Archive for the ‘News and Editorials’ Category

Channing Tatum is the next Gambit

Posted in News and Editorials, tagged , , , , on May 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

It’s been confirm that Channing Tatum will play Gambit in I guess the next X-Men movie since it doesn’t specifically say he will be in DOFP (and the film has been screened several times already).

I’m not opposed to Tatum as an actor, he does comedy very well actually as the straight man of the standard comedy duo. But does he fit my idea of Gambit? Of course  not, because in my mind I have envisioned the perfect Gambit, a combination of traits seen in all the comics, animated series, and Kitsch, brought together in the most charming and sexy Cajun to ever walk the Earth.

Could I sit here and complain about how Tatum ‘doesn’t fit because…’ and rattle off reasons both real and imagined? Sure, that’s what the internet is for.

Could I sit here and give just as many reasons why this might just work because lord knows we’ve all said certain people couldn’t pull off a character and then ended up eating crow later? Oh yeah.

But I’m not going to sit here and do either because I’m trying to come to terms with the idea that whatever is in my head will never, ever, match up to what I will get, even if the studio is trying to please me. Because the thing is, the studio isn’t trying to please me, I’d be lucky if they are just trying to please their audience. Most times they are trying to simply please the studio and those with the purse strings. Some are just blatantly making their own fan fiction.

So I will not sit here and complain. I will not sit here and cry. I will not let this break my heart because my ideal is not shared by others.

Maybe he’ll pull it off, maybe he won’t.

The great thing about comics and movies… there is always next time.

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Reblog: 10 Things Worth Noticing in the New X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST Trailer

Posted in News and Editorials, tagged , , , on March 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »

I haven’t had time to properly digest both the new trailer and the new set picks of Wanda and Pietro… so going to let some professionals do the heavy lifting.

via Newsarama

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
Monday saw the release of another X-Men: Days of Future Past trailer. While there are some notable absences, like just a quick running glimpses of Bishop, a character who may be important in this time travel story, there are plenty of things you should be watching out for.From the obvious – like the official debut of the Sentinels (even future versions like on the left) – to the not so obvious interpersonal dynamics of Xaviers young and old, here are ten important things we noticed in the new X-Men: Days of Future Past trailer.

EVEN MORE STORM
Despite conflicting reports of whether Storm’s role in Days of Future Past has been reduced, she sure has gotten a lot of screen time in both trailers so far. That suggests that either she is in fact a core character in the movie, or that her scene is pivotal or important.From the looks of it, Storm’s fate in the movie may be pretty similar to her fate in the Days of Future Past comic. If that’s the case, it would indeed be a major scene, allowing her to still play a big role in the film despite a lack of actual screen time.

MYSTIQUE: FREE AGENT?
We know that Mystique’s defection to Magneto will be a major sticking point between young Erik and Charles – Xavier specifically says as much – but where do her loyalties actually lie?From the looks of things, Jennifer Lawrence’s young Mystique could be the ‘x-factor’ (sorry) that sparks the Sentinel revolution. She certainly seems closer to her early comic portrayal as a more politically-minded agent of subterfuge in these trailers.

XAVIER IS WALKING?
In one scene, it looks as though James McAvoy’s young Xavier is up and about, rather than being confined to a wheelchair as was his fate at the end of the X-Men: First Class.We know Xavier has alternated between mobility and paralysis in the comics, and at least one character – the bouncing, blue-furred Beast – has already received an “out” for the fate that befell him in the last film.

Of course, the short clip of the young Xavier up and about in the long “X-Mansion” hallways turning on lights is directly followed by him in a wheelchair. It could be simply a scene inside Xavier’s mindscape – which would also explain the Xavier-meets-Xavier scene teased in the trailer

XAVIER IS FIGHTING!
On the other hand, it looks like Patrick Stewart is getting in on the action like never before. Several short moments in today’s trailer make it look like he’s going to go toe to toe with Sentinels at least once in the film.We’ve yet to see Xavier – especially old Xavier, at the height of his power – really cut loose in an X-Men film yet. While First Class saw him don the yellow and blue flight suit with the rest of his team, he still wasn’t exactly “hands on.”

THE POWER IS YOURS!
It looks like Xavier won’t be the only one getting his moment to shine, either. Several key scenes in the trailer show Iceman at what could finally be considered “full power,” even sliding on ice trails.On top of that, we’ve got scenes of Colossus, Blink, and Sunfire all cutting loose. It may be a matter of FX catching up to ideas, or it may just be a willingness to go bigger, but Days of Future Past will likely see some of the most dazzling mutant powers yet on screen.

PHYSICIAN, HEAL THYSELF
This trailer is really all about Xavier; how his two incarnations team up, and how his dream has evolved from his early idealism. The interaction between McAvoy and Stewart has been central to the film’s promotion so far, and is even more on display here.The important thing to note is that it seems as though old Xavier is counseling young Xavier, offering him guidance and solace. The print X-Men are no stranger to time paradoxes, but are we seeing the birth of a time-loop, or something less complex.

DARKER, GRITTIER
One of the things that really stood out about Matthew Vaughan’s X-Men: First Classwas the brighter, more lighthearted tone, especially as compared to Bryan Singer’s first two films, and even Brett Ratner’s X3.But this trailer all but disavows those bright colors and campy moments for something much bigger, darker, and altogether more troubled. That said, there may be an interesting dichotomy at play between the scenes of the X-Men’s bright past and dark future, but the costume direction alone, even in the scenes of the past, is step back towards the much grittier take on the team.

IT’S CURTAINS!
Call it an opportunity to clean house, a chance to trim down the cast, or even just a shot at showing some big, shocking events that could theoretically come undone through the magic of time travel, but it sure looks like not everyone is walking away from Days of Future Past.Even major characters are in trouble in this trailer, and while in comics, nothing is permanent (especially when it comes to the X-Men), would the films go so far as to partially reboot? X-Men: First Class took some opportunities to contradict the much-maligned X3. Could Days of Future Past be looking to settle that score?

ACTION!
While the last trailer was all about tone and mood, this trailer takes a big leap into the action. We’ve got mutants. We’ve got Sentinels. We’ve got soldiers, guns, lasers, powers, a post-apocalyptic wasteland. This is widescreen, blockbuster stuff on display.Keeping that in mind, it will be very interesting to see the interplay between the deeper, emotional moments hinted at here, especially between the two versions of Erik and Xavier, and the major, edge-of-your-seat action sequences Days of Future Past promises to deliver.

SENTINELS
You wanted Sentinels? You got Sentinels.Thousands of Sentinels. This is the component of this film many fans have been waiting desperately to see. And while we only got a few brief glimpses at the small-scale battles between mutants and Sentinels, there’s plenty of eye candy flying around.From scenes of Xavier and Storm taking on the mutant-hunting robots, to Magneto seemingly taking control of their metal components, to scores of them pouring out of the sky, the Sentinels are absolutely central to this story, and that’s on full display in this trailer.

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Reblog: Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine Sequel Picks Up A Screenwriter

Posted in News and Editorials, tagged , , , , , on March 23, 2014| Leave a Comment »

via CinemaBlend

Hugh Jackman's Wolverine Sequel Picks Up A Screenwriter image
Hugh Jackman’s just trying to set some world record for playing the same character the most amount of times, at this point, right? May’s release of X-Men: Days of Future Pastmarks the seventh time Jackman has played Wolverine on screen. And while rumors floated that he might not return for James Mangold’s planned sequel to The Wolverine, this morning, we hear the opposite.

Twentieth Century Fox recently went ahead and locked up a release date for Mangold’s untitled Wolverine film, eyeing March 3, 2017 as a window for new mutant action.Deadline follows up that news with confirmation that David James Kelly has been hired to write the screenplay, and that Jackman is “reprising his signature role” for Mangold to direct.

Of course, Mangold kind of hinted at that on his Twitter page:

But we really did wonder if Jackman would want to try on the claws – again – for the eighth time since he first created this version of the character in 2000. It goes without saying that Jackman doesn’t HAVE to keep playing Wolverine. He has earned more money that a human could spend playing Logan, the angry, razor-clawed mutant. He has pushed hard to make a dark, standalone Wolverine movie (in Mangold’s The Wolverine), finally tackling a storyline – set in Japan – that fans of the character have been clamoring for. Simply put, Jackman has climbed this mountain. There are no worlds left to conquer.

But even back when The Wolverine came out, Mangold and Jackman spoke openly about how much they enjoyed the creative collaboration, and left the door open for future Wolverine movies, if the studio would allow.

What we don’t know yet – and won’t know for a while – is the state of Wolverine on theX-Men timeline. Fox has announced that Bryan Singer will be moving from Days of Future Past to X-Men: Apocalypse, but that sequel is expected to lean on the characters from X-Men: First Class — actors like Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence. Wolverine could be in a post-apocalyptic world, as he will be in Days. He could successfully reset the timeline, giving him new areas to explore. That will fall to Kelly, whose credits also Mind Mgmt for Scott Free, and Sentinel, for Appian Way and Fox.

What do you think? Are you happy that Jackman’s staying in the Wolverine role for another standalone film? Would you like to see him paired with another hero for the story? Or is it time to recast? Let us know below.

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Fantastic Four: Casting is all but Confirmed

Posted in News and Editorials, tagged , , , , on February 20, 2014| Leave a Comment »

A lot of websites are calling this confirmed but if you read the original article by The Hollywood Reporter, they say:

Sources tell THR that the studio is making deals with Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Bell to star in the project that reboots the Marvel superheroes.

This is not an official announcement nor is THR saying that it’s been confirmed and they are breaking the news. That being said, THR is a very reputable source which means we shouldn’t be terribly surprised if we get an official confirmation out of FOX once all the contracts have been settled.

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Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer #1

Posted in News and Editorials, tagged , , , , on February 18, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Tonight we are introduced to the first trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy.

What the hell did I just watch?

I admit I haven’t read any GotG so I won’t even attempt to speak towards how this might fit with the established canon. I know GotG is supposed to have a lighter, more goofier feel, which in itself is not a bad thing. It’s actually great to see that the MCU isn’t going to just fall into the ‘dark and gritty’ black hole and continue to give us fun, action packed, feel good, adventure films.

But instead of having that sharp wit we’ve seen come out of the Iron Man 3 and Cap 2 trailers, this trailer has less of the feel of a major motion picture and more of something seen in a 90s Disney Channel movie. It’s really the scenes with the guards talking about the GotG, their uniforms are just… so… cheap looking and cheesy… and the jokes… so… banal and immature. The quality level seems to jump between crisp CGI and ‘let’s put a glow stick on it’.

But not all is lost.

It’s obvious that they’re not showing much beyond the beginning of the film here and it’s mostly used as an introduction for those who are unfamiliar with the property. While the introduction actually works against the trailer in that it’s very stilted, we can see that there is a lot left on this bone and we haven’t even scratched the surface yet. Plus I’m sure there’s a few million in special effects that haven’t been applied yet and that will hopefully clean up some of the cheap and awkward looking areas.

Though I say that and apparently no one took a second look at the after credits scene in Thor 2 before letting it go to print… I had been hoping that was a one off.

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Rumor: Thor 3 will bring Ragnarok

Posted in News and Editorials, tagged , , , , on February 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

thor_3_ragnarokThe big rumor right now is that Thor 3 will bring to the films the Ragnarok storyline from the comics. While there is validity to the claim, I’m not really buying it. Would the studio really want to jump on Ragnarok that fast? Bringing Ragnarok will effectively take Asgard out the future films as it basically gets destroyed with only a chunk surviving (floating over Broxton, Oklahoma of all places).

As much as I want to see Asgard brought to Oklahoma (cause, seriously, I really really really really do want to see that), we haven’t really got to explore Asgard or its many wonders and peoples in the first two films. I know they only have so much of a shelf-life on both the actor’s contracts and people’s interest in Thor, but shouldn’t they wait till at least one more film before basically dropping the big hammer?

Perhaps that’s just a personal preference…

I’m sure we’ll hear more about this once Captain American 2 hits theaters.

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Reblog: X-Men: Days Of Future Past Debuts Trailer Tease Ahead Of Big Reveal Next Week

Posted in News and Editorials, tagged , , , on January 23, 2014| Leave a Comment »

I’ll save my indepth thoughts on this till we see the whole thing, but here is a lot of interesting comments from CinemaBlend. Though, why are we seeing Iceman and Magneto together, I thought them rescuing Rogue together got cut?

Via CinemaBlend

Director Bryan Singer has revealed on Twitter that there are some very big promotional plans in store for the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past coming next week, and he has begun teasing those plans with the Instagram video you see above, featuring a surprising amount of new footage that wasn’t seen in the trailer that was unveiled a few months back.

The tease features quite a few interesting quick shots, so let’s take a much closer, in-depth look at them, shall we?

I can’t seem to embed the video so here it the link.

Quicksilver X-Men: Days of Future Past

The first shot that I picked up on is this one of Evan Peters as Quicksilver shattering some glass in super slow motion. He also seems to be disguised in a police officer’s uniform, which is just a tad strange.

Wolverine X-Men: Days of Future Past

Next up we have Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) wrapped up in some kind of metal and sinking to the bottom of a body of water. Looking at the way he is bound, I would guess that Magneto is somehow involved here, but I can’t be sure if it’s the older version played by Sir Ian McKellen or the young version played by Michael Fassbender.

Blink Warpath and Sunspot X-Men: Days of Future Past

This third screengrab shows off three mutants who will be making their first appearance in the X-Men franchise. Up front is Booboo Stewart as James Proudstar/Warpath, to the left is Fan Bingbing as Clarice Ferguson/Blink, and on the right is Adan Canto as Roberto da Costa/Sunspot.

Mystique and Magneto X-Men: Days of Future Past

Our fourth shot seems to be an intimate meeting between Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and young Magneto (Michael Fassbender). At the end of Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class the two of them became very close and Mystique even left her closest friend, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), to be with him. It will be interesting to see how their relationship has developed since, given that their timeline in Days of Future Pasttakes place 11 years after the events in that film.

Mystique X-Men: Days of Future Past

Here we have Mystique all by herself incognito in her “human” disguise. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the character in her pretty sundress and hat, as we got this behind-the-scenes photo a few months ago, but we’re still curious what she’s up to.

Iceman and Magneto X-Men: Days of Future Past

Lastly we jump back to the “future” timeline where we see two of Singer’s original franchise players: Shawn Ashmore as Iceman and McKellen as Magneto. With the exception of a few scenes in X2: X-Men United, these two characters have classically been portrayed on opposing sides – X-men vs. the Brotherhood of Mutants – but it would seem that facing an apocalyptic future has convinced them to work together.

We’re not 100% sure what exactly this is a tease for, but be sure to check back on Monday January 27th for even more X-Men: Days of Future Past awesomness.

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Review: All-New X-Men #20

Posted in News and Editorials, tagged , , on January 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »

All-New X-Men #20Rule #1 of Comics: Never, ever, EVER, trust the cover.

As much as I’m glad X-23 doesn’t actually kiss Scott, I’m annoyed that she ‘doesn’t do hugs’. X-23 does do hugs, she just doesn’t hug people she’s only known five minutes who took her to a former Weapons X facility. I hope Bendis understands this distinction. X-23 is a great and complicated character who has a really sad backstory, not to mention what just happened in Avengers Arena, but knowing how much Bendis likes to ignore established backstory, I’m sure none of this will come into play.

But at least the whole issue isn’t one long bad teenage drama fest (Jean is jealous that Scott thinks X-23 is hot, hypocrite much? trope much? Bendis unimaginative much?) and we see that Stryker’s son is out for mutant blood. The scary part though is that what he says does make a lot of sense when taken from an angle. All you have to do is dehumanize mutants and he is perfectly legit. This applies to so much else in our world and it is truly the biggest danger the mutants will ever face. Nothing hurts deeper than ideology gone wrong.

The team is taken out, well except for Angel, and considering the rhetoric that was spilled his way in the last issue with him being, well, an Angel, I have a feeling we might actually pull away from the Jean/Scott drama for a bit and focus on one of the other characters for awhile…

One can hope…

 

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Reblog: Mark Ruffalo Dishes On Avengers: Age Of Ultron Script, Confirms Darkness, Laughs

Posted in News and Editorials, tagged , , , on January 20, 2014| Leave a Comment »

via CinemaBlend

Mark Ruffalo Dishes On Avengers: Age Of Ultron Script, Confirms Darkness, Laughs image
If there’s any one script that the entire industry would give their right arm to get their hands on (good luck turning pages, stubby!), it’s got to be The Avengers: Age Of Ultron. The first picture was a billion dollar success, but the story actually left several unanswered questions. How can S.H.I.E.L.D. be trusted after the chain-of-command scuffle that almost destroyed New York? Who is Thanos? And what’s going on with that barely-contained sexual tension between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner?

Earlier, Scarlett Johansson claimed to know these answers, as she dished some minor sentiments regarding the script, calling it “dark” (not a huge reveal there). Now, Mark Ruffalo has also revealed that he’s read the script, and MTV was there to derail conversation about his Sundance film Infinitely Polar Bear to ask about it.

“I would say that it’s better, it’s cooler, it’s more awesomer,” he said, proving that he’s fairly adept at speaking Comic Con-ese. “It’s a little bit darker, but also really had Joss Whedon’s incredibly witty and sly sense of humor.” He also confirms there’s plenty in the script for Bruce Banner to do, but, well, he’d better if Ruffalo’s agent has anything to say about it.

Nerd Speculation Time! Ruffalo seems to be confirming the mandatory “darker sequel” angle, but by talking up the humor he suggests the drama will come from unlikely sources this time around. In other words, the Avengers won’t be “Disassembled” or any such event. Facing off against Baron Von Strucker and Ultron in this installment seems fairly comic book-y, and there’s a very good chance that lingering, deadly-serious Thanos continues waiting in the wings. Or maybe Ruffalo and Johansson simply read different chunks of the same script: again, this thing is in-demand, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they both read approved chunks of the script in a heavy-security safe house in Brazil once and were forced to leave without it. Maybe Ruffalo got the funny stuff, while Black Widow ended up dealing with some heavy stuff in the aftermath of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

You can pull off “darker” with “more laughs,” and that’s really the best sort of balance with these comic movies: with sequels announced until the end of time, you really need to find new ways to build suspense as much as possible. Fortunately, Whedon and his collaborators never forget that these are comic books originally made for audiences of children. They should be funny, a little ridiculous, and ultimately light on their feet if they want to honor the source material.

Expanding beyond that and using, say, Batman as a template for a serious message or a relevant contemporary theme could prove fruitful, but that’s not the sort of approach that’s all that easy to pull off. Nevermind the struggle in being allowed to use what are essentially costumed corporate mascots for the sake of complex adult storytelling: you can really only pull that off in cult comics and slashfic. Dirty, dirty slashfic.

Avengers: Age Of Ultron opens May 1st, 2015.

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Reblog: SUPERMAN/BATMAN Bumped to 2016, Showdown with MARVEL Looming

Posted in News and Editorials, tagged , , , on January 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

via Newsarama

 The unexpected move sets up a game of chicken with Marvel Studios, who previously staked out that date for unannounced film. Marvel has traditionally released films the first weekend in May, including this past year’s Iron Man 3 and 2012’s The Avengers.

Sony and Fox have also released Marvel-adapted films on that weekend, and Sony will release next year’s Amazing Spider-Man 2 (May 2 2014) on that weekend. Of course comic book reader also know the first weekend in May as the traditional weekend Free Comic Book Day is held.

Warner  Bros. pushing production on director Zack Snyder’s untitled Man of Steel follow-up that will also star Ben Affleck as Batman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman to second quarter 2014, after initially being scheduled to begin shooting this winter.

“We are happy to take advantage of these coveted summer dates, which are perfect for two of our biggest tentpole releases,” Warner Bros. president of domestic distributionDan Fellman said in a press release. “We share the fans’ excitement to see DC Comics’ most popular figures, Superman and Batman, together on the big screen for the first time, which will now be arriving in theatres in May 2016.  Peter Pan has delighted people of every generation for more than a century, so we are thrilled to bring him back to the screen next summer for today’s moviegoers.”

“We know that there is already great anticipation building for the next super hero film from Zack Snyder, and we are equally eager to see what he has in store for Superman and Batman as they share the big screen for the first time ever,” Warner Bros. president of international distribution Veronika Kwan Vandenberg added in the press release.

Warner Bros. also announced they have moved their Peter Pan/Captain Hook origin storyPan, which will star frequent superhero himself Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard, to the July 17, 2015 date.

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