the odds are never in your favor and henry cavill gets his due (finally!)

I know that I am not only member of Team Peeta that was underwhelmed by the strange casting of Josh Hutcherson, but my overwhelming admiration for Jennifer Lawrence, a perfect Katniss, supersedes any concerns I have with the film versions of the trilogy.  She was perfect in The Hunger Games, and despite the presence of a different director, I am sure Catching Fire will not disappoint.  Any project that Phillip Seymour Hoffman takes seriously, even the funny ones (see: Along Came Polly, worth watching entirely for PSH's small scenes) is going to be more than decent. Side note: varying directors has not hurt franchises in the past-see Harry Potter. I'm actually quite excited to see the vision the Francis Lawrence brings to Catching Fire-I thoroughly enjoyed both I am Legend and Water for Elephants (NOT because of Robert Pattionson, mind you!)

I share the opinion of  Cinesnark's Sarah, frequent contributor to my beloved Lainey Gossip, that Superman is something of a "mild" superhero, especially when compared to Christian Bale's Batman or any one of Marvel's Avengers.  I should tell you that Sarah is fully immersed in the comic book world, and is thus fluent in their mythologies and story lines.  I'm not a huge fan of the superhero genre, and I certainly didn't appreciate it until Batman became a legitimately dark, interesting character (via Bale's brilliance) and Robert Downey Jr. became Tony Stark.  Then, it was the proverbial new ball game, and I began to actually look forward to each new blockbuster.  However, had RDJ never donned the suit or the Joker's maniacal laugh never sent chills up my spine, I would have undoubtedly been excited for Henry Cavill's big debut.  Long familiar with his role as Charles Brandon in the steamy, but remarkably historically accurate The Tudors (seriously-Hilary Mantel's Bringing up the Bodies, the continuing story of Thomas Cromwell, minister to Henry VIII, which won the Man Booker Prize, and all kinds of acclaim and prestige cannot quite hold my interest because I LEARNED ALL ABOUT THOMAS CROMWELL ALREADY, in a Showtime television show), I always had a sense that Cavill could be a star.  He's attractive, compelling, British... Anyway, it looks as though Man of Steel just might make that happen.  It looks quite good, and it certainly doesn't hurt to be a part of a cast that includes Russell Crowe, Amy Adams, and Michael Shannon.