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There’s been a lot of buzz about The Avengers movie ever since Marvel announced it and it’s understandable. As it stands, it would be the biggest, boldest superhero movie ever made and as the studio sees it, a huge payday. The idea is to gather most of Marvel’s superheroes under one roof. By “roof” I mean movies, and by “most” I mean the profitable ones: Iron Man, The Hulk, and the probably bankable Thor and Captain America. I’m betting on the latter as a bigger hit, Kenneth Branagh directing Thor seems a lot like Ang Lee directing The Hulk, and while I didn’t find it terrible, something was off.
The problems are many and are just starting to surface. So far, Marvel’s had a modest hit with The Incredible Hulk, and two big hits with the Iron Man movies. Nothing so far suggests they might have any problem with the Avengers, but then again, Captain America and Thor have yet to be released. If any of the two flop at the box office, that’s a big question mark on The Avengers – as I see it, it will have a huge budget to recover. And a movie doesn’t have to be a flop to fail. It’s enough to not be released.
The ensemble cast sounds amazing: Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, not to mention whoever manages to spill from any of the standalone movies to this superhero fiesta. The only problem is, it’s an ensemble cast and people might not get along. Think of it: they’re coming from their solo projects, more or less successful, to this behemoth, and they’re expected to share the spotlight. While some may not mind, others will. Look at the recent falling out between Marvel and Edward Norton, whatever the reason was. The studio implied Norton is not a team player, he denied it – fact is he won’t be returning to the role of Bruce Banner. And by 2012 who knows who else might pull out. And continuity is something people want from this movie. Sure, some people might not mind a different actor for any of these superheroes (the comic book fans should not, they face a different looking character every time they switch artists on a comic), but for some, knowing someone who did a decent job won’t be returning, would be a reason to forget the movie altogether.
Last, but not least, Joss Whedon as director? I have respect for the man who brought us Buffy, Firefly, Dr. Horrible and so on, but let’s face it, besides several TV episodes, he’s only directed one movie, Serenity, where he had a very good relationship with the cast and crew, developed while doing the series. As good a writer he is, directing a movie of this scale might prove tricky for him. But, I get ahead of myself, considering situations like The Hobbit, you might even wonder if Whedon will end up directing the thing.
As far as I see it, The Avengers is but a dream for now, but it does have a chance of happening, and that’s enough for me.
Posted on July 14th, 2010 by MrWiseguy
Filed under: Movies | 2 Comments »
Obviously a British movie, it stars Keira Knightley before corsets and Johnny Depp, and sports a big name of the sport in the title – good marketing I say, though, unlike Being John Malkovich, this one isn’t quite centered around the title character. Using soccer as an escape from overbearing family tradition this one is much more the coming-of age story of an Indian teenage girl with a touch of ethnic comedy.
The first movie (there are 2 sequels, I don’t even know if I should call it a trilogy) was surprisingly above average, considering it probably has more soccer on display than any other movie on the list (with cameos by players, including the above mentioned Beckham). Despite that, it managed to have a decent, albeit cliche as far as rags-to-riches stories go, storyline and likable protagonists (also, Anna Friel before Pushing Daisies or the Land of the Lost disaster). And although the sequels manage to step into soap-opera territory, the first movie is a decent enough sports tale.
Now here’s a movie with all kinds of pedigree. Directed by one of the best directors of all time, John Huston, with a cast with actors such as Michael Caine and Max Von Sydow (and Sylvester Stallone, but we can omit him from the list), and players like soccer legend Pele, Bobby Moore, Osvaldo Ardiles and Hallvar Thoresen, this is an entertaining soccer movie, but less so as a war movie. The only American movie on this list.
Despite the title, the Hong Kong comedy is more Shaolin than soccer. Directed by Stephen Chow (who also made the deliciously fun Kung Fu Hustle), the movie is a slapstick comedy about using Shaolin martial arts while playing soccer. If anything, the film is as close to a cartoon as possible, complete with the violation of the laws of physics and a musical number. A big hit in Hong Kong and an international cult classic since, the movie is loony escapism fun at its best.
A British remake of an American football movie – The Longest Yard (also remade with Adam Sandler later), it’s all about a soccer match between the prisoners team and the guards team. Part comedy, part drama, it’s a decent enough movie, starring Vinnie Jones back when he was still a tough guy British movie star, coming off his time as professional soccer player, and not some guy that keeps popping up in Hollywood movies as a villain(part now occupied by Mark Strong) or comic relief. Also starring Jason Statham before the Transporter or Crank movies and his rise to fame.
Considering they’re both centered around an ex spy (one’s ex C.I.A. and the other’s done some covert ops for dubious people in his past) , who helps people alongside a team of experts. Burn Notice has its central character Michael Westen(played by Jeffrey Donovan) team up with his ex-girlfriend (a gun-running Irish hottie) and his old pal from the Navy Seals. Human Target has Christopher Chance(played by Mark Valley) join up with an ex-cop and an old, tech/intel expert friend of his. They all get to help people each episode while also cracking some jokes and doing the old three act show.Small differences: Burn Notice’s Fiona is easy to look at while Human Target is all sausage fest. Also, Burn Notice plays the family card by having Michael’s mother as a regular and his brother as a recurring character.
You’d think that’s all there is, but not exactly. People come to both Christopher Chance and Michael Westen when they have problems that regular channels can’t fix. And they both apply unorthodox methods when it comes to helping (like parachuting on top of a secure building to extract a weapons engineer or walking into the middle of a gang unarmed and threatening them). The difference is in the approach: while Human Target plans ahead and thinks of all available options, Christopher will improvise on occasion but that’s always to be expected, as Michael points out on more than one occasion. On the other hand, Westen does it all by throwing himself in the middle of the problem, improvising and adapting on the way. And, while Fiona(Gabrielle Anwar) and Sam(Bruce Campbell) do lend a hand from time to time, Michael is the brains of the operation. Christopher, on the other hand is quite the muscle while Winston(Chi McBride) and especially Guerrero(Jackie Earle Haley) do the thinking.
Now, when it comes to the past haunting our heroes, each on has his cross to bear. Michael had done a lot of shady things in the past for the C.I.A. and a lot of people want him dead, not to mention he’s been burned, therefore, his former employers are more likely to shoot at him than help him, though he does want to get back into the business. Chance on the other hand is a redeemed man, having gone from working for the bad guys, to helping people, while trying to put everything behind. Past acquaintances do pop here and there throughout the first season, and when they do, their interests collide, and his former boss shows up in the season finale. The big differences is in the motivation of these characters: one is trying to get away from a life he’s rejected, and correct past sins, while the other wants to return to the only life he’s known ad he’s used to.
Let’s just have a look at the Billboard Hot 100. You’ve got Katy Perry there, Rihanna, Ke$ha, Pink, Nikki Minaj in some small part on a Ludacris song and, of course, Lady Gaga. These are all female singers who put a lot of thought (or they don’t, they’re just a product of years of pushing boundaries) in what they act like and look like. They’ve got unique styles (which are not set in stone), and from a certain point that’s good. 
Katy Perry’s retro, Ke$ha’s party glam, Pink is rebel couture and Lady Gaga is somehow all of the above and more. What’s so avant-garde and outre about incorporating haute couture in music? They’re not the first (not thinking too far back, we’ve got “Vogue” and George Michael’s “Freedom” – that had supermodels in it, it was more than a blatant mix of fashion and music). Also, shocking, outrageous, atypical? I can think of at least two performers who did it before Lady Gaga and not too long ago: Kelis and Christina Aguilera.
Maybe not the best way to start the list considering Batman&Robin is full on camp and quite nauseating. But Alicia Silverstone was hot stuff at the time, she was exactly what you’d call a vixen. Sadly, there’s little of that in the movie as she’s relegated to being a minor underdeveloped character, and the suit doesn’t help at all. The comic book version doesn’t need rubber suits with nipples to kick ass.
The first Batman movie presented us with Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. Michelle was (I would say she still is, despite the age) sultry, sexy and yet a departure from previous portrayals on TV (Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt). As far as the comic book goes, this was a lot closer(both in aspect and in style) than Halle Berry’s Catwoman.
One of the earliest comic book inspired renditions of a sex bomb, Barb Wire wasn’t too true to it’s source. Betting on an extremely popular Pamela Anderson and her cleavage, the film was not a huge success (to put it kindly). Pamela had the look, but had little of the attitude that defined comic book character (let’s say she wasn’t chosen for her acting skills).
Wanted’s Fox was half action heroine, half sex-symbol. Angelina was far from the original portrayal of the character(no costume with fox ears, also white), but she put on her sexy, and displayed some cool. The original, was more Halle Berry than Angelina (and a Bond style Berry might have handled the character better), but than again who would bet on Halle after the next item on the list happened?
The one question on my mind after seeing this ridiculous attempt at a spin-off was “How can you go from Monster’s Ball to this?”. The costume was sexy, yet Halle seemed less attractive than in better movies when she had more clothes on. Not content with changing the aspect they went on to turning this classic villain to a do-gooder.
To be honest, Elektra is a minor Marvel character. The fact that, after Daredevil bombed, the spin-off came together is all thanks to the charms of Jennifer Garner. Coming off hot of the heels of Alias, and a romance with Ben Affleck,
Well, when it comes to honoring the original, no one does it better than Zack Snyder, and Malin Ackerman is as close to the character in looks and mannerisms as you can get (though she is a bit, just a bit, younger). An she looks gorgeous in the black/yellow suit. Notable mention: Silk Spectre I – Carla Gugino (I always like when Carla shows how sexy she is).
As portrayed by Scarlett Johansson in Iron Man 2. Though the character has seen two incarnations, the movie went with the original redhead, Natasha Romanoff while at the same time acknowledging the existence of the second, by having the blonde Scarlett (predestined name?) play her. As with all minor Marvel characters, she might make more appearances as the franchises grow.
Not exactly my first choice for playing a blonde older sister to a hot headed Johnny Storm, but Jessica Alba is always a treat for the eyes. We’ll refrain from commenting on her acting skills, her dyed hair, or any suppositions about how a Sue Storm – Reed Richards night in bed might go about. Honorable mention: Jessica Alba’s character in Sin City – less acting required, more sultry dancing.
Frank Miller’s The Spirit might not be a great movie, but it has two good things going for it: Eva Mendes and Scarlett Johansson in fantasy role-playing attire. Eva Mendes is Sand Saref as far as femme fatales go, even if the original wasn’t a latina.
