Tag Archives: Doctor Strange

Spider-Man in the Multiverse Fan Theories and Live Action?

15 Dec

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Spider-Man will face his greatest challenge as the live-action multiverse is confirmed! Fans of Sony’s franchise got a tease with Into the Spider-Verse in 2018, and since then, just what’s next is anyone’s guess. Early last week, Variety reported about Alfred Molina (Doctor Ock) making a return. On the list includes Jamie Foxx (Electro) and all I can think of is: Sinister Six! We’ve seen The Vulture, Rhino and Sandman in past versions of the trilogy, but will they appear? The next film is only in the planning/screen-writing phase.

Over on Skynews, the report about Andrew Garfield, Kirsten Dunst and Emma Stone also appearing is as exciting. All we need is the negotiations to bring Tobey Maguire to go well, otherwise script revisions may be in order.

It’s hard to say if the other Spider-Mans from the other universes–the past two trilogies–will play throughout the movie or they are here for a bit part. The screenplay is still being worked on. However, when compared to the television Crisis of Infinite Earths crossover on TheCW, I’m hoping they get over 10-15 minutes of screen time.

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A Look at the Sneak Peak of Doctor Strange on IMAX 3D

11 Oct

doctor-strange-posterBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

I’m sure the numbers of how many people who attended the short preview to Doctor Strange (on a long weekend in North America) is as varied as the response to this film. While I’m excited to catch the end-product come November 4th (the 3D sequences when he’s flying through the multiverse look great), just how many die-hards can accept the movie’s obvious changes will determine its success. I’m okay with the gender-swapping of the Ancient One, and Tilda Swinton is a very respectable actress. With no successor to Mako Iwamatsu’s amazing presence, I’m guessing the producers had make changes lest they do a casting call throughout China / Tibet to find someone just as promising to fill the role.

When the introduction reveals nearly an hours’ worth of scenes are shot with IMAX cameras, the need to tease fans with what is to come is obvious — to spotlight the special effects on a box screen. I will certainly plan to see it again at the National Geographic IMAX Theatre. Sadly this operation plays these movies as a second-run product. Not every cinema has a proper screen to show off this format right.

In what is more in front and centre is Stephen Strange’s ego (Benedict Cumberbatch) which can easily rival Tony Stark’s. When he’s a famous neurosurgeon with some pent up frustrations over who he is required to operate on, the first few minutes works very well to show how conceited he is. That’s until he looks away from where he is driving to a cell phone (showing x-ray scans of his next patient instead of playing Pokémon GO) and winds up over a cliff. The slow-motion scene shows his hands getting crushed.

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The Magic’s Gone with the Fantastic Four, A Review

7 Aug

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

F4_TEASER_ONESHEET

It’s a foregone conclusion to know that the Fantastic Four 2015 movie is going to fail. Reboot, remake or reimaging … the reality here is that there was interference while this movie was being crafted. The responsibility of a movie’s success or failure can include how strongly the studio’s executive producers want something in the film instead of the director. When they do not understand the world of comic book fandom, they should not get involved. When a few people have been involved in other works, there’s hope.

Writer/Director Josh Trank‘s one hit wonder, Chronicle, does not mean he should handle a keystone Marvel property like Fantastic Four. After a lamentable X-Men: The Last Stand, writer Simon Kinberg took a long time to prove himself to fans with his work in the very enjoyable animated television series Star Wars Rebels and well made X-Men: Days of Future Past. Jeremy Slater, the third member of the writing team, does not have enough cred to say if he’s even at fault here. To wonder if these three shared the chores of crafting this film equally or they worked independently in certain segments only reveals a muddled product that is not helping these new four heroes any. As far as some producers are concerned, it’s all about the financial gains a franchise can offer over a film by fans for fans. Where’s Joss Whedon when we need him?

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