New Looks at Upcoming Amazing Spider-Man 2 Movie

Seems like there's been a lot leaked this week about 'Amazing Spider-Man 2'.  It had previously been announced that Jamie Foxx will play the villain Electro and Paul Giamatti will portray The Rhino.  Now we're seeing that Peter Parker will don a new and improved costume, one closer to the comic version than in the previous film.

New costume on the left

Note in particular the eyes on the costume.  I think with the first film being an origin, the costume was meant to look more homemade and amateurish.  Presumably in the sequel Spider-Man will be an established hero who's had a little more time to work on his outfit.  I love the new look, a lot closer to the comic version.  Definitely more of a "friendly neighborhood Spider-Man", one who looks like he could crack a joke as he's cracking bad guys' bones rather than looking angry and angsty.

Shailene Woodley with red hair for her role as Mary Jane Watson

Also released this week were some off-set photos of Shailene Woodley with red hair for her portrayal of Mary Jane Watson.  Woodley had previously garnered attention for her role in 'The Descendants'.  I know what you're thinking, "I thought Mary Jane was supposed to be some model knockout!".  Relax, the paps just caught Shailene on an off day.  She cleans up quite nicely:

But you can get an idea of how she'll look in the movie.  I just wonder what they'll do with her character. Will Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy break up so soon after the first film?  Will something happen to Gwen?!  We'll have to wait and see.

Also confirmed for the cast, is British actress Felicity Jones.  At this point it's only speculation as to which role she'll play, but rumor has it she'll play Felicia Hardy, friend of Peter's who eventually becomes the Black Cat.  Whether the Cat will show up in the movie or just Felicia is also up in the air.  As a villain/anti-hero/ love interest of Spidey, adding her to the mix in this film could make for a little too much of a tangled web.

Felicity Jones as Felicia Hardy?

The Black Cat

Also joining the cast as a new character is Dane DeHann, who was excellent as the main character in 'Chronicle'.  He'll play the role of Harry Osborn, who had been portrayed in the original franchise by James Franco.  We know he eventually becomes a villain, but was first Peter's friend.  I can't imagine he'll be anything more than that in this film. 

Dane DeHann as Harry Osborn

With all of these new characters being introduced as well as Jamie Foxx and Paul Giamatti, already announced as the villains, it's clear the producers are already setting up for a third film.  

I like the casting choices, love the new costume.  It'll be interesting to hear what the real plot of this film will be as production moves further along towards its release in 2014.  I just hope we don't end up with a jumbled mess of tangential plotlines and too many villains like the third Raimi film.  

First Look at Silver Samurai on the set of 'The Wolverine'

A while back, Fox released this promo shot for 'The Wolverine', a sequel to the 2009 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine':

Just Hugh Jackman looking 80's-Stallone-level ripped for a reprisal of the title role.  Whether you liked 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' or not (count me in the latter), it's hard not to get excited when you see a photo like this.

The plot for the new Wolverine movie is based on the 1982 mini-series 'Wolverine' by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller which has Logan battling ninjas and the Tokyo criminal underworld for the heart of his ex-lover, the daughter of a Japanese crime lord.  It leads Logan to a clash with the Silver Samurai.  Created by Steve Gerber and Bob Brown, the Silver Samurai is the son of Yakuza Shingen Yashida, and possesses the mutant the ability to charge most anything, usually his katana, with an energy described as a tachyon field. 

Just recently a pic of the villain Silver Samurai has leaked from the set, check it out:

I know, it's not much, but it gives you an idea of how the character is going to be portrayed on the big screen.  And not too bad all things considered.  I've seen worse stabs at comic villains.  For comparison:

I'm a little skeptical of the Fox Marvel movies.  X3 was terrible and the first solo Wolverine movie was kind of a mess, but an 'R' rating and some scenes taken from Frank Miller art combined with distancing the Wolverine character from the X-Men has me cautiously optimistic for this one.  

I'm curious to see how the movie continues to develop as it nears its July 23, 2013 release date. 

Tim Burton's 'Dark Shadows' Remake Movie Trailer Released

Tim Burton's latest movie is a remake of the late 60's-early 70's vampire soap opera 'Dark Shadows'.  And guess who stars in it... go on, guess... Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter!  Shocking.  Additionally, Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Chloe Moretz also star.

Depp as Barnabas Collins and an uncharacteristically blonde Green as Angelique Bouchard

My first gut reaction to the trailer was, "Wow, this looks awful".  My mom was a huge fan of the original show.  I've heard her talk about it before, and have even watched a few of the original series' episodes thanks to Netflix.  Based on her recollections of the show, and the episodes I saw, I have to say that this trailer is pretty off the mark.  The original show may have been unintentionally funny at times (boom mics popping into shots, some really bad dialogue), but the show was at least trying to be a serious, scary vamp drama.  The official synopsis:

In the year 1752, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England to start a new life in America. But even an ocean was not enough to escape the mysterious curse that has plagued their family. Two decades pass and Barnabas (Depp) has the world at his feet–or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy…until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Green). A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets. Matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Pfeiffer) has called upon live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), to help with her family troubles. Also residing in the manor is Elizabeth's ne'er-do-well brother, Roger Collins, (Jonny Lee Miller); her rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Moretz); and Roger's precocious 10-year-old son, David Collins (Gulliver McGrath). The mystery extends beyond the family, to caretaker Willie Loomis (Jackie Earle Haley) and David's new nanny, Victoria Winters, played by Bella Heathcote.

Mouthful.

From the trailer, it looks like the movie ramps up the intentional comedy... which I don't like.  Once that music kicked in the trailer totally lost me.  

Depp as Barnabas Collins

I find this odd because Johnny Depp has been quoted in interviews saying he has wanted to play Barnabas Collins in a big screen adaptation for a long time.  And on a first-take, the trailer seemed to be pretty disrespectful to the source material.

But, I watched it again and paid a lot less attention to the music.  Putting that aside, the footage itself looked pretty good.  And if you ignore the framing of "Bang a Gong" and "My Everything", you can see some of the classic, creepy Tim Burton come out.

I'm willing to give this a chance.  Hopefully they downplay the uber-camp in the next trailer.  It just seemed like overkill in this one.  

And I think people are starting to get a little tired of the Burton/Depp/Bonham Carter trio.  

Game of Thrones: Season 2 Casting

Season 2 of Game of Thrones, based on the Song of Ice and Fire book series by George RR Martin, premieres on April 1 on HBO.  One of the hallmarks of the books has been the introduction of new characters.  Following that trend, season 2 of the show will introduce some major characters central to the plot.

The production staff did a very nice job with the casting for the first season.  It seems like they've done it again here with the new cast members.

Here are Stannis Baratheon and Melisandre

Stannis is played by Stephen Dillane, who played Thomas Jefferson on the HBO miniseries 'John Adams'.  Melisandre is played by Carice van Houten.  She is somewhat less well-known.  However, she was in the underrated movie 'Black Death' with none other than Ned Stark himself, Sean Bean.  I believe that movie is still available on Netflix instant for those interested.  I think both of these choices work well.  Van Houten was good as a pseudo-witch in 'Black Death', so she should have no problem with Melisandre.  Dillane is a superb actor and was great in 'John Adams'.  Part of me wishes the actor for Stannis would have been a little more imposing, but I'm sure Dillane won't disappoint. 

Davos Seaworth is being played by Liam Cunningham

Davos Seawoth

Cunningham is an Irish actor, maybe best known for his role in the remake of 'Clash of the Titans'.  He's no stranger to the genre however, as he has had roles in the movie 'Centurion' and the tv series 'Camelot'.  He doesn't quite fit the picture I had in my mind's eye, but I've liked him in past roles.

The big contentious role as far as casting goes, has been the choice for Brienne of Tarth.  The production crew needed a tall, muscularly-built woman with a face that could be made up to be ugly on tv.

Brienne of Tarth

The result was actress/model Gwendoline Christie.  The actress stands 6 foot 3 inches tall.  She had a supporting role in the film 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus', but isn't as experienced as her fellow new cast members.  I think her physical profile matches up very well for the role. (Jamie Lannister actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau stands 6'2)

All in all I love the choices and can't wait for the new season.

As a bonus, and because I've been to and love the city of Dubrovnik, here's a video about season 2's production in Croatia.  The showrunners have decided to use Old Town Dubrovnik as the setting for King's Landing.  I love the choice.  You'll see why in the video.