5.12.08

The Future Marvel Avengers movie might be the Hulk's next stop.

Well it has been quite afew months since the summer release of the Incredible Hilk movie and in fact it has even been a few weeks since the movie was also released onto DVD and Blueray for the home market. I for one am looking forward to getting the new Hulk DVD for Christmas or afterwards (ie. Boxing Day here in Canada).

One thing I am really looking forward to is the supposed inclusion of a deleted scene involving Bruce Banner in the Arctic; there he supposedly comes across the body, frozen and preserved in a kind of suspended animation in the ice, of one Steve Rogers, otherwise known to comicbook fans as
- CAPTAIN AMERICA! Of course the movie itself is good enough to make me want to own a copy on DVD, too...

Something else on my mind recently, is the growing talk about the future Marvel Avengers movie from Marvel Entertainment; since Marvel started to slowly trickle out information on different films release datse, the fan community has started to speculate on what might be instore in each of these movies. One really interesting thing suggested by many is the idea that the Hulk may be in the upcoming avengers movie and that he may be in it as either a chief villain or as a member of the team. Of course comics being comics, he could easily go from being avillain to eventually a member of the team after it is realized that the Hulk is not really evil in nature. Also, dont forget that at the end of the latest Hulk movie, Robert Downey Jr. showed up as ony Stark and alluded to a team that he was putting together to deal with threats such as the Hulk...

Other than the scheduled release date ( July 15th, 20011), not much else is confirmed yet for this Marvel project. We dont know a director or acast yet but we can guess that such Marvel stalwarts as Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk, Ant Man, Giant Man and the Wasp could all be involved in the script. I would even expect some appearances from Nick Fury as a representative of SHIELD.

I guess only time will tell...

15.6.08

INCREDIBLE HULK MOVIE: You will believe that a good Hulk movie CAN be made.

I went and saw the new Incredible Hulk movie on Friday night. I went to the 7pm show and was surprised at just how empty the local movie house was. I think a combination of the very nice weather and relatively low key promotion for this film so far didn't encourage people to flood this film as much as the publicity build up forIron Man did for that movie (I dont even know if there were any Thursday midnight preview showings for Hulk in my area, for example).

So, what did I think?

Awesome, simply awesome.

Finally, 'Hulk smashed' and it made sense. Don't get me wrong, I didn't even really hate the first Hulk movie as much as many of you did, but I left the theater feeling sleepy by the end of it and that was the problem there: it was just too cerebral for Summer box office fare. Sure the first Hulk smahed and had it out with the military, but that seemed to be lost in all the self introspective blah blah blah going on throughout. That and there was no real effective adversary for the Hulk to fight (if you dont include a trippy Nick Nolte mind expansion sequence, that is).

That is what this new Hulk movie got right. Well actually, it got alot of things right:

Good casting of the principles: Ed Norton was believable as Banner; Tim Roth was appropriately evil as the Abomination (before and after the transformation); Liv Tyler was good at being the primarily eye candy that her part allowed for (not given much else to do); William Hurt was very good as the obsessive General Ross.

Decent plotting: The story kept moving forward and I never once caught myself looking at my watch/cellphone. The backstory was effectively done during the opening credits which effectively got it out of the way. Banner got his chance to reflect on his situation repeatedly and it didnt feel to me that it was at the expense of the flow of the story. Heck there was even time for a nearly half hour fight scene at the end, and this after two entertaining fight scenes earlier in the film.

Special Effects: The CGI team behind this film deserve to take a bow for their efforts: the film included several slow panning shots of the monster and showed decent detail while doing so. The effects during the fight scenes made them very enjoyable, although a couple of times we were given Matrix-like sequences which are almost obligatory by now.

All in all, this film did not disappoint the fanboy in me and even had an easter egg or two to get me stoked about the future. By now everyone has heard that Robert Downey Jr reprises his Tony stark role briefly for this film: he does and it is a marginal scene, but it helps keep the ball rolling on building momentum for a future Avengers movie. There was also a brief scene that suggested at least one more gamma powered adversary might be on the way for the Hulk in any future sequel (watch for the last scenes with the scientist friend of Banner in the movie-more specifically what seems to be happening with his head).

The downside to all of this is now that Iron Man and the Hulk have come and gone, all we are left with in the foreseeable future is a new Punisher movie; Mehh, I'm not getting too excited about that project and any future Marvel Universe projects will be up to a year away, when we will then get a new Wolverine movie, a new Captain America movie, and even a new Thor movie somewhere down the road.

29.5.08

INCREDIBLE HULK MOVIE: Hulk is the Strongest one there is!! (...well, at least for a few weeks on either side)

Despite it's ups and downs, such as the sort-of-feud, between Incredible Hulk star Ed Norton and Universal Studios over final cut rights resulting in Norton being a bit resistant to earlier help promote the film, I am still looking forward to this movie.

There are various reasons for this: one thing is the cast. Norton has always been a fav of mine and is well cast as the troubled Bruce Banner. Tim Roth as his primary adversary (once transformed into the Abomination) is always good for a decent, committed performance in anything he does. William Hurt looks truly transformed in the early pictures and trailer clips of him as Thunderbolt Ross. And Liv Tyler? Ehh, well she is definitely quality eye candy at the least.

Another reason to be optimistic about this project is the attempt to put more of a 'comic feel' into this second Hulk movie. Ang Lee's Hulk effort just didn't sit right with many of the Hulk fans out there, but this time around rumours of a nearly half-hour fight scene at the climax of the movie have fans excited at the prospect of this film being much more to their liking.

Plot-wise, I like the evidence so far that the script has 'borrowed' brief elements from some of the more entertaining recent Hulk comic stories, such as Norton's character being dropped out of a helicopter to give him the needed panic and subsequent adrenaline rush that will trigger his transformation into the Hulk. (brutal - but effective!)

And of course there are the rumored cameos from actors such as Robert Downey Jr., reprising his (Iron Man movie) Tony Stark role in this film. Talk about cross promotion.

Really, apart from the later June release of the Wanted movie, (June 27th) and the early July release of Will Smith's Hancock movie, (July 4th) there aren't even many other super hero movie releases out there within afew weeks on either side of the Hulk movie to mention, so it has the genre pretty much to itself. Remember that I don't really consider the Indiana Jones movie to be a comic book movie even though it has some classic comic book elements to it.

So we shall see just how loud and long the Incredible Hulk roars at the box office this Summer as he competes against all other comers...

19.4.08

Did someone say 'Cut'?

'Hulk is strongest one there - Ow! Furry man has sharp claws!!'


If this is true, then ... wow.

In what looks to be part of the final battle sequence of the new Incredible Hulk movie, Wolverine will be making an appearance as part of the team that will hope to gain some semblance of control over the Hulk.




Again, wow. If this is legit then it is a very surprising side ball of a cameo for this Summer, considering how much everybody has been all over the already revealed Tony Stark cameo in the same movie - and this one would be much more interesting.

This smells of cross promotion of the in production new Wolverine movie starring Hugh Jackman, who is supposedly in the Hulk cameo sequence as well.

Just how they managed to do it without anyone finding out already, no one is really sure. But word from sources close to Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier have confirmed that Wolverine will indeed be joining the fray in the movie.

Cool if true, amusing non-hype if not.

[Editors Note: This story came to my attention a while after April 1st, and as such it was not readily apparent to yours truly that this was indeed an April Fool's prank. Ah well, we live and learn ... and laugh at ourselves once in a while.


(source: comicbooknewsdotcom)

New Hulk movie get ...CLOSER!

The new one-sheet poster for the new Incredible Hulk movie is out and it shows Banner in the shadow of the Hulk and plenty of destruction all around (very similar to the streets of Vancouver after a hockey riot, heh heh).


Yep, the first one-sheet poster for the June 13 release, Incredible Hulk movie has arrived. Check it out and then check out the film's synopsis below!






"The Incredible Hulk" kicks off an all-new, explosive and action-packed epic of one of the most popular Super Heroes of all time. In the film, scientist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) desperately hunts for a cure to the gamma radiation that poisoned his cells and unleashes the unbridled force of rage within him: The Hulk.

Living in the shadows—cut off from a life he knew and the woman he loves, Betty Ross (Liv Tyler)—Banner struggles to avoid the obsessive pursuit of his nemesis, General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt), and the military machinery that seeks to capture him and brutally exploit his power.

As all three grapple with the secrets that led to the Hulk's creation, they are confronted with a monstrous new adversary known as the Abomination, whose destructive strength exceeds even The Hulk's own. And on June 13, 2008, one scientist must make an agonizing final choice: accept a peaceful life as Bruce Banner or find heroism in the creature he holds inside—"The Incredible Hulk."

6.4.08

Hulk Smash!! ... now Hulk need new action figures, sigh ...



Toys! Toys! Toys! Toys!


*Ahem. Okay, I am better now ( sorry about that).

So, I was surfing across the interweb (cue the theme to Star Wars) when I came across these bad boy pictures from a recent toy trade show. There were a number of different pictures of the same few toys and action figures done with different lighting and taken from different angles.

I hope you enjoy these pics.






Yeah, the Hulk figure itself looks pretty impressive at this stage of things. Looking forward to other figures from the series, such as the Abomination, for example.

Now, here are some pictures of something a wee bit ... different...


Here we have the latest board games based on a Marvel comic book character.



And look at this: It's the latest version of the 'Hulk Hands'!



and there wil be much more to come, I am sure of it.

Hulk 2 movie trailer spotted - on camera!


"Sir! We now have footage of the Monster, Sir!"

Okay kiddies, here it is: the latest trailer from one of the next big Summer popcorn movies from Marvel Entertainment, of course I am talking about the Hulk 2 movie trailer! And you thought I was gonna say 'Iron Man'.

It is nice to finally see something more than just a brief teaser considering that the movie's release is not that far away. It is also good to finally see something 'meatier' than
what the studio has previously offered; seeing more than 10 seconds of dialog at a time helps me get more of a feel for what the film will be like. I think Ed Norton is looking more and more like a very credible choice as Bruce Banner. Even if you consider him to sometimes be too much of a 'high art movie' kind of guy (not my opinion but expressed by some others in the past), this time I am thinking that he has found adecent balance for the character of Banner as a tormented and frustrated soul. We don';t really get to see too much of Liv Tyler, but she probably does apassable job of playing a character that never really traditionally got much more development than that of the simpering and hopelessly devoted lover who can only watch as Bruce Banner suffers his double life that he shares with the Hulk- whether it be Grey Hulk, Green Hulk, Red Hulk or whatever color Hulk is in vogue.

Tim Roth as the villainous foil of the movie, looks suitably creepy and slimey even BEFORE he undergoes his transformation into the grotesque Abomination (funny how he is willing to go along with a name like 'Abomination' considering he can't be too happy about how his make-over turned out visually).

Finally, Jeff Bridges as General Ross? What more can UI say at this point from his limited time in the trailer than a decent portrayal of a talking military mustache...

Okay that is probably enough dissection of the new Incredible Hulk movie trailer for now so I leave you with the actual new Hulk 2 movie trailer itself. Enjoy...


12.2.08

NEW INCREDIBLE HULK MOVIE TEASER POSTER (?)

It has recently come to my attention that a new teaser poster for the upcoming Incredible Hulk movie has been making the rounds online. This supposed new Hulk movie poster is probably a fake, but since Marvel has been so tightlipped about the upcoming Summer flick and reticent to release much of anything resembling a spoiler or even a decent tidbit of info regarding the project, who can blame the fan community for giving this more than its fair share of attention?



For all of the details on this new image, as well as some intriguing discussion on the subject, check out Jason A Clark's Blog, Inner 88

3.2.08

New Incredible Hulk movie

Out with the old Incredible Hulk movie, and in with the new(er)...

I suppose that the common consensus is that the last Hulk movie from a few years ago was not that great. It was supposed to be an entertaining piece of escapist entertainment: Summer popcorn fluff. Well I thought it was alright but so many times I heard the same complaint: that despite top notch FX,the Hulk movie was just downright boring; that it made for an effective two-hour sleep aid...


Fast forward now to 2008 and it looks like Marvel is getting ready to release a new Hulk movie, a new interpretation of the green-skinned goliath in time for the Summer movie audiences. This time the role of Dr. Bruce Banner will be played by accomplished actor, Ed Norton (Fight Club). An Ed Norton Hulk movie. Cool. I have to believe that Marvel has learned from their last effort and will be pulling out all of the stops to make sure that this incarnation of the incredible hulk movie keeps the audiences entertained . Of course, we won't really know for sure until Marvel starts to get the incredible Hulk movie promotional juggernaut into gear and rolling. At that time we can all dissect the earliest new hulk movie trailer, ooh and ahhh at the hulk movie poster and drool over the hulk movie action figures