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.

Has Age of Ultron found its new Avengers?

It's been a few months since Joss Whedon suggested he was adding Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch to Avengers: Age of Ultron, and now it looks like he's found the actors to play the Maximoff twins.
According to a source no less than Samuel L. Jackson himself, Elizabeth Olsen has been cast as Wanda Maximoff, the reality-bending Scarlet Witch. Deadline says the deal is all but done, and that means that the Olsen twins' little sister will be joining--and probably fighting--the Avengers and Ultron in 2015.
Meanwhile, reports say that Aaron Taylor-Johnson has signed up to play her twin brother Quicksilver. Taylor-Johnson is best known for playing Kick-Ass, so he's no stranger to super hero roles. Quicksilver (effectively) has the same super-speed powers as DC's Flash and The Incredibles' Dash. Plus Bryan Singer's X-Men: Days of Future Past is going to be bringing another version of Quicksilver (played by Kick-Ass co-star Evan Peters) to the big screen next year, while Glee's Grant Gustin will be playing the Flash on the CW's Arrow. Taylor-Johnson is going to have his work cut out for him. Meanwhile, Marvel announced that James Spader has signed up to play the villainous AI, Ultron.

Finally, Zachary Levi as Fandral

Edit: Now with U.S. version from Marvel.com. German version here. Original: Chuck was one of my favorite shows, so I was pretty excited when Marvel added Zachary Levi to Thor: The Dark World. Now, just a month ahead of release we finally get a chance to see the new and improved Fandral on this German version of the poster (note the alternate title), and he looks awesome. You can check out the trailer over on YouTube, plus there's other posters of Thor and Sif, and others floating around the interwebs. Thor: The Dark World opens on November 8.

Rumor: Bale offered $60 million to play Batman again

As you may have heard by now, the sequel to Man of Steel will feature Batman vs Superman. The big question has been who will play Batman. A few names have been tossed around, including Orlando Bloom and Josh Brolin. However, a new rumor suggests that Warner Bros. is willing to pull out all the stops to bring back Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader. It's good news for fans of the Nolan films, and the arrival of Superman on Earth could be a good reason to bring Bruce Wayne out of retirement.

It's official: Robert Downey Jr. to return as Iron Man

Marvel.com announced today that Robert Downey Jr. has signed a two picture deal to return as Iron Man/Tony Stark for Avengers 2 & 3. It's good news for Marvel fans, even if this news implies that no more Iron Man solo films are in development. I really can't imagine an Avengers film without RDJ, though I hope the future films don't focus on Tony Stark as heavily as the first Avengers did. The Avengers 2 is scheduled to start production in March 2014 and open May 1, 2015.

First look at Evangeline Lilly in "The Hobbit"

Entertainment Weekly has the first official look at Evangeline Lilly from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (unless you bought the Lego set) She's playing Tauriel, an elf invented by Peter Jackson and company to make the film a little less sausage-fest (and my math still puts this at 15:1). Of course, you probably remember Lilly as Kate from Lost, unless you've repressed that memory. Still she looks great as an elf, though I'm concerned about the fact that the arrow looks like bad CGI.

Review: The villains of Iron Man 3 and Star Trek 2

Time for a couple of quick movie reviews. Two big May sequels: Iron Man 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness (aka JJ Abrams' Star Trek II). Both films are continuations of successful franchises, both heavily advertised their villains, both use insane amounts of CGI, and both have a fairly controversial twist, which means that most of everything I want to say is incredibly spoiler heavy. On the spoiler-free side, both films strike a fine balance action and humor, and well neither is perfect (and both make questionable decisions) both are excellent summer movies. Okay, spoilers now.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Official Trailer

ABC has released a full-length trailer for this fall's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It covers the "isn't Coulson dead?" issue, and shows off the various cast members, seemingly including Angel's J. August Richards. Is he Luke Cage? Probably not. Rage? Maybe. A one episode guest star? Likely. More importantly, does Lola fly? So many options. So long to wait. In related news, Joss Whedon is now on Twitter.

Movie News: New suit for Captain America and more!

Lots of news on the movie front, especially from Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Get a look at some revealing concept art after the jump. Plus, a Star Trek actor joins Guardians of the Galaxy. Click on.

First look at Captain America 2

Captain America: The Winter Soldier has begun filming, and Marvel has released the first official image, along with a press release confirming many rumors about the film. Anthony and Joe Russo are directing from a screenplay by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (Captain America: The First Avenger). Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Chris Evans returns as Steve Rogers/Captain America, along with Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) and Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury). Robert Redford has joined the cast as Alexander Pierce, a senior leader within S.H.I.E.L.D. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is set for release in the U.S. on April 4, 2014, a month earlier than the norm for Marvel films, but the first weekend in May has been claimed by Amazing Spider-Man 2.

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” will pick-up where “Marvel’s The Avengers” left off, as Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and teams up with Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, to battle a powerful yet shadowy enemy in present-day Washington, D.C.

The supporting cast includes Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Frank Grillo as Crossbones and Georges St-Pierre as Georges Batroc, with Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Toby Jones as Arnim Zola and Emily VanCamp as Agent 13.

Pepper Potts to the Rescue in new Iron Man 3 TV spot

Fully revealing a rumored plot point from the LEGO sets, here's the latest TV spot for Iron Man, showing Gwyneth Paltrow getting into the action (via ComicBookMovie).

News: Jurassic Park, Norman Osborn and more!

There's some awesome news this week for several franchises, starting with one of my childhood favorites: Jurassic Park 4 has finally found a director. Plus, Guardians of the Galaxy has cast another character and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has added yet another major character, and we can finally see Amy Adams as Lois Lane. It's after the jump.

New Iron Man 3 trailer confirms the awesome

The theatrical trailer for Iron Man 3 is here, and it confirms, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the presence of the many rumored suits of armor. Heartbreaker, Hulkbuster and more. Not only that, but they seem able to fly autonomously (or Tony found a shit-ton of trusted pilots somewhere). Less than two months until release.

Christian Bale rumored to return for Justice League, potentially sets fans up for massive disappointment

It's the mother of all rumors for the long-suffering Justice League film. After failing to get Ben Affleck to direct the film (a move that would also have seen Affleck take over as Batman), a new report from LatinoReview (via ComicBookMovie) has Warner Bros. trying to secure the return of Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, and bring back Christopher Nolan as a producer (Zach Synder too, so this would clearly depend on the success of Man of Steel). Bale has previously said he'd consider returning provided Nolan was on board, while Nolan has said he wasn't interested. However, Warner would probably be willing to move Heaven and Earth to get this done, as such a move would allow the film to overcome the hurdles that other options would face. Basically, this would let the Nolan films serve as setup for the Justice League, instead of requiring audiences forget everything they've seen in those films. Unfortunately, even if rumor is true, it doesn't mean Warner is going to be able to pull off the deals, as they'd likely be be looking for a long-term commitment from both Bale and Nolan. There's a spoiler for the end of The Dark Knight Rises below. You've been warned.

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.

New Iron Man 3 poster has all of the armors

Yahoo! Movies has revealed a new poster for Iron Man 3, and it finally has official confirmation of the rumored suits of armor that'll be appearing in the film. There's seven new ones here (well, the one in the top left corner might be from a previous film). The armor on middle-right is said to be a Deep Space armor (a toy calls it the Starboost Irom Man), possibly tying into Guardians of the Galaxy. Here's leaked concept art for the space armor and a heavy Hulkbuster suit. And don't forget the Heartbreaker. This movie is looking more awesome by the day. A new trailer will be out on March 5.

Iron Man Heartbreaker revealed?

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about the Iron Man 3 Heartbreaker armor that was revealed in the tie-in LEGO sets. Now, ComicBookMovie has a piece of concept art from the film that seems to confirm--and give a better look at--the armor. Rumor is there's a new trailer for the film dropping soon that will show of several new armors, and based on the LEGO sets, this heavy duty suit could be the one Tony Stark takes into battle against the Manderin.
Also, Here's the Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) poster I guessed was on the way. She's holding Iron Man's worse-for-wear helmet. Or is she? Just waiting on the Robert Downey Jr. one to finish the set.

Ben Kingsley is a badass in new "Iron Man 3" poster

Check out today's poster for Iron Man 3 featuring Ben Kingsley's Manderin (or, as I like to think Evil Gandhi) looking like an actual badass. The sunglasses add that extra "I'm gonna blow shit up" vibe. Director Shane Black previously criticized the character for being a racist caricature so it'll be interesting to see how he deals with that in the film. In the hands of Sir Ben, I'm not particularly worried. This is the third character poster revealed so far, we've already seen Guy Pearce (Momento, Lockout) as Aldrich Killian and Don Cheadle as War Machine. Over the next few days, I expect we'll get one for Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts) and of course Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark himself.

My favorite movies and comics of 2012

Time to look at my favorite things from 2012, a follow up to last year. It was an eventful year. We had a presidential election. The world failed to end. The economy did bad stuff. You know, the usual. World and political stuff isn't what this blog's about though. This was the year of Call Me Maybe and 50 Shades of Gray. More importantly to me, it was the year that The Avengers, The Hobbit, and The Dark Knight Rises all hit the silver screen. Creatively, I was on stage a few times, and even on camera. I've started a new novel (YA fantasy) and I'm working on a comic (superheroes). I'll post updates on both here in the future. Anyway on to the things I loved about 2012.

20 Movies I'm looking forward to in 2013

Here's the 20 movies I'm looking forward to seeing in 2013.

LEGO gives more hints at summer Super Heroes

The first official images of this summer's LEGO Marvel and DC Universe Super Heroes sets are surfacing, and they're full of hints and spoilers for Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel. Iron Man: Extremis Sea Port Battle has Iron Man and War Machine chasing after Aldrich Killian in a speedboat. It looks like Guy Pearce's Killian in going to be trying out Extremis on himself, based on the minifigure's face. That's a change from the comic storyline.
Next, is Iron Man vs. The Mandarin: Ultimate Battle. It looks like it's final showdown of the film and features Tony Stark in the rumored Heartbreaker armor. The questionable accuracy of LEGO sets hopefully means the Mandarin won't be driving around in a flame-throwing buggy. Man of Steel and the big spoiler for Iron Man 3 are after the jump.

Guardians of the Galaxy finds its Starlord

   
After months of rumors involving every young male actor in Hollywood, James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy has finally cast Peter Quill a.k.a. Starlord, the half-human NASA astronaut, and it's Chris Pratt, best know for Parks and Recreation. He recently appeared in Zero Dark Thirty as a member of Seal Team Six. No other roles have been cast, though there are plenty of rumors. The Guardians themselves are getting a new comic series starting later this month.

LEGO and the Super Bowl give "Iron Man 3" hints

The Super Bowl spot for Iron Man 3 (embedded in extended form above) shows off the airplane rescue scene previously spotted in set photos. It's an Air Force One rescue and looks suitably awesome. Moving on, a look at the upcoming LEGO sets reveals yet another suit of armor. On the right is the Mark XLII we've seen in all the trailers, but the one on the left is new. Reports are calling it the Heartbreaker armor. Note the blue eyes and chest light.

Emily VanCamp joins Captain America

Deadline is reporting that Revenge actress Emily VanCamp has signed up to join Captain America: The Winter Soldier as the female lead. There's no official word on the role she'll be playing, but the safe bet is Cap's love interest, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Sharon Carter. Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Samuel Jackson (Nick Fury), and Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill) are already signed on, suggesting a heavy S.H.I.E.L.D. presence in the film. VanCamp beat out a long list of actresses who'd previously been rumored for the role, including Imogen Poots (Fright Night), Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Jessica Brown Findlay (Downton Abbey), Teresa Palmer (Warm Bodies), Alison Brie (Community), and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim). She joins a cast including Chris Evans (Captain America), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes), Anthony Mackie (The Falcon), Frank Grillo (Crossbones), Toby Jones (Arnim Zola). Joe and Anthony Russo are directing, and the film is currently scheduled for April 4, 2014.

Review: Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

The first 2013 release I've seen (meaning it gets the #1 spot for a few days) is Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. It stars Hawkeye, a Bond girl, and Jean Grey and straddles the line between bad and dumb fun pretty closely, but I found myself laughing often enough to enjoy it. It has a grownup Hansel and Gretel who make a career out of killing witches. The best detail is Jeremy Renner's Hansel having diabetes thanks to too much candy as a kid. Like Prince of Persia, the plot totally demands a close up of Gemma Arteron's cleavage (there's a 3D pun there somewhere, but I am better than that). It's a B movie, but at least it isn't pretentious. They did show most of the really cool stuff in the trailer. It ranks #1. If you aren't into the limited-release-awards-bait movies this is a decent alternative.

2013 Film List

Another year, another list. Here's how I rank the 2013 releases.

Comic Movie News: Captain America and more!

It's been a while since I collected up all of the Comic Book Movie news that I've missed, so here goes. Someone else is returning for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Marvel's looking at some big names for Guardians of the Galaxy, there's a new rumor about the Justice League movie, and a non-Superhero comic is getting a film. Click ahead to read all about it.

J.J. Abrams likely to direct Star Wars Episode VII

EDIT: It's official. A major announcement was promised in January, and it's just in. It looks like J.J. Abrams is going to be the director of Star Wars: Episode VII, despite an earlier report that said his commitment to Star Trek would make this impossible. According to the report, Ben Affleck (Argo) and Matthew Vaughn (X-Men First Class, Kick Ass) were also approached, but on Steven Spielberg's suggestion, LucasFilm president (and long-time Spielberg collaborator) Kathleen Kennedy has chosen Abrams. Considering that much of the fan critiscm of Abrams's take on Star Trek was that it was too much like Star Wars, this may be a perfect fit. The script for Episode VII is already in the works, in the care of Toy Story 3 writer Michael Arndt. Thanks to /Film for the heads up, with the initial report coming from TheWrap.com.

2013 Academy Award Nominees

Here's the list of all the films nominated for Academy Awards this year. I've underlined everything I've seen already, and I'll probably see a few more before the ceremony. [Oscars]

Jurassic Park 4 gets a 2014 release date

Deadline is reporting that Jurassic Park IV is set for a June 13, 2014 release date. No director is signed on yet, but it will be shot in 3D (no post-conversion) and the new script is by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) who were hired last year producers Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy. The movie has been in and out of development for 10 years, and some thought the death of author Michael Crichton might finish the project for good, but it seems like one of my all-time favorite movies really is going to get another sequel. A 3D rerelease of the original film is set for April 5 this year.