SERVE with CHIPS

Party Like its 1979

2009-06-15T11:56:00.002-04:00

Click on over to SuperheroShows.blogspot.com to see how they partied in 1979.

The Trek Backlash Begins

2009-05-05T13:04:00.000-04:00

Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As 'Fun, Watchable'

Haha

Superheroes on Screen - Retrospective 1977

2009-04-15T10:16:00.002-04:00

The retrospectives continue over at SuperheroShows.Blogspot.Com (video clips included). 1977 was a particularly good year including including, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man, Superfriends, Wonder Woman, Shazam! and others. Check it out.

Superest Sequels - The Sequel

2009-04-08T09:05:00.002-04:00

Check out my top 15 picks here.

Coming Soon to a Computer Near You...

2009-03-30T19:13:00.003-04:00

Lets face it. Blogging was pretty much invented to help the unemployed feel productive. I jest... But now that I have a job, Serve With Chips has taken suffered dearly. This site has been around for over 3 years now and has received over 900,000 hits, and it may well live as long as the Internet stands, but it will probably not be getting that many more updates from here on out.

Its time to rebrand and refocus. Superhero Shows (SHS) will try and limit its scope to movies, TV shows, or even plays, live action or animated, involving super powered beings. Hopefully, having a limited focus will enable me to provide more consistent content.

See you all there.

Superheroes on Screen - Retrospective 1990

2009-03-26T03:48:00.001-04:00

If you like big budget superhero fair, then you may want to steer clear of

1990__________________

Before there was Spider-Man, Sam Raimi brought us Darkman. Staring Liam Neeson, the movie is about a dude who is attacked and left for dead by a ruthless mobster, after his girlfriend, an attorney runs afoul of a corrupt developer Liam is left with burns over most of his body. While hospitalized as a comatose John Doe, he is unwillingly subjected to a radical treatment that destroys the nerve endings connected to his skin, neutralizing his ability to sense physical pain but increasing his brain's emotional output to compensate. Half-crazed, Liam escapes the hospital and decides to get revenge on the criminals who took his life away, but now as a masked vigilante, known as Darkman. The movie is actually pretty good, especially for a lower budget ($16 million) attempt.

In 1990, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hit the big screen with a surprisingly dark (though true to the source material) tone. The film cost $13.5 million and banked 10x that. Though slow at times, this movie is a step ahead of the sequels that followed (though TMNT aint bad).

Hoping to repeat the previous summer's Batmania (Dickmania?) Dick Tracy employed Danny Elfman to write a dark score to this visually interesting film. It also had an all star cast including Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, Dick Van Dyke, and Madonna. Not a bad movie, but Tracy is no Batman. The movie broke $100 million, but while Batman is now on film #6, Dick Tracy #2 never materialized.

Much like the failed Fantastic Four and Punisher attempts, Marvel tried to make a low budget Captain America movie. It was so bad / cheesy, it never made it to the silver screen. Thanks to youtube, its crappiness will not be forever forgotten.

The last of the Incredible Hulk TV specials aired in 1990 titled Death of the Incredible Hulk. This outing unsurprisingly featured Hulk dying.

Another Danny Elfman scored project was the one season wonder of the Flash. Following in the footsteps of the Dark Batman film, this series features a darker Flash. Later in the season, the tone lightened up a bit to allow for characters such as The Trickster portrayed by Mark Hamil, a role that may have won him the job of voicing The Joker in the Batman Animated Series.

There you have it, the heroes made due with low budgets back in 1990.

Wild Trailer

2009-03-25T15:15:00.002-04:00

I don't know how you turn a book that can be read in 5 minutes into a movie, but the trailer is making me a believer. Could this be this generations Labyrinth? Methinks, maybe.

Bat Logolution

2009-03-25T10:48:00.002-04:00

I saw this over at /film and had to copy it. This most definitely qualifies as stuff that matters to nerds.

Miyazaki's Next is Coming to Us U.S. Americans

2009-03-24T14:02:00.003-04:00

The Mighty Miyazaki's film Ponyo (on a Cliff by the Sea) has finally been given a US release date: August 14, 2009. Pixar and Miyazaki may finally have a face-off come Oscar season.

The Marvel Shuffle Continues

2009-03-17T15:02:00.002-04:00

Having repositioned itself less than a week ago, Thor has now moved up a month from June 17, 2011 to May 20, 2011. I guess Paramount forgot to consult itself when aligning the Marvel dates because it turns out that they want to open Transformers 3 on July 1, 2011 (whether or not that will happen depends on a lot of things, but as of now it is looking not likely as Michael Bay wants 2012). Fearing Thor's legs would get swept out from under him (See Hellboy 2) Thor was moved up to just 2 weeks after Spidey 4. I guess, according to Marvel that while Thor is made to tremble by large transforming behemoths, Spidey aint afraid of no Norse Thunder God.

At this rate, it looks like 2011 is getting stuffed fuller than a Christmas Turkey. The smart money is on Thor moving again, but honestly, shouldn't they be a little more concerned with making the movie, at least for now, than scheduling its debut? And if studios are squatting on release dates 2 and 3 years out, where is DC? So far, they have Green Lantern (which I will believe it when I see it considering the recent Justice League debacle, and earlier Batman vs Superman SNAFUS) and a whole lot of nothing. How is an average Joe like me supposed to fill out my social calendar for 2013 when I dont even know if there will be a Batman film that year!

Superheroes on Screen - Retrospective 1991

2009-03-17T12:31:00.002-04:00

A year that was not long remembered when it comes to superheros:

1991__________________

For better or for worse, the most long lasting product of 1991 just may be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze. This is due in part to the appearance of Vanilla Ice and his rendition of the Ninja Rap. The movie was rushed out less than a year after the original and was a big step down. It was the beginning of the end for the once hip shell-heads.

The other, and better, feature film of 1991 was the Rocketeer. Not a box office hit, the movie was actually a pretty decent depiction of life for a 1930's hero - which pretty much only required a jet pack and a mask. Imagine how someone with actual super powers or even just Batman's arsenal could dominate back then.

Lastly and leastly, 1991 didn't bring us a live action Power Pack television show. Although a pilot was made for the Marvel team, good luck ever seeing it.

Marvel Does the Movie Shuffle

2009-03-12T09:07:00.003-04:00

In a not so shocking move, Marvel has moved the release dates for most of its upcoming films except for Iron Man 2 which will still open on May 7, 2010. While it may have been possible to slap together an Iron Man sequel with most of the cast and universe established, the release date of Thor just two months later was ambitious. Thor himself has not even been cast yet, and who knows what state the script is in. Hence, Thor is now opening in June 17, 2011.

The pending May 2011 opening for Spider-Man 4 had the web-head head-2-head with Captain America. Not no more. Now Spidey has webbed up a firm May 6, 2011 pushing Cap to July 22, 2011. Three Marvel films in 2011 (too many you say... perhaps) have pushed the big Avengers event off until May 4, 2012 where it will usher in the big summer season.

Other thoughts on this... Well this twas a shewd way for The Avengers to flinch from its scheduled opening versus Harry Potter 7-2 (or is it Harry Potter 8? anyway its the last, for now, Potter film). Although, opening aptain America just a week later seems kinda risky. Why not try and claim July 4 for Captain AMERICA? and move Thor to August 1 or something?

Another question is what about that other comic book company? You know the ones that make those Batman movies. Seems Batman Reboot 3 or Dark Knight 2, or Batman 7 or whatever you want to call it should be opening sometime in 2011. Doubtful it will open near Harry Potter since they have the same parent company. Then again, in a repeat of this years postponing of Harry Potter 6 to have nice anual balance sheets, perhaps Batman will be pushed to 2012. In any case, if Batman does open near Thor, God or not, Thor will run.

What does this mean for Iron Man 3? Could we be looking to 2013? Most likely. The good news is that it looks like superhero films wont be going anywhere soon. We also have Green Lantern scheduled for 2010 and another Superman in the works. There are also plans for Fantastic Four and Daredevil reboots and Ghost Rider 2. I am also pretty sure Hancock 2 will get made. And then there are sequels to any of these Marvel films that turn a profit, the rest of the nine Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury movies and the already planned Spider-Man 5. We shoudl have plenty of superhero films to carry us straight into the apocalypse.

Trek This Out!

2009-03-06T08:59:00.001-05:00

This is the movie to see this summer. JJ Abrams may have pulled off a real miracle... making Trek cool.

I'm a Watchman...

2009-03-05T09:19:00.000-05:00

Back with more biting wit. Enjoy

Neverending Stories, Remakes, and Sam Jacksons

2009-02-26T08:01:00.002-05:00

In a smorgasbord of movie news, we are going to get a lot more of the same to the tune of remakes of Clue, Total Recall, and the Neverending Story. All 3 of those are pretty solid films, and I fear that remakes will only taint our fond memories ala Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. and the uber lame reinvisioned Wonka. If they screw up Clue, I guess I don't really care that much, but the most tragic move has to be the attempt to remake Neverending Story. That was a childhood classic and a near perfect movie. Just let it be.

In other overdose news. Samuel Jackson has signed to reprise his post Iron Man credits role of Nick Fury NINE times. That includes appearances in Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, Avengers, and S.H.I.E.L.D. Looks like he will be too busy to worry about any Mother F-ing Snakes on any Mother F-ing Planes.

You Know Heroes Has Lost It When...

2009-02-24T10:20:00.003-05:00

Though it is more and more looking like a complete accident, the first season of Heroes was amazing. Sure, the finale was a bit underwhelming, but it could never possibly have met the expectations it had built up. The point is, there were expectations. Not any more.

Season 2 came and went, given a shortened season and a free-pass due to the writers strike. Surely season 3 would set things right. Right? Wrong!

Season 3 has been a mess, mostly filled with episodes centered around a "cool-idea" and characters acting as out-of-character as needed to get positioned for the cool plot point or story. This image demonstrates so clearly the problem with the show. Season 1 opened with the shocking revelation that a nuclear explosion was coming. The revelation was brought by a man who could paint the future. But he died. Season 2 found lost paintings, revealing another shocking future. By season 3, since we couldn't keep finding lost paintings, we got another guy that could paint the future, and its shocking events. He died. So now, we take one of our original heroes and since we can only possible advance the story via paintings of the future, we give him this power and claim it is an extension of mind reading. WTF!? So what does he do with his power? He paints a shocking future of... wait for it... a nuclear explosion. But wait, this one is in DC not New York so its totally different.

The good news is that if you don't like that story, you can follow Sylar's quest. At the beginning of last season he found out who his real father was. But it wasn't really his real father. So now he is looking for his really real father. You can also follow Claire and her dad. He has been lying about his job, but its really all been to protect her. Sound familiar? That because this is the fourth iteration of said story. Delving into rumor territory, Season 1 and 2 had the super powered Niki with a split personality involving her dead twin Jessica. Niki died, but as it turns out she was actually a triplet. In season 3, we met Tracy - the triplet. She learned that there was a fourth, Barbara. Now for the rumor. Tracy will soon die, but the actress will return in season 4. Fun, sounds like we will meet Barbara. I wonder how many more versions there are out there. The possibilities are endless.

Other power related quandires: How does supercharging super-speed let someone run backward in time (forward maybe, but backward)? What happened to Mohinder's webbing ability? And why did Peter need Sylar's powers, you know the ones that came with "the hunger" other than to give us dark Peter for one episode. He certainly never used his understanding of how things work to do anything.

Anyways, if I, lover of the superhero genre am near the point of abandoning this show(after all I am still watching Smallville), what hope can there be that this show will last much longer? Even if it does, it looks like all we will be served are countless, inferior remakes of season 1.

A Reson to Tune in to Batman: The Brave and the Bold

2009-02-20T13:05:00.004-05:00

If you arent watching, then you will miss this:

Let Your Eyes Meet The Transformers 2 Trailer

2009-02-13T09:26:00.001-05:00

Radar Blips - Innerspace

2009-02-10T12:43:00.003-05:00

The Year: 1987

The Players: The "short" Amigo, The Poor Man's Harrison Ford, That Chick That Always Falls in Love With Tom Hanks, and A Holographic Doctor playing a cowboy.

The Take: $26 Million

What is this a space adventure like Star Trek?: No, "Inner"Space is in reference to the journey taken by a miniaturized submarine injected into Martin Shorts butt.

Why you should see it: Much in the "vein" of Gremlins, this a an action comedy (both directed by Joe Dante) which is actually funny. Yeah, it is over the top, but its quite enjoyable. Its got a dude with snap on hand attachments, people who get shrunken to creepy dwarf size, crazy grocery store check out shenanigans, and more. Its classic 80s all wrapped up into 120 minutes.

Is it Summer Already? There Are Movies I Want to See Today

2009-02-06T08:36:00.003-05:00

First up today is another in the vein of The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, and the Corpse Bride. Its Coraline. Sure to give us all a fear of buttons.

Not quite a compelling is this years (albeit it looks better) Jumper AKA Push. Push is like Heroes, X-Men, etc, focusing on ordinary people with extraordinary powers. Cliche, most definitely, but for fans of the Superhero genre, this may be worthy of a watch.

Is anyone else interested in seeing either of these two February treats?

Radar Blips - Gremlins

2009-01-30T11:32:00.003-05:00

The Year: 1984

The Players: One of Corey Feldmans first roles (oddly Corey Haim is no where to be found) and Howie Mandel as the voice of Gizmo.

The Take: $148 Million

How does one care for a Mogwai?: Three simple rules: 1) Keep them away from bright light, especially sunlight; 2) Don't get them wet; 3) NEVER feed them after midnight (wait, isnt it always after midnight?)

Why you should see it: How many kinds of awesome is this movie? First off, its a Christmas movie, the Mogwai are maybe the cutest creatures ever, and the Gremlins are hilarious. On top of that, they are brutal and they get disposed of in awesome ways. You get microwaves, juices, swords, and skylights. The movie masterfully balances comedy with horror and is a real gem worthy of being dusted off and enjoyed 25 years later.

The Mighty Thor is Coming

2009-01-27T14:35:00.004-05:00

Hulk VS has arrived and a review will be forthcoming, but in the meantime, feast your eyes on Marvels next offering: Thor - Tales of Asgard. Looks ok. I am not a huge Thor fan, but the cynic in me tells me this is perfectly timed to capitalize off of the upcoming Thor movie much as Invincible Iron Man rode on the coat tales of the live action Iron Man film. Again, I tend to prefer DC's approach of adapting graphic novels as opposed to Marvel churning out variations on origin stories. I havent finished Hulk VS yet, but that is also an approach I like. Why not a Marvel VS line? Hell they could do a line of just Hulk VS battles. I would pay to see Hulk vs Thing and Hulk vs Hulkbuster Iron Man. Or why not Hulk vs Spider-Man (or Venom) or Hulk vs Juggernaut? That is a bottomless well. Anyways, Marvel seems to be Avengers heavy with these DtVs. This will be Thor's 5th appearance out of 7 movies, (Hulk and Iron Man have each been in 4) so a spotlight is in order. Still, I am more excited for March's Wonder Woman.

Iron Man Gets Even More Ruskified

2009-01-15T09:51:00.002-05:00

It looks like Iron Man 2 is going to give 80 style tribute to the USSR. First was word of the Crimson Dynamo and now Black Widow seems to be spinning her way into Tonk Starks web. It sure seems like we may get some bad accents not seen since the days of K-19 Widowmaker. Bring it on former Soviet Block!

Radar Blips - Danger Diabolik

2009-01-12T10:43:00.004-05:00

The Year: 1968

The Players: John Phillip Law and Marisa Mell

The Take: $??.??

Why is Diabolik Dangerous?: Diabolik is a master thief, and if you get in his way or happen to be an authority, he may be dangerous.

Why you should see it: Though this came out after Batman 1966, many consider it to be the first "faithful" comic book movie adaptation. The movie this most reminded me of was an old Miyazaki directed film The Castle of Cagliostro featuring Lupin III. But there were also elements reminiscent of old school Bond, Batman 1966, and Austin Powers. Though this is not a paroday or spoof. Its just oozing with old school style and very groovy music. The film has also been featured in Mystery Science Theater and the Beastie Boys Body Movin' music video.

Iron Man Has Nemeses?

2009-01-08T09:58:00.003-05:00

Iron Man was a huge hit launching the B-Lister in to A Level status. But one thing Iron Man lacked that most big time Superheroes have is a villain with name recognition. Ask most people who was Iron Mans foe in the movie and they may say those Afghanis, or that bald guy, but aside from fanboys most people arent going to correctly say "Iron Monger."

So, here comes Iron Man 2 and it looks like the Wrestler Mickey Rourke is in line to play the Crimson Dynamo. Basically, he is a Russian Iron Man. Sure, it may end up cool, but I doubt that means much to most people. Poor Iron Man. Great heroes deserve great villains, and Iron Man still hasnt found his Joker.

Superheroes on Screen - Retrospective 2008

2008-12-31T09:31:00.000-05:00

Another year has passed and its time to look back at the Superheroes on Screen in

2008__________________

In February, DC released their second in the line of DtVs for more mature audiences, this time offering an adaptation of Justice League New Frontier. As I wrote in my review, If the idea of silver age heroes battling a flying island that shoots dinosaurs sounds appealing to you, you will love this movie.

In March, the surprisingly fun Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon debuted. Aside from the characters having oversized eyes, the look of the show is fantastic. The season long story arc was compelling making Tombstone a Kingpin like threat who is financing the creation of other masked freaks to distract crime fighters from his own devious endeavors.

One of the years biggest stories was the performance of the previously classified B-Lister Iron Man. The Iron Man trailer got people talking and the thoroughly entertaining film put together an impressive little run of $318 million bones. Marvel studios bet all their chips on this movie and they won big.

A month after Iron Man, Marvels second helping of superheroes was offered in the shape of The Incredible Hulk. Hulk had none of the hype or anticipation of Iron Man, but when the dust settled it turned out to be a decent enough film. And even though it cost more and made almost the exact same as the perceived bomb Hulk 2003, this one seemed to be viewed as a success (though being beaten by Mama Mia is just sad). Whether or not Hulk will return in another solo outing remains to be seen, but he should be returning in 2011's Avengers.

Hancock kicked off an overstuffed July in an overstuffed summer of superheroes, but proving how big of a star Will Smith is, this poorly reviewed film went on to earn $227 million, enough to all but guarantee a Hancock 2.

July also saw the release of a Batman animated midquel that supposedly ties Batman Begins and the Dark Knight together. This anime inspired project contained vignettes animated by 6 different studios and though it sounded cool in concept, it was pretty disappointing.

Up next was Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. Lets just say that opening a week before The Dark Knight was a terrible idea because the movie received pretty good reviews and a decent (in comparison to the the first) opening weekend, but then was all but forgotten. It really is a shame as this was a very enjoyable and visually impressive, though quirky film and it made only $75 million. If you havent yet, see it.

Of course, the year's most remarkable story must go to The Dark Knight which shattered expectations and earned the superhero genre real legitimacy. For better or worse, this will be a pivotal film inspiring copycats and imitators for years to come. But hey, it was pretty good.

In August, Marvel got back in the DtV games with the release of Next Avengers. Though this movie didn't really deliver on the for mature audiences theme, it was pretty well put together... even though once again, the movie seems like a pilot for a series rather than a stand alone. Still, old Hulk was great.

Though still to make its US debut, Wolverine and the X-Men has begun airing north of the border. From what I have seen this is a fantastic new series that may even surpass the previous X-Men toons.

Mr Bats also got a new show in the form of the team-up themed The Brave and the Bold. The series is off to an impressive start displaying a visually compelling style and scripts that improve on what very well may be Superfriends plots. In other words, there is no shortage of camp. In any case, Its nice to see guys like the Red Tornado and Blue Beetle finally get there moments in the spotlight.

Bolt is not really a superhero, but he plays one on TV. This Disney film took the Buzz Lightyear idea of not realizing the main character wasn't really super, and combined it with an Incredible Journey style animal trek. I haven't seen Bolt yet, even though it seems like I have from the description, but it has received a fair amount of praise so far. In spite of a mediocre opening, Bolt is gonna break the $100 million mark, besting Disney's last effort Meet the Robinsons.

On the other hand, the ultra goofy looking The Spirit is not getting the best reviews. The film debuted on Christmas Day and unless you think toilets are always funny, this may be one to avoid. Its got bomb written all over it.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, December also saw Marvels third try with The Punisher in Punisher War Zone. The sub $10 million take of this one should postpone Punisher 4 for at least a couple of years.

As 2009 ushers in, we shall all fondly remember you 2008. If nothing else, you were prolific indeed.

Radar Blips - Tron

2008-12-30T02:54:00.002-05:00

The Year: 1982

The Players: The man in the Iron Monger suit and Commander John Sheridan

The Take: $33 million

Whats a Tron?: Tron (short for elecTRONic) is the name of one of a computer security program designed to topple the evil Master Control Program (MCP).

Why you should see it: Computer animation sure has come a long way. Tron makes that very evident. This movie is a precursor to the matrix, in which a human enters into a computer reality to fight against an electronic authority. The coolest parts of the film, however, and the disk fight sequence and the light cycle battle. Even if Tron 2 has no plot at all but has an updated light cycle sequence fans should be satiated. The music is also unique and catchy.

9 on 9-9-09

2008-12-29T15:18:00.002-05:00

I'm glad they didn't wait until 2099 to release this just for an even more memorable release date. Looks good. Check here for my review of the original short film.

Radar Blips - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

2008-12-29T12:33:00.002-05:00

The Year: 2005

The Players: Tim from The Office UK, Mos Def, Jovie girlfriend to Elf, and of course Willow in suit voiced by Severus Snape

The Take: $51 million

Is there a lot of hitchhiking in this?: Not as much as you may think. The main character does a little hitchhiking when earth gets blown up * end spoiler. The guide is like a know-it-all computer that fill in the viewer on the background of strange galactic encounters.

Why you should see it: The scenes with the guide are pretty much the best part of the film. There is a lot of nonsensical whimsy that didnt seem to play out that well. The book on which this is based comes off a bit more clever. The over the top opening sequence of dolphins saying, "so long and thanks for all the fish" was another good takeaway moment. The trailer, presented guide style, is actually quite worth checking out. Too bad the movie wasnt more like the trailer.

Hulk Smash Wolverine

2008-12-23T21:56:00.002-05:00

Thanks Marvel for some clips from the upcoming Hulk VS movie. Could this be the greatest Marvel movie yet? Methinks maybe.

Wolverine's New Trailer Bub

2008-12-15T13:21:00.002-05:00

Leonard Nimoy Beams into the Trek Trailer

2008-11-25T14:02:00.003-05:00

Aint it cool news has a slightly remixed Trek trailer with old man Vulcan in it.

Radar Blips - Dreamscape

2008-11-25T08:52:00.002-05:00

The Year: 1984

The Players: The poor man's Harrison Ford AKA Dennis Quaid teams with Willie Scott

The Take: $12 million

What pray tell is a dreamscape?: Much like Freddy Kruger, Dennis Quaid can enter your dreams. But unlike Freddy he will not try to kill you.

Why you should see it: C'mon, who doesn't want to see a movie about an assassination attempt involving nightmares? On top of that, Dennis fights a lizard man. Oh, I miss the good ol 80s.

The Trailer: Sorry, I couldn't embed this one, but here is a link.

Countdown to Solace - Quantum of Solace

2008-11-17T12:25:00.002-05:00

I realize that I dropped the ball on the last two pre-QoS Bonds. Fear not, I shall get to them shortly. But seeing as how Solace has arrived, I thought I would give the devil her due.

The Year: 2008 - #22

The Bond: Daniel Craig

The Babes: Camille
Strawberry Fields

The Big Bad: Dominic Greene

The Take: $70,000,000 million opening and counting

Up or Down:Up. Though not as good as Casino Royale, QoS finally took the opportunity to present a true Bond sequel. I would have enjoyed a more charismatic foe or a couple of spy gadgets, but overall this built on the brutal Bournified foundation of CR and sets the stage for an epic third film in this Daniel Craig arc.

GET BOND

Trek Trailer Has Landed

2008-11-15T13:59:00.000-05:00

Countdown to Solace - The World is Not Enough

2008-11-12T08:46:00.001-05:00

The Year: 1999 - #19

The Bond: Pierce Brosnan

The Babes: Christmas Jones

The Big Bad: Renard
Elektra King

The Take: $126,943,684 or $156,616,432 worth of crude oil

Up or Down: Down. Bond is so grumpy and Christmas Jones is the worst Bond girl ever.

GET BOND

Countdown to Solace - Tomorrow Never Dies

2008-11-11T08:46:00.001-05:00

The Year: 1997 - #18

The Bond: Pierce Brosnan

The Babes: Paris Carver

Wai Lin

The Big Bad: Elliot Carver

Notable Henchmen: Stamper

The Take: $125,304,276 or $161,308,135 tomorrow

Up or Down: Marginal thumbs up. Bond vs Fox News? But Wai Lin brought her "A" game.

GET BOND

Countdown to Solace - GoldenEye

2008-11-10T08:46:00.001-05:00

The Year: 1995 - #17

The Bond: Pierce Brosnan

The Babes: Natalya Simonova

The Big Bad: Turncoat Alec Trevelyan

Notable Henchmen: Xenia Onatopp

The "Invincible" Boris Grishenko

The Take: $106,429,941 or $143,519,984 worth of todays gold bricks

Up or Down: Way up. Pierces' finest moment and a return to form for the franchise. Also a great model for the legendary N64 shooter.

Countdown to Solace - Licence to Kill

2008-11-09T08:45:00.001-05:00

The Year: 1989 - #16

The Bond: Exit Timothy Dalton

The Babes: Pam Bouvier

Lupe Lamora

The Big Bad: Franz Sanchez

The Take: $34,667,015 a paltry series low inflated value of $57,282,110 today

Up or Down: Down. Maybe I have seen this too many times, but it just seems tired. Some of the gas filled semi scenes are cool though.

GET BOND

Countdown to Solace - The Living Daylights

2008-11-08T08:45:00.001-05:00

The Year: 1987 - #15

The Bond: Enter Timothy Dalton

The Babes: Kara Milovy

The Big Bad: General Georgi Koskov
Brad Whitaker

The Take: $51,185,897 or a tidy $92,270,929 today

Up or Down: Up. Tim gets a bad rap, but he is OK and this movie is a big step up from A View to a Kill.

GET BOND

Countdown to Solace - A View To A Kill

2008-11-07T08:43:00.001-05:00

The Year: 1985 - #14

The Bond: Roger Moore, senior citizen

The Babes: Stacey Sutton

The Big Bad: Max Zorin

Notable Henchmen: May Day

The Take: $50,327,960 then, $95,776,253 now

Up or Down: Down. May Day is freaky, Bond is old, and fire truck action is lame. Even Walken and the Golden Gate couldnt save it.

Countdown to Solace - Octopussy

2008-11-06T08:43:00.001-05:00

The Year: 1983 - #13

The Bond: Roger Moore

The Babes: Octopussy

The Big Bad: Prince Kamal Khan

Notable Henchmen: Yo-Yo Killer

The Take: $67,893,619 translated to $139,611,610 pieces of modern 8.

Up or Down: Clowns ans yo-yo assassins == thumbs up. The Faberge Egg on the other hand doesn't help the score.

GET BOND

Countdown to Solace - For Your Eyes Only

2008-11-05T08:43:00.001-05:00

The Year: 1981 - #12

The Bond: Roger Moore

The Babes: Melina Havelock

The Big Bad: Aristotle Kristatos
A glimpse of an unnamed Blofeld

The Take: $54,812,802 translated to $123,531,807 today

Up or Down: Marginally down. This is just kind of bland. The villians arent really memorable, nor is the story... though it is a perfectly serviceable film.

GET BOND

Hulk Smash Lenticular Cover

2008-11-05T07:30:00.000-05:00

Hulk VS. is sure to be a big seller for Marvel's Direct to Video line. The DVD will contain Hulk squaring off against Wolverine and Thor in 2 separate short films. Sure this is pure fanboy service, but how to better please the fanboys that a lenticular DVD case featuring both battles? I like it!

Countdown to Solace - Moonraker

2008-11-04T08:32:00.002-05:00

The Year: 1979 - #11

The Bond: Roger Moore

The Babes: Holly Goodhead

and for Jaws, Dolly

The Big Bad: Hugo Drax

Notable Henchmen: Jaws II

The Take: $70,308,099 == $198,368,871 today

Up or Down: Down. Even Jaws couldnt stop Bond from jumping ther shark in this foray into sci-fi and lasers

GET BOND

Countdown to Solace - The Spy Who Loved Me

2008-11-03T15:15:00.002-05:00

The Year: 1977 - #10

The Bond: More Roger Moore

The Babes: Major Anya Amasova

The Big Bad: Karl Stromberg

Notable Henchmen: Jaws

The Take: $46,838,673 a cool $$158,547,678 today

Up or Down: Way up. You've got Jaws, You've got submarines getting swallowed alive, what more do you need?

GET BOND

Countdown to Solace - The Man With The Golden Gun

2008-11-02T15:06:00.004-05:00

The Year: 1974 - #9

The Bond: Roger Moore

The Babes: Mary Goodnight

The Big Bad: Scaramanga

Notable Henchmen: Nick Nack

The Take: $20,972,000 or $87,268,031.46

Up or Down: Another marginally up. The story moves a little slow at points, and the return of the wacky Sgt Pepper wasn't really welcome. But Chris Lee is always a gem and the hall of mirrors was another treat.

Countdown to Solace - Live and Let Die

2008-11-01T15:06:00.004-04:00

The Year: 1973 - #8

The Bond: Enter Roger Moore

The Babes: Solitaire

The Big Bad: Mr Kananga

Notable Henchmen: Tee-Hee

Baron Samedi

The Take: $35,377,836 or $163,406,592

Up or Down: Up. This is the one with the "Croc Walk" and the swamp boat chase. Its not the serious Sean Connery Bond, but this is classic Roger... a little silly but still plenty of fun.

Countdown to Solace - Diamonds Are Forever

2008-10-31T08:07:00.005-04:00

The Year: 1971 - #7

The Bond: Sean Connery returns

The Babes: Plenty O' Toole (named after her father)

Tiffany Case

The Big Bad: A now harrier, Blofeld

Notable Henchmen: Bambi and Thumper

Life partners Mr Wint and Mr Kidd

The Take: $43,819,547 or $222,039,904.10 worth of modern diamonds

Up or Down: Up. There are ample portions of cheese in this romp with a desert moon buggy chase of all things. But Connery seemed re-energized in the role and the movie was a good ol fun Bond hinting at the direction of the Roger Moore titles to come.

GET DIAMONDS

Countdown to Solace - On Her Majesty's Secret Service

2008-10-30T08:28:00.003-04:00

The Year: 1969 - #6

The Bond: Aussie George Lazenby

The Babes: Teresa di Vicenzo

The Big Bad: Once again, Blofeld

The Take: $22,774,493 or $127,465,347 today

Up or Down: Marginally up. Though the film is over long and the Bond is not my cup of tea, the bobsleds tips the scale to the positive side.
GET ON HER MAJESTY

Countdown to Solace - You Only Live Twice

2008-10-29T07:52:00.003-04:00

The Year: 1967 - #5

The Bond: Sean Connery

The Babes: Aki
Kissy Suzuki

The Big Bad: Blofeld is back

The Take: $43,084,787 inflated to a hefty $264,835,193 by today's count

Up or Down: Down. This film has some awesome elements such as the briefcase chopper and the volcano lair, and the them song is kickin (below) but its one of my least memorable Bond experiences.

GET BOND ON DVD

Finally A Spock Pic without Ridiculous Hair or Sylar Face

2008-10-28T11:51:00.002-04:00

Thanks Empire Online.

Radar Blips - The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

2008-10-28T09:59:00.002-04:00

The Year: 1988

The Players: A Terry Gilliam film with the likes of an out of costume Ewok, Poison Ivy, and Mork from Ork AKA Patch Adams.

The Take: $8Million (on a $46 Million out of control budget)

Baron Who?: Munchausen was a real life Baron in the 1700's that went to war against the Turks and returned with some outrageous tales.

Why you should see it: If you are into zany, this has it. It was a bom when it came out but has gained cult status. One of my favorite scenes was a flashback of the Baron about to lose his head over a gamble and being saved by his troop of oddly powered buddies. Perhaps the most famous scene involves Uma Thurman and a giant clam.

Countdown to Solace - Thunderball (and Never Say Never Again)

2008-10-28T08:24:00.005-04:00

The Year: 1965 - #4 (1983 #Unofficial)

The Bond: Sean Connery (Old Sean Connery)

The Babes: Domino Derval (both films)

and Fatima Blush (Never Say Never Again only)

The Big Bad: String puller Blofeld (both films)

and front man Largo (both films)

The Take: $63,595,658 or $413,913,852 in modern dollars - the biggest Bond of all ($55,432,841 for an adjusted $113,988,153)

Up or Down: Down for both. I can forgive a lot with my Bonds, but this one did the unforgivable. It was boring AND so was the remake Never Say Never Again. Even the opening song is boring in Thunderball, and Never Say Never Again lacks the Bond theme.

GET Thunderball

GET Never Say Never Again

Completely Original Superhero Film!

2008-10-27T09:17:00.003-04:00

Any success yields "flattering imitation" AKA ripoffs. The Pokemon gave birth to Digimon, the Transformers fruited the Go-bots. Star Wars gave us the original Battlestar Galactica and James Bond's Moonraker. X-Men gave us the 4400 and Heroes. But now it appears that the next generation of copycats is beginning to arrive. Push imagines an ordinary world full of people with extraordinary abilities. People with telekenetic, healing, or telepathic abilities. And according to the trailer, it looks like they are being tracked by "The Division" and can even PAINT THE FUTURE. I am almost ashamed to admit it, but in spite of its blatant "inspiration," I will probably end up seeing this one.

Countdown to Solace - Goldfinger

2008-10-27T08:25:00.004-04:00

The Year: 1964 - #3

The Bond: Sean Connery

The Babes: Pussy Galore

Jill Masterson

The Big Bad: He loves gooooooold, Auric Goldfinger

Notable Henchmen: The hat tossing Oddjob

The Take: $51,081,062 or $338,114,165.53 in today's bones

Up or Down: Up, Goldfinger is gold. Its the cliche pick for best Bond (though Casino Royale may be stealing that honor) .

GET Goldfinger

Countdown to Solace - From Russia With Love

2008-10-26T07:48:00.006-04:00

The Year: 1963 - #2

The Bond: Sean Connery

The Babe: Tanya Romanova

The Big Bad: Blofeld makes his debut as does Evil org SPECTRE. This film's head lady, Rosa Klebb

Notable Henchmen: Mr Red Grant

The Take: $24,796,765 or $166,267,711.77 in today's bones

Up or Down: Way up, My favorite of Connery and perhaps the best Bond of all.

GET From Russia With Love

Countdown to Solace - Dr. No

2008-10-25T19:54:00.005-04:00

The Year: 1962 - #1

The Bond: Sean Connery

The Babe: Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder

The Big Bad: Dr. Julius No

The Take: $16,067,035 or $109,025,765.82 in today's bucks

Up or Down: Thumbs up for Bonds debut

GET IT ON DVD

Radar Blips - X2: X-Men United

2008-10-24T09:14:00.005-04:00

The Year: 2003

The Players: Boris the Computer Geek as Nightcrawler joins the cast of Catwoman as Storm, the Wuss from Superman Returns as Cyclops, Jean-Luc Picard as "Wheels," The dude who played Wolverine as Wolverine, Gandalf the Gray as Magneto, Xena Onatop as Jean Grey and Jimmy Olsen's twin brother as Iceman,

The Take: $215 Million

Whats with the lame title?: I guess "X2" didn't have enough brand recognition, so "X-Men United" was added as the X-Men and Brotherhood united against a common foe.

Why you should see it: This is one of the best Superhero films ever made and until The Dark Knight, my undisputed pick for Superest Sequel. X-Men was good, but no one was prepared for the epic X2. The film seemed like it could be overstuffed like many sequels are, but the additions of Nightcrawler and Lady Deathstrike did not rob the other heroes of their moments. The opening scene of Nightcrawler's White House infiltration is a perfect action sequence and Magneto's plastic prison escape was also awesome. Though the subtitle "X-Men United" is awfully cheesy, seeing the X-Men have to team up with Magneto, and then be betrayed by him, was great. The film's cliffhanger ending was a perfect final note for this near flawless sequel.

BUY Marvel Heroes on DVD

Radar Blips - Star Trek: Insurrection

2008-10-23T13:58:00.004-04:00

The Year: 1998

The Players: The jolly TNG crew for one more adventure.

The Take: $70 Million (8th highest of 10)

Is this an odd or even one? Most definitely one of the crappy odd ones featuring the never before mentioned but suddenly "imposing" face stretchers / Sona. Not really a good way to follow up Klingons and Borg.

Why you should see it: Yikes, there arent too many reasons unless you are a TNG diehard. There is a decent nebula battle but it also has some cringeworthy moments, mostly featuring Data singing, or saying "Lock and load." Movies like this are why Trek has lost all its fans.

BUY TREK ON DVD: Star Trek Movie Set (The Motion Picture/ The Wrath of Khan/ The Search for Spock/ The Voyage Home/ The Final Frontier/ The Undiscovered Country/ Generations/ First Contact/ Insurrection/ Nemesis)

One Eyed Monster of a Spaceship

2008-10-16T08:13:00.002-04:00

This one nacelle-ship looks odd, like some sort of mechanical cyclops.

BUY STAR TREK ON DVD: Alternate Realities

Keep on Trekkin With Pics Aplenty

2008-10-15T19:32:00.003-04:00

I like the new look of the Enterprise, sort of like an iEnterprise by Apple. This movie certainly looks polished with these images. Imagine, a Trek movie with a budget! Last time that happened, they battled a cloud.

These guys dont really look like the old crew, which is OK, but it may take a while before I buy into them being Kirk and Co.

PS these pics were scoured from around the web. Click for Hi Res.

MTV.com

movieblog.ugo.com
aicn.com
trekmovie.com
joblo.com

BUY STAR TREK ON DVD: Alternate Realities

Trek This Out

2008-10-15T15:57:00.004-04:00

Star Trek got the cover of EW 7 months before the movie's debut. Looks like this Trek may get some hype this time around. Lets hope this one can break the "curse of the odd numbered treks."

BUY STAR TREK ON DVD: Alternate Realities

Alternate Hulk Opening

2008-10-15T08:04:00.001-04:00

Hulk chilly. Brr. I dont see why they cut scenes like this, i guess for the inevitable Directors Cut.

Easier Egg to Swallow - Captain America on Ice

2008-10-13T09:04:00.005-04:00

Thanks to the folks at slashfilm.com, here is a clearer look at Cap on Ice. I don't think this is a case of seeing Mother Mary on a grilled cheese sandwich. I think I really do see him.

By the way, did you catch Caps Shield in Iron Man? There it is on Tony's table.

Hulk's Incredible Egg

2008-10-12T08:26:00.002-04:00

Easter Egg that is. Finding Cap's frozen body and shield in the arctic tundra is harder to find than Waldo - especially considering the scene is in the film's alternate opening, only on DVD. But geeks will not be deterred. Here is the egg, found using someones frame-by-frame and massive amounts of patience.

"C" Aint Just For Cookie

2008-10-10T08:48:00.001-04:00

In case Michael Scott reads the Chips. This is for you Mikey:

Now get back to work.

New Avengers Series Actually Features The Avengers

2008-10-08T13:19:00.005-04:00

I stole the above image for a 2011 animated Avengers series from the magnificent site AnimatedSuperheroes.Com. Until just recently, DC was the king of animated Superhero shows... that is until Marvels recent and failry spectacular Spectacular Spider-man show and the even more recent (hasn't yet debuted in the US) Wolverine and the X-Men. Both are well done shows, nothing like some of the disasters of years past such as the last attempt at an Avengers series 10 years ago. Just compare the above image (featuring the actual Avengers) to the one below (starring Wonder Man and Tigra) and you can see that Marvel is back on track. Furthermore, even though Cap, Thor, and Iron Man are featured in the below pic, they were not really in the 1999 series. Just imagine the below poster with them cropped out. Oh my! The new series looks sharp and Marvel may have another decent show on hand.

Radar Blips - X-Men

2008-10-07T10:06:00.003-04:00

The Year: 2000

The Players: Catwoman as Storm, the Wuss from Superman Returns as Cyclops, Jean-Luc Picard as "Wheels," The dude who played Wolverine as Wolverine, Darth Maul as Toad, Gandalf the Gray as Magneto, Xena Onatop as Jean Grey and Jimmy Olsen's twin brother as Iceman.

The Take: $157 Million

What happens when a Toad gets struck by lightning?: You get the worst catchphrase ever.

Why you should see it: This film ushered in the golden age of superhero cinema by grounding the fantastic in a "realistic" world. The movie really flies by while setting the stage for the even better sequel by introducing the pitch perfect Magneto and the human-mutant conflict. Most of the actors are perfectly cast and define these live actions characters. The action sequences wont blow you away, but the Wolverine and Sabretooth fights are decent as is the Wolvy Mystique clash. Lastly, if you like Wolverine, you are in luck, this is basically part 1 of a (so far) 4 part Wolverine film saga.

Captain America, Exposed

2008-10-06T08:10:00.002-04:00

Film School Rejects has the scoop on the Captain America Film. Then again, maybe they just summarized the origin since I think I could have written this myself.

Born during the Great Depression, Steve Rogers grew up a frail youth in a poor family. Horrified by the newsreel footage of the Nazis in Europe, Rogers was inspired to enlist in the army. However, because of his frailty and sickness, he was rejected. Overhearing the boy’s earnest plea, General Chester Phillips offered Rogers the opportunity to take part in a special experiment… Operation: Rebirth. After weeks of tests, Rogers was at last administered the ‘Super-Soldier Serum’ and bombarded by ‘vita-rays.’ Steve Rogers emerged from the treatment with a body as perfect as a body can be and still be human. Rogers was then put through an intensive physical and tactical training program. Three months later, he was given his first assignment as Captain America. Armed with his indestructible shield and and battle savvy, Captain America has continued his war against evil both as a sentinel of liberty and leader of the Avengers.

Even Wanted to See a Dragon Ball?

2008-10-03T14:24:00.000-04:00

Will Robin Triumph Where Aquaman Floundered?

2008-10-01T09:09:00.003-04:00

Smallville has lived beyond its shelf-life, and while I admit to still watching the show, I am mostly hanging on to see the series finale. The CW, desperate for a show that anyone will watch is not only considering a possible Clarkless 9th season, but is now considering a show featuring a young, pre-Robin, Dick Grayson as a potential Smallville replacement.

Wow, they are really scrapping the bottom here. What would it be about, drama between circus sideshow freaks? The bearded woman falling for the gimp?

If the decent Aquaman pilot wasn't picked up, and possible Green Arrow, Justice League, and Supergirl spinoffs were passed on, what chance does Dick have? Sadly this will probably get the green light. Oh, and by the way, its not Dick, its DJ - just like in Full House.

Iron Man 2 Takes on a Huge Lion

2008-09-30T11:46:00.002-04:00

In 2010, Narnia 3 AKA The Voyage of The Dawn Treader was slated to debut on May 7 with Iron Man 2 premiering 1 week earlier on April 30. But... given how Prince Caspian tanked and Iron Man was a Box Office Tank, IM2 has moved its date to May 7th - which has unofficially become Summer Superhero weekend. I am betting Narnia moves, if it even still gets made. Why not go back to Christmas 2010 and give the kiddies something to do over their holidy break.

Oh, by the way, Marvel also announced Iron Man 3. With IM2, Avengers and IM3, that's a hefty dose of Iron.

Radar Blips - Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

2008-09-24T08:34:00.001-04:00

The Year: 1977

The Players: The guy who voiced the Batman: The Animated Series' Joker, Mufasa, Indiana Jones, a guy named Porkins, and Carrie Fisher

The Take: $307 Million initially, $461 including rereleases

Which one is this?
It is a period of civil war.
Rebel spaceships, striking
from a hidden base, have won
their first victory against
the evil Galactic Empire.

During the battle, Rebel
spies managed to steal secret
plans to the Empire's
ultimate weapon, the DEATH
STAR, an armored space
station with enough power
to destroy an entire planet.

Pursued by the Empire's
sinister agents, Princess
Leia races home aboard her
starship, custodian of the
stolen plans that can save her
people and restore
freedom to the galaxy....

Why you should see it: Hopefully you already have, but maybe you havent memorized the entire script yet -"These are not the droids you are looking for." This movie is so full of awesome moments including the Cantina (especially when Han shot first), the Wookie prisoner scene, and of course the epic final Death Star battle and trench run. Use this to rinse the sour taste of theprequels out of your brain. Even the antics of 3PO and R2 play out as non-annoying comic relief as oppoes to prequel 3PO slapstick and Jar-Jar fart sniffing and poop stepping. There is a reason that Star Wars became so big and Episode 4 will always bring out that same sheer geeky excitement.

Nick Fury Arrives in 1 Week on DVD

2008-09-23T11:18:00.004-04:00

Nope, I am not talking about Sam Jackson's Fury that appears after the credits in Iron Man - though the Iron Man head case DVD at Target looks cool - I am talking about the DVD debut of David Hasselhoff's Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Its available only at Best Buy, so you better hurry. They are going to fly off of shelves.

Iron Man 2 Will be Fortified with Even More Iron

2008-09-12T09:51:00.003-04:00

In this summer's undisputed superhero movie champ, Iron Man... well at least until mid July, Iron Man not only donned 3 suits of his own, but he faced off with the Iron Monger. How will they top that in the sequel you ask? Well, in addition to more Iron Man suits, we will get some War Machine, and possibly Crimson Dynamo for the villain!? I guess in Iron Man's world, the only way to be a formidable threat is to don your own Mecha suit.

I have always like the War Machine get-up, but hopefully they do some heavy duty reimagining of that Dynamo suit. I guess he is Communist, and certainly the suit sells that notion, but wow.

Radar Blips - Batman Forever

2008-09-04T08:10:00.001-04:00

The Year: 1995

The Players: Madmartigan as Batman, Ace Ventura, Tommy Lee Jones, The Moulin Rouge Whore, and Chris O'Donnell as the Boy Wonder

The Take: $184 Million

What in the world does "Forever" mean? There was a heavily trimmed subplot involving Bruce Wayne's need to be Batman. He finally realizes that he cannot quite being Batman, he needs to be Batman... Forever.

Why you should see it: Whenever I watch this one, I start to think Batman Returns isn't so bad... until I watch it and realized that it sucks too. I admit, I am a sucker for Batman and superhero films in general, even bad ones. So, what does this do right? Val Kilmer is actually a pretty decent Wayne and Batman. His Wayne is better than Keatons, though his Batman isnt quite as good. The Robin origin is done quite well, though its downhill from there. Tommy Lee Jones makes Aaron Eckharts performance as Two-Face even more impressive. Jim Carrey's Nygma is good as a Bruce Wayne mirror, but his full on Riddler is too much like his other zany characters that its distracting, as are his skin tight unitards. I really don't know what to say, this movie is pretty bad. I guess, just see it to complete your Batman experience.

Announcing Roslin for VP

2008-09-02T07:57:00.002-04:00

I am not a believer of interjecting political opinion into an entertainments blog, so I wont say whether or not I will be voting for these cylons. But I thought I should at least get the word out that there be cylons among us. All of this has happened before...

Radar Blips - Lady in the Water

2008-08-29T08:02:00.001-04:00

The Year: 2006

The Players: Gwen Stacey, Paul Giamatti, a guy with 1 big arm, and Felix Leiter in an M Night Shyamalamadingdong film starring M Night Shyamalamadingdong

The Take: $43 Million

So, there is a lady in some water? Surprisingly, No. The Lady emerges from a swimming pool and spends the rest of the film trying to escape via Eagle, but does not return to the water.

Why you should see it: I know its trendy to mock Shyamalan films (especially for critics who he mocks in this movie), but say what you want about the guy, his movies have been creative. This one does not have any twists, so no one can complain about that. What it is is an attempt at a fairy tale set in the real world. And while its no way as good as Rear Window, it offers that sort of look at the eclectic inhabitants of an apartment complex. The acting is great and there is plenty of humor. Sure, its not believable, thats what makes it a fairy tale as opposed to a straight up drama. The soundtrack is also quite enjoyable. If you have heard it sucks, give it a chance, its better than you think.

Bat Squashes Bug

2008-08-28T15:44:00.003-04:00

On its 41st day of release, The Dark Knight has hit a total of 492,688,931. Why is this noteworthy you may ask? This puts The Dark Knight over 2002's Spider-Man adjusted for inflation total of $491,952,000, making The Dark Knight the champion of Superhero films. That magic $500 million mark is going down soon as well, likely over this extended weekend. Go Batman!

Superman's Boots to be Put on Again

2008-08-22T11:44:00.005-04:00

Nicolas Cage and Keanu Reeves just may get their chance to don the Superman costume in a feature film (though most likely not) as the Superfilm franchise is about to get the Hulk-style REBOOT treatment. What will Supes 2.0 hold for us? Hopefully something epic. By epic I mean something bigger than a wacky real-estate scheme brokered by that wacky Lexy Baby.

The wild success of The Dark Knight, the 6th (technically 7th if you go back to 1966) live action Batman film, has shown those greedy suits at WB that "there be milk" in those old comic franchises if handled properly.

According to the Wall Street Journal, "The studio is set to announce its plans for future DC movies in the next month. For now, though, it is focused on releasing four comic-book films in the next three years, including a third Batman film, a new film reintroducing Superman, and two movies focusing on other DC Comics characters. Movies featuring Green Lantern, Flash, Green Arrow, and Wonder Woman are all in active development." From the rumblings Chip Chief has heard, GL and GA are in the lead for those other 2 spots.

I really can't see the downside here. I thought Superman Returns had its moments, but the main thing I wanted to see in a sequel was Superboy and or Cyclops dieing. I would be interested to know where the story was going to lead, but I think I would rather have a fresh take. Hopefully, they keep the origin to a minimum, and give us a Superman that uses his powers and meets a worthy adversary.

Radar Blips - Stardust

2008-08-22T08:01:00.001-04:00

The Year: 2007

The Players: Claire Danes, Robert De Niro, Catwoman, Charlie Cox, and David Brent

The Take: $39 Million

Does Stardust make people fly or something? There actually isn't too much "stardust" in the movie, and the dust there is doesn't do anything special. I guess its called Stardust because Claire Danes is a star that falls to the Earth in a magical realm and all sorts are after her for various and selfish reasons.

Why you should see it: I quite enjoyed the story structure with zany murdering princes vying for their throne, the aged witches seeking eternal life, and young Tristan who has vowed to bring the star to his unrequiting lover. The movie is a lot like a darker "Savage-free" Princess Bride. It has drama, romance, and comedy and it all fits together very organically. This film just won the Hugo award for 2007 beating out Harry Potter 5 and Heroes Season 1 and is going to be a cult classic in the years to come. Its great when they make one of those movies that "they just dont make anymore."

Next Avengers is not A-Next

2008-08-19T14:41:00.005-04:00

I feel a bit hypocritical loving the Teen Titans and cringing at this, but wasn't there a better tale to tell? If this sells well, we will no doubt be getting marvel babies and teen X-Men next. If it sells poorly after Doctor Strange also underperformed, will the Marvel line of DtVs dry up? Can't we just have Hulk VS already? If they wanted to do A-Next then fine. Do it, but do it with the real characters, not some teen knock-offs.

Anyways, here is a clip featuring the ever popular Iron Man.

Radar Blips - Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

2008-08-19T09:31:00.002-04:00

The Year: 2007

The Players: Willy Wonka, Legolas, Casanova Frankenstein, a chick with a serious case of crabs, and Keira Knightly

The Take: $309 Million

Is Asia supposed to be the end of the world? The pirates do sail to Asia in the film, but from there, they sail to Davy Jones' Locker which lays below a big waterfall at the end of the world.

Why you should see it: If this movie wasn't so overlong, I would have a more compelling argument, but there are enjoyable elements of this 3quel. Basically, if you skip over all of the multiple Johnny Depp scenes, and the wedding scene at the end, you can enjoy the ship flip, every scene with squid faced Davy Jones, and of course the ship to ship battle in the whirlpool at the end. The best scene though, was the slow-mo destruction of the Endeavor where splinters around the defeated Lord Beckett. I also thought the score for this movie was one of the best element. Thank goodness though the trilogy has ended. I don't think I could sit through another 3 hours of swashbuckling for a while.

Chips and Dips Results

2008-08-18T09:05:00.005-04:00

Back in April, I took on Entertainment Weekly with predictions of the Summer blockbusters. The ground rules were, "one point being awarded to the closer predictor of each film earnings and a bonus point being awarded for each correct ranking"

Lets see how I did.

The Dark Knight: Chips - $260 M #2; EW - $255 M #6; Actual $471+ M #1 (1 Point Chips)

Indiana Jones: Chips - $305 M #1; EW - $355.9 M #1; Actual $316 M #3 (1 Point Chips)

Iron Man: Chips - $210 M #6; EW - $262.7 M #5; Actual $317 M #2 (1 Point EW)

Hancock: Chips - $240 M #4; EW - $280.4 M #3; Actual $225 M #4 (2 Points Chips)

Wall-E: Chips - $230M #5; EW - $280.3 M #4; Actual $214M #5 (2 Points Chips)

Kung Fu Panda: Chips - $170 M #7; EW - $224.6 M #7; Actual $212 M #6 (1 Point EW)

Sex and the City: Chips - --; EW - --; Actual $152 M #7 (0 Points)

Narnia: Chips - $255 M #3; EW - $310.8 M #2; Actual $141 M #8 (1 Point Chips)

Hulk: Chips - $133M #9; EW - $147.2 M #9; Actual $134M #9 (2 Points Chips, 1 Point EW)

TOTALS: Chips 9, EW 3

Chips easily comes out on top. So, we were both way off on some of them, but overall my rag tag blog trounced a nationally circulated magazine. Way to go me.

Tropic Thunder Ushers in a Knight Fall

2008-08-17T13:31:00.003-04:00

It was bound to happen, The Dark Knight did not win this weekend, though it did surpass Star Wars: A New Hope to become the second biggest movie ever. This weekend went to Tropic Thunder which edged out both Batman and Star Wars. Pretty good for a film featuring the controversial Simple Jack.

Speaking of Star Wars, its nice to see that GL could only milk an extra $15.5 million by releasing his made for cable TV show in theaters.

In other news, Wall-E whizzed past Kung Fu Panda for the Summer animated crown. Other than that, the charts have stayed the same. Also summer is coming to a close. Look out for the results of the Chips vs Dips showdown which puts my predictions against those of Entertainment Weekly. I think I may be the winner! Stay Tuned.

#1 The Dark Knight - $471,493,000
#2 Iron Man - $317,044,000
#3 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - $315,684,000
#4 Hancock - $225,102,000
#5 Wall-E - $214,134,000
#6 Kung Fu Panda - $211,936,000
#7 Sex and the City - $151,897,416
#8 The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - $141,224,612
#9 The Incredible Hulk - $134,183,000

The Dark Knight Makes Harry Potter Disappear

2008-08-15T07:57:00.005-04:00

By now, word that Harry Potter 6 has moved from this November to next July is old news (its been like 18 hours after all). But why? and why now? WB says the move is to fill in a hole in next summers line up resulting from last years Writers Strike. Just last week I had the stretch to find 7 films to look forward to next summer, and really, only 5 fell into the summer season. July was completely void. The requisite summer Pixar film Up, was listed and Wolverine filled the superhero quota. Star Trek and Transformers 2 were the only other strong films listed and there was GI Joe (WB also has T4 opening, but I am personally not too pumped for it).

So, the move kind of makes sense. Then again, money now is at least as good as money later, right? This holiday season really only has Bond 22 and that weird teen vampire movie Twilight. Potter would be assured a hefty take.

So, either Potter 6 needs massive retooling - which I don't think is the case, or there is an even lamer reason for the change. Two weeks ago, the first real trailer for Harry Potter 6 was released. So, obviously the plan was still in place to release Potter 6 in November, as of 2 weeks ago. So, what changed? Batman.

You see, both Potter and Batman franchises are owned by Warner Brothers. Before The Dark Knight opened, WB probably expected to earn around $550 to $600 between the two movies. They will almost do those numbers with Batman alone, and with its huge success, stockholders will be happy. Padding the yearly revenues with another $300 million is a diminishing return as the company is already riding high on good PR. Sure, Batman was already tearing up the charts. as of HP6's trailer debut (it had hit $340 million as of the trailers release) but the gears in the heads of the WB execs had already begun to turn.

Two pretty good years will make stockholders happier than a year of plenty followed by a year of lean. On the other hand, next year looked quite lean with only T4 in the line-up. That is why WB was pushing so hard for a teen Justice League movie by the director of Happy Feet in spite of endless rumors of terrible scripts and preproduction problems. Justice League of any quality was their best bet for a Summer '09 blockbuster. Again, the success of Batman made them rethink the idea of a steaming pile of crap featuring Batman (albeit a different flavor of Batman played by a different and "hipper" actor). Unfortunately, at this late hour, nothing else was far enough along to be ready by next summer.

The Dark Knight has saved their precious balance sheet and the only ones that would suffer were the fans. Presto. Harry Potter disappeared from the schedule just like that.

Batman & Robin - Ultra Horrible Edition

2008-08-14T14:41:00.002-04:00

A couple years back I read about a "De-Assified" Edition of Batman & Robin. Essentially, like the Phantom Edit Cut of The Phantom Menace, most of the cringeworthiest parts were trimmed away leaving a much improved, though still bad film. Well, I have stumbled upon a collections of all those trimmings. Imagine, all of B&R's most outrageous moments stuffed into 10 minutes! Well you dont have to imagine, here they are:

Radar Blips - The Island

2008-08-14T13:31:00.002-04:00

The Year: 2005

The Players: Ob1 Kenobi, Scarlett Johansson, Neelix, and Boromir

The Take: $36 Million

What is "The Island" anyways? The island is where the winners of a lottery for post-apocalyptic survivors get to go to repopulate the Earth.

Why you should see it: This movie is kind of a Logan's Run ripoff, where the main characters don't buy into the society in which they are living. Being a Michael Bay flick, there are some over the top action sequences including a freeway chase involving giant metal axles and a skyscraper freefall. Also, the first half of the film is pretty intriguing as it sets up this post apocalyptic world, even if what could have been a smart sci-fi movie devolves into a bunch of explosions.

What Coraline's About

2008-08-14T10:55:00.002-04:00

Another day, another featurette. The plot thickens with a button eyed mom-clone.

Sweeeeet Coraline

2008-08-13T15:04:00.002-04:00

From the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas comes Coraline. This film looks like it may have captured that same essence of Nightmare where The Corpse Bride came off as a little less fun. I am excited.

Radar Blips - Paycheck

2008-08-13T13:31:00.003-04:00

The Year: 2003

The Players: Daredevil, Poison Ivy, and Two-Face in another one of those Dick (Philip K.) movies. Oh, and Cleveland Heep gets to pitch in as well.

The Take: $54 Million

So, is it a big paycheck or what? Actually, there is no paycheck. Thats what gets Affleck all riled up. After spending 3 years building a secret machine and wiping his own memory to forget the details, Ben expected big bucks...

Why you should see it: In a lot of ways this is a poor man's Minority Report, which was a great film, so a poor man's is still ok. Like Dick's other film adaptations (Total Recall, Blade Runner, Minority Report) the film has an interesting premise that carries the film even if there are some logical hiccups. Affleck ends up with no memory, an envelope of junk, and people trying to kill him. Its a lot of fun seeing how the various pieces of junk may come in handy at just the right times. Also, the fate of the villains henchman alone is hilarious and worth the price of admission.

The Spirit Proves that Toilets Are NOT Always Funny

2008-08-13T13:29:00.001-04:00

Is The Spirit destined for the crapper? Geez this looks bad.

Another Dark Weekend

2008-08-10T08:03:00.003-04:00

The Dark Knight was able to mitigate new openers The Pineapple Express and Traveling Pants for a 4th consecutive weekend win. Atta boy Bats! Batman has also also passed up Pirates 2, The Phantom Menace, E.T. and Shrek 2 on the all-time list., and now sits in the #3 spot.

Pretty much nothing else interesting happened on the top 9 list. Next week is Tropic Thunder.

Standings:

#1 The Dark Knight - $441,541,000
#2 Iron Man - $316,448,000
#3 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - $314,746,000
#4 Hancock - $221,709,000
#5 Kung Fu Panda - $211,315,000
#6 Wall-E - $210,112,000
#7 Sex and the City - $151,615,130
#8 The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - $140,889,245
#9 The Incredible Hulk - $133,823,000

Looking to Summer '09

2008-08-08T11:01:00.006-04:00

With Iron Man, Wall-E, The Dark Knight, Hellboy 2, The Incredible Hulk, and even Kung Fu Panda, Summer 2008 was one of the best in a long time. It surely topped last year loaded with disappointing 3quels. So, what about '09? Can it match this year? Maybe not, but there are some films worth looking forward to.

27 March - Monsters Vs Aliens

Dreamworks kicks things off early next summer with human bred monsters fighting off alien invaders. As long as Shrek isn't one of said monsters, I think Dreamworks may have a hit on their hands.

10 April - Dragonball

Next years Speed Racer. I do not know much about Dragonball Z. I think its something like an anime Street Fighter, but with more "mystical powers." Still, it may turn out to good, and really, comparing it to Speed Racer was a low blow.

01 May - X-Men Origins: Wolverine

This year, Superheroes were in style. Next year, Wolvy has the whole summer to himself. Not sure why Gambit is in a Wolverine movie, but seeing some New Mutants should be fun - and better Gambit than more Storm. Though early buzz is not great on this one, its opening weekend alone should be big enough to make it a success.

08 May - Star Trek

I have high hopes for this movie as does Paramount. JJ Abrahms brought us Alias, Lost, and a good Mission Impossible movie (MI3), so hopefully he can usher in a new age for Trek. Having said that, this is Trek 11 and only one Trek has broken $100 million. Hopefully going back to its roots will be a recipe for success.

29 May - Up

This movie is about an old guy and a boy scout floating around in a house attached to balloons... Ok. But any film from Pixar has my attention. I don't know if it will have mass apeal (say like a movie about aliens and monsters for example), but it appeals to me.

29 June - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Lets face it. Though Transformers was cool, it wasn't really good. This sequel was churned out pretty fast and I am afraid that it may fall flat. No matter what, this will be huge, likely the biggest of the summer. But, if the Transformers get some dialogue this time, it might even be good.

07 August - G.I. Joe: Rise of COBRA

The second feature length toy commercial of the summer is even less likely to be good, but who knows. Cool is what I am hoping for you know, more like the Mortal Kombat movie and less like Street Fighter. Speaking of SF, the legend of Chun Li also somes out next year, in Feb, and so far... YIKES!

DJ Spock is in the Heezy

2008-08-08T10:18:00.000-04:00

My Dad of all people clued me in on this. Go Spock.

Radar Blips - Star Trek: First Contact

2008-08-07T11:42:00.000-04:00

The Year: 1996

The Players: The jolly TNG crew is reunited with Worf and many a Borg.

The Take: $92 Million (2nd highest of 10)

Is this an odd or even one? First Contact is sometimes referred to as Star Trek 8, making it an even one and propagating the theory that only the even ones are good.

Why you should see it: Trek, Time Travel, and Borgs. What more do you need? This film gave us a glimpse of the first meeting between humans and Vulcans, and a peek into a time period previously untouched by trek (unfortunately, this led to a spin off series - Enterprise). The opening battle between the Federation and Borg is good, but the best part is the not so subtle story references to Moby Dick and Picard's Ahabian attitude. This movie just got so many things right. If you are going to watch one of the next generation films, this is the one to see.

Bats Tops The Itsy Bitsy Spider

2008-08-06T12:26:00.005-04:00

As Promised. Cruising past the $403,706,375 total box office of 2002's Spider-Man, The Dark Knight has become the highest grossing Superhero film of all time, currently with $405,709,000. Now of course, you have to take into consideration or ticket sales to determine the real winner... blah, blah, blah, but those adjusted for inflation records are all in danger too. By the end of the weekend, The Dark Knight looks to top Batman 1989's adjusted for inflation total, and eventually Spidey's $491 million adjusted total will fall as well. I will keep the updates coming.

400 and Counting for The Dark Knight

2008-08-05T12:08:00.002-04:00

$400,031,000 to be exact, in just 18 days - besting Shrek 2's fastest to $400 million record of 43 days. No one saw this coming.

Not to downplay this accomplishment, but more are coming. By this time tomorrow, I should be back reporting that Batman has squashed Spider-Man's total take becoming the biggest Superhero film of all time.

The Friends and Foes of Batman - Two-Face

2008-08-05T10:11:00.002-04:00

I know that I seriously dropped the ball on this feature leading up to The Dark Knight. Though I may not be able to cover all of Batman's Rogues Gallery, I figure I can still hit the high points.

Two-Face has been a staple villain for the Batman since his first appearance in 1942. Two-Face was once Harvey Dent, District Attorney of Gotham City and an ally of Batman. After a criminal disfigured half of his face with acid, Dent became the insane crime boss Two-Face, who chose to do either good or evil depending upon the results of flipping a coin. He was partly inspired by the dual personality of the character Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Originally, Two-Face was a many gimmick-focused comic book villains, plotting crimes based around the number two, such as robbing Gotham Second National Bank at 2:00 on February 2. In recent years, writers have portrayed his obsession with duality and fate and his criminal behavior as the result of multiple personality disorder and a history of child abuse. He obsessively makes all important decisions by flipping a two-headed coin, one side of which is scratched over with an X. The fact that Dent was formerly a friend of Bruce Wayne and an ally of Batman before his scarring colored their now adversarial relationship is also a more prominent element in modern stories.

The character of Harvey Dent was played by none other than Lando Calrissian's Billy Dee Williams in 1989's Batman. In Batman Forever the role went to Tommy Lee Jones who was already transformed into Two Face. Most recently, he was played by Aaron Eckhart in The Dark Knight. Though Two-Face appeared in Batman: The Animated Series, he has a couple of notable omissions from The Batman and the 1960's series.

Throughout his history, Two-Face's face has been surgicacally repaired any number of times, but his mind remains damged and ultimately he tends to redamge his face to match.