Marvel's Cranking out Movies and their Stock Soars

The comic book company Marvel has had some rough history. In fact, they briefly (about a year) let the relatively new comic publisher Image publish the popular Marvel comics. As recently as the end of 2000 Marvel stock was hitting below $1 per share and this was after the release of the popular X-Men movie. Today, Marvel is pushing ahead with more movies and will be producing the movies themselves. Read the full article at Hero Goggles.

Iron Man Movie - Premieres May 2, 2008

Iron Man is currently in pre-production but slated for release on May 2, 2008. Currently, the film is being directed by Jon Favreau and stars Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark / Iron man, Terrence Howard as Jim Rhodes (Tony Stark's friend and body guard and Iron Man stand in when Stark gave up being Iron Man in the comics), and Gweneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Starks' secretary.

Visit the Official Movie Site. Nothing there yet, but you can register for updates to be e-mailed to you.

Transformers - Movie Synopsis and Info

Transformers brings the Autobot / Decepticon war to life in this live action CGI movie directed by Michael Bay with Steven Spielberg as the executive producer. The movie is scheduled for release July 4, 2007.

Check out the review and synopsis at Hero Goggles.

Or visit the Official Movie Site

Hannibal Rising - Movie Synopsis

Hannibal Rising is the fifth film (Manhunter, Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon) and prequel to the Hannibal Lecter series by Thomas Harris. It is an adaptation of Thomas Harris' 2006 novel of the same name and will tell the story of how Hannibal becomes the infamous serial killer of the previous films and books.

The film is being directed by Peter Webber from a screenplay by Harris. It was filmed in Barrandov Studios in Prague. It is produced by the Dino De Laurentiis Company and scheduled to be released in February 9 2007. Theatrical distribution in the United States will be by The Weinstein Company and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Synopsis: The story opens in Eastern Europe in the final days of World War II. These are desperate times full of desperate actions to simply survive. Young Hannibal (Gaspard Ulliel) witnesses the violent death of his parents, leaving him responsible for the care of his sister. Without any means of providing support for either of them, he is forced to take refuge in a Soviet orphanage that was once his families home. He leaves the orphanage to seek out what family he has, an Uncle in France, only to find his Uncle has died. His Uncle's widow, Lady Murasaki (Gong Li) takes him in and shows him love and kindness. Under her tutelage, young Hannibal becomes an apt pupil to science and takes to studying medicine. It is here that Lecter develops his talents that he will use to exact his justice on the war criminals that haunt his thoughts.

The Official Movie Site where you can view the trailer, get downloads, etc.

Smokin' Aces Review

Smokin' Aces is an action film written and directed by Joe Carnahan set in Lake Tahoe and primarily shot at MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa (though renamed the "Nomad Casino"). It marks Carnahan's first feature film after Narc agent assigned to protect him. It is the feature film debut of . It stars Ryan Reynolds and Jeremy Piven as the leads, with Piven as a Las Vegas magician turned Mafia informant and Reynolds as the FBI Alicia Keys and hip hop artist Common.

Synopsis:

The film follows FBI agents Richard Messner (Ryan Reynolds) and Donald Carruthers (Ray Liotta) as several rival assassins try to cash in on the million dollar mob contract on Las Vegas magician turned Mafia informant Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven) .

Messner and Carruthers are staking out the house of Mafia boss Primo Sparazza (Joseph Ruskin) when it is revealed — by one of Sparazza's accomplices — that Sparazza has put a one-million-dollar bounty on Israel's head, and hired a "specialist" known only as "the Swede" to bring him Buddy's heart. FBI assistant director Stanley Locke (Andy Garcia) explains that Sparazza brought Israel into the Mafia, but Israel let his new-found power go to his head, and caused a rift. Sparazza, on his deathbed, wants Israel dead. However, the FBI want to offer Israel refuge in exchange for information. Locke also explains that Sparazza was responsible for the contract-killing of former FBI agent Freeman Heller (Mike Falkow).

Sparazza's accomplice Victor "Baby Buzz" Padiche (David Proval) hires Georgia Sykes (Alicia Keys) and Sharice Watters (Taraji P. Henson) to bring in Israel. At the same time, lawyer Rupert "Rip" Reed (Jason Bateman) hires bail bondsman Jack Dupree (Ben Affleck) and ex-cops Hollis Elmore (Martin Henderson) and "Pistol" Pete Deeks (Peter Berg) to bring Buddy back to Vegas. Dupree outlines their potential competition as master-of-disguise Lazlo Soot (Tommy Flanagan), torturer Pasquale Acosta (Nestor Carbonell) and neo-Nazi siblings The Tremors (Chris Pine, Kevin Durand and Maury Sterling).

Israel is staying at a hotel in Lake Tahoe along with his three bodyguards, Sir Ivy (Common), Beanie (Christopher Michael Holley) and Hugo Croop (Joel Edgerton). He is negotiating with his lawyer Morris Mecklen (Curtis Armstrong) over the details of his deal with the FBI. The two FBI agents and the assassins head to the hotel to find Buddy Israel, and a huge melee ensues, during which Jeeves and Lester Tremor are killed by Sir Ivy, Beanie and Croop are killed by Soot (with Soot taking on the guise of Croop). Messner confronts Locke about the nature of the operation, demanding an explanation for the events.

Visit the Official Movie Site to get downloads and view clips or teaser and theatrical trailers here.

Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer - June 15, 2007

Tim Story returns to direct Rise of the Silver Surfer with Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, Chris Evans, Ioan Gruffudd, Julian McMahon and Kerry Washington reprising their roles. Doug Jones (Pan's Labyrinth) and Beau Garrett appear in the sequel as the Silver Surfer and Frankie Raye, respectively. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer has a target release date of June 15, 2007.

Check out Hero Goggles for the review and synopsis.

Visit the Official Movie Site here.

Spider-Man 3 Premiere's May 4, 2007

Spider-Man returns to the big screen May 4, 2007. In the third installment to the spider-man story, Sam Raimi will be introducing Gwen Stacy (who long time spider-man readers will know was Peter Parker's first love who died in the battle with the Green Goblin at the tram scene of the first movie), the second Green Goblin , Sandman, and Venom.

For movie synopsis and review check out Hero Goggles.

Also visit the Official Movie Site and the Official Blog for Spider-Man 3 wallpaper, pics, clips, and more.

Ghost Rider Premier's Feb 16, 2007

"Superstar motorcycle stunt rider Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) strikes a deal with the vile Mephistopheles for the most precious of commodities, his immortal soul. Now Johnny Blaze is forever destined to ride night after night as the host to the most powerful supernatural entity known as the Ghost Rider."

Visit the Official Movie Site and the Official Blog

In May 2000 at the Cannes Film Festival, Marvel Studios announced an agreement with Crystal Sky Entertainment to film Ghost Rider with actor Jon Voight attached as a producer. Production would start in early 2001 with a budget of $75 million, with actor Johnny Depp expressing interest in the lead role. The following August, Dimension Films joined Crystal Sky to co-finance the film, which would be written by David S. Goyer and directed by Stephen Norrington. In June 2001, actor Nicolas Cage entered talks to be cast into the lead role for Ghost Rider, and by July, had closed a deal with the studio. According to producer Steven Paul, Cage had found out about Depp being a possibility for the role and contacted the director to express his own interest, being an avid Ghost Rider fan.

In the following August, Norrington abandoned the project due to a scheduling conflict, leaving to film the action flick Tick Tock starring Jennifer Lopez. Cage eventually left the project as well. By May 2002, the studio Columbia Pictures sought to acquire rights to the film in turnaround from Dimension Films following the success of Spider-Man. In April 2003, under Columbia Pictures, director Mark Steven Johnson took over the helm for Ghost Rider with Cage returning for the lead role. Both had been drawn by a script written by screenwriter Shane Salerno. Johnson, rewriting Salerno's script, was set to begin production of Ghost Rider in late 2003 or early 2004. With production delayed into October 2003, Cage took a temporary leave of absence to film The Weather Man. Ghost Rider production was slated to tentatively begin in May or June of 2004.

Ghost Rider had again been delayed to begin in late 2004, but the lack of a workable script continued to delay production. In January 2005, actor Wes Bentley was cast as the villain Blackheart, having been introduced to Johnson by Colin Farrell, who had worked with the director in Daredevil. Actress Eva Mendes was also cast opposite Cage as the Ghost Rider's girlfriend. By March 2005, the long-delayed production of Ghost Rider had begun in Australia, with actor Peter Fonda cast as the villain Mephistopheles. By June 2005, filming had been completed for Ghost Rider, which was set for a summer 2006 release. The entire film was shot in Melbourne, Australia. Bluescreen scenes were shot at the Central City Studios in the Melbourne Docklands. Other locations include Flinders Street Station, Southbank, the Melbourne General Cemetery and the Telstra Dome. Ghost Rider was originally scheduled to release on July 14, 2006 with a US rating of PG-13. Sony changed the film's release date to February 16, 2007 to help relieve the studio's crowded 2006 calendar.

As an interesting bit of trivia, Cage had to have his tattoo masked as it is a picture of the Ghost Rider.

Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth

This film is set in post-Civil War northern Spain, in 1944. A young girl, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), moves with her pregnant mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil), and her stepfather Captain Vidal (Sergi López), into a new home in the countryside. Vidal and his small army have been sent to the remote area to rid it of a small Republican militia.

Ofelia, who often immerses herself in ancient stories and fairy tales, finds an immense and ancient labyrinth near her new home. There, she meets a faun (Doug Jones) who reveals that she is the long-lost daughter of the King of the Underworld, and that to regain entry to her kingdom she must carry out three tasks. The faun gives her a storybook, which will tell her the details of the tasks.

For the remainder of the film, Ofelia accesses a strange and dangerous world of fairies and extraordinary creatures such as the terrifying Pale Man (also played by Doug Jones), while trying to cope with her abusive stepfather.

Visit the Official Movie Site for beautifully rendered e-cards, trailers, games, and more.

This movie is a beautifully haunting blend of poetry and fantasy. It is visual prose, and a must see!

Coupling - Hilarious BBC Comedy - Think "Friends" With Raunchier Humor

Coupling is like Friends but with more sexual innuendo ala BBC. You have six principal characters, 3 guys and 3 girls.

The men:

Steve (Jack Davenport): Boyfriend to Susan. Excessively neurotic, and yet easily the most well-adjusted of the men.

"Lap dancing is the ultimate nightmare of man. Porn that can see you."

Patrick (Ben Miles): Man-whore. Also an ex of Susan's.

"If I don't like a woman, if there's no chemistry, if I'm not attracted to her, then I don't lead her on, I just get out of there... every time, before she even wakes up."

Jeff (Richard Coyle): Socially inept and sexually fixated. Shares his thoughts and opinions about things such as "the Melty Man" and "the sock gap." Oddly enough, Jeff is the one most men identify with.

"When God made the arse, he didn't say, 'Hey, it's just your basic hinge, let's knock off early.' He said, 'Behold ye angels, I have created the arse. Throughout the ages to come, men and women shall grab hold of these, and shout my name!"

I think we fear we are most like Jeff, wish we were more like Patrick, but most people would say we are like Steve.

The women:

Susan (Sarah Alexander): The most well-adjusted of the women characters.

"Well, you know what it's like at the start, when they're all fiery-eyed, and eager, and they haven't seen you naked yet. And it's like he's smashing at your door with his mighty battering ram. And he's promising to ravish you forever. So you brace yourself for man overload, and throw open the doors, and what do you find standing there? An over sized toddler who wants his dinner. And before you can say 'there's been a terrible mistake', he's snoring on your sofa, the fridge is full of empty bottles and the whole place smells of feet."

Sally (Kate Isitt): Exceedingly neurotic and preoccupied with aging.

"A woman's breasts are a journey. Her feet are the destination."

Jane (Gina Bellman): Steves ex. Ditsy nympho.

"I really quite like being single. Except for the bit about not having a man."

Coupling is the only show that makes me laugh out loud every time. For most with digital cable, you'll have BBC America which airs the show. If not, look for it wherever you rent movies.