http://weblogs.variety.com/bfdealmemo/2009/07/ryan-reynolds-is-the-green-lantern.html

According to the buzz around the Internet, Ryan Reynolds has been selected to portray Hal Jordan in the live-action Green Lantern movie due out in a year or two.

At first, I was a little unsure of the news. I think maybe it's just that I picture Hal Jordan to be a little more square-jawed. But the more I thought about it, the more I like the idea. Jordan is a cocky test pilot and probably a little too sure of himself, which I can see Reynolds playing just fine.

And I like Ryan Reynolds, too. I liked his performance in the Wolverine movie...in fact, I would've liked to see more of Deadpool. Just not what happens to him at the end of the movie. I don't know much about Deadpool himself, but playing him in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is fun. ("I'm the best there is at whatever it is Wolverine does!")

But no matter who they picked, hooray for live-action Green Lantern movie! It's about damn time. My only problem is that this is going to be like the third time we've gone over Hal Jordan's origin story in a movie. The first two being Justice League: The New Frontier and Green Lantern: First Flight (due later this month...squeee!). Granted, they're animated movies, but still. You might even argue for an amalgamated version of the story from Superman: The Animated Series, where Abin Sur gave his ring to Kyle Rayner, who had to fight an already-evil Sinestro. Hopefully, the new GL movies will prove successful, and then they can make sequel after sequel with exotic aliens and awesome special effects.

Labels: Green Lantern, movies

posted by Tim at 4:45 PM

2008 Summer movie reviews, part 2

The Dark Knight

The movie, like everyone said, was great. Although I think I'd need to see it at least a second time before I could say I really enjoyed it. I spent a lot of time on edge, because I didn't know what was going to happen...especially with Heath Ledger's Joker and the creepy suspenseful horror-movie music they played a lot during his scenes. You would've thought that I might have already gone and seen it a second time, especially considering I paid to see Iron Man twice. So maybe that says something.
Heath Ledger was admirably creepy, but really, I wanted to see more of Eckhart (Two-Face). I was just completely fascinated by the special effects they used with him. More so of a super-villain that just "a crazy guy in makeup". It was also great that the movie just kept going after his transformation; by the time it got to that point, it felt like the movie ought to be over and save Two-Face for the sequel, but as you all probably know, the movies 2 and a half hours long, so there was plenty more to go.
It's a shame Two-Face won't be back, so of course the speculations are on for the villains of the next Batman film. My hope is, now that the Joker has been capture and likely taking residence at Arkham Asylum, that they could introduce Harley Quinn.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

I questioned the release of this film, especially when there was already an animated series depicting the Clone Wars on Cartoon Network a while back. But apparently this is kind of a tie-in to lead to a new season/series for the fall. And that's just what this movie feels like: more of a extra-long pilot to a TV series rather than a canonical Star Wars film. That is to say, not as epic as any of the original saga movies. Still, it's an enjoyable movie. I just wish there was a bit...more...from a theatrical release.
Which of course begs the question, why a theatrical release? I suppose there's money to be made!


I also wanted to review the latest Mummy movie, but I haven't gotten a chance to see it yet. Maybe I will before the end of the summer, but otherwise it'll have to be a rental or something.

Labels: movies, Star Wars the Clone Wars, The Dark Knight

posted by Tim at 12:49 AM

2008 Summer movie reviews, part 1 of who knows...

Iron Man. Awesome. Go see it. Again, if you already have. Top-notch from beginning to end. Loved all of the little (and not-so-little) references alluding to the comics and future movies. Here's hoping for the Mandarin in 2010!

The Incredible Hulk. Not quite as awesome. It's been a while since I saw the 2003 Ang Lee version, so I pleasantly forgot all of the daddy issues going on in that one. This, however, I felt was just a series of CGI and special effects fight scenes loosely tied together. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, considering all Hulk really do is smash. I suppose I just kind of feel that it felt a little more...hollow. The opposite side of the spectrum than the first movie. Still, it's nice to see that the movie is about the Hulk, and not creepy Nick Nolte.

Kung Fu Panda. To be honest, I kinda wanted to see this, but I wasn't completely sold on it. So it was great that it turned out better than I expected it to be. It moved along at a fairly good clip, which I expected for a movie geared more for children.

What struck me most about this movie was how much of 2D animation elements (including the actual 2D sequence for the introduction) were blended into this movie. It reminded me of most previous 3D animated movies, like Shrek or most Pixar fare, where it was simply that; animated. Those movies were just presented to you, one scene to the next, everyone doing their thing. But Kung Fu Panda included very stylized techniques, with a very strong Samurai Jack flavor. I'm thinking of multiple panels onscreen, overlaid on each other, flipping around, pauses in the action anime-style, stuff like that. I was pleasantly surprised that the Dreamworks team are incorporating different things, which very much fits the style of the movie.

Minor note: I was also surprised how much merchandising this movie has gone through. I don't know, maybe it's just been a while since we've had a property that could be utilized in such a way. I mean, with stuff like Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-Man, Transformers, and the like, that stuff you kind of expect. And there are the old standbys like Power Rangers and most comic properties. So, here's another one, I guess.

Another note: Concerning the previews. Apparently later this summer is Fly Me to the Moon, about flies that tag along a space mission. I knew beforehand that Space Chimps is also due this summer. Now, I don't know the production companies of these movies off the top of my head, but I know there are now more animation studios besides Pixar and Dreamworks. However, haven't we gotten past the point where these studios need to make too-similar-to-be-a-coincidence movies? There are plenty of ideas out there*, I don't think you need to resort to copying each other to get the leg up on the competition anymore.


(* You know, ideas like Alternate Delusions... ¬_¬)

Labels: Hulk, Iron Man, Kung Fu Panda, movies

posted by Tim at 11:34 PM