There hasn’t been much news about Zack Snyder’s Superman movie, especially because he is busy promoting Sucker Punch at the moment. We have finally gotten word on what is perhaps the most important decision to be made about the latest Superman movie, who will be playing the iconic Man of Steel. Following in the footsteps of Brandon Routh and Christopher Reeve, Henry Cavill of The Tudors fame will be the next man to wear the big “S” on his chest.
Henry Cavill certainly has the chiseled good looks to play Superman, and he has shown that he has pretty good acting chops on The Tudors. The problem here is that Superman is such an iconic feature, and Christopher Reeve did such a good job portraying him. It will take a stellar performance for the legions of fanboys to accept Cavill as the new Superman. I believe Brandon Routh proved in Superman Returns that it is actually more the movie itself than the actor that will make or break Henry Cavill as Superman. A lame story that has Superman acting like a child abandoning wuss will not make people grow to like that character, even if the actor playing Superman was pretty darn good. Luckily Zack Snyder has been known to create some fairly entertaining movies, and one thing he is never short on is action. We can expect a more exciting Superman movie with Snyder at the helm, which will definitely help Henry Cavill in winning over fans.
A new phenomenon has hit the internet, one where people make trailers of popular movies, but replace the characters with old time actors. There have been some fine examples of these “premakes”, with trailers made for Up, Ghostbusters, The Empire Strikes Back, and many more. These videos can evoke a sense of nostalgia for recently released movies while allowing us to see a kind of “what if?” version of movies that have become a big part of popular culture. I will admit that I am not personally familiar with many of the old timey actors who are now in starring roles in some of my favorite movies, so I can’t really say how well they would actually fit these roles in the trailers. What I can say is that they create an entirely new feel for timeless classics, adding a little bit more timelessness to them. Check out a great example below with the Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back 1950′s version and see some more great premakes here.
After much speculation, Christopher Nolan has finally announced the villains that Batman will be facing in The Dark Knight Rises. Apparently Christopher Nolan is a fan of Humor District, as he has taken my advice and chosen Bane as one of the villains Batman will match wits with. Of course I fully support this decision, as I believe Bane is one character who has not been given his due recently. He is a villain who struck one of the most decisive blows against Batman in history, using his wits and considerable muscle mass to break not only Batman’s back, but his spirit as well. More recently he has been portrayed as a brainless heap of biceps, and don’t even get me started on the portrayal of Bane in Batman and Robin. Christopher Nolan has kept the Batman franchise grounded in reality, so it will be interesting to see his take on Bane. Will we see Tom Hardy bulk up like he did in Bronson? The one thing I feel confident saying is that we will see Bane’s more intellectual side.
The other big villain announcement was Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. It has long been rumored that Catwoman would be involved in The Dark Knight Rises, mainly because there needs to be a female interest for Bruce Wayne. This is Hollywood after all. Anne Hathaway seems to be a good choice for Catwoman AKA Selina Kyle. She is quite attractive and, more importantly, a good actress. Best of all, she is not Shia LaBeouf being cast as Robin or Eddie Murphy as Riddler. This news definitely indicates The Dark Knight Rises is moving in a very good direction. If Mr. Nolan needs any more ideas for The Dark Knight Rises, I am always willing to help.
The internet is a great place for artists to share their work and when that work happens to be custom made movie posters, we here at Humor District take interest. Sean Hartter happens to be making exactly that kind of art over at his blog, where it just so happens you can buy prints of said movie posters. Many of his movie posters take great movies and recasts them with different well known actors. The results vary, some of his actor choices make sense, while others are just absurd. They are all entertaining though. Here are some of my favorite movie posters by Sean Hartter:
Kill Bill Starring Marilyn Monroe and John Wayne
The Punisher Starring Jack Palance
Bizarro Starring Gary Busey
These examples should give you a general idea of Hartter’s work. If you find these as awesome as I do, make sure to get a couple prints and support an independent artist. You can even buy them for your favorite internet writer!
Gemma Arterton has joined Jeremy Renner on the cast of Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters as a very attractive Gretel. I also like to think she has made a mortal enemy in Hollywood in Eva Green, as this is the second role in a short time that Arterton has beaten Green out for. It is only a matter of time before those two settle their differences in the most epic mud wrestling match ever. But that is neither here nor there, the important part is we now know who will be doing the witch hunting as Hansel and Gretel.
As of now, Gemma Arterton has really just been an above average looking lady who has had bit roles in movies where she pretty much just stands around and looks good. Hopefully Hansel and Gretel will show off more of her actual acting skills. At the very least, she should be getting some more screen time. I don’t think it will take too much quality acting from Arterton or Jeremy Renner to make this an entertaining movie though, as the premise itself is already awesome. Basically the story is Hansel and Gretel decide if they can kill a witch when they are kids, why not choose the easy career path of killing witches as adults? It’s an interesting idea, and I expect a quirky movie to result. The only problem here is that there is a limited window for filming as Jeremy Renner has other projects going on, including the all important Avengers movie. This movie will really be the “wait and see” kind, it sounds interesting but who knows how it will actually turn out.
2010 has drawn to a close and many of us are still optimistic about our lists of resolutions. This is because a new year brings with it new possibilities and new hope. This year we will finally be able to shed those unwanted pounds. This year we will find true love. This year we will poop out diamonds and suddenly become irresistible to the opposite sex. Well, most of those resolutions will be abandoned by the end of the week, but one thing that can be said is 2011 should be a great year for movies, especially comic book movies. Even if you are perfect already and don’t have any changes to make in this coming year, you should still be looking forward to the rest of 2011 simply because of these movies.
Thor
We have already seen the trailer for Thor, and it looks amazing. Marvel has had some success with their superhero franchises, most notably with Iron Man and Spider-Man, and it definitely looks like Thor will add to that success. With big names such as Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins involved with Thor, it is very easy to be optimistic. Add the fact that Chris Hemsworth looks every inch the petulant but heroic God of Thunder and we should have an exciting movie on our hands.
Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger has been somewhat overshadowed by Thor, but it is Captain America who has more pressure to succeed. The reason for this is simple, all these Marvel movies are leading up to an Avengers movie that will feature many Marvel superheroes. As the title of his movie suggests, Captain America is an integral part of the Avengers team. I see no need to worry about the success of Captain America though, seeing Chris Evans battle Nazis as a patriotic super soldier should entertain every red, white, and blue blooded American.
Your Highness
Simply put, Your Highness looks like it will be the funniest movie of 2011. Danny McBride and James Franco form a great comedy duo, as shown briefly in Pineapple Express. It will also help that David Gordon Green, the director of Pineapple Express, will also be directing Your Highness. Sure, this is a crude type of humor, finding comedy in masturbation jokes and foul language. That doesn’t make it less funny, and we will get to see Natalie Portman in a thong. It’s pretty much been decided that whatever movie she is in will become one of the most anticipated movies for that year.
The Hangover 2
In the running for comedy of the year will be The Hangover 2. Movies about guys getting drunk and doing ridiculous things relatively consequence free that we could never get away with in real life are always entertaining. What will make this movie great is the same thing that made the first one hilarious; the cameos. It is rumored that Ken Jeong and Mike Tyson will have repeat appearances, and Liam Neeson and Bill Clinton will be showing up to party as well. While there is controversy about Mel Gibson being dropped from the movie, I think Slick Willy will be plenty entertaining to make up for it.
Super 8
I’m not sure what I can say about Super 8 other than it is being directed by J. J. Abrams and it is about Area 51 in 1979. Those are about the only details of this movie that anyone knows at this point. Despite the lack of information, I dare you to watch this trailer and not agree that it is going to be awesome.
Green Lantern
I will admit that I am biased about Green Lantern. I am automatically assuming that Green Lantern will be awesome for several reason. First, I love comic books and Green Lantern is one of my favorite superheroes. Second, Ryan Reynolds is my man crush. With those two things combined, I can’t imagine anything resulting except for greatness. I am also pretty sure everyone else will enjoy Green Lantern because it is a movie about an intergalactic space cop hunting down alien criminals AKA the best idea anyone has ever had, ever.
Sucker Punch
Zack Snyder has gained a reputation for visually appealing and entertaining movies, and rightly so. Sucker Punch will add to that list of movies. The trailer has shown it will be stunning visually, and considering that it is basically Alice in Wonderland meets foxy boxing I don’t think the entertainment value will be anything to worry about. Any movie about a bunch of attractive and crazy girls trying to bust out of an asylum by fighting dragons, flying planes, and doing backflips in skimpy outfits will be pretty popular.
The Green Hornet
The biggest question about The Green Hornet is how believable Seth Rogen will be as a superhero. The part that people have to understand is that Seth Rogen won’t really be the superhero in the “guy who kicks a lot of ass” sense. Those ass kicking duties will be handled by Jay Chou as Kato, who will deliver many side flip kicks to the top of criminals’ heads. Seth Rogen is just the guy who funds the operation, has his heart in the right place, and will occasionally crack a joke or a bad guy’s skull. If people can accept this, than The Green Hornet will be a very entertaining action comedy. Plus it has the Black Beauty, one of the most awesome cars to ever be invented.
