Movie First Impressions: The Wolverine

Adorkette and I saw this yesterday afternoon, and she liked it.

I did too...about three/fourths of it.

Without going into spoilers, I felt that this film fell into the same trap that many non-Marvel Studios films featuring comic characters do.

Let me put it this way - remember when The Avengers was being made, and there was a lot of talk about what alien race would be used? Die-hard fans (like me) were convinced it would be the Skrulls. But, not having the list of characters Marvel Studios could use, we didn't know Skrulls were off the table. In the end they used the Chitauri, the alien race responsible for assembling the Avengers in the Ultimate universe.

Well, if any other production company was in charge, they would have given the Chitauri the ability to shape change...for no other reason than because they could. Thus making the Chitauri...essentially...the Skrulls, and pissing off fans everywhere.

Marvel Studios doesn't do that, which makes their movies better by staying true to their characters' roots...

...unless the character in question is so unbelievable that they don't even try.

Anyway - The Wolverine was very good up to the last ten minutes or so, and I recommend it to anyone looking to spend a few hours in air-conditioned splendor.

I wish I had a list...

...of all the characters Marvel Studios has the movie rights to.

We've got members of the Kree and an Elder of the Universe showing up in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Can you have Kree show up without the Skrulls far behind? Or the Shi'ar for that matter?

Plus, with the Kree, you'll get Captain Marvel - but actually Captain Mar-Vell...and then Carol Danvers, but how will they deal with Danvers' encounter with Rogue?

Bringing in one Elder can only mean the others will make an appearance soon. Will Infinity Gauntlet  be the plot of Avengers 3? Can Marvel Studios do that? Would the half of the Marvel Universe Thanos kills once he has the gauntlet include the X-Men and Spider-Man movie franchises?

Can we have two Quicksilvers in two different franchises?

My head hurts...

Monday Movie Roundup 7/29/2013

Let's see how The Wolverine did...

As of this morning, The Wolverine made an estimated $55 million here in the U.S., and another estimated $86.1 million internationally.

That puts it at roughly $141 million over it's first weekend, beating the film's production budget of $120 million.

So things look good for Hugh Jackman...

...but how does this compare to other X-Men related movies?

Well, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, made over $73.1 million internationally and over $85 million in the States ($158.1 million altogether) opening weekend.

X-Men: First Class made just over $55.1 million it's opening weekend here, over $61 million internationally (opening a week before it was released in the States), and a little over $10 grand in South Korea, where it opened a week before that.

In other words, by the end of opening weekend in America, X-M:FC had brought in over $102 million internationally in addition to the $55.1 million here, making a grand total of over $157.1 million...but that's just cheating on FOX's part.

So - The Wolverine. while making back production costs - falls behind both X-MO:W and X-M:FC in terms of opening weekend numbers.

Review-wise though, people are saying much better things about The Wolverine than Origins, so I think that when all is said and done Jackman's current outing as Logan will be more profitable than his last one.

Which is good, because us fans want our movies gosh-darn it!

So...Summer 2015...

I'm still running on fumes right now, but one of the 'outings' at SDCC has been on my mind:

It's been made clear that the film won't be adapting The Dark Knight Returns...even though they had a guy read from the book to the crowd as the announcement was made.

This shows that DC/WB are taking a different route than Marvel Studios.

With Iron Man, Marvel Studios made a statement. They said "We're making a film with one of our characters our way." And it worked, making over $585 million worldwide.

For their next film, Marvel Studios used a completely different character in a completely different story, but through references, dialogue and eventually a cameo appearance, Marvel Studios made an even bigger statement: "We're building a movie universe."

Over at DC/WB, Man of Steel also made a statement. It said "We're giving Superman a fresh approach." And it worked, making over $636 million worldwide.

That's right folks - MoS has brought in more money than Iron Man.

But just like with Marvel Studios, the second film that DC/WB comes out with is making the bigger statement: "We're building a movie universe one sequel at a time."

Yeah, there's talk of a Flash film in 2016 and a Justice League film in 2017, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if they announce the follow-up film to Batman vs. Superman/Superman vs. Batman with another image:

Cosplayers at SDCC can't tell the real thing?

I heard that Hugh Jackman went to the show...as Wolverine...and no one noticed!

WTF? Fridays...The Work Edition...7/26/2013

As I've mentioned before, I'm working nine days straight...

This is Day 7...

I won't be able to see The Wolverine until Monday...

I don't have time to peruse and comment on Con events and revelations...

I'm having enough trouble finding my face at this point. Figure by Sunday, I'll have difficulty finding my feet.

W...T...F...?

But there is something I can look forward to...

...as the Boston Comic Con has been relocated and rescheduled after the events at the Boston Marathon.

Mrs. Adorkification doesn't like mornings, so she won't be going. Adorkette and I, however, do plan on attending...on Sunday. I should know where my face and feet are by then.

Get this - not only is there a costume contest Sunday at 3, but from 11-5 Arthur Suydam will be doing free sketches for children 16 and under. Adorkette...who has a thing about zombies that I just don't understand...is 13. So she's excited.

Heck, she's excited to get out of the house and see Boston again.

Cool posters...

...some promoting actual things...

 ...and one not so much.

On a side note, I started re-reading Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars last night...

...and I've decided not to die until Sony, Fox and Marvel Studios make this happen.

I had a Vision...

There's been all this talk about how Vin Diesel will be playing Vision in the upcoming Avengers:Age of Ultron, but as I perused my Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe last night (as I do most nights before passing out) something caught my attention:

We now know (post SDCC) that Guardians of the Galaxy will feature Gamora and Nebula...and Drax the Destroyer.

Wouldn't it have been better to cast Diesel as Drax?

Am I the only one who has a problem with him as Vision, but could totally see him as Drax?

Just sayin'...

Uhhh...

Well - I'm on Day 4 of a 9 day work week.

I'm so tired and sore, I feel like these guys:

'Nuff Said!

Monday Movie Roundup...7/22/13

Well, I could talk about how Man of Steel broke the 600 million mark worldwide...

...or I could mention how The Lone Ranger has only made back roughly 68% of its production costs so far...

...while Pacific Rim is less than 8 % away from breaking even...

...or I can go into how R.I.P.D. (based on a Dark Horse comic) failed to make an impact over its opening weekend...

...but instead, I'm going to talk about how I was right...

See, I've mentioned before that Thanos was a villain that deserved time to develop. Avengers 2 was in my opinion too soon for him to show up as the villain. He'd bide is time, plotting and scheming behind the scenes until Avengers 3...which would be The Infinity Gauntlet. Turns out Marvel Studios agrees with me...somewhat.

But now I've started thinking...

NOTE: I haven't read Age of Ultron, but I know my Marvel history.

Ultron was created by Yellowjacket Goliath Giant Man Ant-Man Hank Pym, who isn't expected to appear in the MMU until 2015.

Ultron in turn created Vision, who may or may not be played by Vin Diesel.

But Vision's brainwave patters are based on Simon "Wonder Man" Williams, who hasn't been mentioned to appear anywhere in the MMU in the near future.

That right there is a lot to put in one movie...and when you throw in all the (I assume) death and destruction of the AoU story, you're looking at a three+ hour movie.

Not that I'm against a 3+ hour Marvel Studios film...hell, I'd pay $50 and sit in a theater all day long to watch Marvel Movie goodness...but many moviegoers might not like the idea.

Come to think of it, there wasn't a much in IM3 that moved the whole MMU forward.

My guess is that over the next few years, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will bridge that gap. We may even see Pym create the beginnings of Ultron on the show and become Ant-Man in the film as a way of redeeming himself.

I really love Marvel movies...

In Marvel Studios I Trust

DC has picked up the gauntlet...

2015 just became a lot more interesting...

I'm "cautiously excited" about the news of Batman appearing in Man of Steel 2. 

Random Thoughts:

* Zack Snyder will direct. His visuals are fantastic, but his storytelling skills need work.

* I'm glad this is still MoS2 instead of Superman/Batman.

* Is Nolan still involved?

* For a 2015 release, shouldn't they start filming now? They haven't even cast Bruce Wayne yet.

* My hope is that there'll be a tiny Easter egg in the film's final scene featuring some woman showing up wondering how she could help.

* And finally, to everyone involved at DC and WB...

...we'll be watching you...

One of the cool things to come out of SDCC so far...

I was a huge fan of Marvel UK when their titles came out in the late eighties/early nineties, especially Death's Head II, Dark Angel, and Knights of Pendragon...but all those titles ended by '94.

Now I hear Marvel's bringing back their UK line.

No word on the titles included yet, but I'll tell you one thing - they'll certainly bring one major Marvel character back into the spotlight:

And you know what that means? Speculative casting for the eventual appearance in the MMU.

Here's my pick ...

...Bradley James, most notably from Merlin.

From what I've seen of the show (like all of seventeen minutes worth), he can pull off 'arrogantly macho with a good heart' quite nicely.

WTF? Fridays...The SDCC Edition...7/19/2013

I could talk about hoe awesomely cool SDCC is in general...

...or the amazing stuff to buy there...

...but I'm just gonna bitch about the fact that I'm not there.

W...T...F...?

I really really wanna be there every year. This sucks!

Well, have a good time if you're there. If you're not, we'll share our pain.

Two things to remember about the Marvel Movie Universe...

...especially with SDCC starting up:

* Easter eggs in deleted scenes of Marvel Studios films are not official parts of the MMU.

* Marvel One-Shots are.

My whole thing about the One-Shots, which I love, is that they should relate to the main film they're included in.

In Thor, the first One-Shot was made. Called The Consultant, it showed Coulson and Sitwell talking about trying to convince Colonel Ross not to hand over The Abomination to S.H.I.E.L.D. as part of the Avengers Initiative. By using Tony as the consultant sent in to "talk" Ross into handing over Blonsky Consultant successfully tied together Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk and (if we assume the cafe the agents talk in is in New Mexico) Thor.

But in Captain America: The First Avenger, we get the One-Shot A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer where Coulson stopped at a gas station on his way through New Mexico and thwarted a robbery. It was cool to see some Coulson action, but all we got for MMU Easter eggs were a Roxxon reference and the New Mexico licence plate. There was nothing that connected it to Cap or any of the other Marvel movies.

Then came The Avengers, and the One-Shot Item 47. It was a cool story of how two regular citizens use a working piece of Chitauri tech, and had some great Agent Sitwell action. It tied into Avengers easily and even referenced Coulson's "passing", but had no references to any of the other Phase One films. (But wouldn't it be cool if Lizzy Caplan and Jesse Bradford...heck even Titus Welliver...showed up in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?)

And now we're getting Agent Carter with the IM3 release. My hope? We see more of Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark, and some detail of how S.H.I.E.L.D. gets started. But the appearance of Zodiac? As in...Zodiac Key? That could be interesting...

It's about time...

ABC has revealed when Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. begins - Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 8pm (on the East Coast).

Let's look at that date for a minute:

First of all the show airs on Tuesdays, which I'm fine with only because I haven't watched 'regular television' in a while - I get my TV through the net - so I don't have a clue which timeslots are good or bad.

Secondly, Tuesday the 24th seems to ring a bell...

...something significant...

...give me a minute...

...oh yeah...

...it's the same release date as the Iron Man 3 Blu-ray/DVD.

Oh those Marvel people...

Speaking of continuity...

...you need to check out this article.

Written by Jon Negroni, it explains the well-thought out theory that every Pixar film through Monsters U. and Finding Dori takes place in the same universe.

I especially like how he connects Monsters Inc with Brave.

Monday Movie Roundup...7/15/2013

I think one of the biggest stories from the weekend is that Pacific Rim did well, just not as well as Grown Ups 2...

...but only in this country, where GU2 made an estimated $42.5 million in the U.S. vs. PR's estimated $38.3.

Internationally, however, things turned out quite differently:

Grown Ups 2 only made roughly $1.7 million in the foreign market.
Pacific Rim made about $53 million.

So from a worldwide perspective PR made around $91.3 million, compared to GR2's $44.2.

I'm not sure what that means, but I'll tell you two things -
* Mrs. Adorkification wants to see Pacific Rim...in the theater.
* There's going to be a lot more PR cosplayers than GU2 cosplayers in the near future.

Man of Steel is still in the top 10 (at #10...but that's beside the point).

Iron Man 3 (which came out the first weekend in May) is still in the top 25.

As for The Lone Ranger...

...it remains in the top 5 after two weekends, but has yet to break even on its $215 million budget. Even internationally, which is at just over $119.1 million as of today. I have no idea what Hollywood (or Hollywood reporters for that matter) define as a flop or bomb, but if TLR doesn't make its money back soon it  could very well be one...if it isn't already.

And finally, it looks like FOX isn't going to give up the X-Franchise anytime soon, as they're in talks of making as X-Force spin-off of X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Now, I don't know if they're going with this...

...or this...

...or this...

...or this...

...or even this...

...but all I want is continuity. Which is basically all I ever wanted in my comics...and comic movies...

Well, it's getting to be THAT time again...

Mrs. Adorkification is a HUGE Steampunk..."ite" I guess you'd call it. She loves the fashion, literature, artifacts, artwork - all of it.

It got to the point where she more or less dragged me to a Steampunk dance a few years ago, and while I wore what she made and went with the flow, what really interested me were the other people there.

They had hand-made costumes, plastic guns, outrageous hats, time-machines, even fully-developed original characters. I hadn't seen anything like it outside of a comic convention.

It blew my mind that not only was this Steampunk thing popular, it created Steampunk 'dorks' who went around attending events and showing off their wares.

I've mentioned before that my wife is also an anime...'otaku' is the word? It started with Ouran High School Host Club, went into Black Butler, and then she was off - watching anything she could find even if she changed her mind after like two or three episodes. Adorkette became a fan of anime through her.

So when there was an anime convention nearby last month, my daughter and I went (Mrs. Adorkification had to work, and along with ticket prices she let Adorkette go in her place).

Again, I knew about as much anime as I did Steampunk, but the similarities to comic conventions were everywhere, including - of course - cosplayers. These fans were hardcore and proud.

It was hard for me to get out of my comfort zone - comics and superheroes - and attend these events. I've seen Trekkies, and Trekkies 2. I'm well aware of the Star Trek fans, the BSG fans, the D&D fans and even the Buffy fans from the Wizard World New England con I went to in 2010. But I observed those either from afar, or (in WWNE's case) off to the side. With ASF and PortCon, I was immersed. There was no 'comfortable distance'. I actually felt out of place, worried that my lack of education would show, but at both events I met interesting people willing to share their knowledge with me. They weren't shy about what they knew, or what they wore, and everyone was accepted. Some people even took part of the PortCon costume contest dressed as Steampunk Avengers.

I've come to realize that while comics in general, and superheros in particular, are my thing, I have a tremendous amount of respect for anyone who has that level of devotion to theirs...whatever it may be.

So with SDCC coming into full swing, I wanted to tip my top hat with a wink and a Zod to all attendees and newbies:

Embrace your dorkiness...
Ask questions...
Respect all...
and have fun, you lucky SOB's...