Beyond The Sea (2004)

I remember singer Bobby Darin when I was a kid. TV networks used to regularly have "summer series" to offset the stream of reruns during that season. Darin had a summer series, and it was quite entertaining. He was a talented guy who could sing silly rock n' roll ditties like "Splish Splash", then swing a standard like "Up A Lazy River", then go folk on audiences with stuff like "If I Were A Carpenter".

Beyond The Sea follows Darin (Kevin Spacey) from being a sickly child in the Bronx to his stardom in nightclubs and in films. Darin is raised by an extended family which includes his sister Nina (Caroline Aaron), brother-in-law Charlie (Bob Hoskins), and mom Polly (Brenda Blethyn), who totally believe in his talent. Darin's talent, plus his cockiness and arrogance, propel him forward. Darin wants to live life to the fullest. He developed heart problems as a child, and was told he wouldn't live past age 15. He makes it past that age, but the specter of death follows him for the rest of his life.

Darin meets actress Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth) on the set of a movie. They don't seem right for each other. She's a bit young and innocent, and he's brash. Then there's the matter of her stage mother, Mary (Greta Scacchi), controlling her daughter's moves. But love blossoms between the pair, and they get married. Darin keeps pushing along in his career, which eventually causes some tension between him and Dee, who wants him to spend more time with her and their son. But Bobby Darin can't stop. He's on a mission.

As what happens with careers that are red hot, at some point they cool down. Darin finds himself up against the changes in America during the 1960's, and his type of entertainment falls out of favor. Darin becomes politically aware and he even considers running for office. Then he gets some explosive news from his sister about his parentage which causes him to find out who he is and where he fits in.

The story is set up with Darin being led through events of his life by the younger version of himself (William Ulrich). That device, which has been used in some other films, doesn't work all the time. I would have liked it better if this story was told straightforward. Spacey (American Beauty, Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil) does a great job evoking Darin's larger-than-life presence, and he does his own singing without overly apeing Darin's style.

John Goodman appears as Darin's manager; he was the title character's husband on "Rosanne" (1988-1997) and was in the cult classic The Big Lebowski (1998). Bob Hoskins was in Nixon (1995) and Mona Lisa (1986). Kate Bosworth was Lois Lane in Superman Returns (2006).

The real Bobby Darin gained an Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for Captain Newman, M.D. (1963). "Beyond The Sea" is the name of a hit he had in 1960. Darin passed away in 1973, after open heart surgery. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1999.

Superman Returns (2006)

Unless you are a Superman fan like I am, I will suggest you save your money and rent the first two movies that featured the late Christopher Reed instead. Even the cartoon versions would be an improvement. The story just laid there like an ICU patient. I'm wondering what the critics found fascinating about this film to praise it like they did.

The story begins with Martha Kent (Eva Marie Saint) greeting her adopted son Clark (Brandon Rouch) after he crash lands back on Earth. You see, Clark, or Superman as we all know him, left our planet five years earlier, when he heard that astronomers may have found remnants of the planet he came from. His search turned up empty-handed, much to his sorrow. As nerdy Clark Kent, he returns to his reporter's job at the Daily Planet. Another disappointment is revealed, as he discovers Lois Lane (Kate Beckinsworth) not only has a fiance, but a son by him as well. Lois is also hiding a secret from both her fiance and Superman.

Meanwhile, having conned a dying old rich woman into leaving him all of her fortune, Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) sets on a quest to rule the world. He travels to the Artic to the Fortress of Solitude (Superman's home away from home), and steals crystals infused with technological power. Luthor plans to make a new continent, one that will destroy the Eastern Seaboard and everything and everybody. He's also going to see to it that the Man of Steel doesn't interfere. Luthor picks up a handfull of Kryptonite while he's at it.

The action sequences aren't that spectacular, and lot of story time is spent on Superman and Lois dancing around each other in an attempt to figure out where their relationship now stands. Spacey does have fun with his role as the egomanical Luthor, as does Parker Posey, who plays his ditzy sidekick, Kitty. Frank Langella does not have many scenes as the chief of the Daily Planet, but he makes the best of his screen time. It was a nice touch to see the actors who played Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane on the 1950's Superman TV series, in small roles.

Swimming With Sharks (1994)

Buddy Ackerman (Kevin Spacey) has got to be the worst boss in the world. He's a big time Hollywood producer who regularly abuses his naive assistant, Guy (Frank Whaley). Frank wants to make it big in Tinsel Town, so he puts up with being given impossible tasks, called at all hours of the day and night by Buddy, and being screamed and yelled at constantly. Frank decides he has had enough one day and decides to exact his revenge on Buddy. However, both men find themselves confronted by antoher surprise that will change everything.

Spacey does a great job playing a nightmare of a boss. It was hard to watch the scenes where he humiliated Whaley's character. When Guy finally gets fed up, I was cheering him on. The story is dark and just gets uglier as it goes on.

Spacey has appeared in several good films including Seven, The Usual Suspects and LA Confidential. Benicio Del Toro (Traffic) appears as a co-worker of Guy's. Roy Dotrice, who appeared as Father on TV's "Beauty and the Beast", is also in this movie.