Category Archives: DC Comics movies

New images: Mark Hamill as aged Luke, Man of Steel

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mark hamill aging luke

Okay, here’s a two-fer. Maybe it’ll make up for how lax I’ve been in postings lately.

We’ll, probably not. But they are, respectively, cool and interesting.

Above is artist Phil Noto’s imagining of a cool middle-aged Mark Hamill as a cool middle-aged Luke Skywalker.

If they could pull this off, I’d be happy.

Here’s Noto’s website with his beautiful art.

man of steel cover total film

And here’s the cover of Total Film magazine with a look at Superman and Lois from “Man of Steel.”

I’ve read more positive things about the movie, which comes out in May, lately. We’ll see.

 

Geektastic: The Force is with us

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return-of-the-jedi-vader-and-luke

I’ve lost track of the rumors and likely developments coming, fast and furious, at geeks and genre fans this week.

Rumors that Marvel is planning to base a lot of its Phase Three movies – following the “Avengers” sequel, a group of films to include “Ant-Man” and possibly “Dr. Strange” – on a multi-movie adaptation of the “Planet Hulk” and “World War Hulk” comics.

Reports that Chris Pratt, the goofy guy from TV’s “Parks and Recreation” and one of the Seals from “Zero Dark Thirty,” would play Peter, the human lead of “Guardians of the Galaxy,” one of Marvel’s Phase Two tentpoles.

The announcement by Disney’s Robert Iger that, in addition to making the three “Star Wars” sequels, the studio would make stand-alone stories in the “Star Wars” universe. A Yoda movies? A Boba Fett movie? Does it sound like Disney is following the game plan established by its Marvel subsidiary?

And heck, all that’s in addition to the line-up of movies already coming out this year, from “Iron Man 3” to “Star Trek Into Darkness” to “Thor: The Dark World.”

My son doesn’t remember a time when each year wasn’t a non-stop parade of science fiction, fantasy and comic book characters on the big screen. When you couldn’t pick up a magazine and see Iron Man looking back at you from the cover.

But I remember.

So it’s a pretty damn cool time to be us, huh?

Five coolest superhero movie moments

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nick fury iron man tag

Maybe it was Superman besting Lex Luthor’s nuclear missiles by turning the world backward on its axis. Maybe it was Spider-Man swinging over the NYC skyline for the first time. Heck, maybe it was a Robert Downey Jr. quip.

We all know them when we see them: Those moments in big-screen adaptations of superhero comics that made you get goosebumps, that made you pump your fist and shout “Yes!” right there in the theater.

Here’s a personal, subjective list of my five favorite superhero movie moments. And yes, this short list is heavy on “Iron Man” and Marvel movies. Maybe a follow-up installment will spread the love around a bit.

Superman’s first flight. The 1978 “Superman” reaches a several-minute-long high point during the sequence when Superman takes on bad guys and even rescues a kitten from a tree on his first night in Metropolis. But the single coolest moment? When, at the end of years of training, Christopher Reeve, in the classic Superman suit for the first time, flies from a distant point in the Fortress of Solitude toward the camera.

iron man suitcase armor

The suitcase suit. “Iron Man 2” was lacking in a lot of ways, but the appearance of the suitcase suit – a staple of the classic “Iron Man” comics – was a highlight.

Iron Man vs. thugs. When Tony Stark finds out his weapons are being used by marauding terrorists in “Iron Man,” he suits up and engages in some wish fulfillment fantasy. Who hasn’t wanted to fly over to a foreign country and take out some oppressors?

The tracking shot in “The Avengers.” There’s no denying the power of the moment in “The Avengers” when the team assembles, backs to each other, in a circle, ready to face the menace of Loki’s army. That’s the single most powerful visual shot in the movie. But for my fanboy money, the coolest sequence in the movie is Joss Whedon’s long tracking shot as his camera follows Iron Man through the concrete canyons, capturing one Avenger after another battling the Chitauri.

Nick Fury. Nick Fury! The modern age of comic book movies began at the end of 2008’s “Iron Man” when Tony Stark comes home to find Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, director of SHIELD, in his house. Fury says he’s there to talk to him about … the Avengers Initiative!

Woo-hoo!

Superman’s ‘S’ shield through the decades

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Superman Shield-Poster

Here’s a cool graphic, from Steve Younis and the people at the Superman Homepage, recalling the dozens of variations on Superman’s “S” shield over the decades.

From the original one, interpreted by Superman’s creators Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, as a kind of crest, to later movie and TV versions to more sophisticated interpretations of recent years, there’s a lot of Super here.

The … different version from this summer’s “Man of Steel” movie is here too.

‘Arrow’ has real geek appeal

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arrow cast in green

If you were like me, you got pretty frustrated during the early seasons of “Smallville.”

For what it was, the series about Clark Kent’s early years – before he became Superman – was mildly entertaining. But developments seemed to move at a glacial pace. It seemed like it took forever for Clark to develop familiar super powers like X-ray vision and super-hearing. And I think he flew only at the very end of the 10th and final season, true to the producers’ mantra of “no tights, no flights.”

But the CW series “Arrow,” about the formative years of Superman’s fellow DC hero Green Arrow, has already explored a lot of the character’s mythology – and that of DC comics – in the first nine episodes and is likely to explore more when it returns this Wednesday.

arrow huntress

In just a few episodes, the show introduced not only Oliver Queen/Green Arrow and his immediate circle, including possible future Black Canary Dinah Laurel Lance but also bad guys like Deathstroke, the Dark Archer and the Royal Flush Gang. Batman family member Huntress – seen above – also appeared in a couple of episodes.

But the show’s casting also holds a lot of appeal to geeks, with actors from some favorite TV shows and movies playing characters on “Arrow.”

They include John Barrowman, Captain Jack from “Torchwood,” as Malcolm Merlyn, Kelly Hu from “X-Men” as China White, Jamey Sheridan from “The Stand,” in flashbacks as Oliver’s father and Tahmoh Penikett of “Battlestar Galactica.”

“Arrow’ has captured my attention and held it with its serious nods to comic book lore.

Comic book movie blunders: ‘Fantastic Four’

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fantastic four cast

It must be hard for some younger comic book movie fans to imagine what it was like in the dark years.

Since 2008, moviegoing fans have been treated to summertime releases of really top-notch versions of their favorite comic book superheroes. I’m counting from the release of “Iron Man” and I’m really talking about the other Marvel-produced films, including “The Incredible Hulk,” “Captain America” and “Thor,” all capped off with “The Avengers” this past summer.

I’m not counting the DC comics movies in part because they’re been wildly inconsistent, with some highlights like “The Dark Night” but more lows such as the stillborn “Green Lantern.”

Yes, back in the dark years, before not only serious-minded comic book adaptations but before adequate special effects and talented directors like Jon Favreau and Joss Whedon, fans were treated to the likes of “The Fantastic Four.”

I’m not even talking about the 2005 Tim Story movie. I’m talking about the 1994 “Fantastic Four,” directed by Oley Sasson (yeah, I know, right?) and produced by legendary cheapie producer Roger Corman.

Even if you’re old enough, you didn’t see “Fantastic Four” in theaters. Legendarily made in about a minute to extend the production company’s rights to film the comic book, the movie reflects its (maybe, possibly) million-dollar budget and the crude effects that the available money could buy.

fantastic four mr. fantastic

The proof of the skimping on effects? Johnny Storm finally fires up as the Human Torch in the final battle of the movie. Prior to that, most of his fire-starting is relegated to sneezes and the like. Sheesh.

I came across a bootleg DVD of the movie at a comic book convention a few years back. It’s a staple of the dealer’s room at every con, along with the truly awful “Justice League” TV pilot and 1960s DC comics cartoons.

The movie traces the familiar origin of the FF: Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm and Sue Storm go into space, get bombarded by cosmic rays and gain superpowers, becoming Mr. Fantastic, The Thing, The Human Torch and The Invisible Woman.

Along the way, there are run-ins with Dr. Doom and, inexplicably, a hobo/jewel thief/leader of a band of crooks. It’s the most inexplicable villain since Christopher Walken in Tim Burton “Batman” sequel.

If you haven’t seen the movie, you should take any opportunity to do so. Expect the cheap special effects to be improved by the grainy, multi-generations-removed-from-the-original copy you’ll find.

Some observations:

john byrne ff costumes

At least the movie had the courage of its costumes, with the four wearing the light blue and white FF outfits popularized during the John Byrne era on the comic.

Our heroes don’t get their powers until about half-way through the movie. When Sam Raimi does this, it’s character development. Here it was just delaying the inevitable expensive effects scenes.

Somebody told actor Joseph Culp, who plays ultimate villain Dr. Doom, thought he had to be especially expressive since the audience wouldn’t see his face. So he makes BIG HAND GESTURES throughout the movie. The highlight is when he draws, in the air in front of him, the number 12 as he says it.

One bit player in the movie went on to cult stardom. Mercedes McNab, who played airhead-turned-vampire Harmony on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel,” played young Sue Storm in an early scene in the movie.

fantastic four thing

Even though the later, big-budget “Fantastic Four” movies were better, the Corman-produced “FF” movie got one thing right: The Thing should be bigger than the other members of the FF. I love Michael Chiklis but as Ben Grimm and The Thing in the later movies, he wasn’t quite big enough.

Movies I’m looking forward to in 2013

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iron man 3

2012 was a pretty good year for geek movies. I’m still boggled, sometimes, that so many comic book, science fiction and fantasy movies – not to mention big-budget, well-crafted ones – are released these days. We might be in a golden age for the genre.

Looking ahead to 2013, the calendar looks like just as much of a treat for fans.

“Iron Man 3.” After the superhero team-up that was “The Avengers,” why look forward to a solo superhero outing? Isn’t that a step back? Well, it would be but for a few reasons. I trust Robert Downey Jr. and director Shane Black. The preview looks dire and action-filled. And the movie kicks off Marvel’s Phase Two, which culminates in “The Avengers” sequel in 2015, so I’m pretty sure they’ll have some references to the big picture. May 3.

“Thor: The Dark World.” The first “Thor,” in some ways, held the promise (threat?) of being the weakest movie in the first phase of Marvel. Yet it was solid entertainment and laid the groundwork for much of the mythology that followed in “Captain America” and “The Avengers.” I feel very much at ease with this realm of big-screen Marvel. Nov. 8.

“Pacific Rim.” This story about giant robots created to fight giant, Godzilla-style monsters looks like something to appeal to all the 12 year olds within us. July 12.

star trek into darkness cell

“Star Trek Into Darkness.” This J.J. Abrams sequel to the reboot looks awesome. Unleash the Cumberbatch! May 17.

“The Wolverine.” I am not the craziest of fans of Marvel’s snikt-happy mutant. But Hugh Jackman has been so good as the character I’m looking forward to this and his role, however big, in “Days of Future Past.” July 26.

“Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” The first movie was a pleasant surprise. The second book is the weakest of the series, but I’m hoping they pull it off. Nov. 22.

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“Oz the Great and Powerful.” This retooling of the classic story, a kind of prequel, could be really fun or really awful. March 8.

“The World’s End.” While we’re waiting for director Edgar Wright to make “Ant-Man,” how about this end of the world comedy starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Martin Freeman? Yes, please. Oct. 25.

Movies I’m almost dreading:

“Man of Steel.” We don’t need another origin story. We don’t need a “dark” Superman. We need a Superman who feels like the last of his kind but isn’t mopey about it. We don’t need a “Dark Knight” treatment, but I’m afraid that’s what we’re getting. June 14.

“World War Z.” I’ve said it before, but here it is again. The preview doesn’t look like the terrific Max Brooks book. June 21.

“The Lone Ranger.” A beloved childhood hero. I’m just not sure about the approach. Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp bring a lot of charisma to the proceedings, however. We’ll see. May 31.

My favorite movies of 2012

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avengers assembled

Here’s another “let’s pretend it’s the end of the year instead of a couple of days into the new year” recap of what I enjoyed in pop culture in 2012.

This time, movies.

For more than a decade, from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, I reviewed movies as part of my job. I saw a movie or two or three every week. Considering I was a lifelong movie fan, it was cool to be paid (even minimally) to review them.

Reviewing movies for a living meant going to see movies even if you didn’t feel like it and – goes without saying – movies that you had no interest in seeing. I still haven’t fully recovered from “My Dinner with Andre.”

All this is by way of saying that I don’t see nearly as many movies in theaters nowadays. When I do see a movie, I’m pretty likely to really want to see it and have a good idea of how much I’ll like it.

So here’s a look at a few favorite movies – and why they were favorites – for 2012.

For me, no pop culture movie of 2012 topped “The Avengers.” Joss Whedon’s very-nearly-perfect big-screen version of Marvel’s ultimate superhero team was the culmination of four years of Marvel solo superhero movies that kicked off with “Iron Man.”

I don’t have to tell you that Whedon’s “Avengers” worked and worked beyond the expectations of most fans, expectations that have been building since the early 1960s but seemed pretty unlikely during the dark days of lame “Captain America” TV movies with Cap sporting a motorcycle helmet. And now, on to Marvel’s big-screen phase two!

“Dark Knight Rises” and “The Amazing Spider-Man” were, in ways different than “The Avengers,” good treatments of their durable comic book characters. “Dark Knight” had a fairly lame villain but still thrilled with its dark vision. “Spider-Man” promised something it didn’t deliver – a mysterious reworking of Peter Parker’s origin – but it didn’t matter. The characters and performances really swung.

“Chronicle” was a dark and unsettling take on the kind of superhero/super villain fodder that sprang from “The X-Men” stories. Bonus: The director is remaking “Fantastic Four.”

Outside the realm of superhero stories, another movie with Whedon’s imprint, “Cabin in the Woods,” was very nearly as good as “The Avengers.” “Cabin” was a first-rate thriller with a great, twisty plot.

Backlash to the absurd title or not, “Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter” was a competent version of a really very good fantasy novel.

Likewise, “The Hunger Games” was a good approximation of a really good book. I’m looking forward to the sequels.

And I guess we’re back in the realm of superheroes for “Skyfall,” but the latest James Bond action picture was one of the best in the series. It felt like a reboot, in some ways, and has me looking forward to the next adventure of 007.

 

 

 

‘Arrow’ offers good take on comics hero

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Yes, I rolled my eyes a bit when I heard that CW’s new series about the DC Comics character Green Arrow was called “Arrow.” It’s another instance of the “we’re ashamed this is based on a comic book” mentality, I thought.

“Smallville” instead of “Superboy,” “Mercy Reef” instead of “Aquaman,” and, frankly, the preponderance of “dark” in modern-day Batman movie titles. And yes, I know Batman’s called “The Dark Knight.” And Superman is “The Man of Steel.” I’m not going to be convinced that there isn’t some embarrassment at work there.

The producers constantly emphasizing that “Arrow” was a gritty, realistic world without superpowered heroes was another red flag, it seemed.

So I didn’t watch the first few weeks of “Arrow.”

But after catching up with it, I’m actually finding myself enjoying the series.

If you’re not familiar with Green Arrow the comic book character, he’s a mix of Batman and Robin Hood and he’s been a staple of the DC universe for decades. Oliver Queen is a billionaire orphan, like Bruce Wayne, who turns his thirst for revenge into nighttime vigilante work. He’s got a quiver of trick arrows that’s not unlike Batman’s utility belt and he prowls the dark alleys of Star City, protecting the innocent.

There have been two high-profile depictions of old Ollie in recent years. One was the sarcastic, liberal-leaning conscience of the “Justice League Unlimited” animated series.

The other was in live action. Justin Hartley played a good Oliver Queen/Green Arrow in “Smallville.” He was that show’s Batman substitute when Bruce Wayne couldn’t be deployed by the producers and Oliver became virtually the second lead of the show.

When the CW decided to follow “Smallville” with a Green Arrow series, a lot of people assumed the role would be filled by Hartley. But the network cast Stephen Arnell in the role and while he’s apparently become famous for his abs – he could bounce an arrow off his stomach for a three-corner trick shot – he’s actually pretty good in the role of a rich playboy/obsessed crimefighter.

The series follows Oliver Queen, back in Star (for some reason here called Starling) City after being shipwrecked for five years. In flashbacks – one of which intriguingly included a glimpse of the two-tone mask of DC villain Deathstroke – we see Oliver’s time on the island after his father, rich industrialist Robert Queen, killed another shipwreck survivor and himself so that callow young Oliver might live.

In modern-day scenes, Oliver has a list of bad guys who are taking a bite out of the city. In each episode, he confronts them, threatens them if they don’t change their ways and contribute to society, and then clashes with them when they ignore his warning.

Oliver, unlike Bruce Wayne, isn’t opposed to killing when forced to. It makes the edgy hero even edgier.

The show’s supporting cast does a good job of backing Arnell. Characters are a mix of those created for the show and others like Black Canary herself, Dinah Laurel Lance, GA’s longtime main squeeze. This Dinah is pretty quick with her fists and feet, but we’ve yet to see if she becomes the fishnets-wearing superhero.

They’re sprinkling the show with mystery and mythology and, best of all, other DC characters, including Deadshot the assassin and, in an upcoming episode, Huntress, the superhero previously seen in the “Birds of Prey” series. In that series she was the version of the character who was the daughter of Batman and Catwoman. The character here won’t have that genealogy, however.

I’ve watched the first three episodes of “Arrow” so far and I’m enjoying the show’s dark, gritty tone. Arnell is good, the other characters are at least not too annoying and the action scenes are fine.

I’ll stick with “Arrow,” even though he’s lost the colorful part of his name.

 

 

‘Justice League’ movie set for 2015: What we want to know

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DC Comics won a round – maybe the final round – in the long-running legal battle over rights to the Superman character just yesterday, and today’s L.A. Times says DC/Warner Bros. is planning to release a “Justice League” movie in 2015.

Interesting timing there, DC. It just so happens that the “Avengers” sequel comes out in the summer of 2015.

For years now, DC has been unable to get its rich comic book catalogue onto the big screen in any successful manner besides Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” movies. Although Nolan is overseeing “Man of Steel” for next summer, he and his grim and gritty Batman weren’t a likely fit for a “Justice League” movie.

In other words, it seemed like DC/Warners/Nolan were as ashamed of colorful characters and tights as 20th Century Fox was back when they put the “X-Men” in black leather rather than blue and yellow.

The Times article indicates that DC will not try to introduce its “Justice League” heroes in solo big-screen adventures before teaming them up.

Here are some questions we’ll be interested in seeing answered sometime:

Will Henry Cavill, set to star in “Man of Steel” next year, return as Superman in “Justice League?” Or is Cavill one and done before his movie even comes out?

Will Joseph Gordon-Levitt play Robin John Blake as Batman in “Justice League?” Or will DC ensure that Bruce Wayne is the Batman we’ll see in the team-up movie? And we know that won’t be Christian Bale.

Will they find a “realistic” actress to play Wonder Woman? Or will the Amazon Princess be played by a five-foot-tall, 100-pounder?

Will Ryan Reynolds return as Green Lantern? It seems unlikely. How about making GL the GL that kids know, John Stewart?

Which “other” Leaguers will make the cut? We have to have the Flash. How about Aquaman? One of the Hawks? Cyborg, who’s part of the current comic book lineup?

Will DC’s apparent intention to introduce the characters in the team-up movie – a probably necessary reversal of Marvel’s strategy of introducing the future “Avengers” in solo movies – work?

And can we please, please, please avoid mini-origin stories for each JL member?