July 18, 2025 • 8 mins
Joe Neumaier joins Mendte in the Morning to talk about the opening week for Superman as it had success at the box office.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, let's talk about Superman first with Movie Minute
hosts Joe Newmeyer and film journalist Joe Neumeyer. They are
one and the same, by the way, I'm not talking
about two different people. So I didn't get to see Superman,
but everybody that I know that saw it, including my son,
(00:20):
who does a comic book podcast and knows more about
Superman than anybody I've ever met, loved it. Loved Superman.
Will you there?
Speaker 2 (00:33):
You know I'm here, Larry. I gotta tell you. So
here's the thing. I for one thing, congrats to your son.
I love that. For one thing, that he obviously is
a go getter and guy has got a podcast, and
that he has a passion for comic book stuff. I
always applaud that to a degree. I'm not surprised because,
as we talked about last week, I'm not I gave
the Superman one star. I didn't like it, and I
am I'm the outlier. I mean, it was a huge
(00:55):
box office hit. It's like the third biggest opening weekend
of so far of the year. People seem to like it.
It is, to my eye, geared towards towards kids, and
it's and it's comic book style, so that obviously tracks
with with the with your son's style of what he wants.
It just kind of for me, it just felt like
it was going too far into that. It was too silly,
(01:18):
it's too sort of ridiculous, and I you know, like
we joked about last week where it's like, you know
where when Crypto the super Dog is the thing you
walk out saying, oh man, that was great about Crypto.
To me, I think at least it's just sort of
it missed the mark. Now. I think that obviously, you know,
maybe it's like different times, different things. At the time
that that first nineteen seventy eight Superman came out, which
(01:39):
I loved, father and I think we talked about to me,
that's my favorite superhero film.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
But it was true to the original Superman.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
That's what my son likes so much about this one,
that it was true to the original Superman.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
If you like that one, you should like this one.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
It's in theory, I think that they just went too
It's they went too far. It's like they overcorrect for
the darkness of the like the Man of Steel movies
and Batman Versus Superman and things like that. So in theory.
I just think that there's there's something missing. There's some
magic elements, some some you know some it's like Kentucky
Fried Chicken. There's some mysterious element missing. And it's not
(02:15):
about you know, the performance. You know, Christopher Reeve obviously
was fantastic. It's there have been other great Superman actors.
I think Brandon routh And and Henry Cavill, we're both
really good Superman actors. Actually there's just something it just
felt a little bit too young. It felt a little
bit too thin. It's like the the threat to the
to the world wasn't sort of you know, wasn't what
it should be. U. I thought that Nicola Nicholas out
(02:37):
as as Lex Luthor was okay, but his hit what
he kind of went about it it which seems a
little like an echo of the Gene Hackman Lex Luthor
and and and you know we're talking about it right now,
by the way, like it's geopolitics or something. But it's like,
but but it seemed like a thin echo of what
of what the gene Hackman version of Luthor wanted to do,
(02:58):
which somehow like had more have to I mean, he
was gonna break out California off into the ocean. This
one sort of seemed like it was gonna start a
little scuffle in a in a in a Middle Eastern
country and name himself king. You know. That just seemed
like a little bit too thin for me. And he
had a team of guys all sitting around at these
computer screens. I don't, you know, that's just my thing.
(03:19):
I feel like, if you've got like Alex Luthor, he
should be on his own and villainous. He doesn't need
a bunch of guys that computers like, you know, answering
phone calls for it's like telemarketers. So that's there were
sort of style things I didn't like, and there were
script things I didn't like. And as I mentioned last week,
I really liked the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, which is,
(03:40):
you know, the same director, James Gunn, and especially the
first two, and it doesn't seem like it kind of
wanted to be those movies. But it also was sort
of playing in the same pool as it were, you know,
so I'm not surprised that your son liked it, because
I think it was aimed a little bit more young,
and it was, you know, towards that demographic. Whereas if
you watch that, and I know your son also likes
the Christopher red version matter if.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
He rates them Christopher Reeve one and this one too.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's got good taste. Obviously he's got
that super Net one as first. But it's and that
one also came at an interesting time too. Look, it
was nineteen seventy eight in New York. You know, it
was sort of like, you know, just like people sort
of forget that the first Rocky was a seventies gritty
movie in some way, like that first Superman movie is
existing in a in a gritty seventies New York world,
even though it's not that gritty in the movie. It's
(04:26):
just that the era that it came out in, and
that's why it was sort of a breath of fresh air.
So yeah, I guess I stand alone, you know, as
everybody else is going. I want people to go and
enjoy movies, no matter what, whether I like them or not.
I want people to go with sortam and have a
great time, you know. So I'm glad that that it
is a success.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
It just wasn't for me.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
And but now it's also obviously spawning all these other things,
which is which is great. You know, the next one's
gonna be Supergirl, who shows up in this movie. You
know that's not a spoiler.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
And maybe we can get away of the out of
the darkness of making all these Marvel movies and these
DC movies dark. Somehow I think people like light and fuah,
you know.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
And I do agree with that. Yeah, absolutely, Well it's funny. Yeah,
I mean those ahead.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
I was just gonna say, the previous iteration of this,
like all those Man of Steel movies were so dark
and so heavy, and and and the and the you know,
the Justice League movie and all that stuff. I mean,
they were like going to a funeral, you know, Yeah,
this is much more, much more fun. Well, we're gonna
say there, you.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Have such an influence over me. I didn't see this
because of your review, and I really didn't and and
other ones that you've liked, even given three stars to
I've gone to see. This is the first weekend I
didn't see a movie. Now I definitely want to go
see it, and that might influence me and your reviews
from here on out, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Oh boy, okay, right right, So either I'm gonna have
to prove myself, but even more next time or right exactly, well,
at least I will say this, go see Superman, Larry,
rather than I Know what you did last summer, which
is the big movie this weekend.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Let's put it this way.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Next summer you will not be talking about, oh, you
know what, I know what you saw last summer? Was
I Know what you did last summer. It's horrible. It's
a it's a it's what they call a legacy remake
of the nineteen ninety seven horror film that Jennifer Love, Hewitt, Freddie,
Prince Junior, who all show up in this movie. It's
really a nothing. It's zero stars. But it also makes
me think of, you know, all those nineties horror movies,
(06:18):
and it was sort of that was sort of a
there's a lot going on in horror at that time. Yeah,
like what they should have remade remake something like The
Dark Half, which was a not necessarily successful Stephen King story,
or Idle Hands, this jokey horror flick, or Urban Legend,
which I thought was a great idea that back in
nineteen ninety eight was done terribly. But you know what,
the big here's the big controversy that I'm going to
(06:40):
set up. I think they should remake The Devil's Advocate,
the Keanu Reeves al Pacino movie.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Remember that great idea?
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yeah I love that right, Yeah, me too, Me too.
But I think it would be great to remake it, Like,
how about somebody like Javier Bardem or Robert Downey Junior
as Satan screaming you know, God is an absent Lord.
You know, something like that would be really fun and
he could kind of put a different spin on it
rather than something like I Know what you did last Summer,
which you know, even the title makes you fall asleep.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
The problem with doing a remake of that movie is
that al Puccino was so good.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Who who wants to follow that right exactly?
Speaker 2 (07:17):
And at the time, you know, he kind of got
a little bit of guff because he's going over the top.
That sort of set up that whole like, oh my god,
Puccino does you know, goes too far. Sometimes he's chewing
the scenery. But I think he's terrific in it. I
think he's really fun in having it, and he knows
how fun the movie is. He knows it's a it's
an over the top thing. I'll tell you what.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
If you're ever going to go too far? Playing the
devil is the role where you would want to go
too far.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
That's right, Exactly, you don't underplay playing the devil. Exactly,
you go go too far, get, get the horns, get
to have a tried end, have a big pointy tail,
whatever you need to do. Right, go go too far.
I'm playing the devil.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
So was there anything worth watching this weekend?
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Like, even if I was going to watch something online,
what's worth Well, I'm going to see a Superman but
what else?
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Well, you know, it's it's interesting because the Superman movie
that's come out, you know, they're setting up all these
other things. It does remind me of you know, I
don't know if you saw the Robert Pattinson Batman, because
they are gonna be making a new Batman out out
of this whole group. So and and while that was
a success, I think a lot of people thought that
was kind of dark, and it is. It's like a
dark mystery. It kind of reminded me of Zodiac or something.
So something like the Batman or that reminded me of Zodiac.
(08:20):
Watch something like Zodiac, which has Robert Downey Junior in
it a terrific sort of gritty thriller. It's in the
seventies about the Zodiac Killer. You know, while certainly if
you want to stay away from from darkness and dark movies,
these are not the ones. But I think that, like,
if you wanted to sort of check something out that
was superheroes but also dark, but not not that DC dark,
the Batman is the one to do. It's directed by
(08:43):
the guy who made the those those those great reboots
of the Plan of the Age.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Yeah, that's a that's a great suggestion. Joe Numeyer, film journalist,
w R Movie Minnered Host. Thanks a lot, Joe.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Thanks, Sorry,
All right, let's talk about Superman first with Movie Minute
hosts Joe Newmeyer and film journalist Joe Neumeyer. They are
one and the same, by the way, I'm not talking
about two different people. So I didn't get to see Superman,
but everybody that I know that saw it, including my son,
(00:20):
who does a comic book podcast and knows more about
Superman than anybody I've ever met, loved it. Loved Superman.
Will you there?
Speaker 2 (00:33):
You know I'm here, Larry. I gotta tell you. So
here's the thing. I for one thing, congrats to your son.
I love that. For one thing, that he obviously is
a go getter and guy has got a podcast, and
that he has a passion for comic book stuff. I
always applaud that to a degree. I'm not surprised because,
as we talked about last week, I'm not I gave
the Superman one star. I didn't like it, and I
am I'm the outlier. I mean, it was a huge
(00:55):
box office hit. It's like the third biggest opening weekend
of so far of the year. People seem to like it.
It is, to my eye, geared towards towards kids, and
it's and it's comic book style, so that obviously tracks
with with the with your son's style of what he wants.
It just kind of for me, it just felt like
it was going too far into that. It was too silly,
(01:18):
it's too sort of ridiculous, and I you know, like
we joked about last week where it's like, you know
where when Crypto the super Dog is the thing you
walk out saying, oh man, that was great about Crypto.
To me, I think at least it's just sort of
it missed the mark. Now. I think that obviously, you know,
maybe it's like different times, different things. At the time
that that first nineteen seventy eight Superman came out, which
(01:39):
I loved, father and I think we talked about to me,
that's my favorite superhero film.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
But it was true to the original Superman.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
That's what my son likes so much about this one,
that it was true to the original Superman.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
If you like that one, you should like this one.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
It's in theory, I think that they just went too
It's they went too far. It's like they overcorrect for
the darkness of the like the Man of Steel movies
and Batman Versus Superman and things like that. So in theory.
I just think that there's there's something missing. There's some
magic elements, some some you know some it's like Kentucky
Fried Chicken. There's some mysterious element missing. And it's not
(02:15):
about you know, the performance. You know, Christopher Reeve obviously
was fantastic. It's there have been other great Superman actors.
I think Brandon routh And and Henry Cavill, we're both
really good Superman actors. Actually there's just something it just
felt a little bit too young. It felt a little
bit too thin. It's like the the threat to the
to the world wasn't sort of you know, wasn't what
it should be. U. I thought that Nicola Nicholas out
(02:37):
as as Lex Luthor was okay, but his hit what
he kind of went about it it which seems a
little like an echo of the Gene Hackman Lex Luthor
and and and you know we're talking about it right now,
by the way, like it's geopolitics or something. But it's like,
but but it seemed like a thin echo of what
of what the gene Hackman version of Luthor wanted to do,
(02:58):
which somehow like had more have to I mean, he
was gonna break out California off into the ocean. This
one sort of seemed like it was gonna start a
little scuffle in a in a in a Middle Eastern
country and name himself king. You know. That just seemed
like a little bit too thin for me. And he
had a team of guys all sitting around at these
computer screens. I don't, you know, that's just my thing.
(03:19):
I feel like, if you've got like Alex Luthor, he
should be on his own and villainous. He doesn't need
a bunch of guys that computers like, you know, answering
phone calls for it's like telemarketers. So that's there were
sort of style things I didn't like, and there were
script things I didn't like. And as I mentioned last week,
I really liked the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, which is,
(03:40):
you know, the same director, James Gunn, and especially the
first two, and it doesn't seem like it kind of
wanted to be those movies. But it also was sort
of playing in the same pool as it were, you know,
so I'm not surprised that your son liked it, because
I think it was aimed a little bit more young,
and it was, you know, towards that demographic. Whereas if
you watch that, and I know your son also likes
the Christopher red version matter if.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
He rates them Christopher Reeve one and this one too.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's got good taste. Obviously he's got
that super Net one as first. But it's and that
one also came at an interesting time too. Look, it
was nineteen seventy eight in New York. You know, it
was sort of like, you know, just like people sort
of forget that the first Rocky was a seventies gritty
movie in some way, like that first Superman movie is
existing in a in a gritty seventies New York world,
even though it's not that gritty in the movie. It's
(04:26):
just that the era that it came out in, and
that's why it was sort of a breath of fresh air.
So yeah, I guess I stand alone, you know, as
everybody else is going. I want people to go and
enjoy movies, no matter what, whether I like them or not.
I want people to go with sortam and have a
great time, you know. So I'm glad that that it
is a success.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
It just wasn't for me.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
And but now it's also obviously spawning all these other things,
which is which is great. You know, the next one's
gonna be Supergirl, who shows up in this movie. You
know that's not a spoiler.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
And maybe we can get away of the out of
the darkness of making all these Marvel movies and these
DC movies dark. Somehow I think people like light and fuah,
you know.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
And I do agree with that. Yeah, absolutely, Well it's funny. Yeah,
I mean those ahead.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
I was just gonna say, the previous iteration of this,
like all those Man of Steel movies were so dark
and so heavy, and and and the and the you know,
the Justice League movie and all that stuff. I mean,
they were like going to a funeral, you know, Yeah,
this is much more, much more fun. Well, we're gonna
say there, you.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Have such an influence over me. I didn't see this
because of your review, and I really didn't and and
other ones that you've liked, even given three stars to
I've gone to see. This is the first weekend I
didn't see a movie. Now I definitely want to go
see it, and that might influence me and your reviews
from here on out, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Oh boy, okay, right right, So either I'm gonna have
to prove myself, but even more next time or right exactly, well,
at least I will say this, go see Superman, Larry,
rather than I Know what you did last summer, which
is the big movie this weekend.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Let's put it this way.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Next summer you will not be talking about, oh, you
know what, I know what you saw last summer? Was
I Know what you did last summer. It's horrible. It's
a it's a it's what they call a legacy remake
of the nineteen ninety seven horror film that Jennifer Love, Hewitt, Freddie,
Prince Junior, who all show up in this movie. It's
really a nothing. It's zero stars. But it also makes
me think of, you know, all those nineties horror movies,
(06:18):
and it was sort of that was sort of a
there's a lot going on in horror at that time. Yeah,
like what they should have remade remake something like The
Dark Half, which was a not necessarily successful Stephen King story,
or Idle Hands, this jokey horror flick, or Urban Legend,
which I thought was a great idea that back in
nineteen ninety eight was done terribly. But you know what,
the big here's the big controversy that I'm going to
(06:40):
set up. I think they should remake The Devil's Advocate,
the Keanu Reeves al Pacino movie.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Remember that great idea?
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yeah I love that right, Yeah, me too, Me too.
But I think it would be great to remake it, Like,
how about somebody like Javier Bardem or Robert Downey Junior
as Satan screaming you know, God is an absent Lord.
You know, something like that would be really fun and
he could kind of put a different spin on it
rather than something like I Know what you did last Summer,
which you know, even the title makes you fall asleep.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
The problem with doing a remake of that movie is
that al Puccino was so good.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Who who wants to follow that right exactly?
Speaker 2 (07:17):
And at the time, you know, he kind of got
a little bit of guff because he's going over the top.
That sort of set up that whole like, oh my god,
Puccino does you know, goes too far. Sometimes he's chewing
the scenery. But I think he's terrific in it. I
think he's really fun in having it, and he knows
how fun the movie is. He knows it's a it's
an over the top thing. I'll tell you what.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
If you're ever going to go too far? Playing the
devil is the role where you would want to go
too far.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
That's right, Exactly, you don't underplay playing the devil. Exactly,
you go go too far, get, get the horns, get
to have a tried end, have a big pointy tail,
whatever you need to do. Right, go go too far.
I'm playing the devil.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
So was there anything worth watching this weekend?
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Like, even if I was going to watch something online,
what's worth Well, I'm going to see a Superman but
what else?
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Well, you know, it's it's interesting because the Superman movie
that's come out, you know, they're setting up all these
other things. It does remind me of you know, I
don't know if you saw the Robert Pattinson Batman, because
they are gonna be making a new Batman out out
of this whole group. So and and while that was
a success, I think a lot of people thought that
was kind of dark, and it is. It's like a
dark mystery. It kind of reminded me of Zodiac or something.
So something like the Batman or that reminded me of Zodiac.
(08:20):
Watch something like Zodiac, which has Robert Downey Junior in
it a terrific sort of gritty thriller. It's in the
seventies about the Zodiac Killer. You know, while certainly if
you want to stay away from from darkness and dark movies,
these are not the ones. But I think that, like,
if you wanted to sort of check something out that
was superheroes but also dark, but not not that DC dark,
the Batman is the one to do. It's directed by
(08:43):
the guy who made the those those those great reboots
of the Plan of the Age.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Yeah, that's a that's a great suggestion. Joe Numeyer, film journalist,
w R Movie Minnered Host. Thanks a lot, Joe.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Thanks, Sorry,
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