NEWS ROUNDUP Ver. 8

NEWS ROUNDUP Ver. 8

PROMETHEUS
     With the film coming out in less than a week I thought I'd do one more quick blurb about the film before going quiet about it until I publish my review for it. As of this time it looks like Fox might want to do not one but two sequels for it. Also, I just had to share what I think is the creepiest trailers for the movie.

HANNIBAL

     NBC has picked their lead for the Thomas Harris based series and this one I'm excited about. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter will be played by Mads Mikkelsen. This series just went from "uhnn" to a must watch for me now.

CLIVE BARKER

     It seems that we might get to see a movie directed by Clive Barker in the next year. Amazon.com Inc has hired Barker to rewrite and direct their property Zombies Vs Gladiators. Barker said about the project,  “I’m excited by the opportunity to interweave two very rich narrative threads. One of them concerns itself with the reality of the decadence of Rome and its rise and fall. The other is a fantastical narrative element – the living dead. My brief to myself on this project is to give the audience not only zombies they have never seen before but also a Rome they have never seen before.”  It's Barker so I'm there with ease!

IRON MAN 3

     With shooting for the the Robert Downey Jr. starring vehicle underway there is going to be a lot of set pics coming out from cell phones. The strangest one that has come out is a pic of The Iron Patriot which is weird due to it's a Norman Osborn ran machine in the comic. I don't think he'll be in the film.

WORLD WAR Z

     The movie about the after effects of a zombie outbreak has more to worry about than a zombie virus. Seems like the film is going through seven more weeks of filming. The interesting thing about this is that filming on the movie has been finished since last year. Sounds like the studio doesn't like the finished product.

GINGERCLOWN 3D

     In what looks like could be another fun movie if it ever sees the light of day, Gingerclown 3D looks like it could be what us 80's horror kids need.  The quick rundown for this is that a group of high school jocks (douche bags) dare Sam, the school loser to enter a rundown amusement park that's supposedly haunted for a kiss from the girl he likes, Jenny,  but who is dating the school quarterback. The problem is that something has been living in the park since the 20's and is the reason why it shut down originally. Look for Tim Curry to be back in make-up (always great when he is) as Gingerclown. Also it has Lance Henriksen as Braineater, Brad Dourif as Worm Creature, Sean Young as Nelly the Spiderwoman, and Michael Winslow as Stomachcrumble. This sounds like it's going to be a great creature feature type treat. Below is the trailer for it.

THE AVENGERS

THE AVENGERS (2012)
US
Directed by Joss Whedon

CAST:
Robert Downey Jr. - Tony Stark/ Iron Man
Chris Evans - Steve Rogers/ Captain America
Chris Hemsworth - Thor

PLOT:
     Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. brings together a team of super humans to form The Avengers to help save the Earth from Loki and his army.

REVIEW:
     So it's Summer, so that means that it's time for the studios to roll out their biggest films and movies. Even though there were other movies before this one already, Hunger Games if you were wondering, this is the beast that is going to make or break Marvel as a whole and set-up a whole slew of film if it did well. And from what it did over-seas last weekend, it's going to be a Juggernaut (sorry had to throw a character reference in there, me being a comic book reader). So going into this I actually tried to be even so where I won't be completely biased. But hell, who am I kidding..... here's why you should see this film!

 
1. The Hulk: Yes, the Hulk is the Hyde to Bruce Banner's Jeckyll and they are for all intents and purposes two separate entities in the movie. But when the Hulk shows up you know it.  At the end of the movie when every time the Hulk is on screen something cool happens and you find out why everyone is afraid of him and his power. Skip the seeing the recent Hulk movies and just watch this instead as they finally get the character right.

2. Joss Whedon: While yes, he wrote Cabin In The Woods that came out last month (review here) he finally can get the true exposure he truly deserves, not just as a writer but a director. While anyone that has seen Buffy, Angel, or Firefly know he's an amazing writer and director, now the studios and the world in general know it. And that is a good thing.

3. The script: While the film is a geek dream come true, it wouldn't have worked if it wasn't for the writing. From the small quips that everyone makes toward the other person to the more personal, smaller introspections that happen, the movie wouldn't have worked if it wasn't for this. Each character has their own voice that sticks out. Which in a film this big, is something amazing in and of itself.

4. The Characters: Actually that's a bad way to put it, as I should say icons. Everyone knows who they are or at least seen pictures of them before, yet in this they actually see why they are icons from the past and present. And now, the future. Captain America leads finally like he should. Thor is shown as a protector. Iron Man as the billionaire genius. The Hulk as the time bomb with the faulty timer that he truly is. Nick Fury as the man that does what needs to be done no matter what. Hawkeye as the ultimate marksman. And Black Widow as the spy that was only previously hinted at.

5. The last 45 minutes of the film: Holy hell that was pure awesome.

6. The movie itself: It shows that a film packed with so many stars and characters can work if the story is treated correctly and not dumbed down or become to preachy as some other superhero movies. Even with a small nag about the camera work during one scene causing the action to get lost, it didn't take anything away from the film at all. While most people who see this will only concentrate on the action aspect of the film, it's the characters themselves that drive the film through and through. This is about as close to a perfect film and what blockbusters are meant to be.

BEST DEATH:
     Hulk smash!

BEST LINE:
     Puny god.

FUN FACTS:
     Mark Ruffalo, who play Bruce Banner/ The Hulk describes Bruce Banner as "a guy struggling with two sides of himself, the dark and the light; everything he does in his life is filtered through issues of control." He furthermore describes Banner's alter ego the Hulk as "a loose cannon - he's the teammate none of them are sure they want, it's like throwing a grenade into the middle of the group and hoping it turns out well!"

     Has an unusually high number of Academy Award nominees in the cast and crew for a comic book movie - or most movies for that matter.

      According to Joss Whedon, The original cut of the movie was over 3 hours long. There will be about 30 minutes of the excised footage included in the DVD Release, most of which revolves around Steve Rogers (Captain America). Whedon revealed that one of these scenes involved Rogers struggling to adjust to the modern world in his Brooklyn apartment and another revealed Steve Rogers' reunion with Peggy Carter.

     The Chitauri appear in the first story arc of The Ultimates. Their leader claims that they go by many names, including Skrulls.So the early rumors were true. In a way......

     The mid-credit scene hints at what is to come, and his name is Thanos.