Vin Diesel Heading to Marvel?

This is really random and cool at same time. Mega action star Vin Diesel stated on his Facebook page that "Marvel has requested a meeting... no idea what for... haha, you probably know better than me…".

That is pretty big news! What does Marvel want to talk about with him? Do they have a part for him in the future films? All I know is Marvel has a lot of characters and plot ideas in the pipeline. So they could have a character in mind for him and want to run it by him.

Rumors have been around for a while now about Diesel joining the Marvel Universe. Some rumors have been him playing Vision down the road or Thanos with that voice. Hmmmm only time will tell. What do you think? Any ideas?

More info to come!

Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures Go Separate Ways

Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Studio have officially announced they will not renew their picture-deal and will part ways. This comes as pretty big news considering that Legendary has some big movies released with Warner Bros. and has big tentpole movies in the future as well. I don't want to look at this as a bad thing necessarily, but a opportunity for Legendary to expand. 

Legendary Pictures founder Thomas Tull has a few interested parties to partner up with now. The top runners are Universal, Sony, and Fox. They are all great companies that make respectable films in Legendary's expertise. The most likely candidate is Universal. 

Universal has the most to offer for the big entertainment company. Legendary wants to move into other ventures including tv, comic books, and digital content. Universal has mega-network NBC and it's subsidiaries. This will for sure entice these guys to drink the kool aid. 

Before any deal is being made, Legendary will meet with Fox for a chit chat. Tull said he want's to choose the best company to "help fulfill the grand vision." So look at this as a oppunity to grow and see where these ventures will take us in theaters in coming years. Legendary has always drew me in. 

More info to come 

DC Unveils "Justice League 3000" + Concept Art

DC Comics recently canceled the beloved series The Legion of Super-Heroes, and that left a void for future set heroes. So they are going to basically take us back to the 31st Century in a new ongoing series titled "Justice League 3000". Yes, DC is milking it's Justice League title with a more than few series out there titled it. Although this series is a little different because being set in 31st Century, the current team isn't alive.

The team will consist of a Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Lantern, and of course The Flash. These characters themselves have not been announced who will be portraying them, but expect maybe a Legion member here or there. You never know.

The best part, we will be seeing some familiar faces (names) returning to Justice League. Writer duo, Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, and artist Kevin Maguire are teaming up again for this. You might remember them for their funny series Justice League International. This will be a very interesting take on the 31st century.

Howard Porter designed the new fresh costumes of the main 5 members. They look pretty spiffy and different. Did The Flash and Chamber have a child? OMG they gave Wonder Woman Pants? Crazy!

Check out the CBR exclusive designs of Batman, The Flash, Superman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman.

Man of Steel Review

Superman has been long overdue for a cinematic tale to show how amazing of a character he truly is, director Zack Snyder has finally given the world exactly that. This isn't your fathers superman and that is a great thing! Welcome to the 21st Century Superman.

When I first heard that visionary director Christopher Nolan was overseeing the production of a new Superman, I almost fainted. This was a huge fanboy dream, to have the Batman director working on Superman. The Man of Steel has been in grave need to be rebooted into something that has stable ground with the current world, so we can relate to it better. The Christopher Reeve movies are great in their own way and will always be dear to me, but as a fanboy, we needed a grittier man in (no) tights.

Man of Steel starts off with a bang I wasn't expecting but gleefully accepted. We were able to see Krypton in all it's glory and finally get to know Jor-El better than a few scenes in the fortress of solitude. Many fans will appreciate that because all they ever known was a select few Marlon Brando scenes. Hell, Russell Crowe is in the film almost a total hour! That is awesome. The early scenes help us see the world where Kal-El came from and what happened to the home world. It sets the tone of film nicely and was good to see.

The film didn't stop there with the surprises in storytelling and story itself. We see Kal-El doing his thing in the Alaskan area and than it gets weird. Good weird though, for most part that is. The origins of Clark Kent are basically done it flashbacks to important times that help us see what shapes his moral compass. Yes this film is not chronological, but riddled with flashbacks. It might be disruptive to some, but it was a brisk storytelling idea that helped us learn more about him than an hour of young clark growing up. (which we have seen time and time again.) This film is filled with surprises.

This film is about a young Clark Kent/ Kal-El growing into being Superman. The plot revolves around Clark finding out about his past, becoming something more, and trying to fit in. This film is very much a sci-fi film because it isn't just about Superman being here and us all accepting it. It is about an alien dealing with what he is in on earth. We see how the humans would react to him. This part we hardly ever get to see in a Superman mytho. It gives us a great "what if" scenario in the real world. This plot point was greatly accepted by me and you connect well with the film. There is a lot of plot points that aren't seen very often and especially in a Superman movie.

If Lois Lane is in a Superman film, we usually get a Superman movie turned into a Lois and Clark movie. We don't need that anymore. We had the 90s tv series to go through all that. Man of Steel takes a step away from the old love tale to be a minor thing that is just there. It works perfectly with the story they are telling. So if you are wanting a lot of Lois love going on, I'm sorry bud. Don't think Lois won't be seen in it, she is for sure here. By the end of the film you will see what direction the relationship will be going in later films. Amy Adams did a great job with her character. In fact, the cast was spot on everywhere! 

Superman is greatly known for his morals donned on him by his fathers both real and adopted, Pa Kent and Jor-El. These characters are quite possibly just as hard to cast as Superman himself. They nailed them dead on! The casting of Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner as Jor-El and Jonathan Kent, were hands down the best casting choices in recent movie history. Their performances were standouts and you just wanted to see more of them throughout. The scenes they were in were deeply important to us for understanding Clark as a person. We saw how he was molded morally by these men. To really feel the impact of that you must have a great actor portraying them. They greatly succeeded. 

Now, for the villains, we finally get to see the return of General Zod and his crew to the big screen. Their appearance in Superman II holstered a great cast of Terrance Stamp as Zod. So naturally thats what we compare any future ones too. Michael Shannon as Zod took a bold and dark take that gives a great commanding evil vibe. We see sides of Zod that we never have seen before in the scenes between him and Jor-El and learn why he is the way he is. Creepy and more layers than ever before can take a character long ways. Honestly, his sidekick Faora was a surprise because she has never had more than a few moments to show her evilness. She was greatly cast and scary as Zods right hand woman. 

The entire supporting cast was fantastic with only a few characters I wish we got fleshed out more. For instance, Laurence Fishburne's Perry White was an odd choice but worked great. Just wished we could have seen more of his comical side. Christopher Meloni was given a role he was born to play. Military. What else could you ask for from him? He did great and was given a few great lines. 

Director Zack Snyder is very talented with detail in all his films. Sometimes, so much he misses on story. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Watchmen and 300, but he has failed at Sucker Punch so bad I almost lost hope. Sorry for doubting you Zack! You gave great detail to Superman along with a briskly paced film that gives a different storytelling take on the character that works for most. We get to skip the moments we've seen more than enough before. Also, the idea to not use Superman's John William's theme was a big heartbreaker at first, but the new Hans Zimmer take gives it's on magical moments that just add depth to the scenes.

Man of Steel has proven itself to be a great take on Superman that many have wanted but many also are apprehensive towards a non "golden age" take on the character. The big climatic scene will push fans into a heated argument for the near future. I say it was a necessary take on Man of Steel to bring him into 2013 and give us a good idea where the DC connected film universe will be going down the road. As for origin films go, Man of Steel succeeds in many of the categories. It never slows down but is edgy enough to change some big set in stone factors and works for most people. The non-linear storytelling was a fresh approach to a comic book movie. The character development is pretty good though out on everyone except Clark kent getting his little quirky remarks to people. Maybe in future we will get more of that.

All said, Man of Steel was an accomplishment in that fact DC can make a hit other than Batman and with the world setting up a bigger shared universe, it is getting good for us. The origins of Superman have been told in this and will hopefully show repercussions in future films on his moral compass. We are heading in the right direction DC. Thank you! 

B+

'Girl Meets World' Picked Up by Disney! First Images Released

Its Official: Disney Channel has picked the spinoff show Girl Meets World for series in 2014. That means that the original series Boy Meets World will live on and have everyone back for another go around. I'm 90s kid smitten right now. (Considering I was 8 when the show ended, hey I watched tons of re-runs in my day!)

The series will revolve around Ben Savage and Danielle Fischel's, Cory and Topanga's, daughter Riley in her tween years just like the original show did her parents. Seems only worthy it will happen that way. I haven't watched anything on Disney Channel in years, but I might make a stop by to check this out.

Cast members of the original series are expected to stop by here and there though out, with even the amazing Mr. Feeny in the pilot. Now, we just need cory's parents and brother Eric. I wonder what ever happened to his character in the universe? We must find out!

The series will air sometime in 2014. What do you guys think about it? Good to see old faces on Disney or will it crash?

'This is the End' Review

This is the End is on everyones radar because of the high concept of comedy stars (as themselves) surviving with each other during the apocalypse. You are intrigued, I know, but you are also weary to go further incase of let down. I must say you will be 'on cloud nine happy' how freaking funny this movie is! 

The film was inspired by a 2007 short film that Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel starred in called Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse. The short film was pretty promising and funny so it was nice to see they decided to expand upon it and go big or go home on it. 

The plot is strikingly simple: Jay Baruchel decided to come to LA from Canada to hangout with his buddy, Seth Rogan, and have fun together. Seth gets Jay, unwilling, to go to James Franco's house warming party. Jay doesn't like any of those guys and feels out of place and go out for cigarettes with Seth. Apocalyptic mayhem soon ensues. They are than forced to live with each other and other big name comedians like Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, and the awesome Danny McBride. Fun and messed up will for sure come from that mix of guys. 

The film gives you a sense of realism to a certain degree of those guys being themselves at a party filled with so much current talent it was awesome. You had a hilarious, I mean hilarious version of Micharl Cera than Kevin Hart, Emma Watson, Rihanna, Paul Rudd, Jason Segal, and a few great others. They were so funny in the scenes they were in. I will say there are a few brilliant cameos that will literally make you tear up laughing so hard. It made the movie go up +5 points for being so random and hilarious. The guy behind me was stomping laughing so hard. I won't spoil it for you I promise. *as I type the name and deleted it because I want to tell the world!!* 

The film is hilarious on its own accord, with the concept being funny, but the individual characters improvising is where the gold is. Director Evan Goldberg did a fantastic job of keeping the ball moving on the film with letting these guys literally be themselves and do their own sense of comedy. Surprisingly, all the jokes work great going off one another and will make you laugh just watching it. I know they are playing highly fictionalized version of themselves, but that is where they fun comes from all the way. I'm not really sure Jonah Hill is that overly nice, but I do believe that Danny McBride is that D#$% version of himself that is so fun to love to hate. Serously though Danny you are awesome if you ever read this review. He really did shine in the scenes he was in and almost stole the show.

I can't give all the credit of being great to Danny McBride because the whole cast did some of their best roles in a longtime. James Franco was hilarious, and Seth Rogen was actually really likable and couldn't have been better. I can't complain about any of the characters being so horrible they turned from being likable a-holes into straight up a-hole territory. It doesn't exist. 

So you have a film about end of the world, comedy, action, adventure, whats missing..oh wait..there is an actually bromance part to it that fits perfect. The film is a few sketches sewn together to make a hilarious film, but a big factor from beginning to end is the relationship between good friends Jay and Seth. The relationship is rocky and the beginning and gets worse than better. You really start to like these guys and want them to live. They did great on keeping the film grounded enough so you could get to know these guys better than a few great jokes. 

The only problems I could have with the film was one of it's best parts too. It really is a double edged sword. The simple plot gave room for times where it felt things needed to move on a little bit but they did great on trying to avoid it. The gore will make some uneasy because it was unexpected but it fits so well together it was meant to happen.

This is the End had an amazing cast, special effects, ideas, and cameos to make it a really fun film that will surpise a lot of people. It has its sweet moments, it's scary freaky moments, and its gut busting hilarious moments. If you are a fan of these guys previous films and humor, then you will greatly appreciate this film as one, if not, the best in their career to this point. And just think it was all without Judd Apatow behind the camera. If you coudn't care less about their usual humor than you will have trouble liking the running gags and few random jokes, but will likely find something you enjoyed a bit. 

B+ 

I will tell people I gave it an A because of the one fantastic cameo I promised I wouldn't tell. *I typed it again and deleted it! It's killing me!*

Flashback Review: 'Superman: The Movie' (1978)

I bet you are wondering why I'm reviewing a movie that came out almost 40 years ago or maybe you are not. Superman is making his much deserved return into theaters this friday in 'Man of Steel' and I think its a perfect time to take a stroll down memory lane. Let's take a look how to the man in tights made his big movie debut in 1978 up to 2013.

Superman: The Movie was what I would consider the first superhero movie to be taken seriously and not campy with some big serious actors. They took a big chance on this film. The process of how this film came around his a whole post in itself, so lets skip all that and get to the movie itself.

I grew up watching this movie in the 90s on VHS. Oh good ol' VHS.., and now recently watching it on glorious Blu-ray, it only gets better and more fantastical. Superman was more of a hero that everyone just loved but wasn't really known to be adult orientated enough to be taken seriously to become a big star studded movie. Those people were greatly proven wrong by director Richard Donner. He made Superman, a great character already, a icon to all.

Superman was given a proper origin story that moved at a brisk pace that worked great on film. We were able to see Krypton dying with the great Marlon Brando. Then Kal-El getting found by Jon and Martha Kent. It was filmed perfectly to lay out the tone of the film with great special effects that can hold up today. We skip the Smallville years for the most part (just watch CW's Smallville to get gist of it), but we see some very important scenes that makes Superman, well, Superman.

The Daily Planet scenes just feel right. We finally get to see Christopher Reeve bring Clark Kent to life. He was hands down a dead on cast! If you were Growing up, through the 70's til now, Reeve is Clark Kent/Superman to you. He looks exactly like he came out of the pages of the comic. He put heart in the role and gave everyone a person to look up to that has lasted til today.

Superman wasn't the only great one cast either. The regulars in comics Lois Lane, Perry White, Jimmy Oslen, and especially arch-nemisis Lex Luthor, were fantastic! Margot Kidder as Lois Lane did a marvelous job at playing the hard headed reporter.

Lex Luthor on the other hand was possibly the second best casting in the film. Serious actor Gene Hackman took a character that was used so often in the comics and made him fresh. He was slightly funny and suave while completely evil. You hated to hate him but loved to hate him at same time. Luthor's plan to sink half of California for retail property is menacing and bat@#$% crazy at same time it might just work. Great job on bringing that character to the screen.

The director, Richard Donner, has an eye for great special effects throughout while maintaing a film about larger than life characters you can relate to. The subtle ways we see Superman save a person or fly through the air gives a smile on your face no matter the age. A superhero masterpiece to start off a generation of serious taken hero flicks.

A

DC Announces September Villain Month Titles + Cool 3D Covers

DC Comics announced back in April, they were going to plan a "Villain Month" for September. This will be a way to celebrate the anniversary of the New 52. They finally unveiled how this will happen and announced the first couple of issues that will have some baddies take over the book. I really like the idea behind this and could be really awesome.

In an interview (via Buzzfeed ), Co-Publisher Dan Didio said, "This September we wanted to try something a little different and really explore our villain base, and show the challenges our heroes face with every story and every issue, because of the strength of the characters taking over their books in that month."

They continued to say that we won't see anybody brand new but will be introduced into the New 52 for the first time. I wonder who those could be hmmm. Also, they said all the big villains including The Joker, Lex Luthor, and Darkseid, will be making appearances. This will be epic, but I'm really excited for the big crossover event titled Forever Evil. It will have repercussions in the other titles as well.

Last big thing they hinted at is we might have a title or 2 continute as am ongoing series. Any ideas on who it will be?

Here are all of the awesome 3D titles! Make sure to check out the rest after the break!

Sad News: Math Smith to Exit Doctor Who After Christmas Special

It is that time again, a brand-new doctor is coming. BBC announced yesterday that current doctor, Matt Smith, is leaving the very role that made him a geek icon. He will be doing the 50th Anniversary Special and end his era with the Christmas Special later this year. This is a bit of odd news to just happen, but many have been wondering when he would opt to leave due to his recent increase in venturing out into silver-screen territory with more movies getting made. BBC released a rather very long statement about the matter (below) from Smith himself and then another by Showrunner Steven Moffat.

“Doctor Who has been the most brilliant experience for me as an actor and a bloke, and that largely is down to the cast, crew and fans of the show. I’m incredibly grateful to all the cast and crew who work tirelessly every day, to realise all the elements of the show and deliver Doctor Who to the audience. Many of them have become good friends and I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved over the last four years.

Having Steven Moffat as show runner write such varied, funny, mind bending and brilliant scripts has been one of the greatest and most rewarding challenges of my career. It’s been a privilege and a treat to work with Steven, he’s a good friend and will continue to shape a brilliant world for the Doctor.

The fans of Doctor Who around the world are unlike any other; they dress up, shout louder, know more about the history of the show (and speculate more about the future of the show) in a way that I’ve never seen before, your dedication is truly remarkable. Thank you so very much for supporting my incarnation of the Time Lord, number Eleven, who I might add is not done yet, I’m back for the 50th anniversary and the Christmas special!

It’s been an honour to play this part, to follow the legacy of brilliant actors, and helm the TARDIS for a spell with ‘the ginger, the nose and the impossible one’. But when ya gotta go, ya gotta go and Trenzalore calls. Thank you guys. Matt.”

Here is showrunner Steven Moffat statement:

“Every day, on every episode, in every set of rushes, Matt Smith surprised me: the way he’d turn a line, or spin on his heels, or make something funny, or out of nowhere make me cry, I just never knew what was coming next. The Doctor can be clown and hero, often at the same time, and Matt rose to both challenges magnificently. And even better than that, given the pressures of this extraordinary show, he is one of the nicest and hardest-working people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. Whatever we threw at him – sometimes literally – his behaviour was always worthy of the Doctor.

But great actors always know when it’s time for the curtain call, so this Christmas prepare for your hearts to break, as we say goodbye to number Eleven. Thank you Matt – bow ties were never cooler.

Of course, this isn’t the end of the story, because now the search begins. Somewhere out there right now – all unknowing, just going about their business – is someone who’s about to become the Doctor. A life is going to change, and Doctor Who will be born all over again! After 50 years, that’s still so exciting!”

 More news on the search to come!