Wrap-Up for July, 2007
Boy, I’m really catching up, aren’t I? About three weeks ago, I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn’t going to get the 365th review up by the end of December 31st. It just ain’t gonna happen. But rather than simply relive my mind of the pressue of feeling the need to play catch-up for the rest of the year, it kind of made me…just…stop. Not completely, of course, but I haven’t felt the urge to post for awhile. I hope to get back on track (I’ve been watching films all the while), but who knows how far into 2008 it will be before 2007 is completed.
Anyway, July (my goodness, that long ago?) was another short month, dominated by the Superman and Batman films, so the awards kind of reflect that.
Best Supporting Actor
Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor in Superman (1978), Superman II (1980) and Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (1980/2006).
Tough choice between Hackman, Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson, but I had to go with Hackman for the natural ease with which he played Luthor. he’s even decent in Superman IV (but not enough to get a nod here). An iconic performance that puts him at the top of a list of very distinguished previous and subsequent Luthors.
Best Supporting Actress
Diana Rigg as Tracy Di Vicenzo Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
One look at her and one can understand why a man like Bond would be interested. But it is the complexity with which she portrays Tracy that Rigg shows why a man like that would marry her.
Best Director
Richard Donner for Superman (1978) and Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (1980/2006).
I’ve said enough about how great Donner’s work on the Superman mythos was, but it’s worth noting (and rewarding) again. That even the hacked-together, shambolic creature that is the ‘Richard Donner Cut’ of Superman II could be so entertaining shows that he knew what he was doing and that he and Tom Mankiewicz should have been left alone to get on with it.
Best Actor
Christopher Reeve as Superman in Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (1980/2006), Superman III (1983) and, yes, even Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
Reeve’s performance as Superman is, of course, a paragon of how to bring a comic book character to life. But what seems to have been forgotten over the years is that he was a really good actor as well as an icon. Showing the depths of Clark Kent throughout the four films (there *is* some in IV), Reeve created a characterization that will stand the test of time.
Best Actress
Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle / Catwoman in batman Returns (1992)
So, something for the Batman films. Margot Kidder was the only person I considered other than Pfeiffer and, while she is great and still the definitive Lois, Pfeiffer was able to elevate Catwoman as a character and came off great in an otherwise uneven film.
Best Film
Superman (1978)
The first serious super hero film and still the best.
And…
Worst Film
Batman & Robin (1997)
Tough call bewteen this and Superman IV, but Batman & Robin doesn’t have *anything* going for it. Superman IV, at least, has Reeve and Hackman.