BlackGeekdom Science-Fiction from a Different Perspective

This was one of the most anticipated movies of the Spring/Summer movie season.  I’ll make this review short.  Fanboys are going to hate it.  Fans of the Wolverine comics aren’t going to like it.  Fans of the X-Men series of movies are going to like it.  As far as the story goes, its fits into the story line of the X-Men trilogy of movies.  It gives the origin of our favorite mutant, Wolverine.  Questions about his past that were raised in the first movie are answered.  As with most origin stories, the action sequences were spread out by exposition.  But, when there was action, it was impressive.  Its easy to tell that they spent much time on getting the effects just right.  Hugh Jackman was his typical brooding Logan.  Liev Schrieber was excellent as Sabretooth.  Most of the other acting was okay.  However, Will.i.Am’s performance left little to be desired.  I was looking forward to him as Wraith, but he just didn’t do it for me.   One performance that stood out to me was Taylor Kitsch as Remy Lebeau/Gambit.  When I first saw him as Riggins on Friday Night Lights, I thought to myself, “He’d make a great Gambit.”  He did.

Problems:  No matter how good CGI gets, you can’t take years off an old man’s face and make him young again without it looking wierd.  No matter how far the stories of the X-Men are off base, at least they try to stay true to characters and their powers; however, Deadpool was so far off base as to make me almost completely dismiss Ryan Reynolds performace in the first part of the movie.  How do you have that much destruction at a Nuclear Power plant and not upset one of the reactors?  If I use an adamantium bullet and put a whole in your head, how do the wholes get filled in with adamantium?  I could go on, but I said I’d be short.

Fans of the series of movies and who have less than a passing knowledge of X-Men and Wolverine will enjoy the movie.  Everyone else, its going to be hit and miss.

Posted under Reviews

Nothing to speak of this week other than Dragonball dropped like a rock to # 11 but that was to be expected, its total so far is $7,934,562.    Good new is that its less than 10 days before Wolverine: Origins.    In case your wondering Watchmen is at $106,848,750 after 17 weeks.    

Posted under Movies

Hi guys, it’s Hanako, the Potter Geek returning to Black Geekdom after a long absence (caused in large part to Warner Bros. decision to postpone the release of Half-Blood Prince to this summer). But anyhoo! Now that the release is less than 4 months away and Deathly Hallows has begun filming, it’s time to update you all on what’s going on in the Potterverse. (Warning: this post will contain casting information and potential movie spoilers).

Half-Blood Prince
Finally! We are getting closer to the long-awaited release of Half-Blood Prince, which will open in theaters and IMAX on July 17, 2009. Recently, the Japanese International trailer was released, and it can be viewed here.

Other videos:
International Featurette
Regal First Look

You can also find out current HBP information by visiting the official website.

Deathly Hallows
Release dates:
Part 1 – November 19, 2010
Part 2 – July 15, 2011

Casting News: Recently, the casting of several key characters have been confirmed, suggesting that Warner Bros. will try with the final two movies to make up for the mistakes/omissions they made in the first 5 (or 6, depending on how HBP turns out). DH see the return of Dobby the House-Elf, along with Mr. Ollivander and (possibly) Fleur Delacour. Other casting notables include Bill Weasley (finally!), Mundungus Fletcher, Xenophilius Lovegood, Aberforth Dumbledore, and Reg Cattermole, among others.

With the casting news has come confirmations of several key scenes being filmed, including the much-debated Epilogue, Malfoy Manor, Shell Cottage, and possibly the Bill/Fleur wedding.

With the casting of these characters with small yet significant roles, as well as some of the key scenes that made DH the best book in the series (in my humble opinion, of course), it seems as though WB will use the two-movie arc to fully play out the final chapter in Harry’s story, which is as it should be.

Posted under Books, Movies

New York, New York – March 12, 2009 – Paving the way for the production and release of its multi-character superhero film, THE AVENGERS, Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: MVL), announced today an adjusted release pipeline for its self-produced feature film properties that reflects the first time individual Super Hero characters and story arcs will be inter-woven and culminate in a multi-character motion picture. Separately, Marvel Studios confirmed today that Sony Pictures Entertainment will release SPIDER-MAN 4 on May 6, 2011. Additionally, Marvel Studios has revised the release dates for THOR and CAPTAIN AMERICA as part of its release strategy for an uninterrupted road to THE AVENGERS, now debuting May 4, 2012.

A Marvel character-based film will now launch the summer box office season for three years in a row, from 2010 through 2012.

“This new schedule strongly sequences Marvel’s movie debut dates, big screen character introductions and momentum. It maximizes the visibility of our single character-focused films, leading to the highly anticipated release of the multi-character THE AVENGERS film in 2012,” said David Maisel, Chairman, Marvel Studios.

Sony Pictures’ and Marvel Studios’ SPIDER-MAN 4 is slated for May 6, 2011. To date, all three motion pictures in the phenomenally successful SPIDER-MAN franchise have generated nearly $2.5 billion worldwide theatrically.

Below is Marvel Studios’ 2010-2012 updated release schedule for its slate of self-produced and financed feature films:
Marvel Studios Feature Film Pipeline
Film/Character Prior Release Date Current Release Date
IRON MAN 2
May 7, 2010 May 7, 2010
THOR
July 16, 2010 June 17, 2011
THE FIRST AVENGER: CAPTAIN AMERICA
May 6, 2011 July 22, 2011
THE AVENGERS
July 15, 2011 May 4, 2012

The release date for IRON MAN 2 remains unchanged. IRON MAN 2 is the sequel to the blockbuster film, IRON MAN, which has grossed nearly $600 million worldwide.

Posted under Uncategorized

Terminator: Salvation director McG on wanting Will Smith for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: “I definitely like the idea of Will Smith. I’ve made that very clear. I like the idea of breaking down any racial barriers and taking the idea of what people perceive to be a period film and turning it on it’s ear. And we have a few interesting way to deal with that as well… Because I think he can handle it. It’s basically a guy at war, with war itself. And I don’t want it to be so dark as to be prophetsorial [sic] and to feel like a history lesson. It has to have a journey component to it so it makes you want to get out of your cubicle and your small life and go live in a world larger than your accustomed to. For that I think you need somebody to take you with them, and like I said that’s a short list.”

Posted under Movies

The Terminator films (we are going to ignore the disaster known as T3) combined with the television show is slowly becoming one of the better genre franchises. I hope this trailer and the film increase the ratings for the show. If your not watching the show your missing out.

Posted under Movies

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Jackson will play Sho’nuff, the Shogun of Harlem, a role played in the original by the late Julius Carry, whose spiel included asking ego-driven questions like “Am I the baddest mofo lowdown around this town?” Each time his gang of thugs answered, “Sho ’nuff!”

The updated plot will be along the same lines of the original, centering on young martial arts student Leroy Green in his quest through the streets of New York to achieve the highest level of martial arts accomplishment, known as the Last Dragon. Those who achieve the high ranking possess the Glow, making them the greatest fighter alive.

The original, which also starred one-namers Taimak and then-Prince protege Vanity, was released in March 1985 by TriStar Pictures and received lukewarm reviews by critics like Roger Ebert, who gave it 2 1/2 stars and said it was a “great near-miss.”

Despite the reviews, “Last Dragon” did well at the boxoffice, grossing nearly $26 million. It soon became a cult classic for scenes like Bruce Lee follower Green remaining so loyal to the martial arts star that he eats his popcorn in a movie theater with chopsticks.

Posted under Movies

Source: Variety

Djimon Hounsou has partnered with Dynamite Entertainment to star in and produce a bigscreen feature about immortal sorcerer Thulsa Doom, a central figure in the Conan the Barbarian and Kull comicbooks.

Character will be featured in his own comicbook series, published by Dynamite, an imprint of Dynamic Forces, next year.

He originally appeared in the Robert E. Howard pulp story “Delcardes’ Cat,” published in the 1930s.

Doom was portrayed by James Earl Jones in 1982′s “Conan the Barbarian.”

Read More…

Posted under Comics, Movies

It’s been a while since we’ve done a DVD recommendation.  But yesterday, I watched Batman: Gotham Knight.  This is a compliation of six anime-style movie shorts that bridge the gap between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.   I was really impressed with the animation style of the 6 different vignettes and the stories.  I also liked how the writers were able to have the stories all relate to eachother in some way, quite unlike the Animatrix where each story was independant.   If you are a Batman fan and if you enjoy animation, you will like this.

Posted under Animation, Comics, Movies

I saw Hancock the other day, and there’s no doubt in my mind that Will Smith is now the biggest movie star on the planet.  Even a mediocre film such as this drew huge crowds and posted huge numbers.  I went on Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 PM and the theater was packed.  Go figure.  The movie was just okay.  It was different for a superhero movie, but that’s just it, it was different, not special.

On the bright side, there were 3 things that were great about the movie:  1) Charlize Theron, 2) Jason Bateman, and 3) the soundtrack.  I forgot how good looking Charlize Theron is, and she was perfect for the role that she played.  Jason Bateman is probably one of the most underated actors in Hollywood.  And finally, soundtracks are supposed to not really be noticed, but I noticed this one, and I didn’t mind it.  The special effects were good.  The plot was just okay, and as much as we like Will Smith as a genre actor, I just didn’t buy him in this role.

(1 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)

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Posted under Movies, Reviews