Finally Tony takes on the Mandarin...Sike! Iron Man 3 Review

So May 3rd started off a bit ruff for me. Not only was I unable to score Mondo's latest release of Martin Ansin's beautiful Iron Man 3 limited edition poster (pictured left). After watching Ironman 3 later on that night, I could not help but to feel...cheated...fooled...swindled into thinking I was going to be completely satisfied with the film. I will say first of all Robert Downey Jr. sells the film as usual by portraying the billionaire Tony Stark with accuracy. Which brings to me to the bad news, atleast bad news for those of us who are familiar with the Marvel Universe. When I first heard Ben Kingsley was cast as the Mandarin I accepted it with open arms, he does not look oriental in any way compared to the classic Mandarin villain. Yet, I was willing to compromise, being that he is a great actor. What follows can be labeled as SPOILER!! material. A while back Marvel went on record stating they were not sure how they were going to address the Mandarin as a villain. I figured they had it in the bag since he was clearly displayed in the trailers, Ten Rings and all. So it was bit of a thwarted surprise when the Mandarin's character is simply a decoy in the film. Yes a decoy! Ironman's greatest archenemy was used as bait. Bait for all of those with any knowledge of who the Mandarin really was to feel that excitement of seeing Ironman square off against his deadliest foe. Is that not what they were selling in the trailers? For those with no knowledge of who the Mandarin is will most likely go on about their day without noticing any wrong doing. The action is great, character chemistry is present much more than the previous Ironman 2 film. My gripe is the way they treated the Mandarin villain. The Mandarin is simply a diversion in order to bring to light the real villain of the film...Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce). Are you kidding me Marvel? Aldrich Killian, a character known in the Marvel universe as a cripple scientist who commits suicide after letting his work get into the hands of a terrorist group. I understand Marvel's approach to keeping story fresh and new but if you can imagine a Batman film in which the Joker is used merely as a decoy to bring on the real villain of the Scarcrow....Nope that will not work. The anticipation for the Mandarin has been built and as far as I'm concerned Marvel did not deliver the Mandarin the way he should have been brought to the screen. Instead we get Pearce's character breathing fire while having tattooed dragons on his chest. Oh and if your looking for the Ten Rings I hope your ok with just quick glimpse of Kingsley's knuckles because besides that, they are not mentioned at all in the film. Yet Killian manages to mutter to Stark "You wanted the Mandarin Tony?, I am the Mandarin" and we are supposed to swallow that Marvel? If they were looking for a twist they got but it came at a price. No one who invested time in reading Ironman books would appreciate the neglected Mandarin that was force fed to us in this film. That said, Shane Black did a good job at putting Tony Stark through situations without his armor that still managed to highlight Stark's intelligence and skill with mechanics. All hope is not lost though, even with all that transpired a clever writer can bring back the true Mandarin at a later point in the saga and give it the respect the character deserves.

Chronicle Review

The superhero genre is has not been more mainstream than today. Chronicle is an extension of that genre written by Max Landis and directed by Josh Trank. The premise is nothing new by any means, three high school teens get exposed to an unearthly meteor that gives them telekinetic powers. The story is centered around one of the teens of which is a victim of bullying and an abusive father. From the first act the tension builds as we see the bullied teen mistreated in a number of ways. The film is viewed by the perspective of a video camera that the teens carry around with them. The camera point of view adds a voyeuristic approach to the film. The result is a more intimate view into the characters lives of which most viewers whom have attended high school can relate to. That is where this film stands out, by adding the layer of emotion to the battered teen and all of the unfortunate events that result from him and his friends gaining these new powers. The story unfolds as one of the members take a turn to the "Darkside". Forcing the rest of the group to take action against their former friend. Even with similar stories told in the XMen, Spiderman or even the Looper film, Chronicle is a fresh approach to an otherwise saturated genre. The screenplay was written by Max Landis and directed by Josh Trank whom is on board to reboot the Fantastic Four. Which is rumored to be replacing the Human Torch character with black actor Michael B. Jordan who also stars in Chronicle. Hollywood today either sticks with original character traits or changes them completely...

"The Dead are rising from their graves" Hacked Emergency Alert System

This Monday Feb 12 a local Montana TV station KRTV was hacked...Viewers of the CW saw the Emergency Alert System appear on the screen warning them that the bodies of the dead were rising and attacking the living. Check the video below for the footage. When you listen to it it doesn't sound that convincing but I bet you some folks in Montana had that Holy Shit!! reaction. No doubt the zombie craze with The Walking Dead and Warm Bodies in theaters now helped it along. It was hilarious nonetheless... I saw the article on Gawker yesterday, which stated the message did not come from KRTV broadcast station.

In a related note, several instances of construction signs being hacked to display "Caution Zombies Ahead" have also been reported around the country. I recently saw one in San Diego County and couldn't help but to laugh. Other have also been seen in New York and Austin, Texas. 

Stay alert though when the actual zombie apocalypse hits, lets not ignore the signs.

First clip of Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs

When I first heard Ashton Kutcher was cast in this role, I straight up said that is wak. Kutcher is known for comedy and little one liners. The more I watch this clip, the more I can't accept Kutcher as Steve Jobs, in a situation like this, Kutcher's reputation taints the role he is assuming. Granted they achieved much in the overall look of a younger Steve Jobs but I still do not see this being a success in casting. It can be said that those unfamiliar with how Steve Jobs was will probably not object. On the other hand, this can be Kutcher trying to diversify his portfolio more than he did in the Butterfly Effect.

For a role like this it is better to cast an actor who is perhaps lesser known, this in turn will alleviate the previous reputation of an actor being an negative effect on the role. Similar to how roles have been handled in the past, sometimes it pays more to cast an unknown actor as the lead of in the story of a recent legend.

Heated Quentin Tarantino Interview (No surprise)

Talk about an inconvenient time, the video above shows Tarantino getting heated over a British reporter asking him why he likes violence and does he think there is a link between film violence and real life violence.

No doubt the Sandy Hook murders were a cause for such conversation occurring nearly a week earlier. Put it this way, Tarantino has been doing violent films from the beginning, so when you ask the man if there is a link between film violence and real life violence, your insulting his talent, how can he be held responsible other people's actions.

I love Tarantino's films and regardless of what happens in real life, don't expect the man to answer a question that makes him look like he doesn't care what happens currently in the world today. If you don't like his films then don't watch them...it's simple

Granted if the reporter was just looking to up the conversation with current events but come on man, anyone who knows Tarantino knows exactly what kind of interview you'll get when you ask him loaded questions.

Ghostbusters 3

So if you don't know, for years now Dan Aykroyd has been pushing for another Ghostbusters film to be made. Bill Murray has not been on the cooperative end of this project. In the past, he has refused to be a part of it...Bravo Mr. Murray, but a recent article on Hollywood.com states that Murray is spontaneously on board now...WTF Not only do I think this film should ever see the light of day, the current plot point sucks, passing the torch on to a new set of Ghostbusters. So far Ashton Kutcher, Seth Rogen and Vincent Kartheiser have been suggested for the new roles. I don't know about you but I prefer to just let these two classic films stand on their own. Even though Rogen is a funny guy, it just doesn't sit right with me. Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis and Ivan Reitman who directed the first two films are also on board for a return. The Ghostbusters films had a certain sense of comedy for the time they were released, which will be very difficult to reproduce today. In time we will either see this idea flounder into the abyss or Ghostbusters 3 will actually become a reality. Unfortunatly we have already seen many failed reboots and sequels tarnish the reputation of numerous classic films.

Nic Cage's has "Taken" the opportunity in upcoming Stolen film

I know what your thinking... Why is Nicolas Cage making a Taken parody trailer? Truth is this is yet another bad idea from some one in Hollywood that said if it worked with Liam Neeson then it should work for Nic Cage right...I say wrong, its either that or who ever cut this trailer is stuck in the eightes. I'll wait and watch this flick in order to determine wether or not its legit, on dvd of course.

Revolution needs a Jump Start

As the title indicates J.J. Abrams new show Revolution is due this September, Jon Favreau introduced the pilot to the fans at Comic Con, he said that it was still a ruff cut and some changes would be made. First of all I want to say that I love anything J.J. Abrams does all the way from Lost to Star Trek, but I do have some complaints about this show. The premise of the show is that the Earth is suddenly without electricity, which is reveled in the first five minutes, then jumps 15 years later and the villian Giancarlo Esposito is looking for a man of which might know something about as to why there is no power. Billy Burke of twilight fame stars as the protagonist with a past. Some scenes dragged and other were pretty predictable. One major complaint of mine, imagine a world without power...ok...now can you believe that the women in this program have perfectly brushed hair and clean faces wearing nice leather jackets...The men except for one have perfectly shaven faces. Some of the costumes look to perfect for being a world without power. Post apocalypse? I thought they would have had this down already being that Abrams was involved with Lost. Additionally the fight scenes were kind of mediocre and unsurprising. Check out the trailer below and decide for yourself, I'm gonna have to watch more in order to see if this one grows on me.

Cosplay, Toys and Props at Comic Con 2012

Are you a Fan of The Punisher? Thomas Jane is

The 2004 version of the Punisher didn't get much love from critics or those who chose to go see it. I personally like the movie, with the exception of some questionable characters like Howard Saint (John Travolta) For the Punisher faithful, Thomas Jane as created a fan made 10 min short that is fucking awesome, excuse the language but then again we are talking about a Punisher film. Ron Perlman also stars in the film called Dirty Laundry and Mr. Jane wanted to make something for the fans, frankly if this doesn't put him back into the role then nothing will, check out the film below and let me know what you think, also use #dirtylaundry on Twitter to express your thoughts for the film. The short is very well made and obviously includes some very talented individuals, this gives the Punisher the much needed attention he diserves.