As much as I enjoy Star Wars, I was never a big enough fan to buy fan goodies, until the LEGO game came out. Then, well, I spent hours making things out of LEGO pieces and trying to use the force to lift and arrange things. It was awesome to not only have the iconic characters to mess around with, but also to explore the environment of the movie. Now we've got Indiana Jones, but there's another big summer movie that is getting its shot in the LEGOverse -- that sweet, dark knight known as Batman.
Entertainment Weeklyhas posted an awesome new teaser video for the game, which showcases Poison Ivy fooling with Mother Nature, and Bruce Wayne laying the smackdown with his suitcase. If you love the movies, or the source material, you really should check it out. The best thing -- there's a character for everyone. This game showcases peeps like Batman, Robin, and Commissioner Gordon, as well as The Joker, Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, Harley Quinn, The Scarecrow...
I see a whole lot of time wasting in my future. How about you?
Ya know, after the 457th poster was released for The Dark Knight, I said to myself, "That's it! I'm done! They've convinced me to see it!" But then they go and give us another ridiculously cool poster (click image to enlarge) and I'm just speechless. Seriously, what more is there to say? Honestly, I think everyone at Warner Bros. drank a little of that crazy Joker juice because the marketing campaign for this film has taken on a life of its own. Is there really someone controlling it from behind the scenes, or has the marketing gone postal? Perhaps the other posters have come to life and are now creating more posters -- meanwhile some poor schmuck over at Warners is locked in a storage room with his hands tied, desperately trying to warn everyone that the Dark Knight viral campaign has gone mad. He's sweating, slowly inching toward the door doing one of those hands-tied-hobble-hops. And just as he gets there, this poster walks in, slaps him across the face with the butt of a gun and says, "Sit tight baldy ... it's all part of the plan.
I can't wait for Halloween, when I'm going to be dressing up as Batman, courtesy of Dominos. Among the pizza chain's many tie-ins with this summer's The Dark Knightarethese cool pizza boxes, which include separate parts to a cardboard-costume whole. Yes, you'll have to order a number of pizzas to complete your outfit, and there will likely be grease stains all over your utility belt, but your other option is to actually buy a costume ... and go hungry.
Actually, I just remembered that I'm going to be out of the country on Halloween. But when I return, I want to see lots of you Cinematical readers fashioned in Dominos-catered Batman costumes and taking part in our annual costume contest. In the meantime, be sure to check out the Dominos Dark Knight vault, which features details on everything from a special Gotham City meal deal to multiple sweepstakes. And apparently if you order a pizza through the website, you'll gain access to other goodies, like clips, wallpapers, artwork and an exclusive new trailer ... which you may or may not be able to watch after the jump.
Surfing the internets today, I came across a rant over at JoBlo on why the character Robin should stay real far away from Christopher Nolan's Batman films. Now, keep in mind I'm writing this as someone who has not seen The Dark Knightyet. In case you weren't aware, the film screened for press in Los Angeles over the weekend (including our own James Rocchi, who told me it was "awesome"), and since then I've been using every editor's trick in the book to steer clear of spoilers. It's rough, real rough, but I've been trying my best. So know that there won't be any Dark Knight spoilers in this post -- and understand that I'm coming at this from the vantage point of someone who does not know whether The Dark Knight opens the door for Robin to show up in a third flick.
That said, over at JoBlo, Sturdy makes the argument that Robin just isn't an interesting character, and that he's never "worked, whether it be on film, TV or in the comics." Of course, the whole homoerotic theme pops up, and how could it not when you have a young, lean, clean-cut gymnast who shacks up with an even prettier, wealthy industrialist who likes fast toys. Yeah. Kicking it up another notch, Sturdy goes so far as to say that "if you got together all of today's best writers and filmmakers and locked them in a room, they wouldn't be able to come up with a Robin storyline that worked."
Really? Is Robin a franchise killer or is Sturdy missing the importance of his character?
Well, the day has finally come. No, you can't go see The Dark Knight in theaters yet ... but you can start reading what the critics had to say about it. First one in the batting cage is Peter Travers from Rolling Stone, who opens his review with: "Heads up: a thunderbolt is about to rip into the blanket of bland we call summer movies." Yeah! Where's your exclamation point at the end of that sentence, Travers? Get those troops fired up, dammit! (Bored? Try saying "Peter Travers Travels to Transylvania" ten times fast. Bet ya can't do it ...) Anyway ...
He continues to say nothing but great things about the movie, calling Heath Ledger -- and this is my favorite quote of the year so far -- "mad-crazy-blazing brilliant as the Joker." Of course, if someone is "mad-crazy-blazing brilliant," only one word can follow something like that up: Oscar. Travers says, "If there's a movement to get him the first posthumous Oscar since Peter Finch won for 1976's Network, sign me up." He gave the film itself three and a half stars out of four, and summed it all up by saying, "It's full of surprises you don't see coming. And just try to get it out of your dreams."
All kidding aside, I'm stoked to see a very, very positive review right out of the gate -- and I, for one, seriously hope The Dark Knight goes down as one of the best summer movies ever. But I do try not to hype it up too much, because that's always a bad thing. So forget we ever said anything. Dark Knight? What's that?
A brand new clip from The Dark Knight has landed over at WhySoSerious.com (see it above or over on that site), and in it we get to watch Two Face make what I imagine will be his first appearance in the film. Don't worry spoiler-nerds, they don't actually show you his face (like they'd ruin that one on a random Monday night in June) -- but we see him from a side angle and briefly hear his voice. I truly hope this isn't some sort of very very short tease over to the third film and that Two Face is an actual character in the movie for a little while. Then again, perhaps it'd be better if he wasn't in it; cut down on the number of villains and all that. However, Christopher Nolan has said that this is Harvey Dent's story and not the Joker's. The latter maniac just happens to be wreaking havoc on Gotham while the real plot develops around Dent (Aaron Eckhart).
Look, all I know is that I really want to see this sucker, like, yesterday. 32 days till July 18th. Sweet!
I'm not supposed to be working right now (took the day off to celebrate getting older), but I just had to pop on and show you folks this hysterical video from Funny or Die. It's called I'm a Marvel .. and I'm a DC, and for anyone who thought those Mac/PC spoofs were getting old and tired ... definitely check this one out. In the video above, Iron Man and Batman square off in a fight ... of words ... to determine who's the better superhero. Stick with it, because they really get into it after awhile -- when Iron Man goes off on the Batman viral stuff, I just about lost it; same goes for the "at least kids can go see my movie" rant. Best part of the whole thing: they use action figures ... and the voice work ain't that bad. Who do you think has the better argument?
If I asked you to name a half-dozen Marvel characters besides Spider-Man, Wolverine, and The Hulk, you'd probably have no problem. But if I asked you to rattle off six DC Comics superheroes besides Superman and Batman, your response might sound a little like this: "Well, The Flash, of course. And Wonder Woman. Oh, Aquaman! Um ... Green Arrow and Green Lantern, I suppose..." and then I'd rudely interrupt you with mentions of Hawkmanand Martian Manhunter before you started shaking your head in either confusion or disbelief in my nerdiness. (I can never tell which is which.)
I know all about the Justice League movie problems and the inability to get Wonder Woman flying, but really: After seeing how well-received Iron Manwas -- and after hearing about Marvel's plans regarding The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, and The Avengers -- I'm starting to feel a little bad for DC Comics' movie division. But here's the thing: As a character of popular culture, Iron Man (born 1963) is not exactly a Spider-Man or even close to a Superman -- and still Marvel and Paramount were able to bang a really excellent blockbuster out of the guy. (And let's not forget that a relatively obscure Marvel character called Blade pretty much kick-started this comic-flick renaissance.) Does anyone doubt that a character like The Flash could have similar results? Given the right cast and crew, I'm thinking The Flash could be one hell of a fun flick. So let's get moving already!
Ever since Marvel announced release dates for a slew of new comic book-related films yesterday, the internets have come alive with scoopers. We were a bit burned on the last rumor Cinema Blend reported, so take all three of these with a huge grain of salt.
Captain America: According to CB, Matthew McConaughey is the first name to hit the possible cast list. The film, now titled The First Avenger: Captain America, has been given a release date of May 6, 2011, and so I wouldn't expect a name to sign on for awhile. That's not to say there isn't a wish list floating around -- and, if one did exist, I imagine McConaughey's name would be on it, along with several others. I'm sure fans already hate the idea of seeing Mr. Rom Com himself show up as their beloved Captain America, but I actually think it's a good choice -- an interesting choice -- and one I'd definitely support. With the right script, he'd bring the looks, the muscle and the charisma. (Actually, I could kinda see him playing Thor, too.)
Iron Man 2: Yes, work will begin on this monster right away as a release date of April 30, 2010 is already in place, giving Jon Favreau and his team two years to get what will soon become the world's most highly-anticipated sequel in the can. But what will it be about? Well, CB claims that one of the plot lines being considered involves Sam Jackson returning as Nick Fury in order to team up with Stark to go after a terrorist called The Mandarin (featured prominently in the comic books as one of Iron Man's greatest villains). They also claim Marvel may throw a Thor cameo into the sequel to further tie The Avengers thing together, and also because Thor will debut his own film a couple of months later on July 4, 2010.
I had a very strange weekend, especially since I'm so used to hanging around here, listening to all you folks rant and rave about Batman, Iron Man and Indiana Jones. The weekend was strange in that everyone I spoke to offline named Sex and the Cityas the film they're most looking forward to this summer. Yes, Sex and the City: The Movie! Apparently, Oprah also did a show where she let her entire audience watch SATC: The Movie, but turned it off with 20 minutes left. (I don't know about you, but if Oprah pulled that "you can't watch the ending" sh*t on me, I'd switch it over to Rachael Ray full time!)
So then I sashayed my way over to Moviefone's Summer Movies poll, which asked readers to decide on a summer film they were anticipating the most. Know what won? Yup, Sex and the City. Crazy, right? I knew this TV show had a massive fanbase, but I, personally, hadn't heard a peep out of anyone who was actually looking forward to the movie. Is it that your usual SATC fanbase doesn't hang out online, perusing through movie news sites? Maybe they're out shopping or, ya know, living actual lives ... instead of geeking out over a new Dark Knight image on Cinematical? (By all means, continue to geek out -- I'm just trying to make sense of this whole SATC thing.)
In these supposedly progressive times, gender equality is one of those touchy issues relegated to the last paragraph of a trend piece nobody reads. When Katherine Heigl suggested to Vanity Fairthat Judd Apatow's movies were sexist, the assertion came across like an after-the-fact shrug of acceptance. Ever the galvanizing provocateur, New York Times critic Manohla Dargis confronts the issue head-on with a thorough analysis of the gender bias in this year's summer blockbusters.
With "Iron Man, Batman, Big Angry Green Man" and other massive expressions of virility invading the box office, female roles appear to be relegated to the back of the multiplex. Dargis touches on the rumors that Warner Bros head Jeff Robinov believes no woman has been able to sell a movie since Julia Roberts (a point that Natalie Portman might contest, but not Paris Hilton) before sizing up numerous upcoming studio releases, with particular attention paid to Anna Faris, "who could be the next Judy Holliday but without the right material will, alas, probably end up the next Brittany Murphy." It's the kind of pronouncement that hits you in gut.
Last night we took the crew to see Iron Man. You can read James's and Scott's reviews of the film, but I'll just add that this movie ROCKS, and in case you're a parent debating whether to bring your kids to see it, I felt that what violence is in the film is mostly cartoonish, Indiana Jones-level stuff, so if your kids can handle those films, they'll be fine. All of my kids were engaged in the film from start to finish, and there was nothing in it that scared them as much and that damn sea lion in Happy Feet.
But I digress. Before the film, of course, they had the usual array of trailers (Speed Racer, Indy 4, Prince Caspian), and one of them was for The Dark Knight. Now, I've generally been avoiding seeing or reading too much about The Dark Knight, so this was the first time I'd seen the trailer. And my reaction to it was ... I don't know if I want to see this film. Much as I love Christian Bale and Aaron Eckhart, I just found the scenes of Heath Ledger as the Joker oddly painful to watch.
In a little over a week from now, Iron Man crashes into theaters -- signaling the official start of the summer movie season. I know we say this every year, but come September, we could be looking back at one of the greatest summer movie seasons in history -- with popular franchises like Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Batman, Hellboy and The Chronicles of Narnia returning to the big screen. We're eagerly anticipating the arrival of new superheroes like Iron Man and Hancock, there's another adorable Pixar movie, an equally-as-adorable stoner flick from Judd Apatow and the revival of a very funny '60s television show on the big screen. What's not to love?
So in the spirit of sharing our love (or lust, depending on the lighting) for all things movie-related, we at Cinematical present our 10 most anticipated films of summer 2008. Our writers got together, looked things over, and, after sending the information through a magical robot (who talks like a black Robert Downey Jr.!), here's what we came up with. Click on any of the 10 photos below to get started ... and feel free to enjoy all the goodies we have on the other end. (Just leave the bag of Twizzlers for me, please).
I'm not entirely too sure where this video came from (I believe a few links popped up in the SHH forums), but it's up on YouTube now, so we're all good. Check out the first video of Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes above, as she speaks out to members of the Gotham City press on why she feels everyone should support Harvey Dent (as played by Aaron Eckhart in the sequel). Gyllenhaal, as most of us already know, took over for Katie Holmes after the actress decided not to return for The Dark Knight. It's not much, and this doesn't look to be part of the film (though maybe it will show up on a TV screen in the background somewhere), but those who were curious to see Gyllenhaal in action can finally do so now.
Personally, at this point I'm dying to see a Harvey Dent political commercial. I want children asleep in their beds, and a calm voiceover to say something like, "It's 3am in Gotham City, and the phone rings. Who do you want answering that call? Batman? No ... how about District Attorney Harvey Dent." Check out the video above, and let us know what you think of Maggie Gyllenhaal in this role? I've always had a thing for this gal, so I dig her in just about anything. You?
It's been awhile since news of a live-action Teen Titans movie surfaced, what with all the hoopla surrounding Justice League. But when ComicMix sat down with writer-producer Mark Verheiden, the guy had a ton to say about where Warner Bros. is currently at with that Teen Titans movie, as well as what his plans are for the characters and the story. Regarding the script, Verheiden says, "I turned in a pass to Warner Bros. right before the strike and we've talked about that and I'm going to get back into it. I'll address some of their thoughts and work on the next draft."
On where he plans to go with the story: "We're going to have some strong adversaries, or antagonists, but really, I'm trying to concentrate on the core group of these characters, who we meet at a point when they're at the cusp of adulthood ... It's no secret Robin is in this movie, so what if you were him, after living in the shadow of Bruce Wayne and Batman, and now you wanted to go off on your own and become your own man, your own superhero? That's got to be a huge thing to overcome. That makes it interesting for me ... I'm also looking to the work of Marv Wolfman and George Perez as the touchstone of inspiration for the film."
Wolfman and Perez, of course, were responsible for the 1980s Teen Titans revival. Check out the full interview with Verheiden (including all sorts of Battlestar Galactica stuff) over at ComicMix. What do you think about this Teen Titans flick? Could it be better or worse than the upcoming Justice League movie?
As much as I enjoy Star Wars, I was never a big enough fan to buy fan goodies, until the LEGO game came out. Then, well, I spent hours making things out of LEGO pieces and trying to use the force to lift and arrange things. It was awesome to not only have the iconic characters to mess around with, but also to explore the environment of the movie. Now we've got Indiana Jones, but there's another big summer movie that is getting its shot in the LEGOverse -- that sweet, dark knight known as Batman.
I can't wait for Halloween, when I'm going to be dressing up as Batman, courtesy of Dominos. Among the pizza chain's many tie-ins with this summer's 
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