The latest trailer for Man of Steel looks pretty damned good.¹

Trouble is, Zack Snyder's films often have impressive-looking trailers; it's only when you get into cinema that you find out how badly the plot falls short of the visuals. Then again, David S Goyer is pretty good at writing comic book movies, and goodness knows they've had enough examples of what not to do. Eventually they have to get Superman right on the big screen again. Why not in 2013?

[Via Mightygodking dot com]

1. It makes me feel old to see Kevin Costner playing Pa Kent, but that's just something I'm going to have to live with. ↩

From the Desk of Director Nick Fury:

The agents responsible for taking Captain Rogers to a screening of Quentin Tarantino's 'Inglourious Basterds', and convincing him that was how the war ended, have been identified, and have forfeited their furlough time until they provide him with a proper History textbook and debrief him.

[Via jwz]

Consider this a job application: S.H.I.E.L.D.E.D.

Nice cameo at the end from Agent Benson.

[Via feeling listless]

I think it's fair to say that The Dark Knight Rises evades the three-films-is-one-too-many curse that befell Spider-Man and Blade and the X-Men. It's a long film but didn't feel like one. It deserves to be written about at length: a task I don't have time for right now, but which I think we can rely upon the internet to take care of over the next few days.

Given how nicely the end of this film took care to geg some characters to where they wanted/needed to be and setting up fresh challenges for others, I'd say Christopher Nolan has earned the right to walk away from the series with his head held high, mission accomplished.¹

It's going to hurt a lot five or six years from now, when Warner/DC hand the franchise over to Zack Snyder to reboot.

1. Also, Anne Hathaway won't get the credit she deserves for her take on Selina Kyle. ↩

The Microscale Sci-fi LEGO contest involves various surprisingly effective minimalist depictions of scenes from science fiction (and superhero) films and TV shows.

My favourites are Tron (1982)¹ and 1.21 Gigawatts.²

[Via MetaFilter]

1. Because once you think about the sort of scene you could easily recreate using Lego it's a blindingly obvious choice. But so beautifully executed. ↩
2. Simple. Evocative. A classic. ↩

An Unbiased Review of the Marvel "Avengers" Movie:

Once again, Loki's true plan, which succeeded, was pure genius, and cunningly designed as a terrible plan which failed. Yet sophistication of his scheme has declined in complexity so radically since his elegant and subtly-worked plan to destroy Bifrost and fake his own death in the "Thor" film that the viewer is left wondering what happened? Was he distracted when he came up with this plan? Further research into the "Marvel Universe" led me to several alternatives. Is he simultaneously waging another battle in the Astral Plane, or the Mojoverse, which requires the majority of his attention? Perhaps we are to believe that this was a cry for attention? This would be consistent with the focus on his youth and desire for respect, treated in both films (though smelling more like a ruse than truth in both). Perhaps we are to believe he was so frustrated that no one noticed the brilliant success of his earlier scheme that this time he has dialed down the subtlety in hopes that at least some of the supposed-genius members of the adversary squad might piece together the logic chain: "Loki is an unmatched genius. This plan is dumb. Therefore this is not Loki's plan."

Beautiful work.

[Via More Words, Deeper Hole]

Junaid Chundrigar's animation Disassembled goes beyond the cast of a certain current blockbuster, featuring all sorts of non-Avengers. I loved the … um … cartoonish nature of Thor's encounter with Loki¹ and the sight of Venom trying to enjoy an ice cream. Good work, strongly recommended.

[Via MetaFilter]

1. Though not as much as I did a certain distinctly cartoonish Loki/Hulk meetup in the film. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. ↩

In the midst of a discussion on the merits of Marvel's The Avengers Assemble, fridgepunk came up with the greatest idea I've read in a long time:¹

The important thing to take away from the Avengers is that the studios have an example to point to that shows that having five movie prologues that lead up to the eventual Big group movie totally works as an approach.

Roll on the Machine Man, Captain Marvel, Elsa Bloodstone: Monster Hunter, Boom Boom and Captain ☠☠☠☠ movies that lead into the inevitable Nextwave movie.

1. It's not that I think this will ever happen. Not even that I think it would work out very well for Marvel Disney if ever it did come to pass. But I'd dearly love to live in a reality where someone would be willing to give that project a try. ↩

Joss Whedon's having a pretty good year. As if seeing The Cabin in the Woods¹ finally arrive in cinemas wasn't enough, now he's gone and delivered Avengers Assemble.²

In comics, superhero team-ups and crossovers can work extremely well when done right, but they have the advantage of being able to spread their (frequently ludicrously complicated) back-stories over multiple issues. Fitting half a dozen major characters into 140 minutes of film, giving them all something to do, and keeping the audience on board and entertained is a neat trick, but one Whedon pulled off beautifully. We got just enough information about who the main characters were and what they were capable of to bring those of us who hadn't seen all of the lead-in films up to speed³, and then the fun really started.

When I say 'fun', I of course mean crisis, tension, clashes between characters, conflicting motivations and all that good stuff, mixing big action scenes and little character moments and the odd belly laugh, all to keep the audience entertained.

And then we come to the big battle at the end, when our heroes find themselves outnumbered and outgunned and needing to work together just to stay in the fight. It's beautifully choreographed, coherent and hugely satisfying.⁴

Unless you're allergic to the very idea of superhero stories being told straight, you're likely to have a hell of a good time with Avengers Assemble. Marvel took a big risk in trying to make the Avengers work on the big screen, and Joss Whedon has made it pay off about as well as it possibly could have.

Finally, three random thoughts:

• All the main cast members gave good performances, with Tom Hiddleston's Loki coming second only to Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner. I'd happily sign a petition to have Mark Ruffalo digitally inserted into the two earlier Hulk films in place of Eric Bana and Edward Norton. Ruffalo was just outstanding in this, not least for providing the entire audience with two huge laughs late in the film.
• You definitely want to stay in your seat once the credits start rolling. You needn't stay right until the very last credit appears, but there is a mid-credit return to the story that provides a delicious reveal for anyone familiar with the comics.
• Now can we have a She-Hulk film, please? Preferably directed by Joss Whedon, and based on Dan Slott's Single Green Female storyline.

1. Previously. ↩
2. And he still has a Shakespeare adaptation to come this year. ↩
3. I haven't seen the second Iron Man film, Thor or Captain America. In fairness, I have to acknowledge that I knew all the main players from the comics, but I still think Whedon gave his audience what they needed to follow who had done what and the sort of people they were. ↩
4. The various Superman films tended to fail in part because their writers and directors were averse to having Superman solve problems by punching them really hard: that isn't a problem Joss Whedon has here. There's something deeply satisfying about seeing the Hulk punch a gigantic space worm to a standstill. ↩

MightyGodKing reminds me that it's been far too long since I last watched Kayhryn Bigelow's Strange Days:

[...] Strange Days is great for reasons other than its often impressive precognitive abilities. It's got Angela Bassett in what I would argue is her definitive movie role and one of the baddest-ass female action hero roles ever, which by itself makes the entire catalogue of Angelina Jolie look wussy. It teaches us the secret of making Juliette Lewis tolerable, which is to have her sing rather than speak (seriously: the movie's major flaw is that Lewis' appeal to Ralph Fiennes is only evident when she's singing). It has a killer supporting cast: Sizemore, Michael Wincott, Vincent D'onofrio, William Fichtner, Glenn Plummer. It has an absolutely fantastic soundtrack that sounded in 1993 like what the future of music would sound like, and to an extent still does. It has one of the most beautiful and heartfelt endings I've ever seen in a movie, and begins with what I still hold up to be one of the greatest cold opens in film history (which, lest we forget, was filmed long before lightweight digital cameras were available, and thus had to be filmed entirely on full-sized Steadicams)

I'd have said that Tina Turner was Angela Bassett's definitive role, but would add that¹ I reckon that her definitive role should have been Storm. I've nothing against Halle Berry, but failing to cast Angela Bassett was a horrible missed opportunity for all concerned IMHO.

1. In common with 90% of geekdom. ↩

James McAvoy/Professor Xavier, arguing for the benefits of peaceful coexistence in X-Men: First Class – The Abridged Script…

EXT. CIA HEADQUARTERS

JAMES MCAVOY

I'm glad I found you, Michael. Together you can help me steer this narrative towards the day I envision, when all the X-Men movies can co-exist in peace as one harmonious franchise.

MICHAEL FASSBENDER

I think you're being naïve, James. Those other movies will always resent the enhanced acting powers of this one, and always find new inconsistencies and contradictions within the series to hold against us. And anyway, why should we go to such lengths to try and fit in with their continuity, what with its toads-struck-by-lightning riddles, entire X-teams quaking helplessly when faced with a wall of water, and whatever the hell that third movie was?

JAMES MCAVOY

What do you suggest instead?

MICHAEL FASSBENDER

We could embrace the inherent superiority of this movie, reboot the series and control the whole narrative ourselves! It would be Inglourious!… I mean, glorious!

JAMES MCAVOY

And just wipe out all the events of all the other movies? How can you say that?

MICHAEL FASSBENDER

In a voice that in no way evokes that of a young Ian McKellen, THAT'S how!

JAMES MCAVOY

(shakes head)

Michael, I sympathize, but you're confused by having been isolated, running around the world making scenes way more entertaining than anything the rest of us have been doing. Trust me, we CAN make all the X-Men movies work together, and it will be the best for everyone.

MICHAEL FASSBENDER

All right, James, we'll try it your way, at least for now.

(pause)

You do realize that given the ages of our characters' actors in "X-Men" we're both at least ten years too old, right?

JAMES MCAVOY

Oh, piss off.

T-Rex is absolutely right: reality SUCKS sometimes.

[Via The Run of Play]

Batman quote of the week:

Batman on It's A Wonderful Life: "You know, I've never seen that. I could never get past the title."

Superman's honeymoon.

[Via LinkMachineGo!]

Speed Dating in the Marvel Universe:

Spider-Man

You look great, but I've got to tell you, I haven't exactly had a lot of luck with blondes. I mean, really, I haven't had good luck with redheads or brunettes either, but blondes, yeesh. Well here's hoping you're the one I finally get lucky with! Wait, no, I mean… not lucky like that, just lucky that you don't fall off a… can we start over? Okay. Well, I'm sort of between jobs and that makes getting the rent pretty hard, but it's like I always say, action is my reward, and I get plenty of action. I mean, fighty-type action! Not lady-action! That's…Wow. I'm actually so bad at this that my Spider-Sense is tingling.

Wait, I — no! Come back! That wasn't a euphemism!

[Via James Nicoll]

Mad Men meet X-Men.

Lois Lane just won't be told.

[Via Oliver Willis]

Nathan Rabin enthuses over The Rocketeer, one of those films I just have to sit down and watch on the odd occasions when it shows up on Sunday afternoon TV:

The Rocketeer's plot concerns a glistening, alluringly mammary-like rocket-pack developed by Howard Hughes; it falls into the hands of mobsters, then gets discovered by hotshot flyboy Campbell and mentor Arkin. Campbell is immediately fascinated. What red-blooded American boy wouldn't want a jetpack of his own? [...]

Campbell uses the jetpack to become costumed adventurer The Rocketeer. Of course, by superhero standards, The Rocketeer is kinda lame. He doesn't shoot fireballs or have X-ray vision or superpowers or titanium skin. He's just a handsome guy with a rocket pack. But rocket packs are so inherently awesome that they make other superpowers unnecessary. Like the simpatico Superman, The Rocketeer beautifully exploits mankind's eternal longing to fly. There's a reason people dream about flying and not filing their taxes.

Granted, the special effects in The Rocketeer weren't particularly special even in their day, but that's not such a big deal: it certainly helps to have convincing SFX work, but any halfway worthwhile superhero film is remembered for the characters and storyline and performances anyway. Happily, The Rocketeer had the benefit of a sharp script whose writers knew exactly the tone to aim for,¹ fine performances from the likes of Timothy Dalton, Jennifer Connelly, Terry O'Quinn, Alan Arkin and Paul Sorvino, and (crucially) a bunch of Nazis as the villains. Even mobsters hate Nazis!

As it turned out, all that wasn't enough to create a Rocketeer franchise, but it did make for a highly entertaining couple of hours.

1. As Rabin notes, "[...] it's refreshing to see a superhero whose biggest psychological weakness involves neglecting his bestest gal in favor of flying." ↩

Judging by the trailer for No Heroics, I might have to watch an ITV2 programme on a regular basis for the first time since … um … hmmm … let me think … can I get back to you on that…

[Via polymath blues]

This preview of Heroes season 3¹ looks pretty good.

I trust that with a full season of episodes scheduled this time round we'll get a decent story arc. I liked season 2, but the way they had to fast-forward through some plot lines to get to the finale was immensely frustrating.

[Via Viral Video Chart]

1. Spoilerphobes beware: the trailer hints at the fate of some characters whose survival beyond the season 2 finale was in question. ↩