Man of Steel sheds his boy scout image and joins the 21st century
Big release: Man of Steel (June 14)
Big picture: They could have easily called this My Two Dads. In this Superman revamp, a young Clark Kent wrestles between the visions of his human father Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) and his Kryptonian father Jor-El (Russell Crowe). On an important side note: Do we really want the guy who made Waterworld and the hottempered Crowe in charge of raising the most powerful being on the planet? Just asking. British actor Henry Cavill brings Superman into the 21st century, with all its nuance and grey-area morality. Let’s face it, Supe needed some edge. He’s always been the bland oatmeal of the superhero universe — albeit oatmeal that moves “faster than a speeding bullet.” Since his comic debut in 1938, Superman has been a super-powered choirboy, a teacher’s pet — a flawless boy scout who could do no wrong. With the Batman trilogy’s David. S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan part of the creative team, and director Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300) at the helm, this is Superman like you’ve never seen him before. … Dressed like a scruffy hobo, for example, hitchhiking across Middle America. … “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” as Dylan sang, but these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week:
MOVIES
Or as a thick-bearded, blue collar fisherman hiding from his destiny at sea. Or as angry, young man full of self-doubt and mired in an existential crisis. Amy Adams co-stars as Lois Lane and Diane Lane joins the E.T. parenting team as Martha Kent.
Forecast: Up, up and away! A little rust and few dents are exactly what this Man of Steel needed. Finally, a Superman we can relate to. What would it be like to believe you’re the last of your race, to feel like an outcast, to hide your true nature from everyone around you, and to learn the parents who raised you weren’t your own? Clark and Superman have always made it look so easy. But this hero’s origin story has a lot of psychological baggage. It’s about time we see it weigh down the man in the crimson cape.
Big Event: True Blood (June 16, 9 p.m. ET/PT/MT, HBO)
Big picture: A half-fairy, a werewolf, a shape-shifter, a vampire, a werepanther, a demon, a witch and an alien walk into a bar … an orgy and bloodshed breaks out. No, it’s not a joke. That basically sums up the premise of this sex-andcorpse-filled series in a confounding nutshell. The new season finds telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Winnipeg’s Anna Paquin), vamp Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard) and the rest of their ragtag supernatural crew taking heat from all sides. Bill (Stephen Meyer) has turned into some kind of vampire god who may or may not destroy them all. The Louisiana government has declared vampires enemy No. 1. And Sookie and her brother could be on the road to an all-out confrontation with Warlow, the mysterious vampire who killed
TV
their parents. But don’t worry, there will still be lots of time for sex. Sookie apparently takes a new lover this season. (Of course.) Given her penchant for otherworldly variety, I’m guessing she shacks up with a Sasquatch next. Forecast: Fans will be watching to see if True Blood’s new season remains pure. Series creator and showrunner Alan Ball left midway through production. Speaking of, I blame Ball for ruining the horror genre for me. I no longer fear things that go bump in the night. I know they’re far too busy “bumping” in the night to make a meal out of me.
MUSIC
Big release on June 11: Goo Goo Dolls (Magnetic), Surfer Blood (Pythons)
Big picture: Something old, something new, something borrowed … and something blue (maybe)? The Goo Goo Dolls are back on board their runaway musical train with their first album in three years. The 1990s charttoppers hope Magnetic attracts old and new fans alike. Meanwhile, acclaimed alt-rockers Surfer Blood release their sophomore album — a surprising three years after their debut. Borrowing from the musical stylings of everyone from Weezer and Pavement to The Pixies, this Floridian group has excellent taste, but a lot to live up to.
Forecast: Goo Goo Dolls need Magnetic to attract old and new fans. And Surfer Blood needs to prove their debut (Astro Coast) wasn’t a fluke. One of them could be left blue.