"Fantastic Four" cast revealed?

It had been rumoured for a long time, but now Variety reports that the main cast has been pretty much set for 20th Century Fox's upcoming Fantastic Four reboot. The article claims that in addition to long rumoured Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm, the film will star Miles Teller as Reed Richards, Kate Mara as Susan Storm and Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm.

 

Slated to open June, 2015, the reboot will be directed by Josh Trank, who previously helmed the found footage superhero film Chronicle, from a script written by Simon Kinberg, who previously penned Sherlock Holmes and X-Men: Days of Future Past.

The casting of the film has been a source of controversy ever since Jordan was first linked to the role of Johnny Storm. Storm is a white character in the comics, and some fans complained that the casting of an African-American actor in the role was too far away from the original concept. I was not one of those people. I myself had no problem with Jordan's casting because he's a fantastic actor with a big career ahead of him and I can easily see him playing the role of Johnny Storm as he appears in the comics and just killing it. Johnny's skin colour seems to me in no way important to the character. He's a young, hot-headed lady-killer with an immature sense of humour. I don't see what part of that screams white or black. And such vehemence against his casting on the basis of his skin colour? I can't see how that isn't racist in some way.

Comic Reviews - Week of Dec. 4, 2013

Hi, folks!

Over at Nerds Unchained, my latest reviews are up, so head on over and check them out!

While you're there, please take a look at some of the other reviews on the site. If you're a huge comic fan there's some great insights. If you're thinking about getting into comics but don't know where to start, maybe you'll find a few books that tickle you're fancy. We review more than just superheroes over there.

Thanks, and here's my latest reviews:

X-Men Legacy # 21

Iron Man # 19

Secret Avengers #12

My Writing Is All, Like, Legitimate Now...

Hey all,

So, when you write a blog, you're always a little awed whenever anybody tells you they read it. You kind of figure you're going to be writing for yourself all the time. It's kind of insane to hear not only do people read your stuff, but some of them may actually like it.

So, it's with great pleasure, and  a little pride, that I can announce that I'm not a contributing writer for the web site Nerds Unchained. It's a new site that focuses on the world of comics, and I'll be writing reviews and possibly a few features for them. I'm really excited, they've got some great writers there, so please read their stuff too. You can't go wrong reading about great (and not-so-great) comics written by passionate people.

Here's the links to my first three reviews:

The Flash #25

All Star Western # 25

The Walking Dead #117

"Thor - The Dark World Review", or Please, Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em!

L to R: Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth)
and unconvincing CGI sky. Are they even
outside?

With the recent announcement of its partnership with Netflix to create four new super-hero series, as well as the success of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and following its merger with Disney, it has to be said the Marvel Studios brand is now one of the most successful and well-known out there. I'm reminded of the feeling audiences used to have for Pixar. All you had to see was that logo with the desk lamp, and people said, "I'll go see that."

Marvel's latest big-screen release, Thor - The Dark World, isn't anywhere near as good as Pixar at its best. It's not even Marvel at its best. But it does have enough of the best qualities of the Marvel style to wind up being a fun time at the movies.

Superman hits 75, DC Releases Nifty Short to Celebrate

75 years ago, the modern Superhero was created by two Jewish kids in Cleveland. One was even Canadian. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster called their character Superman, and the rest is most definitely history. Now DC has released this short animated video, conceived by animation genius Bruce Timm, and filmmaker and celluloid Superman guru Zack Snyder. It's a little awkward, cramming a lot of stories into 2 minutes (and I really wish they didn't end with Supes in his blandest costume) but aside from that it's pretty damn cool.

Up, Up, and Awaaaaaaay!

Does "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Miss the Mark or Stay on Target?

As a huge comic book nerd, and a Marvel Zombie in particular, you can imagine that I was excitedly anticipating the debut of Marvel Studios' first television series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. However, even though I was excited about the show, I wanted to see at least two episodes before I weighed in.

The pilot was famously directed by nerd god Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, as well as the writer/director of Marvel's The Avengers and creative guiding light of Marvel Studios.

It was co-written by Whedon with Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, who are going to be the main show runners while Joss will presumably keep his hand in but not be in charge day to day.

Set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (tm), the series follows Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), mysteriously resurrected after his "death" during The Avengers (or was he? This is perhaps the central mystery of the show) as he assembles an independent squad within S.H.I.E.L.D. to investigate the odd and unusual. His team consists of black ops agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), lethal agency legend Melinda May (Ming Na Wen), a pair of requisite nerd science boffins named Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge), and Skye (Chloe Bennet), a computer hacker and member of an anarchist group who's been recruited as a consultant.

So, yeah, that's the set up. The question is, is it any good? Well, it could be. It's close. But sadly, it's not there. The problems come down to two major areas.

"Man of Steel", Movie of Kleenex

Remember in Superman II, where the three evil Kryptonians led by General Zod show up in Metropolis? They're fighting Superman and they pick up a city bus and are going to throw it at him. Superman pleads with them,"No! The people!" He soon realizes that the only way to keep the city safe is to lead the Kyptonians away by basically making it look like he's chickening out. So he flies off.....to keep people from being hurt. It's a great moment where the film demonstrates the core of the character's selfless heroism.

Yeah, you won't be seeing stuff like that in Man of Steel.

This is a movie that takes an approach to comics' first and greatest hero that misses the point of the character entirely, resulting in a film that I walked out of feeling bored and depressed. It's a film that is well-acted, and with action set pieces that are executed competently and with a real sense of scope. But there's no joy in the material. For a film about a man who can soar through the air, it never really takes flight.

Superman Won't Just Be Lifting Stuff In This Film

I've kind of been avoiding the massive deluge of Man of Steel stuff that is all over the interwebs right now. But I had to look at this new trailer, which seems to be 2 minutes of relentless action. It's sort of like Zak Snyder is mocking Bryan Singer's Superman Returns through marketing.

You remember Superman Returns, right? You know where Superman is a deadbeat Jesus-dad who basically spends the movie lifting really heavy things? Okay, I actually kind of like Superman Returns, but Man of Steel looks like a film that actually takes full advantage of 21st Century technology to tell the kind of big scale story the Big Red S deserves.

Check it out below:

Awesome-Sauce. Still think the costume looks.......really weird. Off. I think Supes really does need the red underpants. Otherwise he looks a little bland.

Also, Michael Shannon is terrifying. My favourite comment about him came from my friend Scofe who once told me, "I saw Michael Shannon on the street today. He stared into my soul."

"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Ordered to Full Series

In the no-brainer decision category, ABC has ordered Marvel Studios' first TV project, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., to full series.

Taking place after the events of The Avengers, and tying into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the series follows a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, led by Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), who investigate "unclassified" cases. The series was developed by Marvel's current creative mastermind (and Avengers writer/director) Joss Whedon, who also directed the pilot episode. The pilot was written by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen.

The series will also star Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge. You can see the 30 second promo for the series below:

So, that looks pretty epic. Obviously this is a no-brainer for ABC, I mean who wouldn't want to tie themselves into probably the biggest franchise going right now? And for Marvel, it's another platform for them to integrate into. Although Whedon has said that the series will focus on the periphery of the Marvel Universe, I'm sure Marvel is looking at this as a cheap way and lower risk way to introduce characters that could conceivably launch new film franchise or bolt into existing ones.

"Iron Man 3" Review, or God Help Marvel if RDJ Ever Decides to Quit Being Tony Stark

Tony Stark and friend

Iron Man 3 marks the end of Robert Downey Jr's current contract with Marvel Studios, and when one leaves the theatre at its conclusion, you can't help thinking that they need to back a Brinks truck full of money, or yoga mats, or camels, or whatever weird stuff RDJ is into in order to keep him in the iron suit. Because, at this point, Downey IS this franchise, able to make scenes come alive with snarky one-liner or witty aside.

Which isn't to say that Iron Man 3 isn't enjoyable, or that it isn't a vast improvement over the second installment. As directed and co-written by action icon Shane Black, Iron Man 3 is a great time at the movies, delivering all the thrills, laughs and fun you expect from these types of films. But Black and Downey also deliver something a little more, which is an examination of Tony Stark in the aftermath of the world-shaking events of The Avengers. Granted, it doesn't go much beyond a rather shallow depiction of PTSD, but that's still more depth than the customary summer blockbuster provides, and Downey owns Stark so much by this point, that he gives the character enough subtlety to communicate a lot without saying much.

More Marvel Movie News....

A couple odd rumours have popped up recently surrounding two Marvel movie properties, both of which could stir up some controversy.

Michael B. Jordan
 

First, the rumour going around is that Michael B. Jordan is up for the role of Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four reboot being directed by Josh Trank for Fox. The FF is still, like Spider-Man and the X-Men, a licensed property, meaning Marvel Studios is not making the film.

Jordan is an up and coming actor in Hollywood. He made his mark in the final few seasons of Friday Night Lights and the first couple seasons of Parenthood, before appearing in Trank's film Chronicle, which was a big hit. As a huge Friday Night Lights and Parenthood fan, I can tell you he is the real deal. I could easily see him becoming a movie star.

But, he's African-American, and here's where the controversy might spring from. Personally, I think you get the right guy for the part, who cares what ethnicity he is.

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" Set Photos Emerge!

A whole bunch of set photos have been popping up all over the place lately for Marvel's Captain America sequel, and they are pretty cool.

First, over at Spinoff Online, they released some shots of Captain America (Chris Evans) and the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) in action. The cool thing is that it seems to indicate both that Natasha will have a larger role than what was originally supposed to be a cameo, and that Cap will be sporting a variation of the Steve Rogers Super Soldier outfit he wore for a while a few years ago.

While I think it's a cool suit, I also think it's not the one I want to see Cap in all the time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yeah, the Stars and Stripes are a little hokey, but it's part of what makes Cap such an iconic character. As Coulson so memorably put it in The Avengers, we could use a little old-fashioned.

See Cap and Thor Fight......Guys?

This whole post is SPOILERY,  so proceed with caution!

So, with Avengers currently shooting bigass action sequences on the streets of Cleveland (doubling for New York) some youtube clips were bound to make the rounds. I never thought they would be this cool, though. We've got footage from the filming of a fight sequence featuring Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Captain America (Chris Evans). They're mostly fighting guys with mo-capture suits on, and the scuttlebutt around the interwebs is that the villains are going to be (POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOLLOW) the Skrulls.



And finally here's the God O' Thunder smiting a Chevy:



So that's all pretty cool. If you're a lifelong Marvel Zombie, you've got to be jazzed to see those two characters kicking ass together.

It's A Bird, It's A Plane...

...yeah, you know who it is. Warner Bros. released their first official shot of Henry Cavill as the Man of Tomorrow in Zack Snyder's upcoming Superman: The Man of Steel. Take a gander below:

That's pretty awesome, actually. The detailing on the suit is a little busy, and is it me or does the cape seem absurdly long? Anyway, I like the look of Cavill. He gives Supes a sense of intensity and power that the more earnest portrayals have always missed. I'm still a little guarded, mostly due to how Snyder's movies seem to be heading on a downward slide. Dawn of the Dead was great, 300 was good but a little flawed, Watchmen was faithful but lifeless and Sucker Punch was mindblowingly awful. Haven't seen the one he did about owls, but assume there will be scenes that start off in slo mo and then ramp up to regualr speed. But Christopher Nolan and David Goyer are overseeing the film, so they could curtail some of Snyder's weaknesses and play up his strengths. Who knows, but this shot certainly has piqued my interest based on its atmosphere alone.

On a side note, recently watched all of the original Christopher Reeve movies. Beyond nostalgia, I was amazed at how well the first two films hold up, especially Richard Donner's cut of Superman II, which is head and shoulders above Richard Lester's more campy version. Also astonished that I found Superman IV to be vastly superior to Superman III. Yeah, IV had like a dollar ninety-five as a budget, and it looked like it.  But III seemed completely uninterested in telling a Superman story, and way more interested in making a Richard Pryor comedy. And by trying to do both, it winds up being neither. It's painfully unfunny. Pryor isn't even as funny as Ned Beatty was in the first two Superman films. The only bright spot is Reeve's continuing brilliance in the title role, and an almost unbelievably luminous Annette O'Toole. That's it. Everything else is godawful.

On the other hand, its cloying naivete aside, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, is at least trying to tell a Superman story. Gene Hackman is back, and though his wit is a shadow of his former excellence, bad Gene Hackman is still fun to watch. Margot Kidder is more involved, which is good even if she somehow looks ten years older than anyone else in the film aside from Jackie Cooper. Mariel Hemingway is quite good, and the much ridiculed Nuclear Man is actually a good physical foe. With a little more care (which new producer Cannon Films was unable to provide given their meager funds) the script and film could have been tooled into something actually enjoyable. As it is, it's a goofy little B-movie, and far easier to sit through than Superman III.

So, let's hope The Man of Steel is more Superman I & II than III or IV.

Apparently, A Mixed-Race Spider-Man Will Destroy the World.

Spider-Man is perhaps my favourite super-hero ever. It's for a lot of reasons, but mainly it's because he is the best example of the everyman super-hero. I'm currently in the midst of a big reading project where I'm reading every single Spider-Man appearance in chronological order. So far, I've read about two decades worth of Spider-Man stories.

These days, Spidey exists in two separate iterations published by Marvel. The first is the mainstream Spidey, the one who has existed since 1962 and stars in Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, and a couple other books. But over a decade ago, Marvel created a separate line of comics from their long-established line, called Ultimate Marvel. The original idea was that Ultimate Marvel would feature characters from their starting points, in contemporary times and without any established continuity, allowing creators to take them in brand new directions.

The first Ultimate series was Ultimate Spider-Man, written by Brian Michael Bendis. And, well over a hundred issues later, Bendis is still writing it today. I read the series when it first started, but around the 100 issue mark, I stopped reading it. I had always really enjoyed what Bendis and his collaborators were doing with the book, and I'm still not sure why I didn't keep up with it. I can say that Bendis did do some really exciting things, tweaking the story of Peter Parker and his classic arcs without losing sight of his core qualities that give him resonance.

Just recently he made waves with a story arc where Peter Parker actually died. That's right, they killed off Peter Parker. As in, no more Spidey. Now first off, I am not naive enough to believe he'll stay dead forever. He'll be back, that's for sure, it's only a question of when. That decision made enough waves, but what came out in the last couple of days really sent some people on the interwebs into insanity.

The new Ultimate Spider-Man will be a half-Latino, half-African American kid named Miles Morales. And the comic world cracked in half with some of the most racist bullshit spouted on message boards across the world. Here's a selection from Bleeding Cool of some of the most hateful:

Teaser Poster for "The Dark Knight Rises" Hits Webs

Can the the teaser trailer be far behind? Will it be attached, as many think, to the new Harry Potter flick? If it is, I think it'll be like that first teaser for The Dark Knight, maybe some dialogue of a very, very brief snippet of footage. Why? Well, they're still actually shooting, so how much could they have to show? Anyway, the teaser is good, it's definitely visually arresting. I'm not sure it's supposed to be foreboding or uplifting, though. Take a look:

So, is the motif supposed to communicate the sense of the hero rising to lift up the city from darkness into the light of day? Or is it communicating destruction? I lean towards the former, given that this is the end of the trilogy and the culmination of what Nolan has been trying to do with the franchise. Gets me jazzed though.

5 Ways They Could Have Made "Green Lantern" Not Suck

There is no way on Earth Green Lantern should get worse reviews than Mr. Popper's Penguins. How in the name of Ganthet did that happen? And yet, this is the case. And having seen Green Lantern this weekend, I can say, that the reviews were mostly spot on. Ryan Reynolds was far and away the best thing of the film; his Hal Jordan was cocky, funny and spot on, tonally. The direction and effects were solid, as well, with a couple minor oddities. The place where it mainly fell apart was the story. So, I've got a bit of a dissection of the mistakes that were made, along with some suggestions as to how they could have avoided the narrative pitfalls they eagerly leapt into.

1 - How is Green Lantern Different - This is actually a good question for anyone writing a story. How is my antagonist different from others? They totally screwed that up here. Green Lantern is the story of a guy who becomes an intergalactic space cop. Taking the super hero concept and transplanting it in to outer space takes it into a fresh new world. The film makers seemed unsure of taking the story to space, spending an absolute minimum amount of time on Oa, but those moments are by far the most interesting parts of the film. A space-set super hero story is something we have never seen before, and the freshness of that would have made the origin story less familiar than what was presented. The alien supporting cast, such as Tomar Re and Kilowog, are reduced to the barest sketches of characters, with only Sinestro being explored fully. Instead, we got a ton of time on Earth, with Hal Jordan struggling with taking on the role of a space cop. Which leads us to our next problem:

2 - Hal Jordan is not Bruce Wayne or Peter Parker - There's a whole bunch of time spent with Hal brooding over his father's death, and the fact that a GL is supposed to be fearless,and yet Hal has all this fear inside him. You know what's great about Hal? He is a cocky guy who loves his life, loves flying jets and banging chicks. He has no fear. THAT'S WHY THE RING CHOSE HIM.

"First Class" is First Rate

Okay, so I'm not all that used to eating crow here at The Nerd Report. Nerds never admit when they're wrong. But a while back you might recall that I posted about X-Men First Class and how I couldn't really get my head around some of the continuity gymnastics the film presented.  I'm sure many of you fully expected me to not see the film in protest, as nerds are wont to claim.

But hey, this is the Interwebs, where no one has to back up their principles with action! So, I went. And you know what? The movie is great. Before I went into the film, I pretty much thought the X-Franchise was dead. The third X-Men film was a colossal disappointment after the sustained excellence of the first two films. X-Men Origins: Wolverine was almost diabolically bad, and the idea of a Deadpool spin-off (a comic character that I think has absolutely zero mainstream interest attached to him) left me beyond cold. I was excited about a Wolverine film based on the classic badass Claremont/Miller miniseries and directed by Darren Aronofsky. But when Aronofsky had to leave the project, I really thought that the whole X-Franchise had run its course.

So when X-Men First Class was announced and in the run-up to release, I saw it as 20th Century Fox's attempt to squeeze a little more money out of a cash cow while holding on to the film rights that I'm sure Marvel Studios would love to snatch back. The whole mismatch of continuity (some of which directly contradicts the other films, let alone the comics) seemed arbitrary and while I liked the casting and the choice of director, the whole thing felt like the latest Pirates of the Caribbean flick; calculated, gluttonous and without any heart whatsoever.

But as the lights came up on First Class, I had to admit that I was completely and totally wrong in my impressions. This is the best X-Men film since X2. I would say it was better than the first film, and so much better than the third that it scarcely bears mentioning. Far from feeling like a heartless money grab, the film is loaded with heart, and it's got a great central story at that heart. It's clear the film makers wanted to tell the story of the friendship of Magneto and Professor X and how it collapsed.  And it was also clear that they had a very interesting way to approach it. The brave thing about the film was that they did something that I often think needs to be done more often in adaptations; they didn't let the source material get in the way of a good movie.

MacAvoy as Charles Xavier and Fassbender  as Eric Lensherr

It's a fine line between being faithful and respectful of the source material and being a slave to it. Continuity is one of those classic double-edged swords, especially in comics. It gives the characters and concepts heft, but it can also straight-jacket options for story-tellers. the fact that the film makers here chose to not allow past continuity to limit what they wanted to do makes for a movie that is both more surprising and more enjoyable.

Fox clearly would like this film to be the launching pad for more X-Men films, and I have no problem with that at all. James MacAvoy and Michael Fassbender are both great, with Fassbender turning in a particularly solid performance as Magneto. The kids who play the titular first class are well drawn, with special kudos going to Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique. Kevin Bacon makes a good villain, with a motivation that makes sense, and a power set that while not quite like the Sebastian Shaw of the comics, does fit the story well. There are tons of great little cameos and tidbits for fans of the previous films and the comics, but another way the film succeeds is in not letting those treats overwhelm the story.

Matthew Vaughn, the director, does a great job, and this film is head shoulders above his last comic book film, Kick Ass. I liked his film Layer Cake, and this is more of a return to form, with a great attention to the period setting that never feels artificial, but accomplishes a lived-in tone that works.

The only let downs are some of the visual effects, which a merely workmanlike, not stunning, and the performance of January Jones, who somehow manages to make a telepathic woman who can change into a diamond form and who dresses in lingerie the whole movie completely uninteresting.

Still, I'm very glad to be proven wrong in my initial suspicions. This is a solid direction for the franchise to take, and I think it means that the future for the X-brand is considerably more assured.

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.

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.