Long title is long, but I have a bunch of news and new images on our favorite childhood memores.
Wow! Alot of stuff happened in the movie buisness this past month. I guess the writers strike is finally forcing these hollywood fat cats to rush these final movies out, but is this going to flop, or will you be relieved to finally see you comic to movie adaption hit the big screen? Either way, don't fuck up my childhood!
On to the movies!
The Punisher : War Zone
The Plot : "Waging his one-man war on the world of organized crime, ruthless vigilante-hero Frank Castle sets his sights on overeager mob boss Billy Russoti. After Russoti is left horribly disfigured by Castle, he sets out for vengeance under his new alias: Jigsaw. With the "Punisher Task Force" hot on his trail and the FBI unable to take Jigsaw in, Frank must stand up to the formidable army that Jigsaw has recruited before more of his evil deeds go unpunished."
New Casting : "Ray Stevens as The Punisher, Dominic West, Doug Hutchinson, Colin Salmon, Wayne Knight, Dash Mihok and Julie Benz."
My Thoughts : I really loved the first Punisher movie, it was brutal, violent, and vengeful. Like the comics, Frank Castle loses his family
to a mob boss but unlike the comics the main character of this franchise now has a new face. I loved the actor they used in the first film and even
though they've switched him out for this badassery, I think the plot and the movie (like all sequels) can now go further into the Punisher
mythology now that the family has been murdered (as cool as that scene was) and The Punisher is now established. Rock on.
Speed Racer
The Plot : "Hurtling down the track, careening around, over and through the competition, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is a natural behind the wheel. Born to race cars, Speed is aggressive, instinctive and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized—the legendary Rex Racer—whose death in a race has left behind a legacy that Speed is driven to fulfill. Speed is loyal to the family racing business, led by his father, Pops Racer (John Goodman), the designer of Speed's thundering Mach 5. When Speed turns down a lucrative and tempting offer from Royalton Industries, he not only infuriates the company's maniacal owner (Roger Allam) but uncovers a terrible secret—some of the biggest races are being fixed by a handful of ruthless moguls who manipulate the top drivers to boost profits. If Speed won't drive for Royalton, Royalton will see to it that the Mach 5 never crosses another finish line. The only way for Speed to save his family's business and the sport he loves is to beat Royalton at his own game. With the support of his family and his loyal girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), Speed teams with his one-time rival—the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox)—to win the race that had taken his brother's life: the death-defying, cross-country rally known as The Crucible."
New Casting : "Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon and John Goodman, opens in theaters on May 9."
My Thoughts : Ok, so John Goodman, Christina Ricci, alot of A list actors we've grown up with are here. I loved Speed Racer as a kid, and these screens seem to be
giving this cartoon a very good adaption to screen. Not only that, but the Wachoski Brothers are directing this. The only problem I have is it's G rating, but seeing as how
I enjoyed this as a kid, hopefully this revives the series for kids this generation as well.
Batman : The Dark Knight
News to me : Holy hell, This guy is the luckiest person in the WORLD of ARG's. Unfortunately, you'll have to click the link to find out why, as I'm late to get out of work and believe me, it's a worth the quick 2 minute read. Let's just say he gets a present hand delievered from The Joker. [i]Thanks to D for the tip!)
The Plot : "He's Batman. Bitch."
New Casting : "Christian Bale, Christian Bale, Christian Bale, Christian Bale, and Health Ledger."
My Thoughts : "Two words. Christian Bale."
Dragon Ball Z
The Plot : "James Wong is directing the science fiction action-adventure, which centers on an adult humanoid alien named Goku (Chatwin) who, after discovering he was sent to Earth to destroy the population, tries to fulfill the wish of his dying grandfather and collect all seven of the world's mystical Dragon Balls to keep them out of the hands of the evil aliens."
New Casting : "Chung will play Chi Chi, the love interest of Goku when he's growing up. Marsters ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") plays the evil Piccolo, who tries to take over the world."
My Thoughts : I am a big DBZ head. I've seen all the different series, all the movies, the spin off of movies, and I even think there is a
part of the show when Goku learns the difference between women and men. Has anyone seen StormRiders? That's the closest thing I have to a DBZ
movie, and as cheesy as it was I liked it. If this movie is to do any justice, personally, it should take a note or two from that movie.
Iron Man
The Plot : "Based upon Marvel's iconic Super Hero, "Iron Man" tells the story of Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, Tony builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. Upon his return to America, Tony must come to terms with his past. When he uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armor and vows to protect the world as Iron Man."
New Casting : "Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub, Leslie Bibb, Bill Smitrovich, Nazanin Boniadi"
My Thoughts : I think this is right up there with Batman, truthfully. It is the second most anticipated superhero movie this summer, in this bloggers opinion.
G.I. Joe
New Casting : "/FILM has learned that Ray Park (Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, X-Men) has been cast as Snake Eyes in director Stephen Sommers' G.I. Joe, coming to theaters on August 7, 2009. Master ninja Snake Eyes is one of the original members and a key character in "G.I. Joe.""
The Plot : "From the Egyptian desert to deep below the polar ice caps, the elite co-ed GI JOE team, based from it’s headquarters The Pit, deploys the latest in next-gen spy and military equipment to fight crooked arms dealer Destro and the growing threat of the mysterious COBRA organization from plunging the world into chaos."
My Thoughts : Well alot of controversy surrounding this movie has diluded my hopes of this ever being a true adaption, Hasbro has assured us they won't rape
our childhood. I think the casting of Ray Park will further back their claims, since he was a bad ass Sith. Not too much light has been shed on this particular film, so
we'll just have to wait and see.
SO... sorry for so much mass media in this blog, but I had alot of catching up to do. I promise to keep updating the blogs with my movie filler crap, as long as you promise to pretend to care. I'd love
to talk to you guys and write in some more wall of text, but I should've left work 5 minutes ago.
Dude, I'm so pissed that Thomas Jane isn't back for The Punisher sequel. I thought the first one was pretty good, but I think that Jane should have stuck around for War Zone.
I heard that Thomas Jane didnt want to do another punisher movie because he didnt like the script and direction they were going in.
he wanted it to be a true adaptation to the comic books (he's a writer of his own comic book, Bad Planet i think.) and he felt he dissapointed all the fans of the franchise.
Funny how gamers with similar interests seem to be interested in the same things in other forms of media... I wasn't even really interested in Speed Racer until I saw the picture and read the John Goodman was going to be Pops... I lol'd. Christina Ricci helps too.
is it true that GI JOE (the american heroes) is going to be more of a UN style peacekeeping force to make it appeal to the international movie market? if this is true i am going to be very pissed
I'm not excited for Punisher 2 at all. The first one sucked. Travolta FTF.
Speed Racer looks decent but Emille Hirsch with that black wig/mop looks retarded. As does Racer X. Epic fail on the costumes there.
Dark Knight will be the best comic book movie ever made.
Dragon Ball will suck unless they manage to actually pull off the battles of the show with some style and finesse.
Iron Man will be a close second to Dark Knight in greatest comic book movies ever made. The suit looks ridiculous and from what has been shown it seems to be very close to the characters and feel of the comic (sans Iron Man's latest ventures, obviously).
GI JOE personally makes more sense to me as a UN-type peace-keeping force. It doesn't make sense that a team infiltrating countries and traveling the world wouldn't be comprised of foreign team members. Current world politics aside it MAKES SENSE. If you can't come to grips with that, then you're just dumb.
Overall, nice write up, just sucks some of the movies covered will be so poorly executed.
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The guy in the punisher picture looks like Steven Seagal.
Batman, Speed Racer, and Iron Man are the only things here worth my time. All others can go jump in a lake.
LEAVE MY CHILDHOOD ALONE!!!!
I was gonna say the same thing Shipero.
I want to see the DBZ movie just to see how they pull it off... thats gonna blow my mind
Poster for Batman is perfect. So excited! Also, Iron Man makes me happy for some reason. Probably just the shinyness.
Everything else......... eh. My old coworker did some car models for Speed Racer though!
Dude, I'm so pissed that Thomas Jane isn't back for The Punisher sequel. I thought the first one was pretty good, but I think that Jane should have stuck around for War Zone.
All of those movies have my attention,not so sure on the Punisher though...
At first i thought the guy in the punisher was steven segal. lol
Oh and Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face in The Dark Knight, is pure fucking casting genius.
Wait, snaileb, you liked the Punisher?
I heard that Thomas Jane didnt want to do another punisher movie because he didnt like the script and direction they were going in.
he wanted it to be a true adaptation to the comic books (he's a writer of his own comic book, Bad Planet i think.) and he felt he dissapointed all the fans of the franchise.
What Edarios said. Jane didn't approve of the script for War Zone. At all.
That, for me at least, is a major blow against the film.
Also, IRON MAN FTMFW.
sweet list of films to look out for
@blehman
i think he means this but besides that how can you not love Dolph?
Meh, teh Dolph one will always be the first one for me.
A Speed FUCKING Racer movie? Catch me as I swoon, gentlemen.
They are making a live action DBZ movie? God, that is going to be so much fail.
Good post, nice... nice. Nothing some of us didn't know already, BUT... I enjoyed reading this. WINtastic.
Funny how gamers with similar interests seem to be interested in the same things in other forms of media... I wasn't even really interested in Speed Racer until I saw the picture and read the John Goodman was going to be Pops... I lol'd. Christina Ricci helps too.
is it true that GI JOE (the american heroes) is going to be more of a UN style peacekeeping force to make it appeal to the international movie market? if this is true i am going to be very pissed
Let the raping continue!
I'm not excited for Punisher 2 at all. The first one sucked. Travolta FTF.
Speed Racer looks decent but Emille Hirsch with that black wig/mop looks retarded. As does Racer X. Epic fail on the costumes there.
Dark Knight will be the best comic book movie ever made.
Dragon Ball will suck unless they manage to actually pull off the battles of the show with some style and finesse.
Iron Man will be a close second to Dark Knight in greatest comic book movies ever made. The suit looks ridiculous and from what has been shown it seems to be very close to the characters and feel of the comic (sans Iron Man's latest ventures, obviously).
GI JOE personally makes more sense to me as a UN-type peace-keeping force. It doesn't make sense that a team infiltrating countries and traveling the world wouldn't be comprised of foreign team members. Current world politics aside it MAKES SENSE. If you can't come to grips with that, then you're just dumb.
Overall, nice write up, just sucks some of the movies covered will be so poorly executed.
Hi Snaileb!
It's good to see that Summa is playing Racer X.
And I hope that Iron Man is Marvel's cinematic answer to Batman. Please, please, please.
Haha, Speed Racer looks nuts. And why would it be anything other than G if it's true to the source?
Ray Park as Snake Eyes = FUCK YES.
As far a live-action DBZ, DO NOT WANT.
Good recap, since I stopped going to movie news sites I'm out of the loop on this stuff. This would be cool to do weekly.
Holy shit that Iron Man is fucking awesome holy dick.