'Oh, it's good to be back'

"Iron Man 2" looks like it's going to be a ton of fun.

'Iron Man 2' trailer rocks!

There's nothing like a geektastic super hero movie trailer to bring me back to the blog.

In this case, it's the long awaited first look at "Iron Man 2." The highlights for me were the quick glimpse of Samuel L. Jackson back as Col. Nick Fury (he made a cameo at the end of the first movie) and getting to see War Machine in action.

Enjoy!

New look for 'Who'

When "Doctor Who" begins it's next regular season in 2010, there will be a new Doctor, a new companion, a new creative team behind the scenes -- and a new show logo.

The BBC unveiled the artwork this morning.

With the new logo, it's probably safe to assume there will be a whole new opening title sequence with a another new arrangement of the classic theme song (the current version of which is the ringtone on my phone -- yes, I know I'm a giant geek).

In the meantime, there are three more episodes to go for the current iteration of "Doctor Who." The next is due sometime next month with the final two set for Christmas Day and New Years Day.

The 11th Doctor is in (soon)

The new season (series, whatever) of "Doctor Who" has begun filming and the BBC has released a first glimpse of Matt Smith in costume as the 11th Doctor.

He's apparently going for some sort of Mayberry look. It's hard to say from this angle, but it looks like something has been done about that atrocious haircut he had in his initial press photos earlier this year.

Smith has some big sneakers to fill. David Tennant still has three episodes left to air. The next installment, "The Waters of Mars," comes in November. His final two-parter will air on Christmas Day and New Year's Day (guest starring Timothy Dalton and featuring the return of John Simm as the Master as well several of Tennant's past companions).

Ain't It Cool News says there are rumors Tennant is in line to play Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit."

Geekgasm

Is it May 8 yet? If "Star Trek" is half as good as this trailer, then I will bow down and worship J.J. Abrams.



See it in glorious HD Quicktime here.

'Ooo..shiny'

The new "Wolverine" trailer is here. What do you think? Will it rate with last year's "Iron Man" and "Incredible Hulk" or will it be another "Ghost Rider?"

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Is the scientist lady in the beginning supposed to be Heather Hudson of "Alpha Flight?" If so, that's kind of cool (even though she first met Wolvie after he got his adamantium skeleton).

But tossing Gambit and a young Cyclops into a Wolverine origin story is not.

Also, why is MTV running an Herbal Essence ad before the trailer? Is that really going after the movie's target audience?

I watched the Watchmen

There are certain parallels between comic books and film. It can be a lot of fun to see a story or a character make the move from one medium to another.

But sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. Case in point – “Watchmen.”

Along with “The Dark Knight Returns,” “Watchmen” was considered groundbreaking when it was first published by DC Comics in 1986. With its dark mood and adult themes, it helped show the mainstream world that comics weren’t just kid stuff.

For those unfamiliar with the story, it’s set in alternate 1985 where Richard Nixon is still the president, the United States is on the brink of nuclear war with the Soviet Union and superheroes have been outlawed. It begins with the murder of an ex-crime fighter called the Comedian who was once part of a superhero team called the Watchmen. His death is investigated by a former teammate – Rorschach, a violent, masked vigilante. Of course, the Comedian’s death is just the first piece of a much bigger puzzle that eventually brings the surviving Watchmen back together.

It’s been a long time since I read “Watchmen.” So my memory of it was a little fuzzy going in. But near as I can tell the film was pretty faithful to the book.

Perhaps a little too faithful. Although “Watchmen” is often branded as a “graphic novel,” in truth it was first published as a 12-issue miniseries – separate storylines strung together to make up an overall plot. As a result, the movie seems a little too segmented. That makes the film’s 161-minute running time feel like it’s dragging at times. In this case, I think the movie would have benefited from a less literal adaptation. They could have mixed the story up a little and tightened it up some. Or maybe a movie isn’t the right medium. Maybe it would have worked better as a cable miniseries.

Also, I think the story carried more weight 20-some years ago. We were still in the midst of the Cold War and still concerned about nukes from Russia. But now that we’re a couple of decades removed from that particular threat it doesn’t seem to have the same level of oomph in the story. It almost seems quaint.

That said, I wouldn’t say the movie was a total bust. It’s a visual feast, with great effects and it is fun to see the characters and certain scenes brought to life (Well, maybe fun isn't right word. It's not exactly a "fun" movie). I also really liked the use of the music in the movie. The “deconstruction of the superhero” (as original writer Alan Moore described it) still makes for a good story. I’m just not sure how well it works in this format.

By the way, “Watchmen” earns every bit of its “R” rating.

If you’re a comic book geek – especially if you’ve already read the book – then “Watchmen” is worth watching, even though you might not be wowed by it. But I think the average moviegoer will want to look elsewhere.

The best there is at what he does...

It's been a while, but I haven't mentioned yet how great it is that you can now find movie trailers on Hulu. I finally bring it up now because it gives me a good excuse to embed the trailer for "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

Yesterday's Enterprise

So this is what the Enterprise will look like in J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek."

At first I wasn't too sure how I felt about it. Yeah, it looks cool. But if this movie is supposed to fit into established Trek canon, then this ship doesn't work -- it strays just a little too far from the original design of the 1960s TV series.

Yeah, they changed it for the earlier movies, but that was worked into the story. The Enterprise was retrofitted after the the events of the TV series. But this is supposed to be a prequel (sort of). So the ship should look like it used to, shouldn't it?

I finally rationalized the slick new Enterprise by comparing it to the Klingons, who famously underwent a makeover in the movies and modern spinoffs -- after make-up effects and budgets advanced. And the new and improved bumpy-headed Klingon look extended into many flashbacks, time travel stories and whatnot that predated the original series.

So if I was OK with that, then I guess I can learn to be OK with this souped up Enterprise.

Alright, I'll stop acting like such a ginormous geek now.

Decision, decisions

(No I'm not talking about the election)



David Tennant has announced his decision. Now I have to make mine.

After three fantastic years playing the Doctor in "Doctor Who," Tennant announced last night that he'll soon be leaving the show.

He has five more episodes to go -- this year's Christmas special, titled "The Next Doctor," and then four stories that will be spread out over 2009. When the series returns for a full regular season in 2010, someone else will be in the leading role.

Now here's the big question...do I tell Nolan? "Doctor Who" is currently his absolute favorite show. I would imagine that in the United Kingdom, even if you're not a fan you would still have to live under a rock not hear this news. But Nolan would never know if I didn't tell him.

So should I share the great big geek news with him? Or should I let him be surprised (assuming I can keep it a secret until 2010)?

Then & Now

Here's another shot of the new Kirk and Spock, courtesy of Empire. This time we get a side-by-side comparison, with Zachary Quitno and Chris Pine emulating a classic Nimoy/Shatner publicity shot.

The gang's all here

Allow me to geek out and share some "Doctor Who" joy.

For those of you who watch the show on SciFi, you still have a couple of weeks to go until you see the latest episode from this past weekend, "Turn Left." So I'll try to remain spoiler-free...except to say it was pretty darn cool!

It was one of those episodes that on the surface seems great, until you put some thought into it and you notice some of the glaring plot holes. (And really, aren't most of the episodes like that?) My advice -- don't think too much and just enjoy the ride.

If you can't get past the implausibilities and elements that just don't add up, don't worry. The last 60 seconds will more than make up for it.

Which brings us to the photo above. It was well-publicized that Rose Tyler would reappear this year. She began her three-episode stint in "Turn Left" (not counting a few cameos in earlier episodes). But what's been a rumor until now is that the last two episodes would feature everything but the kitchen sink, with a whole bevy of returning characters. The trailer for next week and the publicity photo seen here verify that this is indeed true.

It should be good stuff!

The morning after

OK, some time has passed and I've formed some criticisms of "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (see my earlier review from last night).

My biggest nitpick is that Karen Allen, returning as Marion Ravenwood from "Raiders," is grossly underused. She and Indy have some worthwhile exchanges after she first shows up about halfway through the film. But then for the rest of the movie she has nothing to do but alternately stand around or run behind the other characters. There is a big action sequence about two-thirds through involving a chase through the jungle, culminating in a fist-fight between Indy and a big Soviet soldier while surrounded by a swarm of killer ants and then a tumble over a waterfall. From that point on, I'm not sure I can recall Marion having any significant dialogue in the rest of the movie. It's as if they needed her as the catalyst to introduce the Mutt character and then she wasn't needed anymore.

I was also expecting a little more from composer John Williams. His scores from the first three movies are etched in my memory. This time around he does a lot of recycling. Obviously we hear plenty of "The Raiders March" and some of the other themes from "Raiders" and "Last Crusade" are used again. That's fine. But there is nothing new that stands out in my mind. Nothing like the memorable music from the motorcycle chase in "Last Crusade" or the slave children music from "Temple of Doom."

There are a couple of other plot holes I'm wondering about, but I don't won't to get into them without giving too much away.

But for the most part, what I wrote last night still stands. I still loved it!

I'm a very happy Indiana Jones fan!

Remember back when I was saying that they should leave well enough alone and never make a fourth Indiana Jones movie? Yeah, what the hell was I thinking?

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” lives up to the hype…every last bit of it. When I walked out of the theater I think I felt a little numb (in a good way). I just couldn’t believe that for the first time in 19 years I had watched a new Indy movie.

So what’s it all about? I’ll try to avoid spoilers. Shia LaBeouf plays a young man named Mutt who’s connected to two old friends of Indy (spoilers in invisotext: is one of those old friends Marion Ravenwood? Yes, he’s her son. Does that make him Indy’s son? It sure does.). One of those old friends disappeared and the other has been kidnapped. Mutt turns to Indy for help. The mystery leads them to South America first to search for a strange crystal skull and then deep into the Amazon jungle to find the ancient Mayan city the skull came from.

One of my first impressions when I walked out of the theater was that it was classic Spielberg. This is the kind of stuff he was doing 25-30 years ago. It’s in the spirit of “Close Encounters,” “E.T.,” “Amazing Stories” and, of course, “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

Not just in terms of the story, but in the overall tone too. The opening scene shows teens out for a joyride in a hot rod jalopy, weaving in and out of an Army convoy and trying to get the lead car to drag race with them – with Elvis Pressley’s “Hound Dog” playing in the background. I can’t put my finger on it, but there was something about those opening moments that had this classic vibe to it – that I knew I was in for the kind of fun I hadn’t had watching a Spielberg movie since “Jurassic Park” (it also harkened a bit to George Lucas’ “American Grafitti”).

That brings me to another thing I loved about the movie – the era it was set in. The movie takes place in 1957, a good 20 years or so after the earlier movies. It completely embraces this setting and that’s great. Indy gets caught up in the Red Scare and has a near miss at an atomic testing site. The Nazis have been traded in for the Russians. At one point as Indy stares into the face of a KGB agent holding him at gunpoint (played by Cate Blanchett) he patriotically proclaims “I like Ike!”

There are references to the earlier movies – some subtle (he still has his students reading from the Michelson textbook) and some not so subtle (the passings of Marcus Brody and Henry Jones Sr. are noted – also the Ark of the Covenant does make an appearance, but it’s not central to the story). There is also a reference to one of the storylines from “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” TV series.

And yet, despite these references, by embracing the 50s era, particularly in the first part of the movie, you get the impression that George Lucas isn’t just trying to reinvent the wheel. The character and the story are advancing. You know when a TV show you really like has been on for a long time and you go back and watch some of the earlier episodes and you realize how much its changed and evolved? That’s what’s going on here. Indy has evolved – we just didn’t get to see what’s happened between now and then. But if there had been a bunch of Indy movies over the last 19 years, I suspect this is where we would have ended up (we do get a little bit of back story – apparently “Col. Henry Jones” served in the OSS during World War II).

One last note on the storyline – as has been hinted in some of the interviews Lucas has given and as I alluded to earlier – the crystal skull is very different from the artifacts Indy chased after before. The earlier movies had him hunting down religious items. But this is something quite different. Once again, it’s very fitting for the 50s era and the B-movie sci-fi flicks of the day – much the same way the earlier movies paid homage to the Saturday matinee serials of the 1930s. I was braced for it because I had read up on the movie ahead of time (although I was careful to avoid major spoilers), but it might catch some moviegoers off guard.

So to sum up, I’ll make a bold statement: my judgment may be clouded because I just saw it, but if you asked me right now I’d tell you that “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is the best of the sequels. Better than “Temple of Doom.” Better than “Last Crusade.” Will my opinion change once I come off my Indy Jones high? Perhaps. But that’s how I feel right now.

Now that I’ve seen the movie, it begs the question “Now what do I do with myself?” Unfortunately, unlike the earlier installments, I probably won’t ever see this one on the big screen again – because I’m old and I’m broke and I just don’t get the movies that often. So now I’ll count the days to the DVD release, because you can bet I want to see it again – several times again!

UPDATE: Here are some follow up thoughts...

At last! The full Indy trailer!

Remember that "Indiana Jones" TV spot I posted yesterday? Forget about it. This is better.

I suppose my biggest disappointment about "Iron Man" was that I thought for sure there would be a new "Indiana Jones" trailer attached to the front of it (they're both being released by Paramount).

Alas, there was no new Indy trailer on the big screen last night, but there is one on the Internet today. It's pretty poor quality -- obviously a bootleg. But it's cool nonetheless. I'm sure there will be an official version coming in the next the few days...

Iron-clad hit

I saw a sneak preview of “Iron Man” tonight, which I thought was an absolutely great superhero flick.

They did a really great job updating the story. Tony Stark’s company is the leading weapons contractor for the U.S. military. But during a trip to Afghanistan he’s captured by terrorists using weapons he designed. While in captivity he builds his first suit of armor to help him escape.

Upon returning home, Stark – who once reveled in being nicknamed “the merchant of death” – seeks a new direction for himself and his company. Privately he begins to perfect his armor suit to help him protect the little guy, while publicly announcing his company is getting out of the war business.

But in the process, Stark develops enemies left and right who try to co-opt his inventions for their own devious purposes.

“Iron Man” ranks right up there with the “Spider-Man” movies (at least the first two). The Spidey films benefited from the fact that director Sam Raimi is a lifelong Spider-Man fan. I think it shows in “Iron Man” that director Jon Favreau is great big comic book geek at heart too with a real appreciation for the source material.

I can’t say enough about the cast. Robert Downey Jr. is the perfect Tony Stark. He owns the character. Gwyneth Paltrow is enjoyable as well as Stark’s loyal assistant Pepper Potts. Rounding out the cast is Terrence Howard as Stark’s close friend James “Rhodey” Rhodes and Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane.

Also worth noting is the fact that this is the first movie released under the new Marvel Studios banner. Now that Marvel is producing their own movies, that opens up the possibility for potential character crossovers down the road – and it appears some seeds are being planted this summer. Look for S.H.I.E.L.D. to play a key role in the storyline, references to the Avengers’ butler Jarvis and a brief nod toward “Iron Man” spin-off “War Machine.” Meanwhile, there is word Robert Downey Jr. will making a cameo as Tony Stark next month in “The Incredible Hulk,” which is said to also feature S.H.I.E.L.D. and a possible reference to Capitan America’s super soldier serum.

It’s been a great run for Marvel Comics fans at the movies. “Iron Man” keeps it going and shows that there is still more to come. They can’t make a sequel fast enough!

The Indy countdown continues

As I look forward to attending a sneak preview of "Iron Man" tonight, I thought I'd pass along this new "Indiana Jones" TV spot that I just saw for the first time. It offers a few glimpses at some new material we haven't seen before.



Way cool!

The truth is still out there

Of all of the movies on my 2008 want-to-see list (I'll have to publish that one of these days) the one I'm most hesitant about is the "X-Files 2" (the official title still hasn't been announced).

I was a big fan of the TV show (a replica of Mulder’s “I Want to Believe” poster hung my office for years), although in my opinion it jumped the shark in 1998 when the first movie came out. The last episode, which aired in May 2002, was a huge disappointment.

The word is that the new movie will have nothing to do with the TV show's convoluted alien conspiracy mythology, which the first movie focused on. Instead, it will be a stand alone story more in the vein of the show's "monster of the week" episodes.

I think that's great since those episodes provided some of the show's best stories, while the conspiracy storyline was so overplayed.

However, I'm very curious to see how they resolve that disappointing ending, which had Mulder and Scully going on the run as fugitives and left little room (so it seemed) for sequel -- at least, not one with Mulder and Scully working for the FBI.

Anyway, with all of this said, here is the cool teaser poster for the movie.

Crystal Skullalicious

It's a busy news day here in Albany. But there is always time to post something like this!

Check out this beautiful poster from the great Drew Struzan...

The invincible movie trailer

It's shaping up to look likea great summer at the movies. Here's the newest "Iron Man" trailer...

Iron Man Exclusive Trailer

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