BURGER KING...THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

So yesterday I posted about my trip to Burger King and the terrible representation of what they call food there. I'm sorry but this truly is NOT brain surgery or rocket science. If it were then we'd still be doing lobotomies and would never have made it to the moon.

With all that went on you would have thought I had learned my lesson. In actuality I did. But today my wife woke up hungry for a Whopper. You see being Wednesday it was Whopper Wednesday and she had a craving. Since she worked a 12 hour shift last night, had been up 24 hours including those 12 and had only had 5 hours of sleep I knew what to do. Make sure she got her Whopper! Who says you can't learn something after 33 years of marriage?

I went and placed my order. I got her Whopper with cheese, no pickle, extra ketchup. I also ordered 2 hamburgers for my dogs (yes it's human food they shouldn't have but occasionally I treat my babies). Lastly In ordered a BK Big Fish for myself with cheese and ketchup only. The screen showed my order correctly. My receipt shows my order correctly. Did it arrive correct? Do I really need to ask?

Instead of just cheese and ketchup, two of the simplest things to put on a sandwich, they got it half right. The cheese part. But rather than ketchup I got tartar sauce, mayonnaise and lettuce. To make my sandwich took them more time with the additions they put on the thing. Not only that but it wasn't cost effective since the squirts of mayo and tartar sauce could have been saved for someone who wanted them. As far as the lettuce goes I'm thinking there is a method to their madness. Keep in mind yesterday my wife's whopper tasted like a lettuce sandwich with meat garnish. I'm thinking someone higher up at Burger King has invested in a lettuce farm. The more lettuce they use the more they have to buy. Whoever he/she is they must be making a killing.

After posting my complaint to Burger King yesterday they were kind enough to reply. Here is the email I got back from them:

" Dear Mark Turner,

Thank you for taking the time to contact BURGER KING® restaurants. As a
valued guest, your comments and observations are very important to us.

We strive to exceed expectations for all of our Guests and your feedback
is valuable in helping us to continuously work towards providing the best
possible Guest experience.

As your patronage is important to us we hope that you will continue to
dine with us, we are sending you a WHOPPER® coupon that may be used at any
of our participating restaurants. Please allow 2 to 3 weeks to receive
your coupon by mail.

Thank you again for bringing this matter to our attention and rest assured
that your comments have been forwarded to the appropriate management team
so that they may be aware of your concerns. We value your opinion and look
forward to serving you again in the near future.

Kind regards,

BURGER KING® Restaurants Guest Relations"


I'm so glad when places do this. You tell them your food was crappy so they send you a coupon for more food. It's a nice way of saying yeah you lost your money on the lousy meal you had but we're not giving you the money back...it's cheaper and easier to send you coupons for a sandwich that won't be near as expensive for us to give you.

I've already received a response from today's visit. Yes I did send them another complaint. Today's response was similar but didn't include free food coupons which I honestly didn't want.

"Dear Mark Turner,

Thank you for taking the time to contact BURGER KING® restaurants. As a
valued guest, your comments and observations are very important to us.

Your feedback is valuable in helping us to continuously work towards
providing the best possible guest experience.

Thank you again for bringing this matter to our attention and rest assured
that your comments have been forwarded to the appropriate management team
so that they may be aware of your concerns. We value your opinion and look
forward to serving you again in the near future.
Kind Regards,

BURGER KING® restaurants Guest Relations"

Honestly my goal is not to get the person who runs the place in trouble. I've been a manager before and you end up getting the brunt of all complaints from the top to the bottom. Yes, the person who screwed up the sandwich should be told he screwed it up. Yes, they should work to improve the problems that I've encountered. But I've always felt that things like this start at the top and work their way down. You can't hold someone accountable if you don't give them the tools that they need (like more than 2-3 people running the place at any given moment).

And if my complaint is sent on to the local store why would I want to go back? If that kid who screwed up my last order got his butt reamed and he suddenly sees my order coming through because of the coupon or my credit card being used, what are the odds that a big ole ball of something nasty isn't going to end up on that sandwich?

I think I'll reply to the email I received. Lord know that fill in the blank complaint at their web site doesn't offer a place to make a suggestion. How about keep your coupons and reimburse me what it cost me to eat nearly inedible food? While I think that's fair my guess is I'll end up with two coupons for a Whopper instead.

FAST FOOD FARCE

If you know me at all you know I try to be fair on most things. But if you really know me you also know that I am not a person who is fond of bad service or bad food at fast food restaurants. We've become a society where it's so much easier to just pull into the drive thru to pick up dinner rather than slave over a stove or make multiple visits to the grocery store to prepare for meals. The problem is that when we do this we often find ourselves disappointed and outraged by the things we end up getting.

I think a major part of this is because of the promises made before we even place the order. We're shown gorgeous shots of mouth watering delights that start the saliva glands flowing. We see pictures of fresh products with swollen portions seemingly pouring out of every conceivable nook and cranny, burgers that are overflowing with meat, fish sandwiches that are unable to be contained by a bun and other delights like mine tonight, pulled BBQ pork sandwiches that make you wonder if your mouth is even big enough to take a bit. Unfortunately reality and what they tell us we're going to get are two different items.

Tonight's attempt to avoid the kitchen and get dinner was a trip to Burger King. Before we discuss tonight, let me go back. I've had good visits to Burger King but I've also had some of the most horrendous ever there. One time I had an entire order screwed up only to discover it when I got home. A phone call to the manager had him offer to send the whole order fresh and correct. Thirty minutes later I called to ask if he had forgotten me. He informed me they'd had a bus stop in and they were swamped but assured me it was going to head out the door momentarily. I'm a reasonable person so I said fine. Thirty minutes after that my reasonable demeanor kind of vanished as I called back once more. This time he told me that the person he sent couldn't find my house. Let me explain how difficult it would be to find my house: leave the back exit of BK by turning left, go to the stop sign and turn right, go 6 small blocks to where the road T's out, turn right (you can only turn right since it's a one way street), take the first left, go a block and turn left once more. They're located on 13th and I'm on 4th. Shouldn't be difficult, right? Apparently for whoever was driving it was.

A year or so ago I had another problem with Burger King. It was so terrible I decided to contact their home office via email. Unfortunately I discovered that Burger King had yet to join the 21st century and the only way to contact them was via phone and only during 9-5 hours on weekdays. I imagine this is to they don't have to bother with complaints and the attention I received on that phone call proved me right. The person who answered seemed uninterested and only too willing to send out a few passes to get me off the phone ASAP. To say that I was surprised that in 2012 this was the only way you could contact them would be an understatement. This brings us to tonight.

Let's start with the items I ordered. I always order something extra on the chance that the first thing I ordered will truly suck. It's a good idea to do this and if both items come out fine then you have something for lunch the next day. If both are bad then it's a good day for the dogs here. Their tastes are less picky than mine. Keep in mind they also eat from the littler box if not stopped so that should explain how picky they are. So here was the order I placed.

            2 Whopper Jr.

            1 BBQ Pulled pork sandwich - no onion, no sauce

            1 Double stacker - no sauce

            1 Large Sweet potato fry

            2 Orders of Cinnabons

            1 Large Diet Coke

            1 Medium Diet Coke

The drinks were fine. No problem. Then again it's kind of difficult to screw up a drink (though some places have been known to do so substituting regular for diet, not a good thing for those diabetics out there). The double stacker was fine too though not very tasty. That about sums up the good things.

The whopper juniors were for my wife. Her description says it best: they seemed like lettuce sandwiches with a meat garnish. The ratio of burger to toppings left much to be desired. To make it clearer for the folks at Burger King, if the name of your restaurant is "burger" then your burger should be outstanding. It shouldn't be hidden behind a leaf of lettuce or half slice of tomato.

The sweet potato fries. I love sweet potatoes. I didn't as a kid but do now. And with the new interest in turning them into fries I consider it a good thing. As long as they have flavor. These did not. There wasn't that sweet flavor that accompanies the usual sweet potato. The only flavor here was salt and it was so overpowering that it made me wonder what salt lick these fries were dragged over.

The Cinnabons. I placed an order for 2 orders, I got one box with 2 Cinnabons in it. This could be a simple mistake so it's one I'm willing to give them a pass on. With the "high tech" speaker systems most Burger Kings use I was just glad she heard the order at all.

Which leaves us with my most cherished memory of this visit, the pulled pork BBQ sandwich. That mouth watering delight that is pictured like this on Burger King's web site:

I posted this so that you could see exactly what I'm talking about when I say promises are rarely filled. To illustrate, here is the actual sandwich that I got. Forgive the photography I don't get paid thousands per hour to make food look good. I just used a cell phone.

So there is the sandwich when unwrapped. Sure there was no onion and no sauce, but I just don't see the meat there slathered in BBQ sauce just oozing out of the sides because the bun could just not contain all that mouth watering goodness! Sorry I got carried away. Just what was inside that bun? I mean because if you look at it you'd never know there was anything inside of it. Here it is, with and without flash, so you can see what gorgeous hunks of meat Burger King uses for these sandwiches!

Okay...this reminded me of an old commercial from when I was a kid. I think the fast food place was The Red Barn, a chain that is now gone. It showed someone open up a sandwich, look at a tiny piece of meat they were calling a burger and ask "What's this? A monocle?"

I can say this about my visit. For once it didn't take the usual 10-15 minutes to wait once my order was placed. This location is notorious for this. They usually only have 1-2 people on hand to deal with ordering and cooking and the last time I complained the one in front spent more time on his cell phone than on my order. McDonalds is within viewing distance of this location and I swear, you could watch their line and see 10 people go through and receive their orders in the time it takes you to get yours at Burger King. Oddly enough they're still in business.

The other good thing this time was the people working there. I know they are hard workers (except for that kid with the cell phone). They do their best and the girl who took my order tonight gave me a smile, did all she could to help me and even gave me an extra bad I asked for to hold some things I'd just picked up at the veterinarian's office. Their good people. They can't help it if this is the product they have to carry. They can't help it if the items pictures in magazines and web sites and in commercials looks absolutely nothing like what they're sending out. This is a home office problem.

So I did what I normally do when I'm not happy with my order or service somewhere, I went online to see if I could let them know. Low and behold after a year Burger King now has a way to let you know about your trip! Maybe not in too much detail but at least its there. The most difficult thing there was that I only had 500 characters to let them know how bad their stuff was. Sure it sounds easy but not when you have so much wrong to talk about!

So there you have it. I'm guessing I'm not alone with the problems folks have at fast food joints across the country. Then again maybe it's a conspiracy against me and they wait with charts and graphs and walkie talkies waiting to see where I am going and deciding just what to make a mistake on this visit. Okay I'm not really that paranoid as to believe that. But it sure would be nice for someone else to say you know what, they totally screwed my order up too! If you thought you were the only one, know that the rest of us are out here.

THE REALITY OF "STAND YOUR GROUND" LAW: FLORIDA ISN'T ALONE, 31 STATES HAVE IT

So with all the talk about "stand your ground" laws being so bad I thought I'd find out more. First off, for those who seem not to be aware, the "stand your ground" law had nothing to do with the Zimmerman/Martin case. I know, the people that keep acting as if the jury never delivered a verdict continue to try and connect the two, including President Obama, but it was never a part of this trial just as racial prejudice wasn't a part of it.

So in looking I found out that the "stand your ground law" basically states that it gives you the right to defend yourself without a requirement to evade or retreat from a dangerous situation. Note that it doesn't say attack but it does say defend. Again, this was not a part of the Zimmerman/Martin trial so always keep that in mind. Had it affected crime rates since it was imposed?

It depends on which source you look at. Almost all places I looked said it did lower crime rates. One site claimed that it increased the homicide rate but they didn't mention that the FBI crime statistics included justifiable homicides, never separating the two types of homicides. So this law could have been implemented in an attack resulting in a justifiable homicide. Something to consider is that if this law does have an effect of lowering crime then why is it people want to see it repealed?

What was really interesting to me was the number of states that have "stand your ground" laws.  I keep hearing all the protestors and trouble stirrers saying they need to boycott Florida because they have the "stand your ground" law. Stevie Wonder said he refuses to perform there until they repeal it. If he is truly offended by the law and not just the uproar over the Zimmerman/Martin case then he'll have a hard time working if he stops playing in states where they have this same law or a form of it. They include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California (!), Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire (!), North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. This leaves 21 states without a form of this law (19 when you learn Virginia and Washington are looking into adapting this type of law) that Wonder will be able to perform in. He's rich enough that he won't suffer much by limiting where he plays. The question is how serious he is about it. Is he saying this simply because of the Zimmerman/Martin case or because he truly feels this law is unjust? If so then he needs to refuse to perform in all 31 states until they all repeal the law.

And what about all those protesting and saying they should boycott Florida simply over the "stand your ground" law there? If they truly feel this is a law that's a problem then why single out Florida? Why not boycott EVERY state that has this law in effect? I mean boycott salmon from Alaska, boycott movies from California, boycott peaches from Georgia, don't watch any Penn State games, no IU basketball, no more Wisconsin cheese, and no more country music from Nashville TN! The list could go on and on.

I suggest people honestly look into those who want to get people angry over the "stand your ground" law. Look at their real motivations. Do they want what they call justice for Trayvon or are they just using his memory to line their own pockets, to justify their own existence? His memory is disserved when it is used as a platform for someone's personal gain rather than to move the discussion forward in an attempt to prevent something like this from happening again.

The fact is that this boycott Florida thing isn't about "stand your ground" laws. It's about getting people riled up. It's about stirring the pot and making everyone get excited. If you don't like the law, work to get it changed. But be honest about it and don't single out one state when 31 have it on their books. Don't dishonestly portray a case like the Zimmerman/Martin case as being a part of this when it actually had nothing to do with it. What happened was a tragedy. It IS terrible that a life was lost. But it had nothing to do with this law. The jury made their decision based on the laws on the books, which didn't include the "stand your ground" law. If you don't like the self defense laws on the books why not work to change them because if the "stand your ground" law weren't on the books it wouldn't have made a difference in the Zimmerman/Martin trial. Deal with reality, with the real laws that were used in making the decision in that trial rather than simply attacking a law that had nothing to do with it.

MOVIE PRESS = DEBBIE DOWNER

Am I the only one to notice that the press, when talking about movies coming out to theaters, are a bunch of Debbie Downers? I mean there have been a ton of blockbuster films coming out this summer, so many that I would think it would be difficult for any movie to reach the mega-number dollar mark to be called successful. With each new movie coming out the press pops up headlines "THIS MOVIE WON'T BE SUCCESSFUL! IT WON'T MAKE BACK WHAT IT COSTS TO CREATE!"

The latest film to garner these headlines is PACIFIC RIM. The movie doesn't open until July 12 (with some sneak previews the night before hitting screens) and what is the headline on Variety? "PACIFIC RIM Looking Grim With $25 Million to $35 Million Opening". The article then goes on to talk about how much money it costs to make and how there is no way it will recoup what it cost to make. All of this...BEFORE the movie even opens.

Last week it was the same. THE LONE RANGER opened up but not to the amount they wanted it to. So the press began to talk about what a terrible flop the movie was. I saw it and liked it much more than MAN OF STEEL. It did have a few flaws (mostly making the Lone Ranger appear to be a bumbler and focusing more on Tonto) but it was a fun popcorn movie. But before it came out the press focused on how it would flop and how DESPICABLE ME 2 would do better. It did do better but that's because cartoon/family films usually do. (Side note: the next time Hollywood tries to tell folks that the viewing public WANTS more R rated movies point out the fact that the highest grossing films are either PG or G. Of course they'll ignore you but hey, they do that most of the time anyway).

So what are we, the viewing public, supposed to do when it comes to movies? I say we just go see what we like, what we want to see and screw the press. It doesn't matter if the movie doesn't make it's money back on the first weekend. Most movies never do. They make their money back on the sale of merchandise rights, overseas rights, DVD rights and more. If they make it back at the box office then good for them. But never expect that to be the norm. 

The press always seems to think that being as negative as possible is the best way to be. Why have something good to say when they can attempt to topple anyone attempting to make something creative or entertaining? They want to force their opinions more so than any critic who ever wrote. It seems as if their main objective is to bring down movies.

Unless a movie is controversial and not one people want to see. While I can enjoy a movie that has artistic merits, I think the press tends to overdo in that category as well. If it's controversial they love it. If it's something most people will go see, they hate it. Take the movie that won the top prize at Cannes this year (I forget the name and don't even want to bother looking it up). When discussed in the press they noted that it was long (I think around 3 hours) and that it had one of the most revealing lesbian love scenes ever filmed that lasted something like 20 minutes on screen. And then they heaped praise on the film and talked about how wonderful it was and how it was breaking boundaries. Ever notice how a movie that forwards a political idea that Hollywood always agrees with is "breaking boundaries". And yet those movies never play anywhere but either coast, sell poorly on DVD and only get praise and attention from folks in the movie business or snooty critics. Whose minds are enlightened and changed? No ones. 

So why bother listening to the press when it comes to their rants and raves about movies? I'm not talking about critics because at least most of them (myself included) watch the movies they're writing about and offer their own personal opinions of the film. That's what critics do, tell you what the movie is about and what THEY think of the film. Find a critic you most often agree with and stick with them if you want help choosing a movie. As for the press and their doomsayer mentality when it comes to movies I think I'll continue to do what I've always done. I'll ignore them. 

That being said, I'm off to see PACIFIC RIM this Friday and expect to enjoy the film start to finish. Love it or hate it, I'll update this piece to let you know if they were right to proclaim the film's demise or if they were full of hot air once again.

WHEN WERE THE BEST MOVIES MADE?

After watching so many of the movies coming out this summer I realized something. While I've enjoyed them quite a bit I'm not quite enjoying them as much as movies I've watched in the past. Couple that with the number of great movies now becoming available on Netflix (yes I have it and yes I love it) and I began to think about one question: when were the best movies made?

I suppose it's easy to say that the movies you remember from your young adult life would be the movies you remember most. But as a movie buff I was raised on the classic films of the 30s and 40s like THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, CAPTAIN BLOOD, FRANKENSTEIN, THE WOLF MAN, PUBLIC ENEMY, CASABLANCA and THE AFRICAN QUEEN. I spent many a late night or Saturday afternoon enveloped in these movies. But as much as I love them and know how wonderful they were the best movies for me were those made while I was in high school back in the seventies.

So I began to look deeper into it. No not so deep as to take up days worth of digging. But enough that I did searches for the top 100 films of each decade. In looking through those searches for each decade I noticed something. I was right when I started. The best movies that I can remember WERE made in the 70s. If you don't believe me then check out this list. Here are a large number of titles made during the 70s. After reading this list, tell me if you can think of a time when better movies were made.

AIRPORT (the first through the CONCORDE).... PATTON.... LITTLE BIG MAN.... THE OUT OF TOWNERS.... BILLY JACK.... THE FRENCH CONNECTION.... DIRTY HARRY.... A CLOCKWORK ORANGE.... THE LAST PICTURE SHOW.... WILLARD.... THE HOSPITAL.... KLUTE.... THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN.... SHAFT.... BIG JAKE.... THE GODFATHER 1 & 2.... THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE.... WHAT'S UP DOC?.... DELIVERANCE.... JEREMIAH JOHNSON.... THE GETAWAY.... THE VALACHI PAPERS.... THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE ROY BEAN.... THE COWBOYS.... SUPER FLY.... THE EXORCIST.... THE STING.... AMERICAN GRAFITTI.... PAPILLON.... THE WAY WE WERE.... MAGNUM FORCE.... PAPER MOON.... LIVE AND LET DIE.... SERPICO.... ENTER THE DRAGON....WALKING TALL.... SLEEPER.... THE TOWERING INFERNO.... BLAZING SADDLES.... YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN.... EARTHQUAKE.... THE LONGEST YARD.... DIRTY MARY AND CRAZY LARRY.... TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.... FREEBIE AND THE BEAN.... CHINATOWN.... THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT.... ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST.... JAWS.... DOG DAY AFTERNOON.... RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER.... THE PINK PANTHER STRIKES AGAIN.... THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR.... FUNNY LADY.... THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN.... TOMMY.... ROCKY.... SILVER STREAK.... ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN.... THE OMEN.... THE BAD NEWS BEARS.... THE ENFORCER.... SILENT RUNNING.... SILENT MOVIE.... MURDER BY DEATH.... MARATHON MAN.... CARRIE.... NETWORK.... THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES.... TAXI DRIVER.... STAR WARS.... CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND.... SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER.... SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT.... THE GOODBYE GIRL.... OH GOD!.... THE DEEP.... THE SPY WHO LOVED ME.... THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN.... HIGH ANXIETY.... ANNIE HALL.... THE GAUNTLET.... GREASE.... SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE.... ANIMAL HOUSE.... EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE.... ANY WHICH WAY YOU CAN.... HEAVEN CAN WAIT.... HOOPER.... WHITE LIGHTENING.... GATOR.... FOUL PLAY.... THE DEER HUNTER.... THE END.... THE CHEAP DETECTIVE.... HALLOWEEN.... MIDNIGHT EXPRESS.... COMA.... STAR TREK.... THE JERK.... ALIEN.... APOCALYPSE NOW.... 10.... MOONRAKER.... THE ELECTRIC HORSEMAN.... MEATBALLS....

About now I know what many of you who were there to see these movies are saying to yourselves. "Oh my God I hadn't thought of that movie in ages! I LOVED that movie!" Tell me I'm wrong. You saw the title and thought back to how much fun a movie was or how much it kept you in suspense. You started saying lines in your head from these movies like "Toga! Toga! Toga!"...."I'm gonna put this foot against that side of your face...and there's not a damn thing you can do about it".... "That Shaft is a bad...Shut yo mouth!"...."Squeal like a piggie!"...."I know what you're thinking punk...did he fire 5 shots or 6?"...."Boards...don't hit back"...."Is it safe?"...."Bond...James Bond"...."FOOD FIGHT!" and "...and scream I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it any more!" Admit it, reading one or all of these phrases brought back memories.

You also saw images in your head. The big Indian cradling Jack Nicholson at the end of CUKOO'S NEST.  Newman and Redford pulling off the big con and giving the signal of brushing their noses with a finger in THE STING. John Belushi falling back on a ladder in ANIMAL HOUSE.  Joe Don Baker tearing open his shirt to show the scars on his body in WALKING TALL. The mother ship coming up over the top of Devil's Mountain in CLOSE ENCOUNTERS. Yes indeed, your mind's eye saw all these images just from seeing the title of the movie. That's how deep an impression they made. And those memories will tell you that this decade was the best for movies.

Anyone care to disagree? Feel free to post comments. I've allowed them for anyone to see. If this wasn't the best decade for movies then what was? Your turn.

By the way, Netflix fans? A lot of these movies are showing up there so if you want to relive a favorite movie or two or three check for these titles there.

WHY "MAN OF STEEL" IS A DISAPPOINMENT

                              Oh gee, look at all the decimated buildings. I hope no one was hurt.

The other day I came home from seeing one of the many summer blockbusters this year, MAN OF STEEL. My son and I disagreed on the movie. He thought it was fantastic. I didn't think I'd probably watch it ever again. Oh sure, I'll probably watch it one more time to write about it, but it's not a movie that I'll want to add to my collection. This being said I should also note that while I wasn't a huge fan of the first SUPERMAN movies with Christopher Reeve I liked it better. So far my favorite Superman film has been SUPERMAN RETURNS.

*SPOILER ALERT*

So let me say why I didn't like it. To begin with it was a dark film. Being a comic fan I can tell you that there was a yin yang set up between Batman and Superman. Batman was a dark character whose past evolved from darkness. Superman was the lighter of the two, a symbol of hope. That is not displayed here. Instead the film seems to have little or no color to it relying on darkness throughout. Even his costume is more dark blue and burgundy than the blue and red we've all know for years.

Hand held shaky camera. I HATE shaky cameras. It feels like ever since the steadi-cam was invented directors have revolted against it and insisted that to make a more "artistic" film they need hand held. Dude, there's a reason we like a steadier picture. It means we can actually see it!

The fight between Superman and two of Zod's henchmen. Well one's a man the other a woman. This felt almost like a shot for shot remake of the battle between Thor and the giant robot from the THOR film. Speaking of fight sequences, those who like this movie all like the fact that Superman finally has a fist fight in a film. Fine and dandy but at the same time he's fist fighting he's obliterating Metropolis. Building collapse filled with people, people on the streets are crushed and the damage to property is astronomical. One online site paid a damage estimate company to come up with a figure and it was to the tune of several billion dollars worth of damage and over 250,000 people dead from this one fight alone. And yet when Zod threatens 3 people and says he'll keep doing so only then does Superman decide to snap his neck and kill him. Had he done so earlier then the damage might have stayed in the low hundred millions.

That neck snap? Something Superman would never do. He's a good guy. He doesn't kill. He finds another way out. Period.

Superman's father telling him that maybe it would have been better to let a busload of kids drown rather than reveal himself by saving them. Two things here. First off the fact that he would advocate the deaths of innocent children is not who Jonathan Kent was. Secondly Superboy/man would have found a way to save the kids and the bus without revealing himself. Toss this in with papa Kent allowing himself to be sucked into a tornado and killed rather than let his son reveal himself and again it wouldn't have happened. Superman would have found a way to save him without revealing himself.

There were a number of other things that just didn't feel right about this movie but the biggest problem with this movie was that there was no joy in it. There didn't seem to be any happiness or reason to smile in this film and that's not at all what Superman is all about. The only time this was captured was when he first learns to fly. There is great joy in that sequence. But it last a few minutes out of the total time of this film.

I won't say that you shouldn't see this movie. If you're a fan of Superman then by all means go. See if you enjoy it. And if you do more power to you. But for me it ruined the Superman I've known and loved for years.

This movie displays the difference between films based on DC Comics characters and Marvel Comics characters. The folks at Marvel get it. They realize up front that their movie is based on a comic book. Those at DC seem to want to dissociate themselves from that fact. They want to make their movies grittier and more realistic. That might work for Batman but not for other characters. I felt the failure of GREEN LANTERN wasn't the costume which so many talked about but the fact that there were multiple bad guys and the main one was some giant monstrosity. No, I didn't want GL to stop bank robberies. But if he had done a few things like that leading up to the giant creature it might have changed things.

There is talk they may to a Justice League movie. If the same people involved are the ones behind this one I don't know if I'll go see it or if I'll save my money and wait for it as a rental. As it stands MAN OF STEEL will not be a movie that will grace the shelves of my collection.