MOVIE REVIEW: Iron man & Hulk

I saw a couple of movies (within a few weeks of each other) that are slowly being linked together- I'll get to that later. (see "TOGETHER" below) But first: (don't worry, no spoilers)...

IRON MAN

Awesome. Go see it. Seriously, it captures the essence of the character (some liberties were taken with back story, of course, but as in the case of the X-Men movies, I didn't mind so much!), while delivering a great movie to people who don't know Iron Man as well.

At first, I was like- Robert Downey Jr? As Tony Stark? Really? Are they kidding??? But you know what- he did an EXCELLENT job! The acting was superb, the effects were not too over the top, (altho I had a few flashbacks to 'The Rocketeer' movie LOL), and it kept your interest the whole time. Good to take the kids to- most all of the violence was aimed at men in Iron Suits.

For all you die-hard fans, Keep an eye out for the silver Iron Man suit in a quick and funny scene.

HULK (2008)

Oh thank you! Hulk has been saved! After that awful 2003 Ang Lee version, I had my doubts that the Hulk would ever make another screen appearance. But, lo! And Like the current incarnation of Batman, it's a darker, grittier Hulk than the Saturday morning cartoons. Again, I was like- Ed Norton? the Hulk? Really? Seriously??? But as before, I have been humbled by the performance and fit that the actor brings to the Hulk. Even though they took small licences with the origins of the Hulk, they stayed true to the original character, and even payed homage to the TV show and comics: In one scene, Bruce's girlfriend buys him giant purple stretch pants to wear so he wont rip up his clothes. in another scene- Lou Farigno makes a brief appearance as a security guard. There are other bits and pieces thru the whole movie too.

But don't let the tongue-in-cheek bits fool you. If you are wary of too-violent movies, better think twice before taking the kids to this one. While no "gore" is shown, people DO get killed, both by the Hulk and his nemesis "The Abomination". Lots of collateral damage, explosions, and things getting punched and smashed make this a true-to-form Hulk movie, but something parents might want to avoid if they don't want their 5 year old emulating the big green guy.

TOGETHER:

Ok- without saying too much about the actual scenes- there are 2 scenes that LINK the Hulk movie with the IRON MAN one (and methinks other MARVEL movies coming out soon will have some linking scenes too!). The scenes are just BEFORE the credits in the Hulk, but you have to wait until AFTER the credits in Iron Man. I cant say much more and not spoil the scenes, but I will let you know what i think they are alluding to... (a NON-animated version of course)....so here's a hint in picture form:

The Summer of Heros!

I am all pumped up for this summer's round of 'hero' movies. Here's a list of the upcoming ones...with links!! Not all are traditional "superhero" movies... but hey- they still look awesome!

Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull- YAAAY!! It's about time! Altho undoubtedly the last Indy film with Harrison Ford, I still have been waiting for this one for quite a while! The previews look awesome...AND...we get to meet Indy's SON!

Forbidden Kingdom- I went and saw this one last weekend. I highly recommend it for fans of wire-style Kung-Fu films, as well as anyone who knows the legend of the "Monkey King". Good action, effects, and the lead boy character wasn't annoying!

Iron Man- Every preview I see of this makes me want to see it more. I wasn't sure about Robert Downy Jr. as the lead, but it seems as if he did a bang-up job...we'll see...


Wanted- I never heard about this one till I saw a preview for it- and it looks awesome! (ok a liiiittle far-fetched, but hey, what action movie now a days ISN'T?). It kina looks like a secret assassin group with superhuman "powers". Just watch the preview (trailer) on the site- you'll be hooked. OH YEAH..and ANGELINA JOLIE. what else needs to be said? LOL

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army- Sweet! loved the first one, probably gonna love this one!!!

Speed Racer- Liked the cartoon, hopefully will like the movie. Kim wants to go see this one in IMAX.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince- Need I say more? Harry Potter, Man!!!

Chronicles of Narnia 2: Prince Caspian- Looking forward to this one too- loved the first movie. (I've read the ENTIRE series- hope they make them all!)

Star Trek (XI)- ??? looks like a "prequel", or maybe 'how Kirk got the Enterprise'..or something... *sigh* after the horrible "enterprise" series I'm kinda wary...

Batman: The Dark Knight- If it's as good as Batman Begins, I'll be a happy camper! Altho it is also sad, knowing this is Heath Ledger's last appearance.

James Bond 22: Quantum of Solace- WTF is up with the title? there's no "live, die, day" or any of the other normal words in it! LOL I'm seeing it anyways.

Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D- It uses the same 3D filming technique as 'Beowulf 3D' did...so I'm definitely going to go see it just for THAT.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine- YESSSSSS!! Finally, a stand-alone Wolverine Movie! SOO going to this one!

Hulk- Good! Glad to see they aren't leaving the crappy Hulk movie alone- they're giving Hulk a makeover! Ed Norton is Bruce Banner!

And here's a list of other movies in the works and being filmed right now! Sorry, none have "official" sites yet, but I added some info links if you're interested in them.

G.I. Joe LIVE ACTION!
Terminator 4: Salvation
The Hobbit (prequel to Lord of the Rings)
The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Angels & Demons (prequel to Da Vinci Code)

Are there any coming out that YOU are excited to see? Let me know!

BLOG HASH: Year Of The Zombie!

Original Post Date: Thursday May 31, 2007

Are you a Zombie aficionado like me? Well, if so- 2007 will soon become the "Year of the Zombie!" (dubbed by me, first, right here!)
Here are some upcoming films this summer dealing with our friendly neighbourhood flesh-eaters:

28 Weeks Later: Sequel to 28 Days Later . British film. Not truly 'zombies' per-sae, but "rage infected people". I saw this one already and give it a thumbs-up, if you've seen the first one.

Day of the Dead: Yes, Romero made this one already, but like the others ( night and dawn) had, this one's the NEW remake of it!! Can't wait! (after last years land of the dead, i was disappointed in the franchise, and was hoping for more...)

Diamond Dead: Sounds like an odd cult-classic. Some lady has to kill 365 people, but enlists the help of a friend who was killed and is now a zombie....dunno about this one...

Diary of the Dead: Romero overseeing a Blair-witch like zombie movie. Weather it will be seen from the eyes of the cameras that the actors have with them (group of filmmakers in the woods making a horror movie gets attacked by zombies), or in the normal 3rd perspective, we'll wait and see. Takes place during the same night as the " night of the living dead" remake.

Fido: A zombie-comedy in the vein of "Shaun of the Dead " (LOVED S.O.T.D.). Set in 1950's post-zombie war America, where zombies have been domesticated thru the use of a special collar...

Grindhouse: A Quintin T. double-feature movie, in his normal blood-and-grit style. One of the movies, 'planet terror', has people defending themselves from zombie (like) creatures. Haven't seen this one yet- I'll let you know...

Out of Space : In the future we run out of landfill room, and the resulting waste and radioactivity creates hordes of zombies that plague the living.

Outpost: a Scottish film of a group of military people that are exploring an island devastated by WWII, and find a "survivor" of some horrible experiments...

Plane Dead: hehehe...a "remake" of snakes on a plane, except instead of snakes......wait for it.......ZOMBIES! I can't tell if this is supposed to be a true horror, or a tongue-in-cheek horror comedy like S.O.T.D.). One would hope...

Resident Evil: Extinction: Yeah baby! the 3rd in the resident Evil series! See the first 2 if you haven't already, before wading thru this one.

Zombie Town : If you've seen "Slugs" or the more recent "Slither", it's similar to these. Creepy parasites get in the heads of people turning them into zombies that attack the living. Again, hopefully a comedy-horror like "Slither"...

Barricade: German film about...you guessed it...campers in the woods being harassed by those damn zombies..

That's all I've run across so far- if you find any more PLEASE let me know!!!
Here's a couple of more things for all you Zombie lovers:
Wikipedia List of Zombie Films
Zombie internet infection simulator

And last but not least- GET THIS BOOK! it will save your life someday!!!
ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE

MOVIE REVIEW: I Am Legend

I rented the newest Will Smith Movie over Easter weekend. Yes, I know it wasn't much of a "holiday themed" movie, but I wanted to see it, and missed it in the theatres.

All-in-all, I give it a fairly good rating. It seems to be a remake of Omega Man (starring good 'ol Chuck Heston). The general premise of this new version is that a scientist engineers a virus to cure cancer in 2009, and by 2012, 90% of the population of the WORLD dies while the remaining 10% have turned into bloodthirsty zombie-like creatures (altho WAY faster than Romero's kind). Only a handful (well, maybe a couple million, but that's a drop in the bucket when looking at the world-wide population) of people are immune to the virus and remain normal. Will Smith's character just happens to be the lead scientist looking for a cure to the virus when the plague started in 2009, and one of the lucky immune people. He also happens to be the last normal person left alive in New York, and as far as he knows, the world.

A few of my friends saw the movie and were disappointed, because the previews showed a lot of action, but the first half of the movie was basically how he survived day-to-day. Hunting, fortifying his house, researching the cure to the virus in his lab, and just dealing with the psychological pressures of being alone for 3+ years. (in one scene, he goes into a video store to get new movies to watch, and has apparently set up mannequins behind the counter and "browsing" in the store- and talks to them as if they were living people, just to not feel alone) I think the social and personal mental aspect statements were lost on my buddies watching the movie- they were looking forward to a shoot-em-up zombie flick. Some of that happens, but mostly in the last half of the movie.

I won't give away any spoilers, but I will say that if you've seen Omega Man, this movie parallels it quite a bit, including the ending.

I highly recommend this movie if you like post-apocalyptic dramas like Omega Man, Last Man on Earth, and a Boy and his Dog. If you are looking for a Resident-Evil gorefest, you might want to skip this one- this movie is more about the emotions of loneliness, fear, and loss than it is about anything else.