Well, while most of us assumed that the mess that is A Good Day to Die Hard would be enough to put the once revered franchise out of its misery, it looks more like it’s gonna a X-Men 3 situation – they can’t end the franchise on that sour a note. Or that’s what I’d like to believe. Truth is despite bombing here in the states, the fifth Die Hard movie actually performed pretty well over seas, and that’s enough for FOX to move forward according to early reports.
Welcome back to the Hero Express, your one-stop sometimes SPOILER filled shop through the top stories in superhero comic based Film & TV news! Get comfortable, this week is a mega update covering a ton of movie news!
I’m a big fan of Horror. I think that it, along with Science Fiction, are the two most important genres in all of fiction, and that truly successful horror can encompass every other genre perfectly. It’s because more or less life is pretty horrifying when you think about it, and life holds all the genres in it at once, and in that way, life is just a long, protracted existential horror film we all live in real time. But enough philosophy, the real reason I’m writing this is to spread the word of Hellmouth. Which no, isn’t some kind of delightfully sexy demonic orifice which would grant you the literally most sinful pleasure imaginable, but rather a film.
Here’s Stephen McHattie dressed as a Vulcan for no real reason.
For those of you who aren’t familiar, Hellmouth is a film with a striking pedigree that has me captivated by its creators alone. It’s written by Tony Burgess, who wrote probably the most creative and inventive “zombie” film in the last decade, Pontypool. He’s now writing Hellmouth, which is being directed by John Geddes, who did 2011’s Exit Humanity, which I’ve heard nothing but good things about. Add to the fact that Stephen McHattie is in it and you’ve got me sold. Stephen McHattie is one of those criminally underrated actors, and I’ll never understand why he’s not more famous or used for more roles. You’d most likely recognize him as Nite Owl 1 from Watchmen, but it’s his standout performance in Pontypool that cemented him as a brilliant actor in my mind. As for Hellmouth itself? I’ll let the director state the intention of the film himself:
[quote]Per Director Geddes, “I wanted to create a story-driven film with fantasy and horror combined. Something that was directly inspired by the era of Hitchcock and even Ed Wood. Working with a writer like Tony Burgess was a pleasure as we both love the simplicity in many of the old classic films of the 50′s and 60′s, and even earlier in films like Nosferatu and Faust. We worked really hard to make Hellmouth something fresh.”[/quote]
[one_half]I’m always all for throwback horror, but I’m more interested in seeing any trailers or previews for this film, because the name alone is enough to captivate me, not to mention the talent behind it. There currently is an Indiegogo fundraiser thing for it currently however. The preview on it isn’t exactly a preview of the film per se, because it’s mostly unfinished and going through extensive post-production. There’s a few neat glimpses of things that will be in the movie though. Monsters and some stills of Stephen McHattie being badass.
The problem is I rarely can find myself caring enough about crowdfunded projects to give a damn, probably because I’m very cheap. For example, I’m a huge Veronica Mars/Kristen Bell fan, but I didn’t donate to the Kickstarter for the new movie, because I’d rather spend my money on useless crap or alcohol. As for Hellmouth, If it actually turns out to be about demonic sex mouths that taunt you into having oral sex with them until you’re full of dick-sin… Holy S***! Sadly, I don’t think that’s exactly “50’s” in its feel. But, now I have a great new idea to add to my script! Thanks, Hellmouth! [/one_half]http://www.indiegogo.com/project/346765/widget/3146077
I think the most interesting thing about all the clips and previews we’ve seen from the new Star Trek movie is definitely Benedict Cumberbatch. Not just in a “Oh who is he?” sort of way, (although GODDAMMIT WHO IS HE?!), but more in that he’s probably the best actor of the bunch, with the possible exception of Karl Urban. I say Karl Urban, because I defy you to watch Dredd and think that dude pulled off the most menacing and accurate portrayal of Judge Dredd, all only using the lower half of his face. That’s irrelevant though, because the real meat and bones here is the fancy new clip we have of Benedict acting circles around Chris Pine. Probably because of his soothing, baritone voice and limey accent. Those brits always have inherently more authoritative voices don’t they? Here, judge for yourself:
There’s been talk about the “villain in a glass cage” trope that’s being used here, but I don’t really find that all that interesting or revelatory. Tropes exist and will continue to do so. The creation of a new one isn’t anything to be particularly surprised about, unless for some terrible reason anal-eel interrogations become a new movie trope, and every movie has a scene with a good guy getting violated anally by writhing eels while the villain taunts and cackles from the darkness. Is that how Zero Dark Thirty started? I know there was an interrogation scene somewhere… Oh god I hope my horrific prediction hasn’t come true! HOLLYWOOD, NO ANAL EEL INTERROGATION SCENES PLEASE!
Well to get that awful image out of your head, here’s a few new posters featuring Chekov and Scotty via Moviefone. Frankly I find that Chekov adorable. Much more adorable that Walter Koenig ever was. Granted Koenig was amazing in his role, but have you seen him lately? So not adorable anymore.
Oh and lastly, a friend of mine was browsing through a bookstore and found a new Star Trek novel, where the cover art is strangely drawn so that Kirk looks halfway between Shatner and Pine and the more I look at it the more convinced I am it’s ripping my sanity in half.
Marvel’s Phase 2 is swinging into action, with the impending release of Iron Man 3, which kicks off this year’s Summer Schedule, and now the release of the first trailer for the 2nd Thor movie – Thor: The Dark World. This will be the first Non-Iron Man sequel (cause we’re ignoring Ang Lee’s Hulk) and will be followed by Cap 2, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the 2nd Avengers movie.
News on James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy is in high demand these days, and with much of the team cast already, every new bit keeps adding to the increasingly more interesting part of Marvel’s Phase 3. The most recent casting announcement also revealed a new character who may or may not be a villain in the 2014 film, but we’ll get to that part soon.
Grizzly Bomb 