NEWS ROUNDUP Ver 2

BATTLE ANGEL VS. AVATAR
     James Cameron has confirmed that Battle Angel Alita is still on his slate of feature films to make. Yet how long this is going to take as Cameron has said that he's only going to concentrate on the Avatar sequels, two confirmed by him with a possible fourth, is anybody's guess when it will get made.

KICK ASS

     With Universal Pictures looking for a franchise it looks like a Kick-Ass sequel might just be in the works, minus Mathew Vaughn from the director's chair. If it is green lit, production could start as early as this fall.

THE AVENGERS
     Well this is a no shit Sherlock, everyone saw that one coming news. Disney and Marvel are putting The Avengers 2 into pre-production as soon as possible. Though the film wouldn't come out until at least till 2015. This will give time for

The Captain America sequel

Iron Man 3

A third Hulk film

Thor 2

A possible Shield movie

and the wanted by me, Edgar Wright's Irredeemable Ant-Man film to come out.

THE WALKING DEAD

     Creator Robert Kirkman talked a little bit about season 3 of the show recently saying that the prison is one of the most amazing set pieces done so far for the series. He also hinted the origin of the sword Michonne carries and uses will be told.

THE DARK TOWER

     Ron Howard twitted recently that he was in a story meeting for the much wanted film. Though he did say there is no time table yet for it.

PROMETHEUS

     I can't end this without a small but happy Prometheus news tid-bit. The rating for the film is "R". All I can say is thankfully someone got smart in Hollywood and let this one be what it should!

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.

THOR

THOR (2011)
US
Directed by Kenneth Branagh

CAST:
Chris Hemsworth - Thor
Natalie Portman - Jane Foster
Tom Hiddleston - Loki

PLOT:
     The powerful but arrogant warrior Thor is cast out of the fantastic realm of Asgard and sent to live amongst humans on Earth, where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders.

REVIEW:
      Well it's almost summer this is marked by the release of the first of the four big superhero movie and this time it's Thor. I'll admit that I'm not really a fan of the comics even though I do like some of the artists Marvel has had for it's long and lengthy run since the character first appeared in Journey Into Mystery # 83 in 1962, even though the comic has been cancelled multiple times only to come back later. After being in development hell since 1990, the character is finally on the big screen and ready to take his place with the Avengers which releases next year, yet can the character and movie stand on it's own is the true question.

     Let me just say that Chris Hemsworth has so much charisma that it actually shines throughout the whole film. Even the quieter scenes you still feel his presence even though he doesn't talk, the camera just loves this man. Hemsworth portrayal of Thor is just perfect as you can tell this man is something more and can do amazing things just by his demeanor. Hemsworth is the star of this film and you know why after watching it. Tom Hiddleston is intriguing to watch as Loki, not so much for his charisma but for the calculated cunning that you know lies behind the the caring exterior. This is a man that has so much disdain for his brother that every action he takes is to somehow get a upper hand over Thor no matter the cost. While Hemsworth's Thor has a boyish charm to him, Hiddleston's Loki is a stewing pot of anger that is disguised by niceness for his own purposes. I should mention that Natalie Portman to me runs either hot or cold, depending on the movie she is in, and in Thor you can tell she cares about her role, as her acting is sincere again and you know she's having fun playing the character of star struck Jane Foster.

     As this movie is a connecting movie to Iron Man and The Avengers, I was surprised to see that this film easily stood on its own and told a very enjoyable origin story that didn't feel like a one. Kenneth Branagh who is know for directing more Shakespearean fare at first seemed an odd choice to direct a movie about a superhero god, yet he pulled it off. I think the main reason for this is due to that much of the movie is the story is about one brother at odds with the other and trying to make himself look better in their father's eye. While the movie is called Thor and his journey to becoming more than a prideful, arrogant boy into someone that is worthy to lead a kingdom,  it can easily also be about Loki and his realization that he's more what has been let on by his father. I can easily say that Loki is the tragic Shakespearean figure due to that he thinks what he's doing is the right thing yet at the end it all turns against him. The story itself is finely tuned so where nothing seems like a waste, though the movie does slow down in parts it doesn't interrupt the pacing. Even the humor that is thrown in doesn't ruin or take away from what the story has built up.

     My only complaint  with the film is that some of the action does get lost due to the 3D post conversion as this process still isn't perfect and will probably never be able to compete with filming in 3D. Other than that, the views the audience are giving of Asgard are just beautiful and majestic, even though you aren't giving much in the way of how the society functions. What is giving though is the camaraderie and friendship between the Brothers Three, Sif, Thor, and Loki which can be story in and of itself what they have gone through together as the act more like family than friends. I should mention as well for any fanboy of comics, they will geek out (I did) when Jeremy Renner shows up as Clint Barton/ Hawkeye in a uncredited role, that was filmed after the main filming was finished it seemed, which helps tie Hemsworth and Renner's characters more into the whole movie universe that Marvel is building. While there is no telling where the next Thor movie will take place or what it will be about, this one stands on it's own just amazing and is a fun film that has more going for it than seems.

BEST DEATH:
     Thor's quick playtime with a giant frost doggy that ends with a reverse tracheotomy to the nape of it's neck.

BEST LINE:
     Hey, we got Xena, Jackie Chan, Robin Hood, and that Lord Of The Rings guy coming!

FUN FACTS:
    Natalie Portman took the role of Jane Foster because she couldn't resist the opportunity of a comic-book film directed by acclaimed director Kenneth Branagh saying, "I was just like Kenneth Branagh doing 'Thor' is super-weird, I've gotta do it." This is also Portman's second movie based upon a comic, the first being V For Vendetta.

     J. Michael Straczynski's recent run on the relaunched Thor comic is serving as the influence for the film, who also has a cameo in the film as one of the Townies.

     The Eye of Agamotto, a very powerful magical amulet, can be seen in Odin's treasure room. This was a weapon wielded by a Marvel hero, Doctor Strange the Sorcerer Supreme.

     Sir Anthony Hopkins signed on as Odin despite never reading a "Thor" comic or knowing anything about the Thor mythology. It was the concept of the father and son relationship that intrigued him about the role.

    Sam Raimi after directing Darkman, pitched the idea of a Thor movie to Stan Lee and 20th Century Fox in 1990.