NEWS/RUMORS (Dec 28th)

Avatar has done something amazing it's been in theaters for just over a week and it's passed $600 million worldwide. This might have been expected but not this soon considering how long it's theater run will be. I assume it will hit one billion by the end of January. If any film could knock off Titanic this might be the one.


Director Joe Johnston confirmed to Fangoria that Captain America will start shooting in June.


Zoe Saldana told MTV she believes pre-production on the Star Trek 2 could start this time next year.


Kevin Bacon has joined the cast of James Gunn's (Slither) Super and will play the film's villain. The cast already includes Rainn Wilson (The Office), Liv Tyler (Incredible Hulk) and Ellen Page (Inception).

Cultural Icon of The Decade: Stan Lee

While I knew growing up who the Marvel characters were I had no idea who Stan Lee was. I was first introduced to him in Kevin Smith's Mallrats. From then on I knew this man held a special importance to comics. He was important enough to have help create some of the most popular comic book characters ever. I believe we have Stan to thank for the in influx of comic book films in the last ten years.

I was shocked to learn how long X-Men and Spider-Man had been running in comics. My knowledge of the characters had more to do with the cartoon series during the 90's. Which lead me to discover he also helped create Hulk, Iron Man, Fantastic Four, Thor, Daredevil and Doctor Strange. The X-Men and Spider-Man films really delivered something new in comic book films. It was the characters themselves that helped the films. Unlike the previous Batman films these characters were complex while struggling with their powers and responsibilities.


He also has earned the title of King of The Cameo. Showing up in more than 10 Marvel films. He even managed an appearance in a Simpsons episode. The cameos wont be stopping anytime soon he'll be showing up in Iron Man 2, Thor, Spider-Man 4 and Captain America.

Director of The Year: Kathryn Bigelow

While I did pick Inglourious Basterds as my favorite film I don't think Tarantino was the best director of the year. That honor goes to Kathryn Bigelow for the amazing Hurt Locker. Now I know you might be thinking I'm doing this because she's a woman directing an action film. It's not the case, I've been following her work since I first saw Point Break and I equally enjoyed her film Strange Days which was written by James Cameron. I was shocked that she hasn't made more action films over the years. When I first saw Hurt Locker back in 2008 I thought this was an excellent film. So when other films didn't match it's quality story telling I knew it was going to do well with critics and could end up in the Oscar race.

The reason she earns my vote for best director is her re-working of the war genre. With Hurt Locker we don't get a comedy like Three Kings or preachy comment on modern wars like Jarhead. What we ended up with was an honest look at the dangerous occupation soldiers sign up for. It didn't choose sides it didn't have a political message it just told a character driven story. I'm very thankful for Hurt Locker because it will hopefully bring back the war epic to grounded roots. I feel other character driven war films like Brothers and The Messenger benefited from Locker's critical success.

I wouldn't be surprised if Kathryn won Best Director or the film wins Best Picture at the Oscars this year. While Inglourious Basterds was the crowd pleaser Hurt Locker could actually improve the genre. Tarantino didn't reinvent the WWII action genre he just revived it. Many people like myself were tried of overuse of political commentary in war films. Bigelow was able to bring everything thrilling and dangerous about war on the screen. I didn't a have moment when I didn't think these characters weren't real people.

Dream Cast For Justice League

We've been hearing rumors of DC Entertainment's possible plan of slowing building up to a Justice League film.We already have our Green Lantern with Ryan Reynolds and I assume Brandon Routh will reprise his role of Superman. I'm not sure Warner Bros. will be able to get away with hiring virtual unknowns like they did with Routh. So I've given some thought to who I'd like to see playing the DC heroes.


Ewan McGregor as Green Arrow: It seems like the next viable Justice League member to get their own film is Green Arrow. The Supermax script seems to be good enough to give the hero a shot at the big screen. I also feel it would be a great way to introduce Black Canary and the Rogues Gallery of the Justice League. While I'm not sure if they could use prominent Batman villains like the Riddler or the Joker. I do however think Lex Luthor, Solomon Grundy and other DC villains would work. Ewan McGregor is my pick for the role. While we've seen him play Obi Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels. I felt he was cheated in those films as he was never the heroic lead.


Gemma Arterton as Wonder Woman: While I think this might be the toughest of the group to adapt. Wonder Woman is the second biggest hero in the DC lineup. I feel that Thor could be the best example of how to make this film work. Having her as a god-like alien could work and it might be a way to blend her into the Green Lantern world. Gemma jumps out to me as the type of actress who could do the role justice. She's able to handle herself in both comedies and action films. Gemma has been involved with some rather large scale films with Prince of Persia and Clash of The Titans. Even with her small roles in RockNRolla and Quantum of Solace she was able to stick out.


Kate Winslet as Black Canary: I could see Oscar winning actress Kate Winslet playing Black Canary. It would be a move similar to what they did when they hired Josh Brolin as Jonah Hex. Hiring an actor that is talented and has been popular with critics to take on relatively unknown heroes. I could see her showing up in the Green Arrow film, Justice League and eventually turning into a spin-off. She might be known for her dramatic roles but Kate isn't a stranger to odd types of films starring in Heavenly Creatures and Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind. Recent films like The Dark Knight and Iron Man are influencing all types of acting talent to comic book movies.


Joseph Gordon-Levitt as The Flash: While the Flash isn't my favorite hero I could see him being re-worked and given a fresh story. Joseph Gordon-Loveitt is my choice for this character although I believe he would work better in the next Batman film. He's gained respect with his roles in The Lookout, Brick and 500 Days of Summer. I'm hoping he'll give another great performance in Inception this summer.


Alexander Sarsgard as Aquaman: Another hero that could benefit from the Thor blueprint. Who better to cast than someone who tried out for the role of Thor? Alexander Sarsgard is the total package from his action and dramatic work on the series Generation Kill. Along with his popularity from True Blood to his comedic skills shown in Zoolander.


Michelle Monaghan as Zatanna: One part The Prestige one part Sherlock Holmes this might be the more interesting take of the bunch. I could see Michelle Monaghan playing Zatanna she's been able to impress many critics with her films Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Trucker. Michelle has also been invovled with action films like Mission Impossible 3 and was once up for role in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.


Milo Ventimiglia as Robin: Batman is the one popular hero that could be cut from the JL lineup. It's doubtful we'll ever see Robin in the new Batman films. So why not make him part of Justice League? There are a few ways the character could go have him as Red Robin or even Nightwing. I feel that Robin could be a good replacement for Batman. It could be a good way to develop character for a Teen Titans film. Milo Ventimiglia would make a great Robin and has even mentioned in the press he'd love the chance to play him. I've enjoyed Milo's performances in Pathology and Gamer. I'm sure he has lot of fans from his television show Heroes, so he already has the fanboy street-cred.


Bradley Cooper as Blue Beetle: If they do end up using the Blue Beetle I'd hope they'd look to Bradley Cooper. He tried out for Green Lantern and should be apart of this new DC Universe of films. I've really enjoyed him in films like Wet Hot American Summer and The Hangover. He's jumping into action films cutting his teeth with The A-Team and possibly Matt Helms. He was also a favorite on J.J. Abrams' Alias.

REVIEW: Sherlock Holmes

I've never been a die hard fan of Sherlock Holmes. Although I did watch a lot of the TV movies and films growing up. My first impression of the character was that he was a stuffy and pompous person. After watching Guy Ritchie's version of the character while he might be still pompous (in good way now) he's lost that stuffy persona. Guy Ritchie is in fine form here the film is visually and technically stunning. I loved the use of traditional Irish music and the score in general worked well with the tone. The fight scenes made this film along with the many action set pieces.

Robert Downey Jr. makes a great Holmes with being a bumbling fool and having a quick wit pulls off the new take perfectly. Jude Law does something new with Watson making him just as smart and witty as Holmes, even being able to fight alongside him. Mark Strong makes Lord Blackwood a very dark character while we don't see him much the scenes where Blackwood appears he does give a chilling vibe. Rachel McAdams did a fine job herself as well but it would have been nice to see her get more fight scenes.

I likened the film to Riders of The Lost Ark as an action roller coaster without being too ridiculous. It was nice to see that the opening scene was just as thrilling as an Indiana Jones opening. Another good element of the film was that the characters were established already having adventures and cases. The best thing about the film is while there were plot points that confused me they did tie things up quite neatly. There are teases of Professor Moriarty that setups a great mysterious villain for the next film. Who might or might not be Brad Pitt.

My only issues with the film involved other characters. They seemed all too serious and dull for the world they were trying to create. Watson's fiance and the majority of the supporting male cast didn't help the film. The two characters that did liven up the movie were the boat captain and the Constable, hopefully they make the next film. I didn't think the second slow motion fight scene was needed but it wasn't too annoying. However I did like this film's story a lot more than I did Avatar's. I have to recommend this for people who enjoy fun action movies without a preachy message.

B+

Worthington Vs Reynolds For Flash Gordon Role

Action star Sam Worthington should be taking it easy after starring in two major blockbusters this year but that's not the case. Worthington could be up for the role of Flash Gordon in the remake/reboot. He isn't new to the reboot concept he's already starred in Terminator Salvation and the upcoming Clash of The Titans remake. The only thing stopping him seems to be that Ryan Reynolds could also be up for the role. Reynolds is beefing up his action film resume by lining up starring roles in Deadpool, Green Lantern and Motorcade. If this is true I'm rooting for Worthington. It was rumored that the two had both tried out for the role of Green Lantern which Ryan won.

NEWS/RUMORS (Dec 25th)

Thor actress Jamie Alexander used her Twitter account to kill the rumor of Justin Chatwin (Dragon Ball Z) playing Balder in the film. I'm sure they would want to keep a few characters uncast in-case they make a second Thor film.


Most of us know Olivia Munns from G4's Attack of The Show but she'll also be in Iron Man 2. The odd thing is that we don't really know who she's playing. IMDB has her listed as Melina Vostokoff/Iron Maiden which would be cool to see but that would be something I'd expect to see in the third film. There is also talk that she would voice War Machine's computer. Similar to Garvis who is voiced by actor Paul Bettany.


If you've checked out the new Iron Man 2 trailer like myself you wondered what those suits were at the end. Well it looks like they could one of two things. First they could be the Mandriods that Stark ends up building for SHIELD. Or the real possibility they could be an army of Crimison Dynmos. Whatever they end up being there is the possiblity that Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer could be fighting Iron Man and War Machine in one of those suits.


Lst we heard about Wonder Woman it was going to be revamped with the help of the newly created DC Entertainment, giving the project another chance. Recently producers Dan Lin and Joel Silver talked about the DC heroine. I'm sure we'll be hearing more in January.

Silver: "I'm not really doing anything with Wonder Woman at the moment, Once the studio knows what they want to do, and makes a decision, they'll probably let us know."

Lin: "Just as an outside observer I know they talk about it as a movie and also a TV show. I don't know if they've figured out which way to go or is it better to put her in a team movie first and then have her come off that."


It's holiday time again so I'd like to wish everyone out there a happy and safe holiday.

Cameron Talks Avatar 2 & Box Office Numbers

James Cameron has been talking about developing the film into a franchise. He purposed a trilogy and the actors have commitments to three films. Now Cameron is giving more details on how the next film could work. He recently confirmed that Sam Worthington and possibly Zoe Saldana will return for the next movie.

"So now we have Jake, we have Neytiri. Sam can step right back into it, the characters will fit them like a glove, and we'll just go on. So a lot of the start-up torque that had to be done for one movie really makes more sense if you play it out across several films."


Now while I did enjoy visiting Pandora I'm not sure I would like to stay there now that there isn't conflict. So what does Cameron have in mind for future films? He would hope to visit the other moons of Polyphemus in the sequels. This could mean the Avatar universe will be expanded to more alien worlds and cultures. I wouldn't be surprised if the RDA had other mining operations on those moons. Let's just hope the next film takes less than four years to complete.



James Cameron stated the box office would predict if we would get more films. While Avatar might be the most costly film 20th Century Fox has ever made. It could end up becoming their most profitable one as well. Over the holidays it will have some serious competition with Sherlock Holmes and family friendly films. Avatar is looking to make back it's massive production and advertising budgets with possible profits. That's of course if the film stays in theaters long enough to gather more steam.

Worldwide Box Office: $416.4 Million

My Top 100 of The Decade

1. Memento
2. Lord of The Rings Trilogy
3. There Will Be Blood
4. The Dark Knight
5. Kill Bill Vol.1
6. City of God
7. Gladiator
8. Eastern Promises
9. Requiem For a Dream
10. Slumdog Millionaire
11. Million Dollar Baby
12. Kingdom of Heaven (Director's Cut)
13. Inglourious Basterds
14. The Badder Meinhof Complex
15. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
16. The Departed
17. Snatch
18. District 9
19. The Royale Tenebuams
20. Sin City
21. Layer Cake
22. Shaun of The Dead
23. Casino Royale
24. Moon
25. Thank You For Smoking
26. Children of Men
27. 28 Days Later
28. Black Book
29. Lost In Translation
30. Kill Bill Vol.2
31. American Gangster
32. Munich
44. Mystic River
45. Training Day
46. Sexy Beast
47. The Chaser
48. Zodiac
49. Road to Perdition
50. No Country For Old Men
51. American Psycho
52. Alatriste
53. Gangs of New York
54. Pan's Labyrinth
55. The Fall
56. Life Aquatic
57. Spider-Man 2
58. Hot Fuzz
59. X-Men 2
60. Vie en rose, La
61. In Bruges
62. Watchmen
63. Iron Man
64. Gomorrah
65. Hurt Locker
66. Kung Fu Hustle
70. Sunshine
71. Dancer In The Dark
72. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
73. Juno
74. Curious Case of Benjamin Button
75. Gone Baby Gone
79. The Argentine
80. Black Hawk Down
81. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
82. Batman Begins
83. Let The Right One In
84. Star Trek
85. Grindhouse
86. The Prestige
87. American Splendor
88. Unbreakable
89. 300
90. Lord of War
91. V For Vendetta
92. The Rules of Attraction
93. Love Songs
94. Super Troopers
95. The Pianist
96. The Beach
97. Fantastic Mr. Fox
98. Hellboy
99. Bad Santa
100. King Kong

Biggest Disappointments of 2009

1. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
2. Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen
3. Terminator Salvation
4. The Taking of Pelham 123
5. Year One
6. Gamer
7. Brüno
8. Extract
9. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
10. Ninja Assassin

My Top 10 of 2009

1. Inglourious Basterds
2. District 9
3. Hurt Locker
4. Moon
5. Observe & Report
6. Watchmen
7. Avatar
8. Zombieland
9. A Prophet
10. 500 Days of Summer

Honorable Mentions: Public Enemies, Star Trek, The Hangover, Up, Jennifer's Body, Funny People, Adventureland, Taken and Drag Me To Hell.

This list excludes films I have yet to see such as Sherlock Holmes, Precious, Up In The Air, White Ribbon, Fish Tank and The Lovely Bones.

NEWS/RUMORS (Dec 23rd)

Here is the teaser trailer for Knight & Day. I was expecting another horrible rom-comedy but the action looks really good.


Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender (300, Fish Tank) and Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds ,Green Hornet) will star in David Cronenberg's next film The Talking Cure.


It looks like the Inglourious Basterds prequel might be actually happening. Quentin Tarantino has written 40 pages of the script so far but it won't be his next film.


Yet another rumor that brings up Anne Hathaway starring in Spider-Man 4. This time the rumor is that Kirsten Dunst who plays Mary Jane will be written out of the franchise. Which could mean she'll die in the film. This might not be good news for Dunst it's great news for Spider-Man fans who aren't keen on the actress playing MJ. The story also reveals that Hathaway would step up as the new love interest.


Composer Hans Zimmer will score Inception and has been talking to Christopher Nolan about returning for Batman 3.

X-Men Origins: Magneto Is Dead

With Bryan Singer directing and co-writing X-Men Origins: First Class, where does this leave the Magento film? Essentially it's story been has absorbed into First Class killing the other project. Singer recently talked about how First Class would take story elements from the purposed Magento film. I can't say I'm surprised considering the many things that held Magento back from going into production.

"This story would probably utilize some of the Magneto story because it deals with a young Magneto, so it might supersede that because this would explore that relationship between a young energetic professor and a disenfranchised victim of the Holocaust."


Some of the reasons could have been David S. Goyer himself. The excellent comic book screenwriter decided to adapt the origin story of a villain. First thing I don't think 20th Century Fox would ever be sold on an X-Men film focused on the villain. There is also the holocaust aspect, it would be hard to sell subject matter like the holocaust to young children and families. That sort of thing would be too scary and dark for kids. Mind you I did think the nod to it during the first X-Men film did a lot to ground the characters.


Now comes the hit to Goyer's ego, he's an awful director. That was best shown in Goyer's attempt to take over the Blade franchise and killing it instead. His two films since haven't done much to impress critics or fanboys. Goyer's unwillingness to move aside for others like director James McTeigue (V For Vendetta) put the nail in the coffin.

WB/DC Announcing Justice League Film?

We've been hearing that Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment will have a rather large announcement in January 2010. So what could this announcement be? Could it be plans for The Dark Knight and Superman Returns sequels? Most likely yes, but what about the Justice League film that they've been working on? There is a very large chance this could be DC's way to finally compete with Marvel Studios.

While the Justice League film might be the final aspect of this announcement. I believe they'll be revealing their plans to release a large amount of DC hero films in the upcoming years. I expect we'll be hearing plans for releasing Lobo, Sgt. Rock, Batman 3, Superman Man of Steel, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow: Supermax, The Flash and Aquaman. Some other films that could end up in development might include Hawkman, Martian Man Hunter, Black Canary and Supergirl.

Marvel Studios is becoming famous for having their heroes from their upcoming films doing cameos and interacting with each other. Which is leading up to The Avengers. I think DC Entertainment might be doing the same thing soon. If they ever do make a Justice League film they're going to have to excuse Batman from the lineup. So how do they manage to sell the Justice League film without Batman? Introduce the audience slowly to each of the other members. Green Lantern could be the first film to experiment with the concept. The lineup could be Superman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Martian Man Hunter, Hawkman and Black Canary.

NEWS/RUMORS (Dec 21st)

While I liked the first teaser trailer for Robin Hood this second international trailer gives us more story.



Guy Ritchie isn't one to be coy during interviews when it comes to upcoming projects. He oddly clammed up during his interview with MTV when Lobo came up. While it's been reported in the trades and even producer Joel Silver has talked about Ritchie's involvement as director. Ritchie acted like he hasn't decided to do the project. There is the possibility that he will negotiate after the box office take of Holmes before he decides to take on Lobo or Sherlock Holmes 2. I'm thinking that Ritchie is also trying to get Warner Bros. to finance his original films in exchange for directing their projects. The Real RockNRolla is ready to go and I'm sure he has other films written.


Screenwriter Peter Morgan (The Queen, The Last King of Scotland) promises Bond23 has a "shocking story". There had been talk of using the Afghanistan heroin trade for the film's story. It's been rumored pre-production and scouting locations will begin in February 2010. This could lead to shooting starting in late 2010 and a Fall 2011 release. It's doubtful that Martin Campbell or Marc Forster will return to direct. I'm still hoping Danny Boyle, Matthew Vaughn, Kevin Macdonald or Paul Greengrass will take over.


ComicBookMovie believes Tyrese Gibson (Transformers) could be hinting he'll be playing the role of Isiah Bradley in Captain America. The actor used his Twitter account to post pictures of Bradley and asked "You think I can pull this off??". Isiah Bradley along with Union Jack and Bucky Barnes fought alongside Steve Rogers during their WWII missions.


Pajiba is reporting Warner Bros. is developing a live-action film based on the DC character Hawkman.


Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs) are currently in talks to direct 21 Jump Street. Jonah Hill (Superbad, Funny People) will star/produce with a script written by Micheal Becall (Scott Pilgrim Vs The World).


There is some bizarre rumor that Taylor Swift could be playing Supergirl in a remake. While I don't begrudge this young country singer this rumor is one the worst I've heard. There are two things wrong with the rumor. First, Swift is the least likely actress to ever be cast in a role like that. Second, Warner Bros. would be out of the their minds to try to attempt another Supergirl film. They have their hands full with more popular heroes. Plus I think a Wonder Woman film is more plausible.


Amanda Seyfried will be leaving the acclaimed HBO series Big Love to pursue her film carer. This makes sense because the show takes six months to shoot for each season limiting her film projects. She recently had to leave Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch because of schedule conflicts. I think she was wonderful in Jennifer's Body, so I hope she picks more interesting projects. I don't think the world needs another Kate Hudson or Katherine Heigl making horrible romantic comedies.


During an interview on the set of Predators Danny Trejo told Collider that the titles of the sequels could be Machete Kills and Machete Kills Again. There have been rumors that the sequels could end being a double bill so we'd get two different Machete films in one sitting. Giving the audience another Grindhouse experience. Robert Rodriguez jokingly added another title Machete In Outer Space. I'd love to see Trejo in his own version of Total Recall.