It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s the newest movie remake of the Superman story, this time called Man of Steel(rated PG).  This new stab at the Superman story is at the directorial hands of Zach Synder(300/Watchmen) and producer hands of Christopher Nolan(Batman Trilogy)  In this newest installment the Man of Steel is portrayed by Henry Cavill(Kal-el) with a star studded cast behind him including Russell Crowe as the Man of Steels father Jor-el, Kevin Costner as his earthly father Jonathan Kent with Amy Adams(Enchanted) as Lois Lane and Laurence Fishburne(The Matrix) as Perry White.

Synder starts us out with the last days of Krypton and how Jor-el  sends his only son to earth to hopefully continue the Kryptonian way as well as assimilating with his new home of Earth. We then find Clark Kent as an adult wandering through different jobs and places because he knows he has a special gift but can’t seem to pinpoint how, why or what he has.  We see flashbacks to his early childhood, teenage and early adult life which set the tone of his current day life and how he has come to this point.

Eventually he finds who he is and how he is meant to help Earth while still keeping the Kyrptonian ways alive within him.  He also finds out that a General Zod(Michael Shannon) is on the lookout for him, the General and his crew are also from Kyrpton.  Generla Zod was exiled to the Phantom Zone early on in the movie after a coup attempt fails.  He now returns to find Kal-el and get his idea of the future of Krypton moving forward, but as you can guess Superman is not on the same page as Zod.  The battle that ensues next between Zod and Superman is one of the best and shows what the man of Steel is all about.

I truly enjoyed the Man Of Steel, it was definitely action packed and loud, I love that.  We see the Man of Steel in all of his glory using his powers for good and to well kick some butt.  Director Zach Synder does a great job of keeping the story moving while giving us what we need of the young Clark Kent’s life to give us enough of the back story on why he is a little lost in this world.  We see that no matter how great Superman is he is still just trying to find his way through our world with only the guidance of his father’s Jor-el conscience.  Hennery Cavill is the right choice to play the Man of Steel, he brings both ruggedness and caring Superman who believes in humankind and will fight for his adopted world.  Amy Adams does a nice job as Lois Lane, always getting herself in the mix of it all while finding an interest in the Man of Steel.  I loved the guidance of Jonathan Kent played by Costner helping lead Clark through those tough times that all of us went through growing up but for Clark it was of course a little bit more.  Michael Shannon plays the villainous Zod right to the tee and makes a great opening challenge to the Man of Steel with both brawn and brains but a little of that psycho too, because that’s why they are villains right? Russell Crowe does a great job as Jor-el, in fact he would make Marlon Brando proud(played Jor-el in the 1978 movie)with the stature that Crowe has built up over his years in the acting world.

Man of Steel is a great opening to the revamping of Superman, bringing both humor and action together at the right mix, the casting is right on as well.  I have to admit that my expectations were very high and though it didn’t reach all levels it meet the main level which was a very, very good restoration of an American Icon.  Man of Steel will excite you and maybe bring a tear or two to your eyes, but it does the best which is entertain you and make you feel great again about the future of Superman.  Go enjoy the Man of Steel and let him leap tall buildings in a single bound.

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It’s 2022 and the US has an unemployment rate of only 1% plus crime is almost non-existent. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well there is a catch in the new Universal Pictures movie 'The Purge' opening Friday June 7^th.

The US Government has sanctioned for a 12 hour period the legalization of any and all crimes, they suspend all police, fire, etc. and all Americans can do their civic duty to well Purge themselves. This cleansing by you and I let’s us have total mayhem where no one is safe.  Ethan Hawke plays James Sandin who believes he has all the answers to his life and this annual event, he is a security salesman and many of his sales have been done to his neighbors to keep them safe from this yearly purging.  He’s done so well(he also has this security system in his house) that he’s been able to live well and even add on to his home for his family.  His wife, daughter and son are living the good life but have some internal problems including his high school daughter Zoey who has falling in love with a boy older than her.  His young son Charlie who is very introverted and spends most of his time in a closet hiding place in his room, while his wife, Mary  is just trying to keep the family together while she stays home and keeps up with the neighbors, total suburbia.

As they prepare for the annual Purge, James feels like he has it all figured out, gathering the family around the TV for the beginning of the Purge while their security system locks down the house for the next 12 hours.  The movie really starts here as the family is thrown into some interesting predicaments due to causing someone else’s purge night  to be altered due to a mistake or for some a caring by a family member.  This is not a slasher film as far as horror goes but it defiantly is a psychological thriller that makes you think about human nature as well as the survival of the fittest.  How will these people react when the Purge is brought right to their front door, how will they react, how would you react if you were put into this situation.  The Purge is a very original idea as far as movie premises go, though there is a touch of the Hunger Games in it.  I even had my wife who saw it with me saying if this is something that could happen or lead to people that might think of going on sprees like this in real life.  Well you can never predict the future or what people might do because there are always wackos out there but the thought that our government would ever sanction something like this is to me is very farfetched.  The Purge I believe does a serviceable job of bringing this to life and showing you how people can and may react to being put into certain life or death situations.

There are times that the chasing or searching gets a little slow but it does offer some seat jumps. There is a lot of death by gun means so know that going in but it relates to the purpose of the movie so it was in my opinion necessary to be there.  The Purge tells a tale of how we all can be looked at as non-essential and that if we are looked upon as to rich or too poor or not pretty enough or not nice enough someone out there may have it out for us, its Charles Darwin’s survival of the fittest.  I thought The Purge made the effort and for that I’ll say if you like these type of movies with psychological undertones then you will like the Purge.  If you find murder and gun use too much you might want to stay away.  The Purge doesn’t get it all right but there are some twists and turns that will make you at least think of the world we live in and who we live next too.

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Fun, fun, fun... 'til her daddy took the T-Bird away. These are the musical lyrics from the Beach Boys talking about cars and the fun that you have when you have them and don’t when they're gone.

Let me tell you, I had some fun watching Fast & Furious 6. The film (opening Friday, May 24) continues the Fast & Furious saga on screen of the car racing group who are up to no good as well as saving the world all in the last 5 movies. The film (Rated R) let me tell ya is one hell'va ride as well as non-stop action from the opening sequence all the way to the final credits.

This sixth installment of the franchise continues where #5 left off, the crew headed by Toretto (Vin Diesel) and O’Conner (Paul Walker) are taking it easy in an island country, one welcoming a new child the other trying to get life going on after the death of his love Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) in the previous movie. Meanwhile, Agent Luke Hobbs( Dwyane "the Rock" Johnson) is on the heels of a new bad guy named Shaw (Luke Evans) who is trying to steal some parts to make a lethal weapon. Hobbs decides the only way he can get this guy out who uses fast cars to do his deeds is to fight fire with fire. He asks Toretto to get the old group together to help out and promises total pardons if they get the job done.

What follows next is some of the hottest action sequences I’ve seen in a while with cars, plane and I’m sure whatever they can find.

Toretto is under the impression that his former love Letty is still alive and he needs to find out for sure, so he and his group rock and roll through some trials and tribulations to get answers. Some people have said that this movie continues the same old race saga formula and I say to that " SO WHAT!" It kicks some ass. I’m ok with the same 'ol stuff if it works and it does here.

Vin Diesel has a lot of presence my friends, he takes over the screen and you definitely find yourself rooting for him and the crew which also includes Tyrese and Ludacris. The cast is both serious and funny which helps the movie roll along.

The car chases and stunts are magical and to be honest with you, some things that go on are almost unbelievable but it's okay, I suspend disbelief for movies, as long as I’m having some fun and it works for me.

Fast & Furious 6 delivers what it sets out to, a crazy go for broke action movie with cars as the main ingredient plus sme great action music that keeps ya bouncing.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and I know you will to, well that’s if you like a loud, fast & furious good time.

Follow me on Twitter at @johnandsuzanner