Iron Man 3

The Trials of the Man, Not the Armor
by Reymundo Salao

The problem with many superhero movies is that they are too conscious of what they are; too conscious of being a superhero movie. And although it is oftentimes best if a superhero movie is faithful to the comics, it should also be noted that it would be far more greater if its priority is making a great movie, period.

More recently, the thing that has made superhero movies and sci-fi-fantasy movies fail is that they (the producers) seem to be too concerned about how they can make extra money out of a single movie; from the merchandising, to the toys, to the potential sequels, and spin-offs. The best example of this failure is the 2011 movie Green Lantern, which did all that. Iron Man 3 seems like the kind of movie that prioritizes the main movie and its storyline first, and put all the eye-candy, and all the fancy garbage on the background as just an additional flavoring.

The AVENGERS (2012)

THE AVENGERS IS BETTER THAN SEX
by Reymundo Salao

When we talk about superhero movies, the finest ones that come to mind are the ones that have been taking the superhero concept seriously; the ones that have been open-minded enough to takes such concepts and use serious cinematic styles upon them. Movies like Spider-man 2, and the first two X-men movies have taken superheroes as real people, that is why they have been really great superhero adaptations. But I think cinema in general has already gone past the maturity and open-mindedness to take superheroes seriously. It is time to do way much better than just merely making superheroes realistic. Chris Nolan’s The Dark Knight has always been the best superhero movie. It succeeds not only in the sense of being a superhero movie, but succeeds in being one of the finest movies ever made in Hollywood cinema. The degree of Dark Knight is very much off the scales, that I cannot imagine if any movie can even stand equal to it. Not until The Avengers.

Captain America: The First Avenger

AN INSPIRING TALE OF HEROISM
by Reymundo Salao

Captain America was one of those comic book franchises that would seem so difficult to translate on to the cinematic silver screen, what with a character in such a colorful costume and was originally a figure of American propaganda during World War II. One way, I thought, would maybe to portray it in a very stylized and an artistic surreal setting that could be cartoony or probably seem like Tim Burton’s Batman movies. That, I imagine, would be one way of translating such a comic book into movie format. On the other hand, to translate it in a version which is a bit more grounded in reality, and would aim to blend well with the previously recent Marvel movies like Iron Man and Thor, now that would seem like an Herculean task. The film project was given to director Joe Johnston whose previous works on The Wolfman, Jurassic Park III, and The Rocketeer (which feels like its closest to this project in terms of concept, as it is also about a superhero in the World War II setting) were merely moderately good movies; nothing all too impressive about them. And the screenplay was written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely who both wrote screenplays for the Narnia movies.

Extra Scene at the end of the credits of THOR

Yes, THOR was indeed an awesome movie, and I'm sure that many of you are so pumped up with excitement for the next Marvel comics movie that will lead up to The Avengers movie.

As many of you know, Marvel movies have this knack of inserting an extra scene after the end credits. Examples of that are at the end of Incredible Hulk, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) appears and talks to General Ross (William Hurt) about "putting up a team" (obviously referring to the Avengers), and in Iron Man 2, a scene where we find SHIELD Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) heading to a site where Thor's hammer (The Mjolnir) landed (a similar scene within the Thor movie). At the recent Thor movie, it should already be expected by Marvel fans that there is an extra scene at the end of the credits.

Many of you may have left the movie theater without seeing that extra scene. Well, here it is...



...If we take the context of what is already in the Marvel comics universe, the Cube in the scene may be the Cosmic Cube, which is actually a containment device created by various civilizations throughout the Marvel Universe at various times, including the alien race the Skrulls, and various other, unnamed civilizations (whose Cubes were gathered/stolen by unknown means by The Magus in the Infinity War story arc and The Goddess in the Infinity Crusade story arc). This Cube has the power to change reality, a god-like power, obviously. And most probably play a huge role in the coming Avengers movie. If this cube is in the storyline, then it would mean the involvement of massive degree Marvel characters such as Thanos, who is an alien warlord. If that is so, then the coming Avengers movie will indeed be something beyond fantastic and mindblowingly epic. Let's just hope that our optimisms are at the right track.

THOR is Beyond Mighty

The film adaptation of the Marvel comics character based on Norse Mythology, entitled THOR may seem like a movie that has a heavy degree of fragility to be translated onscreen. The slightest mistake could have made this project look silly or awful. But Branagh and his team have succeeded in overcoming that incredible obstacle and proved that THOR is an excellently-made, and a cleverly-conceived movie. Expectations have been exceeded with this movie.

READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE

Avengers Cast Officially Revealed!

Online buddies were able to pick up this video clip which officially announces the cast of Marvel's The AVENGERS and its director Joss Whedon at the recent 2010 San Diego Comic Convention

Yes, the main cast list of the upcoming movie that unites a number of Marvel Superheroes into one team, known as The AVENGERS. The main cast list are Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury, Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson, Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, Robert Downey, Jr. as the Iron Man, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk-haunted Bruce Banner, and the film will be directed by the geek god Joss Whedon.

The AVENGERS is scheduled for a May 4, 2012 release. 

Edward Norton will not be changing into the Incredible Hulk anymore

As far as the Incredible Hulk is concerned, the tale of making the Avengers movie looks to be a sad one, in my opinion. For many fans, including myself, Edward Norton was the best (perfect) choice to play the role of Bruce Banner, the man haunted by the alter-ego of the menacing Hulk. Sadly, Edward Norton will not be reprising his role as Dr. Bruce Banner for the Avengers movie, and that Marvel Studios plan to cast a new actor in the part. Marvel Studios is planning a May 4, 2012 release for The Avengers.

Several Weeks ago, Hitfix reported that a deal could not be made, despite Edward Norton wanting to join the ensemble cast that will include Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Chris Evans as Captain America.

Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige confirmed the report with the following statement he sent to the site: 

"We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in the Avengers. Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. The Avengers demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble, as evidenced by Robert, Chris H, Chris E, Sam, Scarlett, and all of our talented casts. We are looking to announce a name actor who fulfills these requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming weeks."

If you ask me, that's one heck of an insulting statement that is obviously unprofessional. Brian Swardstrom of WME, which represents Norton, made his reply also via HitFix:

This offensive statement from Kevin Feige at Marvel is a purposefully misleading, inappropriate attempt to paint our client in a negative light. Here are the facts: two months ago, Kevin called me and said he wanted Edward to reprise the role of Bruce Banner in The Avengers. He told me it would be his fantasy to bring Edward on stage with the rest of the cast at ComiCon and make it the event of the convention. When I said that Edward was definitely open to this idea, Kevin was very excited and we agreed that Edward should meet with Joss Whedon to discuss the project. Edward and Joss had a very good meeting (confirmed by Feige to me) at which Edward said he was enthusiastic at the prospect of being a part of the ensemble cast. Marvel subsequently made him a financial offer to be in the film and both sides started negotiating in good faith. This past Wednesday, after several weeks of civil, uncontentious discussions, but before we had come to terms on a deal, a representative from Marvel called to say they had decided to go in another direction with the part. This seemed to us to be a financial decision but, whatever the case, it is completely their prerogative, and we accepted their decision with no hard feelings.

We know a lot of fans have voiced their public disappointment with this result, but this is no excuse for Feige's mean spirited, accusatory comments. Counter to what Kevin implies here, Edward was looking forward to the opportunity to work with Joss and the other actors in the Avengers cast, many of whom are personal friends of his. Feige's statement is unprofessional, disingenuous and clearly defamatory. Mr. Norton talent, tireless work ethic and professional integrity deserve more respect, and so do Marvel's fans.

And then EDWARD NORTON himself made his own reply via Facebook with this statement:

Depressing, isnt it? Well, we'll have to adjust to yet another new Bruce Banner now. I would have wanted David Duchovny to play the role coz he seems to be also perfectly fit for the role of the nerdy, angsty Banner. But then, over the past days, there has been announcements that Marvel already has somebody in mind; and that is Mark Ruffalo, who is said to be in the final stages of negotiations to play the role. My reaction? Meh :( How about you? What do you think? Hit the comments for your reactions...

Joss Whedon will direct & rewrite Marvel's THE AVENGERS; also do rewrites on the CAPTAIN AMERICA script [updated]

Marvel Studios is in final negotiations for Buffy the Vampire Slayer series architect Joss Whedon to direct Marvel Studios' The Avengers. That's the fast-tracked film that would amount to an all-star team of Marvel superheros, including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), as well as SHIELD leader Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), among other characters.

Iron Man 2 gets released in May, Captain America will begin shooting this summer in Europe, Thor is in production, and Marvel Studios just set Pete Sollett to direct Runaways, based on the comic book series created by Lost writer Brian K. Vaughan. Marvel has considered all of the individual superhero movies to be an intro to The Avengers.

Whedon is a genius when it comes to character development in the action-adventure-sci-fi-fantasy genre. He has created the universe of Buffy, Angel, and Firefly, a universe of unforgettably cool characters. Those three series have garnered are really solid following. On the other hand, his one full length film SERENITY which is intended as a finale to the Firefly series was not very successful at the box office, but went on to become a cult classic, and was able to generate a sort of "second success" (a very big one) in DVD and Blue Ray home video.

When the third X-men movie (X-Men 3: the Last Stand) was still in pre-production, Whedon was one of the strong contenders to be chosen as director, especially because he has also been heavily involved in the world of comicbooks as a writer. In my opinion, if Whedon was the one chosen, the X-men franchise could possibly have been saved from the humiliating deterioration director Brett Ratner has caused it.

Whedon's expertise in dealing with character development and balancing it with sci-fi fantasy type action, added with his knowledge in the Marvel comics universe, makes him the perfect choice to be director of The Avengers. The AVENGERS is set to be released in the first weekend of May, 2012.

UPDATE: Whedon will rewrite AVENGERS & CAPTAIN AMERICA script as well
source: filmschoolrejects.com

Per Pajiba, Whedon’s deal with Marvel looks to encompass a bit more than just directing The Avengers. It was already assumed that he’d be rewriting the script originally penned by Zak Penn, but Pajiba’s source (henceforth known as Deepajiba) reports that Whedon will also be doing some work on the script for Captain America: The First Avenger. The current incarnation is credited to Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely whose previous work includes The Chronicles of Narnia series as well as the low-key black comedy You Kill Me. Those credentials promised a fairly middle of the road Captain America film, and director Joe Johnston at the helm doesn’t exactly raise expectations any higher. (How he continues to get work after The Wolfman I have no idea.)

So for those of us who see Whedon as a fairly brilliant writer this is terrific news. His directorial experience is far more limited and spotty so a wait-and-see approach seems best regarding the news of him actually directing The Avengers, but we should definitely be excited at the thought of him working on the screenplays for both films. His strengths have always been in the character and dialogue departments, and his contributions to both movies will probably serve to add humor, depth, and personality to characters big and small. And he’s already familiar with superhero-related stories thanks to a simultaneous career working in the comic field. He’s worked on several comic series, but the most notable and acclaimed would be his very popular run with Astonishing X-Men. Add in his many years with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Dollhouse, Angel… and the future is starting to look a lot better for Captain America and The Avengers.