A Better Green Lantern Than Tyrese

A few days ago, actor Tyrese Gibson took to his Instagram page to campaign for him to be the next Green Lantern.  Gibson photoshopped himself in a few GL pictures with hopes that Warner Bros would take notice.  Yesterday, Tyrese posted another picture of himself arriving at Warner Bros studios.  This has some fanboys buzzing that Tyrese may have actually met with WB and DC executives, however everything is just speculation at this point.  If cast, Tyrese would more than likely play John Stewart and not Hal Jordan, the character Ryan Reynolds played in the 2011 film.  Tyrese has had success as an actor in the Fast and Furious and Transformer franchises, but I feel he is in no way the right man to play John Stewart.

For those unfamiliar the character, Stewart was the third human in DC Comics lore to be chosen as a Green Lantern.  He is a former marine, and current architect when he is not out saving sector 2814.  He was also the Green Lantern featured in the Justice League animated series, a show that first introduced a young generation to not only Green Lantern, but also a strong African American superhero.  The role will require an actor to have a size and presence to himself.  Stewart's not a smart ass like Hal.  He steps into a room and gets the job done with as few of words as possible.  While I've been proven wrong several times about superhero casting choices(like Chris Evans as Captain America) I'm strongly against Tyrese taking this iconic role.  So I've come up with five alternative actors I feel would better suited to play John Stewart, should Warner Bros decide to bring this character to the big screen.

5) Idris Elba

A fanboy favorite for the role, Elba has starred in such films as Pacific Rim, Prometheus, and Thor.  He also has his own series, Luthor, which I have yet to watch, but hear good things about.  Elba has that presence I was mentioning.  He's the tough guy who looks like he can hold his own when sh%t hits the fan. 

4) Omari Hardwick

Hardwick is no stranger to the action genre with roles in films like Kick-Ass and The A-Team.  Like Elba, he's got the build to pull off the character and the experience to make him heroic.  

3)  David Ramsey

Ramsey can currently be seen kicking ass in the The CW series Arrow.  However he's also had small parts in films like Draft Day and Con Air.  Ramsey's portrayal as John Diggle on Arrow is not too far off from what John Stewart is all about; a tough guy who doesn't hesitate to do the right thing.  Ramsey's got the stature and strength to pull off the power of Will.

2) Rob Brown

I first saw Mr. Brown playing off of Sean Connery in Finding Forrester.  Since then he's starred in films like Coach Carter and Don Jon.  Brown is such a likable character on screen I think that quality would carry over great to the DC Cinematic Universe.

1) Derek Luke

Most recently seen in Captain America: The First Avenger and the FX series The Americans, Luke first shined opposite Denzel Washington in Antwone Fisher and has been giving us great performances ever since.  I believe he can pull off the presence, size, and morality it will take to play John Stewart.

'Throne of Atlantis' Rises to the Top of DC Animation

Aquaman. Growing up loving the water I had an affinity for the superhero who seemed to be the butt of all jokes.  But in 2010 writer Geoff Johns brought the character back to life in Brightest Day, and made sure he'd never be anybodies joke again. 

DC Animated recently has been outshining their live-action films to me.  I thought Man of Steel and Green Lantern were a mess, but The Flashpoint Paradox and Son of Batman were good films.  Justice League: Throne of Atlantis is based on a Geoff Johns comic story and is a sequel to the DC animated film, Justice League: War.  I wasn't a fan of War, but this movie was based on a favorite storyline of mine.  Plus the voice talent seemed much better than War so I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt.  

Arthur Curry has just buried his father.  He never knew his mother, and his birthright is about to try and kill him.  Arthur finds out he is the heir to the lost underwater city of Atlantis, but his younger brother, Orm, is secretly taking the throne for himself and wants to start a war with the surface world.  To stop his brother Arthur must embrace is destiny and team up with the newly former Justice League to divert all-out war.

First off, let me just say that I was disappointed Aquaman did not appear in Justice League: War like in the original source material and was replaced by Shazam.  But I'm glad he is front and center for this animated sequel.  Star Wars: The Clone Wars alumni Matt Lanter and Sam Witwer lead this voice cast as Aquaman and Orm.  Rosario Dawson has replaced Michelle Monaghan as Wonder Woman; which I thought was a great change.  Sean Astin is back as Shazam and Jason O'Mara is starting to grow on me as his third time voicing Batman.  However, the best voice change is the return of THEE Green Lantern, Nathan Fillion, as Hal Jordan. 

One thing I've loved about the recent DC animated movies is that they aren't kids movies.  The stories are rich and deep with a lot of emotional stuff happening.  In this film alone bodies are cut in half, heads are severed, and the word 'shit' is used.  I'm not saying these gratuitous things make the film better, but it makes the movie more credible if you don't try to censor the actual violence these heroes witness and dish out.  

I thought adding in Aquaman's origin to this storyline would make it too crowded, but it was blended nicely.  Some fan boys yell blasphemy if you stray from the source material, but I feel as though as long as it serves the movie, and doesn't change the characters core, I'm fine with it.  Maybe it's my affection for Aquaman that made me like this film so much but I think this will end up being one of my Top 5 DC animated films.  My only jeer is that the last five minutes seemed a bit rushed, almost forced, but the other hour and seven minutes more than make up for it.

RATING:  A-  

My 2014 Geek Nominees

A few days ago the 87th Academy Award nominees were announced.  I've been watching the Oscars as far back as I could remember. My family would always take a night off from our annual spring break trip to Daytona Beach and watch the golden statues get passed out.  As I've gotten older I seem to have watched more of the pictures nominated and less nominees of the MTV Movie Awards.

However, the comic geek inside of me is still conflicted with the lack of genre films nominated; aside from just Best Visual Effects.  If anything, 2014 proved comic book and fantasy films can be just as well produced and compelling as anything David Fincher directs.  So I decided to put together my own nominees I felt could have been nominated for Academy Awards.  Chances are the average theater viewer has seen more of these films than those nominated for Oscars.  Plus, I added a few of my own categories.  

In the following weeks I'll be posting these on my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram page.  People should feel free to comment on their choices for each category, or feel free to add any "geek" movie you feel I left out.  

DISCLAIMER: I only based this on movies I've seen in 2014, which is why movies like Interstellar or The Interview are left out of certain categories.    

BEST MOVIE
(saw at least twice in theaters)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Guardians of the Galaxy

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Big Hero 6

  

 

BEST ACTOR
(person you wish you were as cool as)

Chris Evans (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

James McAvoy (X-Men: Days of Future Past)

Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy)

Michael Fassbender (X-Men: Days of Future Past)

Caesar (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)

BEST ACTRESS
(person you wish your girlfriend was as cool as)

Scarlett Johansson (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy)

Jennifer Lawrence (X-Men: Days of Future Past)

Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow)

Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt.1)

FUNNIEST MOVIE
(couldn't stop grinning the whole movie)

The LEGO Movie

22 Jump Street

Neighbors

Let's Be Cops

That Awkward Moment

  

 

BEST VILLAIN
(made you want to reach into the screen and kick some ass)

Robert Redford (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

The Sentinels (X-Men: Days of Future Past)

Koba (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)

Jackie Earle Haley (Robocop)

Eva Green (Sin City:A Dame To Kill For)

BEST ACTION SEQUENCE
(made you say, "sweeeeet")

Highway Fight (Captain America: The Winter Solider)

The Sentinels Kill Everyone (X-Men: Days of Future Past)

ED-209's vs Alex Murphy (Robocop)

John Wick "Kills It" at the Night Club (John Wick)

The 6 Save San Fransokyo (Big Hero 6)

WORST MOVIE
(wish you could have a lobotomy to forget)

I, Frankenstein

Transformers: Age of Extinction

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For

  

 

Marvel's 'New Hope' With Star Wars

I remember when I was a child my father used to take me and my brother to the comic book store every Saturday morning.  We both used to pick out an issue of our favorite Marvel or DC hero.  However, one Saturday, I ended up picking out something different.  It was a new mini-series called Star Wars: Dark Empire.  I didn't know it at the time, but this was the first non-Marvel Star Wars comic book ever published.  Dark Horse comics would remain the sole distributor of Star Wars comic books for over two decades; until today.

When Disney bought Lucasfilm back in 2012 every Star Wars fan knew what the logical change would be for Star Wars comics.  Disney also owned Marvel, a comic book publishing company, so there was no need for Star Wars to continue to be made at Dark Horse.  I was a little saddened by this.  I had grown up reading Star Wars comic books, brought to me by the lovely writers and artists at Dark Horse comics.  But then I thought of the benefits.  Some of favorite Marvel writers like Brian Michael Bendis, Jeph Loeb, or Mark Waid would be writing the adventures of Luke, Han, and Leia.  Star Wars comics could be as detailed and complex as Avengers vs. X-Men or Civil War.

Well, today Star Wars #1 came out.  In a few months Marvel also plans to roll out several mini-series featuring Darth Vader and Princess Leia as well.  To be honest this comic didn't even cross my mind today, but then I got a text from my brother.  He's not a big Star Wars fan like me, but he commented on how he had just read the issue and loved it.  I then knew I had to check it out.  Being a father I didn't have time to go to my local comic shop and indulge in what I'm sure was Star Wars hysteria.  But when I got home I paid the five dollars to read the digital copy on my tablet.

As I flipped my finger through the screens I saw "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" and then STAR WARS.  It was almost as beautiful as seeing the words on the screen with The Force Awakens trailer.  As my finger continued to progress I saw the traditional opening crawl explaining the synopsis, followed by a a ship coming overhead.  I knew then this comic was going to get it right.  

In the first issue Han, Leia, and Luke are on a mission to shut down an Imperial manufacturing plant.  Han took the lead, Chewie was on sniper duty, and Threepio was back in the Falcon ready to swoop in for the rescue.  As always with out heroes, the plan goes awry and soon Darth Vader shows up ending this first issue with what looks like a showdown with Luke Skywalker.  

It's been a long time since I read a single issue comic book. I'm used to reading graphic novels so this seemed a bit short to me, and got cut-off right before it was going to get good.  I know writer Jason Aaron from his run on Wolverine and the X-Men and I was quite impressed how well he handles these characters.  The dialogue seems to flow, and the team seems to be right where they should be post-Episode IV.  Luke his fumbling through his rookie Jedi skills, Leia waste no thought on trying to take out Vader after his part in Alderaan's destruction, and Han's motives for staying with the Rebellion are still allusive.  

I've admired Cassaday's art ever since Astonishing X-Men and loved the full page splashes of Luke having just cut off someone's hand, Vader making his entrance, and Han thinking he can escape in an AT-AT. I only hope that Joss Whedon gets a crack at this, or another Star Wars comic series, some day.  The issue was full of puns reverting back to Star Wars lore.  My only question is if Threepio will actually pick-up the blaster in the Falcon's cock pit and use it.

I wasn't drooling over this issue when it was done, but I thought it definitely had more potential then a similar series Dark Horse tried to put out a few years ago.  If you like Star Wars, comic books, or both, I recommend it.  However, like most comics today, I'm gonna wait for the trade paperback.  Until then, May The Force Be With Us All.

My 'Fantastic' Journey With '4'

Growing up, one of my favorite superheroes was Johnny Storm, aka, The Human Torch.  Johnny was young, arrogant, and so cool.  As a boy reading comic books there was nothing better than a hero you could relate too.  Because of my preference for the Torch I kind of thought as my family as the Fantastic Four.  My father, the smart guy who is borderline mad scientist.  My mother, the nurturer who kept us all together.  My brother, the moody guy who liked to use his fists on me.  And myself, the young hothead who could never sit still.  However, I could never really get into Fantastic Four comics.  Now, as a full grown adult, I figure it was time to give the FF another try.  It's been years since I tried reading anything about Marvel's First Family so I thought years experiences, and a bit of wisdom, might have changed my perspective.  I went to my local library and picked up as many FF books as I could.  After I browsed through the regular series I dabbled in the Ultimate universe since it looks like that's what this years Fantastic Four movie will draw from.

I started off as far back as I could.  I was surprised to find out that most of the movies Marvel Studios are gonna roll out in their Phase 3 were introduced in FF.  Black Panther and the Inhumans both first appeared in Fantastic Four.  Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's early work was rich in story, but like most comics back in the day, the dialogue and character development left much to be desired for today's modern reader.  However, Lee and Kirby laid the ground work for some great mythology.

Throughout the years the Fantastic Four saw some guest members like She-Hulk, Ant-Man, and the Inhuman's Crystal, but it always reverted back to the core 4.  In 1996, following the events of Onslaught, most of the Marvel heroes got a re-vamp with Heroes Reborn. The Avengers and the Fantastic Four got updated origins, with a bit of a twist, provided by Jim Lee(no relation to Stan) and Rob Liefeld.  Both had worked with Marvel in the past, but had since went on to start Image Comics.  Lee's art added a new sense of style to the FF and I enjoyed quite a bit more of these stories compared to the 1960's comic.  

After a year of Heroes Reborn Marvel's First Family returned to the actual Marvel U with some big problems to come.  This was the start of some of my favorite FF stories with Civil War and Marvel Knights 4 written by playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.  His run saw the team kicked out of the Baxter Building and trying to live like real people who had to get real jobs.  I enjoyed these volumes because they were so much more personal.  Most FF stories involve them going on some crazy adventure through time or space, but I'm a fan of smaller stories that focus on the characters themselves and not the villain their fighting that month.  Marvel's Civil War also saw the team split on the Superhero Registration Act.  The event almost destroyed the FF as well as Reed and Sue's marriage.

As time progressed the team stayed true minus a brief death by the Human Torch(which no one believed would be gone long).  The current Matt Fraction series takes the family through space as Reed tries to solve the issue of not only his cells brake down and eventual death, but those of his teammates.  Reed hopes to find the answers in the stars to save those he cares about most.

Ultimate Fantastic Four started in 2004 and saw the FF back as young adults.  Reed's experiment into the N-Zone goes awry and instead of them gaining abilities by cosmic rays, it's by an N-Zone explosion.  While quite a bit different from their original beginnings, I enjoyed this reboot the most.  Making them younger made them seem more relatable than the characters who have been heroes since 1963. 

On top of reading all the graphic novels I also watched the Fantastic Four movies.  I remember watching the 1994 Fantastic Four film as a child.  The movie was never released in theaters, and for good reason.  It was pretty bad.  2005 saw the FF actually on the big screen thanks to 20th Century Fox.  A lot of comic readers rag on this film and it's sequel, but I'm in the minority that I somewhat enjoy them.  Rise of the Silver Surfer has less of my respect, but that first film I thought highlighted the core of what the Fantastic Four is about; family.  We saw Ben and Johnny fight, Reed wrap the Thing into a knot to control is rage, and Chris Evans play the perfect Human Torch.  Evans was so good as Johnny Storm I was very against him being cast as Captain America.  I ate my foot on that one.

From what I could tell the 1994 film drew straight from the original 1963 origin, the 2005 film got a lot from the Heroes Reborn origin, and the 2015 film will basically be Ultimate FF.  Michael B. Jordan has been cast as Johnny Storm; totally changing his ethnicity.  Sue Storm is going to be played by Kate Mara(not a blonde) and their most hated enemy, Victor Von Doom, will go by another name. The Dr. Doom changes are the most disturbing to me, but the cast itself is one of the few aspects I think will be good about this film.  I'm sure I'll change my tune when I see a trailer, but for now, my hopes aren't high.

So, after a few months of reading and watching Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and the Thing, I'm kind of back to where I was when I was 10 years old.  I love the concept and characters of Fantastic Four, but actually enjoy few stories told about Marvel's First Family.  However, I will continue to keep up with their adventures and cross my fingers that this next FF film will be the one that catches on.  And if it doesn't then the rights will go back to Marvel Studios and in another few years we'll see the Human Torch fighting alongside Captain America.  I won't mention the irony there.

I can't believe I wrote this whole post without working in, "It's Clobberin Time."

1 Book, 3 Movies, 9 Hours Mr. Jackson Owes Me

"Alright, look.  There is only one 'Return' and it ain't 'of the King' it's 'of the Jedi'."  Ever since the credits rolled on the final Lord of the Rings film The Force has had a new enemy fanbase besides Star Trek.  Uber nerds, like those in Clerks 2, have debated what is the best film trilogy now; Lord of the Rings or the original Star Wars trilogy.  Being part Jedi, I've always sided with Star Wars.  However, I enjoy watching the first Middle Earth trilogy, but was disappointed with Peter Jackson's prequel trilogy based on The Hobbit.

When word first surfaced, The Hobbit films were supposed to be two films, and directed by Guillermo del Toro.  Now that it's over we got three films, and directed by LOTR director, Peter Jackson.  Yesterday I finally saw the final Hobbit film; The Battle of the Five Armies.  Afterward, I couldn't help thinking how sloppy and uninteresting this trilogy had been.  Yes, as a Star Wars fan you can bash me about the prequels all you want, but it doesn't exclude The Hobbit from criticism.   

For starters, the characters in this trilogy were far less developed.  I could tell you every member of the Fellowship, but I couldn't name you any other dwarves except Thorin.  Each hero in the original trilogy had very distinct personalities and moments.  In The Hobbit trilogy there was Thorin, the old dwarf, the fat dwarf, the dwarf that loved the elf girl, etc.  For all I know some of them could be women.

The Hobbit films being extended out means they had to draw other story elements from Tolkien tales, or just make stuff up.  Making three films out of one book means stretching things out, but does that include so many slow-motion swings?  In this last film, there was a moment almost every five minutes were a villain was just about to kill a character, reached back very slowly, and was stopped before he could finish his big swing.  It was done so many times I knew every time the slow-motion started the character was going to be ok.

This trilogy was not without it's good parts.  I actually enjoyed most of Thorin's story and how it ended.  I liked Smaug, but felt like they should have completed his story in the second film instead of drawing it out just for tension.  If you were late and missed the first five minutes of film three you missed Smaug completely.  Now, the best part of these films I thought was Evangeline Lily.  She was the best female character I had seen in all six movies.  She was an elfish warrior who falls for a dwarf.  Tauriel was tough yet compassionate.  She stood against her former king because she knew it was the right thing.  Just as interesting as a character can get.

I guess my main disappointment with The Hobbit trilogy is that I didn't see anything really new.  I saw all the same locations and wide shots to emphasize New Zealand's beauty. All the dwarfs, elves, and orcs seemed the same to me.  Oh, and why have a giant worm that can move through mountains if all you use it for is to open holes for orcs to travel?  Didn't you ever see Dune or Tremors!

I could go on and on about how boring The Hobbit trilogy was, but I'm going to leave you with one last word; eagles.  In LOTR's the eagles came in to save Gandalf in the first film and then Frodo in the third.  Then Mr. Jackson decided to use the eagles as a safety net for the entire prequel trilogy.  If at any time the dwarfs were in trouble the eagles just showed up and saved the day.  They were used as a scape goat then the writers wrote themselves into a corner.  

I own the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, and although I think the extended cuts are too much for me, I respect the quality of the films they are.  However, I have no desire to see any of The Hobbit films again.  This trilogy has come off to me as a cash-grab that became a snore-fest.  Peter Jackson made the mistake George Lucas did.  Making what should have been one awesome prequel film into three not-so-interesting films.