The Angry Bear

Over at the convention, DC had a great showing, what with Ryan Reynolds giving it up for his upcoming role in The Green Lantern, and their other upcoming projects. However, what really was making people jump was more information on Young Justice, the upcoming CN series that will air and give birth to an interesting cast of characters. At the time I wasn’t happy with it, yet after getting more information from them, I’m not so sure anymore. Plus, we got to see some more from SOE’s upcoming console-based MMO, DC Universe Online…and let me tell you – glorious.

When we last heard about Young Justice, there was some question about the design and the make of the characters – primarily, the state of Aqualad. After a little show from WB at the Comic-Con, we learned a lot of how the show is going to go. (more…)

Tags: DC, Green Lantern, MMO ZoKnows Gaming, Ryan Renyolds, Universe, Young Justice

Ah, it does feel good to be back, doesn’t it? In case you were under a rock for the past week, or simply didn’t care, the San Diego Comic-Con came and went. It left most with the delicious taste of alcohol and the cheap feeling of nerd. What really goes on at the SDCC is a combination of the big name video games and bigger name comics and stories – and this year was big for the movie crowd. With things like The Green Lantern, The Avengers, Captain America and Thor hitting the box office within the next two years – it was hot and heavy.

Though those can’t always show you something, but there are plenty of other things to keep your attention. So, for the next few posts, walk with me as I take you through some of the best items talked about. (more…)

Tags: Avengers, Comics, Goon, Green Lantern, SDCC, Sucker Punch, Thor, Tron, Tron Legacy

In an official press release form 20th Century Fox, it’s been officially stated that James Cameron’s Avatar will be re-released in theaters with a whole eight minutes of “never before seen footage,” but only in the Digital 3D and IMAX 3D versions.

With the 3D boom in the industry, there is more of a market for 3D movies than there was back when the film first showed in theaters. The idea is that people will now have more availability to go see the movie in the way that it was “meant” to be seen, rather than its 2D counterpart. The additional footage is more or less a bonus for those that head out for the second or third time. No word yet as to whether the additional footage will be some of the fabled “Na’vi sex scene” but you can be assured fans will be crossing their fingers in anticipation.

Tags: 3D, Avatar, James Cameron, Nav'i, rerelease, Sex Scene

As confusing as it may sound, producer Ridley Scott and Director Kevin Macdonald (Last King of Scotland) have decided to team up and create something that has never been thought of or attempted before: a film created entirely by Youtube clips of the populace.

It will work like this: on July 24th the duo will take clips that will be uploaded at that time and picking-and-choosing what they want to use from the list. This will create a unique and expessive outlook on the world and make “the first user-generated documentary” ever. Not only that, the film wil also become something of a “global time capsule” of international events and feelings – as long as “Charlie the Unicorn” doesn’t show up.

Among the clips, there will be 20 selected co-directors included in the credits and they will be flown into the Park City for the unveiling of the film at Sundance Film Fest next year. You know, as much as the idea of a film like this really is interesting, the thought that it’s almost impossible to get a coherent storyline with a bunch of random clips occurs. Yes, there may be some little nuggets of happiness in there, but otherwise it will be hard. Granted, with the San Diego Comi-con that day…

With the arrival of Andrew Garfield as the new Spider-man in the upcoming Ultimate Spider-man reboot, being helmed by director Mark Webb (hold your puns), Sony has now released that his estimated check for the picture will be a simple $500,000. Depending on the success of the film, the second and third installments could bring in $1 and $2 million respectively.

The cause of such a drastic decline is a simple one: uncertainty. It’s the idea that the reboot may potentially fail (especially with a new actor such as Garfield) in a setting such as Spider-man. Not only Garfield’s budget, the film itself has gotten the short-shaft, having an estimated $80 million budget – $40 million less than its original counterpart.

Where this will take the film in terms of creativity, one can only speculate. My theory is that this will force the film to revolve more around the storytelling elements, while dealing less with the flashy CGI and special effects. While it may not be as glamorous or explosive as its counterpart, it will definitely have more in store for it.

Tags: Andrew Garfield, Mark Webb, Reboot, Sony, Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-man

Coming as a surprise, after Michael Bay’s overall annoyance with the cumbersom Alexa cameras (the cameras that allow you to shoot in 3D), the word came out today from Vince Pace, innovator and joint-developer with James Cameron of the FUSION 3D/2D camera system:

“Trying to lay low and do what I do best. We took delivery of the first Alexa cameras for Hugo and have 23 more on the way. Transformers has also signed on to shoot 3D throughout the film. I am working on a big Disney film but can’t mention the name and are lining up five more films. Just wrapped on additional photography for Resident Evil and Tron. Currently in Hawaii and flying out to London for Hugo.”

Also connected with the press statement was a video of Pace prepping the new rigging systems for the Alexa cameras. Watching the video, it can go about as fast as an old man on a scooter at a grocery store. Which is why it’s curious that Bay would agree.

Anyone watching a M.Bay film knows that he thrives on high-octane action and larger-than-life explosions. The glamor and glitz of snap-cuts and bad transitions are his thing… and with slow cameras that actually need to be set up on a large system to be stabilized and functional is going to be a huge hindrance. For once, I actually am concerned for the movie. Maybe this will make it worse than it was originally going to be.  The cameras, though it may sound like an easy set-up, actually take a unified power input, as well as a mini-God and almost fusion reactor to power them. So in the long run, the shows’ systems are amazing, but still a long way away from portability.

Tags: 3D, Alexa Camera, James Cameron, Michael Bay, Transformers, Vince Pace

After a hectic and long-awaited search, the wait is finally over for our Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Andrew Garfield of movies such as Boy A, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, and The Social Network will become the next star for Mark Webb’s 3D reboot. The British actor, being the least known on the list, was considered the most talented in Webb’s eye.

“Though his name may be new to many, those who know this young actor’s work understand his extraordinary talents. He has a rare combination of intelligence, wit, and humanity.”

Among the list of possibles were Jamie Bell, Aaron Johnson, Anton Yelchin, Frank Dillane, Josh Hutcherson, and Alden Ehrenreich. Below is a collective montage of his films to give you an idea of what he can do, along with the some of the press release, explaining what is going on. (more…)

Tags: Andrew Garfield, Breaking, Mark Webb, Spiderman, Ultimate Spiderman

You guys know how I rarely do this – I hate to talk about things prematurely. I like to talk about things that involve cold, hard facts (because I like them hard.) Yet, when we have people like A.O.Scott calling it an “abysmal failure” and then the rantings from that waddle-neck Ebert, it bothers me.

Because, as of right now on Rotten Tomatoes, this movie has a lower score than Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li. Let me explain something to you – that is the dawning of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. To say that a movie created with the budget triple of that movie, with the creativity and hopeful intent that was supposed to happen in Chun-Li…that scares me. I know people don’t like M. Knight, and I respect that, but there really can’t be any possible way that he messed this movie up that much right?

Review will be up soon, but in the meantime, people give me a heads up?

Tags: Airbender, Avatar, Chun Li, failure, M. Knight, Ratings, Rotten tomatoes

Now officially two years away from the release date of the second movie to the reboot series for Star Trek (or, if you’re going to be serious about it: Star Trek XI), writers Damon Lindelof, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are back from their vacation from the Lost series to tackle what could arguably be the second biggest movie that J. J. Abrams has done in his career.

The story for the sequel has actually been penned out for some time and that it will now be time to “get together and try and destroy it.” The trio have an apparent frontrunner for a villian and they know that he will play a bigger part in this film, rather than popping in-and-out like Nero did last time around. The sequel is more about the “family dynamic” of the team, making that a big engine of the narrative. However, nothing was said about a title, since they had no idea themselves. “All we know is that it won’t be Star Trek 2 or XII. Expect something with heft.”

KHAAAAN?!

Tags: Damon Lindelof, JJ Abrams, Lost, Reboot, Star Trek

In an effort to get the names out of the many thousand different supers that the comic icon has set up over the years, Marvel Comics and now overseer Jeph Loeb are bringing them to your television. In reality, this is a great idea, but with poor planning. With just an expansive and colorful history and background, Marvel has to want to get the names of other characters out, and not put them in multi-million dollar films. This way, we get backstory, entertainment, and a little bit of comic lore all in a 44-minute television block.

However, the person pulling the strings is the issue. With Loeb coming off his sudden “letting-off” of the first season of Heroes, there is a good possibility that the series would become something like that: all disconnected and unrelatable. Even with his past works on things like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Smallville in its beginnings, it puts me on edge. Granted, it could be that Kring was still the reason that Heroes did so God-awful, but we will see. Regardless, you can expect to see some very different and very interesting superheroes crop up soon, all from the comfort of your living room.

Tags: Comics, Heroes, Jeph Loeb, Marvel, Marvel Television, Smallville, Tim Kring