A Fun Look Back at Comic Book Films. Days of Future Past

“But it’s more about cross promotion and the product can be enjoyed more by spinning comic book films in new directions,” says Saunders.

Comic Book FilmComic book films are very often a tough sell in a mass market that’s picky about what they like seeing. While Hollywood sees the medium as a readymade—a product that comic book readers are familiar with—to attract new converts requires a product that has to be easily accessible, if not understandable.

“For example, Walking Dead, flies off the shelves like bats looking for human flesh,” says Steven Saunders, a comic book writer and columnist for the industry for five years, “and Robert Kirkman takes concepts that’s been overdone and he makes it interesting.”

But with the box office these days, originality only goes so far. Saunders used to write for All The Rage, a gossip column about the comic book industry on Comics Bulletin and he would rather go watch the movie than to follow 40 years of comic book continuity.

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The Minions Just Wanna Have Fun in Despicable Me 2

In Despicable Me 2, the Minions are still working for Gru (Steve Carell) like lemmings with a renewed purpose.

Despicable Me 2 GangLet’s face it, the big reason why the Despicable Me 2 is successful is because of all those Minions. The most prominent are Phil, Kevin and Dave along with all 101 of them, if that’s the correct count.

They are just as cute as those Dalmatians, however they are more like the Martians from Toy Story, ooohing and aahing at everything they encounter. And these characters do not disappoint in their hilarious hi-jinks in the sequel.

In fact, they even outdo the Penguins of Madagascar as great comedic teams. Fans of slapstick will no doubt be looking forward to the Minion movie, due in theaters Dec 2014, more than the Penguins, due in 2015.

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Finding Ohana in Stitch! the Animated Series

After three more movies and a television series, Disney put an end to their adventures with Leroy and Stitch–presumedly. But the love continues in Asia!

Lilo & Stitch! Together AgainWhatever happened to Lilo and Stitch? The series that began in 2002 enjoyed a good five-year run in North America. After three more movies and a television series, Disney put an end to their adventures with Leroy and Stitch. This 2008 direct to video release tied up all the loose ends and set the blue fuzzy terror free to terrorize in Stitch! He isn’t as much of a terror with thanks to Lilo; he learned how to be civilized.

During this run, Experiment 626 (Stitch) still had his moments of being wonderfully nasty. He was more of a selling point of the series than the subplot of building ohana, a Hawaiian term meaning family. In this series, Lilo further defines it as, “Nobody gets left behind.”

In this series, she sought to find a place where each quirky experiment, a cousin of Stitch, can safely belong. A few gems in the TV series existed which reinforced this point. But the one that says it all is with “Remmy,” where Lilo tries to cope on the anniversary of when her parents died. Nani, her older sister, tries her best to raise her, but that’s difficult to do when neither have an appropriate coping mechanism in place for them to grieve. Instead, what they do is to build their familial relationships to include everyone, so that no matter where the person (or alien) is from, they have brothers and sisters to rely on when hope is needed.

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Follow the Yellow Brick Road To the IMAX

I’ll state right now that I’m not a huge fan of 3-D. There are few films that have truly impressed me with such technology. But there are films I will pay large ticket prices to see in the IMAX theatre, the original uncut Star Wars is one of those but for the other it’s the Wizard of Oz.

The 1939 film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Margaret Hamilton and Frank Morgan was a family favourite during my childhood years. It was one of the few films the family unit would make the time for.

But now the MGM colour classic will be screened in North American Imax theatres in honour of the film approaching its 75th anniversary. For only one week starting on Sept 20, 2013, audiences will be able to travel with Dorothy to the Emerald City on the big screen in 3-D no less. Following at the heels of the ruby-red slippers is a Blu-ray 3-D release for October 1st.

On a side note, I know there are many who enjoy the hit song from the film titled “Over the Rainbow”. The Academy Award winning song with music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg has seen many versions over the decades. There are fans who prefer the original movie recording by Judy Garland but there is also over 84 million people who have listened to Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s reinterpretation. But when it comes to which Over the Rainbow I enjoy listening to the most, I would have to say Al Bowlly is the top.

Source(s): Movieclips Trailers

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, Production Diary Day 11

In this production video director Peter Jackson covers additional photography for Hobbit’s movie 2 and 3.

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro.

Starring Martin Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchett and Orlando Bloom.

In Theatres December 13, 2013.

Official Website

Source(s): Peter Jackson

Pacific Rim’s Big Monster Action

Pacific Rim stars Charlie Hunnman, Rinko Kukuchi, Idris Elba, Ron Perlman and Charlie Day.

With what could be the biggest summer blockbuster of 2013, Warner Brothers is making sure the viewers of this clip are given sugar high with 1 minute and 11 seconds of big robot action.

In this video we see Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) and Mako Mori (Rinko Kukuchi) co-piloting a Jaeger as they wage an all-out brawl with a Kaiju. The punches sound hard and heavy and every connecting blow is visually impressive.

I know. There are others who’ve complained about the slow action movement of the titans but in all honestly I’m hypothesizing this was a deliberate in order to give each of the two characters on-screen a larger-than-life feel.

I’m keeping my options open this summer. I’m looking for a movie that doesn’t make one think deep thoughts and at the same time it will give me my action flick fix. Think Starship Troopers but a little more highbrow. And until the Gareth Edward’s directed Godzilla film comes stomping into theatres next year Pacific Rim will just have to keep this nerd happy.

Pacific Rim stars Charlie Hunnman, Rinko Kukuchi, Idris Elba, Ron Perlman and Charlie Day. Directed by Guillermo del Toro with screenplay by Travis Beacham and Guillermo del Toro. In theatres July 12, 2013.

Official Website