So the first teaser for the forthcoming TV spinoff from the Marvel movie universe is here, and it's got a lot of people excited for what's to come. Of course, while the teaser looks a lot of fun and very in keeping with the Marvel films, the big question is going to be exactly how fan favourite Agent Phil Coulson has (SPOILER WARNING for the three people in the world who are yet to see Avengers Assemble/The Avengers) come back to life after his shocking demise in the Avengers movie at the hands (and sceptre) of Thor's brother and general evil fop, Loki.
Hey there, you sweaty masses of geekery, how's your week been? New visitor to the column? Hello! This is Panels to Frames, and I'm here to talk about comic book movies.
The new Wolverine movie, aptly (and somewhat confusingly for some people, it would seem) titled "The Wolverine" is almost upon us, and promises to be a very different film to the critically annihilated "X-men Origins: Wolverine" from a while back. To be honest, after that and X-Men: The Last Stand, Wolvie has some ground to recover.
While Warners and DC are still struggling to get anything concrete underway with regards to a Justice League flick (you may wish to tell me otherwise, but I'll believe it when I see it), the world of superhero movies continues to be dominated by Marvel. I have no issue with this, as I'm a Marvel guy through and through, but I'd still like to see some decent DC action onscreen in the name of keeping fans happy and keeping the genre alive long enough until the next Marvel film comes out (heh, couldn't help that).
One of the stranger films to earn a cult status over the years has been the 1990s movie of Todd McFarlane's infamous SPAWN. Butchered by critics when it first came out, the film nevertheless found an audience which went on to enjoy it for years afterwards. Yes, it's very camp indeed and the effects haven't dated all that well, but there's something about it that kept people watching.
Very occasionally there comes a comic book movie which it takes me a while to get around to watching. One such case is X-Men: First Class, which I've finally watched tonight after never getting around to it until now. How can a guy who writes a comic book movie column have not seen First Class until now? Well, aside from some pretty major changes to my lifestyle and available free time and cash, I kinda didn't want to. I hate prequels and reboots. HATE THEM.
Scarlett Johansson's turns as Black Widow/Natasha Romanova in Iron Man 2 and The Avengers brought one of Marvel's coolest characters to the cinematic Marvel Universe with a lot of style. Far more than just being used as eye candy (which would have been so easy for Hollywood to do), in the hands of John Favreau and Joss Whedon, Black Widow became an integral character for many. Scarlett's embodiment of the character is note-perfect, containing all of the calm and collected elements whilst still maintaining the ultra-honed battle and espionage skills.
Comic book movies are a very familiar part of our cinematic intake nowadays, and I have no issue with that at all. What self-respecting geek would? Well, perhaps those few of us who sat through the Catwoman movie or Green Lantern might have a bit of a moan, to be fair.
While a lot of big stories from the canon of legendary comics characters are being used as inspiration for big screen adventures (Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, Loki and the Chitauri in The Avengers, the endless retreads of Spider-man's early years, etc), there are some iconic stories which you can pretty much be sure you'll never see hit cinemas.
Hey. Comic book movies are now so deeply ingrained in the cultural landscape that it's hard to imagine a time when we didn't have a load of them on the horizon. Once upon a time, there were very few comic movies being released to the masses, and indeed there were times that the genre was a complete anathema to movie audiences. Sure, there was a Batman film now and again, but that was about it for a long time. Take the 1990s for example.
Hey all, me again. So, Bryan Singer is returning to the movie franchise which initially kicked off the renaissance in comic book movies way back in 2000. The first X-Men film was flawed but faithful, while his sequel, X2 (aka X-MEN UNITED and X-Men 2) was incredible, and perfectly captured the essence of the X-Men concept and team. Singer gave up directing X-movies and went traitor by making the insipid SUPERMAN LIVES instead. Brett Ratner's X-Men: The Last Stand followed, and while it was mostly faithful to the characters, it did go kinda off the rails after, well, the opening credits. I liked a bunch of stuff about it (I loved Beast. He was spot on), but the story wasn't what it could have been. I remember getting excited by the preview footage of the battle against the Sentinels, and then, lo and behold, it was a Danger Room simulation rather than an actual battle.
Hey, thanks for checking out Panels To Frames, the comic movie column by an angry and bitter geek who spent his twenties propping up the counter of a comic shop. There's a new Superman film coming out soon, albeit without the word 'Superman' in the title. No, it's thankfully not a Smallville movie, although it does look rather like one in some shots. The Big Blue Boy Scout himself is the most iconic superhero of all time, and while he wasn't strictly the first, he is everything that sums up the notion of the superhero in our culture. He is brave, selfless and powerful beyond imagination. He is the symbol of an era, an icon in blue with a red cape and the legendary 'S' symbol.
