Browsing all 19 posts in Movie News.
August 25, 2010
I quite like Bryan Singer’s X-Men and I think X2 is the best movie based on a Marvel property ever made. The disappointing (if over-criticized) X-Men 3: The Last Stand (directed by Brett Ratner) was one of the first films to really show the harm done by 20th Century Fox’s policy of setting a release date, then developing a picture. I found things to like about the very flawed X-Men Origins: Wolverine film.
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August 10, 2010
A friend of mine has a theory which I am an agreement with: every marketing department or copy division needs a 22 year-old horny male on its staff to filter-out unintended innuendo. (Unintenuendo?) Horrible mistake after the jump.
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January 9, 2009
Apparently, Sam Raimi is considering Morbius as a villain for Spider-Man 4.
I was one of the people who was gravely disappointed with Spider-Man 3 (I love the first two) and I was especially let-down with the decision to not wrap-up the Curt Connors / The Lizard story arc that was so clearly set-up in the first two films. I want a fourth film because I want the franchise “fixed”.
And actually, Morbius would be a good villain for this.
You would never know it, but at one point (fifth grade) Dr. Michael Morbius was my favorite comic book character. He was originally a villain for both Spider-Man and Blade (In fact, David Goyer intended Morbius to be the central villain in Blade II.), created by Marvel as a protest against the Comic Code‘s ban on vampires. (Morbius is a vampire by scientific means, not supernatural. That’s how they skirted the ban.)
In the 1990′s revisitation of the 70′s Spider-Man villain, the doctor with a terminal blood disease tries an experimental blood transfusion that renders him a vampire. He involuntarily sucks the blood of his beloved and then vows to only suck the blood of those undeserving of life. As a kid, I loved the idea of this tormented soul, a well-meaning doctor trapped in the animal urges of a monster, using every ounce of his will to sustain his life on those who deserve none.
At one point in the comics, Morbius uses a serum based on Spider-Man’s blood to cure his own condition.
Doc Conors, as we know, transfuses his blood with that of a Lizard to regenerate his lost arm, but accidentally turns himself into The Lizard instead.
I think there’s a good story to tell with Spider-Man’s radioactive blood, Dr. Connor’s lizard blood, and Morbius’ vampiric blood, and the ethics behind what sacrifices we’d make to “cure” things that are a crucial a part of our identity. In fact, the comic books had this arc. It was the famed “six-armed Spider-Man” story.
There’s been nothing to confirm this, but my gut says that in two years you’ll be seeing a six-armed Tobey Maguire in a Spider-Man 4 trailer.
October 29, 2008
Whoa.
Apparently, Columbia snatched-up the rights to “Preacher” and Sam Mendes — American Beauty and Road to Perdition Sam Mendes – is going to direct.
Fascinating
At one point Preacher was on its way to being an HBO one-hour. That is what it should be. But Mark Steven Johnson — Daredevil and Ghost Rider Mark Steven Johnson — was producing it. He’s a fucking twit and Sam Mendes is fucking brilliant.
Still, I don’t believe that a mainstream film version can do the comic series justice. I’ve read all nine volumes twice. I’m not sure you can do angels and demons fucking, god abandoning his creation, Arseface (A Kurt Cobain suicide imitation gone wrong), Jesus de Sade, Frankie the Eunuch, Jodie and TC fucking a trout, Odin Quincannon fucking piles of raw meat, The Allfather (the REAL pope), voodoo priests, the KKK… I mean who else other than me and other twisted fuckheads wants to see this stuff?
“Uh duh nuh, buh uh guhs wuhl fuhnd uht!”
October 26, 2008
Remember that new Watchmen footage?
I have made a special find. More proof that Snyder is taking the source material seriously:
October 14, 2008
FUCK YOU MARVEL.
Can’t you just get ONE FUCKING FRANCHISE RIGHT?! Just ONCE I would like a perfect fucking series of films! You fucked X-Men in the third film by fucking-over Cyclops and making Wolverine the main character. You fucked Spider-Man in the third film by squeezing-in too many villains, not following through with the lizard, mis-casting Venom, and making Spider-Man dance. YOU FUCKED MY PRECIOUS DAREDEVIL FILM IN THE FIRST GODFORSAKEN OUTING. You fucked-up The Hulk in the first movie and then had to reboot four years later. You put Nicholas Cage in a movie about a flaming skull and that needs NO further explanation.
Now you are fucking up this perfect fucking Avengers arc! DAMMIT. Terrance Howard was perfect! Pay him the fucking money! I AM TIRED OF HAVING TO SUSPEND DISBELIEF WITH DIFFERENT ACTORS PLAYING THE SAME ROLE. YOU DON’T FUCKING MIX ACTION FIGURES.
ugh.
ugh.
UGH.
May 19, 2008
Nine years ago today, George Lucas set-upon the world Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. It remains today, as it was then, a controversial film for nerds everywhere.
I was a junior in high school when TPM came out. I had nearly gotten my XL-sized, Star Wars t-shirt wardrobe large enough to wear a Star Wars shirt every day to school. I spent all of my money on Star Wars merch and I spent all of my time on Star Wars messageboards, posting crackpot theories about how some insignificant detail in the Original Trilogy was the key to knowing what would happen next! At the age of 17 it was the most important thing to happen to my life.
My mother had set her wedding date for May 19th, 1999. I made her change it. A week before the movie my friends and I waited in line 24 hours for tickets. We were on NPR in Indianapolis. The Indy Star did an article on us. They are memories I will never forget.
We all know how The Phantom Menace came out. For all its mis-steps, I still defend it as much better than it is given credit for. It is certainly better than Attack of the Clones and while Revenge of the Sith captures the spirit of the OT closest, The Phantom Menace is still the best-crafted of the three films. Qui-Gon Jinn is maybe my favorite prequel trilogy character. The Duel of Fates at the end of the film is still an exceptional piece of fight choreography.
At any rate, for better or for worse, today is the 9-year anniversary of when Star Wars changed forever. Celebrate with a blue milkshake, or spit on the ground and watch your OT laserdiscs in protest.
March 6, 2008
Watchmen is often regarded as the greatest graphic novel story ever written. (Only Maus and occasionally The Dark Knight Returns get put ahead of it.) If you’ve not read it, even if you don’t read “comics,” you need to. Time Magazine even regards it as one of the best 100 novels ever written.
The book takes place in an alternate 1985 where the Cold War is much closer to nuclear war, and Richard Nixon is still president. The plot centers on the history of The Minutemen, a team of super-heroes that saw two incarnations, one in 1939-1949 and the second incarnation (called The Crime Busters”) that was only briefly in existence in 1966. In the book’s version of 1985, somebody begins murdering the surviving members and one of The Crime Busters, and Rorschach (who is the last “hero” still trying to fight crime) sets-out to uncover the mystery. During the book we learn the twisted nuances of all the heroes relationships, and their tragic flaws seriously challenge the reader’s conception of heroism.
It’s not a “super hero comic,” really. It’s actually a noir deconstruction of the superhero. It’s about different ideas of justice and heroism, why we need heroes, why we have heroes, the kinds of people that become these heroes, why those kinds of people become heroes, and whether they are actually heroic at all. (Shocking revelation: the answers are neither easy nor settling)
The characters are based on Charlton Comics characters, who have now faded to obscurity for all but the most devoted DC Comics readers today. Fortunately, the archetypes in those Charlton Comics were broad and I think, just by looking at the images from the movie and the comic, you’ll see things you recognize.
Anyways, the production wrapped a few weeks ago… and now we can finally see how some of these iconic literary characters will look when they are portrayed for the first time in a film. It’s important to remember that the style of photos comes from the marketing department, not the filmmakers. You’ll have to filter that out.
Rorschach
Rorschach is the fan-favorite character. He’s a detective, a socio-path, an anti-hero, and holds personal views about morality and humanity that are not only wholly deplorable and unacceptable, but are probably correct. I’m curious to see how some aspects of his character are portrayed in light of today’s political climate.
The images we have seen or Rorschach, including this one, are absolutely perfect. Really, I don’t think anything needs to be said about it. Also, I think this is probably going to be my Halloween costume this year.
The Comedian
The Comedian, for those who haven’t read the comic, is a Punisher-sort of character. He began his career as a friendlier crime fighter, but a tour in WWII seriously altered his outlook on crime and the best methods of fighting it. He later serves as a secret agent for President Nixon.
As for the movie version… it’s spot-on. Seriously, this is stroke-for-stroke what the character should look like. Of all five images we have, this is the most pleasing to me.
The Silk Spectre II
There’s two Silk Spectres in Watchmen, the original served in the first incarnation of The Minutemen. This is her daughter. The original Silk Spectre was more of a pin-up girl than a real hero and her daughter has accepted the mantle out of obligation and a lack of personal ambition more than a desire to really change the world.
Again, this costume is pretty spot-on. Hopefully the actress is good because Silk Spectre II is one of the sadder characters in the series, I think.
The Nite Owl II
The original Nite Owl is much like The Blue Beetle, though Nite Owl II (a fan of the original with a large inheritance who takes the role) has strong, strong elements of pre-Dark Knight Returns Batman. Nite Owl II is basically a super-hero hobbyist who would otherwise have no business fighting crime. He’s also, psychologically, the most “normal” of the Minutemen.
As for this costume, I think it might turn some fans off… but I like it. It’s not as homely looking as it is in the comics, but if Watchmen the film is going to deconstruct the superhero, it is important that the average moviegoer sees what they know superheroes to be. In that sense, I think this costume is very, very reminiscent of the Batman Begins Batman costume, with some smaller elements that resemble the Spider-Man and Daredevil movie incarnations. I appreciate the updates and I think they were carefully considered. Personally, I think its terrific.
Ozymandias
Ozymandias is man of super-human intelligence. His powerful brain also afforded him the ability to become an expert in acrobatics and martial arts. He’s a sort of spiritual guru who chose to become a costumed vigilante after an eye-opening, drug-induced experience in the Mediterranean. During the second, brief incarnation of The Minutemen, Ozymandias comes to believe that good and evil are not quantifiable by acts of crime and he becomes a sort of moral relativist. After vigilantes are banned in the 70′s, Ozymandias markets his image to amass a fortune.
This is the most disappointing image. In the comics Ozymandias is surrounded by opulent artifacts and gold. This is a much grittier rendition of the character, although considering the color of his blonde hair in the photo, the image may just be high desaturated. One of the most interesting aspects of the character is how, through money and marketing, Ozymandias has positioned himself as a sort of god. (Almost an Oprah-Tom Cruise-Bill Gates hybrid) That is not reflected here.
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