lois Lane a blonde. Lois Lane is a brunette from now on, Let's keep it that way. That is all.

I thought you were going to go after Perry White. I was like, oh my god, what kind of podcast am I on right now?

Laurence Fishman was the last Perry White. I mean, you know, well, yeah, oh you know what they bitched about that too? Oh fuck kill they did.

It wasn't enough that he was Morpheus.

Okay, the people who ended up bitching that we weren't embracing Zack Snyder enough. Initially, We're bitching that Perry White was black. Let's not remember, let's not forget that about those Zack Snyder fans.

And you could hold a gun against my head and ask me who played Perry White or Jimmy Olsen in the Superman Returns. Maybe I would say Paul Dano was he? I don't even remember who these other people were. It's so tough that.

Perry White was Franklinngella.

Oh Jesus, wow, thank you, because I just could not think of Jimmy Olsen.

Was Sam Huntington, okay? Dylan No, he wasn't. Was he?

Dylan Dog with good of Night? Brandon Routh was Yeah, but.

Wasn't Sam Huntington or No, Sam Worthington, one of those white, generic white guys from the mid two thousands was yeah, Jy Courtney Worthington.

Sam worthing Sorry, Sam Huntington.

Was a jungle to jungle?

Was he?

He wasn't Dylan Dog deadhim?

Oh Jesus, Okay, there you go.

That's how the that's the real Brandon Ralph Kig that everybody wanted to work on, was Dylan dog Deadim Knight. I was disappointed, Mike, you didn't say that was your Brandon Ralph movie in choice.

Yes, Jesus Christ.

How what theater the one screening of the one theater in the United States that showed that.

I don't know, it just showed up, and then I saw it in the paper. I went, well, let's go.

That's wild.

He was so good. And not another teen movie too.

That that old scene with the Paul I can't remember that guy's named Gleason, the principal from.

Yeah, from the Breakfast Club.

Out.

Yes, I think that this might be the outside of Margo Kidder as Lois Lane. I think this might be the best version of the Daily Planet we've gotten in a while, if ever. I mean, Laurence Fisherman was good, but again not given enough to do.

No, I think it's fine, Like you know, it's as good as any Daily plan on. Ultimately, how much time do we really want to spend in the Daily Planet in any Superman unless it's Lowis and Clark And we're supposed to be spending time at the Daily Planet, right right, as long as everyone's kind of cool and doing their job and everything great, But let's get out of the Daily Planet. See what they see, what they're reporting on.

Give James gun the opportunity to make a Daily Planet TV show. You know, he's champing at the bit. He just wants it. Give me more, give me more.

Yeah, you're probably right. They probably will get that.

Actually, I mean I don't. Here's the question though, is any of that a bad thing or Yeah? I don't know. The MCU. I don't want to have another MCU scenario where its you gotta watch all the stuff to understand the movies, and I don't think James Gunn would do. But that is another concern, is that huge casting of the net and expecting everybody to get on board with it. It's yo, I don't want to have to watch four

I think even Marvel has learned that lesson. I imagine they're gonna start backing wigh the fuck off now with the.

Moonnight's not going to be an Avengers doomsday. Yeah.

Well, speaking of lessons from Marvel, I was really glad that the post credit sequences had nothing to set up the next movies, unless the unevenness of the building has something to do with it. No, I don't think so. They're just having a conversation. So I was really glad that it wasn't. Oh and here's how we're gonna reboot Batman or here's an email with logos for Aquamans.

Oh that's a low blow, Michael. Oh could you? Oh it's so fun to laugh again, isn't it now that we can make fun of their pain because it came full circle. They got what they wanted, it sucked, and now they're back in their idiot holes where they belong.

Yeah, I'm hoping. I've been hoping for the success of this movie just to shut them fuck up. I didn't it did not care what we got as long as it was as far from the dour, fucking bleak, just muddy looking like uninteresting, like these are gods and we're witnessing these gods battling each other, these gods. We're just we're not worthy as mortals. Just shut the fuck ups act.

That's why they don't have any good dialogue. No kalll or whatever the fuck Galagados.

At this point, the character is gonna shoot Lightning. I think we should use it, maybe ride the lightning here. What do you think on the soundtrack? Do you think we can get that?

Oh? What a boner that guy had for needle drops.

I was shocked.

I was absolutely shocked. Now he does love to have those montage of the hero kicking ass one shot and you know it's very yon due with the arrow and Guardians. What was that Guardians too?

Right?

When it's zipping all around and killing Taser Face and all those guys. That reminded me of that quite a bit. But yeah, not the needle drops that we had though. I had to say that Lois and Clark's theme every time that they would get together and have like their little romantic moment, I was just like, well, this music sounds a lot like Three Doors Down Kryptonite. Just and that guitar coming in, I was just like, Okay, For a minute, I was like, is this five for fighting? Superman,

Sure?

As a child, as a child, as a child of the nineties who grew up listening to that music, yeah, part of me was secretly hoping that it would the movie would end original Spider Man style with like with a Superman or Kryptoni, one of the two. I was just like, they're gonna do it, right, like what, James Gun's not gonna miss his opportunity, And he didn't do it. I was kind of surprised.

Oh I know, or that Aram cover of Superman, you know, I yeah, I am Superman.

I'm like, yes, do it?

Do it?

Yeah? No, he totally restrained himself. He ended with fucking Teddy Bears punk Rocker, which is just as obscure a fucking track as you can possibly get. I mean, I know it's iggy pop on the fucking vocal, but like, good for him, and that was beautiful. By the way, listen here. That's another thing that I wish had been Look, I think James Gunn is a good writer as far as themes go. I think he's top of the pops there when it comes to the themes in his movies

Comes to war, I mean, is that how we fight wars? There's a bunch of people on one side of a hill and a bunch of people on another side of the hill.

Is that like he.

Still all the blood those we do know that people will just indeterminately kill civilions. So why is that not the Oh? Because Superman can't stop all of that at once. Because that's the problem with this as the threat of the movie is it somehow has made a threat bigger than Superman. So Superman can never get directly involved in that war, which is also kind of a cop out on James Gun's part because he's involved in the backhand,

And yeah, well, and that's been the complaint about Superman for the longest time. It's like, would he stop every would he stop every murder? Like could he ever sleep? You know, if he's so concerned about human life and score life apparently, like would he go out of his way to do this all the time? And so with this idea of him stopping a war, and I like that happened off screen again, kind of going back to the beginning with that whole you know, three millennia, three

But it was just Superman.

It was just Superman, who I think will become like a Bizarro or something. And I know that this character Ultraman exists in the comics but I had no idea until again my friend explained to me what was.

Going on, and I don't know.

I didn't do any homework for this one, guys. Sorry, I just watched the movies. I didn't read all the comics, watch all the movie you know, the animated films.

All that kind of stuff. So I'm like, I don't know who this guy is.

I don't know, you know, what the all of the ins and outs and what have you of all of these references that are going on. I feel like I'm kind of done with that too. And it's more like, Okay, I get the Marvel stuff just because it's what I grew up, and I did not grow up a DC kid, so I don't understand a lot.

Of this stuff. I was a DC kid until until I was full on horror, so I have some grounding in this. But as far as any of the recent stuff like All Star Superman or you know, some of the stuff that James Gunn has been drawing on, no idea.

I well, you know our friend Richard HadAM, who was the EP of Titans, which was dce EU. I think he had mentioned that, you know, some of the people in the writer's room for that show weren't fans of comic books. And I think to your point, father Malone, like there needs to be a balance. There needs to be people that do love the comic books and are like you know, like completely just involved in the lore

Right?

Yeah, that becomes a problem. That becomes your first season of Lost. We're not lost, that becomes your first season of Heroes where you've got you know, the Skylar and the Peter Petrelli and they basically are invincible and you have no way of ending that. You know, just like what the hell we're going to do? And then we just have to kind of look the other way for

Yeah, I kept thinking like, I can't wait. I would like to like jump ahead in time and see that kid at like ten, and the guy's still there, but like they're friends now, and across the cube they're waving to Dad and Superman still like withered in on the ground, gasping, but like giving a thumbs up for Oh, the kids really made an achievement there.

Thank you home schooling him now, thank you for that bottom loan. I thought the same thing. I was like, how fucking contrived. That's I was saying, like, this is the most contrived way of keeping Superman hosted, so unbelievably contrived.

I'd like the whole idea of this prison, this private prison that he has in his pocket universe with all of the people that wronged him in some way, but I kind of wish that there had been more of it and more of who are these people in these other box So it's just even just like quick one liner kind of things of like who these folks are? The whole thing of them rabbing that poor guy that gave Superman a fullaful and shooting him. I was like,

I think he was hoping that Superman wouldn't give it up and that he would get to kill him and then everyone in the and the surrounding cubes would be reminded exactly how serious Lex Luthor was. I think that man whoever was coming with him was going to die and he didn't want information then anyway, That's what I would.

Say, Yeah, I mean, that's the version of Lex.

That was fucked up. This is the only time I've ever found Lex Luthor to be formidable and frightening. I've liked the performance the.

Way you mean him eating jollying Ranus and flipping people in the head and going the bell cannot be unwrung. That wasn't doing it for.

You, That that sadly did not, nor did fellow creep azoid Kevin Spacey fucking sleezing it up through that fucking horrendous movie.

It's a good reaction. It's a good reaction. Gift though. It really is.

Him with that stupid little Adam Rich looking kid.

Him in his bald cap. At least Nicholas Holt shaved his.

Head likes before him. Really only two excellent portrayals of Lex Luthor. That's Michael Rosenbaum and now Nicholas Holt in my face. Everybody loves fucking you know, Gene Hackman and that he was great for that time. But you know he's okay. John Cryer Luthor, he was okay, he was okay.

I mean John Cryer as Lex Luthor's nephew.

What about it?

The dude, it's steel.

Yeah, I think that was awesome. The creation of souldar Man, Come.

On, nuclear Man, sir, Nuclear Man voice by GANE. Hackman.

Why was it? The real question is why wasn't there some sort of cameo or nod back to Richard? What is it? Richard Pryor in the fourth one?

Third one?

Yeah, third one is the third one? Yeah? God, yes, yeah, Jesus, Richard Pryor everybody can't find a good movie role to save his life.

We've gone down some bad paths with Superman, just in those first three really have.

But yeah, that's the thing, like people my age really only know like about Snyder's stuff, like those. I only watched the first two Superman movies. I didn't watch three and four, Like I know they have a reputation, like they have a reputation, Like I wasn't interested.

Part three has one good scene, which is Christopher Eve separates himself between Clark Kent and a really a grizzled and angry Superman and they do get out in a fucking junkyard and it's awesome beginning to end. I'd watch it for that, but nothing YouTube that shit, I will.

But my point being like people my age, I mean, I know people that like Man of Steel like unronically. You know, I know, it's whatever, it's your choice, you want to like dowur and boring and bland and meaningless. Fine, but I'm so glad that somebody has said, like Superman can be a hopeful character again and not be just kind of depressing and sad, because look, I mean Captain America is Superman's Captain America. That's like the kind of analog to Marvel Is. They're like they're all that is

I would expect Steve Rodgers to pick to stop for me. I'm not expecting Chris Evans.

I mean, you know, you know what I mean. Like I'm not talking about the actual Chris ems but the concept of the character is portrayed.

I will say this, I'm skeptical of every new actor that they cast as Superman, and it takes a lot to convince me if they're any good at all. And very early into this movie, I bought this guy hook line and sinker in fact that this is what actually made me hopeful for it is that growing up when I was five years old, we were given the gift of the perfect Superman in Christopher Reeve. It's just like he was grown in a lab, like they said, make

And his interviews that he did for the movie where he talks about actually being excited to portray Superman and he's not bummed that might be the only role he ever has and that might be the role he's known for. Like again, I go back to Daniel Craig with the whole James Bond thing, Like Daniel Craig literally said, I would slit my own wrists if they asked me to play James Bond.

You know what, Ultimately, who gives a shit what the actor has to say. I'm talking about kids fucking interacting with the character of Superman here like it, and that's what.

But that's my point, Like I think he is already a good arbiter for that because the way he approaches the role is I am excited to portray a role that will cause me to be hounded by kids.

You do you think Daniel Craig's performance was lacking in the James Bond movies. For having said that, do you think he put in less of a performance.

There are times where he seems tired in.

The last movie and the last movie, I would say there are moments where he seems disengaged and disinterested. But the last movie, the one that came after the statement. He made that statement only before No Time to Die. He didn't make it before anything else. That would be the only time I would say I have other issues with those other James Bond movies. That last movie. Yes, there are moments in that movie where he seems disengaged and disinterested. And maybe that's not his fault, maybe that's

I'll agree with I'll be retired. I don't think about I don't think he was disengaged. I think that's actually it.

Yeah, I agree with you about Christopher Reeven. I have just amazed that we almost got Rich Hall instead. And thank god he's got so close.

If that bullet, if you had just fucking practiced before that.

Oh no, he got the bullet. He had a dial soap call back.

Oh that's right. It was Kroger who got the who took the bullet?

Yes, face right, Yeah, that can't claw.

He has a.

Gun stand mc laysh, I'll protect you. Very nice work. Where did you train New York Stellar Havler? Very good? Okay, Corey, let's try the same lines as Action Cat o'clock. He

I love that skits to me too. It's one of the best of that era.

I don't think Henry Cavill was a bad superman. I

I think had they you know, if they were able to cast twenty five year old Henry Cavill in this role in this movie, he too would have given me the same fucking feeling. It's just that he drew the fucking short straw man. He ended up in the wrong universe.

Same thing with Brandon routh Man. I will defend Brandon routh to the day I die. I think he could have been a great Superman, but he was in a shit movie.

Today. I think, really the only shitty Superman this is nothing political. It's been Dean Kane, like he just seemed like a blunkhead. Like are there others that weren't great?

I mean, yeah, I started watching that Superman TV show that they had a few months ago and just really didn't get into it. Also, for whatever reason, my wife is into the character of Superman, and I think it really comes from this whole thing of he's too perfect

And Tom Welling is good in Smallville, but that's Clark Kent. I mean that's I mean again, you want to talk about it being Superman, fine, I mean it is Superman, but it's it's yeah.

We never saw Tom Welling Superman, honestly.

No. Well, I mean you see the thing with John Cryer way later. But again, then he's given my powers up and it's like, okay.

Fuck us, that shit didn't count. Rosenbaum wasn't there, so that fucking whole special did not count.

That's true. And to your point, if Michael Rosenbaum gets mentioned in the conversation for Lex Luthor, which obviously he does, because he's amazing. Then I think Tom Welling gets mentioned for playing Clark Kent, but I think for Superman. Yeah, I think probably the least. I don't know that. Yeah, Dean Kin's not great.

Yeah, I remember watching some of that show just because Terry Hatcher was in it, and wasn't Mark Hamblin there as well?

He was. You know, I actually had a friend who was cast on that show, Lucy Lane, so I got to go to some of the sort of early meetings for Lois and Clark, And even then you could tell Dean Kane was a fucking maron.

But he was a great host of Ripley's Believe it or not all, Yeah, just read off the teleprompter. Dean just read off the goddamn teleprompe.

You just look at him and go, no, I don't believe.

It, no belief there. Yeah, he's like the anti Jonathan Frakes. God, I am so hopeful for whatever comes next. And I don't think that any one of us could characterize our feelings as hopeful after Batman versus Superman.

Yeah, you know, I mean, or me after Man of Steele. No, you know, not for a long time. Cinematically have I been hopeful for the dc and.

Yeah, it's the DC broadly, even not just Superman.

No, man, that's what this is actually exciting now. And you know, look, I think there were problems with this script. Nevertheless, it was a completed script. And I know James Gunn has been banging the fucking drum that we're not making a movie until the movie's ready to go. We're not gonna start a fucking movie and go, we'll fucking write it on the way. Thank you for doing that, sir. No matter where we go from now, and the slate of ones that they've been green lighting have been unusual,

And you know what think for as I don't know if Jason Momoa is poorly cast, but.

I will he is not poorly cast.

And not for Lobo. I'm talking about for Aquaman previously, because this is a Chris Evans situation. Once again, having seen it again, you might laugh. Jason Momoa in the

Yeah, I'm here for it. I'm here for what gun brings to this party. I'm excited to see what else he's going to be doing, and I'm glad that we're getting some of these unusual things. I mean, the whole thing going all the way back to Guardians of the Galaxy. So many of these characters, i mean, just the Guardians of the Galaxy themselves weren't known to a lot of people, and he just kind of had free reign when it came to this new toy box that he had.

It was fantastic.

Now, the second and third movies maybe not my favorite, but that first one I thought was great. And I hope this is not a case of diminishing returns as we go forward with the rest of these DCU movies. But I'm still excited right now. I want to see what else this guy does for us.

And I've seen people talking about the super Girl cameo at the end of the movie and how it's kind of strange and tonally and consistent with the rest of the movie. Okay, then that movie doesn't have to be this movie, and she's clearly going to be a very different kind of character, which is fine. I really like Millie Alcock too from Game of Thrones House of the Dragon. She was fantastic, So if she's the one playing Supergirl,

I think else we want to talk about Superman, gentlemen.

No, we had good things to say about it. DC movie for once, Isn't that weird?

I want to thank my co host Chris and Father Malone. So FM, what is the latest with you?

Sir? Check me out at midnight viewing. It's a twice a week show. It's a horror show, but we veer off into other genres and stuff. There's Father Malone's Weekly round Up on Mondays that's a new release, streaming and in theaters show. And then every Friday we have a rotating show where we look at horror anthologies of all varieties, including our Tales from the dark Side coverage that I

Everything that you want to hear that my voice is on is overt weirdinglymedia dot com where the culture cast taking a little bit of a sabbatical on that show, retouling it and doing something different with it moving forward.

What about you, Mike, Well, yeah, pretty much the same thing. Weirdingwaymedia dot com for all of the stuff that I do, all of the things that you can hear other than that one show which is available at Patreon, So you can get to my patreon at Patreon dot com, slash Projection booth. Thanks so much for listening, everybody. And yeah, remarkably a DC film that we actually liked.

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