#Movies
The Green Hornet Is the First Great Action Flick of 2011
(This review first appeared at the Mishka Bloglin, where I write under the moniker Oh Mars. For some reason.)
No one was sure what to expect when, years ago, Seth Rogen and Pineapple Express scribe Evan Goldberg wrote a script for a Green Hornet movie. It would be an action/comedy, that was the only guarantee. Then when Michel Gondry was set to direct, the blogosphere became collectively baffled. He’s a super creative, visionary director with a love of playful special effects. That’s unarguable. He delivered one of the best sci-fi movies of the decade with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. On the other hand, The Science of Sleep was way too cutesy for my taste and Be Kind Rewind sucked big time. So how did this petite Frenchman tackle a $120 million action comedy? Very, very well.
The vigilante superhero first appeared on radio serializations during the Depression and then as a short-lived TV show that ran from ’66 to ’67, featuring Bruce Lee as Kato. Since then the character has existed in a pulp niche outside of popular culture for decades – besides two comic book runs – Gondry, Rogan, and Goldberg could had creative freedom because the fanbase was relatively small. The final product is a fast-paced, hilarious, and surprisingly violent two hour movie. It definitely has its flaws but they’re seriously outweighed by everything the film does right.
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Batman 3 Casting Confirmations: Hardy As Bane, Hathaway As Catwoman.
These are the casting confirmations that you’re looking for. Warner Bros. has confirmed that Tom Hardy will be playing Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, will Anne Hathaway will be playing Catwoman. No Dr. Hugo Strange, and I’m still holding out hope for Talia al Ghul.
Hit the jump for the official press release.
(Un)”Official” Look At The Cast of X-Men: First Class. Ouch.
Enlarge. | Via.
Here’s a shitty quality image giving us a first glimpse at the cast of X-Men: First Class. Russ Fischer at Slashfilm provides a breakdown of the people within the cast photo:
Here’s the first small image of the assembled cast for Matthew Vaughn‘s X-Men: First Class. Left to right, we see: Michael Fassbender as Magneto, Rose Byrne as Moira MacTaggert, January Jones as Emma Frost, Jason Flemyng as Azazel, Nicholas Hoult as Beast, Lucas Till as Havoc, Zoe Kravitz as Angel Salvadore, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, and James McAvoy as Charles Xavier.
It’s a poor quality picture of a cast photo, but what the fuck, let’s play the game: I think they all look god-awful and goofy as fuck. Here’s hoping they look better in context.
Impressions? Thoughts?
Blurry Set-Photo of Spider-Man Running Through ‘NYC’ Streets.
Oh my gosh! Would you believe this shit? There’s a blurry picture from the Spider-Man set. It’s someone (no clue if its Garfield or a stuntman) bombing around what is supposed to be the streets of New York City. Do I get any sort of meta-cred for admitting I’m posting this, but knowing I’m a douchebag for posting such an absurd thing?
No? Fuck.
Hit the jump for the full picture, and some other set-photos bullshit.
Sci-Fi Flick “Love” Is Space Odyssey Meets Tom Delonge. Yet It Might Work.
Everyone’s talking about it on the internets today, why shouldn’t I? Upcoming sci-fi flick Love looks like a goddamn gorgeous homage to 2001. I’m a sucker for them. If it can put its on stamp on the mythos like Moon or Sunshine? Visual porn for me. But the craziest part about this project? For a dismissive asshole like me? It’s being scored and produced by Tom DeLonge of Blink-182 and Angels and Airwaves.
Bah? The trailer is friggin’ gorgeous, and the score that accompanies it also rules. Sign me up.
Hit the jump for the trailer.
New Spider-Man Movie Brings Back Web-Shooters! OMFG, Dorks.
Hey dickhead dorks. Yeah, you. The ones that gripe. You can scratch something off your list of Infinitely Long Things to Bitch about. The new Spider-Man flick by Marc Webb starring Andrew Garfield is bringing back web-shooters. Praise Allah! Right? The confirmation comes from Emma Stone dropping an interview with MTV. Hit the jump for the details.
Darren Aronofsky’s Batman Pitch To Be Made Into Comic/Movie. Maybe?
Way back in the day, before the Nolanverse Batman flicks, Darren Aronofsky was up for the project. His premise was fucking insane:
Among other things, Bruce flees after his parents are murdered, and goes to live above a car garage with Big Al, and his son Little Al. Big Al eventually dies, and Little Al becomes Bruce’s mentor and the “Alfred” figure. Bruce turns a Lincoln Continental into his Batmobile, but he doesn’t really set out to be a bat – he disguises himself first with a scar, then with a hockey mask and cape. He is hitting criminals with his father’s old signet ring, leaving the initials “TW” on their faces – but everybody thinks this looks like a bat-shape, and they start calling him the Batman. So he finally decides to go with it and dress like a bat. We meet Harvey Dent and Selina Kyle before they become Two-Face and Catwoman, and also glimpse the Joker. Despite these differences, some scenes and strands are lifted directly from Miller’s graphic novel.
Sounds Batshit (pun!) crazy, no? Well, now it may be coming to comic books. And then the movies.
New Image Of Captain America Running. Srsly, I Know. Lame.
OH MY GOD CHECK IT OUT! As I perpetuate the problem by spinning a single picture of Chris Evans as Captain America running into something newsworthy. It really ain’t. But it’s Sunday evening. It’s slow. The snow is cold and the night is dark.
Hit the jump for the picture.
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New Thor Image Shows A Smoldering Angry Viking.
Entertainment Weekly is dropping their 2011 Preview issue this week, and within is a new look at the God of Thunder. I can’t help it. I am beyond swooning for Chris Hemsworth in Thor garb. I have begun writing Hemmy (as I call him) letters detailing the reasons why we should hang out, and trying to reassure him that it’s way more comfortable to meet someone for the first time if you’re both not wearing pants.
Hit the jump for the full image.
They’re Watching Vintage Gremlins Featurettes. And They Love It.
I know what you’re thinking. “Patrick, you’re posts are SO relevant. If it’s not Nicolas Cage minutiae then it’s about movies no one wants to watch.” Honestly, I agree. I still don’t know why the Brothers Omega let me write for them. BUT if you don’t love Gremlins you’re an idiot and I will fight you. I just rewatched it yesterday – along with Gremlins 2 – then followed it up with cruising the web for cool Gremlins shit. That’s right, it’s called being productive, you malmsey-nosed devil-mon!
My Gremlins VHS is seriously lacking in special features so I checked YouTube for juicy making of videos and found some great stuff. I wish the video after the jump went into more of the technical aspects of making the Gremlins be all mischievous (aka puppetry), but I’ll settle for director Joe Dante being a huge fucking nerd. Dante is the legendary director of The ‘burbs, several Eerie Indiana episodes, and The Howling. He’s basically the king of horror-comedy. Nowadays he wears suits and contact lenses, but back in the day he looked like me but with a better head of hair. Steven Spielberg also makes an appearance, looking well put together like he always has. The second BTS feature for G2 is sort of goofy, but fun nonetheless.
Hit thee jump and enjoy and thank me later!
