"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

"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.

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.

"The Wolverine" Review, or How To Claw Your Way to the Middle

Jackman shows us why he can never enjoy a candy bar.

It's been a tough summer. I mean, think about it. Have any of the movies, even the big hits, been beloved by anyone? Sure, we've had good movies (Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness) and bad (Man of Steel), but not one that has really stepped up and come to define the summer.

There's so much money invested into these films now that unless they make over half a billion (billion!) dollars, they are regarded as somewhat of a failure. Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel are certainly huge hits, but have they really come to define the summer in the same way that The Avengers did last year? Or The Dark Knight in 2008? I think the answer's no. The reaction to those films have been divisive enough that you couldn't really say that either is THE summer film of 2013.

Part of the issue is desperation. Blockbusters reek of desperation these days. You know when you go out for a night with your buddies and one guy keeps insisting, "This is going to be the best night ever!" and then you wind up eating a slice of pizza downtown at eleven pm? It's because you can't will an amazing event into being. And you can't manufacture a true blockbuster by just piling on the scale. You need to actually capture people's imagination with story, not just dazzle them with things going boom.

Am I implying that The Wolverine will be this elusive cultural blockbuster? No. Oh, no. It's not good enough for that. But it does have its heart in the right place in that it tries to put a good story at the centre of the film, rather than empty spectacle; a story that focuses on putting its titular character though some kind of journey, no matter how shallow that might be.

Comic Observations: Marvel vs DC - Round Two: Marvel NOW!

Ad for Marvel NOW!

In my last post, I began a two-part feature looking at the State of the Union for each of the big two comic publishers. I've been reading almost all of their output for a while now, and this article is an attempt to suss out which one is producing the strongest line overall, indeed which one has the strongest and most satisfying universe to offer and why that might be.

My final view on DC was of a company that may have some very strong individual titles, but that overall the line was seriously hampered by editorial interference and a lack of a cohesive focused direction. Does the House of Ideas, namely Marvel, fare any better?

Just like DC, Marvel has recently attempted to pull its line under an overarching banner in an attempt to pull in new readers and give a greater direction to its titles. Marvel has titled this direction Marvel NOW!, and like DC, relaunched a lot of their books in an attempt to inject some freshness. Marvel NOW! is far more nebulous than DC's New 52 reboot, but that's actually an okay thing. I know that sounds weird, given that I spent most of my last post slamming DC for its lack of strong direction, but hear me out.

Over the last few years, since Civil War in 2006, Marvel has been very smart in using their events to set up new status quos in which their characters operate. The events themselves have been successful to wildly varying degrees, but they almost always have resulted in a change to the Marvel Universe that can act as a launching pad for a slight variation in the stories, a slightly new world in which their characters operate. Civil War ended with Tony Stark's super-hero registration act taking effect. Secret Invasion ended with Norman Osborn stepping up as major force in the Universe, and created stories of how the heroes deal with that. Siege saw the end of Osborn's reign, etc. In each case, it's been about moving things forward. Yes, things often change back to more familiar settings because, hey, this is comics! But where DC's New 52 was all about wiping away continuity to go backwards and re-examine the characters' beginnings (for something like the third time in my lifetime), Marvel was about providing a launching pad for moving forward that doesn't need any rejiggering of continuities or erasing of anything that came before.

"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.

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:

Avengers Sort-of Assembled!

Over at Aint It Cool, they've got a scoop from The Licensing International Expo in Vegas that shows some early promo art for Marvel's Avengers film, due to be released in 2012.

To be clear, this is early promote art to attract potential merchandisers, not final finished art from the film, so let's not ascribe too much importance here. The cool thing to note is Captain America's revised "modern age" costume, as well as a potential Hawkeye suit, and the presence of a certain Incredible Behemoth. Check it out:

Okay, to me, this is just cool. If I has seen this picture when I was nine, I probably would have lost my fuckin' mind. Now, we just have to see some footage.

"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.

"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.

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.

Production Roundup: "Thor" Has New Trailer, Black Confirmed for "Iron Man"

So, Thor has a new trailer, and the more I see, the more I like. I guess the vibe out there on the Webs is not a s strong for Thor as it is for Captain America. Or maybe I've got it backwards. Who fucking knows. It changes every other day, and people on forums are borderline insane.

But this trailer really kicks ass, as far as I'm concerned. It's a little odd that a taser knocks Thor out. Hopefully they explain that tiny detail. But other than that, the Destroyer looks great, the Asgard stuff looks great, the Frost Giant stuff looks great. The Earth stuff looks a little goofy, but it feels okay to me. Check it out:



And it looks like Shane Black is confirmed as the director of Iron Man 3, which is good news. Hopefully, this means everyone will now go check out Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, for the first time Downey and Black teamed up.

So very, very awesome.

Production Roundup: Visnjic joins "Tattoo", Black may forge new "Iron Man"

According to Deadline, Goran Visnjic has joined the cast of David Fincher's adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Visnjic, a handsome actor whose name I cannot possibly pronounce properly, is best known for playing Dr. Luka Kovac on ER.

He has been cast as Dragan Armansky, the CEO of the security/private investigation firm that employs Lisbeth Salander. In the novels, Armansky is a pretty major supporting character, appearing all three books and one of Salander and Blomkvist's main allies. However, in the Swedish films, the role was reduced to basically a one scene cameo.

Visnjic joins a cast that already includes Rooney Mara as Salander, Daniel Craig as Blomkvist, and Robin Wright, Stellan Skarsgard, Christopher Plummer and Joely Richardson. Given the pedigree of the director, the popularity of the book, and the casting, this is already one of the most anticipated films out there.

Superbowl Movie Trailers...

I love the Interweb age. It used to be that if you wanted to see the ads that ran during the Superbowl, you had to actually, you know, watch the Superbowl. As I have explained, I'm most assuredly not a sports guy. My obsessions are comics, movies, TV, and robophobia, I don't have time to get invested in sports. I'm barely involved in my real life as it is.

Except baseball. Baseball's cool.

Anyway, now that we live in an instant gratification society combined with the most advanced information sharing technology in the history of mankind, I no longer have to slog through a three hour sporting event to see cool commercials. There were a boatload of cool movie spots during the game, and I have compiled the best ones for your enjoyment. All except Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Why? because Transformers fucking sucks. The first one was awful and the second one (which I only saw a few weeks ago because I was able to see it for free) was abysmally, diabolically bad. If things keep progressing the way they have been, this one should induce seizures and vomiting. So, this is the last time I'm going to mention it.

Anyway, here are the best of the movie spots:

Cap Teaser Poster Revealed

Marvel has released their teaser poster for Captain America: The First Avenger. And it looks pretty damn cool. I'm sure fan boys will jump all over the fact that he's not wearing his helmet, or that there's too many straps, or that the shield shouldn't be scarred or pitted. I've even heard people criticize Chris Evans' face and performance. Okay, let's be clear; no one has seen one frame of this flick yet. We've seen pictures. And as for Evans being pretty, it's not like Steve Rogers was Steve Buscemi or anything. The guy is a blond haired, blue eyed man in perfect physical condition. Everyone needs to relax.

Instead, look at the tone they've been exhibiting overall. Through all the pics I've seen it's been one that is suitably dark, but pulpy enough to still be fun. Above all, it's being shown to take the period seriously, as well as combining some of the darker, more thriller based takes of recent years with the sci-fi gee-whizzery of past years. Footage is really the only thing that will give us any sense of an idea of what the film will actually be like. So, keep your eyes peeled during the Superbowl, because the first trailer is supposed to debut during the game.

Hmm, where have I seen this before?

So, yeah, the movie does pay attention to the source material. This is one of the more iconic images of Cap in the last decade or so.