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June in Review

It’s been a heck of a month. It has also been while since I’ve done one of these “wrap up” posts, which are probably more for myself than for anybody else, when I pop onto the blog in my old age and want to laugh at what a foolish young man I was with all manner of crazy and poorly-thought-out ideas. So I try to post one of these at the end of point out some of the stuff that I wrote that I’m kinda happy with – the stuff that I might want to read first if I ever look back on this so I don’t despair of the man I was. Or some nonsense like that.

Anyway, just last night I was delighted to submit a last-minute article on Transformers 3 to the superb Morality Bites blogathon. It’s always great to be asked to take part, even if I’m rarely the most organised person taking part.

Anyway, this was the month when I was lucky enough to end up on the IMDb Hit List twice… in the space of a single week. I still can’t understand how that happened, but am genuinely humbled by it. As I’ve said before, it’s an honour to be noticed by the kinda people who love what you love – it’s a huge source of pride that the on-line film resource thought that my hastily-collected gibberish was worthy of attention, and I am still a little bit giddy and star-struck. There’s nothing like being acknowledged by the guys who do what you do… but 1,000,000x better. Sorry, this is a long rambling waffle.

The first post to be selected was a post on this year’s Comic Con that wondered if the move away from the event could foreshadow a fading interest in the geek audience

Then, a few days later, I happened to get up there again for a piece I am honestly glad that people noticed, something about Pixar. Because I genuinely love Pixar, and I don’t get to talk about them often enough. And because Cars 2 is getting a lot of criticism, and sometimes I worry we ignore the really good stuff in life…

… I was especially honoured when the wordpress team also freshly pressed the very same article. The guys are exceedingly wonderful to let myself and all the other bloggers a platform to share our (sometimes haphazardly formed) thoughts with the world, and it’s really great when they do notice something you’ve written. It’s good to know that maybe the people who work hard to offer you a service like this one got a little enjoyment from your effort – like you’re giving a very tiny something back. It is an absolute joy to be listed in such a way.

But that’s the end of the month. Plenty of stuff happened before hand.  I was really looking forward to Green Lantern, only to be a little let down by it. I also wrote a geeky article for another site I occasionally write for about the links between Grant Morrison and Christopher Nolan’s Batman, which I’m also a little bit geeky proud of.

Outside of nerdy stuff, I wondered about classic films I hadn’t seen (one (and a bit) to cross off: Apocalypse Now and Apocalypse Now Redux), and if even a great film can be far too long. Oh, and when we start thinking of the family of famous celebrities as their own individuals rather than extensions of their relatives.

So, it was an awesome month. I can only hopt the next is nearly half as good.

The Mustache Must Dash: Random Thoughts on Green Lantern’s Facial Hair…

I’d like to take a moment to deflect attention away from the disappointing quality and box office returns on Green Lantern, and focus on a matter much more serious and important. You see, I noticed the most peculiar thing. The cast of Green Lantern features two major supporting players with that most oft-maligned piece of facial hair: the mustache. It strikes me as quite strange in this day and age (at least outside of National Mustache Month) to see so many key players wearing that delightfully old-fashioned piece of facial hair.

In fairness, their mustaches are the first indications that they're evil...

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Something Sinestro This Way Comes…

Note that this article contains spoilers for Green Lantern. So I waited until the movie was released to post it. They aren’t exactly huge spoilers, but consider yourself warned.

It really doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell that Sinestro is going to end up evil. Created in the sixties, the character was introduced to fans as a rogue Green Lantern, so he wasn’t ever designed to be seen as a good guy in four-colour style. In fact, the guy is red, has an evil moustache and is played by Mark Strong. Although the name Sinestro could arguably refer to the fact he wears his ring on his left hand, it isn’t exactly a name that inspires implicit trust. So his path to the dark side in the intended-franchise-launcher Green Lantern shouldn’t be a surprise.

However, it really demonstrates a lot of the key flaws with the movie.

Not quite mellow yellow...

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Non-Review Review: Green Lantern

Green Lantern is solidly middle of the road as far as superhero movies go. Perhaps in a less crowded (and less high quality) summer action season it would seem a stronger contender, but the film really shows as Warner Brothers’ first major attempt to produce a big-budget superhero film not directly related to Superman or Batman. It’s perfectly functional, managing to do everything it sets out to in a relatively efficient manner, but there’s never really a sense that the film exists as anything more than a series of plot points that need be checked in order for the movie to cross the finish line. Given the potential of the source material, as well as its relatively unique nature amongst the slew of generic superheroes, a functioning and formulaic adventure can’t help but feel like a bit of a disappointment.

Hal Jordan: Space Cop? It has a nice ring to it...

Note: We also have an introduction to the Green Lantern mythos available, if you’re interested in checking it out.

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Green Lantern’s Light: Why I’m Holding Out For a Hero…

You know, I’m actually really impressed with how this summer’s slate of superhero-themed blockbusters are coming together. Despite fears about market saturation, I honestly think that the four big pictures this summer offer enough distinct flavour to avoid generation some superhero fatigue coming in. X-Men: First Class is a Cold War Civil Rights action adventure. Thor the story of a god, humbled. Captain America: The First Avenger is a bit of pulpy history set against a World War II backdrop. Green Lantern is an epic space opera about an intergalactic police squad. There’s enough variety there that it isn’t just wave after wave of people in silly costumes.

Still, Green Lantern holds particular interest to me. It’s been interesting to watch the buzz on-line, following the seemingly disappointed first trailer through the four minutes of footage from Wonder Con towards the well-received second and third trailers. Still, my affection for the character and the movie aren’t necessarily drawn from Warner’s publicity campaign.

You see, Green Lantern was really the character that introduced me to modern comics.

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All This Flying is Making Me Tired: Superhero Fatigue…

Well, blockbuster season is really kicking into swing at the moment. Next week will see the release of X-Men: First Class, which will be the second major superhero movie of the summer, following Branagh’s superb Thor. There are two more due to touch down before the end of the blockbuster season, Green Lantern and Captain America: The First Avenger. It’s fascinating how large the superhero genre has grown in recent years, to the point where one might legitimately argue that it has subgenres. Part of me wonders if this particular blockbuster fad is approaching its climax – if the superhero movie might out-stay its welcome, and go the way of the Western.

Is the superhero genre's blackest night ahead?

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Justice for the JLA: Warner’s New Stand-Alone Superhero Team-Up…

News broke during the week that Warner Brothers are planning a new Justice League movie, apparently for 2013. Reportedly Ryan Reynolds has not been approached to play the Green Lantern in the film, and – based on comments from both film makers – it’s unlikely that Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot or The Dark Knight Rises will play into the film in any meaningful way. One might consider that something of a marketing faux pas, as that would represent a fairly intense lead-in into the movie (as opposed to the four-odd years Marvel has been teasing The Avengers). Indeed, it has been suggested that the proposed Justice League movie might stand entirely on its own two feet, completely distinct from the superhero movies that Warners are churning out. If this sounds familiar, it’s because this was exactly the plan with the company’s last aborted attempt at a Justice League film.

Justice for all?

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Four Minutes of Green Lantern from WonderCon..

Now we’re talking.

I am very excited about Warner Brothers’ upcoming Green Lantern, despite some of the difficulties with the first trailer. This second batch of footage has significantly restored my faith, even if it doesn’t address all my concerns from the last footage (bad dialogue and a god-awful comic relief character). At least the CGI looks better, even if there’s still work to do on the costume. Here’s hoping they can pull it together before the release date in June.

If you’re looking for an introduction to the character, why not have a look at our handy introduction.

I like the tone of it much better. It’s less “generic superhero” (which was a dumb approach in a market over-saturated with superhero films) and more “epic space opera”, which I hope might set it apart from the competition. I always though that the “space opera” angle would be the right one to push with the character, as it has a wonderful Star Wars vibe to it.

Captain America 101: An Introduction to the Star-Spangled Avenger…

I did a post a little while back that was intended to serve as an introduction to the world of the Green Lantern, what with the movie coming out this year. The post proved so popular that I thought I’d take perhaps put a similar post together on Captain America. The first trailer for Captain America: The First Avenger premiered at the Super Bowl yesterday, so it seems to be the perfect time for a bit of an introduction to the star-spangled superhero. Check out the 30-second spot below.

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Eleven for Eleven: My Ten Most Anticipated Movies of 2011

What with listing my top ten films of the past year and all that, I thought that I’d take the opportunity to look forward rather than backwards. So here are my eleven most anticipated movies coming out in the next year or so. I picked eleven, because I’m not 100% certain about the release date of one. As ever, these are for Irish and British cinemas, so four of these will be arriving in our theatres within the next three weeks. Which, I suppose is something to look forward to. Anyway, without any further adieu, here are my eleven most anticipated films of the year ahead.

Coming soon...

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