The "new" Superman, Brandon Routh, does a surprisingly good job filling the red boots that Christopher Reeve used to wear. Lex Luther is played by Kevin Spacey this time while the character of Lois Lane is taken on by actress Kate Bosworth. The film also sports infinitely better special effects than the decadesold prequels. However, Superman Returns does well in not getting bogged down overdoing special effects and forgetting to include a story. The result is a film with a great story and wonderful acting performances supported by seamless effects.

The story begins five years following the last movie. Superman has come back from a long trip of investigating the destroyed remains of his homeworld, Krypton. The first fifteen to twenty minutes of the movie are pretty uneventful but do not be discouraged, it picks up quickly. Lex Luther is out of jail and obviously up to no good. Upon his return, Clark Kent is again working for Perry White at the Daily Planet. Remarkably, no one seems to notice the simultaneous arrival of both Clark Kent and Superman. The movie unfolds as Superman takes his place in the world again by saving the Space Shuttle and reuniting with a bitter Lois Lane, who has written a piece called "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman," in the hero's absence. Lex Luther is once again the number one bad guy who wants now to be a "god." Many action scenes of heroism and Superhuman stunts stay true to the legacy of former Superman movies while the story incorporates new themes such as the importance of father and son.

Overall, the film is a Hollywood blockbuster triumph. Old roles played by new faces are pulled off well with the exception of Bosworth, whose performance was only average. The unique story combined with special effects make this movie an enjoyable family feature that stays true to its predecessors while creating a new identity that should please Superman lovers everywhere. I gave Superman Returns

4 out of 5 Georges.

Pirates of the Caribean:

Dead Man's Chest

Disney's new film seems to have made all of the mistakes that Superman Returns avoided. First, it is overlong. The story gets stretched thin over the two and a half hour film. Secondly, the movie suffers from too much time spent on special effects and not enough time spent writing the script. Finally, the film is not really a full movie. It is a two-and-a-half-hour-long "half" movie. All this movie does is set up for the third film. It is almost a joke how the movie just cuts of at the end with nothing at all resolved.

Nor does it stay true to the first movie in terms of characters. Captain Jack Sparrow is even shallower than in the first movie and Elizabeth Swan is less likable as a "pirate princess." Will Turner ends up being the only main character that is actually likeable throughout the entire movie. He is a galant true-hearted hero that keeps his promises.

The new villian is Davy Jones and his crew of half-sea-creature, halfhuman dead men. Davy Jones is a significantly scarier villan than that of the last movie. He has an octupus beard and a lobster claw for an arm. The special effects are done well but are excessive - there is one crewman that has the head of a hammerhead shark. Beware of taking little ones to see this movie as it is much darker and less cuddly than the first film.

The plot starts off by interupting the wedding of Will and Elizabeth. They are arrested and sentenced to death pending the return of Jack Sparrrow's magical compass to the East India Trading Company. The tale gets complicated as Jack tries to save himself from the curse of Davy Jones by seeking a chest and a key. Commedore Norrington reappears this time alongside Turner and Sparrow but soon the three all fight for the prize for which their quest was started.

The wasted performances of Depp, Bloom and Knightley added the only enjoyable aspect to this socalled blockbuster.The action sequences are overdone and drawn out while the plot only surfaces a few times. The ending is unresolved and the only point of the movie is to garantee the revenue of seeing the third film. However good a Hollywood business move this may have been, The Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest fails as a good film. I gave Pirates of the Caribbean:

Dead Man's Chest

2.5 out of 5 Georges.

(The Georges ranking system was taken from the George Washington silhouette on the old News-Reporter front page flag)