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MOVIES

Hero Express: Thanos Confirmed, Max Landis on Vigilant, & Thor 2 & Kick-Ass 2 Set Photos

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Welcome back to the Hero Express, your one-stop sometimes SPOILER filled shop through the top five stories in comic based Film & TV news!

Chris Hemsworth & Jaimie Alexander on set of Thor 2: The Dark World!

When I first heard that Alan Taylor (Game Of Thrones, Rome) was going to direct Thor: The Dark World I like many others were hoping that he would add some of the realism of his previous work to the project. The images below do not disappoint, and coincides with Alan Taylor’s previous thoughts on a “more tangible” and “more organic feel” for Asgard. These set pics certainly show a part of the grand scale he is going for.

There are a lot more images in the slideshow at the bottom of the page.. We also have the official plot description for Thor: The Dark World:

Exploring Thor’s relationship with the Asgardian all-father Odin, as well earthbound companion Jane Foster, “Thor: The Dark World” follows the God of Thunder to The Nine Realms beyond Asgard and earth. And as his evil half-brother, Loki, returns for Asgardian justice, a new threat rises. Also rejoining Thor are his fellow Asgardians, Lady Sif, gatekeeper Heimdall and Warriors Three, as they encounter mythical Norse creatures among evildoers.

“Thor: The Dark World” stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Jaimie Alexander, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Stellan Skarsgard, Ray Stevenson, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Rene Russo, with Alice Krige & Kat Dennings. And Alan Taylor (“Game of Thrones”) takes over directorial duties from Kenneth Branagh, who helmed the first “Thor” film. From a screenplay by Don Payne and Robert Rodat, “Thor: The Dark World” is set for release on November 8, 2013.

Images and Plot via [Slash Film & Uproxx]

We also managed to find this video showing some more images and suggest some theories as to what they might represent.

Video via [IGN]

Drew Goddard Wants a Marvel Movie… But Who Doesn’t?

The Cabin in the Woods director has recently shown interest in directing a Marvel film if the opportunity arises. This isn’t necessarily the most shocking news because I and every other nerd around would kill for that opportunity. But considering some of his powerful friends (Damon Lindelof, J.J. Abrams, Spielberg, Joss Whedon) and the success of this years The Cabin in the Woods, his interest in a Marvel film could very easily turn into something serious.

These are his words at an interview with ShockTillYouDrop:

“What Marvel character would I not love to get on? That’s an easier question to answer. I would love any of it and I love Marvel, Joss and what they’re doing. It’s all about finding the right fit. Directing…in order to do your job right, you have to find ways to make it personal, and if we can find the right fit, then I would love to do it.”

Thanos Confirmed For Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers 2

Filming on Iron Man 3 is underway and coming out next year, production on Thor: The Dark World has started filming in England as we just told you, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier is set to start production next March.  That will mean Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers 2 will be the final two films of the Phase Two line-up. Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man should be able to come to production next year …hopefully.

This ugly mug above from what we can gather will be in both The Avengers 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy. Whether that is a small cameo or the main villain is yet to be revealed. My theory at this point is that Thanos will be a small cameo in GotG where we get a first taste of Marvel’s space opera which has been talked about in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before, but I think the main villain will be someone else. The Avengers 2 will probably have the big scary Thanos as a threat to be dealt with by Earths Mightiest Heroes. Just my theory as to what direction they will be taking the Phase Two and where Thanos will play into that.

Feige has all but said Thanos is in the movie.

Now we learn that not only will the Mad Titan Thanos be featured in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie — but The Avengers 2 as well.

We previously reported that Thanos creator Jim Starlin was in talks with Marvel about “something,” with it theorized that it was over the rights to Thanos.

Now, a Cosmic Book News regular, Armand Rock, has confirmed through Jim Starlin that Thanos will be in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie and The Avengers 2.

via [Cosmic Book News]

Max Landis Brings Vigilant to Fox

You know Max Landis, the Chronicle writer and son of the great John Landis (The guy who has done pretty much everything). It looks like he will be getting a new TV Show on Fox. Vigilant will also be produced by Howard Gordon (24, Homeland), and is a police drama featuring a crime fighting vigilante. On Monday, it was revealed that Fox has officially picked up the show.

The basic premise of Vigilant is this: a 20-year old, female “social outcast” becomes a vigilante in order to take down criminals and corrupt police officers. Before bringing up the failure that was The Cape, know that Landis doesn’t think of Vigilant as a superhero show. “Vigilant comes at the whole equation of what a “vigilante” in a very different way, the writer recently tweeted. “It has more in common with The Wire than Smallville.” Several tweets like the one quoted were posted by Landis in the wake of the Fox announcement hoping to convince everyone that his show won’t simply be a superhero tale.

I really liked Chronicle and the way Landis represented the human side of the character. I hope he brings this skill of character development to the small screen with him. The show has great potential but also comes with some competition this year from a couple of potential superhero based shows like Joss Whedon’s S.H.I.E.L.D. and FX’s long in production Powers. Then there is the fact that it is being produced by Fox, which I don’t have a problem with but I do worry that they may just cancel if it doesn’t instantly become a hit.

News via [Geek Exchange]

Kick Ass 2 Set Photos: Jim Carrey, Donald Faison, and Bad Touching?

Well, we have yet another anticipated super hero film with a butt load of Kick-Ass 2 set photos (Butt, ass…Okay, not my best work). But still we get to see the main cast and finally get to see what all the new additions look like. Noticeably we have Doctor Gravity, Mother Russia and Colonel Stars.

Why is Hit-Girl kissing Kick-Ass?
Donald Faison as Doctor Gravity
Olga Kurkulina as Mother Russia

AND JIM CARREY AS COLONEL STARS!

Photos via [Uproxx] Here’s a few more from [Bleeding Cool]:

Lindy Booth as Night Bitch

And that’s it for this week’s Hero Express! Be sure to check out more here, maybe look at a little Comic Rack, you have the time.

Don’t be afraid to sound off in the comments section below!

MOVIES

Naziploitation Film Reviews: Iron Sky

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In the year 2018, a promotional space shuttle flies out to the moon to – well, to do some promoting, what else? However when they arrive they notice that a huge base has been constructed by the Nazi party (who fled there after the war).  One astronaut meets a sticky end (loses his brains through the back of his spacesuit), but the remaining astronaut is captured. The Nazis believe this man is the leader of the mission but in fact he is a black model named James Washington, which confuses the Nazis and makes them wonder if they are under attack from united forces. To keep him on their side they turn James Arian, which sucks for him, as now his skin is bleached white. He is obviously not best pleased but it’s either this or death so he plays along. Finding out that Washington’s phone battery can charge their death ship the Gotterdammerung, officers Renate Richter (earth expert) and Klaus Adler (wannabe ruler), with white Washington in tow, go to Earth to see if America is planning an act of aggression and to nick some phone batteries.

Continue reading Naziploitation Film Reviews: Iron Sky →

MOVIES

Grizzly Review: The Hole

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It’s been nine years since Joe Dante has directed a movie (2003’s Looney Tunes: Back in Action), and he hasn’t made a good movie since 1998’s Small Soldiers (another quick side note, if anyone ever insults Small Soldiers in my presence, you will not be pleased with the consequences; that is all) [Editor’s Note: That movie sucked. Do something.] Dante’s claim to fame was and always will be the classic 1984 horror/comedy Gremlins. Sure, by that time he had already directed the Jaws spoof Piranha, but Gremlins was really the thing that put him in the mainstream.

After that, he just kind of dropped off the face of the Earth. While he still directed some stuff, including 1990’s Gremlins 2: The New Batch, looking at his career, is there honestly one film that was as good as the original Gremlins? The ‘Burbs? Runaway Daughters? Matinee? All entertaining movies, sure, but not classic. [Editor’s Note: The ‘Burbs IS a classic. Consider that a correction.] Now, a decade after Dante’s last film, audiences are given The Hole, a blood and gore-lite horror film aimed at the bravest tween viewers.

Dane (Chris Massoglia) has just moved to the small town of Bensonville with his mother, Susan (Teri Polo), and his brother, Lucas (Nathan Gamble). Coming from Brooklyn, Dane and his family have moved around the country multiple times for his mother’s job, and have settled in Bensonville so she can work at a nearby hospital. Initially dreading his new life there, he soon meets his next door neighbor, the cute and fun, Julie (Haley Bennett).

The two become friends after Lucas discovers a mysterious hole in the basement. Guarded by numerous padlocks, the ominous pit has no apparent end. Anything that is dropped into the hole is immediately sucked in and never seen again. Spending most of their days attempting to figure out the origin and power of the hole, Dane, Lucas and Julie experience strange phenomena that tap into their deepest and darkest fears. It’s only after the sudden appearance of a little girl who climbs out of the hole do they realize that it’s the source of their fear and they have to stop it before any other malevolent spirits make their way out.

As one could theorize, The Hole essentially, The Door to Hell is In My Basement: The Movie. Julie even points this out at one point during the movie, something that validated my skepticism throughout. Aimed at a younger audience, The Hole is, for the most part, a pretty routine exercise for horror fans, but serves as a great introduction for children in their young adolescence, especially ones that have taken an interest in what goes bump in the night.

Treating its prepubescent with a little more respect than most kids’ movies do, The Hole can’t help but sometimes feel like a Nickelodeon Halloween special with a couple extra swear words. The characters aren’t written thinly, so to speak, but they’re written with an immediate sense of familiarity and predictability. We know this story, we know where it’s going, and we know how it’s going to end. Despite an initially original premise, The Hole is slowed down substantially by its insistence on appealing to a younger audience.

Joe Dante is a pretty good director, and there are some genuinely creepy moments in this movie, but as soon as things get a little too intense, a quick jump scare pulls whatever character that is in peril, out of said peril, and quickly moves on to the next scene. For instance, a wonderfully shot bathroom sequence that could have ended with something terrifying is cut short by a group of girls that walk in at just the right moment, literally tearing through the tension with their presence. The Hole is filled with moments like this and by the film’s 60th minute, it became a little annoying.

Much like other PG-13 horror films, The Hole never reaches its true potential. Then again, some of the great horror films of the 2000s have been PG-13 and this movie isn’t much more than an attempt at scaring younger kids without really “scaring” them, if you know what I mean. But more than any of that, what makes The Hole so unsatisfying is that it’s not terrible and it’s not very good either, it’s mediocre and repetitive. When there are literally hundreds of horror movies out every year, being mediocre is no longer an option.

MOVIES

Dredd 3D – 2 AM Text Review

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My buddy Aaron is a bartender for a certain movie theater here in Michigan, and on occasion, the theater will have advanced employee screenings for movies the Wednesday night prior to the film’s release. These are his thoughts on DREDD…

Aaron: First of all, a drug that makes your brain thinks its moving at 1% of natural times gives a movie a chance for some pretty impressive camera work. – 1:40 AM

Aaron: Add in the fact that it’s 3D, even if it is just ok, makes it even more impressive. – 1:41 AM

Aaron: Great action, great acting by the leads (Urban, Thirlby, and Hedley), ehhhh acting by everyone else. – 1:43 AM

Aaron: Plot took some convincing with some of the attributes of the significant roles. I guess if it’s set in the future we’re supposed to believe anything. – 1:46 AM

Aaron: Go see see it. I’ll give it 4 out of 5 Dredds Boob count: kinda 2…? It was blurry and in the background and real quick. Coulda used some slo-mo. – 1:53 AM

Aaron: Now hook me up with a picture of me in a Dredd helmet! Halloween is coming and I need some motivation.  – 1:53 AM