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.

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.

First look at The Hunger Games

Entertainment Weekly has the first image of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in the upcoming film adaptation of The Hunger Games. The look at Katniss includes her trademark bow and mockingjay pin. Of course she's looking pretty airbrushed and cleaned-up right now. Hopefully, the film itself will include the mud and blood and sweat from the books. It'll be interesting to see how the filmmakers deal with the story's action and violence, since there's no way they'll even consider an R rating, nor should they. Anyway, Lawrence's casting was only announced a couple months ago and the film is due out next March. I really wish more movies came together this quickly. Yes, I'm talking about the eight-year wait for The Hobbit.

The Hunger Games casting

I'm working on finals right now so I haven't had time to write much for this blog, but this caught my attention. Oscar-nominee Jennifer Lawrence is reportedly on the verge of taking the lead role Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games movie (Variety via /Film). I read the entire Hunger Games Trilogy over Christmas break was really impressed. I didn't find it unbearably angsty, which was nice for a YA series, and since then I've been paying attention to the search for a lead actress for the film adaptation. I watched Winter's Bone a couple of weeks ago, and thought Lawrence did a great job  in that role. Lawrence is 20, while Katniss is 16, but I think it's probably better to cast older than younger, and two of the other contenders (Chloe Moretz and Hailee Steinfeld) are only 14. Besides, the actor's age isn't really an issue. Look at Andrew Garfield playing a high-school age Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-man. I think Lawrence would be great for the role.