TOTCU: Kick-Ass has a shiny new Green-Band trailer

Here's the new trailer for Kick-Ass:

The low-down on the plotline for those who don't know (or Mark Millar haters who don't WANT to know):

Kick-Ass tells the story of average teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), a comic-book fanboy who decides to take his obsession as inspiration to become a real-life superhero. As any good superhero would, he chooses a new name — Kick-Ass — assembles a suit and mask to wear, and gets to work fighting crime. There’s only one problem standing in his way: Kick-Ass has absolutely no superpowers. His life is forever changed as he inspires a subculture of copy cats, is hunted by assorted violent and unpleasant characters, and meets up with a pair of crazed vigilantes, including the 11-year-old sword-wielding dynamo known as Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) and her father, Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage).


Ok, my opinion. I believe this shows a film that will do what is says it does; Kick Ass. The action and the comedy seem to be solidly in place for some mindless free-for-all in a 'real world'. However, I am not convinced that it will be the wildest of rides, namely in involves the idea that Lizewski would instantly become a success (I DON'T READ COMICS, if this is a plot point, forgive me) and spawn copycats. The idea of subculture does highlight some cool mojo that could be in place here ala 'The Warriors' but what I really want to understand is that what obsticals does Kick-Ass have to actually face except the lack of powers.

Thinking about it, Batman doesn't have powers (they do mention Batman by the way in the trailer), which leads me to believe that in the trailer, this world has no concept of masked vigiligantism? Well, take a news report with some idiot in a costume (I am not talking about Fathers for Justice, they are not idiots) and there you go.

Problematic. As well as this, the first teaser highlighted it well: The Insanity Aspect. In a normal Superhero film, liberties are taken with this aspect. Helps with my theory of why the Punisher films never succeed as one of its ingredients. We have seen in the trailer, Big Daddy and Hit Girl are fully capable of destorying opponants and it might look cool but 1.) Two distinct personalities of a father and daughter and 2.) A FATHER AND DAUGHTER INVOLVED IN WHOLESALE KILLING. I am alright with this aspect of unbelievablity but I cannot really get into the idea that they are trying to make it realistic but not actually showing the real insanity that these characters have (minus Kick-Ass).

But really, if I don't think about it, it will be a fun film for... all the men in life (and women, because they have to put a kissing scene in a fraction of a second to keep the girls happy and allow their boyfriends to take them. Can't people stop with that? RANT ON I mean, come on, women do not always need that type of stupid mockery. Of course do it for a RomCom because you expect it, but for this type of film, that is just being biased to societal mistreatment. RANT OVER).

Brainless but fun. Synder and Tarantino would be proud with its overstylization and reckless violence (and in the case of Synder, needless), and could be a fun ride to see in the cinema.

Performance wise, I actually enjoy it and I love the inclusion of Mark Strong as the villian for he is one of the best character actors working today and Nicolas Cage is getting better again until Season of the Witch comes out and reminds people of how bad he is sometimes. The main role looks like a career making start and generally, the character seems like the nicest guy to start knowing outside of a criminal situation. Maybe in a comic book shop.

I could not get a good hook onto the other characters but stock friends help in a respect to the pathelic character, and Hit Girl seems like a one-note joke that every fanboy will go mental for.

All in all: SEE.

I SUMMON FLIP THE PAGE FOR HIS OPINION (if he has time, and I did promise a cookie)

*SHAZAM*

SOCKAMAGEE! Turns out that as well as being a revived Black Lantern, noir-style mutant detective AND a comics critic I'm also CAPTAIN MARVEL!

*ahem* Anyway, I'm here for once (on my OWN SITE?! Say it ain't so!) to throw in the comics fan's opinion on this stuff. What can I say? I've never read Kick-Ass out of a want to A) not risk the sort of Millar error that can happen with crap like Wanted and B) it helps to not read a comic before the movie version. only bad things can happen. So it's with a relatively uninformed mind that I can say that this is pretty bloody cool.

It has that dangerous element in making a comic book fan the centrepiece of the story, something that can either lead to great empathy on the viewer's part or the feeling that you're being horribly insulted throughout with how our horrific community is represented. Thankfully from the new trailer this is looking more like the former and less like Superboy Prime levels of hate. Whether the film maintains this is the crucial point in whether this will go down as a classic or as just another offensive action wank-fest.

Not that wank-fest is the best choice of words here, because the most significant girl role is the horror that is Hit Girl. It's not that there's anything in particular about a swearing ultra-violent kid that puts me off this movie except EVERYTHING ABOUT HER! I get that it's supposed to offend my sensibilities but it comes off as the sort of juvenile crap that most people think goes hand in hand with a 'mature' comic nowadays.

But then despite those gripes this looks genuinely good. It looks like it falls somewhere in between the Fox side of things where everything is changed to the point of barely resembling the source material and the Snyder side of things where it's so exact that the fun is taken out of the movie for the most part. And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is the place that any comic book movie would want to be.

That and Nicholas Cage actually seems to be good in the trailer, which is bloody unprecedented for this decade!

Now I must fly off to help fight off the waves of bad characterisation coming from the realms of comicdom and to... attempt to write my own articles instead of piggybacking off of my dear regular guest writer. CAPTAIN MARVEL AWAY!

The One They Call Unusual: GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra Review

Flip-The-Page-Note: wow look a new article by THE ONE THEY CALL UNUSUAL. In this case however I'm trying a new method, wherein this blog has the opening paragraphs, then if you enjoy the content you jump over to his site to read the rest (and the same opening). Let's see how well this works!

(The One They Call Unusual Note: just so that it appears on this side as well as the other side, a shout out to Lee Byung-hun. He had the best acting out of the whole cast and was awesome in this film, and yes, this is a plug due to the fact that he is even more awesome in ‘The Good The Bad The Weird’. Seriously, if you want a Korean action western film and don’t mind subtitles, go for this! It’s awesome)

When I first saw the trailer of this film, I thought to myself it was undeniably stupid, probably badly acted and the CGI was not that great at all. Unlike the first Transformers film (the second one was far away worse than this), was the proof that is in the pudding that was being shown in the trailer, that plastic dolls can make a good film? The trailer said no. Bratz the movie proved this as well. DON'T WATCH THE BRATZ FILM!

Really, this movie has it all, ninjas, swords, ships, guns, ladies but it didn’t seem right… the suits in the trailer made it all the more cheesy, the plot was suspect and the overall feeling was that this film was written by the writers of Demolition Man, and that this was another Michael Bay film.

Here’s the plot if you really want it (courtesy of Paramount, Hasbro, and Spyglass Entertainment); From the Egyptian desert to deep below the polar ice caps, the elite G.I. JOE team uses the latest in next-generation spy and military equipment to fight the corrupt arms dealer Destro (McCullen actually) and the growing threat of the mysterious Cobra organization to prevent them from plunging the world into chaos.

Like destroying the Eiffel Tower. Chaos. Blowing up a forest in a fictional country. That type of chaos.

Threats include really explosive guns, hardened suits, Marlon Wayans and explosions… and those are just the Joes.

Turbo Man Tells YOU TO JUMP ONTO 'THE ONE THEY CALL UNUSUAL''S WEBSITE!

Lazy Sundays #3: Fox Executive!

This Lazy Sunday comes from occasional writer and film aficionado Milan.

He asked a fair amount of time back what I would do if I was a Fox executive for the day. To add the obvious comic twist I'm an executive trying to salvage Fox from their awful attempts at comic book movies.

So here's a step by step guide to what I'd end up doing as a Fox Exec:

• Curl up and cry that I'm stuck in the worst company for comic book adaptations.
• Wish I was remaking Tank Girl or some similar, actually awesome, movie.
• Cancel the Magneto movie.
• Whip Jennifer Garner and tell her never to play a ninja assassin ever again.
• Kill EVERYONE.
• Personally apologise to Alan Moore for the LXG film.
• Cry more.
• Allow Marvel to have a majority of creative control over the X-Men: First Class movie.
• Watch Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and laugh.
• Feel better.
• Realise Fox weren't trying to make a comedy.
• Cry More.
• Announce intent to use the X-Men license for good movies.
• Follow this up by selling self and X-Men license back to Marvel for pittance.
• Make an X-Factor Investigations television program following relevant Uncanny X-Men material being used for a new trilogy of GOOD X-Men movies based around the introduction of the Uncanny X-men (First class will cover the original line-up), Days of Future Past/stuff like Beast's secondary evolution, and finally Grant Morrison's New X-Men.
• Now free from Fox's grasp, prepare all Marvel owned heroes with movies for House of M, the penultimate film in the Mutants franchise and a HUGE stepping stone in all other movies.
• Make a final X-Men movie, Decimation, which will tie in with the X-Factor Investigations tv show.
• Kill Michael Bay
• Laugh
• Die
• Return from the dead with Phoenix powers
• Turn real world into a twisted and far more hopeless version of 'Dark Phoenix Saga'
• Realise I'm not a woman and look retarded in the Phoenix costume.
• End universe

And that's that. The weekend has been kinda empty updates wise, blame that on me going to the beach too long today. Quick-Fire Reviews before the night is out, maybe the Top Five?

It doesn't matter too much you're not impatient people. Just voiceless tiny amounts of people.

The One They Call Unusual: Green Lantern Actors

THE GREEN LANTERN FILM IS COMING SOON. But who should be playing the main role?

Welcome to a shameless plug for my blog that is coming up (more details after the jump). I might periodically appear in these hallowed comic halls when something film (or television) related in the comic world appears, but for the meantime, read and enjoy my mind dribble.

(Note to y’all: I BARELY KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT COMIC BOOKS. Seriously. What I DO know is film and television. And some sports.)

Green Lantern, one of DCs most famous comic book heroes. With the use of his power ring, he defeats villains, be they domestic, foreign or even out of this world (in the literal sense and dimensionally speaking of course) with a great control on the physical as long as he has the willpower.

Ok, this film could have its challenges; Green Lantern is also a glorified policeman, belonging to the Green Lantern Corps (so... Green Lantern isn't even a hero name but a job title?), and at times, depending when he was written, he is defeated by the colour yellow or anything wooden. Right... they're not all that scary or life threatening.

When the Dark Knight came out (as well as Iron Man) Hollywood, specifically DC's sister company Warner Bros., came to a realisation. Warner decided after the Dark Knight, they wanted to actually make comic book films that don't have heroes with the word man in their names. So here we are, wondering when or where this film will appear and with what tone.

-2011 is the date this mother will be whipped out.

-Tone? Yeah, Dark Knight = $. Dark means to Warner = $. So, it can be dark or light (Iron Man light, not Spider-man emo angst). So we don’t even know who this is even aimed at, as the character doesn't shout out DARK as much as goofy and cocky. So it could be good, it could be bad in this respect.

This is where the casting begins. They can choose the actor, then they'll find the aim of the story and the vision. The reason this is important is that it could judge how the film is going to be and how it is going to be seen by viewers. I haven’t read the script so all we have is a date and a probable budget of $150 million, easily.

Let's get started.




Bradley Cooper as... Hal Jordan.


Should I just say it? He is one of the main attractions of The Hangover, the alcoholic comedy about a stag night gone wrong. While he is not the main star of the actual storyline, his presence means that he could well become the next thing in Hollywood: Funny Pretty Boy. Ryan Reynolds counts as well. But comedy will not be the main attraction to star in this beast; it's action packed manic goodness with comedy added in. His role in ‘He’s Not That Into You’ does not inspire hope. However, Robert Downey Jr. was an interesting choice.

Now that he is starring in the A-Team film (Ed-note: AS FACE?! HELL'S YEAH! *ahem* sorry I won't interrupt...), we cannot say if he will star in this or even be able to, but if we did it would be okay casting, not brilliant, not interesting. Why not? Well, if we look at his Filmography and his television work we find that in his roles he's the cocky guy that entertains us, much like Vince Vaughn, but action wise? Can he look kick-ass? We may never know.

Verdict (Out of Four Stars): **


Common as... John Stewart.



He at least has screen presence for a rapper. I cannot say he is a great actor or even a bad one because in his roles I find him mostly silent. He mysteriously refrains from taking on dialogue heavy roles in films so we can't determine his talent, but his presence in the role of John Stewart (sorry but I just keep on imagining Common in a biopic about Jon Stewart, it makes me laugh) could mean a fun action film is present in the role he'd take.

However, what we could find is with Common, lacking in range at present, is that comic elements will probably be absent from his skill set. While it is okay to have just action and ‘pathos’, a lot of people enjoyed Iron Man for the combination of the comic to the dramatic. Without this it might be a betrayal of the character, but then this is Hollywood and they do this for the money. The Dark Knight made a heck load with big themes and dark atmosphere, but does not mean it will work with the Green Lantern. As well as this, this is only one version of the Green Lantern, and the script supposedly uses Hal Jordan, a white guy.

You never know, but I am interested, so let’s see if he can do a bit more light-hearted stuff than Terminator Salvation.


Verdict (Out of Four Stars): ***


Chris Pine as… Hal Jordan



Well, Captain Kirk wants to set sail on another franchise (if this doesn’t die the same death as Daredevil), so they might give him this one (this is the strongest candidate). Pine proved that he can fulfil the cocky/dramatic quota to the tee, however we get into another problem (Ed-note: "Yeah we do!" AHAHAHAHA *is punched* Sorry, sorry).

With two very similar characters we might say that Pine might get into trouble with this; while Robert Downey Jr. actually could change his range to fit the mold of the character, Pine will have to contend with the fact that with these two heroes, we will have a case of the mild but deadly déjà vu (just ask Christian ‘SHOUTOUTINGRUFFVOICE’ Bale). If Pine succeeds, it will be because the public enjoy the way he acts but it will become tiresome in the near future, but heck that is what the future can worry about!

Verdict (out of Four Stars): ***1/4


Sam Rockwell as… Guy Gardner



Just look at the guy’s work. He’s brilliant. But then he isn’t a star and a bit older though. That sucks.

Verdict: ***3/4











Matthew McConaughey as… anyone but John Stewart



Well well well, he has the charm, I'll give him that but it would be a bad decision to go with the orange man (just look at that tan!). Also his charm might be good but too laid back for the role. As well as this, in Sahara (one of his action films I've seen), he fails to prove that he could actually be serious (the less we talk about the rom-coms, the better humanity will be for it)
(Picture of something horrific but funny possibly)

SQUIDS IN NEW YORK! DESTORYING YOUR MINDS AND EATING YOUR SOULS!

Verdict: *... bitch.

One more to add to the list of likely Lantern heads


Jack O’Lantern as… The Green Lantern.



Perfect for Halloween, not for much else.

No, this is the real final pick:

Nathan Fillion as… Hal Jordan.

You've seen the videos, you've seen Firefly (or at least Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place), you know he can handle action, cockiness, fanboy frenzy as well as being handsome for the ladies. You have seen the fake trailer, and it just feels right. If Sam Rockwell was younger, I would have chosen him, but Fillion is the natural choice.


Here’s the link to those of you who didn’t see it.

Verdict: ****.


You got an idea? Write them down before you explode into a furious rampage of fire in the comment box.

This is The One They Call Unusual (Milan).

MORE CHANGES!

Sick of these changes yet? ME NEITHER! This time we're welcoming someone who knows next to nothing about comics.

"Buh-whaaaa?!" I hear you cry! Well fear not strange noise making people! For what this person doesn't know about comics he certainly knows about film. He even has his own (soon to be revived) awesome film blog! So it's with great pleasure that I welcome The One They Call Unusual, MILAN!

There totally isn't a pattern in me defacing people's photos here.

Anyway, Milan will be bringing us interesting comic book movie (or movies related to comics) material, starting with a snazzy who's who of Green Lantern candidates for the (eventually) upcoming film! Expect that soon enough (he's finished it, I'm just a crappy ass editor) and look forward to his future work.


Extra news: I was going to do my Quick-Fire Reviews earlier in the week but have been sluggishly trying to do some edits to the site. Expect them tonight, save me being worse than usual.