File this one as a definite long shot, but it seems that Warner Brothers is trying to sit down with Ben Affleck to convince him to take the reigns for their gestating ‘Justice League’ film. Variety is reporting here that the studio has him at the top of their list now that Christopher Nolan has made it abundantly clear that he’ll have nothing to do with this movie. The flick has a script written by ‘Gangster Squad’ scribe Will Beal and WB has a strong relationship with Affleck so this does make a bit of sense. I’d personally love for it to happen, but I have my doubts. Affleck seems interested in a slightly different sort of film at the moment, though who knows, as the studio sought him out for their Superman reboot as well. After the jump you can see a few details of this story, but take it with a grain of salt for now. One can dream, of course. Read on below for more…
Once a certain Bat-related film opens in a little under two weeks, a big change in focus is going to be coming for Warner Brothers. Yes, they have another superhero they’ve got to concentrate on, and it’s the man of steel himself…Superman. With Zack Snyder’s ‘Man of Steel’ about a year away, it’s fair to assume a lot is going to begin coming out soon, most notably at Comic-Con and likely in the form of a teaser trailer attached to ‘The Dark Knight Rises’. The official IMAX website was in on the action earlier too, posting a small plot synopsis for the film (which pretty much also confirms a 3D retrofitting of the flick). It’s since been taken down, but after the jump you can see it right here at The Awards Circuit. I’m hoping for good things from this caped hero, but time will tell…
Right off the bat, let me get one thing straight. I have no problem with ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ existing. Aside from ‘Spider-Man 2′, I never really fell in love with Sam Raimi’s webslinger trilogy. I like the first one enough, but #3 was a real let down, so I didn’t look at this reboot of the franchise as a huge transgression or anything. I just wanted it to be good, and luckily for me (and everyone else out there), Marc Webb is able to match and sometimes exceed Raimi with this new tale. As a superhero origin story, it’s only slightly above average, but as a coming of age tale, it’s rather remarkable. Webb was hired to take the sensibilities of the romance in ‘(500) Days of Summer’ and apply it to a comic book film, and his direction, along with the screenplay by James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent, and Steve Kloves is successful in doing that. They can only do so much though, as they needed to pick the right actor to play Peter Parker and Spider-Man. That’s the real home run of the film, as Andrew Garfield is pretty much the definitive Parker/web slinger. The entire movie is well casted actually, and it’s a credit to Webb that almost all of his choices pay off. Yes, about half of the movie covers the same ground as the original ‘Spider-Man’, but it’s all done in a slightly different fashion, and I found myself preferring this way in almost regards. It’s not perfect, but it’s ridiculously satisfying.
I may not be among a huge group of people, but I’m someone who’s actually excited for Marc Webb’s upcoming reboot of the Spider-Man franchise next month. I liked what I saw earlier in the year, and the rumors I’d been hearing were encouraging as well. Critics in England however, have actually seen the movie, and some have put out their early reviews already. You can get a sense of some of them after the jump, but they’re mostly on the positive side. It looks like Andrew Garfield at the very least is a success story. Read on below for more…
With the news that Matthew Vaughn won’t be returning to direct the sequel to ‘Kick-Ass’, the main reason to still be interested in this project is the cast. Chloe Moretz’s performance was an absolute delight and scene stealer, and Deadline is reporting here that not only will she be reprising her role in ‘Kick-Ass 2′, but that Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and even Nicolas Cage (somehow) will be back. After the jump I’ll speculate about how they fit in to the flick, but this is certainly good news to me. Without at least a few of them, I’d have lost hope in this sequel very quickly…
Even though there’s not a whole lot of excitement overall for ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’, but I’m looking forward to it quite a bit. My (along with other fans anticipating the film) only real concern is the character of The Lizard, which the filmmakers have shielded from us a bit. Well, that’s different now, as a real good look has made its way onto the web (no pun intended). After the jump you can take a look at the image, but I like the look enough, as it’s more classical comic book Lizard as opposed to the more recent animated series version. Take a look below…
I was a big fan of ‘Kick-Ass’ when it came out a few years ago, even going so far as to praise it in an early Script Review here at the site. The potential for a great sequel is certainly there, though I never found it to be a moral imperative for it to be made or anything (bonus points for knowing what movie I’m referencing by saying “moral imperative”). Well, it looks like Universal is in talks to continue the franchise, according to Deadlinehere, and sadly it won’t be with Matthew Vaughn writing or directing (though Aaron Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse are in talks to reprise their original roles). Instead, it’s Jeff Wadlow of ‘Cry Wolf’ and ‘Never Back Down’ fame. After the jump I’ll share my thoughts on the project, but in short…I’m not exactly thrilled with the choice of Wadlow.
And so, in what seemed like an impossible dream to just about every comic book geek in the world, the first-ever major superhero crossover film finally opens in America today. There’s really no point in pretending that this won’t absolutely kill at the box office this weekend, it’s just a matter of how high it can soar at this point:
Though ‘The Avengers’ and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ have almost all of the attention, ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ is still a comic book flick that one should be looking forward to. I liked the footage I saw back in January, and this new Trailer showcases all of the things that will hopefully make this reboot stand out from the prior Spidey films (namely the backstory of Peter Parker’s parents and the villain The Lizard). After the jump you can see the trailer, but the movie is looking pretty good to me. Check it out below and let us know what you think!
The first blockbuster of the 2012 summer movie season also happens to just plain old be one of the best films of the year so far. ‘The Avengers’ could have gone wrong in a ton of different ways, but almost inexplicably it’s a massive success. With only a few small flaws to blemish its record, this film is a testament to how much of a coup it was to hire Joss Whedon to write and direct the project. He gets to the core of what this movie should be about. It’s not about explosions and fights, but instead about community, loneliness, and the need for teamwork in the face of long odds. This is not only the best film to come from Marvel’s production company, but it’s easily one of the 5 best superhero films to date (it’s your move, ‘The Dark Knight Rises’). Whedon has taken the best of each previous Marvel film and, with one or two flaws aside, cobbled together pretty much the ideal Avengers film, rife with strong performances, surprisingly effective humor, and more than a touch of heart. It’s like a great comic book come to life, and you’re left just as giddy as a young child first discovering the tales of heroism within those books and diving right in. Between this and co-writing ‘The Cabin in the Woods’, Whedon is the man of the hour in many parts of the film world. ‘The Avengers’ isn’t perfect, but then again, neither are heroes tasked with saving the Earth, and we still love them. I have no doubt that you all will love this film when it opens on Friday.
Part of my write-up yesterday (found here in case you missed it) of the event I was at for ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ included an early look at this trailer. Now that it’s up, you all can see what I saw. Here it is, after the jump…
File this one as a definite long shot, but it seems that Warner Brothers is trying to sit down with Ben Affleck to convince him to take the reigns for their gestating ‘Justice League’ film. Variety is reporting here that the studio has him at the top of their list now that Christopher Nolan has made it abundantly clear that he’ll have nothing to do with this movie. The flick has a script written by ‘Gangster Squad’ scribe Will Beal and WB has a strong relationship with Affleck so this does make a bit of sense. I’d personally love for it to happen, but I have my doubts. Affleck seems interested in a slightly different sort of film at the moment, though who knows, as the studio sought him out for their Superman reboot as well. After the jump you can see a few details of this story, but take it with a grain of salt for now. One can dream, of course. Read on below for more…
