TG Squared Studios

07/14/2025

James Gunn's "Superman" Soars!!!

I just came back from seeing "Superman." Here are a few quick thoughts.

I was enjoying the movie, but it wasn't stirring me. I was waiting for that one iconic moment that has me cheering from my seat, and I was past halfway through the movie, and it wasn't happening... Until the small children raise the Superman flag and all the people start chanting "SUPERMAN, SUPERMAN." That did it! That was the moment I was waiting for!

The cast was fantastic! Nicholas Hoult NAILED Lex Luthor. For the first time, we got the right Luthor. As good as Hackman was, he was too comedic. Kevin Spacey merely carried that character along, and don't even get me started on Jesse Eisenberg's take on Luthor. It was a performance I absolutely loathed. Now, we have the right Lex Luthor!!!

Rachel Brosnahan as Lois was perfection! I could almost feel her channeling Margot Kidder while giving her own spin at the same time. She was the ideal choice to play Lois opposite Corenswet's Clark/Superman.

David Corenswet IS Superman! He will forever stand alongside all the other cinematic actors who have played Superman (not Dean Cain). I had reservations after seeing the incredible Henry Cavill (despite how much I despised "Man of Steel" and was disappointed by "Batman v Superman."). Corenswet has stepped up to the plate and delivered a powerful home run!!!

Having said that, I have my issues...

The first is purely trivial, and it deals with Krypto. First, Krypto is supposed to be a rather intelligent and even well-behaved dog. As much as I loved Krypto in this movie, turning him into a willful and sometimes disobedient dog didn't quite work with me. Also, Krypto is NOT Kara's dog. Her pet is a cat named Streaky. Krypto IS supposed to be Kal-El's dog.

The big one, however, was the shift in canon, which occurred when it was realized that Jor-El and Lara sent Kal-El to Earth to rule over the people. I know there have been some canonical changes in the comic over the years that have shifted Jor-El and Lara from being loving biological parents into unfeeling aliens, but that change has never quite taken hold. Inevitably, Jor-El and Lara are portrayed as good people, so hearing this change in the story was quite shocking and even unsettling. I kept waiting for a scene to appear that showed Lex had paid off all the language experts to report the distorted final message, but we never got it. The argument could be made that it was needed in order for Pa Kent's conversation with Clark to have any meaning, but I disagree. I still think that discussion could have happened to help Clark reconnect with his humanity, and then vindicate his biological parents later towards the end of the movie.

Still, with those points, I found this to be a highly enjoyable movie. I have to admit that Christopher Reeve's "Superman" still holds the top spot. For me, that is the blueprint for all of the superhero movies that followed, and it gave me that emotional rush that made me believe I could fly at the end of the movie. Nevertheless, this new "Superman" does come in at a close second place. It is the most "comic book" type of movie I've seen in a long time. The addition of Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner (that could not have been played better), Isabel Merced as Hawkgirl (we need more on her), and Edi Gathegi (he nearly stole the movie) as Mr. Terrific, added the perfect mix to an almost perfect movie! I must also mention it was a delight to see the late Christopher Reeve's son, Will, playing a reporter in one scene. It was a moment that brought a smile to my face.

"Superman" is an enjoyable movie (although I fail to see why some people consider it "woke"), and it certainly sets the stage for the future of the DC Movie Universe!!!

I give "Superman" 3.5 out of 5 Kryptos!!!

05/03/2025

I have just seen the best movie since “Avengers: Endgame!”

03/04/2025

Here is the video of the memorial for TG Squared's Keith Lane from October 5, 2024.

02/26/2025

The Emmy-winning actor is in it for the long haul.

01/21/2025

This interview from several years ago reappeared on Instagram today.

Keith and Ben were on the Red Carpet at a Film Festival in San Jose, CA, and these two delightful young people interviewed them!

01/16/2025

R.I.P. David Lynch

A visionary, his films included “Eraserhead,” “Blue Velvet” and “Mulholland Drive.” He also brought his skewed view to the small screen with “Twin Peaks.”

11/19/2024

Please view this. It is remarkable.

On the 30th anniversary of “Star Trek: Generations”, The Archive and William Shatner revisit Captain Kirk’s final appearance on screen in a new 8-minute video produced for The Archive app on Apple Vision Pro: “765874: Unification”, launched in tandem with new interactive sets and documenta...

11/14/2024

A young boy breaks into a closet full of Christmas toys to show off to his cousins. It doesn’t go well for him as we learn what he thinks about Santa. Thirty years later, his life has gone somewhat south. Meanwhile, a department store Santa is ending his shift, only this Santa has a bodyguard. He also receives an es**rt to a military base, and inside one of the hangars is a sleigh and six gigantic reindeer. Guess what? This is the real Santa, and he goes by the code name “Red One.” Shortly after returning to the North Pole, Red One is kidnapped, and the person who is partially responsible is the adult who, thirty years ago, thought little of Santa Claus.

After seeing “Red One,” it dawned on me that I was seeing Disney’s “The Santa Clause” (with Tim Allen) juiced up on steroids. But with a cast consisting of Chris Evans, Dwayne Johnson, J. K. Simmons, and Lucy Liu, I wouldn’t expect anything different. This is a cast made for action and fun. However, some unexpected depth makes this a somewhat surprising movie.
It’s hard to say who is the star of this movie. Dwayne Johnson as Callum Draft, Red One’s head commander of ELF (Enforcement Logistics and Fortification), gets the top billing, but the heart of this story rests with Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans). He’s not only a mercenary white-hat hacker (who claims since childhood that he could find anyone or anything), but he’s something of a deadbeat dad. His son, Dylan (Wesley Kimmel), feels unloved by his dad, while Jack feels he’s doing his son a favor by staying away from him. Meanwhile, he gets abducted by ELF Director, Zoe Harlow (Lucy Liu) and recruited into finding out who is responsible for Red One’s kidnapping. Along the way, Jack is introduced to a myriad of mythological creatures that start convincing him that perhaps there is more to Santa than he previously realized. Dwayne Johnson may be the star, and J. K. Simmons may be playing the title character, but this movie is all about Jack. As enjoyable as it is to see Chris Evans in this role, it provides a disservice to the remaining cast, especially Simmons, Liu, and Johnson, who are all strong actors. The only other character of any interest is Santa’s estranged adopted brother, who happens to be none other than Krampus (who almost steals the movie). Aside from Jack and Krampus (played brilliantly by Kristofer Hivju), the remaining cast of characters are extraordinarily two-dimensional.

The world Santa lives in is incredible. It has a magical charm similar to “The Santa Clause,” except bigger and slightly weirder, hence my reference to it being on steroids. It’s a very magical world, but it all makes sense. The magic has rules, making it easier for viewers to suspend disbelief. The production values and visuals are also top-notch. It wasn’t a glossy magical world. It looked real but with magic in it. By the movie’s end, I found myself believing that such magic exists in the world today.
Despite most of the cast having little substance to work with, their performances were solid. As Callum Drift, Dwayne Johnson was practically an amalgamation of every action character he ever played. He did it well, but I know he had more in the tank. Lucy Liu’s character as Director Zoe Harlow was probably the biggest disappointment. Liu nailed her role, as flat as the character was. There was nothing there for her to flesh out and make her own, save for one fighting sequence involving her that had me hoping for “Kill Bill 3.” There was nothing to her character, yet it was nice seeing Liu on the big screen.
J. K. Simmons had a bit more to work with as Santa. His Santa is pretty buff and not to be trifled with, despite being kidnapped. Unfortunately, we don’t get that much screen time with him, which is sad since the movie is named after Santa’s code name. Hivju’s Krampus was a real treat! Not only did he look terrifying, but he also possessed a dark humor that makes him the life at all of the parties! Lastly, there is Evans as Jack. He starts as a one-note and shallow bad guy, but as the movie progresses, he peels away more of his exterior layers as he learns more and more of the truth of the magic around him, as well as the truth about himself. For me, his character delivered some of the more substantial surprises in this movie.

“Red One” is an enjoyable movie. It’s not groundbreaking in terms of having an action-filled Santa. That honor goes to “Violent Night,” but this movie was able to grab the spirit of that movie and run with it a bit further, making for a fun movie-watching experience.

Because of Jack O’Malley’s strong character development and exceptional visual production values, I give “Red One” 3.75 out of 5 Glaskafigs!
Red One Movie Amazon MGM Studios ILoveGay.LGBT Moviesmorefun

11/13/2024

Here for the “Red One” Press Screener!!!