To each his own, indeed. It's a pity such deep philosophical questions couldn't have been better served. I never cared much for Mignola's artwork, generally speaking (a bit too quirky for my tastes). Thankfully (for him), he's never really needed my support with this character...
As long as I don't get stuck hauling the boys to the sequel
For what it's worth, I enjoyed the sequel much more than the first one. I found HBII to be a better paced film with more ambitious production values and better action sequences. The character of Johann Krauss also brings some welcome (to me at least) comedy relief to the proceedings.
If the characters just don't resonate with you, or you're not into Del Toro's visual style, then I doubt HBII will work any more than the first one. But if you were disappointed by the pacing or plot of the first film, then you may want to give the second a look as I think it improved in both areas.
There's a quick article on the Punisher: War Zone panel at Comic Con. Here's the text:
Kevin Smith moderated Spike TV's "Scream Like a Girl" awards panel, honoring the ladies of Sci-Fi, comics, TV and fantasy for their contribution to geekdom.
Joining the panel was fan-favorite uber-producer Gale Ann Hurd, who revealed, under the director's blunt line of questioning, a few details about Frank Castle's next trip to the big screen.
On the question of when, canon-speaking, will War Zone take place, before or after the Thomas Jane-starrer, Hurd said that the new film is "kind of a reboot", but more of an "ignoring" of what went before.
"[Punisher: War Zone] is from the Max series", Hurd revealed. "It is about [Castle's] real origin; it takes place in New York City. He's out for revenge, not just protecting the innocent."
Maybe it's just me but the approach sounds eerily similar to this summer's Incredible Hulk (which Hurd was also producer on). The whole "kind of a reboot / ignore the last one" thing didn't exactly work with Hulk; I wonder why Hurd thinks it will work any better with Punisher.
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
Maybe it's just me but the approach sounds eerily similar to this summer's Incredible Hulk (which Hurd was also producer on). The whole "kind of a reboot / ignore the last one" thing didn't exactly work with Hulk; I wonder why Hurd thinks it will work any better with Punisher.
I'm holding out hope for the new Punisher flick. Unless it's terribly bad, I'm going down with the ship as I did with The Incredible Hulk.
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Hurd is hopefully channelling the power of Dolph to deliver a bone-crunchingly silly B-movie. I'm still optimistic about this film, although I think a lot of other people aren't going to care for it. Mind you, everybody seems to be going a little batty about a certain movie at the moment I'm not sure any other comic book film is going to get a look in.
Maybe it's just me but the approach sounds eerily similar to this summer's Incredible Hulk (which Hurd was also producer on). The whole "kind of a reboot / ignore the last one" thing didn't exactly work with Hulk; I wonder why Hurd thinks it will work any better with Punisher.
I'm holding out hope for the new Punisher flick. Unless it's terribly bad, I'm going down with the ship as I did with The Incredible Hulk.
And just so we're clear; I'm not saying Incredible Hulk was a bad movie; I enjoyed it a lot and can't wait to buy it on BluRay.
All I'm saying is that for all the effort expended in differentiating it from the Ang Lee version, the general audience was still largely indifferent and apathetic to it. In the end, I think the character simply wasn't compelling enough for the average moviegoer to warrant a franchise and I get the same feeling about The Punisher.
There's some pretty negative news regarding Punisher War Zone courtesy of AICN. Apparently, director Lexi Alexander has been taken off the project and Lionsgate is retooling the movie's soundtrack to include some licensed thrash metal bands. Article is here:
...truthfully, the action looks really cheap and amateurish to me and I wonder if the reason Lexi was removed and the movie is being retooled is because it is so poor. The few shots of Jigsaw's makeup look really poor and the violence is just ridiculous - there's a shot of somebody's head literally getting blown away that looks positively embarrassing.
Given the level of violence in this clip, there's no way this can be released as anything other than NC-17, a death knell for most movies. I'm still thinking direct to video for this one.
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
There's some pretty negative news regarding Punisher War Zone courtesy of AICN. Apparently, director Lexi Alexander has been taken off the project and Lionsgate is retooling the movie's soundtrack to include some licensed thrash metal bands. Article is here:
...truthfully, the action looks really cheap and amateurish to me and I wonder if the reason Lexi was removed and the movie is being retooled is because it is so poor. The few shots of Jigsaw's makeup look really poor and the violence is just ridiculous - there's a shot of somebody's head literally getting blown away that looks positively embarrassing.
Given the level of violence in this clip, there's no way this can be released as anything other than NC-17, a death knell for most movies. I'm still thinking direct to video for this one.
That looked...poor in spots.
WTF is Lionsgate doing? I wonder what the response was from the Comic-Con crowd that saw this clip? I didn't think that it was totally bad but some of those violent sequences were just ugh.
And what makes them think that more metal music suits The Punisher? The '89 film had a great score and metal was more fashionable then than now.
What do you think was behind the Lexi Alexander thing? Was this just out of her league?
Marvel needs to buy the rights back and do this character the justice he deserves out right.
If straight to dvd, I'm still buying it though.; I just love the character that much I guess. ;%
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
What do you think was behind the Lexi Alexander thing? Was this just out of her league?
According to Knowles, Hurd's comment that she was on her honeymoon was a bald faced lie, which suggests strife behind the scenes. According to IMDB her resume is pretty thin and I wonder if she just wasn't ready to tackle something like this at this point in her career. Maybe Lionsgate was also being tight with the money.
In any event, after seeing those clips I can see why this movie keeps getting pushed back; it really harkens back to those el-cheapo Marvel productions from the 80's and 90's and I thought Marvel had learned better than to let their properties go down to that level.
Marvel needs to buy the rights back and do this character the justice he deserves out right.
Or it could just be that the character isn't mainstream enough to warrant a franchise. If the previous movie with its solid cast and much better production values couldn't pull in the audience, I don't see how this low budget affair with a no star cast (apologies to Stephenson and West) could have done any better.
If straight to dvd, I'm still buying it though.; I just love the character that much I guess. ;%
We wouldn't want Dolph to get lonely on the shelf, now would we?
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
By way of the San Diego Comic Con and CoolToyReview.com, check out some comicbook movie offerings by Japanese compnany Kotobukiya. Some very sharp looking statues and busts on display, including a really good Daredevil movie bust that I'm sure RogueAgent would love.
Lionsgate is retooling the movie's soundtrack to include some licensed thrash metal bands.
X-( For F***’s sake. I hate thrash metal music. It’s for teenage boys, and it’s made by people whose real name is probably Brian, but they’ve changed it to Nils Deathmuncher or something.
I thought the footage was fine. Cheap doesn’t bother me. I want a Punisher movie to look like it’s been around the block a couple of times. The action sequences looked good, gratuitous head-butt, somebody’s face getting punched in, exploding head, all perfectly legitimate. Jigsaw looked like he’d had his surgery done on the NHS, which makes it even more terrifying. I don’t have a problem with any of the scenes there. But putting that kind of bum-boy music all over the film will desecrate it.
X-( FFS part 2. Another of my favourite characters is being messed about. Apparently Dylan Dog is being relocated from London to New York. All the little details are going to be lost and this is just going to be another generic horror movie. They should have given the money to Italy's finest genre director Michele Soavi and let him direct it in Europe. I bet they put a thrash metal soundtrack on it as well. B****ds.
By way of the San Diego Comic Con and CoolToyReview.com, check out some comicbook movie offerings by Japanese compnany Kotobukiya. Some very sharp looking statues and busts on display, including a really good Daredevil movie bust that I'm sure RogueAgent would love.
Sorry but...no. Great looking statue, bad mask. )
Out of these few, this one looks COOL! Very Blade 2. B-)
What are we talking here,close to a grand or more to acquire this collection?
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
What are we talking here,close to a grand or more to acquire this collection?
No mention of prices yet, although I would guess $50-$60 for the busts, $125-$150 for the statues. Turns out the Batman one is hollow vinyl ( X-( ) although all the Marvel busts seem to be high quality.
The Iron Man bust is a definite buy for me (I already have their 1/4 scale statue on pre-order), and my brother loves the Daredevil bust as it is very accurate to the movie. {:)
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
For those interested, at Comic-Con this past weekend, they aired the new WOLVERINE movie trailer!
The crowd went WILD over Gambit's appearance. I think they pretty much got his look down. B-)
That sounded like quite the nerdgasm in that room.
Looks good; Liev Schreiber looks to be an improvement over Tyler Mane and it'll be interesting to see what they do with the other mutants. The guy playing Stryker has a voice very reminiscent of what we got in X2.
I've never been a big mutants fan but they got my attention. It'll be interesting to see how this progresses.
The guy playing Stryker has a voice very reminiscent of what we got in X2.
That's Danny Huston, son of the late great John. He was Sam Adams in John Adams and the lead vampire in 30 Days of Night, and he's been in tons o' other films. I have to say, the trailer does look pretty good. Are we in a golden age of comic book movies or what?
Interesting article at movieretriever.com which speculates on how DC/WB might approach their comic book properties in light of the Dark Knight's box office success. Some of their ideas sound interesting, others not so much.
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
edited August 2008
Thanks for the link, Tony. I'll walk on eggshells with this until we get something solid...After the success of TDK, they know by now what has to be done.
I'm as fanboy as they come when it comes to Batman but even I can get a little fatigued...
However this little excerpt from that article rubs me the wrong way:
And, while Bryan Singer didn't really deliver a homerun with Superman Returns, we really believe that - given his success with the X-Men movies - the guy deserves a second chance. ONE more chance, that is. We don't want anymore of this "Superman as the messiah" or "loving tribute to Richard Donner" BS. If Singer's next Superman isn't a Wrath of Khan-esque jump forward in quality, kick him to the curb and find a director who can deliver.
I should be more forgiving to Singer but the man has thrust himself in a corner with Superman; SR is just bad. I tried to find something redeeming in the film when I tried to watch it on tv the other night and I just couldn't.
That damn kid and his piano playing, Supes shower curtain cape and midget "S", etc...
I want another Supes film but it should be rebooted with a director who has alot of "meat" in his diet. I don't know...
Here's the movie trailer to the new animated feature WONDER WOMAN. It may not be down everyone's street with the style or subtext but IMO, it looks good enough for a rental/purchase for me. Love the Bruce Timm-ish animation to it. B-)
Here's the movie trailer to the new animated feature WONDER WOMAN. It may not be down everyone's street with the style or subtext but IMO, it looks good enough for a rental/purchase for me. Love the Bruce Timm-ish animation to it. B-)
Not bad I guess, but hardly compelling. I don't know, I guess an animated Wonder Woman movie just doesn't do anything for me. I was never really interested in the character's standalone stories and this trailer really doesn't do anything to change that attitude. Animation-wise, it looks better than Gotham Knight at least.
It doesn't help that there is absolutely no way to tell what the story is supposed to be about from the trailer - all we get is loud music, people being thrown around and one line of nearly unintelligible dialog.
I also didn't care for the tacky reversal of Iron Man's tagline - very unoriginal and unimaginative.
Now that they've gotten the big three out of the way, how about WB and DC give us an animated Green Lantern movie?
Sweepy the CatHalifax, West Yorkshire, EnglaPosts: 986MI6 Agent
2008 is the official 'Comic Book' movie year for me.
Iron Man
The Incredible Hulk
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
The Punifsher: War Zone
Here's another rumor to get the Marvel-haters' shorts in a knot, courtesy of RottenTomatoes:
SONY HAS VENOM-OUS PLANS
Following up on rumors from a few months back, Sony has announced that they are developing a Venom movie, spinning off from the villain's appearance in last year's "Spider-Man 3." The project started with a script by Jacob Estes ("Mean Creek") but the studio is now looking to go in a different direction, and is currently looking for a new screenwriter. They're also looking for a new star, reportedly on the belief that Topher Grace is not a big enough star to carry Venom by himself. As for what is motivating Sony to pursue Venom, I've got to think that they are looking at the Joker in "The Dark Knight," and thinking that in Venom, they have a charismatic villain (with a huge, grisly smile) that could be spun in a similar direction. Except he's a huge black goo monster.
Who needs it? But even that isn't as scary as the story that follows it--Warner Bros. is apparently developing a live-action movie about Marvin the Martian. Say it ain't so!
Here's another rumor to get the Marvel-haters' shorts in a knot, courtesy of RottenTomatoes:
SONY HAS VENOM-OUS PLANS
Following up on rumors from a few months back, Sony has announced that they are developing a Venom movie, spinning off from the villain's appearance in last year's "Spider-Man 3." The project started with a script by Jacob Estes ("Mean Creek") but the studio is now looking to go in a different direction, and is currently looking for a new screenwriter. They're also looking for a new star, reportedly on the belief that Topher Grace is not a big enough star to carry Venom by himself. As for what is motivating Sony to pursue Venom, I've got to think that they are looking at the Joker in "The Dark Knight," and thinking that in Venom, they have a charismatic villain (with a huge, grisly smile) that could be spun in a similar direction. Except he's a huge black goo monster.
That kind of reactionary approach to greenlighting a movie because another studio made money on a similar character is the kind of antic DC/WB are infamous for. Kind of funny to now be seeing the shoe on the other foot.
I was never much of a Venom fan myself and I'm not really sure how you'd go about turning him into a movie franchise. Do you go the route of the comic and make him a semi-hero by introducing someone even worse as the villain (maybe Carnage)? He shares a lot of the same problems as the Punisher and likewise, I have my doubts he could really gain mass appeal as a movie star.
Who needs it? But even that isn't as scary as the story that follows it--Warner Bros. is apparently developing a live-action movie about Marvin the Martian. Say it ain't so!
The mouthless Martian is one of my favorite WB characters and while the notion of a CGI Marvin interacting in a live action movie actually sounds kind of interesting, its probably not the kind of gag that can sustain itself for a full length movie. I don't have much faith that WB will be able pull this off and think the most likely outcome of such an effort is another Scooby Doo type disappointment.
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
Not really certain just where the direction of this movie is headed with all of the mixed news spread on the net but this Bradstreet poster makes me want to see it still. B-)
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
That Punisher poster makes it look like a TDK rip-off: more realistic costume, darker-than-dark overall look, grim expression... I dunno.
All those things say one thing to me: Punisher B-)
As with a very recent (2006) James Bond film, I think I'll see the picture first Don't get me wrong---I'm worried about the director getting fired, and the dodgy previews...but I love the character (and I'm a fan of Ray Stevenson), so it gets the benefit of the doubt from me.
It'll be a shame if it falls flat---as seems to be the most common expectation Wasted opportunities are dreary and depressing....
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
This one's for RogueAgent: Look at what just got announced for BluRay (I love the shameless Iron Man tie-in). I'm sure you'll want to go right out and buy yourself a BluRay player so that you can watch this...
And if that isn't to your liking (though I wouldn't know why), maybe this might get you a little more excited (still no mention of a release date for the new version unfortunately):
Between these two and Iron Man, September is shaping up to be a very expensive month.
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
This one's for RogueAgent: Look at what just got announced for BluRay (I love the shameless Iron Man tie-in). I'm sure you'll want to go right out and buy yourself a BluRay player so that you can watch this...
Between these two and Iron Man, September is shaping up to be a very expensive month.
Not to burst your bubble of fun for jeering me, Tony but I actually like the extended version of Daredevil. Honestly, the flow of the story was much better.
Director Johnson is still a tool though because I'm sure he okay'ed that costume.. I just hate that damn costume (specifically that S&M mask))
I do need to get some form of Blu-Ray technology though. There seems to be more goodies put on their discs.
I had heard that the first week in October was when we'd see a DVD for The Incredible Hulk though. So, yeah...pretty much my wallet won't stay in my pocket long enough once IM, Hulk & Speed Racer comes out. B-)
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Not to burst your bubble of fun for jeering me, Tony but I actually like the extended version of Daredevil. Honestly, the flow of the story was much better. Director Johnson is still a tool though because I'm sure he okay'ed that costume.. I just hate that damn costume (specifically that S&M mask))
My bad; I seemed to recall a grudging acceptance of the director's cut at best. As for mediocre costumes, let's not go there. :v
I do need to get some form of Blu-Ray technology though. There seems to be more goodies put on their discs.
In all honesty, 90% of the extras are the same between standard DVD's and BluRays. The studios are starting to get better in that regard with things like the 3D armors on the Iron Man disc, but the driving force for investing in BluRay is still the improved picture quality for most movies. It also goes without saying that you need a hi-def TV to see the difference in visual fidelity.
I had heard that the first week in October was when we'd see a DVD for The Incredible Hulk though. So, yeah...pretty much my wallet won't stay in my pocket long enough once IM, Hulk & Speed Racer comes out. B-)
I had also heard October, but Universal seems to have backpedaled a bit on The Incredible Hulk. They probably want to milk the Ang Lee version for a while (it had never been previously released on BluRay) before debuting the new film. It might also be a little confusing for the average consumer if they're both released simultaneously.
I'd forgotten about Speed Racer; that one is acutally pretty cheap, relatively speaking.
Comments
For what it's worth, I enjoyed the sequel much more than the first one. I found HBII to be a better paced film with more ambitious production values and better action sequences. The character of Johann Krauss also brings some welcome (to me at least) comedy relief to the proceedings.
If the characters just don't resonate with you, or you're not into Del Toro's visual style, then I doubt HBII will work any more than the first one. But if you were disappointed by the pacing or plot of the first film, then you may want to give the second a look as I think it improved in both areas.
Kevin Smith moderated Spike TV's "Scream Like a Girl" awards panel, honoring the ladies of Sci-Fi, comics, TV and fantasy for their contribution to geekdom.
Joining the panel was fan-favorite uber-producer Gale Ann Hurd, who revealed, under the director's blunt line of questioning, a few details about Frank Castle's next trip to the big screen.
On the question of when, canon-speaking, will War Zone take place, before or after the Thomas Jane-starrer, Hurd said that the new film is "kind of a reboot", but more of an "ignoring" of what went before.
"[Punisher: War Zone] is from the Max series", Hurd revealed. "It is about [Castle's] real origin; it takes place in New York City. He's out for revenge, not just protecting the innocent."
http://movies.ign.com/articles/893/893677p1.html
=====================================
Maybe it's just me but the approach sounds eerily similar to this summer's Incredible Hulk (which Hurd was also producer on). The whole "kind of a reboot / ignore the last one" thing didn't exactly work with Hulk; I wonder why Hurd thinks it will work any better with Punisher.
I'm holding out hope for the new Punisher flick. Unless it's terribly bad, I'm going down with the ship as I did with The Incredible Hulk.
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
And just so we're clear; I'm not saying Incredible Hulk was a bad movie; I enjoyed it a lot and can't wait to buy it on BluRay.
All I'm saying is that for all the effort expended in differentiating it from the Ang Lee version, the general audience was still largely indifferent and apathetic to it. In the end, I think the character simply wasn't compelling enough for the average moviegoer to warrant a franchise and I get the same feeling about The Punisher.
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37642
And speaking of War Zone, IGN has some age restricted clips here...
http://movies.ign.com/dor/objects/382367/punisher-war-zone/videos/punisher_warzone_072308.html
...truthfully, the action looks really cheap and amateurish to me and I wonder if the reason Lexi was removed and the movie is being retooled is because it is so poor. The few shots of Jigsaw's makeup look really poor and the violence is just ridiculous - there's a shot of somebody's head literally getting blown away that looks positively embarrassing.
Given the level of violence in this clip, there's no way this can be released as anything other than NC-17, a death knell for most movies. I'm still thinking direct to video for this one.
WTF is Lionsgate doing? I wonder what the response was from the Comic-Con crowd that saw this clip? I didn't think that it was totally bad but some of those violent sequences were just ugh.
And what makes them think that more metal music suits The Punisher? The '89 film had a great score and metal was more fashionable then than now.
What do you think was behind the Lexi Alexander thing? Was this just out of her league?
Marvel needs to buy the rights back and do this character the justice he deserves out right.
If straight to dvd, I'm still buying it though.; I just love the character that much I guess. ;%
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
According to Knowles, Hurd's comment that she was on her honeymoon was a bald faced lie, which suggests strife behind the scenes. According to IMDB her resume is pretty thin and I wonder if she just wasn't ready to tackle something like this at this point in her career. Maybe Lionsgate was also being tight with the money.
In any event, after seeing those clips I can see why this movie keeps getting pushed back; it really harkens back to those el-cheapo Marvel productions from the 80's and 90's and I thought Marvel had learned better than to let their properties go down to that level.
Or it could just be that the character isn't mainstream enough to warrant a franchise. If the previous movie with its solid cast and much better production values couldn't pull in the audience, I don't see how this low budget affair with a no star cast (apologies to Stephenson and West) could have done any better.
We wouldn't want Dolph to get lonely on the shelf, now would we?
You might be right about the character not having enough mass appeal but still Castle is just awesome.
My son read the thread and said "NC-17? I'm screwed!"
I will still more than likely buy the DVD!
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Lots more here...
http://www.cooltoyreview.com/SDCC08/Kotobukiya/
X-( For F***’s sake. I hate thrash metal music. It’s for teenage boys, and it’s made by people whose real name is probably Brian, but they’ve changed it to Nils Deathmuncher or something.
I thought the footage was fine. Cheap doesn’t bother me. I want a Punisher movie to look like it’s been around the block a couple of times. The action sequences looked good, gratuitous head-butt, somebody’s face getting punched in, exploding head, all perfectly legitimate. Jigsaw looked like he’d had his surgery done on the NHS, which makes it even more terrifying. I don’t have a problem with any of the scenes there. But putting that kind of bum-boy music all over the film will desecrate it.
http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/12914
Of course I could be getting carried away, but once they start altering details about the character, however minor, it doesn't bode well.
Sorry but...no. Great looking statue, bad mask.
Out of these few, this one looks COOL! Very Blade 2. B-)
What are we talking here,close to a grand or more to acquire this collection?
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
No mention of prices yet, although I would guess $50-$60 for the busts, $125-$150 for the statues. Turns out the Batman one is hollow vinyl ( X-( ) although all the Marvel busts seem to be high quality.
The Iron Man bust is a definite buy for me (I already have their 1/4 scale statue on pre-order), and my brother loves the Daredevil bust as it is very accurate to the movie. {:)
The crowd went WILD over Gambit's appearance. I think they pretty much got his look down. B-)
Here's the link:
http://www.worstpreviews.com/trailer.php?id=143&item=0
My son's seen it at least 12 times already and he is Marvel- psyched.
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Looks good; Liev Schreiber looks to be an improvement over Tyler Mane and it'll be interesting to see what they do with the other mutants. The guy playing Stryker has a voice very reminiscent of what we got in X2.
I've never been a big mutants fan but they got my attention. It'll be interesting to see how this progresses.
That's Danny Huston, son of the late great John. He was Sam Adams in John Adams and the lead vampire in 30 Days of Night, and he's been in tons o' other films. I have to say, the trailer does look pretty good. Are we in a golden age of comic book movies or what?
Have a read...
http://www.movieretriever.com/blog/editors/95/The-Future-of-DC-Comics-Superhero-Movies
I'm as fanboy as they come when it comes to Batman but even I can get a little fatigued...
However this little excerpt from that article rubs me the wrong way:
And, while Bryan Singer didn't really deliver a homerun with Superman Returns, we really believe that - given his success with the X-Men movies - the guy deserves a second chance. ONE more chance, that is. We don't want anymore of this "Superman as the messiah" or "loving tribute to Richard Donner" BS. If Singer's next Superman isn't a Wrath of Khan-esque jump forward in quality, kick him to the curb and find a director who can deliver.
I should be more forgiving to Singer but the man has thrust himself in a corner with Superman; SR is just bad. I tried to find something redeeming in the film when I tried to watch it on tv the other night and I just couldn't.
That damn kid and his piano playing, Supes shower curtain cape and midget "S", etc...
I want another Supes film but it should be rebooted with a director who has alot of "meat" in his diet. I don't know...
Here's the movie trailer to the new animated feature WONDER WOMAN. It may not be down everyone's street with the style or subtext but IMO, it looks good enough for a rental/purchase for me. Love the Bruce Timm-ish animation to it. B-)
Here it is:
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810036252/video/9069426
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Not bad I guess, but hardly compelling. I don't know, I guess an animated Wonder Woman movie just doesn't do anything for me. I was never really interested in the character's standalone stories and this trailer really doesn't do anything to change that attitude. Animation-wise, it looks better than Gotham Knight at least.
It doesn't help that there is absolutely no way to tell what the story is supposed to be about from the trailer - all we get is loud music, people being thrown around and one line of nearly unintelligible dialog.
I also didn't care for the tacky reversal of Iron Man's tagline - very unoriginal and unimaginative.
Now that they've gotten the big three out of the way, how about WB and DC give us an animated Green Lantern movie?
Iron Man
The Incredible Hulk
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
The Punifsher: War Zone
What about you?
Nathan Fillion is on the cast list, so i'll give this one a go. But it looked quite good anyhow.
SONY HAS VENOM-OUS PLANS
Following up on rumors from a few months back, Sony has announced that they are developing a Venom movie, spinning off from the villain's appearance in last year's "Spider-Man 3." The project started with a script by Jacob Estes ("Mean Creek") but the studio is now looking to go in a different direction, and is currently looking for a new screenwriter. They're also looking for a new star, reportedly on the belief that Topher Grace is not a big enough star to carry Venom by himself. As for what is motivating Sony to pursue Venom, I've got to think that they are looking at the Joker in "The Dark Knight," and thinking that in Venom, they have a charismatic villain (with a huge, grisly smile) that could be spun in a similar direction. Except he's a huge black goo monster.
Who needs it? But even that isn't as scary as the story that follows it--Warner Bros. is apparently developing a live-action movie about Marvin the Martian. Say it ain't so!
That kind of reactionary approach to greenlighting a movie because another studio made money on a similar character is the kind of antic DC/WB are infamous for. Kind of funny to now be seeing the shoe on the other foot.
I was never much of a Venom fan myself and I'm not really sure how you'd go about turning him into a movie franchise. Do you go the route of the comic and make him a semi-hero by introducing someone even worse as the villain (maybe Carnage)? He shares a lot of the same problems as the Punisher and likewise, I have my doubts he could really gain mass appeal as a movie star.
The mouthless Martian is one of my favorite WB characters and while the notion of a CGI Marvin interacting in a live action movie actually sounds kind of interesting, its probably not the kind of gag that can sustain itself for a full length movie. I don't have much faith that WB will be able pull this off and think the most likely outcome of such an effort is another Scooby Doo type disappointment.
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
That Punisher poster makes it look like a TDK rip-off: more realistic costume, darker-than-dark overall look, grim expression... I dunno.
All those things say one thing to me: Punisher B-)
As with a very recent (2006) James Bond film, I think I'll see the picture first
It'll be a shame if it falls flat---as seems to be the most common expectation
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
And if that isn't to your liking (though I wouldn't know why), maybe this might get you a little more excited (still no mention of a release date for the new version unfortunately):
Between these two and Iron Man, September is shaping up to be a very expensive month.
Not to burst your bubble of fun for jeering me, Tony but I actually like the extended version of Daredevil. Honestly, the flow of the story was much better.
Director Johnson is still a tool though because I'm sure he okay'ed that costume.. I just hate that damn costume (specifically that S&M mask)
I do need to get some form of Blu-Ray technology though. There seems to be more goodies put on their discs.
I had heard that the first week in October was when we'd see a DVD for The Incredible Hulk though. So, yeah...pretty much my wallet won't stay in my pocket long enough once IM, Hulk & Speed Racer comes out. B-)
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
My bad; I seemed to recall a grudging acceptance of the director's cut at best. As for mediocre costumes, let's not go there. :v
In all honesty, 90% of the extras are the same between standard DVD's and BluRays. The studios are starting to get better in that regard with things like the 3D armors on the Iron Man disc, but the driving force for investing in BluRay is still the improved picture quality for most movies. It also goes without saying that you need a hi-def TV to see the difference in visual fidelity.
I had also heard October, but Universal seems to have backpedaled a bit on The Incredible Hulk. They probably want to milk the Ang Lee version for a while (it had never been previously released on BluRay) before debuting the new film. It might also be a little confusing for the average consumer if they're both released simultaneously.
I'd forgotten about Speed Racer; that one is acutally pretty cheap, relatively speaking.