Disney aquires Lucasfilm

Brian

It’s official. George Lucas will no longer be the creative force behind  the Star Wars franchise.

In a shocking development today, Disney aquired  Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion. All of those funds, which include stocks and cash, will go directly  to Lucas himself, since he is the sole owner of the independent company that  never went public. In exchange, Disney now has complete ownership of the  Star Wars franchise.

What does this mean for fans? It means that we might  get a decent Star Wars
film! No longer is the franchise beholden to Lucas’ wooden dialogue and bad creative decisions that he had complete control  over. In a statement today Lucas said, “For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next. … It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I’m confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come.”

While I am  appreciative of the Star Wars films he’s created, I am extremely excited  about the opportunity that another director and writer could have when  bringing their vision of his world to the screen. Stay tuned! This is only the start of could be many Star Wars films to come. I say that because I’m positive Disney didn’t buy it in order to shelve it away!

Iron Man 3 Trailer

Here it is, the first full-length trailer of Iron Man 3! I have to say, it automatically has a much darker feel than the other two films — which I’m a huge fan of. This one plays off of last summer’s smash blockbuster, “Avengers,” which  was very fun. At the end of that film, Iron Man goes through a hole to another world. In this, we see that’s it has changed him. And, of course, this is the first appearance of his great comic book enemy, The Mandarin, played by Academy Award-winner Ben Kingsley. This film has massive promise.

Dark Knight Trailer #3 Released

Matt

The Dark Knight Rises, coming July 20, is the final and much anticipated conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s brilliant vision of Batman. The latest trailer looks very promising, leaving much to be the imagination while whetting our appetites for what promises to be an incredible closing chapter in the Nolan series. Enjoy.

 

Captain America: The First Avenger

Marvel launches another super franchise with this action-packed origin story, which follows Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) as he volunteers for a secret experiment during World War II. Transformed into a superhero named Captain America, Steve goes after the Axis. With his perfect physique and heightened reflexes — and his sidekick, Bucky (Sebastian Stan) — Steve battles the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), a super soldier created by Italian fascists.

Kyle
Rating: 8 out of 10

This actually came out about what I was expecting. I was a little concerned it would deliver similar to “Thor” but came out a lot better. My optimism finally paid off. 

Chris Evans didn’t disappoint. He brought a great performance as Steve Rogers/Captain America. Hugo Weaving was alright though I thought his German accent was off. I thought it was odd, too, that the organization that Red Skull led (Hydra) existed almost separate from that of the Nazi party. It just seemed Hydra’s intentions were very much different than that of the Nazi party from my original understanding of the Red Skull; no hints of Anti-Semitism. 

The only other thing that bothered me was at a few of the CG sequences with Evan’s head on a smaller body. A couple of the shots were a bit unbearable; his chin was not cropped properly and it just appeared to end. Also, I thought they could’ve scaled it down a tad so that his head was proportionate the body they put him on. Other than that, I thought it was a really good film. It had lots of action, suspense, and heart. Captain America just wants to help those in need and that mentality is seen from beginning to end. 

Oh, and the post-credits footage was bonerific. Great tease to what next summer will hold in store for Marvel fans.

Amazing Spider-Man trailer leaked

Kyle

As some of you may know, I’m a huge Spider-Man fan. He’s my favorite comic book character in the Marvel universe. He’s a smart and misunderstood kid who gains superhuman abilities and, after an incident involving his uncle, tries to make the best of it, as hard at times as it can be. Even as Spider-Man, he was never is well liked or trusted.

I was not disappointed from what I saw after watching the trailer. Marc Webb is definitely coming at this with a different approach. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect seeing as he had just finished “500 Days of Summer.”

The trailer began with Parker’s parents going away. I’m not sure if this essential to the story, a flashback or a brief introduction but I’m really hoping it’s essential to the story. None of the three films went into Parker’s past with his parents but from the comics, there’s a lot there. Anyway, there are cuts of him in school, at home, and of course him going to where he meets his fate. In those images, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) is wearing a lab coat, which pretty much shows they’re being consistent in the comics with her pursue of science (unlike in SM3); she is also the first love of Peter.

The one thing that threw me off, though, was at the end of the clip. Yesterday I read on First Showing that Webb was trying to do as many effects physically as opposed to CG; which took them months to capture. What threw me off was the clip was a first-person shot of Webhead swinging about NYC, obviously using lots of CG. I’m guessing this is one of the few shots that they had to succumb to using CG. It is heartening to read a director trying to avoid CG on their film (didn’t Lucas give Jackson shit for not using CG in LotR?). Spider-Man is probably the worst superhero character to shoot a movie with regards to trying to avoid a lot of CG because of his abilities and all the web-slinging he does.
Even though I am getting sick of the reboots, remakes, prequels, sequels, and adaptations, Spider-Man is one I will never get sick of… wait, I said the same thing prior to seeing SM3. Oh shit. Let’s cross our fingers for no SM3, you guys.

The Dark Knight Rises Trailer Released

Matt

The promise of “The Dark Knight Rises” is unlimited. I felt like that before “The Dark Knight,” which is hands down one of the best comic book films ever made.

I had concerns about the number of characters and villains in “The Dark Knight.” There was Two Face and Joker, and it’s difficult to pull off two villains in the same film because they can often not be developed into anything more than a cookie cutter bad guy. But that was not the case, at all. Christopher Nolan understands storytelling and has handled the Batman franchise with great care and respect for his audience.

I have no qualms saying that “The Dark Knight Rises” will be just as good as its prequels. The Bane charater, played by Tom Hardy, looks nothing short of menacing and terrible. The above photo is enough to give you the creeps. We also get a small glimpse of Catwoman, thought it’s hard to see much. Even though this trailer is a mere wetting of our appetites, “The Dark Knight Rises” already looks amazing. It’s going to be a long year of waiting.

Thanks for our sister blog TV-Tastic for the trailer!

Thor

Kenneth Branagh directs this Marvel Comics-inspired action flick about the thunder god Thor (Chris Hemsworth), a powerful warrior whose father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins) — the king of Asgard — forces him to live among humans on Earth and learn humility. Once there, he finds a friend (Natalie Portman), along with unexpected enemies sent from his world. Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgård and Rene Russo co-star.

Matt
Rating: 4 out of 10

Have you ever seen the Dolph Lundgren’s 1989 opus (sarcasm) “Masters of the Universe?” It’s a live-action adaptation of the He-Man cartoon series of the 80s. The basic plot is that He-Man is this super hulk with a special weapon he wields in the name of good to protect his far-off science-fiction, fantasy home. Somehow, the he gets warped to Earth where he struggles to adapt while trying to get back. Along the way, some of the baddies from his home come to Earth where a battle ensues.

Well, that’s the exact plot of Marvel’s latest, “Thor.” This movie fails in just about every way. Without a strong supporting cast, it could have been a 2 out of 10. I was not impressed. It’s had some tough competition to follow with the excellent Iron Man movies.

I wouldn’t recommend Thor. It’s so awkward, it makes you feel uncomfortable watching it. I’d recommend watching “Masters of the Universe.” The first youtube installment is below. At least it’s funny because of how bad it is.

The Movie Brothers are back

The Movie Brothers have been away for a while, and for that, we apologize.

Extenuating circumstances have kept us away, but we’re coming back in full force.

We thank you for your continued readership, and we can’t wait to share with you what we have coming.

New posts are coming this week!

Latest Green Lantern Footage Released

Kyle

Hot damn, that was very surprising. I think the CGI used in this film perfectly utilizes its technology in a superhero setting. I’m not particularly knowledgeable on Green Lantern, but essentially the guy can create and do anything out of nowhere with this ring. There are a few shots of Hal Jordan using this ring… and it’s pretty awesome. The world that Hal travels to after he obtains the ring looks absolutely beautiful, much more of an appealing setting than “Avatar” but that’s just me.

I was very hesitant on Ryan Reynolds simply because I’m sick of his sarcasm masked with handsome-type charm he weaves in almost of all his rolls. “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder” and “Waiting…” were the only ones I found him entertaining in. Peter Sarsgaard looks pretty good as Hector Hammond, whom I know nothing about other than this guy clearly loses his mind.

The Green Lantern oath that Hal vows is a bit cheesy but I love it. It’s that cheesiness in comic books that I love. Satisfies the inner 8 year old. Unless this is this footage is the best four minutes of the film, I have hopes for this. Again, like “Captain America,” it’ll make the blockbuster bucks whether it’s good, bad or so-so.

Bill and Ted 3 update; Most excellent

Matt

We told you before that Keanu Reeves was talking about a third installment of the Bill and Ted franchise — which I was a big fan of as a heavy metal loving kid.

Apparently, co-star Keanu Reeves wasn’t joking. He updated the story this week with MTV, telling the former music television station that a script is in the works and is weeks away.

“I believe the writers are six weeks away from a draft,” he told MTV on Monday, adding with a laugh, “No pressure, guys!”

Back in September, Reeves dished nothing but wacky jokes about what the project might actually look like — a 3-D black-and-white sequel co-directed by Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Werner Herzog? — but this time around the 46-year-old actor gave us some meaty clues about the film’s potential plot (albeit with a few caveats).

“I know a little bit. But I don’t know — the fellas went off and cooked it up,” he explained. “I don’t know what happened when they put the elements together.”

Bill and Ted had two films, “Excellent Adventure” and “Bogus Journey” that were both successful films and a Saturday morning cartoon in the late 80s and early 90s. It featured a fun supporting role by George Carlin and lots of unusual and hilarious historical figures, like Joan of Arc, Beethoven and Abraham Lincoln. Bill and Ted, who have a band called Wyld Stallions, are lousy in school and don’t amount to much. They get a visitor from the future in Rufus, played by Carlin, who travels in a phone booth (who uses those anymore?). Rufus tells them their music will one day change the world, but they need to pass their history test. It sends them on a crazy adventure through time, where they collect historical figures for a presentation. The sequel sends the two boys to hell, where they meet Grim Reaper, played in hilarious fashion by William Sadler.

So, in the sequels, you never know what song changed the world. Apparently the third installment will delve into that storyline.

This film could work if it doesn’t take itself too seriously (which may be hard to do). They’ve been bringing back every franchise, whether it’s from TV or the silver screen. Why not bring back Bill and Ted? At worst, it sucks as much as all the other sequels of late.