The comic book Superman returns
Director: James Gunn
Cast: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced
Rating: (M)
★★★★
REVIEWED BY AMASIO JUTEL
The Gunn didn't jam on the first entry to his brand-new DC Universe. The colourful flair of Superman (Rialto, Reading) is undoubtedly a positive indicator of the direction director-turned-chief executive of DC Studios, James Gunn, will take his new comic book sandbox. Donning the blue and red tights, prominently featuring the iconic red boxer briefs, Clark Kent teams up with journalism, justice and his juvenile super-pup, Krypto, to take to the skies and bring down Luthor Corp and its bloodthirsty international ally.
As with any totemic media character, the central focus has been on whose face will be rendered in the Kryptonian armour. I can happily report that David Corenswet's punk-rocker Kal-El is the injection of himbo earnestness severely lacking from the character's previous keeper. Corenswet is a stark departure from the dark and moody Man of Steel, last portrayed by Henry Cavill, bringing a kindness and naivety, off which Gunn bounces his comic sensibilities. His chemistry with Brosnahan's Lane is electric, and paired off against Hoult's raging Lex Luthor, the central trio is cast to perfection.
From the film's opening frame, Gunn subverts the franchise template. Superman effectively leapfrogs the "origin story" component of the caped crusader's tale, trusting that viewers will recognise the sensibilities of comic book storytelling that pre-MCU era comic readers grew up on. The film itself plays like a feature-length Saturday morning cartoon, much like Sam Raimi's 2000s Spider-Man trilogy: a close analogue in style. Gunn's universe feels real in its own cartoon logic — a world where Superman swoops in to save a single squirrel during a full-blown Kaiju attack.
The film doesn't shy away from balancing G-rated elements with allegories for real-world violence and geopolitical conflict, nor from Deer Hunter-level traumatic violence. In the plot, a xenophobic smear campaign from Luthor's army of online trolls inconveniences our do-gooder protagonist, who is caught up in media turmoil for acting against the fictional Boravia's war crimes. From the newsroom with Lois and Jimmy to the Jarhanpur/Boravia border to a "pocket universe", Superman, the movie, delivers on the "woke" grievances voiced by right-wing commentators.
Boravia's US-backed military has been mobilised against the unarmed civilian population of Jarhanpur, and Superman has been under fire for preventing civilian casualties. The film's most effective non-action scene plays between Lois and Clark (as Superman), her interviewing him on the authority he had as an American to interfere with the affairs of other nations. To Superman, the answer is plain: stopping a war. Subtextually, Gunn eloquently echoes the critiques of media outlets for their quote-unquote "objective reporting", instead of reflecting the human rights issues of the conflict.
And, although the nuances of the conflict escape the plot, the final action scene directly mirrors the 2018 Gaza border protests, in which 189 Palestinians were killed. While Luthor has Superman subdued in Metropolis and the Boravian troops raise their weapons to fire on an unarmed boy, Green Lantern disperses the IDF-analogue with a wave of massive green middle fingers.
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Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
The comic book Superman returns
Photo: Jessica Miglio/Warner Bros. Pictures/TNS Director: James Gunn Cast: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced Rating: (M) ★★★★ REVIEWED BY AMASIO JUTEL The Gunn didn't jam on the first entry to his brand-new DC Universe. The colourful flair of Superman (Rialto, Reading) is undoubtedly a positive indicator of the direction director-turned-chief executive of DC Studios, James Gunn, will take his new comic book sandbox. Donning the blue and red tights, prominently featuring the iconic red boxer briefs, Clark Kent teams up with journalism, justice and his juvenile super-pup, Krypto, to take to the skies and bring down Luthor Corp and its bloodthirsty international ally. As with any totemic media character, the central focus has been on whose face will be rendered in the Kryptonian armour. I can happily report that David Corenswet's punk-rocker Kal-El is the injection of himbo earnestness severely lacking from the character's previous keeper. Corenswet is a stark departure from the dark and moody Man of Steel, last portrayed by Henry Cavill, bringing a kindness and naivety, off which Gunn bounces his comic sensibilities. His chemistry with Brosnahan's Lane is electric, and paired off against Hoult's raging Lex Luthor, the central trio is cast to perfection. From the film's opening frame, Gunn subverts the franchise template. Superman effectively leapfrogs the "origin story" component of the caped crusader's tale, trusting that viewers will recognise the sensibilities of comic book storytelling that pre-MCU era comic readers grew up on. The film itself plays like a feature-length Saturday morning cartoon, much like Sam Raimi's 2000s Spider-Man trilogy: a close analogue in style. Gunn's universe feels real in its own cartoon logic — a world where Superman swoops in to save a single squirrel during a full-blown Kaiju attack. The film doesn't shy away from balancing G-rated elements with allegories for real-world violence and geopolitical conflict, nor from Deer Hunter-level traumatic violence. In the plot, a xenophobic smear campaign from Luthor's army of online trolls inconveniences our do-gooder protagonist, who is caught up in media turmoil for acting against the fictional Boravia's war crimes. From the newsroom with Lois and Jimmy to the Jarhanpur/Boravia border to a "pocket universe", Superman, the movie, delivers on the "woke" grievances voiced by right-wing commentators. Boravia's US-backed military has been mobilised against the unarmed civilian population of Jarhanpur, and Superman has been under fire for preventing civilian casualties. The film's most effective non-action scene plays between Lois and Clark (as Superman), her interviewing him on the authority he had as an American to interfere with the affairs of other nations. To Superman, the answer is plain: stopping a war. Subtextually, Gunn eloquently echoes the critiques of media outlets for their quote-unquote "objective reporting", instead of reflecting the human rights issues of the conflict. And, although the nuances of the conflict escape the plot, the final action scene directly mirrors the 2018 Gaza border protests, in which 189 Palestinians were killed. While Luthor has Superman subdued in Metropolis and the Boravian troops raise their weapons to fire on an unarmed boy, Green Lantern disperses the IDF-analogue with a wave of massive green middle fingers.
1News
3 days ago
- 1News
Connie Francis, Pretty Little Baby singer and actress, dies aged 87
Connie Francis, the wholesome pop star of the 1950s and '60s whose hits included Pretty Little Baby and Who's Sorry Now? — the latter would serve as an ironic title for a personal life filled with heartbreak and tragedy — has died at age 87. Her death was announced Thursday by her friend and publicist, Ron Roberts, who did not immediately provide additional details. Earlier this month, Francis posted that she had been hospitalised with "extreme pain". Francis had gained renewed attention in recent months after Pretty Little Baby became a sensation on TikTok, with Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner among the many celebrities citing it. "I'm flabbergasted and excited about the huge buzz my 1962 recording of Pretty Little Baby is making all over the world," she said in a video on TikTok, which she had joined in response to the song's unexpected revival. "To think that a song I recorded 63 years ago is captivating new generations of audiences is truly overwhelming for me." Francis was a top performer of the pre-Beatles era, rarely out of the charts from 1957-64. Able to appeal to both young people and adults, she had more than a dozen Top 20 hits, starting with Who's Sorry Now? and including the No. 1 songs Don't Break the Heart That Loves You and The Heart Has a Mind of Its Own. Like other teen favourites of her time, she also starred in several films, including Where the Boys Are and Follow the Boys. The dark-haired singer was just 17 when she signed a contract with MGM Records following appearances on several TV variety shows. Her earliest recordings attracted little attention, but then she released her version of Who's Sorry Now? an old ballad by Ted Snyder, Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. ADVERTISEMENT It, too, had little success initially until Dick Clark played it on his American Bandstand show in 1958. Clark featured her repeatedly on American Bandstand, and she said in later years that without his support, she would have abandoned her music career. Dick Clark, host of American Bandstand, left, appears with Connie Francis during taping of the show in Los Angeles in 1980. (Source: Associated Press) Francis followed with such teen hits as Stupid Cupid, Everybody's Somebody's Fool and Lipstick on Your Collar. Her records became hits worldwide as she re-recorded versions of her original songs in Italian and Spanish, among other languages. Her concerts around the country quickly sold out. Meanwhile, a romance bloomed with fellow teen idol Bobby Darin, who had volunteered to write songs for her. But when her father heard rumours that the pair was planning a wedding, he stormed into a rehearsal and pulled a gun on Darin, ending their relationship and seeming to set Francis on a pained and traumatic path. She chronicled some of it in her autobiography, Who's Sorry Now? "My personal life is a regret from A to Z," she told The Associated Press in 1984, the year the book came out. "I realised I had allowed my father to exert too much influence over me". Her father, George Franconero, was a roofing contractor from New Jersey who played the accordion. She was just 3 when her father presented her with a child-size accordion, as soon as she began to show an aptitude for music. When she was 4, he began booking singing dates for her, going on to become her manager. ADVERTISEMENT Although her acting career had faded by the mid-1960s, Francis was still popular on the concert circuit when she appeared at the Westbury Music Center in Westbury, New York, in 1974. She had returned to her hotel room and was asleep when a man broke in and raped her at knifepoint. He was never captured. Francis sued the hotel, alleging its security was faulty, and a jury awarded her $2.5 million (NZ$4.2 million) in 1976. The two sides then settled out of court for US$1,475,000 (NZ$2,486,974) as an appeal was pending. She said the attack destroyed her marriage and put her through years of emotional turmoil. The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including a Wellington house fire, the UK lowers the voting age, and the Obamas joke about divorce rumours. (Source: 1News) She suffered tragedy in 1981 when her brother George was shot to death as he was leaving his New Jersey home. Later that decade, her father had her committed to a psychiatric hospital, where she was diagnosed as manic-depressive. At one point, she tried to kill herself by swallowing dozens of sleeping tablets. After three days in a coma, she recovered. Around that time, she wrote to President Ronald Reagan and volunteered to help others, calling herself ″America's most famous crime victim". Reagan appointed her to a task force on violent crime. ″I don't want people to feel sorry for me,″ she told The New York Times in 1981. ″I have my voice, a gift from God I took for granted before. He gave it back to me.″ She was married four times and would say that only her third husband, Joseph Garzilli, was worth the trouble. The other marriages each lasted less than a year. ADVERTISEMENT Concetta Rosemarie Franconero was born on December 12, 1937, in Newark, New Jersey. At age 9 she began appearing on television programs, including Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts and The Perry Como Show. It was Godfrey who suggested she shorten her last name.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
Phoenix to be challenged for support in game against popular Wrexham
Wrexham AFC's Ollie Palmer poses for a selfie with fans, Melbourne, 2025. Photo: MARTIN KEEP / AFP Saturday, 19 July From 5pm Sky Stadium, Wellington Follow the live blog on RNZ The Phoenix will be challenged for support when they play their first pre-season game in Wellington on Saturday. The A-League club will meet Wrexham in a friendly with the Welsh side on a pre-season tour of their own down under and the "Red Dragons" supporters will be out in force and voice for the game. After they were bought by Hollywood pair Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the club rose to worldwide fame when they were featured in the television programme Welcome to Wrexham. The club has also risen up the ranks with three successive promotions from non-league football to the English Championship. Paula Smith is the co-ordinator of the local Wrexham supporters group, which has a couple of thousand followers in Australia and New Zealand. Smith is from Wrexham, but has been living here for 17 years and has been a keen follower of the television series as for a long time as she was unable to see them play. "The first job I ever had was in the butcher's market in Wrexham, so in one of the episodes they did a little tour and it made me a little homesick," Smith told RNZ. "Being able to point out to the kids places I use to go, it has been a little bit surreal." Wrexham captain James McLean, who has been with the club since 2023, admits its been a great ride to have been on. "Where the club has gone in the last few years has been unimaginable," he said. "I'm loving every second of it and the rest of the lads are as well and not just that but it has been a successful one and long may that continue." Wrexham AFC's players before the football friendly against Melbourne Victory, 2025. Photo: MARTIN KEEP / AFP Many football and non football followers have joined that ride, however, Phoenix defender Lukas Kelly-Heald has only ever watched a couple of the Welcome to Wrexham episodes. He said this game is a great opportunity for them. "It's a great platform for us. New Zealand is kind of tucked away in the world so it is great that we're having a well sort after team over and hopefully we can put on a good performance," he said. While there will be extra interest globally in the fixture, the Phoenix's English keeper Joshua Oluwayemi said it is just another game for him. " You just take it on like every game is a game so you are going to give it your all," Oluwayemi said. "You are going to give it your all whether it is a final or a preseason friendly." While the Yellow Fever fans are known for their signing at Phoenix games, the Wrexham supporters have promised plenty of their own tunes. Those attending the game will also be able to enjoy the taste of Wales with a replica of the Turf Pub to be set-up at Sky Stadium. The pub sits next to Wrexham's Racecourse Ground and owner Wayne Jones has brought some of his memorabilia down under with him. Welsh Dragon, Hamilton. Photo: PHOTOSPORT Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
