If Lois Lane has to be rescued one more time ...

Superman (Henry Cavill) rescuing Lois Lane (Amy Adams) for the umpteenth time.

Amy Adams is a terrific actress. I knew that as soon as I saw her performance in “Junebug” in 2005. So I am not thrilled that she has chosen to become the supreme victim of the DC Universe, Lois Lane. I was so disappointed to see her ridiculous fall from that plane at the end of 2013’s “Man of Steel” simply to serve the apparently requisite moment of her being saved by Superman. I get it. As a kid, I was genuinely moved when Christopher Reeve’s Superman swept up and caught Margot Kidder’s rapidly descending Lois Lane, but at least her fall from that helicopter made sense. And that was our first time seeing that scenario on the big screen. At this point, we’ve seen Superman save Lois Lane many times. And in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” alone, she had to be saved no less than THREE times. Enough already! 

I will give credit to the Lois Lane in Zack Snyder’s “Superman” films for being the most realistic journalist compared to her big screen predecessors (although Kidder was pretty obsessed with getting her stories). But it's not much of a compliment because I can’t speak to Kate Bosworth’s portrayal since I still haven’t seen “Superman Returns” all the way through (and probably won’t).

Speaking of “enough already” in superhero franchises, I do not want to see Bruce Wayne lose his parents anymore either. We’ve seen it in real time or in flashbacks in three separate iterations of the franchise. I know it was pivotal to the storyline in Snyder’s “Super-Bat” extravaganza, but I can’t help thinking they could’ve gone another way with the story because the payoff didn’t seem worth it. 

You can't go home again, but you can build from it

It has been nearly a year since Generation X-ers like myself ooo-ed and aww-ed over “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the long-awaited sequel to the movie phenomenon of my youth, the original “Star Wars” trilogy. Nearly everyone who experienced the movies of the original trilogy when they were released was clamoring to relive the feeling of when they first saw it, including filmmaker J.J. Abrams.

But I was not clamoring. I have great affection for George Lucas’ original trilogy, and although I was disappointed by “The Phantom Menace,” I actually thought his prequel trilogy of the 1990s was entertaining and served its purpose – to tell the story of how Darth Vader became Darth Vader and how the Empire became the Empire. One of the reasons I think it fell short is because the cast lacked the chemistry that helped make the original trilogy so engaging. But no matter how disappointed I was by the prequels, they were still Lucas’ work, his vision for characters that he created, and I think that’s important.

So even though it had Lucas’ blessing and a screenplay co-written by one of the writers of the original trilogy, Lawrence Kasdan, I was reluctant to get on this bandwagon for someone else’s vision of the Star Wars universe evolution. But of course, as a fan of the franchise, I had to see where J.J. Abrams would take those beloved characters and what new characters he’d create. I finally saw the movie a few months ago on Starz! (yes it took me that long), and it turns out that he tapped into exactly how to win over the hardliners. It is essentially the same movie from 1977! He knew he needed to give the people what they wanted. Feed the need for their childhood amazement, wonder and exultation. They wanted that familiarity, and Abrams delivered.

But he also delivered new compelling characters, particularly Rey, played with sincerity by Daisy Ridley. The young, would-be warrior with a strong affinity for the Force clearly represents Luke. I also thought Adam Driver was solid as Kylo Ren, wearing his vulnerability and insecurities on his sleeve even as he strives to live up to the worst parts of his grandfather. Then there’s John Boyega’s Finn, the fugitive Stormtrooper turned good but still reckless and hot-headed – very Han. But I’m still not that attached to him; I’m hoping he’ll win me over in the next movie. And, of course, it was great seeing Leia and C3PO and hanging out with Han and Chewie on the Millennium Falcon again, even though parts of it felt forced. But Abrams really knocked it out of the park with BB-8 – great name, great look, great personality. I love him almost as much as I love R2-D2, and that’s a lot. I admit I totally fell for the scene when BB-8 and R2-D2 worked together to solve the primary mystery of the plot.

I am fond of a good story. As a writer, I should be. And Mr. Abrams has told a fine story, built on the story of a master storyteller, George Lucas. But Lucas is more than a master storyteller; he is a mythmaker, and that’s what allowed him to capture the imaginations of a generation. Abrams is not a mythmaker, and that’s the difference between him and Lucas (and between him and Steven Spielberg, for that matter). But he is a talented storyteller working his way toward becoming on par with his filmmaking heroes. 

Overall, "The Force Awakens" was different enough to make it fresh and intriguing, and familiar enough to make it feel like home again.    

Quote of the week

“You forced me to give you my word. I never have been and I never will be bound by anything I don't do of my own free will.”
– Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney) in “Laura”

My 2016 Oscar picks

I made my #Oscar picks on the @nytimes ballot. Fill out your own: https://t.co/9RV1LqWl5L

— TheIncredibleMontage (@IncredMontage) February 28, 2016

BEST PICTURE: "Mad Max: Fury Road"

BEST DIRECTOR: George Miller, "Mad Max: Fury Road"

BEST ACTOR: Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Revenant"

BEST ACTRESS: Brie Larson, "Room"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Tom Hardy, "The Revenant"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Alicia Vikander, "The Danish Girl"

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: "Ex Machina"

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: "The Big Short"

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: "Mustang"

ANIMATED FEATURE: "Anomalisa"

SOUND EDITING: "Mad Max: Fury Road"

VISUAL EFFECTS: "Mad Max: Fury Road"

FILM EDITING: "Mad Max: Fury Road"

SHORT FILM-ANIMATED: "Bear Story"

SHORT FILM-LIVE ACTION: "Everything Will Be Okay"

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT: "Body Team 12"

ORIGINAL SCORE: Ennio Morricone, "The Hateful Eight"

ORIGINAL SONG: "Earned It," The Weeknd, "Fifty Shades of Grey":

PRODUCTION DESIGN: "Mad Max: Fury Road"

COSTUME DESIGN: "The Revenant"

CINEMATOGRAPHY: "The Revenant"

MAKEUP: "Mad Max: Fury Road"

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: "Amy"

SOUND MIXING: "Mad Max: Fury Road"