Anyway, just so you don’t think I am “having a go” with you… May I present, from the bowels of the Internet… The one… The only… Smurf Teaser Trailer:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpPqQYJuOwE

The official website of the train wreck that will be the Smurf Movie can be found at www.smurfhappens.com.

Oh Smurf Me!!! There’s NO way I’m going to see this Smurfin’ movie!

Problem: the third film in trilogies tends to be the worst: Godfather Part III, Spider-Man 3, X-Men 3, and arguably Return of the Jedi and Return of the King. With “Batman 3″ confirmed and director Chris Nolan finally commenting on his plans to helm the film, I thought it would be a good time to give some thoughts on this pending third act of Nolan’s Batman saga.

• Story:  First, in order to succeed, this movie has to do something no other superhero franchise has truly had the guts to do: close the book. Batman 3 needs to feel like the final chapter of Nolan’s Batman story — particularly since we know Nolan isn’t coming back for a Batman 4, and we can’t risk another director coming in and screwing up everything good that Nolan established (a la Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin). 
• Theme: To do Batman 3 right, I think Nolan needs to go back to an idea in Batman Begins to bring the trilogy full-circle: the idea of becoming a legend. If this is the last part of Nolan’s Batman saga, I think we need to see the fulfillment of Batman as an urban myth and incorruptible ideal. It’d also be nice to see him do a little detective work for once.
• Casting: DiCaprio or Gordon-Levitt. They’re both in Inception. I’m placing my bet right now that one of them will be in the next Batman movie.

• Villain: This is the one everybody talks about the most. Nolan’s pretty much confirmed that Joker won’t make a reappearance in Batman 3. To be honest, I don’t really care who the villain is, as long as it makes sense for the story. Talia al Ghul, Riddler, Hush, and Hugo Strange — any of them would make sense for this story. But we probably won’t get any of them because everybody seems to want Riddler.

• Love Interest: If we have to have one, Talia al Ghul makes a lot of sense. Catwoman wouldn’t be impossible, but her back-story would need some tweaking.
• Sidekick? There should NOT be a kid in circus tights helping Christian Bale solve mysteries. So Robin’s out as a sidekick — but not necessarily removed as a character. For example, I’ve always liked the idea that Batman would take in an orphan because he needs to give a kid the childhood that Bruce Wayne was never allowed to finish.

• Film Title: The Dark Knight Returns. It grabs the attention of everyone who skipped Batman Begins but went to see Dark Knight, and it pleases the Comicon-demographic with a little literary reference.

(Via WordsFinest.)

It seems that the resident sorcerer of NYC’s Greenwich Village will be the next character from the Marvel roster to get the big screen treatment. That’s right — a movie for Doctor Strange is in the works! According to Deadline, Marvel Studios has hired Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer, the writing team behind the upcoming reboot of Conan (the sword-wielding Barbarian, not the NBC refugee) to pen the legendary mystic’s live-action debut. However, with their recent $4 billion acquisition of Marvel, this film will also apparently be the first that will be released under the banner of Disney.

Besides being involved with a draft of Jon Favreau’s upcoming Cowboys and Aliens, the writing duo of Donnelly and Oppenheimer have also penned the screenplay to the upcoming film adaptation of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. (They wrote a video game movie? …Oh, boy.) At this point, details are scarce. However, it is worth noting that Doctor Strange’s name did come up in the recent news regarding Marvel potentially looking to release a series of short films staring some of its lesser-known characters. The release under the Disney banner is actually a given, considering that Marvel Studios’ distribution partnership with Paramount is down to four more films before Disney would then take the helm. It is assumed that those four will be Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, and finally Iron Man 3. While other Marvel properties like Runaways and Ant-Man remain on the back-burner, it will be interesting to see how films after the Paramount deal will take shape. If the rumor about the short films holds true, then perhaps the changing of the release strategy of some of these lesser-known Marvel comic films may coincide with Disney taking the helm of distribution.

As far as the possibilities for Doctor Strange as a movie, it could have the potential to be the most unique comic book film ever. Once a prominent and somewhat arrogant surgeon, Stephen Strange’s medical career ended with a devastating car accident that deprived him of his abilities. Filled with guilt over the plethora of personal tragedies of in his life, he traveled to the Far East seeking to learn of mystic powers to fix everything that was wrong in his life. Instead, he found his calling and was trained to be a mystic hero defending Earth against evil invaders from another dimension. He’s been a fixture in the Marvel Universe ever since.

Strange has the potential to be an excellent film, as long as the complexity of his character is retained. The original comic released in the early 60’s was clearly influenced from youth subculture’s prevalent interest at the time in psychedelia and Eastern Mysticism. The idea of the Marvel staff being high on mushrooms while producing the series was a long-running rumor. (Which was denied emphatically.) The film, therefore, must contain the quirkiness that embodied the comics, while casting a lead who can express the grouchiness and reluctance to heroism shown in Strange’s journey towards his destiny. In other words, he has to be kind of a pompous and sarcastic douche, yet be one that at the same time maintains a certain swagger and likability. If you ask me, House’s Hugh Laurie is tailor-made for that role. But, of course, we’ll see.

What’s your take on Doctor Strange? Can it work on the big screen? Is it too weird for average moviegoers?

(Via G4 TV — TheFeed.)

It seems that Marvel may be planning to throw a big curve-ball in the realm of its comic book films that could give some of the “B-Team” of its roster a chance to finally shine in theaters alongside their A-List brethren. According to Latino Review, a trusted source is telling them that the recently-unified Marvel/Disney juggernaut are planning to make a series of 10-minute feature films starring “secondary” Marvel heroes like (by their example,) Black Panther, Luke Cage, and Dr. Strange.

The Marvel Universe of the big screen continues to grow at a rapid rate. While it’s been a legacy of mega-hits (Spider-Man, Iron Man, X-Men,) it’s also no stranger to the concept of fail. (Daredevil, Ang Lee’s Hulk, and just about any Punisher movie.) The idea of short films was actually discussed a few months ago on CHUD. However, if LR’s source is telling the truth, then it could have the potential to change the model by which comic films are released. It could be an excellent opportunity to not only expand the consistent canon of the Marvel Movie Universe that we’re finally seeing take shape in the Avengers movies, but it could also be a helpful way for the studio to gauge the ever-changing moods and tastes of the movie-going audience. If you’re a studio who’s not willing to risk $150 million to find out if people would pay to see — let’s say, Moon Knight at theaters, then a far less risky $20–40 million venture of a 10-minute short would seem like a great compromise between a money-making project and fanboy placation.

While this is still very much just a rumor, it actually makes the field of comic films a potentially more lively place where the possibilities are nearly endless. The thought of going to the theater to catch not only a feature, but the latest “Marvel Short” evokes a very old-school kind of feel to a time (long before my time, I might add,) when a trip to the theater was an event filled with original short films and cartoons rather than just the same old trailers we see online and on TV. They’re always talking about revving-up the movie industry, well this would be a nice start!

Source: Latino Review

(Via G4 TV — TheFeed.)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF-xie5nlBc

Going to see the Jonah Hex movie later today. It is based upon the DC Comics character. I have been really impressed with the quality of comic book movies as of late, so I am hoping this is going to be good.

Character Bio and Origin

Jonah has battled alcoholism, and as an adult faced his mother’s turn to prostitution. Though he traveled extensively throughout the American West, he also ended up in South America and China. At one point he quit bounty hunting, married and had a son, and took up farming, though it did not last.

Hex’s facial injuries can be traced back to being sold into slavery by his father to some Apache for safe passage. Jonah eventually saved the chief from being killed by a mountain lion and was made an honorary member of the tribe. He was soon betrayed by the envious son of the chief while on a raid. He returned years later to challenge him in a sacred tomahawk battle, but the chief’s son sabotaged Jonah’s tomahawk. Jonah used his knife in self-defense when the tomahawk broke. The tribe saw this as breaking the rules of the sacred battle and sentenced Jonah to wear the mark of the demon by pressing a searing hot tomahawk to his face. They said his honorary relationship to the chief was the only thing that saved him from death.

Hex was transported to 2050 for the Hex series. The exact date when this occurred has been in debate. Several sources point to 1875, however a running timeline of events in Jonah’s life places this closer to 1878.

It is unknown how long Jonah stayed in the future or what date he returned.

In 1904, Jonah was shot during a card game. His corpse was stolen, stuffed, mounted, and dressed in a ridiculous singing cowboy costume, then put on display in a traveling circus. The circus owner was eventually murdered and Jonah’s body was stolen yet again. It would pass through various hands before finally being acquired by the restaurant Planet Krypton, owned by Booster Gold.

In 2010 Jonah was found by a Black Lantern ring and was revived as a member of the Black Lantern Corps.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJGkF3FzeR8

Rented this movie the other night. Great stuff!!

Deadline Hollywood’s Nikki Finke confirmed bright and early this morning that Sam Raimi has agreed to direct Disney’s 3-D prequel to THE WIZARD OF OZ, currently titled OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (it used to be called BRICK) — and since she hasn’t rewritten the article in the last few hours, I guess we can assume the story is 100% correct. The screenplay by Mitchell Kapner (THE WHOLE NINE YARDS, INTO THE BLUE 2: THE REEF) purports to give us a “dark and complex” origin tale in which the Wizard is whisked away from his earthbound circus-wrangler gig to the land of Oz, where the natives confuse him for an all-knowing god. Or something like that.

If Disney gets their way, Robert Downey Jr. will star as the Wizard (the role is currently being rewritten with him in mind). The studio is clearly chasing the success of this year’s dreadful ALICE IN WONDERLAND. In their favor, they’re not rehashing an oft-told story; unfortunately, they’ve chosen to go the tired origin route rather than adapt another of L. Frank Baum’s books.

This is the first of four in-development OZ films to get a greenlight.

(Via AICN.)

In preparation for the big event, I bought the boxed set of A-Team episodes that I so enjoyed as a child and, together with my son, re-watched them all. I was surprised how well they held up. So many things from my childhood seem to fall short when I revisit them today. However, with the obvious exception of the 80’s production standards, the team did not disappoint. I had forgotten how well these actors “gelled together” on the show. So much so, that I honestly could not pick a favorite. Each character represents something that we all have in ourselves to some degree or another.

We finally got to see the movie on Saturday night, having heard so many negative things from the idiots [critics]. My son and I really enjoyed it. Did the actors have the same chemistry as the original cast? …No. But in a big screen remake they rarely do. I think that a vast majority of the critics that panned this movie were trying to view it as something its not. If you have watched and enjoyed the A-team series, chances are that you will enjoy this movie. If you’re looking for “Citizen Kane”… Not so much.

When we registered, we chose how our names would read on our badges. We went with a Stephen King motif. My son’s read “It the Clown” and mine read “Beep-Beep Ritchie”. Both are from King’s “It”.

We did manage to visit the Browncoats, which is a tradition for us each year. My son has gotten to “that age” where he doesn’t want me snapping pictures of him every few minutes. I did manage to get his pic with the Joker and Harley! After all, who could say “no” to good ol’ Mr. J? I also got his pic with a few characters from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. We had a great time, as usual, and are already planning to be there for the whole weekend again next year.

Bret with Mr. J and Harley.

Bret with Rocky Horror Picture Show Characters.