7/21/2011

Look Out! Here Comes the Amazing Spider-Man Trailer


Watching the trailer has gotten me slightly more excited for the reboot. It has always been a given that I would be seeing this movie, but I was really annoyed when they announced a reboot of the franchise after Sam Raimi left. It just seemed pointless to me to reboot Spider-Man after three movies.

But whatever. So far, most of the movie looks pretty good. I do have some nitpicks about it. Nothing that will change my mind about the movie; I'm still more than willing to give it a chance.
For starters, I'm not crazy about the costume redeisgn. They stayed faithful to the original costume, which I'm happy with, but the tweaks just don't excite me enough to get behind it 100%. Although the more I see of it, the more it grows on me. But of course, this is coming from a guy who still holds out hope that the Scarlet Spider costume will make a movie apperance, so I may not be the authority here.

I am, however, glad that they're including the mechanical webshooters. Raimi and Tobey Maguire really pulled off the organic shooters in the first trilogy, so I really have no complaints. But let's be honest. Running out of web-fluid at the most inopportune moment is part of the "Parker Luck", and really goes along with making Peter Parker the kind of super hero he is. He doesn't have a lot of money, and it's clear that the web-fluid is expensive to make. So how does a Spider-Man manage to keep himself well stocked on web-fluid? Well, sometimes, he doesn't. And he has to go for days rationing what he has until the Daily Bugle's check posts in his account, which, of course, is the day after the Chameleon plans a hostage situation at the UN building. This is Spider-Man.

Now back the things I don't like. Andrew Garfield's hair. Peter Parker is supposed to be a dork. A geek. Completely out of touch with what's supposed to be cool. So to give him a hair cut that makes him look like Pauly D's younger cousin... That really falls flat. It's so out of place, not to mention out of character, that it's distracting. Maybe after he gets the spider powers does his hair style change a little. That I can accept. But from the very beginning? Not digging it.

Lastly, I'm really not a fan of the POV shot in the trailer. Don't get me wrong; it looks great. And I like how it makes the audience see everything like Spider-Man would. That really enhances the experience of seeing the movie. But, unfortunately, it reminds me too much of this. No matter how well done it is, Doom still did it first. And I'm sure that scene is only in there to take advantage of the 3D.

This movie has a lot of positives (at least in my mind) going for it, too. I like the angle that they took including Peter's parents at the beginning. It opens things up to how Peter got orphaned, and not just that he's an orphan. And also Martin Sheen. Martin fucking Sheen is playing Uncle Ben. That's awesome casting. Uncle Ben is sure to have a small role in the movie, but he is the driving force behind Peter being Spider-Man. And Martin Sheen... That's worth ten bucks right there.

All in all, the Amazing Spider-Man trailer is well put together. I like it more than I like the trailer for the Dark Knight Rises. Though I wish they included a shot of the Lizard, just even the quickest of glimpses, I'll guess this will have to do. I just hope they aren't trying to keep the Lizard design under wraps until the movie opens, like Tri-star tried to do with Godzilla back in 1998. Man, was that disappointing.

7/18/2011

The Dark Knight Rises Trailer

The fact that it took me all day to post this proves I'm an asshole. Or forgetful.


Yeah, this movie looks good as hell. Granted, they aren't showing much, besides Gordon in a hospital bed, tall towers crumbling to the ground revealing the Bat-Symbol from the teaser poster, and scenes of Bruce Wayne working out, but it still looks good.

And I'm damn excited to see Bane in all of this. The quick shot of his face is pretty bad-ass. Given that this is the end of the trilogy for Christopher Nolan, is this movie a translation of the Knightfall storyline? If you don't know what Knightfall is, I won't spoil it for you, but be warned that doing something like that would be extremely ballsy, and probably something Nolan would do.

I would have liked to see some Anne Hathaway in all of this, and how the whole Selina Kyle/Catwoman thing works for her. Or even Joseph Gordon-Levitt (what are they doing with him anyway). But, to be honest, I'll take what I can get.

Release date is set for July 20 of next year. I really couldn't be more excited.

ADDED BONUS
Here is the Dark Knight Rises trailer cut with scenes from Batman: The Animated Series and other animated Batman shows and movies, using the original audio track from the trailer. Enjoy!

7/14/2011

John Carter of Mars? Yes, indeed.

So I was putzing around Twitter today, and I am wont to do, and I noticed a major swell in mentions of a John Carter. People seemed to be talking about the trailer for the upcoming movie and having very positive opinions of it. So, being the lemming that I am, I decided to take a look (which you can do here, as well).



After watching it twice, I have to say I am impressed.

I'll admit, I don't know much about this John Carter of Mars. But a little search through Wikipedia eductaed me to the story's origin. Written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author behind the character of Tarzan, A Princess of Mars (the story in which John Carter is the lead) tells of a man who is transported to Mars and helps to save a civilization.

Yep, this looks like it's right up my alley.

Although the trailer seems in many ways like an homage to Cowboys & Aliens (another movie I'm excited as shit to see), I really dig it. It has a few elements of Prince of Persia, which I didn't hate as much as everyone else, though seeing as how it's also a Disney movie, I suppose that's to be expected. Despite the lead being played by Taylor Kisch who, if you've ever read my blog before you would know, I absolutely despise, I really do think that John Carter is a movie that I would enjoy.

Also, you can download Burrough's original book, A Princess of Mars, for free for any e-reader. I got my copy and I can't wait to dive into it. Enjoy!

7/12/2011

The Dark Knight Rises Teaser Poster

The concept of this image is amazing, truly capturing the decay of Gotham City that we first get to see in The Dark Knight.

What's crazy is that when I first saw the image, the huge picture of the bat did not immediately jump out at me. Maybe that says more about me than it does for the poster but, regardless. I will attribute that to a wonderful subtlety that allows the genius of this image to sneak up on you.


Compared to other teaser posters for high-profile movies, this poster really pulls off both concept and execution. For example, I remember first seeing the Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith teaser poster. The concept of that poster was fantastic: showing the connection between Anakin and Darth Vader by having the folds in Anakin's cape melt into Vader's helmet. But the execution... Not so great.

When you look at the other teaser posters for the Christopher Nolan series of Batman movies, then I'd have to say that this is the best of the bunch. The teaser for Batman Begins was a little bland, showing just the silhouette of Batman. It didn't really evoke the sense of curiosity to churn up interest in the movies. (Of course, anything that would have washed away the stink of Batman and Robin would have been enough to churn up interest.) The Dark Knight was a little more mysterious, showing the face of the Joker painted on a harsh, brick wall and the phrase "Why So Serious?" written at the top.

But this? This is a real teaser. This leaves the brain wondering what the hell could possibly happen in The Dark Knight Rises. With all of the secrecy surrounding the movie at this time, and what little information being released so sporadic and meticulously planned, the producers really did well in this design. It's enough to capture the attention of your average movie-goer and get them interested in the film, and give absolutely nothing away.

All I have to say is well done, Nolan. Well done.

7/05/2011

A Conversation Between Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay

After seeing Transformers 3, I really have to imagine that the pre-planning stage consisted of a conversation similar to this one. (Ummm... well... Spoilers, I guess)

Michael Bay: (Knocks sheepishly on door) You wanted to see me Steve?
Steven Spielberg: (Looking up from counting the stacks of money on his desk) Ahh, yes, Michael. Come on in.
Michael Bay: (Walks in and sits in an empty chair across from Steven Spielberg. Reaches into his TRANSFORMERS 3 Burger King bag, pulling out handful of french fries and stuffs them into his mouth)
Steven Spielberg: (Takes a long sip of his COWBOYS & ALIENS themed Slurpee cup) Now Michael, I wanted to talk to you about Transformers 3.
Michael Bay: Yeah, yeah. I'm so excited to be doing another Transformers movie. (Bits of chewed french fry litter the front of Steven Spielberg's desk. Michael Bay looks at it, embarassed) Sorry, Steve. Let me get that. (Pulls out a wad of hundred dollar bills and sweeps the crumbs from Steven Spielberg's desk)
Steven Spielberg: Thanks. Now anyway, as you know, Transformers 2 was shit. I mean, more than shit, really.
Michael Bay: Wait a minute... I made a lot of money from that movie.
Steven Spielberg: Yes, and you shit on a lot of childhoods in the process. Now, what I'm suggesting is we go in a different direction for the third film.
Michael Bay: Yeah, like what? The Autobots fall asleep for two thousand years and when they wake up they're surrounded by aliens?
Steven Spielberg: Ha, ha. Yeah, OK. You got me there. But anyway. I really think we should do something different. Like, make it make sense or something.
Michael Bay: (stares blankly at Steven Spielberg) I'm not following.
Steven Spielberg: (sighs) Well, most movies follow a logical progressive, where the audience can... You know what? Doesn't matter. Let's start with this these two Mini-Coopers or whatever they are. Skidmark and Mudbutt.
Michael Bay: Skids and Mudflap. They're funny, right?
Steven Spielberg: No. They aren't. They're horrible. Gone. Out. Let's do something else.
Michael Bay: How about... a Lamborghini...
Steven Spielberg: ...OK. I can see that.
Michael Bay: ...With a Staten Island accent! How funny would that be?
Steven Spielberg: What if we try not to stereotype the robots? Maybe the Lamborghini has an Italian accent?
Michael Bay: (stares blankly at Steven Spielberg) You mean, like, Super Mario?
Steven Spielberg: (shakes head)
Michael Bay: Wait! I got a great idea for a new robot. How about a Jeep, with a rollbar that becomes the robot wee-wee? Kids love penis jokes!
Steven Spielberg: No, Michael. You love penis jokes. We aren't doing that.
Michael Bay: Awww... Come on! I put balls on the Devestator! I have a reputation to uphold.
Steven Spielberg: Fine. OK. How about a long, undulating worm-like robot. Is that enough of a phallic symbol for you?
Michael Bay: What's a phallic symbol?
Steven Spielberg: (muttering to himself) You expected something different from the guy who made Armageddeon?
Michael Bay: What was that?
Steven Spielberg: Nothing. What other ideas do you have?
Michael Bay: Well, I would like to include a scene that intimates gay sex in a stall in a men's room.
Steven Spielberg: OK. Fine. Whatever. What about the movie?
Michael Bay: Movie?
Steven Spielberg: Yes. The movie. What's the plot?
Michael Bay: (scratches head) Plot?
Steven Spielberg: (pushes himself up from desk and ushers Michael Bay from the office) You know what? I'll take care of the rest. Just make sure you show up on set and call Action, OK?
Michael Bay: (claps excitedly) Yay! OK! (stops in doorway) Just one more thing.
Steven Spielberg: What? What? What the fuck do you want, Michael?
Michael Bay: Can we give Megatron an ascot?
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