Arriving on June 12 is Superman vs The Elite from Warner Bros, the next animated film based on classic DC Comics’ characters and comics. Here’s some new screenshots featuring Superman, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, baddies Atomic Skull, Manchester Black and Coldcast, and here’s an interview with actor Pauley Perrette, who voices Lois, and below is a clip. I’m not as excited about this film as I have been with the last few films, particularly Justice League: Doom, and Batman: Year One. This is based on one of my fave comics ever, but the character models seem too…kiddy. It should be more Akira and less SuperFriends. We’ll see.
In SUPERMAN VS. THE ELITE, Superman’s effectiveness as a super hero comes into question when a new group of super powerful crusaders, known as “The Elite,” appear on the scene. As super heroes, the Elite know no bounds, and are more than willing to kill, even on a massive
scale, to stop villainy — putting them on a collision course with the ever-ethical, yet preferably non-lethal Man of Steel.
The all-new, PG-13 rated film is scripted by award-winning comics writer Joe Kelly and the story is adapted from his original 2001 DC Comics release, “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way?” The single-issue comic, Action Comics #775, was lauded by Wizard Magazine as the “Greatest Superman Story of All Time,” and ranked the epic tale at No. 21 on its list of the “Top 100 Comics of the last 30 years.”
George Newbern (Father of the Bride) reprises his Justice League animated television role as Superman, and primetime television star Pauley Perrette (NCIS) provides the voice of Lois Lane. Downes steps in as Manchester Black, leader of The Elite. David Kaufman (Justice League: Doom) also reprises his Justice League TV series role as Jimmy Olsen.
The film is directed by Michael Chang (Batman: Brave and the Bold). Bruce Timm (Batman: Year One) is executive producer, and Alan Burnett (Green Lantern: Emerald Knights) is producer.
Opening in August and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (soon to be seen in The Dark Knight Rises, and the intriguing time travel actioner, Looper) and Michael Shannon (the evil General Zod in next year’s Superman reboot) is Premium Rush, which looks like a hectic Run Lola Run type film. I’m keen to see it.
Also just released is the newest trailer for the next Bourne film. You know, the one without Bourne in it. Ever eager for a safe, or sfaer, bet on familiarity Hollywood surprised everyone with news of this Matt Damon-free film. Starring Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye in The Avengers) it looks firmly set in the same world though, and has a similar aesthetic. Plus it’s written and directed by Tony Gilroy, who wrote all three previous Bourne outings. It also opens in August.
Finally, another James Bond film, set to open in October, four years after the last one. I actually just watched Casino Royale, and Quantum of Solace this week, and they’re both good films, although Royale is the better entry. This 23rd Bond film is directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty) whose last film was the underrated 2009 comedy/drama, Away We Go.
Skyfall stars Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Ralph Fiennes. Under the rather cool trailer, which features an interesting variation of the familiar theme, is the also just released poster.
Film mag/site Empire has a list of ten female Avengers they’d like to see in the sequel. There’s Moondragon, Tigra, Scarlet Witch, She-Hulk and others only comics fans would know about. Oh, and also Miss Piggy. Um…yeah. Seeing as The Avengers has now made over a billion dollars and is the 9th highest grossing film of all time, a sequel is inevitable, and the rich history of Marvel’s superteam is filled with potential. I just hope that get Joss Whedon back.
While you’re in The Avengers mood, check out Newsarama’s list of ten characters who have never been in the sprawling cast of The Avengers.
57 mins. Yes, it’s the big finish, our fond farewell, our last hurrah. In our most rambling episode yet, we talk about a bunch of comics, Turok, the master of sit-com theme songs, an awkward Italian song contest, David Bowie’s wife, Michael Jackson as Spider-Man, alternate cinematic realities, and much more! Fare thee well and thanks so much for listening!
There’s a good look at baddie The Lizard in this latest Spidey reboot trailer, which opens July. It appears to be more bright and fun than The Dark Knight Rises, which opens the same month.
Opening on July 20, and set 8 years after TDK is the final instalment in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Exploding bridges, Bane, Catwoman, and a flying car – it’s all here.
You can catch the 2:19 long trailer right here or below. At The Avengers premiere I saw a trailer that looked different than this, so I guess that was just a teaser.
70 mins. How many movies based on comic books have there been in the last few years? Heaps. How many of them have been awesome? Far less. We offer our ten fave films, and not many of our selections feature superheroes! Also, Katrina and the Waves, and a dancing Emperor Palpatine.
As a DC Comics fan, at least until lately when they unnecessarily rebooted their entire line, I was always hoping to see a Justice League film on the big screen. Alas, it looks like that won’t be happening for a long time. The Avengers will do very nicely however. Effectively, it is now the template for superhero films, and more specifically superhero team films. It embraces the wonder of world ending danger, cool costumes and memorable characters with unabashed fervour. Ah, to think how far we’ve come since the first X-Men film, with their black leather outfits.
I saw this at a midnight premiere and the place was packed, including audience members resembling a female Loki, Captain America, Thor, Wasp, Black Widow and an Iron Man with a cardboard helmet. The last time I experienced such united enthusiasm in a cinema was when I saw Star Wars Episode 1. However, at least The Avengers deserves it, and exceeds the hype. There was joyful applause as the familiar Marvel logo opened the film, and when Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) first arrived on the screen, there was even more applause. And the laughs. Wow. There’s more laughs in this than a Judd Apatow movie. Surprisingly, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) get the two biggest guffaws in the 140 minute film, but most other characters get their time to bring the chuckles too.
This is what a cinematic experience should be like. I think we were also amongst the first people to see the third The Dark Knight Rises trailer (it looked new to me), although it still isn’t getting me excited, but thankfully villain Bane’s distorted speech issues have been fixed and his menacing, Batman breaking tone is now crystal clear.
Writer and director Joss Whedon was made for this film, having written Marvel comics Astonishing X-Men, and Runaways over the years and as a unabashed fanboy, he knows what us comics readers are after, although The Avengers isn’t steeped in in-jokes to make it inaccessible to those who aren’t comics enthusiasts, but if you are curious about these characters, check out the first two awesome volumes of The Ultimates comics by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch.
Whedon is a master storyteller and has loyal fans for a reason. From creating and guiding Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly and Dollhouse, Whedonites will know what to expect here. There’s the aforementioned laughs, tied to some great emotional character moments, there are females who are more than just eye candy while the boys do all the fighting, and there is an end of the world threat that amps up the drama and tension. Most of the latter is initially displayed as the team is assembled. Iron Man is the central player, while Thor and Hulk show up later, but Hulk’s alter ego (played wonderfully skittishly by Ruffalo) Bruce Banner has a lot of screen time too. Whedon knows who these superheroes are and infuses the dialogue with their personalities. Captain America’s old time values, Iron Man’s witty, casual charm, Thor’s bemusement at his team-mates, and the shared history between Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and archer Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) is handled superbly, with great emotion. It’s clear that these two non-powered heroes have an interesting intertwined past, just like in the comics.
There’s no need to see the previous so-called films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that began with 2008’s Iron Man, but you will need a basic understanding of who these characters are, and being familiar with the events of Thor will help. Captain America is the only character to receive a brief origin recap, but the rest of the team will be known to most viewers. There’s no need to see the 3D version of The Avengers. It’s incorporated nicely, but you’ll barely notice why you’re wearing the fancy glasses.
Within the opening minutes, the Chitauri alien race is revealed, as is Thor’s half brother Loki’s (Tom Hiddleston) plan to use them to dominate us pesky humans as, in his demented mind, freedom is an annoying desire and we’d be much better of without it.
The whole alien race aspect is handled well, especially considering after a handful of Marvel films, the subject has never been broached, although I guess Thor’s film comes closest, with the Nine Realms concept.
The action in these films will never really match what the comics can do with an unlimited budget, but this is perhaps the closest Hollywood has come to replicating Earth’s devastation, or rather New York’s devastation. Before we get to the Chitauri vs The Avengers battle though, there are more than enough fisticuffs and gunplay. We see Hawkeye fighting Black Widow, Thor, Iron Man and Captain America facing off against one another, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) versus a plane, and Hulk versus pretty much anything that moves. The action scenes are never pointless and always serve to drive the story forward. The finale is stunning, and it’s awesome to see Whedon finally unleashed on a big budget epic. There’s a singular tracking shot through the skies of New York that is truly worthy of superheroism.
There’s enough nuggets to keep Marvel fans happy, with both Stark Tower and the Helicarrier making their debuts, the obligatory Stan Lee cameo (close to the end), and the inclusion of Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and S.H.I.E.L.D Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), and like all of the previous Marvel films, there is an extra scene after the credits. Thankfully though, this bonus appears after the brief main end credits so you don’t have to sit through 10 minutes of scrolling names. It is worth staying for, and anyone who’s familiar with Marvel’s cosmic villains will know who shows his face.
There’s also a couple of Biblical references which was nice. Thanks Whedon! This is the best version of Hulk on the big screen too. He’s genuinely menacing and as most others will say, will probably serve as the breakout character. It’s hard not to see Hulk do his thing and be taken aback by the sheer coolness of it all. Expect to see more Hulk t-shirts in the coming weeks.
It’s difficult to say anything more than, “see this film, as this is how superhero movies should be made,” as it deserves to be enjoyed as a cinematic experience. So – see this film.
58 mins. We examine the role superheroes play, what stories they can tell, and how far they’ve come since their roots from the pulp era. Also, multiple Boba Fetts, and Jean-Claude Van Damme vs a pinata.
We look at how superheroes have changed from their pulp roots and talk about how superheroes are viewed, and the kinds of stories that can be told with the genre.
Yay! Pretty pictures. First up, here’s a text-free look at next month Avengers vs X-Men extravaganza from Marvel.
Your First Look At AVX: VS #2– An AVENGERS VS. X-MEN Tie-In!
Marvel is proud to present your first look at, AVX: VS #2, the explosive, no holds barred, action packed tie-in to the smash-hit blockbuster event of the year – Avengers VS. X-Men! From acclaimed creators, Kieron Gillen, Salvador Larroca & Steve McNiven; catch the cover to cover battles – featuring unimaginable chaos as Spider-Man takes on Colossus & Captain America faces off against the ragin’ Cajun, Gambit! Don’t miss out on all the pulse-pounding action in AVX: VS #2, available in comic shops worldwide and on the Marvel Comics app this May!
Which team will reign supreme? Join the conversation on Twitter with #AvX!
Sticking with Marvel, there’s a bunch of new pics from the film, which we in Australia get on April 25! Woo hoo! It’s also the Anzac Day public holiday so he opening day will do gangbusters. Many more pics (43 actually) right here.
Finally, here’s a preview of this week’s Nightwing #8 by Kyle Higgins and Eddy Barrows. I’m not a fan of DC’s New 52, but I do like Dick Grayson, AKA the original Robin, AKA Nightwing, although his new red costume does remind me of Chris O’Donnell in Batman and Robin. See what I mean?
Here’s the official lowdown of the ish.
The “Night of the Owls” has begun! Following the shocking revelation (SPOILER ALERT!) that Dick Grayson was originally intended to be a Talon, Nightwing must work to save both his name and Mayor Hady from The Court of Owls’ assassin targeting him. But when Grayson arrives to City Hall only to find innocent blood has already been shed, will he have failed his mission before it’s even truly begun? And how does turn-of-the-century era Gotham factor into all of this?
Now that The Avengers has had its world premiere, we are witness to the fourth live action version of the Hulk. Empire has a nifty rundown of all his film and TV incarnations so far, right here (not counting animated outings).
Aussie actor Guy Pearce will appear in one of this year’s most hyped sci-fi films, Prometheus. Don’t look past another sci-fi treat though, as the French production company Europacorp brings us Lock Out. Luc Besson’s company knows how to do action as it showed with Taken, District 13 and Transporter.
Lock Out is set in the future, on a space prison, with the President’s daughter who needs to be rescued by a lone wolf. The only thing that’d make this cooler would be if there was a dragon in it.
Here’s the first 5 minutes. Lock Out is released on April 20, but July 12 in Australia. No fair.
This year’s nominations for the prestigious Eisner Awards are now up, right here. Voted by industry professionals, the winners will be announced at July’s San Diego Comic-Con. It’s an impressive and diverse list including a few faves of mine like Who Is Jake Ellis? and Atomic Robo. Daredevil, Jim Henson’s A Tale of Sand and many more have also been given nods, from creators to overseas works.
There’s a great interview at CBR here with Archaia’s Stephen Christy and P.J Bickett about the publisher’s plans and upcoming releases. The pair discuss their Eisner wins last year, forthcoming film adaptations and their generous Free Comic Book day offering on May 5.
Bickett: Some of the other high profile books we have are the second volume of “Rust” and “Cursed Pirate Girl” by Jeremy Bastian, a lifelong friend of David Petersen. “I’m Not A Plastic Bag” with Rachel Hope Allison who is an amazing talent. It’s just all pictures telling a story, it’s amazing and coming out on Earth Day. We have “The Grand Duke” which is a Father’s Day tale coming out around the same time. We have a lot of great stories and books that people this year will hopefully get into even more than they did in years past. At the end of the year, we have — at high anticipation from many fans — “Labyrinth” and the second volume of “The Dark Crystal.”
Finally, directed by Underworld’s Len Wiseman and starring Colin Farell is the Total Recall film based on the Arnie actioner from 1990, and the Philip K. Dick short story, We Can Remember It For you Wholesale. It opens in August. Here’s the sleek trailer.
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