[Note: This article vaguely references spoilers if you still haven’t seen Man of Steel.] I’ll admit to enjoying Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, though I still prefer the first two Superman films by Richard Donner. But the climax of the film felt like the still-in-the-works “DC Cinematic Universe” had blown its load before its actual creation; by comparison, the Marvel Cinematic Universe didn’t trash New York City until the sixth film, keeping its origin-story threats small yet reasonably formidable. The long-running How It Should Have Ended (HISHE) YouTube series took special note of Man of Steel‘s ending, and they’ve crafted a more sensible ending for the film. Sure, it would be anticlimatic, and it doesn’t adequately establish Superman’s desire for peace before violence, but considering how much destruction there was in the finale, this may have been preferable for the inhabitants of Metropolis. Read more…
If you were watching EVO 2013 over the weekend — which had a ton of intense, fun-t0-watch matches! — then you’ll have already heard about several fighting game announcements. But if you didn’t (and shame on you), then here’s some news: Super Street Fighter IV will be getting another update, supplanting the current version (Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition – Version 2012). This new version replaces the long name and simply goes by Ultra Street Fighter IV. Along with the usual game rebalancing and other tweaks, five new characters will be added: Hugo, Poison, Elena, Rolento, and a fifth character who is supposedly all-new, having never appeared in a Street Fighter game before. Read more…
DC’s latest reboot, “The New 52,” didn’t pop up overnight. Even if they were discarding all that pesky old continuity (sort of), DC had to build up to it and give an in-universe reason why the reboot occurred. Hence, Flashpoint, a storyline where the Flash wakes up in an alternate universe and must fix things, leading to The New 52 universe which made changes and merged the Vertigo and Wildstorm lines into the main DC continuity. There’s an animated adaptation by Warner Brothers coming out July 30 on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital. It’s called Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, and WB has put out this preview! Read more…
We had already heard that Christian Bale wasn’t returning to the role of Batman after The Dark Knight Rises. He doesn’t want to play Batman again unless it’s under Christopher Nolan’s direction, and Man of Steel screenwriter/Dark Knight trilogy co-story writer David S. Goyer has said that the Batman appearing in the nebulous Justice League film will be a rebooted character. But on the other hand, Man of Steel, co-produced by Christopher Nolan, did pretty well for Warner Brothers, and rumors began to swirl. So what does Bale have to say on the matter?
As you’d expect, he’s made up his mind on the matter. “We were incredibly fortunate to get to make three [Batman films]. That’s enough. Let’s not get greedy,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “Chris [Nolan] always said he wanted to make it one film at a time. And we ended up sitting there looking at each other, saying ‘We’re about to make the third.’ We never really knew if we were going to get to be there, but if that was how it was going to be, this was where it should end as well.” Well put!
To dispel rumors even further, Bale stated that he hasn’t even been involved in any talks about a Justice League movie. “I have no information, no knowledge about anything. I’ve literally not had a conversation with a living soul. I understand that they may be making a Justice League movie, that’s it.” Since he’s completely done with Batman, Bale has no issue with anyone else playing the role. “It’s a torch that should be handed from one actor to another. So I enjoy looking forward to what somebody else will come up with.”
It was a good run, but I think it’s fine to let Bale retire his cowl. Besides, if he returned, it would tie Nolan’s more realistic Batman to a most likely hyper-realistic Justice League film. For all that was said about making a more realistic Superman, it would be very hard to fit Nolan’s Batman into the world of Man of Steel. Did you see the end of that movie? While Green Lantern or Wonder Woman or even the Flash would work in this world, a Batman film would be rather boring and ordinary compared to what is going on around him. (Disclaimer: I believe Batman works best alone and don’t really like the dynamics of the Justice League due to power disparities. I think what Marvel did with the Avengers, making every team member viable in some way, works far better than a team with nigh-invincible characters like Superman. The only reason Batman is in the Justice League is because he was popular, but he’s basically relegated to “the brains.” In short, I think Marvel’s shared universe and prominent headliners work better together than DC’s.)
Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is already out on Blu-ray — in fact, I’m looking at my girlfriend’s classy box containing all three films on the shelf. But there was an ad included, mentioning the ability to later buy collectibles that would be included in an upcoming “Ultimate Collector’s Edition” of the trilogy. If this Polish Batman site is to be believed, these are the first images of what’s in the box. We don’t know what is on the nine discs besides the movies, but it looks like there’s at least an art book and a lithograph of some sort. There are toy models of significant vehicles from the series, though I’d argue that their coloring is off. And damn, look at what I assume are individual cases for each movie! There’s some amazing stylized art there, such as the Scarecrow’s mask being mixed with a straight jacket, or Bane’s mask and prison bars. It’s just a shame that Warner Brothers didn’t put this out before people bought the first trilogy set! Read more…
With Warner Brothers struggling to put together a Justice League film and a DC film universe to compete with The Avengers and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are lots of rumors swirling about how things will go down. While Man of Steel is being treated as the first step in DC’s rough plans, no one knows what’s happening with Batman. While Christian Bale is almost assuredly out of the picture, will the new Batman be a recasting of the same Batman, a new character taking over his mantle, or a completely rebooted character that ignores Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy? Well, there is a Batman reference in Man of Steel. There are spoilers ahead, but it’s something extremely minor that probably won’t help you feel better about WB’s DC plans either way. Read more…
If you remember the first trailer for Batman: Arkham City, the 2011 sequel that took gaming by storm, you’ll remember that it was just a long, highly-rendered cutscene. Though not as ridiculously detailed as that one, the first trailer for this fall’s prequel Batman: Arkham Origins is in the same vein, showing a younger Batman fighting Deathstroke and other assassins on Christmas Eve before coming face-to-face with primary antagonist Black Mask. Read more…
As much as I wanted to remain cautiously optimistic, bordering on disbelieving, of Man of Steel, this new trailer has won me over. Sure, I’m still not confident in Zack Snyder’s ability to direct, and I’m not the biggest Superman fan, but now I’m immensely interested in what this movie may do with Superman. And though it was in the first trailer, that shot of Superman taking off still gives me chills. Watch it now! Read more…
Though this ad for Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel is a “viral” video, it requires some suspension of disbelief. The idea is that General Zod is trying to contact our world to turn over Superman, or get Superman to turn over himself. Normally, I’d think this would be done on TV, and this ad was shown during the MTV Movie Awards. But it premiered online first, and this video is on YouTube. So I suppose I’m expected to believe that General Zod recorded this with the intent to put it online, where people might see it. Read more…
Speaking of Batman, Game Informer has just announced that Warner Bros. Montreal are making Batman: Arkham Origins, a prequel to Rocksteady’s Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. The game will be released on Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, and PC this fall. It will be set years before the first two Arkham games and include the villain Deathstroke. What’s a little concerning is that someone other than Rocksteady are making the game, considering how proven Rocksteady is, but I’m still optimistic. Read more…
Since Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is finished, Warner Brothers needs to take the Batman franchise in a new direction, and that means a reboot. The previous plan was to introduce a new Batman in the upcoming Justice League movie, which itself will be shaped by the success of Zack Snyder’s Superman movie Man of Steel. But now, things are uncertain, and we me see a new solo Batman film even sooner. Read more…
Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim may not have had a trailer during the Super Bowl — for that matter, no Warner Brothers movie did — but at least we have a bunch of fancy new images to share. If buzz from the recent test screening is anything to go off of, this is going to be a giant robot movie you don’t want to miss. Plus, Looper director Rian Johnson has seen it, and he loves it!
I admit, I’m not the biggest Superman fan. The character is often just too powerful, removing tension and making everything around him dull, and when combined with his unwavering good nature, I find it hard to care about any of his problems. Why worry when you can throw any problem into the sun? If Superman’s personality is altered or presented in a different light (Red Son), then I can find enough interest to stick around. Fortunately, that seems to be what’s going on in this full trailer of Man of Steel. Read more…
Talk about blowing your load right away. So The Avengers 2 will feature Thanos, an intergalatic villain that seems natural for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to build up to. DC wants some of that superhero team-up money, so enter Justice League, a film from Warner Bros. coming in 2015. Justice League‘s Big Bad will reportedly be Darkseid, an intergalactic villain that is a horrible choice for a newly-launching franchise. Read more…
Remember how we heard tale of a Wonder Woman show on the CW a while back? Running under the title Amazon, they were struggling to get the show made, and well, it seems they’re still trying. Currently they’re hunting for their lead actress and the listing mentions that the story is a “fish-out-of-water” tale featuring Diana as a warrior who arrives in the modern world in awe of the skyscrapers, cars, and technology. Will the CW finally get this show made? I highly doubt it given the troubles they’ve had so far, but perhaps their desire to replicate Smallville’s success will overcome the difficulties.
Warner Bros. sure does want to make a Justice League film. After their darling, Christopher Nolan, has said he’s done with superhero films, they began searching for someone else to take the reigns of their comic book properties. And with the success of The Avengers, they’re eyeing the pie quite hungrily. Now, according to Variety, they’ve approached Ben Affleck about directing the Justice League film. Whether he’ll accept or not is up in the air, but in the meantime you can try and imagine how Affleck’s League might turn out!
Oh Warner Brothers, what are we going to do with you? Not content with the start-and-stop production process of it’s other live-action anime adaptions (namely Akira), the fine folks over at Warner have picked up another property to slowly never make a movie out of: Bleach. The popular and long-running Shonen Jump manga series by Tite Kubo has spawned an equally long anime and many video games, but no live-action films yet. Looks like Warner wants to change that! Read more…
Rocksteady has revealed their latest trailer for Batman: Arkham City featuring none-other than everyone’s favorite snow-cone enthusiast, Mr.Freeze. Unfortunately, Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t lend his voice this time around, though it’s probably for the best. After all, Schumacher’s Batman & Robin certainly killed its fair share of careers. Still, I’ll miss those terribly awesome puns. It’s just not the same without the Austrian accent, right? At least the gameplay is looking solid as ever. Batman: Arkham City hits stores this October.
This one took me by surprise. About a year ago, there were some rumors floating around the net regarding a potential live-action adaptation of the classic manga, Rurouni Kenshin. Well, it turns out it’s not just some rumor after all. Warner Brothers will be producing the film, starring Sato Takeru as Kenshin. Some of you might recognize him from last year’s live-action adaptation of Beck (the manga, not the musician.) While I enjoyed the Rurouni Kenshin‘s manga and OVAs, the animated series that aired in the late-90s seemed a bit too juvenile in comparison. Of course, that didn’t stop it from being wildly popular. Still, I’m looking forward to seeing how the film shapes up over the next few months. The rest of the cast for the upcoming film have yet to be unveiled, and it won’t hit theaters until sometime in 2012.
I was already a little iffy about the next Superman film after director Zack Snyder announced his plans to cast English actor Henry Cavill as our beloved Clark Kent, and now we’re hearing that Kevin Costner has been cast as Kent’s adopted father. As much as I’d like to give Costner credit for his storied acting career, many of the major films he’s starred in have tanked at the box office. To be honest, I’m not really sure how much of that is his fault — after all, he’s not a bad actor — but if the naysayers are to be believed, his involvement may as well serve as an omen. I hope both him, and his co-star prove me wrong. Besides, it’s not like he’s the star of the film.
This guy’s going to be Superman? Really? I feel as if asking repeatedly might some how result in a different answer, yet I’m more than aware that I need to just come to terms with the idea. It’s not that Henry Cavill is a bad actor — his work on Showtime’s The Tudors is evidence enough — but I can’t help but feel he simply doesn’t look the part. Perhaps it’s simply that I had been sold on Brandon Routh, whose visage so closely resembled that of a young Christopher Reeve. Reeve, of course, set the standard for what we’ve come to expect from the Man of Steel.
Last year, it was revealed that ThunderCats would be making its return to television. It was exciting news, but until recently nobody had any idea as to what we could expect. Warner Brothers had mentioned the involvement of Studio 4°C, the animation studio responsible for numerous projects such as Detroit Metal City, and Spriggan. More recently, the studio was involved with several Warner Brothers projects including The Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight.
[Update: Slashdot has confirmed that this is not happening, but I suppose there’s always wishful thinking. Thanks to Fanboy Brian for pointing this out.]
Keanu Reeves apparently gave quite the keynote at the London School for Performing Arts. During his speech, he reportedly dropped some details about upcoming projects including two Matrix scripts that are currently in the works. Now, that’s cool and all but I’m kind of concerned. While I enjoyed the first film quite a bit, the second film was a bit of giant CGI mess, and the third did little to improve on that, if anything at all. A shame really, considering how much promise the original film had. They could have literally taken the story any number of directions — hell, I can remember three or four different conspiracy theories I had at the time. The fact that they’re thinking of add two new scripts to the pile, both featuring Neo in some capacity, will at least give them another chance to surprise us with an interesting twist. The films will also be in 3D, so take that for what it’s worth.Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Nov 2, 2010 in Cinema, Tech
Back in April, Paramount teamed up with Seagate to produce a special edition hard drive that came loaded with select movies, such as Abram’s Star Trek. Well, it sees Buffalo will be taking this cross promotional concept a step further with their upcoming Harry Potter hard drives. Buffalo has teamed up with Warner Home Video in order to load the drives with all six films to date. The films will come in a DRM-locked DivX format and require an Internet connection to be played. Chances are, if you’re reading this, that won’t be a problem. Aside from having the movies sitting on the drive, the only film-related reference seems to be the Harry Potter logo located on the external drive itself. Nifty, but is it worth the price? I guess we’ll have to see when it’s announced, along with the official release date later this month.
