Cap Trailer, Thor "review" etc.

There are trailers out for Captain America: The Winter Soldier and X-Men: Days of Future Past. They both look awesome, and I saw both on the big screen today in front of Thor: The Dark World, which was also awesome, though I think it missed few opportunities. I still call Iron Man 3 a better film. I'm not sure how to fault a story for being character-focused (Thor's major problem). Anyway, Thor: The Dark World is my #2 for the year. It's problem is possibly that it doesn't have any action that's as badass as what you'll see in the 5-minute Winter Soldier trailer that plays in front of the 3D shows... or maybe it did but I've been desensitized by seeing that scene in every trailer.

Future Past giving X-Men the Star Trek-style reboot?

As you may have heard by now, the next X-Men film will be titled X-Men: Days of Future Past, a name that reveals--for those in the comic know--a massively awesome plotline for the next X-film. Technically, the film is a sequel to X-Men: First Class, but it looks like it will be much more than that. First off, director Matthew Vaughn has been replaced by the director of the first two X-Men films, Bryan Singer.

So, comic-related spoilers ahead. You've been warned.

Iron Man 3, Thor 2, and more movies and comics

Iron Man 3 just started filming, and here's everything you need to know about it. Also, updates on Thor 2 and beyond. Other studios are moving on. Also, GI Joe 2 got moved, supposedly for 3D conversion. but there could be a different reason. It's all after the jump, and depending on the validity of certain rumors just might contain spoilers.

Marvel movie news

Hey, so The Avengers is coming out soon. You know what that means? Let look at what's coming out after. There's a few bits of news about upcoming Marvel superhero movies that have trickled out over the last few weeks. There are a ton of interviews from the set of The Avengers, along with a myriad of TV spots and couple of new clips.

Week Links: X-Men, Fantastic 4, and more

Okay, it's been a while since I put up some links, so here's a collection from the past month or so. In other news, my list of 2012 movies is up. Chronicle takes first place on the list, as being a great take on the superhero origin story. Red Tails features a bunch of awesome dogfights and... well, that's about all. Meanwhile, Underworld: Awakening was filled with "meh." Also, Haywire was all about a concept, but other than the fact that it starred a woman, was simply a totally generic Bourne rip-off.

The noteworthy parts of 2011

It's time for the first post to begin the recap of the previous year. Last year, I didn't start this until February, so I'm actually getting a jump on the subject. Overall, it was quite the year for me. I graduated from school, I've gotten back into theater. Haven't written as much as I'd like, but it's a new year and that's going to change. Below, you can read all about my favorite movie, the biggest surprise, the biggest disappointment, the best rumor,the best news, and the best trailer of 2011 movie year.

Week Links: Hobbit 3D and more

This week, you can learn all about the 3D filming process being used for The Hobbit. Plus, you can be a part of the The Dark Knight Rises, and as usual, there're some rumors about various upcoming productions. Also, I saw In Time, Tower Heist and Puss in Boots. Dang, it's movie season again.

Newest X-Men is "First Class"

It wouldn't be accurate for me to say X-Men: First Class came out of the blue. I've been a fan of the X-Men franchise and liked The Last Stand and Wolverine far more than either film deserved. So while I was expecting I'd like First Class, my hopes weren't remotely high until the first trailer catapulted up my list of anticipated films.

However, after seeing it yesterday, I have to say that First Class not only comes in far ahead of Wolverine and The Last Stand and honestly I think it's the best stand-alone film of the series (X2 depends on set-up from the the first film). Recasting Patrick Stewart's Professor X and Ian McKellen's Magneto with James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender pays off for this prequel/reboot (FOX execs are saying "reinvention" so they don't have to commit to anything). Both actors have big shoes (or wheels) to fill, and turn brilliant performances and really owning the characters, as does Jennifer Lawrence, stepping into... well, nothing actually... to replace Rebecca Romijn as Mystique.

Anyway, X-Men: First Class is the first film this year to actually beat my expectations. I didn't think I'd like it more than Thor (and hindsight could change my mind), but right now, First Class is my first for the year. Of course, it's not a totally perfect movie, and a few spoilers will follow.

Reading recap: May (and April)

Time for another recap of the books I've been reading. I recently realized that I didn't do one of these for April, then remembered that was because I only read a couple things, so I've just included them here. I'll point out I had fairly narrow taste in my personal reading this month, most comic books and epic fantasy. Actually, I Twitter-spoiled the biggest entry in this list, it being a highly-anticipated mail delivery. After my discovery of the comic world when I read The Ultimates in March, I've dived in headfirst and I have to say I'm loving it. So here it is, a comprehensive list of everything I've read for fun over the last two months.

20 movies I want to see

There's probably a few glaring omissions, and some of these are almost certain to disappoint. One thing I noticed typing this up. There are definitely too many colons and numbers here (though Super 8 is off the hook), and Harry Potter picks up both of them. See the list after the jump.

Some Awesome Links

You know what's awesome? These very-important-to-me links from today.

New Trailer for X-Men: First Class

Some of the leaked images for the newest X-Men film looked pretty iffy, but this new trailer has bumped this movie into "looks good" territory for me. You can watch it on Facebook if you "Like" the page, or just go to io9 and watch it there. They've also done a great screen-by-screen breakdown if you're like me and want to make sure you don't miss any details. I'm particularly liking the period feel (though it's no Captain America) and the Magneto Picking Up a Submarine image. Looks like they've done a pretty good job on the casting, and Matthew Vaughn has shown that he has a good handle on superheros with Kick Ass, so First Class just climbed a few spaces on my list of anticipated films for this year.

Dwarves Will Be Doing Their Own Singing

And here's some news from one of my Most Anticipated Movies of All Time. The principle cast of The Hobbit (Bilbo and Dwarves) was presented at a press conference today. The confirmed that they will indeed have 13 separate dwarf characters, which should make toy collectors everywhere very happy. I'm not sure that even I will be able to tell them apart until I've seen the movies three or times, but then, I will see them that many times so that's not really an issue. TV3 News in New Zealand has a video of the press conference (complete with New Zealand advertising) and you can also check out the ever reliable TheOneRing.net for their coverage, which is where I get my all my information from anyway. I just want to know if the orcs and wargs will also be singing this time around. And will trolls discuss stocking colors?