Top 10 Superhero Movies
The following editorial is from Zach Lawrence.
I was watching Heroes season 1 the other day. I’m enthralled. And sadly dusting myself off from lagging behind the bandwagon on what apparently everyone knew but me. We have plethoras of Heroes in the cinema, some undeserving, some exceeding what we dreamed they would be like, but all of them Hero’s nonetheless. I think in the realm of Superhero mythology, and expectation that we’ve governed our patience with for upcoming movies (i.e. Iron Man, Wolverine, Dark Knight, Spiderman 4) we should mention those we appreciate in recent history for springing from those pages and slamming SWAT members into refrigerators with their adamantium claws. I’m not just talking movies, but the heroes in, about, and all around that make those movies and certain moments great ones that make us wish we were all bigger then ourselves.
10. Superman: The Movie and Superman Returns
I give this twofer because it goes from the first great, to the last great. I was upset that Superman returns didn’t do better, or maybe because it cost so much to make that it would have been huger if they cut it down some. Supe is probably the best. But I’m giving some credit to some others for once just because, he may be able to kick all their asses, but some of their movies kicked his.
9. Unbreakable
Cool as hell, this movie was probably the darkest horse of rusing us and not coming out as a straight forward Superhero movie. Bruce Willis doesn’t even know he is one, which makes the buildup like a high wire act, it’s just unlike any Superhero flick out, if you know anyone like it, let me know, I’d love to see it.
8. Hellboy
I wasn’t familiar with the actual comic books or graphic novels of Hellboy, but I really enjoyed the movie adaptation. Like Unbreakable, I enjoyed it for its sheer uniqueness. All the side characters and that cool clockwork type villain with blades were pretty badass. And Hellboy? He had that human quality to his personality until the demon side was unleashed and, no pun intended, all hell breaks loose.
7. Punisher
Dolph Lungren, not Kevin James, I mean Thomas Jane. It was dark, like what Punisher is supposed to be. Punisher kicks ass and taking names. In the recent Punisher, Thomas James got his ass kicked by everyone!
6. Clash of The Titans
It may not be a Superhero movie per say, but don’t tell me Perseus doesn’t deserve street cred for the destruction of two titans, Calibus, and several massive scorpions. He may be no comic book hero but a Mythological hero along with Hercules… And Harry Hamlin’s superhero sized nipples.
5. Batman Begins
I caught a lot of flack with a buddy the other day calling Christian Bale a better Batman then Michael Keaton. But I recently watched the originals and besides the rubber suit, all he does is block, block, block, kick. The gadgets were lame, and the scenery, to me at least, is very empty. Like open spaces. I adore the mythology and the idea of Batman’s beginning and where it all started. Plus Christian gave him that playboy pizzazz that Keaton so sorely lacked.
4. Daredevil
Ok, here comes the barrage of hate mail, but I liked not just Affleck’s performance, but I dug the storyline and costume. It was better than some of the other shit that’s come out as of late, like Fantastic 4 or Elecktra. It was fun and had good elements like about like the soundtrack and the whole vision with hearing aspect. He also had Jon Favreu as a sidekick, which was a bonus, and Bullseye as one of the coolest villains in recent superhero movie history.
3. The Matrix
Before the Matrix got way wrapped up in it’s own Matrixness in two sequels, there was a new fresh sci-fi fantasy superhero movie that took the world by storm. Who could forget Neo and Trinity in that lobby scene blasting apart everything and everyone in their path? And finally when he begins to “Believe” the Superman like prowess he showed to us all in the final moments of this great flick, leaves you seeing more then a man.
2. Spider-man 2
Even though I still think Doctor Ock is a lame villain, I think this is by far the greatest Spider-man movie done.
1. X-Men 2
The opening scene with Nightcrawler kicking ass all through the Whitehouse gave my girlfriend at the time, and I quote, “Goosebumps on her anus.”… And Wolverine’s berserker scene?…Nuff said.
Southland Tales Movie Trailer
Since the now infamous Cannes Film Festival screening which resulted in a wave of bad buzz like never seen before, Richard Kelly has been trying to do damage control on his sophomore effort, a follow-up his hit cult first film Donnie Darko. Southland Tales has been re-cut, enhanced with new special effects (which evident in the trailer are not too impressive), and is said to be a totally different movie. And now finally, the movie trailer has hit the web, and it’s everything I hoped the movie might look like. Call me a fanboy, but I want to love this movie. There has been some recent conversation in the comments on this site about the differences between bloggers and critics, and I think that’s one of them. Critics are paid to be critical. Bloggers are paid to be fans. And when things go wrong, they are allowed to be unrelentingly honest about a film, star, director or writer (I’ve even received a few e-mails that I can print from actors, writers, and directors that took issue with some of my comments). But the truth is, most of the bloggers want to see a movie like Resident Evil 3 (sadly, we helped promote the film, but Sony has shut all media out in hopes of keeping the bad buzz from hitting you guys). I know, this is a rant for another time, another post.
I’m really looking forward to Richard Kelly’s new film. I really dig the great Pixies song used in the trailer (Wave of Mutilation), the Moby soundtrack and the play against the famous TS Eliot quote: “This is how the world ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper.” I’ve even read the prequel graphic novels, which I can highly recommend. I don’t see how this film could make sense if you didn’t read them. And maybe that was the problem with the Cannes screening. Check out the new trailer for yourself after the jump.
You can also watch the trailer in High Definition. Southland Tales hits theaters on November 9th 2007.
Richard Kelly’s Southland Tales seeks More Money
We’ve been anxiously awaiting Richard Kelly’s follow-up to Donnie Darko for a while now. An early cut of the movie premiered at Cannes 2006 to negative reviews, and not much has been heard from the film since. Kelly posted an update on his MySpace blog, claiming that they are still waiting for money to finish the visual effects.
Kelly says that a release date has not been scheduled, a soundtrack deal is on the way, casting has begun for The Box, and announces that he’s been hired to write a action movie for a big director (current speculation points to a Vanishing Point remake). Check out Kelly’s blog posting below:
Hello all,
I have been inundated with requests about the trailer for Southland Tales… and I am sorry to say that it does not yet exist:( Sorry everyone… but I promise we are getting closer!
We are still in the process of getting the budget approved to finish all of the additional visual effects in the final cut. There were many missing and incomplete visual effects in the Cannes version, so expect lots of improvements! Fingers crossed that we get the additional money…
Release date has not been decided upon, as the distribution plans are still in the works.
We are in advanced negotiations for a soundtrack deal for Southland Tales, but until there is a locked release date… we won’t know for sure.
The graphic novels are done… so I hope everyone is checking out The Prequel Saga. I really believe that the people who read the books will enjoy the film a lot more on their first viewing.
Casting is still underway on The Box… but we will not start filming until later this year… as there is still work to be done in the Southland.
In the meantime… I have been hired by Fox to write a big action film for [FAMOUS DIRECTOR]. It is a remake of a film released in 1971…
I’ve already started writing… and will have it finished in the next 9-10 weeks… right about the time I hope to have this whole Southland Tales thing out of my system… once and for all… for the love of God… if he is not dead, per The New York Times.
Best,
RKCurrently listening :
Neon Bible
By Arcade Fire
Release date: By 06 March, 2007
Naomie Harris And Rick Yune Join Ninja Assassin
The Hollywood Reporter have announced that Naomie Harris and Rick Yune have joined Ninja Assassin. The film is apparently filming as you read this, and is being produced by Speed Racer directors, the Wachowski Brothers. V for Vendetta director James McTeigue will be sat in the directors chair, for what apparently is an original film. No comic books, no graphic novels, no novel, no anything. A writer has actually been paid to use his imagination for once!
The title of the film is a good indication of what we may get, producer Joel Silver has described it as a “full on martial arts movie.” He also says it’s has the theme of revenge running through it.
It certainly sounds interesting. Naomie Harris is best known for her role as Tia Dalma in the Pirates of the Caribean trilogy. She has also appeared in the amazing 28 Days Later and more recently, Street Kings.
Rick Yune is best known for being a Bond villain in Die Another Day, who had the unfortunate (or fortunate depending on how you look at it) accident involving diamonds blowing up in his face, and embedding themselves there.
Rick Yune spoke of his role:
“Not to give too much away, (but) my character stays within what he was brought up with, and they go up against each other,” Yune said. “I’m not a heavy. The characters are ninjas, they are assassins, and there’s this mix of morality the Wachowskis are exploring.”
Warner Brothers have yet to announce a release date, but I’m guessing we will see this sometime in 2009.