Marvel Comics movies update

[Guest The Second Spitter]

I bring to you another CPF exclusive:

Sister Spitter wrote: Was on the set of Cap America for two days earlier this month in Manchester. Samuel L & Tommy L were there. Said "hi & bye". Chris Evans very professional. Real nice guy, very quiet between takes. The area around Manchester in the Northern Quarter replicated a 1940s metropolis (not much CG needed there). The movie is gritty and realistic (much more than the other films). There was a strict policy on mobile phones on set. Anybody who wasn't in the first unit, basically had to check it in which made making calls between takes a pain in the posterior.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Did she spot any time travelers on the set?

[Guest The Second Spitter]

So........what did everybody think of the Thor trailer?

[Valadius]

Won't be as good as Green Lantern. Captain America should make up for it though.

[stevejrogers]

Valadius wrote: Won't be as good as Green Lantern. Captain America should make up for it though.

I have strong reservations about Green Lantern.

1) The suit looks bad. Yes it is ring-energy based, but on Ryan Reynolds, it looks bad.

2) From everything I've seen in that trailer, everything is pointing towards this "Green Lantern" being Hal Jordan in name, setting and origin only. Personality wise, Reynolds seems very Kyle Rayner like. Not a bad thing, but if this is the Hal Jordan story, do Hal Jordan. Don't completely redo the character to make him fit the actor's talents.

[stevejrogers]

TONS of Spider-Man news since the last time this thread was updated.

-The reboot looks like is officially going to be called Amazing Spider-Man

Can we have that cut from the 1969 MLB WS film with everyone saying "Amazin'" including Casey repeating it over and over spliced into the film somehow?

-Oh and the suit looks like either one of those Spider-Man-esque things winter Olympic athletes have been trotting out or a rather poor cos-play attempt

[Benjamin Grimm]

More a gut feeling than anything else, but I'm not getting a good vibe about this Spidey movie.

Maybe it's the anime hair that Peter Parker has. Seems like it's not gonna be my generation's Spider-Man.

[Edgy MD]

It looks like down at the Javitz Center Auto Show, nobody wanted to pose with Spidey.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Unless my daughter's Friday evening softball game is rained out, it looks like I'll have to wait until Saturday to see The Avengers. (I've been waiting for four years; I suppose I can wait an additional 24 hours.)

In preparation, we're having a Marvel Movie Week. Watched Iron Man last night, and in the next several days we'll watch Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America.

If these movies had come out when I was 10 years old, I would have been completely beside myself.

[Edgy MD]

Wait, no Hulk?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Huh?

Oh... you mean the 2003 movie. No, seeing that movie once was more than enough for me.

[Vic Sage]

i have to wait an extra week, because my family is taking me for my birthday (5/13)... but i might sneak out of work on Friday afternoon for a "long lunch", and just not tell them.

but that would be wrong.

i'm conflicted.

[Edgy MD]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Huh? Oh... you mean the 2003 movie. No, seeing that movie once was more than enough for me.

He did the giant leaps and broken English for you.

[Guest The Second Spitter]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Unless my daughter's Friday evening softball game is rained out, it looks like I'll have to wait until Saturday to see The Avengers. (I've been waiting for four years; I suppose I can wait an additional 24 hours.).

Saw it on Saturday night. I'll throw up a spoiler -free review soon.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Edgy DC wrote: He did the giant leaps and broken English for you.

He didn't actually talk in that movie. And that's not the point; it takes more than giant leaps to prevent a movie from sucking.

[Edgy MD]

Of course it does. The movie was fascinatingly bad. Just interesting enough that you got an idea of how boldly they aspired and how badly they failed. Part of you wants to tip your hat to them, and the other just wishes they had aimed lower and hit the target.

Somehow, though, they made the better subsequent The Incredible Hulk movie a loose sequel, rather than an outright do-over, which I thought was pretty bold. And it therefore it retains Hulk as part of the Avengers canon, when good business sense might be to pretend it never happened (as you clearly would like to do).

I kind of like this. There's this cool challenge that latter-day comic book writers take up for themselves: attempting to redeem weak runs from their character's past, that in subsequent decades have grown seemingly inconsistent with what we've later learned about the characters. With retro-fit connections, explanations, and expositions, they bring all the incarnations of the character back into the canon. I think some of that spirit was present in keeping perhaps the lousiest of the Marvel films (I disliked Thor a lot, but at least it was reasonably short) in the family.

[metirish]

This isn't suitable for a four year old is it?

[Benjamin Grimm]

I won't go so far as to say I disliked Thor, but I definitely think it was the weakest of the run of Marvel Studios movies that began with Iron Man. My lack of dislike may be because I had anticipated it being a lot worse.

Watched Incredible Hulk last night. Art Carney makes for a good Bruce Banner. When I had seen the movie previously, I had missed the quick reference to Rick Jones in the opening montage. (There were quick glimpses of the governments files on Banner and the Hulk and Rick was listed as one of Banner's known associates.) I would have preferred that they completely ignore the 2003 film and start from scratch, but I'm okay that they didn't. The way they handled it worked out well.

I was less impressed with the climactic battle scene. I know it's almost obligatory in these kinds of movies, but the slugfest between the Hulk and the Abomination was a lot of noise and smashing but not terribly interesting.

Next up tonight... Iron Man 2.

[Ceetar]

I haven't seen the Incredible Hulk or Captain America yet. I tentatively intend to do that this week, but going out to see a screening of Anna Karenina tonight so it'll have to wait.

Although I don't imagine that it's a prerequisite to see them before the Avengers.

[Vic Sage]

HULK is totally missable. CAPTAIN AMERICA is not only an excellent movie in its own right, it's prerequisite viewing for the AVENGERS.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Does Nick Fury show up after the credits in Anna Karenina?

[Vic Sage]

you wanna see a movie about a Russian chick? Try Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow.

[Ceetar]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Does Nick Fury show up after the credits in Anna Karenina?

I sure hope so. Hey..it's free and what not.. I made the mistake of asking my wife if she wanted to go before I looked up what it was. oops. They also don't let you bring your phone in, which means no words with friends to kill the time until they roll the movie.

Vic Sage wrote: HULK is totally missable. CAPTAIN AMERICA is not only an excellent movie in its own right, it's prerequisite viewing for the AVENGERS.

shoot. Then I guess I better grab that one to watch. Keeps slipping through my 'things to do' list.

[Ceetar]

Vic Sage wrote: you wanna see a movie about a Russian chick? Try Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow.

Is there actually a Black Widow movie? cause that'd be awesome.

also, whatever happened to Ant Man?

(Anna Karenina was realllly bad)

[Benjamin Grimm]

No, there's no Black Widow movie, at least not yet anyway.

I think that Ant Man and the Wasp were included in early treatments for the Avengers movie, but for whatever reason they didn't make the final cut. There was also talk a few years ago of an Ant Man movie, but that doesn't seem to have gone anywhere. It's interesting to see some of the posts that Vic made earlier in this thread, and several years ago, about comics movies on the horizon. So many of them didn't come to pass.

What version of Anna Karenina did you see? The Garbo version, or a more recent one?

[Ceetar]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: No, there's no Black Widow movie, at least not yet anyway. I think that Ant Man and the Wasp were included in early treatments for the Avengers movie, but for whatever reason they didn't make the final cut. There was also talk a few years ago of an Ant Man movie, but that doesn't seem to have gone anywhere. It's interesting to see some of the posts that Vic made earlier in this thread, and several years ago, about comics movies on the horizon. So many of them didn't come to pass. What version of Anna Karenina did you see? The Garbo version, or a more recent one?

And i looked at a list somewhere and it's mostly sequels coming up for Marvel movies (or reboots) don't see a lot of new ones, which is a shame.

A more recent one (it was a prerelease screening) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1781769/

I mean, Keira Knightly and Alicia Vikander were nice to look at, but the plot was jumpy and unclear and often simply left unsaid. Perhaps the expectation is that I know the story? I didn't.

[Vic Sage]

god, that looks awful.

anyway, back to the AVENGERS.

a theater near me is doing a Marvel Movie-thon the day before it opens: the 5 marvel movies that lead up to it, all in one day, for $35 (including the 3-D versions of the last few). So the "canon" consists of

IRON MAN (May/2008) - Robert Downey totally owns this excellent adaptation; Jeff Bridges is a second rate villain, but Favreau's direction is slick and surprisingly strong in characterization, and all the updates to to Tony Stark and his origin are faithful in tone and spirit. Paltrow and Terrence Howard are strong in support. *** 1/2

THE INCREDIBLE HULK (June/2008) - Zak Penn scripted this sequel (sort of) to the earlier failed adaptation, this time with the excellent Edward Norton as Bruce (not David) Banner. Not a great movie, but an ok version of the "hulk smash" iteration of the creature, and superior to other incarnations of the character to that point. [note: this is the only one of the films without the Nick Fury coda, featuring Tony Stark instead (on edit: thanks Ben), and Banner is played by a different actor in the AVENGERS movie {mark ruffalo}, so some may not necessarily consider it part of the series] ** 1/2

IRON MAN 2 (May / 2010) - Downey's reprisal is not up to the original. Though Mickey Roarke is an excellent villain, Cheadle makes a much less impressive Rhodey/War Machine than Howard. Scarlett Johanssen, though awful in civvies, makes a great Black Widow. Overall, though, the story is lame and Favreau is more interested in making stuff blow up and so the film doesn't work nearly as well. **

THOR (May / 2011) - Kenneth Branagh brings some Shakespearean style to the Marvel version of the Norse myth. Chris Hemsworth is totally believable as the arrogant warrior humbled by his father; Hopkins as Odin is practically type-casting. But Natalie Portman continues to unimpress and, as a result, most of the stuff on Earth is unconvincing, but Asgard works great. Loki's big mechanical monster at the end is a BIG letdown, and the Warriors 3 are wasted, but overall the film works well enough. [Note: the film introduces Jeremy Renner as HAWKEYE] ** 1/2

CAPTAIN AMERICA (July / 2011) - director Joe Johnston ably mixes an authentic vintage feel with a square-jawed heroism that is knowing and appreciative, without condescension, irony or parody, an approach he previously demonstrated with the under-appreciated ROCKETEER movie. Chris Evans hits all the right notes, and even the abrupt ending, leading in to the upcoming AVENGERS movie didn't diminish the movie *** 1/2

Edited May 2, 2012 by Guest

[Benjamin Grimm]

I agree that Captain America and the first Iron Man movie are the best of the bunch.

In my house, we're having a Marvel Movie week and so far we've watched the first three. (Thor is tonight's feature.)

Remember, although Nick Fury didn't appear in Incredible Hulk, Robert Downey Jr. had an after-the-credits cameo as Tony Stark, so I'd say that movie is certainly part of this series.


Oh, and yes, Rocketeer was terrific.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Favreau was annoyed about the amount of Avengers backstory they made him shoehorn into the second Iron Man vehicle; according to some post-wrap gossip, he was thisclose to pulling an Alan Smithee on the thing. (While other reports suggest that the Marvel people's heavyhanded suggestions were designed to push him out for cost reasons.) Instead, he just decided to step away from the franchise after finishing the second.

[Guest The Second Spitter]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: No, there's no Black Widow movie, at least not yet anyway. There was also talk a few years ago of an Ant Man movie, but that doesn't seem to have gone anywhere.

It's back on the table with a view for him to appear in The Avengers 2. So except it around 2014.

The Punisher is also getting a reboot.