Tag: Warner Brothers

J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Announce New ‘Harry Potter’ Universe Film!

by Dennis Finocchiaro

The news is amazing and shocking to Harry Potter fans across the world.

J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers announced today that they will be adapting some of the characters in her Harry Potter textbook “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them”. While the films will not likely feature Harry or any of the main characters, the movie will focus on the many tales, fables and faux histories contained in the book.

Rowling will write the screenplay for the film.

“‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world,” Rowling’s statement said.  “The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, 70 years before Harry’s gets underway.”

So the story will take place in the United States, long before Voldemort and Harry even meet. But who knows…maybe there will be a little part for a younger Dumbledore? Fans can only hope.

Are you excited about this new world of Harry Potter news, or do you think they ended things perfectly? Let us know, and we’ll share more information as soon as it’s available!

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‘Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox’ – The Geekscape Review

by Eric Diaz

At the San Diego Comic Con last week, I was lucky enough to see the world premiere of the seventeenth DC Universe animated feature, which hits DVD and Blu-ray on July 30th. I’m going to admit right off the bat–I’m going to have a hard time being totally objective in this review of Warner Brother’s and DC Entertainment’s latest animated straight to video film Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, which is based on Geoff Johns’ mini-series event Flashpoint  from just over two years ago. You see, Flashpoint was the event that led to DC’s universe wide relaunch known as “The New 52,”  which, in my opinion, has been frought with more negatives than positives. But even putting that negative bias aside, the truth is that The Flashpoint Paradox is a movie that while exhibiting some entertaining ideas and fun action sequences, tries to bite off more than it can chew and ultimately suffers for it.

The story of The Flashpoint Paradox is relatively straightforward, and much like the comic, centers around the Flash, Barry Allen. This is the first DC animated film to center around the Flash, and although the official title has the words Justice League in it, make no mistake…this is a Flash story through and through. The opening shots of the movie feature Barry Allen as a little kid, and shows us a close relationship with his (single?) mother Nora. One day, she is brutally murdered in a home invasion while Barry is away at school, and this quest to find her killer is what leads Barry to the life of a crime scene forensic scientist. It is during his time as a forensic scientist that Barry has the accident that makes him into the Flash, but we don’t see that presented here. I realize most hard core comic book fans are at least vaguely aware of the Flash’s origin story, but having said that, many casual fans who don’t know it might be sampling this movie, and jumping from the traumatic event of Barry Allen’s childhood to his adult superhero career might be jarring. If you are wondering how Barry Allen becomes the Flash, it isn’t covered in this movie. In fact, almost all of this movie expects you to know the basics of the DC Universe in some form, and that is but the first example of many.

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So we flash forward (no pun intended) to the Flash fighting his villains,collectively known as the Rogues, and just as he is about to succumb to their evil machinations, Flash calls in his Justice League friends to bail him out. This is where we get our Batman cameo, with classic Batman the Animated Series voice actor Kevin Conroy providing the voice of Bruce Wayne once again. Conroy is the definitive voice of Batman in my opinion, so any chance to hear him as the Dark Knight is a treat, even if it is really brief in this movie. This is maybe my favorite sequence in the whole movie, as the Justice League have to individually disable a bomb planted on each of the rogues by Flash arch nemesis Zoom, the Reverse Flash. Unfortunately, we don’t get a whole lot of insight into what makes the Reverse Flash hate the Flash so much, although he is pretty brilliantly voiced by C. Thomas Howell. If you’re not already a comics fan, you are screwed if you want further insight into just what his deep seeded animosity is based on. Still, this brief scene of the JLA doing their thing and finding unique ways to disable each bomb is maybe my favorite part of the whole movie. Sadly, for me it all kind of goes downhill from here.

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After the opening credits, we cut to Barry Allen waking up in his office to a very different world. Barry wakes up to a world where his mother Nora was never murdered and is alive and well, but  in this world, Barry is no longer the Flash and has no super speed. There is a very different (and gun loving) Batman protecting Gotham, Cyborg is America’s #1 hero, and Wonder Woman and Aquaman are at war (or, more truthfully, Themyscira and Atlantis are at war.) A war that has resulted in Aquaman sinking continental Europe, and Wonder Woman and the Amazons taking over England and killing all the men. Superman is nowhere to be found. Barry doesn’t understand or remember how this world came to be, so he seeks out the one person he thinks can help him…Batman. But this Batman isn’t Bruce Wayne, and to say anymore is a fairly massive spoiler, so I’ll stop short of that. But I will say it is one of the cooler reveals of both the movie and the original comic. Barry and Batman try their hardest to restore the alternate timeline back to the normal one, all while an impending World War III is about to happen if Wonder Woman and Aquaman go to war.

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So all of this sounds cool right? Cool alternate universe story, good animation, all the stuff of fanboy dreams. But something about the whole things bugs me, and I can’t put my finger on it. And it could very well be under the circumstances that I saw it at San Diego Comic Con, to a packed house of enthusiastic fans. While that sounds like the ideal conditions, it left me with a bad taste in my mouth. See, this world exhibited in this movie is extremely violent and dark; Wonder Woman and Aquaman start a war simply because they have an affair that goes sour for example, and Wonder Woman kills Aquaman’s wife Mera by beheading her, and then begins wearing her crown as a trophy. We even have a rather gratuitous shot of Diana holding Mera’s severed head up (this got cheers from the audience for some reason.) Also getting applause was a Batman who killed wantonly, lot of severed limbs and horrible deaths, and even a scene where Wonder Woman kills a little kid. The more over the top the violence, the more they ate it up, and this seems to be the version of these characters we’ll be seeing for years come. It might be the DC Universe that these fans wanted, but it wasn’t the one I wanted. So while technically this is what you’d call an “Elseworlds” story, it sets the stage for a much darker animated DC Universe, and it isn’t one I’m really looking forward to, but it going to be the one we’re stuck with.

There are also tons of cameos from other DC Universe characters, to the point where they are just there as fan service and not much else. Lois Lane (once again voiced by Dana Delany) is a war correspondent and underground freedom fighter on “New Themyscira”, and we get even more cameos from characters like Etrigan the Demon, Deathstroke, (voice acted once again by Teen Titans‘ Ron Perlman) and even Captain Marvel, renamed Captain Thunder. But due to the movie’s eighty minute running time, there just isn’t time to properly develop these characters beyond just as “hey, I know that guy!” and on to the next shot of someone being bloodied up a bit. Some of the subplots should have been cut out entirely to make the movie flow better and seem less like cameo-palooza.

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Overall, this movie is a mixed bag. The voice acting is hit and miss; Barry Allen is voiced by Grey’s Anatomy’s Justin Chambers, and I hate to say, his voice acting is rather flat and bland, which doesn’t help when the character who he is portraying has a bit of reputation as being a bit boring and bland as well. Other voice actors fare better, like Kevin McKidd from Rome as Batman II, and veteran actor Cary Elwes as Aquaman. But unlike most DC Animated movies, where the voice acting is often the best thing in it, this time it wasn’t very memorable. The animation style is more anime influenced than any other DC animated movie thus far, and is actually pretty good and a nice change of pace from the usual style these movies go for.  This is the first of the DC Animated films without the influence of Bruce Timm, and you can tell. I miss his guiding hand, and I just can’t help but feel he would have made the production team of producers James Tucker and Alan Burnett and director Jay Oliva try a little bit harder. The final product is perfectly ok, but I kind of expect better from Warner Brothers animation and DC at this point.

Geekscape 295: ‘The Man of Steel’ Review And Analysis With Ian Kerner!

by Jonathan

The ‘Man of Steel’ has flown into theaters and geeks are as divided about it as two halves of an exploding Krypton! What was there to love? What was there to hate? How did it compare to the comics or earlier depictions of Superman? There is a ton to talk about! Luckily, our resident comics expert, Ian Kerner, is here to help us navigate all of the issues? Does ‘Man of Steel’ do a good job of setting up the future of the DC cinematic universe? If you listen to one assessment of ‘Man of Steel’, this one should be it! PLUS: We say a sad goodbye to James Gandolfini, beloved among TV and film geeks everywhere.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:02:51 — 25.2MB)

‘Man of Steel’ – The Geekscape Review

by Eric Diaz

Seven years ago, I came back from an opening night screening of Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, grinning from ear to ear over the movie I had just watched. Having grown up on Richard Donner’s original Superman: The Movie, Singer’s love letter to that film was heartfelt and beautiful. Sure, as a longtime fan of the comics, there are elements of the modern comic book mythology I wanted to see on film, but at the same time, it was nice to have the “Donner-verse”- for lack of a better word- get a more proper closure than the abysmal Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. But despite my sincere enjoyment of that movie…even as I watched it, I knew deep down that this was the absolute wrong way to re-launch this franchise. You don’t make a sequel to a movie twenty-five years after the fact, especially to a movie that not everyone in the movie going audience has seen. And yes, I know Star Wars did it, as did Sam Raimi with his recent Oz movie. I’d say Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz are maybe the only “old” movies that still have the same cultural currency with today’s kids as when they were originally released. Richard Donner’s Superman isn’t in the same league, sad to say. This generation needed their own Superman, and they got yesterday’s Superman instead.

Well, the Millennials finally have their Last Son of Krypton with the release of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. As I did several years ago, I left the theater grinning from ear to ear, although this time, flaws and all, I feel this is how you reboot a character for a whole new generation. Whatever flaws the movie might have, director Zack Snyder, writer David Goyer and producer Christopher Nolan have succeeded in making Superman cool again.

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The Good Stuff

Henry Cavill as Superman

Although he’s not a man of many words in this film, Henry Cavill’s Clark Kent is the definition of stoic hero. When he first appears in this movie, he’s already a hero in fact, helping people who need it wherever he goes, just on the “down low,” as they say. He’s simply not a public figure wearing a cape, but he is no less of a hero from the moment we first see him onscreen. Despite what some people might say, this isn’t “emo Superman,” wondering whether he should be helping people in need; helping those in need is just something he just does,because he’s the only one who can. His only struggle is with whether or not he should let the world know who he really is, but once Zod appears and takes that choice away from him, he steps up to the plate. Cavill might not have the wink-wink-nudge-nudge almost camp quality of Christopher Reeve, but that version was simply for another era. Brandon Routh was just doing a Reeve impression (although a very good one) and Tom Welling spent ten years watching practically every character in the DC Universe put on a costume and become a superhero before he finally did. But Henry Cavill is finally a true Superman for this generation. Also, it should be noted, he is spectacularly hot.

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Amy Adams as Lois Lane

I’m gonna go right ahead and say it–Amy Adams is probably the best Lois Lane yet portrayed in live action (sorry Margot Kidder, Teri Hatcher and whatshername from Smallville.) The Lois Lane we get  in Man of Steel is anything but a damsel in distress, just waiting to be captured by some villain, or just a googly-eyed lovesick woman. Sure, previous Superman films told us she was a great journalist, a Pulitzer prize winner even, but we never saw her going after a story really. Amy Adams’ version of Lois is on to a huge story from the moment we meet her in this movie, and isn’t letting anyone get in her way. It just so happens that the story she is after turns out to be Superman himself. Of course she gets herself into danger, she’s Lois Lane, but she never once feels like a victim.  If I have one quibble about this version of Lois, is that Amy Adams kept her signature red hair. She’s getting paid a lot of money for this part, she could at least dye her hair, since Lois Lane is a pretty famous brunette character. But it’s a minor quibble, and I’ll gladly take a redheaded Lois Lane if she’s portrayed as well as she is in this movie. This is probably the most feminist friendly version of Lois we’ve yet seen in film, and it’s about damn time.

But it’s not just the two leads who do stellar work here–Russell Crowe’s Jor-El is great, and unlike Marlon Brando, his “ghost” isn’t just a talking head, he is a crucial part of the action. Kevin Costner and Diana Lane are equally perfect as Ma & Pa Kent, given far more to do character-wise  than their counterparts were given back in the 1978 film. And Michael Shannon is a totally different Zod than Terence Stamp played, but no less wonderful. And although Laurence Fishburne doesn’t have a huge part as Perry White, he comes off as more of an actual character this time and not just as a stereotype of the angry, demanding boss he was in the past.

The Action

Without a doubt, Man of Steel has the best superhero action in any movie of its kind to date. (Almost too much to be honest.) The action is relentless, brutal even, and spectacularly rendered by the effects artists. The destruction brought upon by General Zod on Metropolis is the equivalent of twenty 9-11’s. Sure, so was the finale to  The Avengers, but director Zack Snyder here really shows us the real terror on the regular human populace, particularly in one scene where a Daily Planet employee is trapped under some rubble, hanging on to dear life as destruction rains down on the city, We see candlelight vigils for the fallen at the end of The Avengers, true…but we never really get the sense of just how horrible an alien invasion like this would really be for those trapped below, with city blocks just wiped out and left to ash. The filmmakers don’t flinch, although they stop short of showing actual gore and bodies. This is still PG-13 after all.

And then, there’s the fight scenes. Oh man, are there fight scenes. For comic book fans like me, this movie is like finally getting to see Superman unleashed in live action for the very first time, fighting villains who are his true equal and not just lifting heavy objects and saving people from disaster. It is a comic book geek’s dream come true. This is the Superman every kid imagines they are when they put a towel around their necks and run around the back yard, the one seen in comics and cartoons. Frankly, the one who kicks serious ass.

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The Adherence to Modern Comic Book Mythology

One constant that keeps turning up in the more negative reviews of Man of Steel is how this isn’t “really Superman,” or “this isn’t any Superman I know.” It seems that for a majority of critics, especially all the ones over a certain age, it is pretty clear the only Superman they really know is the Christopher Reeve version from the old movies, and not much else. The Donner/Reeve version has cast a very long shadow over the Superman mythos ever since that first film was released; obviously Superman Returns was pretty much a straight up sequel to those movies, and both the Lois and Clark and Smallville television series took tons of cues from the Donner films, right on down to that last shot of Tom Welling on Smallville opening up his shirt to the tune of John William’s iconic theme. But the truth is, the comic book lore has changed a lot since the days of the original movies, and it is great to see a version come to life on the big screen that reflects them, even if only in part.

Being a comic book writer himself, screenwriter David S. Goyer knew exactly which of the modern iterations of Superman to use as inspiration, instead of going back to the old days of the forties, fifties and sixties versions of Superman. Much like he did with The Dark Knight trilogy, Goyer looked to the modern stories of the character instead. The idea of a Krypton with a genetics-based caste system comes from John Byrne’s 1986 reboot of the character (also called Man of Steel.) Much of the look and design of Krypton, as well as the notion that the S symbol means “hope” in Kryptonian, comes from Mark Waid’s series Superman: Birthright. The reveal from Pa Kent to Clark about his alien heritage, one of the best emotional beats of the movie, is lifted directly from Geoff Johns’ Superman: Secret Origin. And Jor-El’s speech to Clark about humanity? Lifted straight from Grant Morrison’s All-Star Superman, arguably the greatest Superman story of the last several decades. In short, David Goyer did his homework, and finally gave fans a Superman not rooted in the now distant era of the Golden Age and Silver Age of comics, but in the comics of the modern era. And it is long overdue.

The Bad Stuff

As much as I’ve been heaping praise on this movie, it has some real, basic problems that keep it from being truly great. Chief among those problems is the non-stop A.D.D-ness of it all. Director Zack Snyder barely ever lets his movie slow down for even a moment, and the pacing of this movie is nothing short of relentless; it steamrolls over you and barely gives you a moment to come up for air and breathe. Seemingly as a response to the glacial pacing and retro, romantic vibe of Superman Returns, which most fans hated, this movie is nearly constant action. Barely a few minutes go by before we go from one action scene to the next. In short, they overdid it, and as spectacular as those action scenes are. I could have taken one or two out, or at least trimmed them down in exchange for some more character moments, particularly between Lois Lane and Clark Kent. And although Hans Zimmer’s score is fine, occasionally more than just fine in fact, it still can’t hold a candle to John William’s classic Superman score, maybe the one part of that film that hasn’t dated in the slightest. While I totally agree with the choice to go for a totally new theme, simply to differentiate this movie from the last, nevertheless it should at least be somewhat as memorable, and it simply isn’t.

 

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Final Verdict

Man of Steel isn’t a perfect movie by any stretch, and it’s probably not even in the top five superhero movies ever made for that matter. It lacks the gravitas of Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies (Goyer did a better job on the script level on those movies as well, although he had help from Jonathan Nolan. He might wanna call him up for Man of Steel 2.) It doesn’t have the strong characterization and excellent dialogue  of Joss Whedon’s Avengers or the first Iron Man. But it is easily on par or surpasses Marvel’s Thor or Captain America, just for sheer epic scale and spectacle alone. And in the end, that is what Superman, the world’s first superhero, needs to be: Epic. Unlike Superman Returns, I couldn’t take someone like my mom to see this movie. She’d feel overwhelmed by the CGI carnage and relentless, modern A.D.D. pacing. But this Superman isn’t for my mom’s generation, or even mine (your humble author here is approaching forty.) This Superman is for the Xbox generation, and it is high time they had a version of this mythology to call their own.

Final Score: 4 out of 5

An Interesting ‘Man Of Steel’ Infographic Breaks Down Box Office And Comics

by Jonathan

Usually I don’t post infographic advertisements but I thought that this one had some pretty interesting points. Beyond Box Office comparisons, you can see how much the actual comics made each year and how stratospheric the ‘Death of Superman’ comic sold. Also interesting are some of Superman’s biggest sales years from the Silver Age and what story-lines were running… including one in which a super-villain tries to force Superman into being in a porno!

 

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WonderCon 2013: “Superman Unbound” Premiere Review

by Eric Diaz

It’s hard to believe it has been almost seven years since the end of Justice League Unlimited and the start of Warner Brother’s series of straight-to- video animated films; it seems like only yesterday they announced at San Diego Comic Con the imminent  arrival of feature length PG-13 versions of classic comic book stories  Superman: Doomsday, Justice League: The New Frontier and Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (I’m sadly still waiting for that last one to appear.) Many cynical geeks out there thought this straight-to- DVD venture would last a couple of years at best, but since then we’ve had sixteen of these films come out, most of which have been pretty damn good. Some have actually even managed to be great.

While Warner Brothers has been downright terrible at getting their non- Batman DC Universe live-action movies off the ground these past several years, in the meantime their animated division has been cranking out great product. Their last release was an excellent two part adaptation of Frank Miller’s seminal The Dark Knight Returns. After that movie, many fans were left wondering “just how do you top the Dark Knight Returns?” Well, the answer is you don’t even really try, you just keep chugging along and try to make the next movie the best it can be and not try to worry about following up on a classic. The result is Superman: Unbound, which premiered last weekend at Wonder-Con in Anaheim. Once again, Warner Home Video has used Wonder-Con as an opportunity to give fans an early screening of one of their films, which won’t appear on store shelves or on iTunes for another month or so. Judging by the enthusiastic crowd reaction, DC and Warners have another fan favorite on their hands. Superman:Unbound, while not quite a classic, was more than a worthy entry in Warner’s line-up of DC Universe movies…and possibly their best solo Superman entry to date so far.

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While Dark Knight Returns was a tough act to follow, Superman: Unbound is still a very entertaining entry into this series of DCU animated movies. Based on writer Geoff Johns’ and artist Gary Frank’s run on Action Comics from issues #866-870  (collected in trade form as Superman: Brainiac) this movie is pretty loosely adapted from that  original story, taking some major story beats and artistic designs from the original comic, but adding several other story points of their own while deleting others.  For example, the movie version has a totally different opening act than the comic, and Pa Kent is nowhere to be found in this movie, just Ma Kent. (SPOILER-in the comic book version, he dies as a result of Brainiac’s attack.) In the original comic story Clark and Lois are already married, while in the movie their dating life leads to much romantic tension and an extra layer the comic story lacked. The end result of all these changes though is that this is maybe the best of the Superman animated movies so far, beating even All Star Superman, which was a fine movie overall, but had to lose way too much of Grant Morrison’s original story to really be totally successful as a seventy minute film. Unbound is also leagues better than the last Superman DTV, Superman Vs. The Elite, which never really came together for me at all, and I kind of view as a pretty big misfire.

The story this time  begins with Lois Lane (played with appropriate dry wit by Stana Katic from the TV series Castle) being kidnapped by dastardly high-jackers yet again, in this instance while usual timely rescuer Superman is out of town (there is some big earthquake somewhere else, conveniently.) This changed opening to the story allows us to be introduced to Supergirl before Superman, who in this version of events is new to Earth and not everyone (especially criminals apparently) are aware that there is another Kryptonian on Earth who can also save kidnapped reporters and deflect bullets. Supergirl helps save Lois, but not before Superman shows up and gives his young cousin Kara a piece of his mind about her always being angry and a bit reckless, and trying to be a super-hero before she was quite ready. She quickly reminds him that unlike with how he grew up, she wasn’t raised on Earth and is still mourning a dead world that, for her, was still alive and kicking some three months back. This version of Supergirl is played by Molly Quinn, also from Castle, and she gives Kara the right dose of teen giddiness (that changes into adolescent angst at the drop of a hat) that makes this version of Kara Zor-El such an good take on Superman’s cute cousin. Unlike other past versions of Supergirl, this one actually evokes the mood swings of a real teenager. Just with heat vision.

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We then get some pretty amusing banter between oafish bro-dude (and Daily Planet Sports columnist) Steve Lombard and Lois Lane, where while hitting on her at the office, he begins to wonder just what the real truth behind Clark’s double life might really be (“he’s super fit, but not into sports, dresses well” etc) All suggesting that Clark Kent must of course really be gay (ironically, the actor playing Clark in this is Matt Bomer, who actually IS openly gay, and was also once this close to being cast as Superman in live-action once.) When Clark shows up finally, we find out that Lois and Clark are secretly dating, and he has let her in on the big secret. But while Clark has let Lois in on his true self and and actually started a real relationship with her, their couple-hood must remain a secret from everyone else, lest any bad guy find out the truth about him and use Lois to get to him and blah, blah, blah, -you know the drill.

But this Lois isn’t having any of this “secret relationship” stuff, and lets Clark know it. She’s been getting into (and out of) trouble since before they met, and doesn’t like the new dynamics of their relationship, where Clark clearly has the upper hand and holds all the cards. The dialogue and characterization of Lois and Clark here is very real and pitch perfect, and really, really made me miss their relationship in the comics, before it all got rebooted away by DC, and Lois was replaced with Wonder Woman as Superman’s main squeeze. This seems like an even dumber decision in the wake of the great Lois/Clark chemistry exhibited here by Bomer and Katic. This movie proved once again that Lois and Clark can work as a couple when written the right way.

From here on out the story plays out almost exactly like it did in the original comics, with a robotic probe from alien artificial intelligence Brainiac coming to Earth and fighting Superman, leading Supes to go on an interstellar journey looking for the real thing, as well as the city from Krypton known as Kandor that he miniaturized decades ago  and stole before the planet went bye-bye. The basic designs created by artist Gary Frank for Brainiac from the original comic are used here, as is the look of Brainiac’s ship and all of his drone minions. Frank’s version of Brainiac is maybe the best one yet, combining  elements of all the Brainiacs that came before, with a touch of H.R. Giger and The Matrix, so it was wise of the production team to keep as much of that look as possible. Brainiac is voiced here by Fringe’s John Noble, who is appropriately cold and robotic, but with just the right amount of emotion when the story calls for it. I’m not sure Noble outdoes the voice work of Corey Burton (who voiced the character for Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League) but as with all the voice actors on the Bruce Timm animated series, they are a tough act to follow, as they kind of defined those parts for a whole generation.

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More than anything else, it is the brisk pace and non stop action that make this one so fun to watch, and the action in this movie is really top notch and well animated.  Unlike some of the other recent animated versions of Superman, this version of Kal-El does NOT pull his punches (the fact that Brainiac is a robot helps when displaying all the gratuitous destruction and still keeping a PG-13 rating. Luckily for Warners, robots don’t bleed or have internal organs.) In the fight scenes of this movie, you understand why they went with the title Superman: Unbound; without worrying about having to kill anyone, Superman doesn’t waste time and kicks ass and takes names. It’s a blast seeing this version of Superman for a change, the kind that doesn’t hold back and just lets the villains have it every which way possible.

It should be noted that this is producer James Tucker’s first DC Universe Animated film that he has produced and directed; up until now DC animation legend  Bruce Timm has been the executive producer of each of these films, and now his protege Tucker has picked up the mantle to do these. I can say now that the transition has been smooth, as this movie maintains the same quality of all the best of the Timm projects. Still onboard is Andrea Romano, voice director for the ages, and as always she gets great performances out of her cast. It is a shame that each of these movies is a “stand alone,” because I would love to see this group of actors reprise these roles again. Overall, the combination of fun characterization with good voice acting, great fight scenes, and a good villain make this movie worth watching, maybe even a few times over.

Grade: 3-5-stars

 

Superman: Unbound is released on May 7th, 2013

Christopher Nolan & Zack Snyder On ‘Justice League’: Weighing The Pros And Cons

by Eric Diaz

Last night, movie super-scooper “El Mayimbe” of Latino-Review dropped his biggest nerd nuclear bomb of the year so far, revealing in a video message on his website that Warner Brother’s Justice League movie, which last we heard was once again in limbo, is indeed anything but. He revealed that Warner Brothers has hired Christopher Nolan to produce a Justice League film, with Zack Snyder probably directing and, most likely, David Goyer writing the script. In other words, the exact same creative team behind this summer’s Man of Steel.

 

Perhaps the biggest news in all this is that Warner Brothers wants Christian Bale to resume the mantle of Batman, which means instead of JL introducing the world to a whole new Batman, as was said to be the original plan, the movie would play off the continuity of Nolan’s previous Batman movies. This is all a bit of a shocker, as Nolan has insisted these last few years that his Batman saga is a stand alone story, unrelated to any larger DC cinematic universe. In fact, he has denied involvement with any Justice League movie project in the past. And while this was all probably true when he said it, nothing can change one’s mind quite like having a Brinks truck full of millions of dollars in cash brought to your house, as Warner Brothers surely did to get him on board in some capacity, and help save Justice League from potential disaster.

 

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The inclusion of Nolan and potentially Bale just made the budget of this movie skyrocket into the stratosphere; these guys are not going to come cheap. But Warners must realize they stand to gain so much more by including them, it is worth the price. Right now, Disney has not only Marvel and Star Wars, but two of the biggest names with geek cred attached to them in the form of Joss Whedon and JJ Abrams.

 

To have Justice League even come close to competing with them, they know they have to pull out all the stops, and that means bringing in Nolan and Bale, and throwing lots of $$$ at them to get them to play along. While geeks everywhere are likely doing a happy dance at this news, I’m here to weigh the pros and cons to a Christopher Nolan produced Justice League. While this is surely good news…that doesn’t mean there won’t be any potential downsides to it.

If these new rumors turn out to be true, then these two guys have a lot of reasons to be $miling.
If these new rumors turn out to be true, then these two guys have a lot of reasons to be $miling.

 

The Pros

 

The positives of a Christopher Nolan produced Justice League are obvious; for starters, he is easily the greatest genre filmmaker to come out of the past decade, hands down. Having a talent like Nolan overseeing  Justice League  in a “godfather” capacity means that you’ll have someone with excellent taste who knows crap when they see it, and won’t tolerate something half-assed and low quality. It doesn’t meant the movie is going to be automatically good, but it does mean it will have integrity and not just be seen by the general population as a knock-off of The Avengers (and yes, I know the Justice League came before the Avengers in the comics–the average moviegoer does not know that.) His name alone attached to this project adds a level of quality and prestige (no pun intended.)

 

Up until now, the only name creatively attached to Justice League was a writer from the television show Castle. This excited exactly no one. Warner Brothers knows they need a name with both geek cred and mainstream cred to compete with Abrams and Whedon over at Disney. And for them, those names are Nolan and Snyder. And by making the Justice League movie an extension of the multi-billion dollar Dark Knight franchise, this instantly makes the film an event for not just geeks, but for moviegoers all over the world. It is the safe choice and the smart choice.

 

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The Cons

 

Yes, believe it or not, there may be cons to a Nolan produced Justice League. My biggest, and really only, concern is that Christopher Nolan just doesn’t really like super-heroes all that much. He has stated as much in interviews in the past. Sure, in many many ways, his Dark Knight trilogy is closer to the comic book incarnations than anything yet put to film about Batman (except maybe the Bruce Timm/Paul Dini animated series from the 90s.) However, Nolan also has a serious penchant for “de-comic booking” almost every aspect of Batman’s world as to appear more “real.” For the most part, that worked like gangbusters on Batman.

 

The jury is still out on whether or not it worked for Superman, but so far, the early buzz is very, very good. But there is simply no way to de-comic book a concept like the Justice League. Aside from Batman and Superman, you have a guy with what amounts to being a magic ring, an immortal Amazon, and a guy who can run at the speed of light. Much like the Avengers, the JL is pure comic book tropes in all their multi-colored glory. I seriously hope we don’t get a ‘realistic” explanation, Inception style, for how the Flash’s power works, or how Green Lanterns ring functions, or any of that. It just isn’t needed.

 

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Hopefully, Nolan allows writer David Goyer (who I’m just going to assume is going to be writing this) to take the reins of the story here; he’s a fanboy writer who is steeped in comics lore, and even co-wrote a lengthy run on Justice Society of America with Geoff Johns in the early 2000’s. The best thing Nolan can do is stay out of the way of Goyer as he comes up with the story mechanics, because Goyer understands the dynamics of a big, cosmic super-team stuff in a way Nolan probably never will. Goyer’s weakness is his dialogue, but then that’s where Christopher Nolan’s brother Jonah usually steps in and helps out.

 

Whatever ends up happening, we don’t need a grim, realistic take on the Justice League. In my opinion, the two very best incarnations of the team are Grant Morrisson’s run on the comic from 1996-2000, and the Bruce Timm produced animated series. Both were colorful, wild, and filled with big ideas, but were not campy or cheesy. That is where their inspiration should come from. If Synder does indeed direct (which would be likely) based on his past movies he is certainly not afraid of the more comic-booky aspects of the League.

 

While not as overtly talented as Christopher Nolan, both Snyder and Goyer have the comic book sensibilities that Nolan lacks.
While not as overtly talented as Christopher Nolan, both Snyder and Goyer have the comic book sensibilities that Nolan lacks.

 

Ultimately, this is a very minor “con”–especially since Nolan won’t be directing the movie and will have less need to force his own aesthetics onto the final product. In the case of a Justice League movie, having Nolan involved will ultimately mean much more pros than cons in the end.

 

So What Can We Expect?

 

Assuming this is all true of course, we know next to nothing about what a Nolan/Snyder Justice League movie would look like, but it is likely that Warner is starting from scratch with the story and script. Which probably means no Darkseid as the villain, as he was reported to be in Will Beall’s now tossed-out script. One thing I do expect to stay is the idea of a “five members only” League, especially now with Nolan involved. Aquaman and Martian Manhunter are just a  wee bit too fanciful for Nolan’s aesthetic, and even if he isn’t directing, I’d imagine his first suggestion would be to keep the cast trimmed down and get rid of those two characters. But DC’s “Big Five” of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern are sure to be included. They are the core of the League, and to be fair, the core of the entire DC Universe.

 

Since 1940, in one way or another, DC Comics has been publishing these five heroes continuously in some form; only Flash and Green Lantern were considered popular enough to have their own comic books alongside Supes, Bats and Wonder Woman in the 40’s, and although they went away in 1952, they were revived in new forms just a few short years later and have been published continuously ever since. No other DC super hero characters can claim such long uninterrupted runs, which is why these five characters are the backbone of the DCU, and are certain to be included in a JL movie. Anything or anyone else is gravy. But bank on those five being on the team, no matter how much Chris Nolan may hate the idea of magic green rings.

 

Another question is whether a movie like Justice League come together in time for summer 2015 at this point. While it seems unlikey, remember Joss Whedon was not officially announced to direct the Avengers until Comic-Con 2010, two years before that movie came out. And that turned out just fine. So it isn’t impossible, especially if this is something that they have been working on in secret for some time.

 

These five heroes have been, in one form or another, the core of the DCU for 70 years. Expect all five to be in a Justice League film.
These five heroes have been, in one form or another, the core of the DCU for 70 years. Expect all five to be in a Justice League film.

 

So What About The  Future Of The Batman Franchise?

 

Up until now, the party line has been that Justice League was set to introduce us to an all new incarnation of Batman, who would then be spun-off into a whole new Batman movie series. If Bale returns instead, his role will probably be strictly limited to appearing in Justice League movies, and his asking price for that alone will probably break the bank. So forget fourth, fifth and sixth solo Batman installments with Bale starring in them. So does that mean no Batman movies while a JL movie series is happening? A movie series that could possibly go on for a decade?

 

There is an obvious solution to this–you make the new Batman film franchise based on 90’s animated series Batman Beyond. This way, you can have a younger Bruce Wayne appear in the JL, and an old Bruce (with another actor–maybe Clint Eastwood, whenever he’s not busy talking to chairs) appear in Batman Beyond training a new protege in the future.  Warner Brothers probably saw the lukewarm reaction fans had to Sony rebooting Spider-Man so quickly, and fearing a similar reaction to having “Batman Begins… Again!” so soon probably made them re-think their strategy. A Batman Beyond movie series is the “have your cake and eat it too” solution, as it would keep the two franchises from conflicting with each other.

 

A Batman Beyond movie would keep the Batman film franchise alive, all while combing the best elements of Batman, Iron Man and Spider-Man.
A Batman Beyond movie would keep the Batman film franchise alive, all while combing the best elements of Batman, Iron Man and Spider-Man.

 

Of course, this is all still rumor at this point, but “El Mayimbe” has quite the track record when it comes to these scoops (and if turns out to be false, expect Latino-Reviews credibility to plummet just as fast as it went up.) If it is true though, then Justice League just possibly went from being an industry and fanboy joke to being a real contender.

Somewhere, Ryan Reynolds is waiting for Christopher Nolan's phone call. He will call...right?!
Somewhere, Ryan Reynolds is waiting for Christopher Nolan’s phone call. He will call…right?!

 

Logo Revealed For ‘300: Rise Of An Empire’

by Derek Kraneveldt

It’s been quite some time since we’ve heard news from anyone involved with 300: Rise of an Empire. Some were even concerned that the project (first announced in 2008) had hit a brick wall, and that we wouldn’t be seeing it any time soon.

 

If you were concerned, feel free to lay those worries to rest; as far as the film’s official Facebook page is concerned, 300: Rise of an Empire will still release in 2013.

 

Late yesterday, the page revealed the logo for the film via its banner image (with a clear 2013 date underneath). It’s nothing too exciting, with the subtitle simply pasted below the old logo, but at least it’s something.

 

300: Rise of an Empire stars Eva Green, Rodrigo Santoro, Sullivan Stapleton, and more, and is currently scheduled to hit theatres on August 2nd. Check out the logo below, and let us know what you think!

 

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Do We Already Know Who The Villain In The Justice League Movie Is?

by Eric Diaz

So it seems we now know who the main villain is probably going to be in the upcoming Justice League movie, and it is quite possibly exactly who you might expect it to be; Darkseid, the God of Evil, and the DC Universe’s #1 bad guy. The rumor comes from Latino Review’s El Mayimbe, and if you’ve heard the name before, it’s probably because he has run many rumors in the last several years (especially concerning super hero movies) that have turned out to be very accurate. He’s as trusted a source as it gets when it comes to this stuff.

Darkseid being the villain makes sense. As I said, he’s the DC Universe’s biggest threat, and the kind of bad guy that would require Superman to actually need a lot of help to defeat. The opening storyline of the New 52 Justice League book seemed like a rough draft for a JL movie, and I doubt that was a coincidence. (although the similarity to that story and the Avengers movie might mean some story tweeking will be in order, just so the general audience doesn’t have even more reasons to see JL as a rip-off of Avengers.) Since Thanos is going to be the villain in Avengers 2, part of me is slightly surprised that Warners is going with Darkseid, since Thanos was inspired by Darkseid in the first place, and Avengers 2 is no doubt coming out first, having already claimed the May 1st 2015 weekend. But hey…I remember when two “giant asteroid coming to the destroy the Earth” movies came out the same summer, and Armageddon and Deep Impact both  ended up doing ok. So maybe two craggy faced alien despots won’t make America’s heads explode.

The Justice League movie has no director or casting yet, but it scheduled to be in theaters summer 2015, along with Avengers 2 and Star Wars: Episode VII, giving sad and lonely nerds everywhere a reason to delay any suicide attempts till at least 2016.

CW Begins The Search For Young Wonder Woman in “Amazon”

by Eric Diaz

It looks like work has begun in earnest searching for the lead in the CW’s new Smallville-esque take on Wonder Woman called Amazon, spear-headed by comic book writer Allan Heinberg. There is only a pilot script for this right now (if that) but the CW is getting all their ducks in a row looking for the right woman to fill the tiara. According to Deadline.com, here is the official description for what they’re looking for:

“Iris comes from a remote, secluded country and until now has spent most of her life as a soldier and a leader on the battlefield. Because of relentless brutality of her life at home, Iris looks at our world with absolute awe and astonishment. She’s delighted ­and just as often horrified ­ by the aspects of everyday life that we take for granted: skyscrapers, traffic, ice cream. It’s all new and fascinating and sometimes slightly troubling ­to her. Iris is completely unschooled in our world, our culture, our customs. And she’s completely inexperienced at interpersonal relationships. She has no social filter, does not suffer fools, and tends to do and say exactly what’s on her mind at all times. She’s bluntly, refreshingly honest. She can tell when you’re lying to her. And she doesn’t have time or patience for politics or tact because she’s too busy trying to experience everything our world has to offer. There are too many sights to see ­and things to learn ­and people to care for. Hers is a true, noble, and generous heart. And she will fight and die for the people she loves. Iris is a fierce warrior with the innocent heart of a romantic ­and she will fight to the death to make the world safe for innocents and true romantics everywhere.”

Aside from the “relentless brutality of her life at home” part, the rest sounds like classic Diana. And yes, she WILL be called Diana….the name Iris is just a code name used for casting sides when doing auditions. This has already been confirmed by DC CCO Geoff Johns on Twitter. So relax everyone. As a huge Wonder Woman fan, I sincerely hope this meets with the same success that the CW has had with Arrow.

Hopefully this Wonder Woman TV project will fare better than the ill-fated version from last year starring Adrianne Palicki in a Party City costume.

Brand New ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ Trailer Shows Lots of Story!

by Jonathan

For those who’ve never read J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’, this trailer will really help set up the story of the upcoming film, the first in the trilogy from Peter Jackson and company. It’s a really strong trailer too, showing us a solid mix of story, baddies and humor. And as funny as it is, you get to see a bit more to Gandalf’s character than we even got in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ films. An Unexpected Journey releases on December 14 (only a few months!), followed by The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug on Dec. 13, 2013 and The Hobbit: There And Back Again on July 18, 2014. None of those dates are soon enough.

‘300’ Prequel Gets A New Title!

by Derek Kraneveldt

You remember 300 right? The 2006 ultra bloody, ultra stylized adaptation of the classic Frank Miller adaptation of the battle of Thermopylae? The film that really put Zack Snyder (now doing Man of Steel) on the map?

 

You probably also know that a prequel has been in the works for some time. It began production in 2008, shortly after the wild success of 300. Since then, we’ve had a change of director (Snyder left to do Man of Steel, replaced by Smart People’s Noam Murro), some plot changes, and now we get a title change too!

 

300: Battle of Artemisia has become 300: Rise of an Empire. This title change seems like a great fit; the new title gives you a much better idea that the film is a prequel. We’ll be seeing just how Xerces gets his God-King status here, and as the title now describes, just how his empire came to be.

 

What do you think of the title? Are you a 300 fan?

 

Check Out Some New Photos From ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Warner Brothers yesterday released an iOS app promoting their upcoming film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (iTunes Link).

The free app is a neat experience, letting you learn about characters and explore different facets of Middle Earth. It definitely garners excitement for the upcoming title.

Inside the app were a bunch of new photos. Some look like stills, while some look more like promotional photos. In any case, check them out embedded below!

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits theatres on December 14.


Summer 2012 Was The Biggest Super Hero Movie Summer Yet. But Can It Be Topped?

by Eric Diaz

So Labor Day is upon us, which means that for all intents and purposes, summer is over. Believe me, writing that is weird, because as I write this it is something like 80+ degrees outside. But weather aside, as far as Hollywood is concerned, the major summer movie blockbuster season was over with the release of The Expendables a couple weeks back. And I think it can now be made official: summer 2012 was THE summer of the super hero.

In the final box office tally of summer 2012, the three biggest movies were all comic book super hero movies. Avengers is the third biggest movie domestically of all time, destroying even the most ambitious of expectations. Worldwide, it made a billion and a half dollars. The Dark Knight Rises ended Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy with dignity intact, and is currently on track to be the number seven film released domestically of all time, also with a billion dollars made worldwide. And oh yeah…at #3 this year is the red headed step child of the summer, The Amazing Spider-Man, which despite its detractors, went on to make  $260 million domestic, and nearly $800 million worldwide. True, actual ticket sales are at their lowest in twenty years, but the success of these three mega hits in a summer filled with misses shows that even in the toughest movie going market, one can almost always count on the nerd dollar. A lot of people have been wondering when the comic book movie boom would end. Detractors have been saying “any minute” for what seems like years now. But looking at the box office tallies of this summer, it is pretty clear the American public is anything but sick of super heroes.

Going into Summer 2012, a lot of people were saying this would be the peak of the comic book movie juggernaut that has been with us since Summer 2000, when Bryan Singer’s X-Men started the modern super hero movie ball rolling in earnest. But was this past summer the peak of this phenomenon, or is this  just the begining of the second phase, leading not only to Avengers 2 in 2015, but also Warner Brother’s response to the Avengers in the form of Justice League?  Sure, a Justice League movie has been rumored for years now, and even once almost happened. But that was before Avengers made over a billion dollars at the box office; now Warner Brothers has to respond to Marvel’s success with their own super hero mega group flick. Warners has apparently approached directors from Ben Affeck to David Yates to the Wachowskis in a desperate effort to have this puppy ready by Summer 2015. It is a safe bet to assume that this time, when it comes to the League, they’re serious. On top of all that, based on how the last two summers have played out, not to mention how the next two summers are set to roll out, There will almost certainly be another super hero film that year, although the real question is who will dare to take on the JLA AND the Avengers in Summer 2015?

The ultimate super hero box office battle is set to take place in three years, when the Avengers take on the Justice League. Who would have thought THAT would ever happen?

Although there are plenty of comic book and super hero movies scheduled for next Summer as well as 2014, none are as likely to be as huge as an Avengers sequel or a Justice League movie. Right now, the sequel to the Avengers is maybe the most anticipated sequel since maybe The Empire Strikes Back. And even though there hasn’t been the same lead up, Justice League is at least as anticipated as the first Avengers was, as a JLA movie not only teams up Superman and Batman for the first time in live action, but also introduces live action versions of the Flash, Aquaman and Wonder Woman. While it is a safe bet that almost all of the super hero flicks coming over the next two Summer seasons will do well (only Guardians of the Galaxy is the real question mark) none are going to have the epic must-see feel of either of these potential 2015 movies. Add to that a potential third super hero flick into the mix that summer, and summer 2015 is set to dwarf summer 2012 in a big way. If there is a super hero movie peak, it is likely at least three years away still.

Avengers 2, The Justice League, and…..?

It is fair to say we can make a solid, educated guess on what the third super hero movie of summer 2015 won’t be, by process of elimination. Iron Man 3, The Wolverine, and Man of Steel are coming out next Summer, 2013, with Thor: The Dark World following that winter. So it is highly unlikely any sequel to those movies are coming out as soon as 2015, especially with both Thor and Iron Man presumably starring in Avengers 2. Same logic applies to Superman in  a JLA movie, that squashes his chances even more of having another solo film that summer. Summer 2014 has sequels to The Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and X-Men: Days of Future Past. So forget any X-Men movies in 2015 to go head to head with the Avengers or the JLA, and no Spidey or Cap sequels will follow that fast. Also, according to every reliable source, DC/Warners won’t have another super hero property out after Man of Steel until 2015, when Justice League is set to hit. In all likelihood, the third comic book property that summer will be a Marvel one, with one other notable possibility. But what? Who will be the third super hero movie to go toe to toe with the Avengers and the JLA? Here are my best guesses on who will likely complete the ultimate super hero movie summer three years from now.

Option #1: Daredevil

Fox is  just about to give up their rights to the Daredevil franchise to Marvel Studios/Disney. A grittier, more realistic take on a super hero might fill in the void left over from the end of the Christopher Nolan Batman movies, as the Batman in a Justice League flick will definitely be different. With Daredevil, It’s still a super hero movie, but it would be as dramatically different from Avengers and JLA as humanly possible, and not feel like direct competion. I’d say this difference gives Daredevil the best shot.

Option #2: The Fantastic Four

While Fox was willing to let the Daredevil rights go back to Marvel, it his highly unlikey that they will allow Marvel’s First Family to go anywhere anytime soon. We know they have a reboot of that franchise coming soon, with Chronicle’s Josh Trank at the helm, but will they dare to compete with both the Avengers and the Justice League? It is a 50/50 proposition really; an FF movie could benifit from super team mania that summer, or it could just get crushed between those two giants. I suppose it would ultimately depend on how good it is. It would amazing in a way if three of the four longest running super teams being published made it to movie theaters all in one summer. The twelve year old version of me’s head might explode.

Option #3: Dr. Strange

Marvel Studios has been teasing a Dr. Strange film for a while now, and it seemed the front runner for their 2014 movie until Guardians of the Galaxy took that slot. With Guardians, Marvel is going knee deep into outer space territory, and it seems after that the world of magic is the next logical step. Dr Strange could tie in somewhat to the overall Marvel Movie universe, while still being tangential to the greater Avengers story. Dr Strange, along with Ant-Man, are the last two Stan Lee created major Marvel properties from the 60’s who haven’t yet had a movie. I’d like to see the old man get his cameo.

 

Option #4: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Although the TMNT reboot was scheduled to be released in early 2014, the script review that leaked recently was so scathingly negative as to probably make producer Michael Bay reconsider the direction they are going in and push that movie back, maybe as far as summer 2015. Even though the Ninja Turtles are a super hero team of a sort, there is no chance anyone would ever confuse them with the Avengers or the JLA. They could carve their own little niche that summer.

 

There will be plenty of geek speculation for the next three years as to how summer 2015 will turn out, and there will be plenty of comic book films from now till then to keep us all excited (not to mention NON comic book films….I hear they still make those) But all eyes are on summer 2015, and after that….then maybe we can talk about whether super hero movies have peaked or not. In the meantime, let the speculation continue.

It’s Official! We’re Getting a Third ‘Hobbit’ Movie!

by Jonathan

A few days ago, I posted this piece on rumors that Peter Jackson and Warner Bros. were talking about the possibility of splitting Jackson’s 2-part ‘Hobbit’ movie into 3 films. At the time, I wrote that it’s a good idea. I still feel that way.

And the universe (or at least Peter Jackson and Warner Bro.) agrees with me, as today Deadline is reporting that it’s a done deal and that the 2-part ‘Hobbit’ will now be split into 3 films, the last to be released Summer 2014.

I’m all for it, and I’ll add even more reason. Jackson is using 125 pages of Tolkien’s notes about the planned re-writing of ‘The Hobbit’ that Tolkien intended to undergo in the hopes of making it work better alongside the ‘LOTR’ books. I know that a few of you are bemoaning that “it’s a children’s book!” or “aaagh! Return of the King had 15 million endings”… but I argue this:

The Powers That Be (in this case Warner Bros.) are going to make products based on this material whether we like it or not. If not ‘The Hobbit’ film than a ‘Hobbit’ videogame or comics or whatever (they’re still going to do that anyways). They’re going to push their rights as much as they can into the ancillary material and turn that into product (as they might be doing with the ‘Hobbit’ trilogy already in bringing in elements that were part of Tolkien’s  bigger picture but just weren’t in the original book’s pages).

Here’s what Jackson posted in his announcement today on Facebook:

“We know how much of the story of Bilbo Baggins, the Wizard Gandalf, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur will remain untold if we do not take this chance. The richness of the story of The Hobbit, as well as some of the related material in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, allows us to tell the full story of the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and the part he played in the sometimes dangerous, but at all times exciting, history of Middle-earth.”

Jackson continued:

“So, without further ado and on behalf of New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Wingnut Films, and the entire cast and crew of “The Hobbit” films, I’d like to announce that two films will become three.”

I’m of the opinion that this all happens under Peter Jackson’s guidance rather than the unknown ‘whoever comes next’. Really, make a list of filmmakers who could accomplish this task nearly as well as Peter Jackson and as loyally and appropriately? Sam Raimi? Guillermo Del Toro? I think I just exhausted your list. Now, do either of these guys have WETA at their disposal without Jackson’s involvement?

No. The Tolkien properties are going to be brought to the screen. At least Jackson insures that they’re done right. And give me 15 million endings (because I don’t really want this stuff to end).

The Dark Knight Rises: Christian Bale Visits Victims Of Shooting In Colorado

by Shawn Madden

Earlier this week Christian Bale released a statement expressing his sympathy to the victims of the shooting in Colorado. Now it seems Bale has gone above and beyond and paid a visit to the victims of the incident. Bill Voloch, interim president of Medical Center of Aurora, said that The Dark Knight Rises star spent about two and a half hours visiting patients at the hospital.

“The patients were really happy to meet Bale,” Voloch said. “They are obviously big fans of his movies. They wanted to see Batman and were really pleased to see Bale.”

Bale also met with the officers and medical technicians that first responded to the incident. He spent about ten minutes with each person and made sure to visit each one.

“It was good for the patients,” Voloch said. “We hope it was therapeutic for them, and all the staff really appreciated him coming.”

Bale visited this hospital of his own choice and not representing Warner Bros. The executive vice president from Warner Bros. stated:

“Mr. Bale is there as himself, not representing Warner Brothers”

Kudos Mr. Bale. You really are the hero these people deserve and need right now.

Source: The Huffington Post

 

 

Geekscape Reviews “Magic Mike”

by Eric Diaz

It is going to be difficult to seperate my review of Magic Mike-the movie, versus Magic Mike- the midnight movie going experience. Because the movie itself was…well, it was fine, occasionally better than fine, but a Hell of lot better when it was made fifteen years ago and called Boogie Nights. On the other hand, Magic Mike the moviegoing experience was a very interesting window into the psyche of the average American female moviegoer. And that was the more fascinating venture to be sure.

Let me review the experience first; the 12AM screening of the movie I went to was something like 95% women, with a 5% smattering of gay men like myself for good measure. These women and girls, many who got dressed up for the occasion (there were many bare shoulders and big shoes to be found in my theater, and even one or two pairs of felt cat ears) were screeching and hollering at loud volumes well before the movie started. Now, I’ve been to my fair share of male geek- centric midnight shows in my days– Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Batman, you name it–and I’ve never heard as loud a scream from an audience as when we first see Channing Tatum’s naked ass within the first five minutes of this movie. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it is quite a fine ass…but I doubt there was ever that loud of a cheer even when the Death Star got destroyed back in 1977. The women were pretty much orgasming in their seats…. it was nuts. I’ve never really wanted to be a woman before (as much as I love and relate to women on multiple levels, I’m rather fond of my penis thank you.) but I’ll admit if I could get that damn hot and bothered like that from just seeing some hot guy’s ass on a movie screen for a few seconds, well….It almost made me wish I had one of those other things down there instead, especially if that’s all it takes.

Matthew McConaughey easily steals the show as club owner Dallas.

As for the movie itself, well…we’ve seen this A Star is Born story a million times before, sometimes done better, often done worse. Director Steven Soderbergh doesn’t bring anything new to the table here I’m sorry to say, but he doesn’t make a terrible movie either.  The movie centers around Adam, played by British actor Alex Pettyfer. He’s  all of 19 and just moved to Tampa Florida to live on his sister’s couch. While on a roofing job he finds on craigslist, he meets Channing Tatum’s “Magic” Mike Martingano, who sees potential in Adam and before too long, takes him under his wing into the world of male stripping. Adam fills in one night at Xquisite, the strip joint owned by a former stripper named Dallas (Matthew McConaughey) where Mike works. Dallas is by far the best thing in this movie; McConaughey goes totally over the top with his character, and every moment with him on screen is a blast. Dallas is vain and ridiculous, and just that much fun to watch. He’s kind of like the father figure to all his strippers, and I wish the movie gave us more of him. Adam is quickly given the new nickname “the Kid,” and just like that he’s off and running in the world of male stripping.

Among the rest of the group of strippers are Big Dick Richie (Joe Manganeillo from True Blood) Ken (Matt Bomer from White Collar) Tito (Adam Rodriguez from CSI Miami) and Tarzan (wrestler Kevin Nash) who frankly, is too ugly too even be in the same room  as the rest of the guys I just mentioned; I don’t care how hot your body is if you look like Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. In any case, my first big complaint here is that all of these guys are pretty much wasted in this movie. I suppose if you go to see them just get naked, you’ll be satisfied, but that’s all they do; none of these guys are given any characterization or personality quirks really at all. They are just visual props, which is fine I guess…it just seems odd to get so many established actors to do what you could have paid a bunch of real male strippers to do, and probably for a lot less money. Also among the ensemble cast are comedian Gabriel Iglesias as the club’s DJ, and Olivia Munn as Mike’s bisexual booty call buddy, a grad student named Joanne. Joanne is actually one of the more interesting characters in the movie, or at least one of the more well rounded. Sadly, she’s barely in the movie for more than a cameo. Credit where credit is due, Soderbergh made me actually like Olivia Munn, one of those faux celebrities that I usually can’t stand. Not an easy task, so props to you sir.

For a movie about male strippers, you’d think we’d get at least some full frontal male nudity, if only for a moment. All we get is a blurry shot of Joe Manganellio’s penis in one of those penis enlarger pumps, and it probably isn’t even a real penis. I call shenanigans.

So young Adam and “Magic” Mike conveniently become instant BFF’s (something Adam even makes kind of a joke about in the movie) and Adam’s sister Paige (Cody Horn) is none too happy with his new career choice. In fact, Paige is seemingly never happy about anything…she spends almost the entire movie with a perpetual pout on her face, with this look of “I Hate Fun” tattooed on her forehead. She has a playful flirty vibe with Mike, her brother’s new mentor, but by the end of the movie we are supposed to think it was some great love affair waiting to happen, and I just never bought into that. I was never rooting for them to get together much because she seems like she had a stick up her ass the whole time, and Tatum just isn’t very compelling as an actor when he’s not naked and dancing up a storm. Which, to be fair, he does very, very well. That white boy can move. But as an actor, he seems to have no range.

And there lies this movie’s biggest problem, and that is that neither of the leads, either Channing Tatum or Alex Pettyfer’s characters, are particularly interesting characters at all.  They’re both just typical white “bro dude” types, the kind that would be in some douchey frat had they gone to college. They’re both lucky they’re so good looking, because they have the personalities of dry toast. The only thing remotely interesting about Mike’s character is that he makes custom furniture. And that’s it. That’s what passes for giving him layers. See, he doesn’t just strip and hook up with ho’s and drink beer, he makes tables! And poor Adam doesn’t even have that going for him. They seem like overall nice guys, but really just the kind of guys that are pretty much good for one thing. Maybe that’s why I liked Olivia Munn’s character in this movie, as she seems to be the only one who understands this fact in the movie and points it out. The movie clearly wants us to think she’s a bitch for seeing things that way, but from where I sat she sees it like it is.

When it comes to this movie, for me it is hard not to think of Boogie Nights when watching it and constantly compare the two, because Magic Mike lifts almost the entire structure off of PT Anderson’s now classic 1997 film. For example,  just like in Boogie Nights, the character of Adam is a teenager picked from obscurity and brought into a life of instant money and sex and drugs, and is given a new identity as “the Kid.” This is just like Mark Whalberg’s character in Boogie Nights, Eddie, who becomes porn star Dirk Diggler. The Kid and Magic Mike both get too big for their britches, and have a confrontation with their mentor figure, both while high as kites, another scene almost identical to the one in Boogie Nghts where Mark Whalberg has a drugged out falling out with mentor figure Burt Reynolds. There is even a scene towards the end where Mike has an epiphany about his life of excess, and Soderbergh has the camera fix on his face, frozen in contemplation for almost a good minute, almost exactly like the scene in Boogie Nights where Mark Whalberg’s character does the exact same thing. Except in that movie, that scene also had Alfred Molina in a speedo with an Asian rent boy lighting fire crackers in his living room with Sister Christian playing in the background and was way, WAY more memorable.

And where Boogie Nights takes place over several years, Magic Mike takes place over one summer. In June, our young newbie Adam can’t dance at all, but by July he’s doing complicated choreography and experimenting with drugs, and by August he’s a full on junkie and a drug dealer to boot. That seemed rather forced and silly to me. Another thing that Boogie Nights does a million times better is giving all the minor characters things to do. Much like the “family” of porn stars in Boogie Nights, Magic Mike has a similar “family” of male strippers, only they’re not given anything to do. I guess it’s just enough for the target audience that they’re there and they’re naked. I hate to constantly compare this movie to PT Anderson’s breakthrough film from the 90’s, but it just lifts so much of the structure and even the basic story itself that I just can’t help but compare the two at every turn, and in comparison to Boogie Nights, Magic Mike doesn’t even come close.

Still, Magic Mike has its moments, and gets by on a certain kind of effortless charm. Steven Soderbergh shot the movie in almost a documentary style, and the script and performances feel naturalistic and real, with the exception of Matthew McConaughey’s character, who provides some much needed crazy personality to the proceedings. While most movies about women in similar professions, from Coyote Ugly to Striptease to the infamous Showgirls always make ridiculous caricatures of the people who choose this kind of lifestyle, Magic Mike at least treats them like real human beings. They’re just not particularly interesting human beings is the problem.

Supposedly, this movie is based on Channing Tatum’s real life as a teenage stripper , although from what I hear that was far more interesting (and not so exclusively hetero. Google that shit.) as this movie portrays. Originally, Drive and Bronson director Nicolas Winding Refn was slated to direct, and I can’t help think we would have gotten something edgier and more interesting than what we ended up with if he had, but also probably a lot less commercial. As it stands now, Magic Mike is only edgy if you’ve never seen a naked man before, which judging from the audience reaction is clearly a lot of people.  Luckily, the naked men in this movie are mostly really hot, so if that sounds like fun for you, by all means check out Magic Mike. And if you can, see it with an audience of horny women, and you’ll probably think the movie is much better than it actually is.

How The 1960’s Batman Television Series Helped Save Batman

by Eric Diaz

If you’re a Batman fan of a certain age, say mid twenties to younger, chances are you pretty much hate the original Batman television series from the 1960’s starring Adam West and Burt Ward, or at least resent the show’s long lasting impact over the character of Batman. But I’m here to tell you why you shouldn’t hate it, and why in fact you should love it, if for no other reason than this: the original Batman show not only helpled save Batman in the comic book world, but it turned him into a global superstar. Aside from that alone being reason enough, there are lots of other long term contributions to the Bat-verse that came from the television series.

Of course, I’m not saying comic book fans haven’t had a lot of reason to resent the 60’s Batman television series over the years. Premiering just a few years after Stan Lee and Marvel Comics began to take comic books to the next level in terms of mature storytelling, the Batman show essentially reinforced the notion that comics were inherently silly and for five year old boys alone. The show was so hugely popular and influential, that its influence still echoes on today; almost any mainstream article in the media about comic books or comic book movies has a reference to the POW! BAM! ZAP! Sound effects of the show, some 45 years after it premiered. As a comic book fan, that annoys the hell outta me, and I look forward to the day when that lazy kind of writing finally stops. We live in a world where Watchmen is considered one of the greatest novels of the past three decades, and where Heath Ledger won an Oscar for his portrayal of the Joker, and still the show’s influence (and notions of comic books being nothing more than “kid’s stuff”) lingers on. I can see how that bugs.

But the truth is, original Batman series was always meant to be a straight up spoof of the comics, and nothing more or less than that. And it turned out to be a brilliant send up at that. In contrast, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is considered one of the pinnacle achievements in horror fiction, but no one hates on Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein for brilliantly spoofing it.The old Batman show never gets off that easy, because in the case of Batman, the spoof became more well known than the source material. While that can be annoying for fans of the character, all it really means is that the producers, writers and actors just did a really good job. And while the character of Batman was hurt in a lot of ways by the television show,  in the long run he benefited in just as many ways as well.

The Television Series Made Batman An Icon

Batman was an instant success when debuting in comics in 1939, this is true. But for decades, he played definite second fiddle to Superman in terms of global awareness outside of comics. While Superman debuted only a year prior to Batman in 1938, within a year Clark Kent was a global icon, and within two years he had a radio show, a series of highly expensive cartoon shorts, and a float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Superman mania was something akin to Harry Potter or Twilight mania today, only bigger. Batman, on the other hand, was merely a very succesful comic book series. If you were a nine year old in 1944, chances are your mother knew who Superman was; less likely she knew who Batman was.

The debut of the Batman television show changed all that forever. Debuting in January 1966, Batman was a pop culture sensation that rivaled Beatlemania at the time. Batman aired twice a week on ABC, and the success was so enormous that a movie was shot and rushed into theaters for the summer of ’66. And then, there was the merch; the success of the show caused an avalanche of Batman related products of all sorts, shapes and sizes, rivaled only by Star Wars a decade later. By the time the show had finally burned itself out in 1968, there wasn’t a person in America who didn’t know what and who Batman and Robin were. It might have taken him twenty five years, but because of the television series Batman was finally on equal footing with Superman in recognizabilty. And he has the silly, campy show to thank for it.

The popularity of the show caused an explosion of Batman merchandise, one that lasted long past the show’s network run was over.

Editor’s note: Both of the above pictures are taken from comedian Ralph Garman’s 60s Batman memorabilia collection. Yeah. Both of them.

There are those who say the Batman television series saved the actual comic books themselves from cancellation. Batman co-creator Bob Kane even was quoted as saying that before the show debuted, DC Comics was considering cancelling Batman outright. Now this I find highly unlikely; from 1960-1965, Batman was  consistently in the top ten comic books sold in the country. While he was selling half of what Superman sold, and no where near what he sold in the 40’s, it seems highly doubtful that DC ever seriously considered trashing their second most well known character. But without a doubt, the the surge of sales caused by the success of the television show made sure that not only would Batman never be cancelled, but that Batman would always keep a prominent presence at DC Comics.

The Show Returned The Original Classic Villains To Prominence

The 1954 publication of anti comics screed Seduction of the Innocent nearly brought down the comic book industry in one giant swoop of 50’s White People Paranoia, and although DC Comics survived (many other smaller publishers did not) they did not survive unscathed. No character was more affected by this book at DC than Batman. Within a year, gone were the great, creepy villains of Batman’s 1940’s heyday; Catwoman was deemed “too sexual” for a children’s book, Two Face too scary for kids, and villains like The Penguin, Riddler and Scarecrow vanished, replaced by kooky looking aliens and mad scientists. The Joker remained as Batman’s #1 nemesis, but instead of the murderous, insane gangster clown, he was transformed into a harmless, lame prankster.

Although the televison series mocked the ultra cheesy, day glow color palette tone of the then current comics of the time, the producers wisely chose to go back to the comic book’s glory days of the 40’s for their villain roster. Around the time of the show’s debut, The Riddler was brought back for the first time since 1948 and became Batman’s (arguably) second biggest nemesis  due to his brilliant portrayal by actor Frank Gorshin. Catwoman was brought back from her twelve year exile for being too sexy (the ultimate example of “slut shaming” in comics) and other old villains like Mr. Freeze were resurrected and given new life. The televison show cemented the notion of these bad guys (particulary the “big four” of Joker, Riddler, Catwoman and Penguin) as the “A List” of Bat rogues, a concept that would carry over into the comics and stay that way from then on. Even characters that never made it onto the series were created in an attempt to get on television; Poison Ivy was created in the comics to be a sexy villainess in the Catwoman mold for the show, but the show was canned before she could ever appear.

Just for returning Catwoman from her 12 years long exile alone, fans should love the original television series.

Ever since the show made the villains as iconic as Batman, the comics themselves have never looked back. By the early 70’s, Batman returned to his grim late 1930’s roots, but the classic villains remained and have stayed around ever since. Because of the 60’s show, it is now impossible to imagine a DC Universe without them.

The TV Show Gave Us Barbara Gordon, Batgirl

Batgirl was another addition to the Batman mythology created for the television series…well, sort of. Batman artist Carmine Infantino had debated creating a new Batgirl for the comics, but wasn’t sure if his bosses would go for it, as no one at DC Editorial was too fond of the lame Batwoman character, a relic of the 1950’s. While visiting the DC Comics offices in 1966, the television series producers saw a sketch of Carmine Infantino’s take on Batgirl on his desk.  Looking for a new female character to add to the show, the producers of the show encouraged DC to go through with making this new Batgirl, pretty much just so they could use her on the television series. Although technically debuting a several months prior to her small screen arrival,  if not for the Batman show, the Barbara Gordon version of Batgirl might have just stayed a sketch on Infantino’s desk. Although Yvonne Craig’s Batgirl only appeared in the final season of Batman, because of her popularity she has remained a staple of DC Comics ever since.

The Fetishization of the Batmobile

Batman has had a Batmobile since the early 1940’s, the show certainly didn’t invent it. But George Barris’ customized 1957 Ford Futura was so iconic and central to the show, that from then on the Batmobile in the comics has become equally fetishized and made important. From the early 40’s to the early 60’s, the design of the Batmobile barely changed at all, and really wasn’t much more than “Batman’s car.” It got him from cave to crime scene, but that’s about it. But after the debut of the tv series, and the focus on the car the show had, the Batmobile in the comics has become a character unto itself, constantly changing and evolving to keep up with the times. The Batmobile has become as much a part of Batman as his utility belt or his Batarangs. And the rocket engine was definitely a creation of the old show, now carried over into most media takes on the Batmobile, from the Tim Burton movie to the Bruce Timm animated series.

The Show’s Legacy

Sine the 1989 debut of Tim Burton’s Batman movie, the campy image of Batman has lessened significantly in the popular culture. The Joel Schumacher movies of the mid 90’s tried to emulate the 60’s television series and failed miserably. You can’t be campy and be taken seriously as a narrative at the same time; the producers of the 60’s show understood this fact pretty well.

Not long ago, Batman character owners Warner Brothers finally settled a decades long dispute with Twentieth Century Fox (creators of the show) and now have the license to merchandise the hell out of the old Batman show and its characters. So coming soon, expect a second tide of 60’s Bat merchandise, with Adam West t shirts, Julie Newmar/Catwoman posters, Yvonne Craig/Batgirl Halloween costumes and who knows what else (hopefully the series itself finally comes out on DVD) With Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy finally cementing Batman as a dark and serious character to even Joe Six Pack in Boise Idaho, maybe it is time for fandom to finally embrace the old Batman show for what it was, and realize how truly significant a part of the Batman legacy it really is.

Coming Soon: The second in a series of three Batman articles from yours truly, leading up to the July debut of The Dark Knight Rises. 

“Justice League” & “Wonder Woman” Movies Get New Screenwriters Attached

by Eric Diaz

So, the announcement we all knew was coming once Avengers made a billion plus dollars has finally arrived; Warner Brothers has announced that a screenwriter has been hired for a Justice League live action movie, and his name is…. (drumroll)  Will Beall.

Will who? Exactly.

Remember that moment two years ago when Joss Whedon was announced as the writer/director of Avengers, and fandom breathed a collective sigh of relief? Yeah, this is kind of the opposite. Well, maybe not the opposite (that news would be “they’ve hired Brett Ratner”) but certainly not the kind of announcement that would get anyone excited. Will Beall is, according to Variety who broke the story, a “hot” writer, who is attached to Lethal Weapon 5, the remake of Logan’s Run, and the upcoming movie Gangster Squad. Oh, and he’s written a bunch of episodes of Castle. Not a single one of these things is enough to get me, or probably anyone out there, very excited. I find it hard to believe Warners couldn’t find a single creative voice with some geek cred to get for a JLA movie. I can’t help but feel they are cheaping out on what is the most anticipated super hero movie ever after Avengers….the super hero team that inspired ALL super hero teams. Did you learn nothing from Green Lantern Warners?

Also buried in this news story is that Wonder Woman also is picking up steam (no doubt due to the success of Hunger Games and Snow White and the Huntsman) Warners has hired screenwriter Michael Goldenberg, who wrote and directed the 90’s Christian Slater chick flick Bed of Roses for this one. Color me uninspired…. again.

Note to Warner Brothers: You actually OWN a script for a Wonder Woman movie that Joss Whedon wrote; you’ll never get him to direct it now, but you can get someone else to  direct his script and still advertise the movie as “from the man who brought you Avengers.” This isn’t rocket science people. Of course, both movies could turn out great, but with Warner Brothers track record with their DC Comics properties, I’ll be surprised if they ever turn out, period.

“Green Lantern: Rise of the Red Lanterns” Comes To DVD This August

by Eric Diaz

If you’re one of the many disappointed by Warner Brother’s live action Green Lantern film last year, take comfort; Warner Brothers always finds a way to kick some ass in the animation department, and make up for any live action misfires. Bruce Timm, producer of the legendary Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Superman and Justice League cartoons gives us everything you wanted out of the Green Lantern movie–aliens, outer space battles, other Lantern Corps–and delivers it in spades in the new Green Lantern: The Animated Series. And now the first half of season one is arriving on DVD this August. Here is the full press release from Warner Brothers Home Video:

WARNER HOME VIDEO POWERS UP GREEN LANTERN: THE ANIMATED SERIES —RISE OF THE RED LANTERNS (SEASON 1 PART 1) 

WITH DVD RELEASE ON AUGUST 28, 2012

Hal Jordan Faces His Ultimate Threat in New Two-Disc DVD Set

Green Lantern: The Animated Series – Rise of the Red Lanterns

(Season 1 Part 1) Includes First 13 Episodes of the Popular Cartoon Network CG-Animated Action Series

BURBANK, CA, (May 15, 2012) – Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps embark on their latest intergalactic missions as Warner Home Video (WHV) releases Green Lantern: The Animated Series — Rise of the Red Lanterns (Season 1 Part 1) on DVD. Based on the adventures of the popular DC Comics super hero, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, currently part of Cartoon Network’s DC Nation programming block (Saturdays at 10 a.m. ET/PT), is produced by Warner Bros. Animation and animation legend Bruce Timm (Batman: The Animated Series; DC Universe Animated Original Movies). The two-disc DVD set featuring the first 13 episodes of the CG-animated action series will be available on August 28, 2012 for $19.97 SRP.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series — Rise of the Red Lanterns (Season 1 Part 1) follows Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps on a treacherous journey through deep space. As Earth’s Green Lantern, Hal must face down an invasion from the villainous Red Lantern Corps, who will stop at nothing to destroy and silence the Green Lantern Corps forever. Joined by his former drill sergeant Kilowog, and several all-new heroes, Hal brings the cosmic battle against the forces of evil to the far reaches of the galaxy. Equipped with a new squad and new spacecraft, The Inceptor, Hal and the team set out to protect the universe — and the Green Lantern Corps itself!

“Green Lantern: The Animated Series has really taken us into a realm we hadn’t explored before:  our first completely CG-animated series,” enthuses Sam Register, Executive Vice President, Creative Affairs, at Warner Bros. Animation. “Like Teen Titans and Batman: The Animated Series, it’s an incredible, groundbreaking action series, combining the legendary instincts of Emmy®-winning executive producer Bruce Timm and the incredible artistry of WBA’s CG animators. It’s a beautifully rendered, epic space adventure with a scale that’s simply breathtaking.”

“With the release of the live-action movie last summer and the wildly popular Cartoon Network series, Green Lantern mania is at an all-time high,” said Mary Ellen Thomas, Vice President of Family and Animation Marketing and Partner Brands. “Warner Bros. Animation is known for creating outstanding animated series, and we are thrilled to be able to bring these new super hero adventures to DVD.”

Executive produced by Sam Register (Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Ben 10), and Bruce Timm, Green Lantern: The Animated Series is produced by Giancarlo Volpe (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) and Jim Krieg (Ben 10: Alien Swarm). Based upon the popular DC Comics character, the series features the voice talents of Josh Keaton as Hal Jordan, Jason Spisak as Razer, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kilowog and Grey DeLisle as Aya. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, Green Lantern: The Animated Series airs Saturdays at 10 a.m. (ET/PT) as part of Cartoon Network’s DC Nation programming block.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series — Rise of the Red Lanterns (Season 1 Part 1) includes the following episodes:

 1. Beware My Power…Green Lantern’s Light (Part One)

 2. Beware My Power…Green Lantern’s Light (Part Two)

 3. Razer’s Edge

 4. Into the Abyss

 5. Heir Apparent

 6. Lost Planet

 7. Reckoning

 8. Fear Itself

 9. …In Love and War

 10. Regime Change

 11. Flight Club

 12. Invasion

 13. Homecoming

The DVD also includes a four-page preview of the Green Lantern: The Animated Series comic book.

 

The Geekscape Review – Tim Burton’s “Dark Shadows”

by Eric Diaz

Dark Shadows is a really weird movie to review. Actually, it is just a really weird movie, period, and for the most part I ended up liking it for that very reason. About 75% of the movie plays more or less like a fairly amusing spoof of the original 1960´s daytime soap opera of the same name, before entering its third act and demanding to be taken seriously as a movie. It is one of the weirdest and most abrupt tonal shifts in a modern mainstream Summer tentpole movie I can remember, and while this is kind of a fatal flaw storytelling wise, it is really hard to hate on a movie that is so strangely endearing up until that point.

For those of you unaware, Dark Shadows was originally a daytime television series which ran from 1966-1971. Initially a gothic soap opera without any supernatural elements, the show was tanking in the ratings, so the producers decided to bring in a vampire character to spice the show up. Actor Jonathan Frid joined the show in 1967 as Barnabas Collins, a 200 year old vampire who oversaw his descendants in the wealthy Collins family. The addition of Barnabas turned the ratings of the show around, and Dark Shadows became a pop culture phenomenon. The show was pretty much a convoluted, campy mess, with actors flubbing lines and the cheap sets sometimes coming apart on live television (forever preserved in syndication) but none of these things stopped the show from being a genuine phenomenon.

The show covered everything; alongside vampires there were witches, werewolves, zombies, time travel and parallel realities. No supernatural stone was left unturned in the show’s five year life span. And while storylines barely made any sense sometimes, that didn’t stop the show from developing a fiercely devoted following of teenagers and kids who ran home from school in time to catch the show. It should be noted that camptastic soap or not, Dark Shadows is the first significant sympathetic portrayal of a vampire in popular culture. Without Barnabas, we wouldn’t have had Anne Rice’s Lestat, Joss Whedon’s Angel, or any of the current crop of lovable sexy vampires that permeate our culture at the moment. In fact, the CW’s Vampire Diaries is pretty much a direct descendant of Dark Shadows, equally convoluted  in terms of storylines, and equally lacking a sense of humor about itself.

One of the kids who grew up obsessed with the series was Johnny Depp, who idolized and imitated Jonathan Frid’s Barnabas as a young child. He eventually secured the rights to the series and got his BFF Tim Burton (who was also a big fan growing up) to direct this big screen remake. What results is a movie that is kind of a hot mess, but one that is almost consistently enjoyable as well. The best way I can describe it is this: This is the kind of movie you know isn’t great (or even really good in any objective sense) but every time it shows up on tv in the future, you likely won’t change the channel and keep watching anyway.

The movie begins with a flashback that shows how Barnabas Collins arrived in America as a young boy from 18th century England, and with his family establishes the town of Colinsport Maine. After spurning the affections of family servant Angelique (a delightfully over the top Eva Green) who it turns out is a powerful witch, she kills Barnabas’ one true love Josette by hypnotizing her to throw herself off a cliff to the ocean below, and in turn curses Barnabas and makes him a vampire. As if being a vampire wasn’t bad enough, she chains him in a coffin and buries him for two centuries. This whole five minute prologue sequence reminds me a lot of one of my favorite guilty pleasure movies, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Francis Ford Coppola’s lavish and overwrought 1992 adaptation. Both movies have the lead character lose their beloved who throws herself off a high precipice to her doom in the prologue, and then then both characters become vampires in unconventional ways. In both movies, the vampire’s long lost loves turn up hundreds of years later, reincarnated and ready to be wooed all over again.

But that’s pretty much where the similarities to Coppola’s Dracula end. As soon as that whole opening sequence is done, the movie just desends into pure camp territory, and that’s actually a good thing. Johnny Depp’s Barnabas wakes up in 1972, and the movie has a ton of fun playing up the whole Rip Van Winkle aspect. Some gags land better than others, but Depp is clearly having a ball in every scene he’s in, and you can tell this whole project is a labor of love for him. He’s having such a blast playing Barnabas it is hard not to have a blast along with him. In fact, most of the cast is having a blast camping it up here too, especially the still gorgeous Michelle Pfeiffer as Collins matriarch Elizabeth Collins, and Chloe Moretz (former Hit Girl from Kick-Ass and future Carrie White) as her surly 15 year old daughter Carolyn. Rounding out the cast are Jackie Earle Haley as Willie Loomis, the Collins’ drunkard of a  groundskeeper (think Renfield from Dracula) Johnny Lee Miller as Elizabeth’s loser brother Roger, Gulliver McGrath as Roger’s son David, and the obligitory (yet awesome) Helena Bonham Carter as boozy chainsmoking live in shrink Dr. Julia Hoffman.

Arriving just prior to Barnabas’ awakening is Bella Heathcoate as young David Collin’s new nanny Victoria Winters. Heathcoate is problem number one in this movie; unlike seemingly everyone else in the movie, Bella Heathcoate has no idea what movie she’s in, and plays everything straight. Whenever she is onscreen the fun grinds to a halt, and it is no wonder her scenes are so limited. Unfortunately, because her character ends up with so little screen time, her love affair with Barnabas feels forced and uninspired.

Tim Burton continues to pursue an obsession with women who like like the ones in Margaret Keane paintings.

There isn’t much of a plot to Dark Shadows, but what passes for one is Barnabas trying to get the family business prosperous again, and in the meantime destroy his old rival Angelique’s competing business, and her with it. (really, that’s it, that’s the whole plot) But most of the running time is really devoted to Barnabas’ antics adjusting to life in the 70’s. All of these moments (of which there are plenty) makes me wonder just who the target demographic for this movie is; certainly Johnny Depp’s younger Jack Sparrow/Alice in Wonderland fans aren’t going to get much of the jokes that rely on nostalgia on how ridiculous the 70’s were, much less get that most of the movie is a spoof on a show they’ve never even heard of, much less seen. Having seen the movie, it is kind of shocking that Warner Brothers gave this thing the greenlight. But I guess that is the power of Burton and Depp; none can resist them.

At nearly two hours, I’d say for over 90 minutes of that running time the tone of the movie is pretty delighfully campy and frivolous, but it is after that where the problems come in. Once we get to the last act, the movie suddenly wants the audience to start taking this story very seriously, where as before there weren’t really any stakes; the whole thing played like a lark. Without giving too much away, the kitchen sink is thrown in, and the ending almost derails the whole movie for me. But there is just enough fun to be had here to at least recommend this as a matinee, especially if you’re a Burton fan who feels slighted by his more recent output.

There’s a lot of hate these days for Tim Burton, especially online, and it is easy to understand why. In the last decade, Burton hasn’t made a single movie based on an original idea, instead just “re-imagining” old properties. Even his two most well regarded project of the past dozen or so years (Big Fish and Sweeney Todd) are based on pre-existing material. Dark Shadows isn’t going to change anyone’s mind about Burton, but at least this time both Burton and Depp seem to be having more fun together than in Alice in Wonderland, or even Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Dark Shadows is the eighth big screen pairing of Burton and Depp, and even though I enjoyed a lot of it, I still think these two need a long break from each other. (say, maybe a decade) But if  we all get what we wish for, and Dark Shadows turns out to be their swan song as a team, there could be worse ways to go out than this.

Batman: Arkham City GOTY + New Story DLC Announced With Horrible Box Art to Boot

by MoreLikeAndy

Someone in the marketing department should be sacrificed to the gods and thrown into a volcano for letting this box art for the recently announced Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition.

It’s worse than this one:

At least we get some info that the rumors were true about some new DLC featuring Harley Quinn. The “Harley Quinn’s Revenge” DLC will be available separately, as a download, from the GOTY version on May 29th for PSN and May 30th for Xbox Live. Having this DLC be the final chapter might leave some of you with a bad taste in your mouth. Being sold what could be considered a “true ending” never comes off as a good thing. Well, I guess we can always just look forward to the next game in the Arkham saga…!

Till May though, check out this sweet trailer:

Warner Bros. Picks Brad Peyton to Direct the Adaptation of DC’s “Lobo”

by Jonathan

Oh boy… as reported by Deadline Hollywood, Warner Brothers has selected Journey 2 director Brad Peyton as the director of the feature adaptation of DC Comics’ “Lobo”. You know, that foul-talking, ultra-violent bounty hunter… who may now possibly ride a giant bee instead of a space cycle.

This is the first we’ve heard of the feature Lobo project in a while. In 2009, WB announced that Guy Ritchie would be the director (which would have been awesome). Before that, there was a Superman VS Lobo script circulating the studio but Superman ended up being rebooted by Brian Singer (and will now be rebooted again by Zack Snyder). Peyton will also be re-writing the current draft of the script.

What do you guys think? Good news? Bad news? Do you think we’ll actually see the crazy bastich on film this time?

 

Logo Revealed for Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel”!

by Jonathan

Next summer we are getting director Zack Snyder and producer Christopher Nolan’s new 52-friendly interpretation of the The Man of Steel, starring Henry Cavill as our favorite Kryptonian. We’ve seen the updated suit/armor (no red trunks!) and today, on the official Man of Steel Facebook page, Warner Brothers released the official logo for the June 14, 2013 film:

So what do you guys think? A new armored-up logo for a new armored-up Superman?

 

Warner Brothers Plans Live Action Adaptation of Manga “Bleach”

by CrazyMustang

Warner Bros. Pictures has acquired the live-action rights to develop a film adaptation of Tite Kubo’s manga series Bleach, which currently has an ongoing anime series on the air and has been previously been adapted for the big screen in a series of anime films. The most recent, Bleach: Hell Chapter, was released in Japan in December of 2010. Bleach follows the adventures of Ichigo, a teenager with the ability to see ghosts. When his family is attacked by a Hollow, a malevolent lost soul, Ichigo encounters Rukia, a Soul Reaper tasked to hunting Hollows, and inadvertently absorbs her powers. Now Ichigo dedicates his life to protecting the innocent and helping tortured souls find peace.  “Wrath of the Titans” screenwriter Dan Mazeau will adapt “Bleach.” Right now there is no firm word of a director yet, but Peter Segal, who directed “Tommy Boy” among other films, may direct.  Additionally, “Heroes” own ‘Hiro,’ Masi Oka, will be one the film’s producers.

Wonder Con Review: Superman Vs. The Elite

by Eric Diaz

A tradition these past few years at Comic Con International, be it at San Diego or at Wonder Con, has been the world premiere of the latest DC Universe original animated straight to DVD movie. I’ve had the privilege of seeing the world premiers of Batman: Under the Red Hood and Batman:  Year One at San Diego Cons in years prior, and at last year’s Wonder Con I saw the debut of Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. This year I was lucky enough to be in the crowd for the debut of DC’s latest, Superman Vs. The Elite.

Superman Vs. The Elite is based on a story by Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke that ran in Action Comcs #775 back in 2001, originally titled “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?” Writer Kelly was brought in to do a re-do of his own original comic book script for the movie, which works for and against the film in various ways, but I’ll get to that later.

The cover to Action Comics #775, where the original story for this movie was based on first appeared.

Like the original comic book story, the animated film centers around the debut of The Elite, a team of super-powered “heroes” led by Manchester Black, a British telekenitic/telepath who is seemingly all of the members of the Sex Pistols wrapped into one person. Along with his team of equally super powerful sociopaths (all of whom are all thinly veiled analogs for the Wildstorm comics super team “The Authority”)  he gains nationwide popularity for playing judge, jury and executioner to his enemies, usually on national television.

Although appearing to be friendly towards Superman at first, the Elite show their true colors as they go out of their way to show the world how they are willing to kill their foes, instead of merely apprehending them and turning them over to the authorities. Superman’s methods seem even more quaint and old fashioned in this new world, as everyone relishes their newer, hipper “protectors.” Although this story was written and published in a pre-9-11/War on Terror world, ten years later it feels like a giant indictment of the fascist “ends justify the means” attitude that prevailed (and still does) over this country for the past decade.

The Elite, from Left to Right-Coldcast, Manchester Black, Hat and Menagerie

The Good

There’s a lot to admire about this movie; for starters, the original comic book story it is based on is easily one of the best Superman stories of the past decade,  so the producers had a lot of good material to draw from. More than any other story I can think of, this story reminds the audience why the principals Superman stands for will never go out of fashion, and are things we should all aspire to in our everyday lives. There is a scene in the movie, where the smug and sarcastic Manchester Black accuses Superman of living in an unrealistic dream world, while he and his team live in “reality.” Superman responds with this- “Dreams save us. Dreams lift us up and transform us. And on my soul, I swear… until my dream of a world where dignity, honor and justice becomes the reality we all share — I’ll never stop fighting.” Many in the audience applauded, and I even got a little bit teary eyed. When it came to representing just what it is that Superman stands for, I have to say that writer Joe Kelly and director Michael Chang really nailed that aspect of this story.

The voice acting was  also uniformly good throughout, with George Newbern (who played Superman in the Justice League animated series) reprising the role. Newbern is great at giving the Super speeches without sounding cheesy or stilted, which isn’t always easy to pull off. I have to say though, I found it odd that the producers of these animated movies chose this particular project for Newbern to reprise the role in; the recently released Justice League: Doom was a virtual reunion of voice actors from the Justice League animated series reprising their roles, except for Tim Daly, who used to do Superman for the 90’s animated series but wasn’t available when the JLU show was being done. In my opinion, they should have switched out projects for these voice actors. Daly is just a little bit stronger as a solo focused Superman than Newbern, while Newbern works better in an ensemble. But this is a minor quibble. NCIS actress Pauley Perrette was also great as Lois, and veteran voice actor Robin Atkin Downes stole the show as Manchester Black…even if his Manchester accent was a bit hard to understand at times.

Robin Atkin Downes' version of Manchester Black often stole the show.

Another thing I found myself loving was all the aspects of Superman lore featured in this movie that have been retconned out by DC Comics in their “new 52” relaunch. In this movie, Superman is happily married to Lois Lane, and their relationship is delightfully written and one of the best aspects of the movie. I didn’t realize how much I missed “Mr. and Mrs. Superman” until I saw it so well done again in this story. Also, unlike the New 52, both Ma and Pa Kent are still alive and residing in Smallville, another aspect of Super lore that has been removed. And the red super underwear is still there, right on the outside where it should be. Is it too soon to be this nostalgic for the old pre-2011 DCU? The excellent portrayal of so many aspects of Superman mythology that has recently been jettisoned made me appreciate this movie even more than I would have had it been released just a year earlier.

And the animation, especially during the many action sequences, if fairly top notch as well, although suffers a bit when compared to some of the DCU animated films of the past few years. Most of it is very fluid, and I only found it look a little choppy in certain portions of the movie.

The Bad

Unfortunately, not everything in this movie is great. As awesome as the original Action Comics story was, it was just a single issue one-shot story, and padding it out to movie length you can feel that it was meant to be brief. It would have been better and a lot more effective if it were kept shorter. If the old animated series was still on the air, this would have been an ideal two part episode, but at just 80 minutes it really felt a bit long-and that’s not a good sign when an 80 minute movie feels long. By being so faithful to the original structure of his comic book story, Joe Kelly might have been doing it a bit of a disservice.

Another fatal flaw, at least for me, was the character designs. I understand that Warner Animation wants every animated movie to have their own look, but sometimes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Superman’s design was way too cartoony and ridiculous, and not cartoony in a cool sleek way like how Bruce Timm designed him for his original animated series. And since much of the point of the movie is that Superman is seen by many (wrongly so) as an outdated relic of another era, why go out of your way to make him look even more silly? He looks more like a MAD Magazine parody of Superman than the way he is drawn in his own comics.  It just made no sense, and was distracting throughout the whole movie. The character designs for Lois Lane also suffered in my opinion. So much of these designs suffered from being “different for different’s sake” and were distracting throughout.

Superman, or Joe from Family Guy?

Final Verdict: B-

Overall though, this movie is still quite enjoyable, and most importantly, really illustrated why Superman is such a treasured cultural icon, and one whose values will never be dated. Although never quite reaching the heights of some of the best of the DC Universe animated movies like Under the Red Hood, Crisis on 2 Earths or Wonder Woman, it is still one that is worth your time to watch when it gets released on June 12th.

I should also not that at the end of the panel, a good minute or so of footage from the upcoming animated version of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns was screened, and it looks to be a VERY faithful adaptation. DC Comics fans will have a lot to look forward to this year it seems.

Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows Finally Gets A Trailer

by Eric Diaz

With only two months till release, people were begining to wonder if Warner Brother’s Dark Shadows was so embarrassing that they were not going to promote the film at all, and merely unleash the movie on audiences and sit back and hope for the best. But alas, that is not the case, as we finally have our first trailer for Tim Burton’s update of the classic show, starring Johnny Depp (who else?) as vampire Barnabas Collins.

The original Dark Shadows was a cheestastic gothic soap opera that ran weekday afternoons and was a huge sensation in its heyday of the 60’s/early 70’s. The acting was awful, the plotlines were wonky, but it does get credit for being the first portrayal of a sympathetic vampire lead in a major mainstream property, years before Lestat, Angel or Edward Cullen. The show’s convoluted supernatural plots and “takes itself way too seriously” approach lives on today in the form of the CW’s The Vampire Diaries.

Judging from this trailer, it appears that Burton has decided to go the route of making a straight up spoof of the old show, which is probably wise. I still count Burton as one of my all time favorite directors, despite the fact that his last decade or so of output has felt a bit on the soulless side (Sweeney Todd being the exception, in my opinion) Let’s see if this is another meh movie from Burton for the Hot Topic crowd, or a return to the days when his black little goth heart was still in it.

Johnny Depp as vampire Barnabas Collins

Warner Bros. Options Mandrake the Magician For Potential Movie Franchise

by Eric Diaz

It looks like another old geek property will possibly be making its way to the big screen soon; Mandrake the Magician just got optioned by Warner Brothers, with the hopes to begin a new movie franchise for them. For those of you unaware, Mandrake was an old comic strip character created in 1934 by Lee Falk, the same man who created The Phantom. Mandrake was a magician who used his powers of hypnosis to fight crime, wearing the classical magician get up of top hat and cape. He even had an high tech lair called Xanadu. (Think Fortress of Solitude meets the Batcave) Though not technically super heroes, both Mandrake and the Phantom were predecessors to Superman and Batman by several years, and many consider them to be the first super heroes.

The last several years has seen the property go through several stages of development, with Disney involved at one point, and people like Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Hayden Christiansen attached to star. Director Chuck Russell (The Mask) was attached to direct as well a few years back, but all of these attempts fell through. Now that Warners is involved, they are hoping they can re-invent Mandrake in much the same way they re-invented Sherlock Holmes with great success. Nice to see that the box office failure of John Carter hasn’t scared all the studios away from things that happen to be old.

Maybe one day they can do a team up movie with Mandrake, The Phantom and Flash Gordon like the old 80’s cartoon Defenders of the Earth. Anyone else remember this cheesy show with the awesomely bad theme song, or am I the only one?

One thing you can be sure of...even if this movie is set in 1935, Mandrake will NOT be smoking.

Stephen King’s The Dark Tower Finds A New Home At Warner Brothers

by Eric Diaz

The saga of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series’ many efforts in coming to cinematic life continues; after Universal passed on Ron Howard’s ambitious plan to do a set of movies as well as a series of television episodes on HBO, many King fans gave up hope that something as ambitious as this would ever see the light of day. But there is light at the end of this tunnel.

 Deadline.com reports that Warner Brothers is now this close to making a deal that will have Ron Howard directing at least the first movie in the planned trilogy, potentially with Javier Bardem starring as Roland Deschain, the last living member of a knightly order of gunslingers. Fans might remember that Bardem was the frontrunner while this project was still at Universal. Akiva Goldsman (who wrote the script-yes, the same man who unleashed Batman & Robin on the world) is producing with Brian Grazer and Stephen King himself.

Production is likely to start in first-quarter 2013. With three movies and two planned television entries, his would be the most ambitious genre project since The Lord of the Rings was done. It is nice to see Warner Brothers take a chance on a high risk genre project like this, especially after Disney fell hard on their face with the box office reception to John Carter this past weekend.  At least Warners understands that books still make better source material than board games.

Image Comics Vampire Series To Be Adapted For The Big Screen By Piranha 3D Director

by Scott Alminiana

According to Deadline.com, Piranha helmer Alexandre Aja is negotiating to direct Undying Love, an adaptation of the Image Comics title created by Tomm Coker and Daniel Freedman for Warner Bros studios. The movie will revolve around a former solider who falls for a vampire, though in order to be with her, he must take on the vampire who created her in the first place and his army of monsters in the Hong Kong underworld. Original comics book series creators Coker and Freedman are writing the script.

Director Alexandre Aja, the French director best known for the horror film High Tension and the remake of The Hills Have Eyes and Piranha 3D, is still in negotiations, so no cast news to report yet, but as long as the vampires don’t sparkle like the bedazzled Twilight vamps and it doesn’t star anyone from The CW, I am so far intrigued.

Director Alexandre Aja