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updated 09.15.06
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by Grevas
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Iron Man
5 May 2008
So I got to see an advance screening of it last night, and here's my review (As always, I'm trying to avoid spoilers for the most part, but some minor ones may creep in):
Let me start off by saying in the pantheon of superheroes, Iron Man is far from a personal favorite. Even as a major Avengers fan, Iron Man always paled in comparison to several of his teammates for me, even beyond the obvious mainstays Cap and Thor. To put it simply, Iron Man will always be a lesser version of Batman to me; A rich, spoiled kid who never really had the dedication or was willing to make the sacrifices it takes to be a real hero. He's the playboy Bruce Wayne pretends to be without the responsible side. With that said, in spite of my ambivalence at best (and disdain at worst) toward the character, this is a solid film.
Literally from the opening scene, the film's two strongest assets are obvious; Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau's ease in handling character interactions. The dialogue and relationships between the characters are handled extremely well. It's easy to believe that the straight laced Jim Rhodes and responsible Pepper Potts would actually care about Tony thanks to believable characterization and dialogue, and Downey's charming performance. Downey becomes the character every bit as much as Christian Bale became Batman and Tobey Maguire became Spider-Man. In short, the characterization is spot on, both faithful to the comics in large part and accessible to neophytes. And yes, there's plenty of foreshadowing of things to come, although I won't get into that, so as to avoid spoilers.
The biggest problem with the movie is symptomatic of the same problem I have with modern comics. In an effort to get closer and closer to realism, there's a complete and total lack of thrilling moments. This is most evident in the action sequences. There's little to no attempt to make the action scenes little more than functional: Tank shoots at Iron Man, Iron Man shoots at tank, fight ends. There's no swelling tension, or build up of anticipation. The final suit of armor is there on display, not gradually revealed to us. Iron Man defeats a terrorist by throwing him on the ground and flying away. In Spider-Man, the fights are frantic, creative and use New York to brilliant effect. In Iron Man, moving the fight scenes from Afghanistan to Des Moines wouldn't affect them in the slightest. This film takes a very nuts and bolts approach to the action sequence. Fittingly for a movie that focuses almost entirely on characterization, the moments filled with the most tension are the romantic scenes between Downey and Paltrow.
I can't get into the deconstructionist impact modern comics have had on the film without giving away some major spoilers, but suffice it to say there's very little that makes Downey's Stark larger than life other than his bank account.
Iron Man can't match the intelligence of Batman Begins. It also can't match the heart or sheer likeability of Spider-Man. Still, it's a smart movie with fantastic characters that's definitely worth seeing. 8.5 out of 10. (A-)
G
Joker Joker Joker
25 May 2007
Just in case any of you hadn't heard about this...........
http://www.superherohype.com/news/topnews.php?id=5716
Be warned, in addition to the story in the link, there's an image of Heath Ledger as The Joker.
Potential spoilers (although ridiculously minor ones), so stop reading now if you don't want to hear about the marketing campaign for The Dark Knight.
There was an image of Aaron Eckhardt as Harvey Dent (on ibelieveinharveydent.com) that was defaced by The Joker (on ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com ) to give him circles around the eyes and a big, red-lipped clown smile. For every person that entered their name and e-mail address on the second site, one pixel of the image of Heath as The Joker was revealed until the whole thing could be seen. The Joker's version of the page, including the Heath picture and the defaced Harvey pictures, has been replaced by a "Page Not Found" page. If you highlight the text on the " ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com" page and look for the letters that stand out (it's black text on a black background), there's a hidden message in there (that I don't plan to tell you......... figure it out for yourself).
I'm stoked. Looking at the Heath picture it's already evident that this version of the character will probably be genuinely disturbed, not just have a morbid sense of humor, which is awesome. And the fact that the marketing campaign consists of doing very Joker-like things proves that the people involved get Mr. J. I absolutely adored the first movie, so I'm really hoping the second one doesn't let me down like Spider-Man 2 did...........
G
Spider-Man 3
5 May 2007
Shortcuts. That word sums up Spidey 3. It constantly took shortcuts.
For example: I didn't expect the Symbiote to have a Secret Wars-style origin. That couldn't have possibly worked in the movie. Hell, it was goofy enough in an 80s comic. But why wasn't it connected to John Jameson? There was absolutely NO reason to include him in the second film EXCEPT the possible Venom connection, a la the 90s animated series. Jameson returns to Earth, Symbiote in tow, Spidey saves him, gets the Symbiote. Makes perfect sense. Also gives JJJ something to have fun with, now that Spidey would have saved his would-be daughter-in-law and his son. Instead, we get the blob origin. Homage? Possibly, but I know that it fell into a deus ex machina coincidence that Spidey just happened to be the one to ride by when it landed. I HATE "convenience" plots, as I call them. Weak plot contrivances do not make for good storytelling. Harry developing amnesia instead of, oh, I don't know, being a villainous liar who manipulated Peter instead of having an accident stank of cliché as well.
How about Gwen? Another character who served no purpose. It's easy to say they're setting up for movie number 4 where she'll play a bigger role. But how? Peter and MJ are seemingly back together, they've already been down that road, and, here's the biggest obstacle, we have no idea if Raimi will be back! Setting up plots that you know you may never finish makes little to no sense. Maybe we won't get someone like Ratner (who, all things considered, didn't do that poorly with X3.........yes, it sucked, but I actually don't blame him as much as I do Fox and Marvel), but if we get anyone new there's no reason to believe they'll continue Raimi's story. And, just like every character, she didn't seem to know who she was. Ditzy model or studious Parker devotee? There's no clear sign which way she leans.
Similarly, is Peter smart and responsible or an irresponsible idiot? The guy stands in his open, six foot tall window in full Spider-Garb sans mask, then takes a nap knowing he has a nosy landlord. Yup, that's brainy, Pete.
Venom, however, was the biggest sin. What purpose did he serve? NONE! He did nothing and his death was worse than the Jedi in Ep. 3! Granted, he was neutered before he ever appeared in front of the camera. The second everyone in Spidey 2 found out Peter's identity, Venom lost 3/4 of his menace. I mean, shit, Robbie Fucking Robertson seemed to know Peter is Spidey. Who cares if Venom knows? A whole train full of people know.
I know what you're wondering: What Would Grevas Do? How would I do a symbiote movie? Here's how: Shuttle crash, Spidey saves John Jameson, who picked up the Symbiote without realizing it. Spidey encounters the Rhino in his regular suit and proceeds to get his ass kicked. Rhino is just doing crap like robbing banks. Spidey starts to give in to the suit and proceeds to beat the crap out of some other villain, like the Shocker. The villains here are not given backstories, they're not intended to be major characters. They're a nod to the fans and that's about it. Meanwhile, he meets the Black Cat (and Felicia NEVER shows up, just the Cat) and begins spending more and more time with her. The black costume meshes well with the thrill-seeking Black Cat. Spidey starts to have misgivings when he's caught on camera (by Eddie) with the Cat and MJ gets wind. Peter threatens Eddie, who then tries to frame Spidey and is publicly embarrassed by Peter and subsequently loses his job. The final straw, however, is a second encounter with the Rhino in which Spidey almost kills the big guy. Goes back to MJ, gets rid of the suit in the tower, and we have a happy ending. Except for the last shot: Eddie stumbles out of a bar and into an alley. The Symbiote leaps out of him, it seems to whisper in Eddie's ear as he struggles. Eddie relents, enjoying the experience. His head rolls backward as his teeth grow and a long, pointed tongue lolls out of his mouth, probing the air. Last line in the movie: We are Venom!
So finally, what did I like? The Sandman. Other than the flying away on the breeze, I liked what they did with him. The guy was a member of the Wild Pack and, briefly, an Avenger. Having a conscience and a soul fits him, and Church did a fine job with the character. He made him likable and menacing at the same time.
Harry messing with Pete's head. It was fun, and Franco was obviously having fun doing it. It also fit the character and REALLY made me wish he had been messing with Pete all along, instead of getting amnesia.
Overall Grade: C. It's not the worst movie I've ever seen, but it's far from the best. Note that this is the same grade Spider-Man 2 got. This movie didn't have anything I hated, such as the Passion of the Spider scene on the train (Yes, they make sacrifices, but Goddammit, not all superheroes are Jesus! I'm sick to death of the analogy....it's straight out of superhero director 101) or the complete cliché of MJ leaving John at the altar. It also didn't have the brilliantly enacted, incredibly creative fight scenes of 2 though. In short, it was just an average movie, and not one I'll be going to see again (unlike Spider-Man, which I saw five times in the theater, or Batman Begins, which I saw four times).
So, if you actually read all that, there you go. There are my thoughts.
G
**** Tim Story's FF: Rise of The Silver Surfer BLOG
Saturday, September 02, 2006
2 Days Down...So it has begun! The Fantastic Four have been photographed for Rise of The Silver Surfer. Felt like old times. Everyone's back in the mix and really picking their characters up where we last left off ....
When asked about "Indiana Jones 4" and the fact that producer George Lucas now has an acceptable screenplay in hand, Spielberg said, "George Lucas isn’t the director. I am."
14 September 2006
SOURCE: EMPIRE MAGAZINE
Jonathan Mostow Aboard Sub-Mariner
Bringing the Marvel hero to life
DC’s Aquaman might be confined to the realms of fantasy movie making on US TV’s Hollywood satire Entourage for now, but his watery Marvel counterpart is making waves at Universal.
Sub-Mariner – the Marvel character first created by Bill Everett in 1939 – focuses on a young man who learns he’s descended people who inhabited lost city of Atlantis. Trouble is, there’s a battle stewing between his people and our world, and he’s caught in the middle…
The Mariner movie has been swimming through development for several years, with Chris Columbus the last man to seriously consider taking it on in 2004.
Now Terminator 3’s Jonathan Mostow has decided to take the dive. But before he can even consider starting to shoot the movie, he’ll rewrite David Self’s script. Which, loosely translated, means don’t expect the movie before 2008…
Source: Variety
Fantastic Four Review in Brief
Aug 2005
It's surprisingly good, and FAR better than I expected. I won't give anything away except to say Doom is what you'd expect from the previews, but everyone else and the relationships between them are perfect (especially Ben and Johnny; the characters and the relationship). The bridge scene is also perfect.
Never been a big FF fan, but I'd give this movie a solid B or B+. It's no Spider-Man or Batman Begins, but it's worth the price of admission and definitely better than Episode III.
GAdded bonus, Grevas' FF2 wishlist: "I want you to give Jessica Alba my phone number. There's my wish list. Giving out my phone number is the priority for now."
Intrepid Jubei and the Fantastic Four Premiere
6 July 2005
We wait all our lives, even dream of the day, when we can walk the red carpet for Oscar night or for a gala movie premiere. More often than not the dream is deferred until forgotten, so when I received an email from my best friend since junior high inviting me to attend the premiere of her husband’s latest film, the Fantastic Four, I immediately agreed. I figured it would be in LA and I was going home anyway, so the logistics would work out just right. But you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men? Well, things went awry – all the way.
Turns out the premiere would be in New York City on a little known place settled in the Hudson River called Liberty Island. All I could think was “cool, the perfect place for Marvel Comics’ first team of superheroes.” So I changed my flight plans, used half my roundtrip ticket to LA, left on the 4th of July from LAX and arrived in Chicago at midnight, rushed back to Evanston, dumped the old clothes for new ones, hopped on an early morning flight to LaGuardia, and took a taxi at not quite rush hour to Lower Manhattan, where I was to stay in a room at the Ritz-Carlton at the expense of Fox Studios. Yay! When I walked into the room, I saw the FF gift basket from the studios, chock full of yummy candy goodness – hey, they even gave us Pop Rocks.
Oddly, as we continuously walked by dangerous looking private security men sitting in our 7th floor corridor, we found out that popular rapper, 50 Cent, was taking up a few rows of rooms for himself and his entourage.
I got to enjoy the Pop Rocks and the room because of the noblesse oblige of my best friend V and her hubby, director Tim Story. On July 6, 2005, I woke up excited for the evening to come, picturing that red carpet, the bright lights, the cameras, and the lovely Welshman, Ioan Gruffudd (King Arthur, Horatio Hornblower, Black Hawk Down), who portrays FF leader Reed Richards in the movie. But I played it cool, did some shopping, had some lunch, counted the number of paparazzi sitting along the sidewalk outside the hotel, tried to think of something witty and charming to say to Ioan when I met him, and waited.
Finally, by 6:30 we were ready to head downstairs, greet the stars of the movie, and trek over to Liberty Island by ferry, when the hazy sunshine gave way to fat, gray cumulous clouds. Heavy rains dampened everyone’s hopes for a fantastic movie premiere moment. Still, we were game. We gathered together all the hotel umbrellas we could find and trooped down to the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton, where I got my first glimpse of Ioan up-close. That’s when we learned that even if we were game for crossing the Hudson in a deluge, the NYC Port Authority was not. Apparently ferries cannot travel to the island during a rainstorm.
So while much of the media was stranded on Liberty Island – with a buffet set out by the studio – we were herded upstairs to the hotel’s hospitality suite. So not only did I meet Ioan and ride with him on an elevator, but I got to drink with him too – score! Oh yeah, the other stars – Jessica Alba (SinCity, Dark Angel), Michael Chiklis (The Shield), Julian McMahon (Nip/Tuck, Charmed), and Chris Evans (Not Another Teen Movie) – were there as well. I noshed on fine cheeses, nuts, and fresh vegetables and drank my share of some of the best champagne I’d ever tasted. There were impromptu speeches, some glasses were smashed, and bits of sunshine peeked through the overcast Manhattan sky.
By 8:30 PM, we were handed our guest passes and were soon wading across the rain-soaked streets to Battery Park where a ferry awaited us. We quickly realized why taking a ferry during a storm was a very bad idea. The Hudson was choppy. We could barely step up the platform to the ferry, let alone walk around. Still, we made it to the upper deck, because we all wanted to see the Statue of Liberty and wow, there she was! In an interview with the Comics Continuum, Ioan summed up the feeling. “I just can’t get over it. This whole being on Liberty Island, this is my first visit anyway. And having a big premiere of a movie that I’m in, it’s tremendous.”We finally arrived at Liberty Island and were fed again – not the good stuff, but chicken tenders and cheeseburgers and the like. The cast and their director had a stroll on the red carpet while I drank cheap Chardonnay and stared at the giant canvas posters of the Fantastic Four that lined the path to the red carpet, trying to figure out how to get one of them down without being taken into custody.
Some thirty minutes later, we were led to the actual screening area. Workers scurried about drying chairs and placing nametags according to the seating chart. Before the sea of seats, an enormous wet white screen, which looked to be painted plywood hastily cobbled together, was strategically positioned beside Lady Liberty. Meanwhile, the cast and director fielded questions on a runway platform that lifted them a foot or so above the rest of us. It must have been about 10 when the fireworks show started, again strategically set off above Lady Liberty’s head. That was beyond all expectations, especially when red rockets whizzed into the sky and burst into a four with a circle around it, the symbol of the Fantastic Four.
Another 30 minutes passed before we were seated in our assigned chairs and staring expectantly at the ginormous screen. And just when we were starting to get into the flick and reaching for the popcorn and Junior Mints, the sound went away, followed shortly by the images on the screen. The projector had died, the deluge had killed it. That’s when 20th Century Fox exec Tom Rothman announced Plan B. There was a mad rush by the press and other hangers-on for the ferries, for some reason the fear of being left behind was high – maybe because it could rain at any moment and the ferries don’t cross the Hudson in inclement weather. The cast, the studio execs, and the director’s posse walked a bit more calmly to the dock and there was this fierce struggle to get through the throng to the ferry reserved for us. Not that things got much better from that point. The Hudson was as choppy as ever, Jessica Alba was seasick, Ioan’s girlfriend broke a heel, and the top deck was too wet for anyone to sit down. And on land, Chris Evans, who is quite the shy guy in real life despite his role as the flashy Human Torch was chased by the paparazzi through Battery Park.
Surprisingly, the FF director was positively beaming. It turns out that Tim hated the idea of showing his movie outdoors. He wanted the enclosed space of a movie theatre, the THX sound, and the booming speakers. A limousine convoy carried any who wanted to go – which was not many – over to the Regal Cinemas Battery Park Stadium 11 for a post midnight screening. Finally, I got to see it. I liked it and I told Tim so in the limo back to the hotel. I promised him that the fans who knew the Fantastic Four would like it loads. We were talking about sequels already.
We slipped into something more comfortable – me into my Macworld baseball T-shirt and Dr. Marten sandals – and took a limo to two exclusive Manhattan clubs for the after premiere parties. We wore bracelets that marked us as special and allowed us to bypass the lines of fashionably-attired New Yorkers waiting to get inside. We danced, we drank vodka martinis and $15 Voss water, and finally, around 4 AM, we went back to the Ritz-Carlton and woke up to the news that the London Underground had been bombed.
It was a great trip and I got to live the dream for a bit, but reality never fails to put the Hollywood glitz and glam back into perspective.
Jubei
My Batman Begins Review
The first portion of the actual review will be entirely spoiler-free. After that, I won't give away anything you don't get in the trailer, but if you've been avoiding the trailer or anything related to the movie, stop reading at that point.
Yesterday morning, I was at work at around 8:30 when I got a text message from my friend Patrick: "Got free tickets to an advance screening of Batman Begins tonight at 7:30. You MUST be at my house by 6. You in?" I had to be up for work by 5 AM this morning, and the theater it was going to be at was over a half hour away. Like me, Patrick is a diehard Batman fan, and a movie whore. Whenever we see a movie together, if possible, we go out for a beer afterwards to compare notes. I wouldn't be getting home until at least 11 PM. In spite of my misgivings, there was no way I could pass this opportunity up. My response was an emphatic "Hell yes!"We hit the theater around 6 PM. There was no substantial line yet, so we went to a bar within the same entertainment/shopping complex, and were met by two of Patrick's friends. What I surmised about his friends: One of them grew up on comics, but wasn't a diehard fan and hadn't kept up with things for years, while the friend's wife knew the major characters, but had never read a comic in her life.
We settled in for the film, giddy with excitement that Batman was finally back and hopefully getting the treatment he deserved. I'll put it simply: This move didn't live up to expectations, it obliterated them. This is, quite simply, one of the best movies I've ever seen. It destroys every other superhero film with the exception of the original Spider-Man. No, that isn't an exaggeration, it destroys the X-Men films, it destroys the Superman movies, it destroys Spider-Man 2, The Crow, and all of the previous Batman movies, including the original with Keaton and Nicholson. This movie even destroys four of the six Star Wars movies; only Empire and the original escape Batman's fury, and I'm shocked to say this movie is on the same plane of greatness with those films.
But this wasn't just my opinion, it was shared by Patrick and his two friends, passing comic fans at best. This is the first movie I've seen in a theater where the audience actually stood and applauded at the end since the original Spider-Man. The brilliant thing about this film and the original Spider-Man movie was that both captured the characters and what motivates them so perfectly. From Spider-Man's almost-cartoony CG movements to his sense of humor, it nailed both Spider-Man and Peter Parker. This movie does the same for Batman and Bruce Wayne. It's dark and realistic without ever crossing the line into shock value or misrepresenting the character. In short, it's the closest thing you'll ever have to living in Gotham and spying on Bruce Wayne. It really is that good.
I am a movie whore. I usually see at least two movies in theaters every month, and several more on cable and DVD. Out of all the movies I've seen over the last few years, Spider-Man is the only one that compares. I adored Shaun of the Dead, Kill Bill, and X-2. I loved Blade: Trinity, The Lord of the Rings films, Sin City, and The Incredibles. None of those movies come close to this.
I never expected to see a Batman movie capture the dark, psychological nature of Batman and his rogues gallery. I never expected to see a Gotham live up to my mental vision of the city and actually be a living, breathing character in its own right, which is central to Batman's story. Even though I enjoyed his previous works, going into the film, I didn't think David Goyer (screenwriter for this and the Blade movies) had the writing chops to pull off a character as complex as The Bat. I was wrong on all counts.
The rest of this review contains very minor spoilers. If you haven't watched the trailer, this is your last chance to stop reading, but if you have, I won't be giving away much more than you could see there.
Christian Bale is flat out the best Batman outside Kevin Conroy, voice actor from Batman: The Animated Series. Those are the only two actors to portray Batman and capture his duality and his split life between Batman and his masked persona, Bruce Wayne. The rest of the cast is also dead on in their portrayals of characters close to Batman. Michael Caine effortlessly captures the strength and dry wit of Alfred, and easily fills the roles of parent, advisor, and friend. However, Gary Oldman in particular stands out as a perfect young Gordon, a good cop in a bad city. He portrays strength mixed with confusion and fear amazingly well, and you actually get the sense that he doesn't know what to do when Batman shows up, but knows he has nowhere else to turn. His role in the film is small, but steals the show. Even Katie Holmes, easily the weakest member of the cast, turns in an adequate performance.
I enjoyed the original Batman quite a bit, but, as amazing as he was, Jack Nicholson wasn't the Joker, it was Nicholson playing the Joker. Furthermore, while Keaton was a great Batman, he was a terrible Bruce. I don't blame him, I blame the material he was given. Finally, I can describe Tim Burton the same way the Joker once described Superman: "More powerful than a locomotive! And just about as subtle." Gotham City doesn't need stark, gothic architecture to stand out as a vibrant, essential part of the movie or Batman's history.
Christopher Nolan and David Goyer obviously love Batman, his history, and his world, and have created a movie filled with relationships that ooze subtlety, including the relationship between the Waynes and Gotham. Also, unlike the previous films, the characters have layers and depth. Not one major character in this movie is a charicature or one-dimensional. They all have complex motivations that are entirely plausible within the context of the film.
The creators do a fantastic job of making Batman believable. Every superhero requires a certain amount of suspension of disbelief, but Batman requires the least. This movie captures that. The technology might be bleeding edge in some cases, but it's never so far removed from our real world and real limits that it seems impossible. I actually giggled when Bruce made his first Batarang. Patrick commented to me after the film that this was the best version of Gotham yet, because you could actually understand how a place like it would create someone like Bruce. He's right.
The small, loving details in this film such as Bruce making his first Batarang are what make it such a stand-out. I won't ruin the scene here, but the sequence where Bruce and Alfred create the cave and the batsuit are astonishingly enjoyable and add still more realism to Batman's mythology.
When I saw the trailer, I was terrified that this movie would feature two villains who wouldn't be fleshed out, and the film would therefore fall prey to the same mistakes made in the last three Batman movies. I didn't think they could possibly cover Batman's origin, his training, his battles against the mob, and still feature one classic villain, let alone two. I was wrong yet again. Batman's early battles against supervillains Ra's Al Ghul and Scarecrow meld seamlessly with Batman's training, origin, and methods of operation; We all know that criminals are a cowardly and superstitious lot. Furthermore, the movie needs both villains and their respective plots and motivations in order to fully realize Batman's motivations. The fear Batman uses to his advantage is beautifully contrasted with that inspired by Scarecrow, Ra's, Joe Chill, and even the bats who attacked Bruce as a child. Cillian Murphy, an actor I didn't know prior to this film, is excellent, and does justice to Dr. Crane. He is appropriately smug, smarmy, creepy, corrupt, and best of all, fearless, even in the face of people who are more powerful and influential than himself. His performance and the material he's given add new depth to a character who could have been (and often has been, in the comics) nothing more than a gimmick. Fear is obviously the underlying motivation for many of the characters' actions and the overall theme of the movie. Without using Ra's Al Ghul, Carmine Falcone, and Scarecrow, this theme would have been substantially weakened, or just not worked at all.
My one criticism of the film is the final fight scene. It's Batman, so throughout the film the fight scenes are dark, but they're filmed VERY close-up. It works well when Batman takes on thugs; the disorienting angles, murky view, and the proximity of the camera to the action create a sense of confusion, exactly what the thugs must be feeling when fighting the Dark Knight, and Batman is a dark blur bordering on invisible the entire time because his costume is so incredibly black. It doesn't work nearly as well, however, during the climatic final battle against Ra's Al Ghul. The lighting is much brighter during this sequence, but pulled me out of the scene, as Ra's should be more than a match for Batman and not subject to the same perplexity as the nameless goons.
Still, this movie isn't about the fight scenes, it's about Bruce and Batman. It's a psychological movie, every bit as deep and dark as Seven in its own way, where the emphasis is much less on action than getting inside Bruce's head. And it does a shockingly good job of doing just that.
This is a must-see film for anyone who is a fan of superhero movies, Batman, or just enjoys good movies. The bar has been raised, not just for superhero films, but all summer blockbusters. Fire up the signal; The Bat is back.
Four of four stars. A+G
X-3 is going to suck
"And Avi Arad wasn't kidding when he called the film "controversial", either. Three major characters that absolutely should not die, die. Really dead, too. Not Spock Dead. And one mutant who should not lose her powers, loses her powers permanently. Really loses them, too. Not SUPERMAN II loses them. And the sex scene... when you see who does what to who... oh, boy."
So after all the hinting since the first one, Rogue and Wolverine will finally bang?
And...........
http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1503704/story.jhtml
Meanwhile, another source says that Marsden is definitely out, contrary to what this story says, because he took a small role in Superman, so he was booted. Smart money says Cyclops and Storm are two of the characters who die, since they really didn't do anything in the last movie, and Halle was pissed about it. I'm betting Iceman is the third death, setting up an actual romance between Wolverine and Rogue. I was joking above, but I really think that's the direction they're taking this. You heard it here first..........
I'm going to say this: Singer is a much better director, he had his own vision, and even if I didn't always agree with it, he made it work for his version of the characters. I'm HIGHLY skeptical this series will work without him.