War Machine will get a solo spin-off from Iron Man

I always thought War Machine was a pretty cool character in the Marvel universe.  But is he cool enough for his own film?  Apparently Marvel thinks so.  Don Cheadle who played the armored hero will reprise his role, FOR NOW!  Remember the Terrance Howard debacle?  Or how about the Edward Norton debacle?  Yeah, no actor is a lock for a sequel with these guys.  For now, here's what Cheadle had to say about the spin-off:

Yeah they’re developing it now, they’re working on that.  I think they’ve hired a writer and so, you know, we’ll see how it goes. It’d be a lot of fun.  I don't think he shows up in ['Avengers'].  I think he's kind of a lone wolf.

That's an interesting comment towards the end of the quote.  I haven't really given The Avengers much thought of late.  Now we know War Machine isn't in the film.  But it makes sense because Marvel needs films to fill the calendar after The Avengers is released.   

One of my "dislikes" on my Iron Man 2 review was Cheadle himself; or the misuse of Cheadle anyway.  He was just a passenger on that poorly made ride.  I think he's a great actor, I just don't really like him for this.  Maybe I'm alone, but I thought Terrance Howard was a more fitting War Machine.

So are you excited to see a War Machine spin-off?  Or do you even care?

"Knocked Up" Spin-Off Coming Soon

When Knocked Up came out in theaters, it changed my life. Forever I would hear 'you look like the guy from Knocked Up'. Thanks? I think. That movie starred Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl in one of the most successful comedies ever. Writer/director Judd Apatow cast Leslie Mann (his real life wife), as Heigl's sister. And Paul Rudd played Mann's husband in the film.

Well, much like Russell Brand got a spin-off from Forgetting Sarah Marshall to Get Him To The Greek... so too do Mann and Rudd. Apatow is in the process of writing the film and I'm sure it will be released late this year or early next.

I really REALLY liked Rudd's character in the film. He's this really down to earth, doesn't get upset about much, kind of guy. This is great contrast to Mann's character in the film. I really like Leslie Mann, I think she is so versatile, so funny, she can do no wrong in my eyes (check out 17 Again, she's beautiful). So I'm totally ok with this spin-off!

Really the only thing left to discover is whether Rogan will reprise his role from Knocked Up to this spin-off. We all know Heigl will not be welcome anywhere near the movie! She's such a moron... she accused Apatow of making the film appear sexist towards women instead of thanking him for everything she has. Instead we get Oscar worthy performances in 27 Dresses, The Ugly Truth, Killers and Life As We Know It. The woman should just shut up and go away!

On a lighter note... I give you... my twin

Get Him to the Greek review

Forgetting Sarah Marshall was released a few years ago and was OK. There was really only one stand out role in that film... Aldous Snow played by Rusell Brand. Brand was so funny, so memorable, he made the movie. Now comes Get Him to the Greek, a spin-off. Let's dive right in.

What I liked about the movie:
The Jokes
Last year, around this time, a little movie called The Hangover was released. It re-established my faith in comedies. 'Hangover' succeeded by having jokes with four guys just talking; not just physical comedy. 'Greek' achieves the same thing. Brand and Jonah Hill deliver their lines with such timing, you can't help but laugh. It's no surprise the movie doesn't totally depend on fall over funny gags. The movie was produced by Judd Apatow, who seems to be a part of every successful comedy of the past 4 years.



There is one shtick that didn't work for me at all. The threesome, that's all I need to say haha. I don't want to give anything away so I'll just tell you this; it felt forced, out of place and was done simply to be funny, not add anything to the story.

The Settings
There are a lot of "road trip" type movies I'm a fan of, this is one of them. The duo of Hill and Brand travel from London to New York, to Las Vegas to Los Angeles. And each setting adds something to the story. In other words, they are all necessary. There are a lot of movies where they visit a particular city just to give the audience something they recognize (Jumper).

The Music
I have not purchased a CD in YEARS. You may think I download illegally if I haven't bought a CD in so long, but I really don't. The noise the studios release as music every year is horrible these days. To hear all the original material written for Brand's character was great. Some were really funny. It was reminiscent of another Apatow production, Walk Hard. Creative writing and perfect delivery made the songs great.


What I didn't like about the movie:
The Pacing
This was a minor negative for me, but still worth mentioning. The transition scenes from one city to the next were a bit off. They were slow and had tons of dialogue (serious, not funny dialogue). Some of these transitions were too long and some were just a tad bit too short. The most memorable one was when the two friends discuss Aldous Snow's relationship with his father, it felt off. But again, a minor defect in the movie.


Overall the movie is a winner. It deserves the accolades it's receiving. Also worth mentioning is P. Diddy who's role as a studio exec is fantastic. Diddy has really grown as an actor and I like that he's trying comedy. The movie is not The Hangover, it's not. What it is though, is a funny movie. It's one of the better road trip films, one of the better music related films, and some of Jonah Hill's best work. Russell Brand is great in the movie and I see his career only getting bigger as this movie hits DVD and later cable. Funny stuff.

Big name director for the Deadpool movie, guess who?

There's news today about a Deadpool director? Who may you ask? Robert Rodriguez! Director of some awesome stuff, like Desperado and Sin City. The movie was on the fast track after X-Men Origins: Wolverine featured the Deadpool character. Ryan Reynolds signed on to reprise his role as a spin-off feature. Then a road bump... he got cast as another superhero! Reynolds signed on to Warner Brothers' Green Lantern.

There was talk that Reynolds may have backed out of the Deadpool project, but that hasn't happened. It was reported by the guys at /slashfilm that Reynolds is indeed involved and the offer is out to Rodriguez to direct.


As long as Rodriguez takes a comedy-action approach to the movie, I'm totally OK with this decision by Fox. But if he tries to pull a Gavin Hood, and make the movie too serious for its own good, "somebody gonna get a hurt real bad". Hood made 'Wolverine' way too damn serious for its own good. And the fact that the Deadpool character is in fact a comedic one, let's hope Rodriguez takes a lighter approach. Till then, we'll keep ya posted.

The image at the top of the post is by DeviantArt contributor Will, screen name deusxmachina.

Quickie: Tom Cruise hints at a Les Grossman movie

Tropic Thunder was a great movie, that was well received by both fans and critics alike. Tom Cruise tore it UP as Les Grossman, the studio exec. who was quick to scream and curse at you. I loved the character and Cruise stole the show. Eonline reported just a single quote that has our hopes up: "Yup, we're working on it." We'll see what happens but I for one would see this movie.

Megan Fox for Red Sonja, all of a sudden I don't care for this movie anymore

Gosh darn you, Robert Rodriguez! You couldn't stay together with Rose McGowan long enough to make this film right?! Well, apparently not. The two were an item (Rodriguez even left his wife for her, yikes). They were both set to make the Red Sonja remake, and they even released the two posters above to whet our appetites.

Rose McGowan is even set to co-star in the Conan remake, so it was obvious that her spin-off would go as planned (Red Sonja, is indeed a spin off of the older Conan films). Not the case.

Today its rumored that the title role is being offered to my favorite actress in the world, Megan Fox; for any idiot that can't read sarcasm, that was it. As soon as I read the headlines, I felt the need to rant... WHYYYY?! WHYYYY?!

She is the epitome of the pretty, overachiever. My God, the girl does NOT know how to act. Watch the Transformers' special features on DVD and hear how she got the part. Michael Bay says it clear as day. He asked for someone hot, "who could run and had a flat stomach." C'MON PEOPLE! Why is she getting this movie?!

Anywho, if this becomes official, we'll let you know... and if this rumor is shot down, we'll let you know FOR SURE!

(I'm mad that I spent 5 minutes making the picture above, lol).

Venom Spin-Off moving along at Sony

"Zombieland" writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese have been working on a script for a Venom movie for Sony Pictures. Werrick told Sci-Fi Writer “We’ve written two drafts of Venom, and the studio has it, and they’re pushing forward in whatever ways they push forward.”

It will be interesting to see whether or not Sony will try to tie this in with the upcoming Spider-Man 4, or if it will be a true spin-off.

Tony & I both disliked Spider-Man 3 very much and think the Venom character deserves a better movie outing. Zombieland has been getting mostly positive reviews, and seeing as how both writers Wernick and Reese also wrote for TV's excellent Joe Shmoe Show, we have high expectations of their creative talents.

So what do you guys think of a Venom movie spin-off: yay or nay? Click on "comments" below and let us know!

Writer found for X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2

Every few days to a week we are getting more details about the 'Wolverine' sequel. Last week, Hugh Jackman revealed that the film would follow the Japan saga made popular in the 1980's comic. This week a writer has been hired, a good one! Christopher McQuarrie has written movies like Valkyrie, The Way of the Gun, and won an Oscar for The Usual Suspects in 1996 for Best Original Screenplay. Not a bad resume.

The next rumor/ order of business is, who will direct? Neither the studio or Jackman are saying if Gavin Hood would return. The greatest rumor of all is Bryan Singer. A few months ago we told you that producers wanted him for a Gambit spin-off. Now we're hearing he may do the Wolverine sequel. He has a great relationship with Jackman, whom he discovered. So it looks like a good fit considering Singer has worked with McQuarrie on three films now. We'll see what happens in the upcoming weeks. But I am very pleased with McQuarrie as writer of Wolverine 2, hope the studio doesn't mess this one up.

Blade spin-off starring... Stephen Dorff?

I hope this is the ultimate in bs hype. In my opinion, the Blade franchise brought back the cool of superhero movies. It combined story and special effects that few movies could before it. In 1998, I doubt Marvel Comics expected the first film to become a three film trilogy, but it did. Despite what everyone thinks, Blade: Trinity is bad ass! The first film obviously starred Wesley Snipes and Stephen Dorff. Stephen Dorff, you don't know Stephen Dorff? Don't worry, no one else does either.

Dorff played the villain in the first movie and there are rumors a new movie is in development surrounding his character. It is more a prequel than a sequel; a way to see how Dorff's character, Deacon Frost, came to be. Normally we ignore rumor and hearsay when it comes to this kind of news. In this case however, the director of Blade, Stephen Norrington, also confirmed the rumor. Here's what Dorff had to say about it to The Sunday Mail:

It will be a prequel to the Blade movies, Deacon's story. It's a new trilogy the director has created. It will cool. We hope to shoot the first film next year. Frost is a character I have never been able to shake.

Are you serious? No one knows you for anything else BUT Deacon Frost. Dorff is actually not even that bad of an actor, but who the heck is this guy's agent? Anyway. I doubt this all will happen. Marvel is holding their properties so close to the chest that I really don't see them letting go of a viable, commercially successful Blade franchise to just anyone. So we'll have to wait and see. Would you go watch a Deacon Frost focused movie?

Deadpool concept art!

Folks, Themovieblog has given us fans a few concept art pictures from the upcoming Deadpool movie. The movie is obviously a spin-off from the Wolverine movie that Matt and I reviewed a few weeks ago. This is kind of exciting to see the different steps involved before you see the movie itself... but did Fox give us a huge secret?! In the concept art is Victor Creed aka Sabertooth... before today's release I didn't know if he would be starring in the film. Then again, it is just concept art and may not end up in the movie. Either way, this is some cool stuff. Ryan Reynolds is playing Deadpool and is acting as a consultant in the development process.

Possible Gambit Spin-Off

Ok, so this isn't the latest news, but it is still relatively recent. It seems Fox was so impressed with the Wolverine movie that they're giving Deadpool (confimed) a spin-off, but Gambit as well. Donner, a producer on Wolverine, says there are "internal converstions" going on about a Gambit spin-off. Ready for the best part? She wants to pursue Bryan Singer to come back and direct. For those who don't know, Bryan Singer directed the first two (best of the franchise) X-Men movies. He's a genius behind the camera (minus Superman Returns) and I would love to see this movie. The actor playing Gambit in the Wolverine Movie is Taylor Kitsch. He has his own ideas about where the movie should go with the story, and I agree with him. Kitsch suggests the story arc of the Guild of Theives. That's where Gambit became the character we know and love (I do anyway). Hopefully it takes place in New Orleans and they stay faithful to the comics. Either way, we'll keep you posted.

'Wolverine' Gambit Spotlight @ Yahoo! Video

Matt: X-Men Origins: Wolverine Review

I'm going to agree with you on this one.

I really had high hopes for this movie. The trailer blew me away (I
should learn by now not to trust those darn things) and I thought the
casting was just right. I heard a negative review from you going into
it, so I wasn't really expecting much in the first place.

…Which explains why I enjoyed the first 1/3 of the movie so much. It
was well done, original, interesting and captured your attention. It
showed a young Wolverine and Sabertooth, growing up as children and
how they treated each other. It was a side of these beloved X-MEN
characters that we had never seen before. I started to think you had
it all wrong, Tony.

Until Wolverine grew up and had to become badass enough to blow up a
bunch of things and attract male viewers ages 15-35.

The multi-talented Hugh Jackman always was the best casted of all the
X-MEN in the first 3 outings of this beloved superhero franchise and
it's no surprise that he does a fine job playing the title character
here. Liev Schreiber in the supporting role was also a wise decision,
and I'm glad superhero flicks are stable enough to draw some better
actors. (Remember Sabertooth in the original X-MEN movie? Neither does
anyone else.)
You mentioned Gambit. I'm sure everyone was disappointed with Gambit.
I didn't have that much of a problem with Kitsch; it's the dull,
cliché dialogue and repetitive moves he performed that annoyed me.
Ryan Reynolds does a pretty good job making the best lemonade he could
from the rotten lemons he was handed. Being a Ryan Reynolds fan
myself, I enjoyed his role in this picture. I'm looking forward to his
spin-off. I just hope it's a completely different crew that works on
that movie.

The special effects in "Wolverine" were downright laughable. There is
a scene when Wolverine is in a bathroom admiring his newly made
adamantium blades, and I swear to everyone reading this that I could
have done a better job making those things look real. I don't know who
was in charge of that, but they should be fired. Immediately.
All the effects in this movie were overdone and looked horrible. I'm
really disappointed by that, too, because I thought that I'd at least
enjoy some eye-candy if everything else was bad, and I couldn't.

And I'm disagreeing with you on the writing. I didn't like where the
story went at all. I thought showing us the other X-MEN characters for
just a few seconds was unnecessary, not a fan pleaser. All the other
dialogue was just tried too hard to be serious while coming off as,
well, comic book like; over exaggerated and overdone.

Overall, the movie didn't know whether it wanted to be serious and
gritty like "The Dark Knight," or more graphic novel-like, a la "300"
and ended up failing at both. Let's hope for the next "Origins" they
take a lesson from last year's excellent "Iron Man."

Do not spend 12 bucks on this movie.
Heck, don't even rent it unless you're a die-hard X-MEN fan. You will
be disappointed.


-Matt

Tony: X-Men Origins: Wolverine Review

Yes, the long awaited prequel to the X-Men movies has finally been released. And what a release its been; to the tune of 90 million dollars! That's all fine and dandy, but was it deserving of such an opening? I'm afraid the answer is no boys and girls.

Hugh Jackman plays the title character of Wolverine and does a great job. The rest of the characters were cast very well. Liev Schreiber as Sabertooth is a menacing mutant that has the same regenerative abilities as Wolverine, and without really spoiling anything, it may be because they're brothers. Ryan Reynolds (one of my favorites) plays Deadpool (one of my favorites), and does a fantastic job. He does what he can with what little face time he gets. But its been confirmed he's getting his own spin off, so stay tuned for that one.


Now for what was the most exciting and somewhat disappointment part of this movie; Gambit. My personal favorite super hero and a fan favorite amongst those who follow the genre, was just a sidekick. The casting was wrong on this one, Taylor Kitsch is too young for the role, Gambit was a Cajun thief in his late 20's, Kitsch is just too young for that. Gambit's weapon of choice are playing cards which he charges with kinetic energy, yeah... It was shown for 10 seconds in the movie. He truly is just a sidekick to Wolverine.

Ready for the worst part of the film? The special effects. For a genre film of this kind, you need to spend the money for special effects. The audience shouldn't know where reality ends and cgi (computer generated images) begins. What made The Dark Knight so great was its on-location filming and the reality it presented. The last 30 minutes of this movie were so obviously filmed in front of a green screen that my wife noticed all of it; and she's not that into these movies. Not to mention the infamous "jump into a moving helicopter" scene (you'll all see for yourselves).

I do have to compliment the writers. The script was clever in weaving together characters and filing in plot holes we'd never seen as an audience. There are a couple of "wink wink" moments for the audience that reference the X-Men movies, especially when showing us characters in their younger years. I did like the explanation of where the name Wolverine came from, it was very well done. But the clever writing wasn't enough to save this film.

Overall, I'd save the 12 bucks (that's right, 12 dollars a ticket in Valencia, CA) and wait for the DVD. And if you're a hardcore fan (which I would like to think I am), don't anticipate much and you'll be fine. Go in thinking they were under budgeted for the special effects and you'll appreciate the movie. But for me, I think I'm going to disapprove of this one folks. Either way, we can all agree to disagree!