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Making a Superman film is no easy task. Throughout time this iconic character has developed into a near indestructible god of a man, lacking any of the characters flaws that add humanity into the seemingly endless supply of caped crusaders entering the box office as of late. Who better to take on the challenge of creating the “Man of Steel” than Christopher Nolan, Zack Snyder, and David S. Goyer? The group is no stranger to adapting comic books for the big screen with producer Christopher Nolan and screenwriter David S. Goyer having worked together on the ultra-successful Dark Knight trilogy and Director Zach Snyder directing graphic novel adaptations of “300” and “Watchmen.” So it should come as no surprise that audience expectations are at an all-time high for a Superman reboot, especially following the colossal train wreck that was “Superman Returns.”

Audiences are looking for the Dark Knight duo of Nolan and Goyer to inject the same intricacy, conflict, and dark tone that resonated through the Batman reboot into the latest Superman feature… and the they somewhat deliver. “Man of Steel” never quite reaches the same level of poignant heaviness as the Dark Knight trilogy and for good reason. Superman and Batman are distinctively different and as such should be approached from different angles. Where Batman is hurt, human, and scarred from the loss of his parents causing him to seek vengeance against the criminal underbelly of Gotham, Superman is inhuman and near-perfect. Although Superman also lost his parents, he was taken in by a loving family who infused him with the values of honor, courage and self-sacrifice. He is in essence a symbol of hope. Zach Snyder honors this version of Superman, paying homage to the Golden Age of comic books while injecting it with a sense of modernism.

“Man of Steel” opens with a tiresomely long preamble illuminating the all-too-familiar origin story of Jor-El (Russell Crowe) launching his newborn son Kal-El across the stars to Kansas as his home planet of Krypton is on the brink of destruction and how military leader General Zod (Michael Shannon) is imprisoned in the Phantom Zone after an unsuccessful coup. Despite the intro feeling a bit lengthy, it does offer Snyder the opportunity to indulge his love for flashy, effects-driven scenes by creating a world full of otherworldly creatures and Krypton’s elaborate science before the planet implodes in a bombardment of fire and brimstone, courtesy of production designer Alex McDowell and an army of computer effects artists. The introduction is bold and exudes a sense of confidence as if Snyder is daring the audience to question the plausibility of Krypton’s lead scientist racing ahead of biomechanical flying machines on the back of a giant dragonfly-like creature….. but you won’t.

Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) first appears in uncharacteristic fashion as a brooding loner in his mid-twenties (complete with a full beard) wandering across America, leaving behind a trail of good deeds, in an attempt to find his place in the world. A series of flashbacks show Clark’s childhood where his parents, Jonathan (Kevin Costner) and Martha (Diane Lane), help him to cope with his new-found powers while encouraging him to keep his abilities hidden from a world that is not ready to accept him. It is here that you feel the Nolan touch as Clark must deal with the inner conflict of keeping himself concealed from the world or using his powers to help those in need. Eventually Pulitzer Prize- winning journalist Lois Lane (Amy Adams) tracks down the man behind these good deeds and agrees to keep his secret after realizing the implications of life on other planets being discovered.

Things finally get rolling as General Zod and his followers escape the Phantom Zone and arrive at Earth, demanding the return of one of their own, Kal-El. Of course the vast majority of Earth is unaware of the presence of superhuman beings from distant planets and the United States military is all too willing to turn him over. Inevitably, the two clash in a series of over-sized, action-packed battles that stretch the limits of CGl. Some of the action sequences seem to borrow from the directing styles of Roland Emmerich and Michael Bay with large portions of Smallville and Metropolis lying in the wake of the two evenly-matched titans. Vehicles are thrown about like rag dolls and giant skyscrapers shatter to the ground in a menagerie of warped glass to the beat of Hans Zimmer‘s thumping score, but the scenes mostly avoid the sour aftertaste associated with Bay-esque pyrotechnics. The only downfall of these eye-popping action scenes, which dominate at least the last third of the film, is that they overshadow any real attempt at character development.

The all-star cast does their best to even out the at times too-serious tone of the movie. Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe play Clark’s two fathers, adding a level of heaviness to the film, especially Costner who in a scene exemplifies the meaning of self-sacrifice to save his adopted son from revealing his secret. Henry Cavill does a solid job of donning the role of the most well-known superhero of all time by choosing to underplay the part, opting for a sense of humility rather than Christopher Reeves’ charisma. Amy Adams fills the role of Lois Lane well, but wouldn’t suffer from a bit more humor. Clark and Lois’ romance is only teased and I expect it will play more into a sequel. The always-reliable Michael Shannon really steals the show as Zod, adding over-the-top charisma and a greater depth to the character than that of Terrance Stamp.

Finally at the close of the film, those light-hearted, signature Superman moments that were seemingly missing from the film, rear their head in a shared glance between two reporters at the Daily Planet; hinting at a more-than-likely sequel. Although “Man of Steel” suffers from a lack of wit and charm, this visually brilliant film has laid a solid foundation for a legacy of sequels that could really soar.

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Seth Rogen finds sure footing after stumbling along as the writer of the less-than-stellar “The Watch” with the wildly inappropriate and funnier-to-boot “This Is The End.” Rogen reteams with co-writer/co-director Evan Goldberg (the pair having worked on “Pineapple Express” and “Superbad” together among others) to adapt their nine-minute short “Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse” into a feature film. “Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse” is rumored to have cost $3,000, stars five of the six main actors in the adapted feature (Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, and Danny McBride), and was never released to the public. Rogen’s directorial debut joins the five actors with fellow funny man Craig Robinson as well as a boat-load of cameo appearances from other contemporary comedy giants who all play over-the-top versions of themselves in this horror-comedy that pokes fun at the privileged lives of the Hollywood elite.

“This Is The End” opens with Seth picking up his long-time friend Jay, who has come down from Canada to rekindle a friendship that has lost some of its spark since Seth has become Hollywood royalty and joined a new crowd. Jay’s distaste for L.A. becomes readily apparent and is only perpetuated when Seth insists that the two should attend a housewarming party at Franco’s mansion in the Hollywood Hills. Jay eventually gives in and the pair enter James’ stunning house, cleverly designed by the multi-talented actor/writer/director/grad-student/teacher himself as he is only too willing to point out. The party is out of proportions in something similar to a scene out of the “Entourage” and complete with sex, copious amounts of drugs, and seemingly everyone in Hollywood who was free on that day of filming. Jay’s level of discomfort increases throughout the party as he feels out of place and fails to click with Seth’s new friends.

As the party is in full swing it is crashed by none other than the apocalypse, played out in biblical proportions with fire, brimstone, crashing cars, gaping holes in the earth, and slivers of blue light drawing people into the sky. After the dust clears, the death toll is enormous including Aziz Ansari, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, David Krumholtz, Jason Segel, Kevin Hart, Martin Starr, Michael Cera, Mindy Kaling, Paul Rudd, and Rihanna. Those who sought shelter inside of Franco’s mansion survive including Franco, Rogen, Hill, Robinson, and Baruchel. As reality sets in, the group prepares to wait out the disaster by rationing food and discussing sleeping arrangements in a set of scenes that continue the gut-busting dialogue you would expect from members of the Judd Apatow gang. With the morning comes a new set of surprises, mainly the presence of Danny McBride who awakes from a drunken sleep oblivious to the events of the previous night and makes breakfast for the gang, considerably depleting their already scarce food supply.

With McBride comes a slew of insults so fast-paced and explicit that you feel as if you are getting the inside scoop on how comedic actors treat each other off set. Hilarity ensues as the star’s egos collide and they spiritedly backstab each other for resources. Emma Watson makes an appearance before deciding to fend for herself in the outside world after overhearing the six males talk about the “rapey vibe” that they were putting off. McBride oversteps his boundaries by taking more than his share of the rations and is thrown out of the mansion. Jay finds religion as he begins dutifully reading the Book of Revelation and determines that the disaster is in fact the Rapture. And Hill becomes possessed in a scene that pits him against the newly-spiritual Jay for an exorcism that delivers huge laughs before the film turns to an effects-driven climax that ironically finds the Jewish actors in a Christian-like light as they dwell on whether or not they are worthy of salvation.

This Is The End’s greatest success comes from how the film portrays the six main actors. Nobody takes themselves too seriously and in fact the actors embrace the way the world views them. Franco is always drawing attention to his successes, including showing off various film keepsakes such as the camcorder from “127 Hours” and a World War I era pistol from “Flyboys.” Hill teases his nice-guy persona, even downplaying his Oscar nomination. McBride plays the bad boy and troublemaker while Baruchel portrays the actor who hasn’t quite reached the level of success as his companions. Robinson and Rogen also deliver enormous fun including Rogen joking about his signature laugh. The actor’s careers are also called into question with films like “The Green Hornet” and “Your Highness” being the butt of jokes. Fans of this group of actors will find themselves on the floor laughing while those opposed might be better off skipping this film.

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The Internship rejoins comedy giants Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson for the first time since 2005’s surprisingly successful film, “Wedding Crashers,” which grossed upwards of $200 million domestically. Unfortunately, The Internship falls short of the duo’s previous film, largely in part to the film’s PG-13 rating and its exceptionally predictable script.

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson play Billy and Nick, two aging salesmen who lose their jobs as reps for a watch manufacturing company when their boss (John Goodman) shuts down the company as he perceives watches becoming obsolete in a world dominated by technology where people would rather check the time on their smartphones. To make matters worse, Billy’s girlfriend walks out on him because she has had enough of Billy “talking a big game” and Nick is reduced to working for his sister’s uncouth husband (an uncredited Will Ferrell) as a mattress salesman.

Billy constructs a master plan to get the two out of their rut by enrolling in classes at the University of Phoenix, the Harvard of online schools, and applying for an internship at Google. Never mind that the two applying to Google is comparable to taking floaties off of a toddler and asking him to swim the English Channel. Despite Billy and Nick’s obvious lack of any technical qualifications, illustrated in a webcam interview that shows the two talking excessively loud and squeezing together like sardines in a can to fit within the webcam’s field of view, the two miraculously land the internship.

Billy and Nick arrive at Google Headquarters in Silicon Valley and are thrust into a world full of tech-savvy super nerds like fish out of water. Google’s internship director (Aasif Mandvi) tells the group of new Google interns, aptly named noogles, to separate into groups as the groups would compete in several competitions for a limited number of guaranteed full-time positions at Google. Used to a life of being chosen first in athletics, Nick and Billy are surprised to find themselves without a team. They join the leftovers led by the overenthusiastic junior Google mentor, Lyle (Josh Brener). Other group members include the cynical Stuart (Dylan O’Brien), the obvious Asian stereotype afraid of his mother, Yo-Yo Santos, (Tobit Raphael), and the token female, Neha (Tiya Sircar).

The leftovers are pitted against a group who, despite also being Google-caliber geniuses, seem to be several rungs above on the social ladder. The group is led by the smooth yet pompous Brit, Graham (Max Minghella). While at first being less than useful to the group, Nick and Billy’s limitation turn into assets as they help the kids break out of their shells and bring real-world experiences and people skills to compliment the other team member’s computer smarts. The transformation of the characters and the challenges offer some genuinely heart-felt moments and a smattering of laughs, but the outcome of the competition is never seriously in question.

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are excellent, adding their signature fast-paced back-and-forth banter as they feed of each other in a manner similar to their performance in “Wedding Crashers.” The rest of the acting core is fairly solid as well, including Rose Byrne, who plays Dana, a work-obsessed Google employee and romantic interest of Nick. Unfortunately the great majority of the actors are limited in their roles by the rather one-dimensional characters created by writers Vince Vaughn and Jared Stern. Although the film has its share of laughs and a refreshingly optimistic take on life, it plays more as a tiresomely-long Google commercial rather than live up to its comedic potential.

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There are many things that movies do well and a handful of things that translate poorly onto film. Stage magic falls into the latter category. The spectacle of movie magic delivered by skilled editors and visual effects artists overshadows a sleight-of-hand trick of pulling a rabbit out of a hat or sawing a lady in half. When movie magic can bring to life superheroes, distant planets, and creatures of the deep, the ability for an actor to guess a card out of a deck of 52 seems rather muted. The allure of stage magic is not in the act, but rather in the act occurring right under your very nose. Thus the task when creating a movie about magic is to make a movie that is about more than just magic. In this, Now You See Me is successful; creating a story that is entertaining enough to make you want to believe in the on-screen magic.

The thriller from Louis Leterrier delivers fast paced action sequences, clever dialogue, and its fair share of twists and gotchas. Now You See Me centers around four magicians: J. Daniel Atlas, a cocky showman played by Jessie Eisenberg; Merritt McKinney, an aged mentalist played by Woody Harrelson; Jack Wilder, a pickpocket played by Dave Franco (yes James’ little brother), and Isla Fisher plays Henley Reeves, a former magician’s assistant turned daring escape artist. The four illusionists are joined through a mysterious figure in a gray hoodie and the financial backing of shady businessman, Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine) to form one of Las Vegas’ biggest acts, the Four Horsemen.

The Four Horsemen’s first act is the seemingly impossible act of robbing a bank in Paris while performing at the MGM Grand on the Vegas strip. Enter the authorities led by FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol agent Alma Dray (Mélanie Laurent), who are befuddled and hard-pressed to arrest the group for an act that couldn’t possibly have happened. The duo, out of their element, enlists the help of world-renowned magic debunker Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) to expose the Four Horsemen.

The film continues with the Four Horsemen performing even more elaborate heists in the same vein as the Ocean’s 11 franchise in a race to stay one step ahead of Agent Rhodes and the rest of the police force tasked to bring them to justice. Here Leterrier finds a way to mask the fact that none of the actors are trained magicians by filming the performances in a fun, whimsical manner. The heists are detailed and complex enough to keep the audience engaged while remaining just plausible enough to not overwhelm one’s ability to suspend disbelief.

Perhaps the most remarkable element of the heists is that the Four Horsemen keep none of the cash for themselves. This fact leads into an even more elaborate side plot involving secret societies, a mysterious murder, and possibly the existence of real magic. Now You See Me encourages the audience to “come in close, because the more you think you see the easier it will be to fool you.” Thaddeus Bradley’s words ring true. Despite my best efforts I was unable to predict the movie’s inevitable big reveal.