JUSTICE LEAGUE: Identity Crisis

NOTE: Faster than a speeding SPOILERS!

"It's good to see you playing well with others."

"May be temporary."

- Commissioner Gordon (J.K. Simmons) and Batman (Ben Affleck), Justice League (2017)

Outside of the failed Dark Universe, there is perhaps no other cinematic universe that has been tied to Hollywood's whipping post quite like the DC Extended Universe. Starting with 2013's Man of Steel, DC has been trying its damnedest to catch up to the goldmine that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Zack Snyder, director of comic book adaptations like 300 and Watchmen, was put in the director's chair and while early trailers seemed promising, the movie did nothing but alienate people from the world's most famous superhero.

And worse was to come. Bringing together DC's two flagship characters as well as the live-action debut of its most famous female superhero should have been nothing short of a movie miracle. They even managed to cast Academy Award winner Ben Affleck, hot off his success with Argo, as the new Batman. Yet Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice became a laughingstock of 2016 pop culture; Sad Affleck and "MARTHA?! WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?!" spread across the Internet like wildfire. The salt was directly applied to the wound when Marvel Studios released Captain America: Civil War, another "superheroes fighting" movie, to both fan and critical acclaim. Marvel once again laughed its way to the bank, while DC limped back home with its pants down. DC's second shot in 2016 was the David Ayer film Suicide Squad featuring low rent DC villains (with the exception of Harley Quinn and the Joker) trying to be heroes, but the film was dismissed as a cheap imitation of Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy.

However, coming into the new year, there was a bright light at the end of the tunnel; the world's first major theatrical live-action female superhero movie directed by a woman. With its proper balance of intriguing drama, thrilling action and well-placed comedy as well as a star-making performance from Gal Gadot, Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman became a runaway success both at the box office and with critics. Many were drawing positive comparisons to Richard Donner's 1978 Superman, as a seminal superhero film; Donner himself proudly bestowed a literal baton pass to Jenkins at a recent event they both were headlining. DC and Warner Bros. finally had the ball in their corner. All they had to do was make the right shot and pray for a miracle...

Following the death of Superman, Batman/Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) - racked with guilt by his part in the actions that led to that event - begins an ambitious plan to bring together an alliance of powerful warriors that can combat an enormous threat coming to Earth. That threat is Steppenwolf (voice of Ciarán Hinds), an alien dictator that is seeking three ancient artifacts that - once connected - will spell the end of the world. Joining Batman is the immortal Amazon warrior princess Wonder Woman/Diana Prince (Gal Gadot), the burly and saracastic Atlantean Aquaman/Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), the energetic yet untested Flash/Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) and the reclusive Cyborg/Victor Stone (Ray Fisher). All of these heroes will be brought to their limits but, though they are stronger together, they find they may need more help.

It is practically important (and potentially straight dishonest) to talk about this movie without at least touching on its difficult post-production process. Earlier in the year, Warner Bros. and director Zack Snyder jointly announced that he was stepping down from all duties related to Justice League. It was revealed that weeks earlier, one of Snyder's daughters tragically committed suicide and that he and his family needed time to grieve. In a show of uncharacteristic generosity for a major Hollywood studio, Warners agreed that this was best for all involved and wished him nothing but the best. In Snyder's stead, the studio hired Avengers guru Joss Whedon to jump from Marvel to DC (with Kevin Feige's blessing) to take over all post-production duties. Interestingly, Whedon is not credited as director (per DGA rules and a sop to Snyder himself) but he did receive a co-screenwriting credit. Which begs the question: how much Joss Whedon is in this Zack Snyder movie?

What garnered most of the Internet's attention were reshoots Whedon scheduled with the whole cast. While the exact circumstances that prompted the reshoots is still questionable, Justice League began filming weeks after the dismal opening of Batman v. Superman with no time for course-correction. Believing that working with Marvel Studios gave him the magical calculation to making superhero movies work, Warner Bros. moved heaven and earth to give Whedon what he needed. Almost humorously, this involved pulling a contractually-mustachioed Henry Cavill off the set of Mission: Impossible 6 and making painstaking efforts to digitally fix his upper lip. But all of this would be for naught if the movie itself was not received well by the public. And unfortunately for DC, history has a way of repeating itself.

Well, at least to the majority of critics. Rotten Tomatoes, a company owned by Warner Bros., held off from releasing the film's initial percentage scoring until the day of the film's release; a move seen as consciously duplicitous. Rotten Tomatoes, whether people like it or not, has become a popular deciding factor for people to pick and choose what movies are worth their time. Movies have essentially died on the vine if Rotten Tomatoes seemingly says they are not up to snuff. But when it comes to a Warner Bros. property, hiding Justice League's score until the day of release... it shows the company does not hold good vibes for its future.

So after all this, we have finally gotten to my take on the movie (as I am sure you have gathered by now, I rarely subscribe to the "TL;DR" nature of the Internet). And to be perfectly honest, I thought the movie was absolutely 100%... okay. Not great. Not even good. Perfectly fine. Serviceable. Which would not matter if it was just another movie. But this is the Justice League movie; a movie that not even Academy Award winner George Miller (you know, Mad Max, Babe and Happy Feet) was allowed to make. It has all the DC mainstays (without Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern but the Corps is still represented in the movie briefly). This should be even bigger than The Avengers. And it is just not.

The cast is a mixed bag for me. I have never gotten the hate over Ben Affleck's performance as Batman. He is better here than he was in Batman v. Superman but in that movie he was pretty much just a bundle of rage in a Batman costume. Here he actually plays the Dark Knight in a way that just feels right. Gal Gadot returns for her role as Diana and she brings back that sense of genuine care and good-naturedness that makes her character likable. The newcomers are a bit of different story. I did not care for Ezra Miller in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. He is better here than he was in that film, but I could not muster goodwill for his take on The Flash. Jason Momoa plays Aquaman as the drunken badass of the group but that pretty much sums up his character. We get the feeling that he is resentful of his place in the world as someone who is half human. But that is not fleshed out in any way. Ray Fisher gets the short end of the stick as Cyborg - why he is in the Justice League as opposed to the Teen Titans is beyond me. He broods mostly and does not lighten up for anything. Even his trademark "Boo-ya" seems off.

Danny Elfman is the composer of this movie and he certainly is no stranger to superhero movies. He's composed scores for Spider-Man, Hulk and even Avengers: Age of Ultron for Joss Whedon. Most notably however is his theme for the 1989 Batman. When asked if he was going to come up with a theme befitting Ben Affleck's Batman, Elfman refused saying his theme personified Batman perfectly. However, Elfman also chose to bring back John Williams' classic Superman theme that was conducted for the 1978 Richard Donner film. Herein lies the problem: it is not that noticeable within the film itself unless you were actively hearing for it like I was. It can be heard, but themes that are that memorable call for memorable moments not just background nostalgia.

In most good superhero movies, there is almost always an inspiring speech that either the hero gives themselves or a loved one gives the hero. Something that sums up why they are the good guy, why it is important and why they should keep going. I can think of a few examples off the top of my head - Aunt May's "I believe there's a hero in all of us" from Spider-Man 2, Peter Quill's "Life takes more than it gives" from Guardians of the Galaxy and Nick Fury's "A group of remarkable people" from Marvel's The Avengers. Now where is this speech in Justice League? Just before their first battle against Steppenwolf where he is holding humans hostage, the Flash takes Batman aside and fearfully admits he has never actually done battle. Batman breaks it down for him,

"Save one. Save one person. Don't talk, don't fight. Get in, get one out."

I like how Batman breaks down the minutiae of supehero-ing to its core component: helping other people at risk to yourself. This could have been, should have been, a seminal moment for the movie. While it certainly seems to bolster Flash's courage in the following scene and in the rest of the movie, a more memorable signature moment would have been more appreciated.

If there is any improvement on any single returning character from the DCEU, it would have to be Superman, who is brought back from the dead by the Justice League in the second act. This is Henry Cavill's third run at this iconic character. And in this case, the third time might be the charm. At first, Superman is angry and confused; seemingly without his memory. Batman brings Lois Lane (Amy Adams) to him so she can help bring him back to himself. But naturally, the good old Superman we know comes in at the last minute to help save the day. He is smiling, cracking jokes and bringing his formidable powers to bear to help his fellow team members and civilians. This is as close to the Christopher Reeve Superman as we have gotten in quite a good long while; I do not count Superman III, IV and Returns (who would have guessed Kevin Spacey would have turned out to be a bigger villain than Lex Luthor). As long as Cavill is allowed to stay in this mode of Superman and not be the Big Brooding Boy Scout, I'll be glad to see Man of Steel 2. If it ever gets made.

DC's Justice League is not so much a misfire as it is a missed opportunity; an injustice if you will (be sure to tip your waitresses). The cast mostly plays well together, but the playground they are given could use some upkeep and maintenance. Trying to fix the mistake that is Batman v. Superman resulted in efforts too little, too late. I am not saying that the DCEU is beyond saving - Wonder Woman proved this - but it needs to be done quickly and smartly. I really like these characters and the comic book universe they reside in. It just needs more people who are willing to give the time and care they deserve to bring them to the silver screen.

P.S. Stay for the full end credits.

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON - Damaged Armor

NOTE: Sorry I've been gone for so long, what with school, work and other arrangements. I can't promise that I will go back to weekly reviews or news articles, but I will post here when I am "burdened with glorious purpose". 

"Isn't that why we fight? So we can end the fight and go home?"

- Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Avengers: Age of Ultron

Like it or not, Marvel Studios has changed the way modern blockbusters are made. In the wake of Marvel's The Avengers, movie studios have tripped over themselves trying to follow in the footsteps of the shared movie universe that was set up for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From Ghostbusters to Universal Monsters and even DC, Marvel's distinguished competition all want a piece of the billions Marvel Studios has been collecting for their parent company, Walt Disney Pictures.  But there's something major that the studios just aren't getting: the Marvel Cinematic Universe was built out of the structure of comic books. You start with a teaser, go into the story panel-by-panel, splash pages occasionally, and you wrap it all up with the last panel predicating the next story to read. Ghostbusters won't have that. Universal Monsters won't have that. DC could, but they're in it for the wrong reasons. It takes a leader (whether it be a talented director, a dedicated writer or a patient producer) to come in and take the reigns and stop the madness. However, with his newest summer opus Avengers: Age of Ultron, it is clear that writer/director Joss Whedon doesn't want this responsibility anymore.

When we last left the Avengers, they had all gone their separate ways. Tony Stark found himself stranded in Tennessee and had to track down the terrorist Mandarin and the mysterious tech company A.I.M. (Iron Man 3). Thor returned to Earth for Jane Foster who had accidentally come into contact with a mystical force that threatened to destroy her (Thor: The Dark World). And Captain America had the biggest issue of all when he discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D. was actually evil '40s organization HYDRA in disguise - not to mention that they had revived his best friend since childhood and turned him into an international assassin - and had to take it down from the inside (Captain America: The Winter Soldier). Oh, and there was a wise-cracking '80s kid,  a green girl, a tattooed maniac who took things too literally, a talking raccoon and a giant walking tree but it was all in space, so cool, hilarious and awesome as it was, doesn't really make much of a dent in our story. No, because right from the start of Age of Ultron, we have no idea what is going on. Sure there was a set-up scene from the mid-credits of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but we have no idea how the Avengers got back together. We're just supposed to buy immediately that they all are peechy-keen with each other and are just ready and raring to go. That's not good enough for me. It was such a big deal in the first five MCU movies to get the Avengers all set up that it just seems like nothing here. Sure, most sequels can get away with immediately launching into another adventure without any set-up, like say, the opening to Lethal Weapon 2 where it's in the middle of a car chase. It just seems like a main credits sequence ala The Incredible Hulk, quickly explaining what's happened in the past three movies, how they got back together, maybe brief glimpses of crime-fighting and what their new mission is leading into the movie. Also, the pacing in the first 30 minutes of the movie is way too fast and I'm more than a passing reader of the comics. Whedon writes lightning-fast dialogue while the audience struggles to get their bearings; admittedly, there is a funny running gag regarding Captain America and curse words that I have no doubt was written in response to Loki calling Black Widow a "mewling quim" from the first movie. We have no idea what their mission is until Tony tracks down Loki's sceptor. (Which makes no ounce of sense considering why did Thor not take it back with him when he left Earth at the end of Avengers?)

Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen had previously been co-stars in Godzilla,
where they were husband and wife. Here, they're brother and sister.

Two new characters in the film, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeht Olsen; a way to get around using their superhero names - Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch - because those names are owned by Fox), attack the Avengers and Wanda's psychic powers causes Tony to have a vision of the Avengers, defeated and dying, blaming him for their demise. After returning home, Tony is convinced that enough is enough and a more permanent solution is required. A "suit of armor around the world", as he calls it. So he and Bruce immediately get to working on building a peacekeeping android entity named Ultron, and by the film's depiction, we're supposed to already know who he is and what it means. I know these movies really, really well and there has been no mention or allusions to Ultron until now, so folks who haven't read the comics are going to be desperately lost. And there's no way that Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier were made without the knowledge that Ultron was the endgame for Phase 2. A little more set-up would've been nice.

And so, we get to the titular villain of the movie, Ultron (played via performance capture by James Spader of "The Blacklist"). While the Avengers throw themselves a party (which is a really funny scene), Ultron gains conciousness and quickly deciding that the only way humans can achieve peace is by their extinction, he seemingly murders Tony's A.I. JARVIS (voiced by Paul Bettany) and puts together a makeshift body for himself. He attacks the Avengers and escapes with Loki's scepter. Naturally, the Avengers are not too pleased with Tony trying to replace them without telling them; the trailer shot of Thor choking Tony is nothing but a trailer shot and might as well have been cut out. The Maximoffs team with Ultron to take out the Avengers. One point of contention I have is the characterization of Ultron. To be fair, I don't know much of James Spader's work. I'm kind of confused as to why "The Blacklist" is sometimes marketed as a comedy when it's supposed to be a drama (if I'm wrong, please let me know), but here he plays Ultron as somewhat aloof. He's a 9-foot-tall killer robot who sometimes forgets what children are, accidentally cuts off a character's arm and then actually apologizes for it. It works for Loki because he's the God of Mischief. Jokes and one-liners would come natually to him. But this is supposed to be the Marvel equivalent of Skynet, something cold and calculating, operating only on ones and zeroes. Quips shouldn't be a factor in his decision making.

From this point forward, Avengers: Age of Ultron becomes a global chase to stop Ultron from affecting a plan to cause worldwide extinction. One positive note I can give is that Jeremy Renner is given so much character development in this film than in the previous one. He gets a couple of funny lines and even a short heroic monologue about what it takes to be an Avenger, which is nice. Some of his development I can't mention here but it's well-worth seeing more human stakes for a character. Pepper Potts and Jane Foster are written away in lines of dialogue (in Jane's case, AGAIN). Nick Fury shows up out of nowhere with his eyepatch back (he burnt it at the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier). And, as Whedon has promised, Agent Phil Coulson's resurrection will never be mentioned in the MCU films. This would be one heck of a breaking point for the Avengers, realizing that the Battle of New York was fought out of misguided guilt! Maybe even leading into Civil War, which is not even hinted at!

I don't want to come off sounding too negative about this movie; there are certainly things I like about it and good moments of cool action to be sure, but it just doesn't have the same spirit that the first film did. And as I said in the beginning, it is apparent Joss Whedon just wants to go home. Years ago, he was excited to take on a big summer superhero movie, but I think Marvel began to lean heavily on him - he made a ABC TV series for them "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." that he soon had to reliqunish command of; he gave his opinion on the final edit of Iron Man 3; and he even had to be flown into England for an hour to fix the script on Thor: The Dark World (which didn't help much). Clearly, Whedon has been worn out and this film shows. The above quote (from an article on Buzzfeed) says it all. I truly think Whedon wanted a quick way out of the MCU. He even screws fans out of the famous battle-cry "Avengers Assemble!" at the last possible second. Could the director of Bring It On and the directors of You, Me and Dupree set the Marvel Cinematic Universe back to the high standards it's known for? Only time will tell.

MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS: Assembling an Adventure

“‘I am Iron Man’. You think you’re the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, you’ve just become part of a larger universe. You just don’t know it yet. … [I’m] Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I’m here to talk to you about the Avenger initiative.”

- Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) Iron Man (2008)

“What if I told you we were putting a team together?”

- Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) The Incredible Hulk (2008)

“Legend tells us one thing, history another. But every now and then, we find something that belongs to both.”

- Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) Thor (2011)

Sometimes, the fantastical can be realized in reality. It just takes a lot of work, innovative tools, a group of genius people and a lot of faith. This is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, something unheard of in today’s film landscape. Taking separate movies created by different cast and crews and tying them together with a single narrative. From the Iron Man films to Captain America, Marvel Studios has kept a series of films that takes its characters seriously but maintains a wry sense of fun.

In 2009, Marvel Entertainment was purchased by the Walt Disney Company, kicking open the doors to all possibility: TV series, video games, all sorts of merchandise and clothing and, most importantly, propelling its 5,000 characters into the worldwide lexicon. With the series of films now under the care of one of the world’s largest entertainment providers, it was time to finally go for the Hail Mary. To bring together all the heroes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe into one major motion picture: Marvel’s The Avengers.





The evil Asgardian god of mischief, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) arrives at a S.H.I.E.L.D. research facility, steals the ancient artifact the Tesseract and announces to Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) that he is bringing war to Earth. After the evacuation and destruction of the facility, Fury orders that the “Avengers initiative” be put into effect. Meanwhile, in New York, billionaire Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) has put the final touches on his new Stark Tower in New York with his girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) until Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) comes in and recruits Stark to help S.H.I.E.L.D. track down Loki and the Tesseract. Agent Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) goes to India to find the reclusive Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) who is afraid of unleashing his monstrous alter-ego, the Hulk. In New York, Fury talks to the recently awakened Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) and convinces him to join the group. After capturing Loki, his brother Thor (Chris Hemsworth) arrives from Asgard joins them on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier to make sure he is protected, believing he can still be returned home. However, Loki's scheme is much bigger than anyone knows and it is going to take a team to save the world from an alien threat.

What can be said about this movie that hasn't been said by the world? Although I am just now getting around to reviewing this film, I saw it on May 4th at midnight. That was a spectacular screening. People were just so geared-up for this movie (as I was) and we were blown away by how great it was. This, and The Dark Knight Rises, will change the game for superhero films in the years to come. Warner Bros. has recently announced they are going to try again to bring Justice League to the screen. If there is one thing I think they should learn from The Avengers, it's this: Take your characters seriously but remember to have fun. The Christopher Nolan Batman films are extremely serious, but even Nolan knows to add some levity every now and then to keep things moving. I'm glad Joss Whedon has finally gotten his time to shine; considering his time in Hollywood (from screenwriting and script doctoring to directing Serenity), it's a sweet reward. As the first Marvel Studios director to actually have written for Marvel Comics, it certainly has paid off in spades.

The cast, as expected, was fantastic. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth delievered as they have before. The new guy, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk, exceeded expectations by playing a different Banner than before: someone who is cautious but without daddy issues and isn't paranoid. Ruffalo is also the first actor to play the character of the Hulk live on set via performance capture and it is stunning to see. From what I've been hearing, Disney was not expecting this reaction to the Hulk and I am sure they are happy that the third time's the charm. Scarlett Johansson gets a little more to do than she did in her supporting role in Iron Man 2. On the other hand, Jeremy Renner, aka Hollywood's new golden boy, doesn't get much to do as Hawkeye. Hopefully, if he is given his own film or a supporting role in a larger S.H.I.E.L.D.-centered film. Samuel L. Jackson is Samuel L. Jackson. As Nick Fury, he can do no wrong, though I kinda wished for more one-liners like he did in Iron Man 2, but that's just me.

Marvel's The Avengers is probably the best blockbuster film I've seen in quite a long time. It's action-packed, smart, funny and can appeal to everyone. Even my mother got out and saw this movie! Now that it's one of the biggest films of all time, third only to James Cameron's own Titanic and Avatar, Marvel and Disney's partnership is one to watch out for because they now own 5,000 characters that they can pull out of obscurity and turn into major motion pictures. It's only a matter of time...

Top 10 Anticipated Films of 2012

10. G.I. Joe: Retaliation (June 29th, 2012)
Director: Jon M. Chu
Writers: Rhett Reese/Paul Wernick
Starring: Channing Tatum, Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Arnold Vosloo, Ray Park, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Stevenson, RZA, Adrianne Palicki, Joseph Mazzello and Jonathan Pryce
Studio: Paramount Pictures




Say what you will about G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. One has to admit it was damned ambitious. It was also unbalanced, too heavily reliant on flashbacks and less true to the show and more of a “fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants” production. That didn’t stop it from being a worldwide sensation (maybe it was due to the disdainful delivery of the line, “Real American Heroes”). Forget for a minute that this is being directed by the same guy who brought us Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (in probably one of the most outrageous jumps from film to film on a resume). This is the second major feature film being written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick who introduced the world to Zombieland, one of my all-time favorite comedies. It breaks my heart to see them not continue with a sequel, but I’m glad to see they got to see the original concept for Zombieland, a TV series, finally come around. You’ll notice that most of Rise of Cobra’s cast was jettisoned – Damon Wayans, Rachel Nichols, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and oddly Dennis Quaid (I thought he was the best actor in the entire film). I was also surprised to see that they continued the storyline of the President being kidnapped and replaced by an evil doppelganger, but if it serves this film better, I say let them go for it. Whatever appeals Dwayne Johnson into inserting himself into popular action films’ sequels escapes me but seeing him along for the ride will be just fine with me. And from what I’ve seen in the trailer, Bruce Willis will be very exciting to see in the film cast as the original G.I. Joe. If the film can also handle the Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow rivalry better than Rise of Cobra, which would be an improvement. All I can say is I trust the writers, the cast seems just fine and I’m all for a better film.
NOTE: Paramount Pictures moved the film from June 2012 to March 29th, 2013. The delay gives time for a 3D post-conversion and reshoots that are said to involve Channing Tatum.

9. Wreck-It Ralph [3D] (November 2nd, 2012)
Director: Rich Moore
Starring the voices of: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jane Lynch and Jack McBrayer
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures

The last time Disney delved into the world of video games were the films Tron and Tron: Legacy. Both were adventurous but perhaps a bit too serious for their own good. With this film, Disney harkens back to the days of 8-bit video games in this parody of “Super Mario Bros.”, Wreck-It Ralph. The story is that video game bad guy Wreck-It Ralph (voiced by Reilly) is constantly angry when his good-guy nemesis Fix-It Felix (voiced by McBrayer) disrupts his sleep with his building construction. All Ralph wants is the glory and fame that Felix gets and not be hated. If he has to become a good guy in another game, why not? The film promises to have a depiction of various video game worlds and styles of animation from 8-bit to the full-on photo-realistic shooters of today. This is Walt Disney Feature Animation’s follow-up to Tangled, which excites me that this film about video games joins the hallowed ranks of such films as Snow White, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. I can’t wait to see a trailer.

8. Frankenweenie [3D] (October 5th, 2012)
Director: Tim Burton

Writer: John August
Starring the voices of: Winona Ryder, Martin Landau, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Conchata Farrell, Christopher Lee, and Tom Kenny
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures

In 1984, a young Disney animator named Tim Burton made the leap to live-action short films with a little story he developed about a young boy named Victor Frankenstein (a bit on the nose, perhaps?) whose dog is killed in a tragic car accident, but reanimates the corpse of his beloved pet and causes chaos in the neighborhood. This black-and-white film was Frankenweenie and starred Daniel Stern and Shelley Duvall as Victor’s parents. Disney executives were puzzled by the film and the eccentric filmmaker was ejected from the Disney company until a film he produced and wrote the story for became huge overseas, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Burton retained his position as producer on another Disney production, the live-action/stop-motion fantasy James and the Giant Peach and afterwards, left the Disney Company for good. Until 2010, when Burton returned to give his spin on a classic Disney story – Alice in Wonderland – which ended up bringing the studio $1 billion in income. Apparently, one of the costs the Disney studio had to guarantee for Burton in exchange for directing Alice in Wonderland was to allow him to go back and remake Frankenweenie in black-and-white stop-motion. Disney green-lit the project and let Don Hahn, head of the Walt Disney Feature Animation group, oversee the project personally. The film features a veritable reunion of previously Burton-used actors (notably missing Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, their first film apart in 7 years). On a side note, one actor I would like to see reteam with Burton is Batman himself, Michael Keaton. Anyhow, I think this film will be quite interesting to see as the original Frankenweenie had a lot of heart and humor.

7. Hotel Transylvania [3D] (September 21st, 2012)
Director: Genndy Tartakovsky

Writers: Dan Hageman, David Feiss and Kevin Hageman

Starring the voices of: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, Fran Drescher, David Spade, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon and Cee Lo Green
Studio: Sony Pictures Animation

Yes, I know the film looks like a reunion of actors from I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and Grown Ups. Might I direct your attention back to the director? If you don’t know who that is, Tartakovsky is most famous for creating the Cartoon Network shows “Dexter’s Laboratory” and “Samurai Jack” and overseeing the animation of the original “Star Wars: Clone Wars” series. He even was allowed to storyboard a War Machine/Iron Man at the World Expo battle sequence in Iron Man 2. For the longest time, he was attached to directing a sequel to the Jim Henson classic, The Dark Crystal, but was abandoned by the Henson Company. This will be his first feature-length directorial debut. The film centers around Dracula (voiced by Sandler) and his daughter (voiced by Gomez) running a “five-stake” hotel resort where all of Dracula’s friends – Frankenstein (voiced by James) and his Bride (voiced by Drescher); the Invisible Man (voiced by Spade); a family of werewolves (voiced by Buscemi and Shannon); and a Mummy (voiced by Green) – can all relax and live it up until a unsuspecting human guy (voiced by Samberg) stumbles onto them and falls in love with Dracula’s daughter. If that concept doesn’t sound appealing to you, I would advise to just wait for a trailer and allow Tartakovsky’s talents to shine through.

6. Django Unchained (December 25th, 2012)
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, Dennis Christopher and Tom Wopat
Studio: The Weinstein Company

That’s right! Six years after Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino is back! Who else but Tarantino would be crazy enough to have their film released eleven days after Peter Jackson’s 3D juggernaut The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey? This film is his take on a Western. Jamie Foxx plays Django, a former slave who was freed and became a bounty hunter. Now he has returned to the Mississippi plantation he once worked at to free his wife from the tyrannical reign by the brutal Calvin Candie (played by DiCaprio). The cast is full of Tarantino regulars – Waltz, Jackson – and great actors like DiCaprio (in his first role as a villain) and Tom Wopat (most famous as Luke Duke from “The Dukes of Hazzard”). I’m enthusiastic to see what Tarantino does with this film.

5. The Amazing Spider-Man [3D] [IMAX 3D] (July 3rd, 2012)
Director: Marc Webb
Writers: James Vanderbilt/Alvin Sargent
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Julianne Nicholson and C. Thomas Howell
Studio: Columbia Pictures





Ten years after Spider-Man’s first cinematic adventure comes this re-telling of his origins which most people complained was already told quite well in the first film, directed by Sam Raimi. However, this film appears to expand on more of Peter Parker’s years in high school and the mystery surrounding the disappearance of his parents. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man film spent fifty minutes on Peter Parker in high school and zero on his parents (albeit one brief mention of his father). Also, a pivotal character in Peter’s high school years, Gwen Stacy was only introduced in Spider-Man 3, when Peter is in college. After the critical drumming that Spider-Man 3 got, Raimi and his team set out to make a Spider-Man 4. I’ve read the outline that they came up with and man, was it bad. One of the main plot points was revealing that Mary Jane was really fathered by the Vulture (to have been played by John Malkovich). Reboot away, please! When I first heard that Andrew Garfield was going to play New York’s Wondrous Web-Slinger, I was a bit outraged because he was a British guy playing an American icon (slipping my mind of course that Christian Bale was British playing Batman and later Henry Cavill was British playing Superman). However, I was calmed later by two reasons: first, I learned that Garfield was indeed an American, having been born in Los Angeles and was simply raised in England and secondly, seeing his fantastic performance in David Fincher’s The Social Network. I can’t imagine how much pressure he’s got to be under having to take such an iconic role from a decent actor like Tobey Maguire, who will be forever identified with Spider-Man (he seems to have disappeared off the face of the planet outside of his role in the upcoming The Great Gatsby). I love Emma Stone. For real. On the outside, she is the living, breathing incarnation of Mary Jane Watson, even more so than Kirsten Dunst who could not bring herself to play the Mary Jane from the comics. However, for this film she plays Gwen Stacy (taking the role from her The Help co-star Bryce Dallas Howard). Hopefully she can still bring a sense of fun with her naturally blonde beauty. I don’t know much about Rhys Ifans, but the Lizard was the character that was hinted at in the Sam Raimi movies from a brief mention in Spider-Man to a one-armed portrayal in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3. The late great Cliff Robertson had a great role as Uncle Ben in Spider-Man and gave a fantastic delivery of the famous line, “With great power comes great responsibility”. Having Martin Sheen come in surprised me because he is a quality actor and I wouldn’t have figured him for a superhero movie. I’m not quite convinced that Sally Field is really OLD enough to play Aunt May, but that’s beside the point. James Cromwell was severely underused as Captain George Stacy in Spider-Man 3 (really he’s in one scene). Denis Leary is a great actor and him leaving his show “Rescue Me” to make this film tells me his character’s death probably won’t happen in the first movie. All in all, Amazing Spider-Man has a lot of heat against it, but also has a lot of potential. There’s no question that the movie will be a box office hit.

4. Men in Black III [3D] (May 25th, 2012)
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Josh Brolin, Jermaine Clement, Emma Thompson, Nicole Scherizinger and Alice Eve
Studio: Columbia Pictures





Will Smith’s last two films in 2008, Seven Pounds and Hancock, were not well-received critically and only one (Hancock) was financially successful. In the four years since his film absence, he has gotten his son in a well-received remake of The Karate Kid and making his daughter into a pop star and in a new adaptation of Annie. Now he has returned to the black suit and the black shades of the Men in Black. Granted, Sonnenfeld hasn’t directed a film since 2006’s RV (he was busy show-running ABC’s “Pushing Daisies”). Putting together a new Men in Black film clearly wasn’t easy from the set reports of the actors often working without a finished script. The teaser shown recently certainly shows that Jones and Smith are clearly back in character and Brolin’s impersonation of Agent Kay is flawless. As a fan of the films, I’ll continue to hold out hope for it.

3. John Carter [3D] [IMAX 3D] (March 9th, 2012)
Director: Andrew Stanton
Writers: Andrew Stanton/Michael Chabon
Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Thomas Hayden Church, Mark Strong
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures





This is another one of those films that most people I know don’t have much faith in. All I have to say is, “Trust in Andrew Stanton”. He’s made two fantastic animated movies – Finding Nemo and Wall•E – both of which won Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature. This is his first live-action film, and if the success of fellow Pixar alumni Brad Bird’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is any indication, I think people will be highly receptive. The film’s biggest obstacle will be trying to differentiate itself from popular science-fiction films like Avatar and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. What people don’t seem to realize is that is that Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote “A Princess of Mars”, the first story to feature John Carter was written over 100 years ago! The cast seems to be made up of actors involved in Marvel movies: Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins both appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Willem Dafoe and Thomas Hayden Church were both in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies and Mark Strong was in Kick-Ass (a graphic novel published in part by Marvel). I know a lot of people are also worried about giving a first-time director a budget of $200 million, which is very, very risky but if Stanton made a good film, it will all be worth it.

2. The Dark Knight Rises [IMAX] (July 20th, 2012)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Jonathan and Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Juno Temple, Josh Pence, Joey King and Liam Neeson
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures



I’m sure most people will be upset with me putting this film in second place and leaving out The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Prometheus. One reason it’s in second place is because this film features ONE superhero. The full-length theatrical trailer left me somewhat confused and wanting more, but that’s exactly what Christopher Nolan wants. This man is a true genius. The cast is fantastic and anticipation for this film has never been higher. I went to a New Years Eve party where someone had the audacity to ask me if I thought The Dark Knight Rises will be good. I angrily replied, “Does a bear $#*! in the woods?” He didn’t know what I meant. Sigh.

1. The Avengers [3D] (May 4th, 2012)
Director: Joss Whedon
Writer: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Clark Gregg, Colbie Smulders, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Gwyneth Paltrow
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures/Marvel Studios





This is a film I’ve been waiting for since 2008. With one line delivered by Samuel L. Jackson playing his comic-book counterpart Nick Fury at the very end of Iron Man, “I’m here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative,” Marvel Studios launched the imaginations of a thousand fanboys like me everywhere. One bump in the road was losing The Incredible Hulk’s Edward Norton (who would’ve been great fun to see with this team) but I’m sure Mark Ruffalo will do just fine (he previously co-starred with Downey in David Fincher’s Zodiac). This is the first Marvel film that Walt Disney Pictures will be distributing (not publicly apparently, thanks to Paramount Pictures). Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth both gave fantastic performances as Captain America and Thor, in their respective films and I can’t wait to see more from them. Two time Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner rises from a brief post-production cameo in Thor to his full role as Hawkeye/Clint Barton. It’s always nice to see Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson who probably has the best dry comedy delivery in the business. For the first time in cinematic history, the Avengers will assemble and you can bet your ass I’ll be there opening day.

Honorable Mentions:

The Hunger Games (March 23rd, 2012)
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (March 2nd, 2012)
Brave (June 22nd, 2012)
Ted (July 13th, 2012)
The Watch (July 27th, 2012)
Skyfall (October 26th, 2012)
Prometheus (June 8th, 2012)
Rise of the Guardians (November 11th, 2012)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (December 14th, 2012)

THE AVENGERS opening revealed!

ORIGINALLY @ COMICBOOKMOVIE.COM:


A friend of mine on Facebook, Rick Kinkade, was able to visit the Albuquerque offices of The Avengers and meet with director Joss Whedon. He had participated in a charity benefiting the Gulf Coast and had won an audience with “The Whedon”.


Initially, Whedon had planned to use the Wasp in the film and said, “I tried to write her in, but I could not make it work.” He laughed and said, “I need more chicks in this movie!” It’s possible that Whedon could not use the Wasp due to Edgar Wright’s impending Ant-Man film. At the time, the thing Whedon was most worried about was the lack of rehearsal time with the cast and a table read was pretty much out of the question. Regarding the CG elements, the only two purely CG characters would be the Hulk and Iron Man. He had worked on Ang Lee’s Hulk script and tried to salvage the last third of the film (which in my opinion sucks, but I don’t blame Whedon).

Here’s where the really previously unknown stuff kicks in: Rick and Joss discovered they were both fans of actress Joan Leslie (who was in films like Sergeant York and Yankee Doodle Dandy; coincidentally, she was also on an episode of “The Incredible Hulk” – “My Favorite Magician”). Whedon is planning to digitally recreate her image (Whedon described this as “Gumping” in reference to using CG in a historical significance ala Forrest Gump) in a newsreel, similar to Citizen Kane as a way to start the film back in the 40s. Rick suggested a film Leslie was in called This is the Army. The newsreel supposedly would feature Leslie as Cap’s girlfriend, which of course, would not be canon with Captain America: The First Avenger, but I have a theory. In the days of the 40s, tabloid journalism was a lot different. News hounds basically had to make up their own information and hope that their guesses were right. My idea is that Leslie is coupled with Cap as a kind of “celebrity couple” akin to Katherine Hepburn and Howard Hughes’ relationship (coincidentally, Hughes was the inspiration for Tony Stark and his father).


Outside of The Avengers, Joss talked about how he thought The Matrix was a perfect film but they had lost the originality of it when the sequels came around. He also expressed his dislike of Superman Returns. It seems to me, however, that Whedon would be utilizing similar technology that brought Marlon Brando back to life for Returns to bring Joan Leslie into The Avengers.

I have to thank Mr. Rick Kinkade for allowing me to use this information. I fully appreciate his willingness to help us anticipate Walt Disney Pictures’ The Avengers. To me, May 4th 2012 can’t come soon enough!