Lex Youthor...

In what to my mind is a head-scratching decision, Warner Brothers has cast Social Network star Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor in their upcoming (delayed until 2016) Batman/Superman film. Says director Zack Snyder, "Having Jesse in the role allows us to...take the character in some new and unexpected directions.

Ya got that right, Zack. Kind of like casting Taylor Lautner as Daddy Warbucks.

Warners also announced that Jeremy Irons will be coming on board as Alfred, trusted Wayne family butler and Batman supporter.

Hey, at least the 2016 release delay will allow Jesse some more time to...season.

Go back to your lives, Citizens...

Go figure: Thrones figures and Ape-tacular images!

The first wave of Game of Thrones figures has arrived from Dark Horse!
They're 6-7" scale and favor a more statue-driven approach, with less articulation. Will try and find time to get some shots of them out of the box. Daenerys comes with three dragon eggs and a wooden chest, John Snow comes with his sword. Wave 2 features Ned Stark, Khal Drogo and Tyrion, in May.

Then speaking of Apes, NECA finally unveiled some nice hi-res images of the first wave of their new Planet of the Apes line, set to debut in July. Gorilla Soldier, Cornelius and Dr. Zaius. Great looking wave for what promises to be one of NECA's best lines yet!

Of villains and apes: Two fun videos

First up, Jaguar's Superbowl ad, an ode to the superiority of British villains! Sir Ben Kingsley, Tom Hiddleston and Mark Strong have me convinced - Rendezvous, directed by none other than Tom Hooper! It's good to be bad:
   

Then we have the show that looks likely to replace the ill-fated infamy that is Spider-man: Turn off the Dark on Broadway - the extended-four-times Australian musical production of King Kong. Check out this amazing 20 foot puppet!

Batten Down the Hatches: Captain Phillips

Some true stories are just made for Hollywood - the story of an average American family man, Captain of a container ship overtaken by Somali pirates in 2009, Captain Phillips puts you right smack in the middle of a situation that turns dangerous all too quickly. The collision course storyline between Philips and the leader of the pirate gang would be suspenseful in almost any hands - but with director Paul Greengrass at the helm (United 93, Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum), it's a lapel-grabber of the first order. Greengrass is a master at putting you in the center of escalating chaos, jacking up the suspense while maintaining a strong sense of realism.

It's fascinating to see the enormity of a cargo ship - a lumbering behemoth full of blue collar guys, just doing their job (Chris Mulkey!). Filming at sea on a ship this size can't have been easy, but it feels completely real and matter of fact. Hanks portrays Phillips as a conscientious man, just trying to keep things running, increasingly aware that their course is taking them into dangerous waters. There's a great little pair of scenes early on that start with Phillips worrying to his wife about the cutthroat job market their son is facing, then jumps to the Somali coast and the throng of hopefuls vying for a chance to be part of the ship hunting crew.

The film is incredibly suspenseful as we hope along with Phillips that somehow violent contact can be avoided. But eventually, the pirates - lead by Oscar nominated Barkhad Abdi - board the ship and all hell breaks loose. Abdi is a haunting, desperate presence here and manages to convey ruthless resourcefulness while still evoking our sympathies. The final third of the film is less overtly frantic, but Greengrass keeps slowly turning the screws as we sail towards an inevitable showdown.

Greengrass is one of my favorite directors. A lot of people missed United 93, but it's remarkable and easily the best 9/11 film to date. He uses the camera in a way that puts you right in the moment with the action swirling around you. But he's equally great with actors. Hanks delivers some of his most effective work here. It's a crime that Greengrass wasn't nominated for director this year. He's a massive talent and serves up a riveting tale of two very different kinds of desperation, caught in a wave that could easily pull them both under.

Apocalypse: YOWZA!

Okay, so Stephen King's Dark Tower series isn't exactly an apocalypse yarn (or is it?), but there's been a lot of fun news this week that has me more than a little excited for the end of the world. First, Ron Howard's long gestating adaptation of King's Dark Tower books has had a bumpy road in development hell - but it may not be dead after all. Since the first of the year, Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul has admitted he's talked with Howard about a role in the project - presumably Eddie Dean, which would frankly be inspired casting. Now we've got word that none other than Liam Neeson is closing in on the film, presumably as Gunslinger Roland. A deal with Netflix could allow Howard to film the enormous saga as a cross-platform event, if original intentions and rumors hold any water. Trying to temper my enthusiasm until something tangible manifests, but there's been a lot of chatter lately, so Howard must have something up his sleeve...

More concretely, but equally thrilling, is news that Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Four Weddings and a Funeral) is set to helm a new incarnation of John Wyndham's legendary Day of the Triffids over at Ghost House. When a meteor shower leaves most of the human race blind, the lethal plants known as Triffids prepare to gorge on mankind. The original film from 1963 is a classic (in desperate need of restoration, I might add), and it's been remade twice for TV in the UK with middling success. This time, however, the new script is from Luther scribe Neil Cross. If that doesn't get your heart pumping, then nothing will. So two pretty amazing projects to make us even more nervous about tomorrow. Now if only somebody could breathe some life back into that new rendition of The Stand...

Must see: The Dark Choices of Prisoners

The names have chilling familiarity - JonBenét, Ashley and Miranda, Kyron - children who've met horrible, tragic ends - or simply disappeared entirely. Prisoners is not a horror film as such, but for anyone who's a parent, the scenario in Prisoners is the ultimate nightmare. Two neighbor families relax over dinner. Their two young girls run off to play, only to utterly vanish. You've probably heard the premise of Prisoners, so let's leave it at that. With a screenplay by Aaron Guzikowski and directed by Canadia Denis Villeneuve (Incendies), Prisoners is a spectacularly well made, profoundly disturbing film - possibly the best crime thriller since The Silence of the Lambs.

There's an gripping simplicity to the story - the stakes and the drama couldn't be more severe - but Villeneuve keeps things on an all too realistic path. As the father who will stop at nothing to learn his daughter's fate, Jackman is phenomenal here. You think he's scary as Wolverine? That's nothing. Jackman takes rage to the most painful threshold imaginable here.

Jake Gyllenhaal simply redefines himself with this performance. It's a different kind of character for him and he equals Jackman in determination and dread at what they may find. Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Paul Dano and Terrence Howard round out the uniformly excellent cast, all turning in excellent performances. 

Prisoners is a film about choice and consequence. I can't say enough good things about Guzikowski's script. He manages to create situations the could easily collapse, but maintains both realism and tremendous unpredictability throughout. The character work here is amazing. His is a name to watch.

Villeneuve had the wisdom and good fortune to hire the legendary Roger Deakins as cinematographer, who captures the neighborhoods and characters in Prisoners with unobtrusive yet unsettling compositions. He and Villeneueve have delivered an amazing looking film.

In the midst of awards season, I'm sad not to see more love for Prisoners. It's ambitious, audacious and hard to take - it pushes past the line of justified immorality in a way few films - and few actors - ever dare to. Hope and despair both get one hell of a workout here, and it's a shame that Prisoners isn't capturing more attention from those who nominate. If you're in need of a drama that challenges and doesn't play it safe, I can't recommend this film enough. It's easily one of the best dramatic thrillers in years.

"Into the garbage chute, flyboy!" Dark Horse loses Star Wars license

"This will be a day long remembered," and probably not in a good way. Local publisher Dark Horse Comics announced that this will be their last year releasing Star Wars titles. "I am sad to report that Disney, the new owner of Lucasfilm, has notified us here at Dark Horse of their intention to move the Star Wars publishing license to another of their recent acquisitions, Marvel Comics, beginning in 2015," explained Publisher Mike Richardson. "This will end a partnership that has lasted more than two decades." 

Disney has new Star Wars movies gearing up for release in 2015, and as Disney continues to expand, these kind of consolidations are almost inevitable. 
This must come as a significant blow to Richardson and Dark Horse - they typically print between four to six different Star Wars titles a month, running concurrently. Dark Horse has made licensed film properties a big part of their business for years, with Alien, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly/Serenity being some of the more prominent franchises. Says Richardson, "For obvious reasons, we have prepared for this eventuality by finding new and exciting projects to place on our schedule for 2015 and beyond. Will they take the place of Star Wars? That's a tall order, but we will do our best to make that happen. In the meantime, 2014  may be our last year at the helm of the Star Wars comics franchise, but we plan to make it a memorable one." 

Marvel originally published Star Wars comics from 1977-1986. Dark Horse took over and published their Dark Empire series in 1991-1992, a significant improvement from the rabbit-eared cartoon aliens that Marvel had been turning out...

Marvel is certainly a different place than it was back then - they're undoubtedly going to feel huge pressure to retain the tone and quality that has drawn so many fans to Dark Horse. It's going to be interesting to see what happens, to be sure - I'm fascinated to see what kind of new projects Dark Horse has up their sleeves. Hang in there, Mike!

2014: Happy New Year and a look ahead!

We made it! 2013 was pretty crazy, but there was plenty of fun to be had! What were my favorites for the year? Searching For Sugar Man, Pacific Rim, Europa Report, Elysium, Thor: The Dark World and Gravity were the movies I felt delivered the most pure enjoyment. They're all movies I'd enthusiastically watch again, and that's the name of the game over here - enthusiasm. Pressed to choose a Number One, I'd have to go with Gravity, which used cutting edge effects to invest us deeper into the plight of its protagonist. Visionary work, to be sure. It was also the movie I was most wrong about in terms of preconceptions, prior to actually seeing it.

As we turn the page and look forward, 2014 is already promising to be another rip-roaring year at the movies - so what am I most excited about, just over the horizon...?

Big Bad Wolves - "A series of brutal murders puts the lives of three men on a collision course." It sounds a little like Prisoners, but this Israeli film has some serious buzz around it, including Quentin Tarantino's proclamation of it being the Best Film of the year. It's garnered plenty of attention.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Marvel continues their conquest of the known universe, with this Rip Van Winkle sequel, featuring thawed-out Cap' dealing with more cynical conspiracies in the modern world. It remains to be seen if the Russo brothers have learned skills from their time on Community to rival the chops displayed by Joe Johnston in the original, but one thing's for sure, they've delivered one hell of a trailer...with Robert Redford!

Godzilla - Director Gareth Edwards' follow-up to his smashing Monsters debut looks astonishing. If the movie is half as arresting as the trailer, expect this to dominate theaters this May.

Guardians of the Galaxy - Marvel again, this time giving us a far-flung space opera with virtually no recognizable major characters. If anyone is unhinged enough to make America love a gun-toting Raccoon, it's director James Gunn.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For - Sin City was one Robert Rodriguez' coolest films - there's plenty of juice in Frank Miller's graphic novels ripe for the squeezin', so this could be great. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eva Green, Josh Brolin, Ray Liotta and Christopher Meloni pound the beat this time on those cruel, cruel streets.

Gone Girl - Two words: David Fincher. Gillian  Flynn's bestseller about a woman mysteriously disappearing on her wedding anniversary should provide ample room for the things in Fincher's dark corners to do their thing.

Interstellar  - Christopher Nolan goes to deep space as a cast including Anne Hathaway, Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain and Michael Caine use a wormhole to expand the human limitations of space travel and conquer the vast distances of interstellar space. Nolan? In outer space? Can't wait!

The Hobbit: There and Back Again - Stop your moaning and groaning. While the first two Hobbit adventures have certainly had their issues, these are some pretty delightful works of invention and while one part of my brain acknowledges the elephantine absurdity this wee fable has become, the other part is hurrying down to The Green Dragon to have a pint with my fellows and eagerly discuss! Just like this year, it's likely to be the biggest film in theaters as the year winds to a close.

Other films such as X-Men: Days of Future Past and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes almost made this list and could very well end up being phenomenal - I'm certainly beyond excited for each of them, but I'm nervous about Bryan Singer's return to X-Men, despite the awesomeness of the source comic, so I'm trepidatious. Likewise, I'm apprehensive about the Apes sequel, since the original creative team departed. I want it to be a worthy successor to the first movie, and will be thrilled if new director Matt Reeves pulls it off. 

So that's my list - not necessarily what I think the best films will be or the biggest hits, but just the ones I'm aware of that have me most eagerly awaiting them. It will be interesting to meet back here in twelve months and see how history treated these movies. As with any year, some of the tastiest surprises are bound to be the films we don't even remember hearing of  before they open! The surprises and sleepers that catch us off guard - part of what makes being movie fans such a delight!

So enjoy this New Year, my friends, and make the most of its many possibilities. Also a very big Thank You to the readers who continue to stop by and check out these posts, helping to spread the word. I appreciate your interest more than I can say! Happy New Year to you all!