Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Ok, This is......Better?

Earlier in the month, I posted an official shot of Adrianne Palicki in her Wonder Woman costume for the upcoming David E Kelley-produced series. It was, if you'll recall, a fucking debacle.

Now we get some shots of WW in action, and while they have toned down the chintzy shininess of the previous costume, it's still not really all that great. Here's a shot:



Better, for sure, but still kind of ridiculous. Here's another shot:


Okay, how are her boobs staying that top? Seriously, that will be a great special effect on that show. But yeah, terrible, terrible stuff.

Trailer for Upcoming Season of "Doctor Who" is so Boss.

Below you'll find the latest trailer for the new season of Doctor Who. There's not much to say aside from that it kicks....fucking.......ass.




How cool does that look? I think that last season the show stumbled a bit, even though I think Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill have been great. But they had a big job to do last year, what with both David Tennant and Russell Davies having left. Now I think they'll be more confident and more bold. I for one can't wait to see what happens.

 The new season debuts in Canada on the SPACE Channel on Saturday, April 23rd at 8:00pm ET.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Not Only Will Lois be in Superman, she'll be a Ginger.

Breaking news from Hero Complex today, as Zack Snyder has confirmed he's found his Lois Lane, and it's  36 year old recent Oscar nominee Amy Adams.

This is somewhat surprising news, given that last we heard, it was in no way certain that Lois was even going to be in the movie. I stand by what I said then, that the whole Lois/Superman thing has been pretty well covered, but I also get the view that it may just be too central to the mythos to leave out.

So, Henry Cavill will be playing Superman/Clark Kent, with Amy Adams as Lois. The only other cast members or characters confirmed so far have been Diane Lane and Kevin Costner as Ma and Pa Kent. There's a pretty persistent rumour flying around out there that the main baddie is going to be General Zod, and that Snyder is pursuing Viggo Mortensen pretty relentlessly for the role.

I don't know. I'm of the opinion that if you can cast Viggo in your movie, do it, because that guy is seriously amazing, but Zod? Again? Superman actually has a pretty great rogue's gallery, and they've been woefully underused. We've had Lex Luthor (in four out of the five films, for god's sake) and Zod and the Kryptonian criminals, and, I guess, Richard Pryor and the Man from U.N.C.L.E? Lame showing for Supes, really.

What about Brainiac? Or Darkseid? Parasite? Metallo? Raid a few other DC villains, even? Can we switch it up a little? Anyway, Amy Adams is Lois, and she's a great choice. Let's just see where they go from here.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Okay.....No......Just....No

So, Entertainment Weekly is running an official shot of Adrianne Palicki as Wonder Woman. in case you don't know, this is from the pilot for a possible NBC series headed by David E. Kelley.

Anyone got some singles?


Yeah.....that's fucking awful. It looks like those picutres of adult halloween costumes that are always vaguely stripper-rific. It looks chaep, and I don't know this Palicki woman from a hole in the ground, but she isn't exactly projecting powerful, enlightened super-woman. More like pissed-off stripper.

Seriously? We've advanced so far in adapting comic book super-hero suits to film, and this crappy early 1990s latex/PVC suit is just terrible. I didn't have high hopes, because David E Kelley isn't the guy I would have picked. Boston Legal, Boston Public, Picket Fences, Ally McBeal. Any of those shows scream super-hero to you? Yes, I'll admit he can write interesting women. And he can often be funny in a quirky sort of way. But this smells like a debacle in the offing to me.

There's a way to make a Wonder Woman project work. I'm not sure what that way is, but a flashy, cheap looking costume is not going to help.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

"X-Men First Class".......God, Really?

Also, that's a terrible fucking poster.
So, I cover a lot of comic book related things on this site. I mean, like, 90 % of articles on this site are about comics and comic book films. Marvel Studios should be paying me, with all the love I've rained down on Captain America, Thor and The Avengers, etc. I even posted on the new Spider-Man film, even if every shot of that costume looks more and more awful; it's like Spidey went to Vegas and wore a fat old Elvis jumpsuit version of his classic duds.

But there's been no love for the upcoming X-Men flick. Why? Because I really can't wrap my head around the whole concept. First off, there's the fact it takes place during the Cuban Missile Crisis. That's actually a pretty cool idea, but the mathematical gymnastics you have to go through is insane.

Okay, so the first X-Men film was released in 2000, and supposedly took place "in the near future". Let's be conservative and say it took place five years in the future, so that's 2005. Now, when that movie starts, it shows Magneto in a concentration camp in WWII. Let's say that he was thirteen at the time, and that the year was 1944. That makes Magneto 74 when X-Men starts! Some of you may argue my using 13 as his age during the concentration camps scene, but mutant powers, we are told, typically manifest during puberty. Even taking three years off still means Mags is 71 when X-Men takes place. Following this logic, in X-Men First Class, Magneto should be 28 years old, but he's being played by Michael Fassbender, who's 34.

Now let's take Professor X. In X-Men First Class, he's played by James McAvoy, who is 32. I'll shave a couple years off and say Charles Xavier is supposed to be 30 years old in 1962. This means by 2005 he would be 73 years old. That's older than Patrick Stewart is right now.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Soderbergh Ready to Move to Florida; Start Complaining About Weather Incessantly

According to a recent articles out there on the Interwebs, Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh has announced that he is retiring from directing films. According to Soderbergh, he is simply done with making films, and he wants to get out and make way for others who still have the passion.
Soderbergh is probably known to most people as the director of the films in the Ocean's Eleven franchise, as well as the guy who, in one year, directed both Traffic and Erin Brokovich. Both were nominated for Best Picture. But he leaves behind a much larger legacy as one of the most successful and innovative independant filmmakers and as a champion of "little films".

He burst onto the American film scene with his first feature film sex, lies and videotape. It caused a sensation when it was shown at the Sundance Film Festival, and pretty much put that fest on the map. It also sparked a massive interest independant film. Its success paved the way for Clerks, Reservoir DogsMetropolitan and other indie films that revolutionized American movies throughout the next decade.

Soberbergh had trouble connecting with audiences during this time. His follow up films, Kafka and King of the Hill, were not well-recieved. He began making more complex and idiosyncratic films, the best example of which is Schizopolis. But in 1998, he made a film, and found a collaborator, that would help catapault him to the top of the film world. That film was Out of Sight, and while it wasn't a big hit, it had a couple things going for it. First, it showed Soderbergh could make a mainstream film without sacrificing the qualities that made him unique. second, he worked with George Clooney, then a TV actor struggling to make his mark in the movies.

Out of Sight was well-recieved by critics, and it began to grow on audiences on video as well. His next film, The Limey was even more well-recieved, and it was clear that Soderbergh had found his groove working in the system. He was great at making mainstream films feel fresh and innovative. It seemed like he was ready to go to the next level, and craft a film that could be both a big hit and an artistic success.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

First Look at The Red Skull

Over at Entertainment Weekly, they've unveiled the first official look at Hugo Weaving as the full-on, totally bad-ass and freaky Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger. They did not wuss out on his look at all. Check it out:


That is not a drawing or a rendering. That is full on, live action Skull. Awesome.

Yeah, I'm sure some people will complain that he's not dressed up in full Nazi regalia, and I kind of get that. But I think it's been made pretty clear that the HYDRA organization are Nazis. My take on this? Well, this flick will most likely end with Steve Rogers being revived in the modern day. The Avengers will carry on from there. And if another Cap movie is made, it will involve Steve finding out, to his horror, that while the Nazis are gone, HYDRA is still alive and kicking in the 21st Century.

Thor is looking better each time I see it, and I'm really stoked for Captain America. The interview EW has with director Joe Johnston makes it clear that he truly understands the character. Marvel could really take super hero flicks to a whole new level with these films.