There are two movies I remember my family borrowing from the tiny library collection of VHS tapes over and over again as a young child:

• "The Return of the King" — Yes, the 1980 cartoon version, featuring such memorable ditty's as "Frodo of the Nine Fingers and the Ring of Doo-oooh-ooh-uh-oom."
• "Superman II" (1980)

 "Superman II" was the one where the Man of Steel took on General Zod, a Kryptonian criminal, and his two cronies to save the world again. He'll face General Zod again next year when Superman returns to the big screen in "Man of Steel."

Because I haven't gotten around to seeing "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" yet (Seriously, what's wrong with me? It's a live-action adaptation of my favorite book.), I will have to content myself and my nerd-tastic tendencies by watching this trailer for the new Superman movie over and over again.


It seems epic, right? With a story co-written by Christopher Nolan (of The Dark Knight trilogy fame), it sure seems likely to be more enjoyable than the snoozefest of 2006's "Superman Returns."

And in case you missed it: An excellent teaser poster for the film that featured Superman in handcuffs accompanied by soldiers came out a few weeks ago.  

— Nicole Franz | NiFranz@News-Herald.com | @FranzOrFoe

With a few days to digest the wonderful film, "Captain America: The First Avenger," I'm fairly confident I'm not a prisoner of the moment when putting together a top 10 list of my favorite superhero movies.

Without question, Captain America deserves to be on my top 10 list. Here we go:

10. "Kick-Ass" (2010): This underrated superhero film was ... well, you know.

9. "V for Vendetta (2006): "Remember, remember the fifth of November."

8. "The Incredibles" (2004): Pixar film a continuous joyride. Particularly enjoy Samuel L. Jackson's Frozone.

7. "Superman: The Movie (1978): The late Christopher Reeve seemed born to play the man of steel.

6. "Spider-Man" (2002): It will be difficult for Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) to outdo Tobey Maguire. We will find out next summer in "The Amazing Spider-Man."

5. "Superman II" (Richard Donner cut, 2006): If you haven't seen this version of the sequel to the first Superman, check it out. Better than Richard Lester's.

4. "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011): Two hours of patriotic fun, and an excellent period piece. It's difficult not to root for Steve Rogers.

3. "Spider-Man 2" (2004): Alfred Molina as Dr. Octopus is excellent and the subway scene between Spider-Man and Doc Ock is ground-breaking special affects.

2. "Batman Begins" (2005): A reboot never felt better than director Christopher Nolan's classic.

1. "The Dark Knight" (2008): The Joker (Heath Ledger) and Batman (Christian Bale) matching wits is the gold standard for superhero flicks. It won't be topped. Ever.

- Mark Podolski