Today is Day 1 of our weekend in Pittsburgh, the Steel City. The family isn't congregating until Monday, July 3rd, for Steven's graduation, but being that Keith and I are traveling from Boston, we came for the weekend.

After going to Denny's and hanging at Steve's apartment with his roommate, we all went to "Superman Returns" showing at the local IMAX theatre in 3D. Yes, 3D. The iconography and cinematography, special effects all make it a worthy film to see. Kevin Spacey was made for the role of Lex Luther and pulls it off flawlessly. I'm happy to see Kate Bosworth was a brunette for her role as Lois Lane, and Brendan Routh I thought made a fantastic Superman. He is also way good-looking (definitely blows Christopher Reeve OUT of the water in that department) and I like the fact that I have no clue who he is and where he came from. But it'd be great to see more of him!

The movie started a conversation in the car on the way back to Oakdale between Keith and I about which superheroes we liked the best/identified with the most. Keith is a Spiderman kinda guy. I am a Batman kinda girl.

Peter Parker aka Spiderman is kind of a nerdy average guy, who is in love with the girl-next-door. Sounds kinda like Keith, doesn't it? ;-) He has some neat superpowers related to a freak accident in a science lab. He saves the denizens of New York when not acting as a college student/freelance photographer. He is a school newspaper geek. I think its cool that he's so young--late teens/early twenties.

Bruce Wayne aka Batman is a rich playboy with a tragic past. He is a man, who simply at his core a victim of crime--the murder of his parents. He has no superpowers, but chooses to use his riches to save humankind within Gotham City (supposedly modeled after Boston, but I don't see it in the Gothic looks the city always gets). Still there are some Lovecraft-esque influences which sort of give credence to the whole New Englandish setting. Yes, he is a bit psychotic and obsessed, but I can identify with it. I dunno why. I like the fact that he has no superhuman powers---he's just a guy who dedicates his life to martial arts and weaponry.

Now I like Superman, don't get me wrong. He can stop earthquakes, is bullet proof, can fly. Has laser beam eyes. Can see through everything but lead. None of the other guys can do that. He is a bumbling, shy, introverted man as his alter ego--Clark Kent. I admit I find this bumbling boyish kind of figure disarming in real life. The movie captures flawlessly gestures and motions from the original Superman movies (Note the way Brendan Routh ducks his head ala Christopher Reeve towards the end of the film as he gets into an elevator. You'll see what I mean.) Also note the gelled forlock on his forehead, ala the original comic. These folks didn't miss a beat. The voice of Marlon Brando and the clips used was also excellent.

I'll probably go to see the film again, after I go with Keith to see the second Pirates of the Caribbean. In addition to liking Spiderman, Keith is obsessed with pirates. I anticipate that with its frequent watching and re-watching that we will replace the DVD in the near future. My neighbor Corrie and I will also go to see "The Devil Wears Prada" soon. That's another book I haven't read yet, that's recently been made into a film.