The bar has been raised with ‘The Dark Knight’. So much so that it is going to take a Herculean effort for any comic-book genre film to compare from here on. The X-Men movies, for the most part, were pretty good efforts. The first two in particular were grand. The stand-out was always Hugh Jackman and his effortless portrayal of Wolverine. He nailed the role perfectly.
I still remember the chills I got up my spine when he first appears on screen in the first X-Men movie.
A Wolverine flick was inevitable. It was a mere rumour for several years, but now it is indeed reality and the HD trailer is now out.
As far as trailers go, it certainly teases a lot. There’s Gambit (played by Taylor Kitsch), Sabretooth, Storm, Deadpool et al. There’s action. (natch!) There’s Jackman constantly crouching and with claws ready to strike… and there’s a whole origin film to unfold – cue Weapon X for all you fanboys & girls out there.
When all is said and done, I for one am looking forward to this one!
Continue reading ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’
Published on
November 5, 2008 in
Cinema, Comic Books, Geek, Posters and Superhero.
Tags: Alan Moore, DC Comics, Rorschach, Silk Spectre, The Comedian, The Niteowl, Watchmen.
Warner Bros has released six new character posters for Zack Snyder’s Watchmen. The line-up includes: The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Silk Spectre II (Malin Akerman), Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley), Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup) and Nite Owl II (Patrick Wilson).
Continue reading ‘Six New Watchmen Character Posters’
It is so refreshing to see the legend of Batman being given the respect it deserves because The Dark Knight has surpassed and transcended simply being called a ‘superhero’ film. There’s a whole lot more on offer here than just plain ole super-heroics. What we have here is a stellar cast delivering real and poignant acting roles that make each and every unbelievable character – believable.
Heath Ledger pulls in a stunning performance – turning the Joker into a maniacal, psychopathic, anarchist – tinged with ‘Clockwork Orange’ inspired merciless, senseless brutality and schism. You simply cannot take your eyes of him as he possesses the screen and steals each and every scene he is in. There are some genuinely frightful moments accompanied by Hitchcock-like music soundscapes as the Joker proceeds to tell the story of his ‘scars’ to his victims. This is evil incarnate. Pure evil. Ledger flinches and stutters as if a sadistic lost, insane soul has completely taken him over, spitting out his lines with venom, satirical, sarcastic jest. What a final curtain call for this talented young man. Take a bow Mr. Ledger.
The Joker appears in the film with a stunning opening bank robbery that is ingenious in its execution and methodology. There is no back-story for the Joker. There is no origin. The Joker exists as the other side of the Batman coin. Where the caped-crusader is a symbol of justice the Joker represents chaos in its purest form.
But there are always three sides to every story. Enter Harvey Dent. Gotham City’s ‘white knight’ District Attorney who finds himself in the middle of the Batman V Joker struggle. Comic book fans will know all about Harvey Dent and his role in the Batman universe, so I won’t spoil it here for others.
The Dark Knight is one of the most amazing movie-going experiences I have seen in a long, long time and already – I want to see this one again. The bar has been raised…
The countdown is on… officially one year and counting until the release of Watchmen on March 6 2009.
Watchmen was a twelve-issue comic book limited series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. Originally published by DC Comics as a monthly limited series from 1986 to 1987, it was later republished as a trade paperback, which popularized the ‘graphic novel’ format.
To date, Watchmen remains the only graphic novel to win a Hugo Award, and is also the only graphic novel to appear on Time Magazine’s 2005 list of ‘the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present.’
Watchmen is set in 1985, in an alternative history United States where costumed adventurers are real and the country is edging closer to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union (the Doomsday Clock is at five minutes to midnight). It tells the story of a group of past and present superheroes and the events surrounding the mysterious murder of one of their own. Watchmen depicts superheroes as real people who must confront ethical and personal issues, who struggle with neuroses and failings, and who – with one notable exception – lack anything recognizable as super powers. Watchmen’s deconstruction of the conventional superhero archetype, combined with its innovative adaptation of cinematic techniques and heavy use of symbolism, multi-layered dialogue, and metafiction, has influenced both comics and film.
So without further adieu…
Continue reading ‘The Watchmen (First Look)’
