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.)
Category: Fanboy
Elvish Hegemon and the Subaltern Orc.
And now the terrible Orcs invade Balin’s tomb. Let’s be clear about a few things here. The Orcs are fighting a war of self-defense against the invading Fellowship. They basically busted in on the Orcs’ place here…One would think that if the Orcs were as bad as the corrupt Man-Elf coalition says, they would be a lot better at fighting. Via a friend of mine in the department, it’s the lost Fellowship of the Ring commentary track by Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn. Touche.
Me, Me, Me…
The Matrix: Reloaded gets ever closer with this brand-new TV spot. I warn you – if you’re planning to stay spoiler free, do not watch this ad…I’m not sure how it fits in the film, but I still wish I hadn’t seen the last exchange…I fear it was a bit like seeing the Ents and the charge at Helm’s Deep in the final ad before LOTR:TTT.
Laugh it up, Fuzzball.
In a bold move to counter further fanboy defection to The Matrix and Lord of the Rings, George Lucas enlists Chewbacca for Episode III. If they treat him like they did Jango and Boba Fett in Ep. II, expect Chewie to be not only Anakin’s lost-lost uncle but also the father of the entire Ewok species.
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.
Beam him up.
This has already been mentioned all over the place, but I still want to go on record as being 110% behind the idea of Paul Allen’s new Sci-Fi museum. If done right, the SFE should be more fun than you can shake a stick at.
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.
Prrreciousss…
News of The Two Towers (theatrical version) DVD (due August 26) breaks over at TORN.Net, with all kinds of enticing screen caps and sundry goodies. Apparently, the TTT-EE will show up Nov. 18, giving us a month of geek-out time before ROTK. Update: More information here, including Quicktime shorts of the (very nice) animated menus and the look of the EE packaging (It might look familiar.)
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.
Bird of Prey.
Answering the age-old question “What if Anne Rice had written The Matrix?,” the trailer for Underworld is now online. While I’m generally all in favor of Kate Beckinsale in vamp leather, this looks pretty bad.