Nerd in the 'Noke

Draft Day (2014), PG-13, 109 minutes - I must apologize, I've gotten a little behind the last couple of weeks.  My wife and I are in the process of selling our house and the last few weekends have been reserved more for yard work and de-cluttering than theater hopping.  I actually saw this film a couple weeks back when we had some rainy weather that wasn't allowing me to work on the yard. 2014 seems to be a year of resurgence for Kevin Costner.  Over the past four years, he appeared in only two films: The Company Men (2010), and last summer's Man of Steel.  Draft Day is his third film to hit theaters already in 2014 and it is only April (the others being Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and Three Days to Kill).  It also marks his return to a genre that he is arguably the king of: the sports film.   Draft Day, as one could guess by its terribly cryptic name, is about the NFL Draft and the wheelings and dealings employed by the teams involved (but focusing pr...

Man of Steel (2013), PG-13, 143 minutes - This review probably should have been posted a week ago when I saw the film, but life's been a little bit hectic this past week and I'm just now getting a chance to get some thoughts out.  Anyway, Man of Steel is the latest attempt at revamping the Superman franchise.  It comes seven years after 2006's Superman Returns, which was a bit of a mixed bag for most people (and that's probably the nicest way to put it).  Before I get into my actual review for Man of Steel, a couple disclaimers:  I don't really follow Superman in the comic medium.  I was introduced to the character as a kid thanks to the Christopher Reeve starring Richard Donner films.  That incarnation is, to this day, what I think of when I think of Superman.  Because I don't religiously keep up with the comics, I think I'm more accepting of any changes or inaccuracies that take place in the films.  Superman Returns wasn't amazing by any stre...

The first teaser trailer for next summer's Superman reboot, Man of Steel , premiered a couple of weeks back at San Diego ComicCon.  It then ran in front of The Dark Knight Rises when it released this past weekend.  The tone appears to be darker than that of previous Superman films, which isn't surprising considering that it is being directed by Zack Snyder (2004's Dawn of the Dead, 300, Watchmen) and produced by Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception).  But that is about all that we get a feel for from this initial teaser.  Don't get me wrong, I will definitely be checking Man of Steel out when it comes out next summer, but it won't be because I got wicked hyped over this trailer. There are actually two versions of the trailer that run in different theaters.  One has a voice over by Russell Crowe (who will play Jor-El, Superman's birth father from Krypton), the other, a voice over by Kevin Costner (who will play his adoptive father ...