Lizard Men from the center of the earth? Jimmy Olsen a transvestite? Superman can make suns on his work bench? I haven't read the comic series that the animated "All-Star Superman" movie is based on, but if I would have noticed that it was written by Grant Morrison, I would have gone with a rental instead of a purchase. In the last five years, Morrison has become known for absurd, postmodern blending of the silly 1950's comics continuity into modern stories. With the exception of a few hiccups along the way (especially near the beginning) DC has developed a number of solid animated films featuring their iconic characters. This pattern was established enough that I developed a personal policy of "buy, then try" when it came to these movies. But alas, that time may have come to an end. "All-Star Superman" aims to be a distillation of the core essence of what Superman is all about. Usually when this goal is set for any Superman story, the c

If you are reading this, I want you to have no doubt of my love for you. It is for you, the reader, that I willingly subject myself to movies like "I Am Number Four", based on the bestselling young adult novel by Pittacus Lore (which I have not read). The story centers on a high school boy who is played, of course, by a college age man (Alex Pettyfer). He is on the run, with an older man who protects and guides him. They are aliens from the planet Lorien. John (the alien boy's human cover) is one of nine children from Lorien who are in hiding on earth from the evil Mogadorians who wish to kill them simply because Mogadorians are bad aliens and that is what they do. Most of this is explained after the first 5 minutes of the movie, in a bit of voice-over exposition that steals any mystery that might have pulled me in and sets the tone for the rest of the movie. This tone can be summed up with the word "simplistic". I don't know how old the character