WC2013: 'Superman: Unbound' Review

Originally published on TheFlickcast.com.  30 March 2013.

As the premiere of the highly anticipated Man of Steel feature film with Henry Cavill draws closer every month (it’s set for June 2013), fans of Clark Kent and his alter ego can get geared up with Superman: Unbound. Coming out on DVD, for download and On Demand May 7, the DC animated feature pits Superman (Matt Bomer) against the formidable Brainiac (John Noble).

Based on the Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s Superman: Brainiac (2008), Unbound is an adventure that will please adults and kids, though it’s PG -13 rating is well earned thanks to the abundance of blood and guts, both human and alien. Bomer brings a steely quality to the Last Son of Krypton.

“I knew this was a character that people had a lot of preconceived notions about,” he said, and even legendary voice director Andrea Romano (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns) admitted that Superman is always the hardest voice to cast. “He’s who we hope we could be,” Bomer said. “Our best self, the best version of us.”

Movie Review: 'The Host'

Originally published on TheFlickcast.com.  29 March 2013.

Going into The Host I didn’t know what to expect. The trailer looked promising and I had heard that Twilight author Stephenie Meyer’s adult book was better than her vampire romance novels. I cannot judge the book, having never read it, but The Host movie was unspectacular and downright weird.

The plot goes like this: Aliens called “Souls” have invaded Earth and taken over nearly every human being (think Invasion of the Body Snatchers). Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan) is captured and a Soul called Wanderer is implanted into her body. Instead of fading away, Melanie’s consciousness holds on and the two fight for control of Melanie’s body.

Eventually Wanderer (now Wanda) helps get Melanie to her loved ones but things get (more) complicated when Wanda starts to have feelings for new guy Ian (Jake Abel) but Melanie is still in love with her boyfriend Jared (Max Irons). In the mean time, main antagonist, the Seeker (an awesomely stone faced/borderline psychotic Diane Kruger) is hunting for the last humans and using Melanie/Wanda to find them.