The Adventures of Captain Otter

Here’s a quick post about something I thought was really clever.  See, when movies are being made, some go under working titles.  This way, they can hide themselves from the general public and film in relative peace.  The most famous example is Blue Harvest, which is what George Lucas decided to call Return of the Jedi while it was being filmed.  After all, if you start telling people that you’re filming the next Star Wars movie, you’re going to cause an uproar.

Marvel has been doing the same thing.  Iron Man 2 was under the title “Rasputin”, probably a hint to all the Russian villains.  Thor and Captain America now have thier working titles.  Thor is being called “Manhatten”.  Pretty basic, and doesn’t say too much unless you really want to read into it.  Captain America gets a much cooler title: “Frostbite”.  I really enjoy this one.  Seeing as Captain America gets frozen in ice and all…..

….

 Shut up, I enjoyed it.

We also have some slightly older news.  Apparently, Marvel is the next KGB.  Natalie Portman commented that Marvel uses crazy encrypted pages, and even has these weird five digit phone numbes.  It’s all about security.  I would also like to imagine that if someone did have the audacity to steal from Marvel, they would wind up beaten to a pulp and strung up by webbing.  A warning note would be posted on the guy, courtesy of “your friendly neighborhood Spiderman”.  Of course, now that Disney owns Marvel, I wouldn’t be surprised if they let Wolverine or the Punisher loose next time.

Mr. Worthington’s stock just rose in my book.  The up and coming actor’s first big role was in Terminator Salvation, and will be appearing in James Cameron’s Avatar this month.  These are all big movies, and I think the guy has alot of potential.  Why do I all of the sudden think he’s awesome?  Behold.

That shirt….  wait, is that…?  Yes, that shirt does contain a picture of the mighty Avengers.  He sported this T-shirt in an interview with MTV, and it has recently hit the web.  The first possibility is that the guy wants a part in the movie, or maybe he is even in talks for a role.  The only two I can imagine him playing are Captain America and Hawkeye.  I still think Jeremy Renner should be Hawkeye, and I’m not sure if he’s the best choice for Cap.  The fact that he’s Australian probably won’t go over with audiences incredibly well.  The more likely option is that the guy just really likes the Avengers, and in that case is completely awesome.  Either way, Sam Worthington is proving that even a cool guy can be really nerdy.  The fact that he’s wearing this shirt just increased the chances of me going to see Avatar.  The sad thing is that I’m not even joking about that.

A second extra post today.  Why?  I just wanted to make sure all of you guys saw this.  Most of the rumors on Iron Man 2 are slowing down now that filming is done, so all we can do is wait for the trailer and any posters.  AND HERE IT IS.

Does this poster give us any new info?  No.  We knew War Machine was going to be in this movie, and we knew that the two were going to part ways in some way.  So how does the armor look?  The first thing that caught me was the red eyes.  Everything about the pose and posture tells me that the two are going to have an antagonistic relationship.  Maybe something a bit more agressive than we expected.  The armor certainly looks more industrial and heavy than the sleek Iron Man armor, and there isn’t as much black as there is dark grey.  Also the chevrons we can see on the left arm have a much more factory based look.  The armor looks like an instrument of war, rather than the Iron Man amor which is bit more superhero-y.  There’s alot less flair, and it’s much more brutal and direct.  Sounds like something a solider would use, and I think they certainly made it look distinct.  They could have easily gone with a shiny black version of Stark’s armor with a few guns attached.  I can’t wait to see these two on screen, and I felt like in the first movie the armor looked best when it was in action.

So, this is one more piece of good news for Iron Man 2.  I hope this movie shatters some box office records, and anything less than a perfect movie will be a disappointment.  May 7th can’t come quick enough.

To the average movie goer, when you think “comic book movies”, you immediately think “superhero movies”.  This is a fair assessment, don’t get me wrong.  Most comic book movies are about superheroes, and most superhero movies are based on comics.  Hancock is one of the few exceptions to the second rule.  But what most people forget is that there are tons of movies based on comics that have nothing to do with superpowers.  Road to Perdition, for example, was a phenominal movie that just happened to be based on a comic.  Surrogates was based on a graphic novel, and so was 30 Days of Night.  Graphic novels and comics are endless source of stories, and I think we have another winner in the works.  And it’s about a bunch of losers.

Enter the Losers.  The original comic was about a group of WWII soliders, but the Vertigo reimagination takes place in modern times.  They were a CIA special ops team who were betrayed by their superior (or something like that), and then decide to go out and get some revenge.  Sounds good enough to me.  It has potential, and I can see it going either way based on the script.  It could be a cliche filled plot, or it could be something fun and different.  Hard to tell.  But the reason I’m excited about this movie is the cast.  We’ve got Watchmen’s Jeffery Dean Morgan as the team leader, Star Trek’s Zoe Saldana as the loose cannon, the Wire’s Idris Elba as the second in command, and Fantastic Four’s Chris Evans as the hacker.  Considering Elba is going to be in Thor, every actor has appeared in some kind of uber-nerdy movie.  That’s probably one of the reasons why I’m so excited for it.  But in all seriousness, this is one cool cast.  Morgan was a scene stealer in the Watchmen, and I’m thrilled to see him gettting some more work.  He’s just such a man’s man, and is a great actor to boot.  Zoe Saldana is starting to pop up everywhere now after her apperance in Star Trek, and she seems to be a good actress.  We’ll see how she can handle some bigger parts, and I think she has a promising career.  And we have Chris Evans, who is cool as always.  I liked him as the Human Torch, but I loved him in the sci-fi thriller Sunshine.  He showed everyone that he’s a solid actor, and can pull off some serious roles.

Everyone in the cast seems to be a highly talented actor who is also super-cool.  Thats a good combination.  You can be super-cool and a decent actor (see: Bruce Campbell), but to have both is pretty special (see: Brad Pitt, mainly in Fight Club).  I think this could be a fun movie.  I’ll definitely go see it, and hope we see a trailer sometime soon.  The movie hits theaters this April, so it’s a pretty short wait.

Today is the day we’re all supposed to remeber what to be thankful for.  Or something like that.  So what in comics am I thankful for?  Read on my friends, read on.

1. Kenneth Branagh directing Thor.  This news was announced almost a year ago, and I was thrilled when I heard it.  A smart director with an unsurpassed mastery of characterization and plot structure?  Sign me up!  Today, I’m even more thankful for his position.  With a guy like Branagh, you bring credibility to the movie.  That credibility helps you cast guys like Anthony Hopkins or Stellan Skarsgard, even when no one knows who your hero is.  Natalie Portman basically admitted that Branagh’s involvement is why she joined.  This guy is going to put Thor on the map.

2. Blackest Night.  An epic storyline that’s the culmination of the past few years of Green Lantern stories?  What isn’t there to be thankful about?  Super powered zombie Batman people!  Super powered zombie Batman!

3. Ryan Reynolds.  The guy is playing like 20 heroes or something.  If anyone can bring Deadpool to the big screen, it’s him.  And the whole Green Lantern thing could be really cool too.

4. Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow.  Nuff said.

Oh, Jonathan Hickman, you are one crazy man.  The guy comes out of nowhere is now probably one of my favorite writers.  He’s the man writing Secret Warriors, a title all about how badass Nick Fury is.  He is also working on Fantastic Four, and has actually made me care about the characters.  Working with some great artistic talent, his work is some of the best in the business.  What’s he starting up now?  The history of SHIELD.

Now, this isn’t just the history over the past few years.  Oh, not even close.  This goes way back to the origins of the organization.  Key characters include Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic’s fathers.  Alot of the other details are a bit messy.  Flashbacks are going to start from ancient Egypt, going up the Italian Rennaissance and even the Enlightenment.  Based on the historical figures they’re using and the use of flashbacks, this sounds alot like Assassin’s Creed.  This could be some crazy stuff.  I would imagine that Da Vinci would have been alot like Nick Fury, with all the gadgets and badassery.  Hickman is doing some big things with Secret Warriors, and has set up this epic conflict between SHIELD and HYDRA.  I think these two will overlap a bit, since they deal with the same organization.  Did I mention that Hickman decided to throw Celestials, Galactus, and the Brood into the first issue just to spice things up?  Damn this guy knows how to make things crazy.

I wish I could give you guys some more details, but it’s very tricky to understand right now.  It will be on ongoing series, and not just a limited, so expect big things.  Some fans are already screaming RETCON, but considering the origins of the organization are vague enough as it is I don’t think they’ll be changing too much, if anything.  You can expand the background with it being a retcon.  I have lofty expectations for this project, or anything Hickman produces.  For a comic book fan, this is surely worth looking into.

Oh merciful God, what have they created this time?  Marvel has recently introduced their newest character, who goes by the name of Hitman Monkey.  I can’t really tell you too much about who he is.  All I know is that he is a monkey in a black suit, who happens to love jazz music and assassinations.  I’m not sure when the Marvel Universe will ever be able to feel safe again.

Here’s the pic provided to us by the Marvel Website.

I am going to applaud Marvel on two things.  First, they are trying to do something different and establish new characters.  Even if the character doesn’t work out, they took a risk.  Also, the character will be introduced in Marvel Digital comics, which can be found through their website.  They’re trying to make this process work, which sounds like a good thing.

 So am I excited to see this character?  Sort of.  The fact that he’s a tortured soul and loves jazz sounds incredibly interesting.  And it could be a nice blend of comedy and drama.  Or as much drama as you can get with a talking monkey.  What I’m not thrilled about is the whole ape thing.  Marvel has kind of tried this before with Marvel Apes, although that was an entirely distinct premise.  But I wasn’t crazy over the idea of super powered apes before, and nothing has changed.  I’m a bit surprised with myself on this one.  I love badass anthropomorphic animals.  Check out Rocket Raccoon.  He’s awesome.  Maybe it’s something about the Agent 47-esque clothing.  Or maybe I’m just not a monkey enthusiast.  All I’m going to say is that if Hitman Monkey had instead been Hitman Platypus or Hitman Hedgehog (for the alliteration, of course), I would have been more excited.  Or how about Hitman Tortoise?  Beneath a tough, shelly exterior lies a caring soul.  Come on, you know you would read that.

Expect to see HM grace the pages of Deadpool in the coming months.  I’m not surprised he’s starting out as a Deadpool enemy.  Thats the only title crazy enough for this to work in.

I know I’m mostly a Marvel guy, but there are plenty of DC heroes I love.  Batman is legendary, and I think Green Lantern is on fire right now.  There are plenty of characters who should get movie treatment, and I would like to see many of them done right.  One character who isn’t on that list is Captain Marvel.  But hey, DC has plenty of other stuff before they move on to him.

Right?

Right??????????????????????????????????

Maybe not.  The writer of the movie seems to think all is going well, and they have a director lined up.  Honestly, I’m not thrilled about this one.  I know I should give it a chance, but Captain Marvel looks too goofy.  I don’t think the character is right for a big screen adaptation, and think it will come off as another generic superhero movie rather than something fresh.  DC has more than enough characters who can offer new stories that are exciting, but I don’t think that Captain Marvel is one of them.  I always thought of him as a second-rate Superman I guess.  To be fair I havn’t read too much of his stuff, and he might be a character worth looking into.  Once again, I’m going to point to his costume and the fact that he has to yell out SHAZAM every time he wants to fight crime as reasonable explanations for my doubt.

 There is another funny part to this.  The writer had imagined Ryan Reynolds playing Captain Marvel.  I don’t think he’s the best choice, seeing as he doesn’t have enough bulk to play such a powerhouse.  I’m just impressed that everyone, everywhere wants this guy as their superhero.  He was considered for the Flash, is playing Deadpool and Green Lantern, and now more writers wish they could have gotten to him first.  Is there something about Mr. Reynolds we don’t know about?  Does this guy actually have superpowers?  If by “superpowers” you mean rock hard abs, then yes.  Yes he does.

For the record, half of the images of Ryan Reynolds on the internet feature him without his shirt on.  This pic wasn’t exactly hard to find, and is from yet another comic book movie, Blade 3.  I’m not sure this guy is human.

Wow, two big Spiderman things in one day.  Where do we start?  Let’s go with the recent casting of rocker Reeve Carney as Peter Parker in the upcoming Spiderman musical.  I’m kind of surprised I’m not anxiously awaiting this project.  I love funny musicals (well, I love Dr. Horrible), and this has Spiderman in it.  Part of my fear probably has something to do with the title, Turn off the Dark.  The last thing I want to see is some showy, overly dramatic take on Spiderman.  A Spiderman musical should be incredibly fun and entertaining, and I have this dreaful fear that they lose that charm.  This guy looks like he could pull off Peter Parker as somehow who is confident and nerdy, but in almost every picture of him that I see I just want to punch him.  Eh, if the guy can sing I guess.  And he doesn’t look so bad in this pic.

The other news is about the next Spiderman movie.  We’ve been going on and on about who should the villain, and we have another candidate for the picture.  Rumors are telling us that Rachel McAdams will be playing the Black Cat, the on again off again love interest of Peter Parker.  She also steals stuff.  It goes without saying that Black Cat won’t be the only villain in the movie, but do we want her in it at all?  We would get to see more turmoil in Peter and MJ’s relationship, and I feel like Black Cat could have the same role as Gwen Stacy in the last one.  So, more of the same.  Also, how would she fit in with the rest of the plot?  The villain at this point is shaping up to be the Lizard (we think), or something powerful.  I’m not sure how you fit her into that.  I don’t think that adding the Black Cat is right for a movie, even though she works well in short comic book arcs.  Rachel McAdams would be a fun choice, and would make the role a bit light hearted.  Nothing too steamy, which is probably for the best.  But hey, this is still a rumor, so I’ll give it a better thought once I know who the main villain is so we can put her into the bigger picture.  Until then, I’m going to give this rumor a “meh” rating.

Stan Lee has a twitter!  When I discovered this earlier today, I was blown away.  I don’t use twitter, and only check in on things to find movie updates.  Most of my friends don’t either, so I never saw the use.  Well, I just found one.  It’s Stan Lee!  Online!

 You’ll have to excuse my excitement.  It’s just that Stan is awesomeness incarnate.  He’s created Spiderman, the X-men, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Doctor Strange and probably any Marvel character you can think of.  In real life, he’s just so downright genuine and completely eccentric.  His twitter shows it.  Read the blog and you can’t help but smile for one reason or another.  Here are two of his more recent gems.”

“I learned that Anthony Hopkins’ll play Odin in the Thor movie! There goes my big chance! I’ll probably just carry a spear–if I can lift it!”

I know that someone, somewhere, entertained the possibility of Stan playing the Allfather.  Seeing as the creator of the Marvel U, it is somehow fitting.  I mean, it could never work, but that wouldn’t stop me from casting him anyway.

“I still want the Academy to award a “Best Cameo!” But I’d probably lose to the acorn chaser in “Ice Age!” Hell, I’d vote for him myself!” 

Dammit Stan, you really are the nicest person ever to live, arn’t you?

 This is just a bit more proof that Stan Lee is downright amazing.  If you don’t think so, you shouldn’t have the audacity to call yourself a comics fan.  Even if some of his older comics seem a bit dated, he redefined the industry and created more legendary characters than I can count.  Show your support and follow his twitter, eh?