Centennial Post! Upcoming Movies I'm Looking Forward To!

Sweet, I've reached a hundred posts. We've come a long way here since I started this site back in 2K6. Here's to a hundred more, at least. (Thanks to Tee Breezy for his contributions to the image above.)

Along the same lines as my previous (Not Quite) 50 Movies I'm Looking Forward To post from November of 2007, this post will give you some details on a few movies that I'm expecting to be pretty entertaining.

Burn After Reading - September 12th, 2008
This one is a no-brainer. After the Academy-Award winning No Country For Old Men, the Coen Brothers are back with this comedy that features Pitt, Clooney, Malkovich, and more. Story goes that Pitt finds Malkovich's ex-CIA memoirs and tries to blackmail him while Clooney is another agent who gets in the mix. Should be pretty funny.

Appaloosa - October 3rd, 2008 (Limited Release)
Ed Harris co-wrote, directed, and stars in this western about two ex-lawmen who are hired to save a town from some corrupt ranchers. 3:10 To Yuma was one of my favorite movies last year, and this one has the same vibe to it. It won't be another Tombstone (nothing comes close in my eyes), but it should be more action-oriented than The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford at least.

The Brothers Bloom - October 24th, 2008
I've mentioned this one before, but it's worth mentioning again. Rian Johnson, who directed the high school noir Brick back in 2005, has finally put out a second feature. This one is about con men brothers who get involved with one last job involving a millionaire heiress that takes them around the world. Stars Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel Weisz.

The Road - November 26th, 2008
This adaptation of a Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men) novel stars Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron. It's set in a post-apocalyptic world where a man and his son must travel across the country, fending off cannibals and stragglers. Sounds like it could be similar in tone to I Am Legend. No trailer yet.

Transporter 3 - November 26th, 2008
Jason Statham returns as Frank Martin, our favorite driver/white martial artist combo. If you've seen the first two in this series, you know what you're getting yourself into with this one, and the teaser trailer looks phenomenal. (Wait a second until the ad disappears, and beware of the volume - it's unexpectedly loud.)

Taken - January 23rd, 2009
Liam Neeson stars in this French movie about a former spy who has to save his daughter (Maggie Grace), who has been sold into slavery on a vacation. This should be absolutely fantastic. I'm really pumped about it.

Push - February 6th, 2009
Director Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin, Wicker Park) takes a crack at the sci-fi genre in this X-Men-esque flick starring Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, and Djimon Hounsou. The concept revolves around people with telekinetic abilities banding together to escape the government agency that they're forced to work for. Sounds like a Joss Whedon plotline to me, but it has some potential. No trailer yet.

Watchmen - March 6th, 2009
After reading the graphic novel and then watching the trailer, my interest in this project skyrocketed, making this my most anticipated movie of next year (aside from James Cameron's Avatar). The book was so dense that it's hard to even explain, but suffice it to say that it's exactly the kind of superhero movie that we need to see due to the influx of them in the past few years. And with Zack "300" Snyder behind the camera, this project looks like it's in perfect hands. Kevin Smith recently saw an early cut of the movie and said that it was "f*cking astounding," and that they definitely pulled it off.

Crank 2: High Voltage - April 17th, 2009
I've talked about this one before, as well. But that doesn't mean it isn't one of my most anticipated movies of the year. The first Crank was wild, and this one is set to be 20 times more ridiculous. Statham comes back to face a Chinese mobster who has stolen his heart and replaced it with a battery powered one that needs jolts of electricity to keep him alive. No trailer yet.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - May 1st, 2009
Hugh Jackman is back as Wolverine in this prequel that delves a little deeper into the amnesiatic mind of Logan. I think the dude could play Wolverine in his sleep, and he was always my favorite part about the other X-Men movies, so I'm definitely down for seeing this one. Plus, Ryan Reynolds is in it. No trailer yet.

Star Trek - May 8th, 2009
JJ Abrams' take on the classic science fiction franchise was pushed back from Christmas until summer, and in the long run that will allow them to make a better movie for us to enjoy. After recently watching all of the original crew films, I'm excited to see Abrams and his writers tackle Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew set in a time before all of the other adventures. This prequel focuses more on how the characters got to know each other in the early days at Starfleet Academy.

Terminator Salvation - May 22nd, 2009
This entry into the Terminator franchise concentrates on John Connor and his attempt to lead the resistance against Skynet after they take over. The first of a new trilogy, this one also stars Christian Bale and should take a more serious approach to the material than Terminator 3 (which I didn't mind, by the way.)

Fast and Furious - June 5th, 2009
I wish they would have gone with my title of 4 Fast 4 Furious, but in any case, this movie reunites the stars from the original flick and brings the street racing action back to the United States after a terrible trip to Japan in Tokyo Drift. Paul Walker and Vin Diesel back together again? As much as this series is kind of "meh" to me, I think that's enough to get me back in the theater. No trailer yet.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - June 26th, 2009
I'm not really looking forward to this one THAT much, but I do really like Michael Bay movies and Shia LaBeouf (not to mention the fact that Megan Fox is a hottie), so that kind of predisposes me toward being excited for this movie. Story-wise, I'm sure it will suck. But who cares? Giant robots smashing things are always cool for summer movies. No trailer yet.

Public Enemies - July 1st, 2009
Michael Mann, one of my favorite directors, brings us this 1930's crime story of the infamous John Dillinger and the FBI man who brings him to justice. Starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, those are three elements that are practically begging for an Oscar nomination already. No trailer yet.

So there you have it. There's a couple more that I'm really looking forward to - Eagle Eye, Killshot, Fanboys, Game, Nottingham, and Avatar - but I mentioned those in my last post of this sort and don't want to rehash all of those plot details again. Thanks again for reading everyone. Until next time...

Tropic Thunder

Controversy swarms the release of Tropic Thunder as it finally sees its theatrical release today. Advocate groups are picketing the film because of its depiction of retarded people and others were up in arms about RDJ playing a black guy a few months back when that made headlines. Turns out neither one really has a case, because the whole "retard" thing isn't even something to complain about - it's not making fun of people who are retarded, it's mocking actors who take it too far when they go to play a retarded person on screen. And the NAACP has approved of Downey's performance, so that makes it OK, right? Unlike some of the other comedies this summer, Tropic Thunder was funny all the way through and was unquestionably worth the price of admission. Ben Stiller's newest is a return to form for the comedy director/actor, but it's really Robert Downey, Jr. who steals the show. You're not surprised, are you?

Tropic Thunder
Director: Ben Stiller
Starring: Ben Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., Jack Black, Jay Baruchel, Brandon T. Jackson


It helps if you've seen some of the older war movies that Tropic Thunder parodies (Platoon, Apocalypse Now, etc), but even if you haven't, you can still easily enjoy this movie as it stands alone. If you're a fan of comedy, action, ridiculousness, awesome cameos, or all of the above, this flick will fill your needs. From a directing standpoint, Ben Stiller did all he needed to make me laugh and present his movie in a competent manner, so I can't complain about that. It almost seemed like Tropic Thunder directed itself, since the cast and the script melded so cohesively that there wasn't room for an ego-driven director to take over, which was a good thing.


The script was really well written, a testament to the talents of co-writers Stiller, Etan Cohen, and Justin Theroux (set to write Iron Man 2). Yeah, there were some stupid parts in it (the TiVo thing sticks out in my mind), but they came across as sort of endearing in this context instead of groan-inducing in a Will Ferrell context. The acting was great on all accounts, from Jack Black's drug-addicted wild man to Stiller's action hero and Nick Nolte's grizzled war veteran. The supporting cast was awesome, including actors like rising star Danny McBride (Pineapple Express), Bill Hader, and some great cameos that I wouldn't dare give away. [Side note - Owen Wilson was supposed to play Tugg Speedman's manager, but because of that whole "attempted suicide" thing, he was replaced.] The real star here was Downey, who completely disappeared in his role of Kirk Lazarus, the "dude playing the dude disguised as another dude." In a striking parallel to his on screen persona, he was so intense and in character that I almost forgot it was him a couple of times. Great stuff, and definitely a high point in his comedic career that seems to have gotten a second wind thanks to the mega-success of Iron Man.


You all know the plot line (actors get caught up in real danger thinking its part of the movie they're filming), so I won't go into that too much. The special thing that separates Tropic Thunder from similar comedies are the fake trailers at the beginning of the movie for each of the main actors and previous films they've been in. Reminiscent of Grindhouse (those fake trailers were the best part of that movie anyway), Tropic Thunder capitalized on the opportunity and really went all out making trailers that added to the backstory of each of the main characters. And while the final credit dance definitely reminds me of the very very end of Dodgeball (the Milkshake dance), it was still funny to watch.


I'm not going to say any more about it, because the movie really thrives off of the little surprise moments that you don't see coming. Once again, credit here belongs to the trailer editors for not giving away too much in the previews. I really hope that you all get a chance to check this movie out. I predicted it would be my favorite comedy of the summer, and it didn't let me down. Hopefully you all will get as much enjoyment out of it as I did. Until next time...

Editorial: The Greatest Comic Book Movie Ever

Recently, there have been a lot of people proclaiming The Dark Knight as "the greatest comic book movie of all time." Indeed, even this humble writer fell into this trap, but now I'm kind of regretting it. Don't get me wrong - The Dark Knight was masterful, and definitely in my Top 5 movies of this year (the others, in no particular order: In Bruges, Speed Racer, Cloverfield, and Wanted). But does that make it the Greatest Comic Book Movie Ever? Let's find out.

I admit that I got caught up in the hype when I made those grand proclamations a couple weeks ago. But now that I've had some time to think about it, there really needs to be some kind of criteria upon which to judge these movies against each other in order to qualify one as "the best" of the bunch. The problem is, that magical criteria doesn't exist.


It's pretty obvious that each major comic book movie brings something different to the table. Thematically, visually, etc. - these differences are apparent in their source material, and naturally make the transition to the big screen. Even among the same source material, there can be room for interpretation. Comparing Ang Lee's Hulk and Louis Letterier's The Incredible Hulk is a perfect example. One is more of an art film, mostly an inner search for Bruce Banner's true identity, while the other is a more formulaic film that features more action sequences. So which one is better? Well, it depends on what kind of movies you like.


These comic book movies tend to reflect our childhoods in that if we didn't read the comics or watch the animated series as kids, then we probably don't care too much about the characters. That's the truth about me, for sure - I'm much more of a Batman and a Superman fan than an Iron Man fan. If that theory holds true, I should automatically like all Batman and Superman films more than Iron Man films based on my previous familiarity with the characters and their universes. But that's not always the case. Batman Begins (which I previously thought to be the Greatest) and Iron Man are two completely different films even though their main characters are remarkably similar. But tone-wise, Iron Man was pure fun and one-liners while Batman Begins dealt with much heavier issues. Their goals were very different, but both were really solid films.

How can we objectively take a step back and look at ALL of the comic book movies that have been made and call one better than another? Unless you've read a good portion of the comics from every character that a comic book movie is based on (yeah, right) and you've seen a lot of movies, then you're probably not qualified to make that kind of decision. I know I'm not. And don't forget about non-superhero related material that was originally in comic book form like Road to Perdition and A History of Violence. How do we throw those up against Spider-Man 2 and choose the "better" film?


Also, even if we were able to somehow find a common factor to judge these films against each other, there's still the matter of taking the source material into consideration. Is Spider-Man better than X-Men 2 because it followed the history of the comics more closely? Is V For Vendetta better than Sin City just because it has more relevant political applications? I don't think we can answer these questions.

Basically what it boils down to is that you have to take each comic book film for what it's worth and decide whether it was "successful" or not. My definition of successful is if the movie captures the essence of the characters and story and presents it in an entertaining fashion. We can't possibly know if the creators of the original comics would approve of the updated versions of their works (since a lot of them are dead), but people like Frank Miller and Zack Snyder are taking those types of things into consideration and are trying to stay as close to the source material as possible. After all, if the comic was good enough to be made into a movie in the first place, why change it? [This, of course, excludes series that have been ongoing for 50 years or something. Then, you can only hope to capture the essence of the character and come up with a compelling story.]


To paraphrase an MTV article I read a while back, people were calling Iron Man the Greatest Comic Book Movie Ever at the beginning of Summer '08, and now it's all the rage to pass that title on to The Dark Knight. And if early indications are true, I've got a sneaking suspicion that the title will be transferred again to Zack Snyder's Watchmen in March of 2009. That's just the hype fuel that burns through the internet. But maybe next time we think about bestowing that title on a movie, we'll stop for a second and judge it on whether or not we felt it achieved its goal. Until next time...

The Dark Knight

(This review contains spoilers.)

Christopher Nolan has done a rare thing - created a sequel that is better than the original; even more rare, he has created a summer blockbuster that stays absolutely pure to previously-established characters and added layers of complexity to a story that we've never seen in a comic book film.

The Dark Knight
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine


Not since Cloverfield has there been this much pre-movie hype for a film. This is thanks to The Dark Knight's massive viral marketing campaign, which included viral websites, online games that revealed pictures from the movie, actual campaign rallies in major cities for the fictional Harvey Dent, sending fans real cell phones with recorded calls from the Joker and Lieutenant Jim Gordon, a made-up newspaper called The Gotham Times, and more. Read a near-complete synopsis of the campaign here. Needless to say, the company behind this campaign should be pleased with their efforts, since the movie has already broken the record for highest opening day sales of all time. And besides all of the online work, the trailer won the prestigious Golden Trailer Award for Trailer of the Year.


Another aspect that added to The Dark Knight's hype was that Nolan decided to shoot about 20 minutes of the movie with IMAX cameras. This has never been done before in a Hollywood film. At first, I didn't really think it would make that much difference, since the IMAX experience is generally overrated and not worth the extra money. However, by actually shooting for the medium, Nolan blew away expectations and the result is something that literally caused a collective gasp from the audience I saw the film with. If you can make it to an IMAX theater, the experience is totally worth whatever extra cost may be involved - in fact, you can't truly experience the movie the way it was intended if you just see it in regular theaters. Trust me, even if you've already seen the movie once, try to get out and check it out in IMAX - it's that cool.


The other obvious element that sent the publicity for the movie skyrocketing was the accidental overdose of Heath Ledger. The dude had talent, ladies and gentlemen. His Joker was (in my opinion) by far the best role he's ever played, and it's fitting that the last full role he ever completed will be his most memorable. Nolan's world of Batman is dark, realistic, and layered - and who better to come tearing through it like a shark than The Joker? Heath has done for the Joker what Hopkins did for Hannibal Lecter - inhabit a persona so intensely that you forget there's an actor there at all. There's been talk of Ledger winning the second-ever posthumous Oscar, but no one really knows if that'll happen. Suffice it to say that his performance is already legendary and it's destined to be talked about for years whenever villains in film are mentioned. Amazingly enough, Ledger never watched his performance in the dailies at the end of each day's shoot - he didn't want there to be any consistency to his character at all. There's a great interview with him over at FHM where he says the role is "the most fun he's ever had." So all of those people who assume that he sunk himself so deep into the role that he killed himself can think again. Plus, the guy would go out of his way to get into full makeup (even for scenes that he wasn't being filmed for!) to help his fellow actors react better to his character.


While we're on the topic of The Joker, Nolan and Ledger agreed that the character should represent anarchy and chaos and therefore be as destructive and random as possible throughout the movie. Traditionally, we think of the Joker as more of a "gag" villain who shoots acid out of a flower and occasionally robs a bank. The Joker in The Dark Knight is a much smarter one; one who indirectly supports theories that the character is actually a super-intellect - one of the smartest people in the world, explaining why everyone else thinks he's crazy. "I'm not crazy," he tells some gangsters in the Gotham underworld, and the tone in his voice indicates he's serious. There have long been theories that The Joker is so smart that he figured out Batman's secret identity years ago, but wouldn't dare give him up because, as he tells Batman in the movie, "You're just too much fun." The idea that Batman and The Joker need each other is one that also has been around for years in the comic books and other media: the notion of escalation from the end of Batman Begins is captured in the relationship between the two ends of the spectrum - one who is trying to shake up the status quo, and one who is trying to restore it. In The Dark Knight, The Joker stands for anarchy, which ties back to nihilism. He thinks that nothing matters, and therefore tries to make situations as wild as possible. Even his own history seems contrived and ambiguous, as if he doesn't even care enough about his own past to keep his story straight. He tells different people different stories about how he got the scars on his face, each story being effective for the moment it was told. That's what The Joker believes in - what serves him best right now until he can escape from this world and those who are in it. The "it's all part of the plan" speech that he gives Harvey in the hospital bed is a perfect summation of these beliefs. But Batman gives him new life - an adversary almost as twisted as he is, with whom he can share all of his distorted perceptions of the world. They understand each other, they need each other, and as The Joker says, Batman "complete[s]" him.


Standing between Batman and The Joker is Harvey Dent, brilliantly played by Aaron Eckhart. Dent's political rise and eventual transformation into Two-Face is The Dark Knight's real story arc. Gotham's White Knight (as opposed to Batman, the Dark one), District Attorney Harvey Dent is Batman's one chance to lead a normal life again. With do-gooder Dent cleaning up the streets in a legitimate, legal way, Bruce Wayne can finally hang up his Batcape and pass the hero mantle on to an elected official in Gotham, restoring a sense of normalcy to a city that's been through hell and back. Dent's character is not to be taken lightly - we all know that he is to become Two-Face, but it's mesmerizing to watch him fall to those depths after hitting such extreme heights. Eckhart brings a nuance to the DA that isn't noticed unless you're really looking for it - flashes of the eyes when situations don't quite go his way, and little hints of things to come highlight one of the best performances of the film. It's especially evident in the scene where Dent has captured the assassination conspirator and is trying to frighten him into giving up Rachel's whereabouts. We see that he wants to cross that line into the world of the vigilante, yearning to be Batman (he even claims the mantle in a press conference) while the Caped Crusader ironically wants the opposite. Batman himself steps in, diffusing the situation and reminding Harvey of all he represents to Gotham, not allowing him to go any further. And after Rachel's shocking death due to The Joker's trap, Dent allows The Clown Prince of Crime to talk him over onto the dark side, completing his transformation into Two-Face and showing exactly what can happen when good people are pushed too far. Harvey has lost everything he loves, and there's no going back.


Katie Holmes declined to reprise her role as Rachel Dawes due to "conflicting schedules" (read: Tom wouldn't let her out of the house), so Maggie Gyllenhaal ably stepped into the characters shoes, doing a much better job than Holmes could have anyway. Maggie brings an air of pride to the character that wasn't present in Batman Begins, and showcases a personality that warrants two of the most eligible bachelors in Gotham vying for her attention. The love triangle between Bruce Wayne, Harvey Dent, and Rachel Dawes is a key element in The Dark Knight's equation: without Rachel, as we eventually see, nothing goes as planned. Bruce's love for her keeps him hoping that Dent can replace him as Gotham's hero, but Rachel has already fallen for Dent. There has been some discussion about whether or not Batman went after Rachel or Harvey when The Joker gives him the ultimatum: either can be justified, since they are both of equal importance to him on a personal level. But I think I recall him saying "I'm going after Rachel," choosing potential love over the safety of Gotham in Dent's hands. Because what good is a safe Gotham if he can't be safe in it with the woman he loves? Alas, The Joker switched the locations of the two hostages (or did he?), and Batman arrived in time to save Dent instead of Rachel. If he had truly gone after Dent, that would mean that he abandoned Rachel, implying that his love for Gotham outweighs any love for a woman. Both are valid arguments. What did you guys think?


The third group of three (Wayne, Dent, Dawes - Batman, Dent, Joker) can be found in the triumvirate of Batman, Harvey Dent, and Commissioner Gordon. Gordon is the head of the Major Crimes Unit, and the three of them try to clean up the city. It's interesting to see all of the different sets of three that are presented to us in relationships throughout this film (Wayne, his secret identity of Batman, and Alfred, for another). Everything about The Dark Knight, from its fantastic score by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard to the ensemble cast and the story, elevated the movie to a level that rises above any other summer blockbuster I can remember.


Here's the part where I go off about a little thing that I picked up that may or may not be legit. Was it just me, or did anyone else think there was an Obama reference when Wayne handed off the power (spying on citizens) to Lucius Fox (black dude) and left the decision to use it in his hands? Regardless of the possible Barack allusion, the technological invention that allowed Wayne to see the location of every cell phone carrying Gotham citizen was directly referencing our own government and the measures we've taken since 9/11 to keep an eye on our own. The destruction of the machine at the end was slightly hopeful for Nolan's dark vision, but a little wishful thinking never hurt anyone.

The storyline of this movie was basically flawless, possessing everything necessary to top the first film and cement this one as the best comic book movie yet. The little things they captured so well - from the Batpod, to Wayne taking off with the Russian ballet - really served the bigger picture to its best possible effect. The only issues I had with it were small ones: why was The Scarecrow featured for like 4 minutes and never heard from again? Why did they kill off Two-Face so soon (or DID they? Hmm...)? Why were none of the other mobsters remotely competent? And, more importantly, why did Bale's Bat-Voice get deeper and more ridiculous as the movie went on? Again, these are minnow-sized problems in an ocean of ass-kickery, but they need to be mentioned nonetheless.


Speaking of Bale, I thought the script didn't quite allow him the acting range that he obtained in Batman Begins. He was pretty much confined to the Spider-Man 2 formula of "I don't want to do this anymore," but that's not Bale's fault. He's still in the top two Batman's ever (Adam West won't be knocked down so easily), but I wish he was allowed to do some more things that we haven't seen in other comic book sequels. I guess there can only be so much originality in one script, and The Joker pretty much held that end down.

As for future sequels, there hasn't been an official announcement made yet as to whether the main players are returning for a third outing. However, with the movie breaking the record for the biggest box office opening in history, I'm sure Warner Brothers will pay whatever they need to in order to secure them for the next film in another three or so years. I haven't felt THAT satisfied coming out of a movie theater in a long time. I felt about half of it after Speed Racer, because that was such an unexpected surprise for me. But with The Dark Knight, the hype was SO huge that I really didn't want to be let down, so I set my expectations a little low. The movie was unbelievable, as you all know by now if you're reading this, and it's a testament to everyone who was involved in the production as to the great product they put out for us. I feel like there's still more to say about this film to do it justice, but I can't think of anything else off the top of my head. If anyone wants to continue discussion, please feel free to do so in the comments and I'll respond there. Until next time...