TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

It seems like people are always facing off in Zack Snyder films. With 300 , it was the Spartans v. the Persians. With Watchmen it was a batch of old superheroes against the effects of time. With Man of Steel , he pitted Kal-El against the insanity of General Zod (though some could argue Michael Shannon didn't realize he was in a Superman movie and the cameras kept rolling). And with Batman v Superman , Snyder is dramatizing the ultimate battle: himself v. the source material v. the studios v. setting up a franchise v. fans' expectations v. making a coherent blockbuster (in March?!) that additionally serves as a sequel to Man of Steel v. establishing a new Batman. Oh and Wonder Woman's in it. And Lex Luthor. And Holly Hunter? Spoiler alert: I'm afraid Snyder lost this fight. I was initially very disappointed walking out of the film, thinking of the things they could have cut, other heroes they could've introduced (how many times do we have to see Lex Luthor onscree...

There are a couple of items to address before going into my review of the highly anticipated "Man of Steel." The first is to pay respects to an actor who's passed, the incomparable James Gandolfini. I didn't have the privilege of watching "The Sopranos," but I thoroughly enjoyed his supporting work in "The Taking of Pelham 1 2  3" and "Zero Dark Thirty." He was a familiar face that'll be missed in the community, and a TV legend in his own right. Second, I haven't written in the blog in a long time; I've been working on a short film with several friends that I wrote and co-starred in, so I've spent a lot of time on that, and will post it as soon as filming completes! Now on to the review: I'd heard polarizing things on this superhero blockbuster, and none of them assured me I was going to love it. I'd listened to mostly good buzz about "Iron Man 3," with raves from my peers in high school, but that obv...