Superman Returns. An enjoyable couple hours of escapism. I agree with some critics that it crosses the line in places between paying homage to the Christopher Reeve/Richard Donner films and slavishly imitating them (right down to lifting dialogue and certain iconic scenes). Brandon Routh is eerily reminiscient of Christopher Reeve. Kate Bosworth is pretty forgettable as Lois Lane, but Kevin Spacey perfectly walks the line between sinister and crazy with his Lex Luthor. Some great action sequences and a lot of heart. Maybe a little too much angstiness from Superman, plus some pretty heavy-handed religious imagery, but there is a satisfying character arc involving Supes overcoming his alienation and lonliness to a certain degree. Also, I think the character of Clark Kent gets short shrift and his relationship with Lois is left almost completely undeveloped. But you can’t have everything and it was about a half hour too long already. But pretty good for all that.

Munich. Saw this on DVD and liked it a lot more than I expected to. Speilberg was criticized for falling into knee-jerk pacifism or the dread “moral equivalence” in making this movie, but I don’t think that’s right. There’s actually very little about the question of the respective merits of the Israeli and Palestinian positions. Except for a couple of scenes the viewer is pretty much encouraged throughout to identify with the Israeli Mossad agents tracking down those they believe were responsible for the kidnapping and ultimately the deaths of the Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics. What it’s really about is the difference between revenge and self-defense and how far you can go in protecting yourself and those you love without compromising your soul. Oh, and also governments lie. But it also works just on the level of an action thriller. Pretty graphic violence though.