IRON MAN 2 [Review]

Not only are Tony Stark and Iron Man one, but Robert Downey, Jr. completes the set. This role has been the part of a lifetime for RDJ, and he plays Tony Stark with such a perfect mix of glee and determination that it even makes this lifelong die-hard Batman fan sit back and say, “Bruce who?”

IM2 is nothing but pure fun from start to finish, and the movie just flies by. The action is non-stop, the dialogue is sharp and funny, and this is the perfect movie to kick off what promises to be a really outstanding summer at the movies.

To read the rest, click on over to PopBunker.net!

Also, big thanks to everyone who came out to the PacSci IMAX to see this film with the Comic Stop Social Club. It was an great night out with everyone! Let's do it again sometime, okay?

Kick-Ass: Yes, It Did.

In every way possible, this movie lived up to its title. Kick-Ass is a really great movie and, a few cosmetic differences aside, an adaptation that stayed very loyal to its source material.

After being bullied, mugged, and since pretty girls generally ignore him, Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) decides to give being a hero a try. He dons a scuba suit and mask, goes out and confronts a couple of car thieves, gets beat to a pulp, and then run over by a car. After six months in traction, he tries again. He’s still in over his head.

For the rest of the review, click on over to Pop Bunker!

Star Trek vs. Star Wars

On Wired.com there's a funny article about which is better, Star Trek or Star Wars.

I won't repeat the whole article, but the writer is a fan of both and makes a good case for either franchise, eventually giving one of them the edge overall.

I feel the same way, but not sure I can really pick a "winner" in this case.
Afterall, one the one hand you do have green alien chicks in Star Trek. But in Star Wars, you have slave Leia.
*SIGH* It's a tough call for sure.

Maybe this will help:


... or maybe not.

TRON Legacy

I got this forwarded to me just a little bit ago so if you all have already seen it, I apologize.

There's been talk of a sequel to Disney's 1982 classic "TRON" for a while, but at SDCC they finally unveiled a teaser for the fans.

Enjoy.....


I L-O-V-E that Jeff Bridges is going to be back in it!


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If the video doesn't play, try going here or here to see it.

"ECHO" To Maybe Make the Big Screen

Author/artsist, Terry Moore, recently sold the screen rights to his self-published comic "ECHO" to producer Lloyd Levin (Watchmen, Hellboy, The Rocketeer)

The comic is about main character, Julie Martin, who is taking photos in the desert when a government test goes wrong and causes an expolsion and she is covered with a liquid metal that has unknown properties.
Soon afterwards, the government is looking for Julie but she's now on the run with the help of some friends.

Movie studios, looking to cash in on comic-related properties, are expanding their vision to non-super-powered or caped characters.
The sci-fi element of "ECHO" coupled with Terry's ability to write characters with a lot of depth to them, is ripe for the Hollywood film treatment.

If you still haven't read "ECHO", the second TPB came out a few weeks ago and should be available at the store. Vol. 1 is issues 1-5 and vol. 2 is issues 6-10.

He Is The Law!

Supposedly, a new Judge Dredd movie is in the works.

According the the 2000 A.D. news forums, DNA films (which produced Sunshine and 28 Weeks Later) has picked up the rights and is scheduling production for sometime in 2009.

(Or rather they might be, if everyone at DNA films was on board with the project.)

Not a whole lot more information about this other than a bunch of fan sites sharing this same information. Here, here, here, here.... oh and here.

If you're familiar with Judge Dredd and the denizens of Mega-City 1, this movie could have a lot of potential.

With all the stories available in the 30+ years run of the character, there is a lot to choose from to make a great movie.

Or... it could suck just as bad as last time.

Even with an impressive cast, a ginormous budget, and costumes designed by none other than Gianni Versace the previous effort did little more than fall flat on it's face.

But with a new production company taking up the helm, a global fanbase, and studios that are looking for comic books to bring to the silver screen.... this might just work a second time around.

Here's hoping anyway.

Riddle Me This, Bird Brain...

There have been rumors of this, but a recent interview with Michael Caine lends some credibility.





It would seem the next Batman movie will have Johnny Depp stepping in as The Riddler, and Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin.

I think, like Heath Ledger, these are brilliant choices. These are two of the best method actors in the business, and should continue the great tradition in casting that the first two movies started. Except for Joey Potter (ick). I think Nolan had a crush.

What do you think?

If At First You Don't Succeed...

...Fly, Fly Again?


Bryan Singer, Brandon Routh, and Co. are all out of a job. Warner Bros. is going to scrap the franchise and re-boot from scratch. I'm assuming this will mean that the continuity set forth by the Christopher Reeve films, and followed in Superman Returns will be left alone.

Thoughts? Reactions? I know that DC and WB are wanting to really compete with Marvel in the multiplex, and only the Batman films have been able to do that. With Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and various other DC/Vertigo properties in the works, is this a step in the right direction, or is this box office kryptonite?

SFX Wizard, Stan Winston Dead At 62

Stan Winston, who worked on a lot of the films us fanboys (and girls) really love, died on Sunday after a battle with multiple myeloma.

Some of the many films he worked on were:

Terminator 2

A.I.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Iron Man

Charlotte's Web

Big Fish

Constantine

Predator

Jurassic Park

Galaxy Quest

Batman Returns

Aliens

Edward Scissorhands

.... just to name a few.

Not to mention all the other projects he worked on in TV, commercials, and music videos.

When I was younger and wanted to do movie make-up and special effects as a career (which obviously got derailed along the way), I would read about how he did his effects and watch programs that spolighted him and fellow SFX creator, Rick Baker.

Stan, you will be missed.

Gotham City. Always brings a smile to my face.

Interesting comparison of the trailers for 1989's Batman, and the upcoming Dark Knight.

Justice League Limited

Following up on a comment John made in an earlier post, it does seem that the Justice League movie has been ported to the Phantom Zone.

The Wonder Woman movie, put on the back burner to focus on the JLA flick, is still in limbo as well.

This is all well and good for me. I may not read Marvel's comics, but they sure as hell make better movies than DC does. In fact, they're only a Captain America movie away from being able to assemble the Avengers (and they'd probably be able to get most if not all of the stars involved).

DC Comics and Warner Bros. can do a lot better, and until they prove that they can handle their individual characters correctly when they put them on the big screen I'm okay with them letting the ensemble piece go.

And Now.... The Spirit Teaser

That poster for The Spirit rocks!
And here, I found a teaser trailer for it (if any of you have not seen it yet).

Frank Miller is writing and directing(?) it.
The teaser is hopefully a bit misleading, but it looks kind of... well, you decide.

Will Eisner's The Spirit Teaser Trailer

Warner Bros. picks up Bone

The rights to Jeff Smith's creator-owned series, Bone, has recently been picked up by Warner Bros.


No word yet on whether they plan to make it a live-action film or completely animated, but Jeff is staying in an executive producer role so hopefully we'll get a product that will appease fans of the comic as well as bring in new readers to the fold.


Originally Nickelodeon was developing an animated version, but that didn't work out.
They were trying to aim it towards kids and include pop songs into the stories, which was not the direction Smith wanted the franchise to go in.



Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing what Warner Bros. is going to do.

I think this will be a great opportunity for Bone to get onto the big screen and available to a wider audience.

You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.

I'm not much of a Marvel reader, which is probably why I enjoy the movies made from their comics more than the True Believers out there. One exception was the Eric Bana/Ang Lee "Hulk" from a few years back - I hated it, as did most everybody.

But this might help me to forget all about it:

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

'Justice League' Movie is Back on Track

Variety is reporting that now that the writers' strike is over, Warner Bros. has put its Justice League project on the fast track in order to add another "tentpole" film to the studio's slim 2009 schedule. Justice League helmer George Miller is currently doing preparation work in Australia and the film's cast, which includes Adam Brody (Flash), the Rapper Common (Green Lantern), Megan Gale (Wonder Woman, see attached pic!), and Arnie Hammer, Jr. (Batman) has been told to keep up their training for the physically-demanding roles. The screenwriters are polishing the script, which is due back at the studio shortly. No date for the start of principal photography has been set yet.

The Justice League project was on the fast track until the studio scuttled the project in mid-January citing script problems and uncertainty about being able to fix them caused by the writers' strike. But with just Zack Snyder's Watchmen (March 6th), McG's Terminator Salvation (May 22nd), and Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are (October 16th) scheduled for 2009, there is obviously a major gap in mid-summer that Warner Bros. would love to fill with Justice League, so don't bet that the studio won't be able to overcome the considerable difficulty of mounting a major special effects-laden superhero film in time for a summer 2009 release.

Iron Man Trailer on "Lost"

Marvel has announced that a brand new Iron Man trailer will debut during the new episode of ABC's Lost that airs on Thursday, February 28th. This will be the Shellhead's third trailer as Marvel ramps up the enthusiasm for the release of its first Marvel Studios film on May 2nd, 2008.

Marvel has also released a new poster (above!) that shows all three armored suits from the Iron Man movie -- the original clunky Mark I, the sleek, all-silver Mark II, and the final red and gold Mark III.

"The Boys" to film?

Columbia Pictures has acquired the motion picture rights to the comic book series The Boys, created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Described by Ennis as the comic that would "out-Preacher Preacher", The Boys is a no-holds-barred saga of a super-powered CIA squad charged with keeping tabs on society's growing number of superheroes.

Columbia producer Neal H. Moritz loves what he considers The Boys' original take on the superhero genre (superheroes unfortunately have all the flaws that afflict us ordinary mortals and need to be kept in line). The Boys was originally optioned by Kickstart and Kickstart's Jason Netter will produce the film with Moritz.

The Boys was originally published by DC's Wildstorm, but the book's anti-superhero elements were too much for DC and they dropped the series. Soon afterwards, Dynamite Entertainment picked up The Boys and the series has been a bigger hit than ever.

For those of you that haven't picked it up yet, The Boys has two Trade Paperbacks available.