Hero Inc.

Thanks to the super success of Spider-Man, X-Men, and Batman, super hero movies are continuing to gain the green light on filming. Here’s a little update on a few of the films headed to the screen this year and in the future.

1. The Dark Knight (July 18, 2008) – This is probably the most anticipated movie of the year. Besides being the return of cast and crew from Batman Begins, it also marks one of the last films Heath Ledger made before he died. Everything I have read has stated that his turn as the Joker is simply amazing. Ledger even stated that to prepare he locked himself in a hotel room with a “Joker” journal and made not of anything the Joker would find funny (AIDS apparently was on that list). The teaser trailer gave many fans much to wonder. The real trailer gave us all hope of a great film.
2. Iron Man (May 2, 2008) – Many people are looking down on this movie and I don’t know why. I’m really looking forward to this one. I mean, you can’t get a better Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr. is the playboy drunk in real life and the screen). I don’t know much about Iron Man villians, but I like what I’ve seen visually. I just hope they don’t hide his life outside of the suit. The fight scene between Iron Man and two F-22 Raptors looks great too.
3. Wanted (July 27, 2008)- I don’t know much about the comic other than what wikipedia can tell me. However, the trailer looks good in a sort of Hitman sort of way but better. I’m not a fan of Angelina (gasp….), but the concept looks cool (group of assassins looking to kill each other and some have cool abilities like curving their shots) and sometimes I just like pointless violence. I guess that makes me a bad person or just an American. To me, the best part of the trailer is the scene where the guy comes flying out of the window as the glass breaks around him. Super cool.
4. The Incredible Hulk (June 13, 2008)- Before you start yawning or rolling your eyes, realize that this is NOT The Hulk movie with Eric Bana. This is Marvel taking their property in their own direction. Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt. Sounds good to me. Norton even helped write some of the script himself (that could be good or bad). This movie’s villain will be the Abomination, who is just like the Hulk, but keeps his intelligence when he smashes things. The trailer had me hooked, but most usually do.
5. The Spirit (January 16, 2009) – If you liked 300 or Sin City, then this should be enjoyable as well because it is another Frank Miller created property. The Spirit is a cop who was killed and returns from the dead to “fight crime from the shadows of Central City.” Might sound corny, but what comic book character or story doesn’t? This one is a long way off so let’s wait to see what develops and what visuals we get from it. Oh yeah, Samuel L. Jackson is in this one. He might also make a few cameos in other movies on this list, but that’s something else entirely.
6. The Watchmen (March 6, 2009) – Alan Moore, creator of V For Vendetta, wrote a 12 issue limited series during the 80’s. The Watchmen is heralded as one of the reasons comics became darker (bloody, deaths, adult themes). Don’t write this book off as just blood and violence. There is a really good story here (think Incredibles but not as family friendly). Time magazine even listed The Watchmen on “the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present.” It was the only graphic novel to make this list. The cast looks great in their costumes. Of course, they left out Dr. Manhattan. I wonder why…
7. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (July 11, 2008) – I did not know much about Hellboy before the first movie was released. A good friend encouraged me to go with him to see it and the original trailer looked good so I went. I was shocked. Hellboy was a really good movie with a great mix of comedy and action. Now I’m really looking forward to HellBoy II. The entire cast is back, unless someone died in the first movie. There will also be a few new faces as well. Can’t go wrong with the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. So far, only a teaser has been released, but more show surface as the release date continues to move closer. Speaking of more. I wrote most of this post a few weeks ago. It’s a good thing I chose to post it today because the real trailer for Hellboy II was released today. Hellboy II will probably be another sleeper hit of the summer.

Here’s hoping for a great summer with many more great comic book movies. The better these do, the more will be made. Here’s hoping for no more Nick Fury:Agent of Shield with David Hasselhoff or The Punisher with Dolph Lundgren.

Lately I’ve been hearing many rumors concerning an Arrested Development. These rumors range from it is almost here to Will Farrell will finance the whole movie (I highly doubt this last one).

For those that don’t know, Arrested Development is one of the greatest comedy TV shows of all time. It only lasted 3 seasons on Fox. It gained unbelievable reviews, but no one watched. I even remember seeing a few minutes of a show and stating this show rocks, but then not watching it. All of that changed a year ago for me when a co-worker told me I should check the show out because I might like it. Well, I liked it too much. I can’t even begin to explain all of the looks I received on flights while watching the show. I don’t know of any other show that made me laugh out loud like that. And when I came to the final show of the series, it was picture perfect. Everything was rolled together nicely and it ended. The only thing I was left wanting were more episodes.

However, a movie is not what I want. I just don’t think this show can survive a movie format. One blog listed 8 things that were necessary to relive the greatness of the show. I agreed on all of the items, but I would much rather have more episodes and seasons than a movie. The movie would probably gain mediocre reviews that mention how it can’t relive the TV show and no one will see the movie. Then the TV show will never return because the movie failed.

Just give me more of the Bluths. They just make my family look perfect and help me get through this cruel mixed up world. Man I miss that show. I might start watching the seasons again soon.  Where’s “Final Countdown” when I need it?

I had the chance last night to go see Be Kind Rewind with a few friends. I was looking forward to this movie due to Mos Def and the fact that I enjoyed the visuals of Eternal Sunshine so much.

Be Kind Rewind is basically the story of two guys who erase all of the tapes in their rental store by mistake. In order to keep the business alive, they create their own versions and sell those. The movies slowly become popular in the town and suddenly everyone wants to be a part of the movie making scene. At the end of this movie, I was really reminded how much fun movies should be. I believe most of us have created mini movies with friends, if not for fun then at least for a school project. This movie goes to show that you can make funny, interesting movies with minimal effects. I sometimes believe that special effects can get in the way of true movie magic and creativity (see Star Wars for good and bad samples).

Overall the movie was a funny and entertaining experience. Most people might wait for DVD and that’s fine, but still make sure you see this movie. The trailer does not even come close to showing all of the best parts.

[rating:3]