Tim Burton is tapped for the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remake. I’m not sure if a remake is really necessary, but, if you’re going to do one, I suppose Burton is the man to helm it. And in other directing news, Darren “Requiem for a Dream” Aronofsky wil be helming Lone Wolf and Cub. Does this mean Batman: Year One is dead?
Category: Comics
Whoa.
Just in case Keanu was getting too much fanboy goodwill in the wake of Reloaded, Neo talks John Constantine. And since I’m getting 100 hits a day from people searching for “Matrix: Reloaded spoilers” (I presume Tank isn’t one of them), here’s a transcript of the Architect scene at the end of the film.
Dance into the Fire.
The comic book takeover of Hollywood continues with the first picture of Ron Perlman as Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy. Looks decent enough.
That was naughty.
The new trailer for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is now online. Given how well X2 turned out, my money’s now on this one to be the big Tomb Raider-esque stinker of the 2003 summer. It’s a pity…I like Stephen Norrington (Blade was solid B-movie fun), but this project had Terry Gilliam or Tim Burton written all over it.
One Hulk, Many Smiths.
In case it doesn’t feel like summer yet, Dark Horizons points the way to yet another Hulk trailer (Mr. Trailer is annoying, but the green guy’s look keeps growing on me) and another spoiler-heavy Matrix: Reloaded ad (although not as egregious as last time.)
To Me, My X-Men.
I’m not sure how it’ll play to people who didn’t grow up on the comic, but last night’s midnight showing of X2 was much better than I had anticipated. Offhand, I can think of three setpieces (Nightcrawler at the White House, the assault on the mansion, and Magneto’s escape) that were the closest thing to fanboy pr0n I’ve seen in ages (LOTR notwithstanding), and that’s not counting all the great little flourishes and knowing winks throughout. In fact, to a person, everyone returning from X-Men (which I was lukewarm about) seemed more comfortable this time around — even Halle Berry, although she’s still miscast. And both Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler) and Brian Cox (Striker, the bad guy) fit in nicely. Sure, the film drags a bit in the last twenty-five minutes or so (as they set up X3), but overall Singer & co. hit this one out of the park…a very auspicious way to kick off the summer of Hulk and the Matrices. (Of course, the crowd helped too – when in the first five minutes Wolvie is backpacking in Canada, and the guy at the end of the row said something like, “Why doesn’t he call in Sasquatch or Puck for back-up?,” I knew I was with my people.)
In the Summertime.
Entertainment Weekly posts a number of new stills from the upcoming summer cinema crop, including new looks at Reloaded, The Hulk, and a host of others.
Original Sin.
As per usual, DC/Vertigo screws up another potential movie franchise. Not only is Hellblazer‘s John Constantine now American, he’s Keanu. That’s just shameful.
Green Hulk Down.
AICN points the way to the new Hulk trailer, and all the computer crunch time since the last one has significantly improved the look of the big green guy in question. He still looks a bit off, sure, but nowhere near as cartoony as before. I suspect X2 and The Matrix movies will make a bigger splash this summer, but Ang Lee hasn’t lost my trust yet.
But does he like baby newts?
The Amazing Spiderman, which was filming on campus this past weekend, gets better with the addition of Dylan Baker (Happiness, Thirteen Days) as Dr. Curt Conners, a.k.a. The Lizard. Chameleon-like character actors like Baker and Alfred Molina are definitely preferable as villains than the hammy A-listers WB brought to the Batman films. Let’s just hope they find a way in Baker’s makeup to atone for the idiotic decision to put a mask on Willem DeFoe the first time around.