Then I came across these cool little videos that have a theme to them.

Captain America: The First Avenger “Pledge” TV Spot

Captain America: The First Avenger “Discovery” TV Spot

Captain America: The First Avenger “Victory” TV Spot

Captain America: The First Avenger hits movie theaters in just a few weeks on July 22nd. It is directed by directed by Joe Johnston, who has also directed Jumanji, October Sky, Jurassic Park III,and Hidalgo

This trailer does have some new scenes in it, but they are very quick and doesn’t really reveal anything new. This third installment brings back the familiar gang that of Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, and Tyrese Gibson. Of course, you can’t watch Transformers: Dark of the Moon for Megan Fox this time around.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Final Trailer

Stated to be one of the craziest action movies ever made by LaBeouf, I can’t wait to check it out. How about you?

The manor is actually Wollaton Hall in Nottingham, England.

Dark Knight Rising Set Photos

Dark Knight Rising Release Date

The Dark Knight Rising has Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Anne Hathaway starring in it. The release date is July 20, 2012.

Are you looking forward to it?

Punisher: War Zone

Punisher: War Zone is a much different movie than what I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be another foray into comic book to movie wasteland where other movies like Daredevil, Ghost Rider, and Fantastic Four have made their home. As mentioned in my post about watching this movie, I really didn’t like the previous Punisher movie. It really didn’t show me a Punisher.

Punisher: War Zone is an adaptation of the comic book series based on an individual vigilante who uses rather extreme violence on the criminals in the city after his wife and kids are murdered. The Punisher, Frank Castle (who is played by Ray Stevenson of Rome), is one of those characters that you know you shouldn’t like, but can’t help but love what he does. In very graphic, and incredibly violent ways, Castle is a one man army against organized crime and anyone else who crosses his path. After shooting an FBI agent, he begins to feel sympathy and almost quits, but the mobster he left for dead comes back and tries to seek revenge on both Castle and the wife and daughter of the dead agent.

Pretty much the entire movie is one big fight with one blood spurting, bone breaking, and head exploding scene right after another. Mixed in throughout each bloody battle there are traces of humanity showing itself in Castle and some pretty sentimental moments with the slain agent’s daughter. Of course, this is a comic book adaptation so there isn’t much of that. It’s mostly one all out action fest.

The cast for this particular Punisher movie was really pretty good. I love Stevenson as Castle. If they continue to make Punisher sequels then Stevenson should be the one to continue this role. He’s perfect. When you look at him in the Punisher garb, he just looks scary. Thomas Jane, the previous Punisher, just didn’t have that intimidating, blood stopping look. Stevenson delivers. It’s a good thing there isn’t any intense dialogue or crucial acting needs in this movie, but for what it needs to be, a big screen version of a comic book, Stevenson does an outstanding job.

Punisher: War Zone also has Wayne Knight (Seinfeld) as Castle’s behind the scenes helper, Dominic West (The Wire) as the demented mobster Jigsaw, and Julie Benz (Dexter, John Rambo) as Angela Donatelli, the FBI Agent’s widow.

Each character was played pretty convincingly. I didn’t have to sit and try to think of someone else who would have been better. West was really good as Jigsaw. He brought a level of intensity into the character and he almost looked like he could have been a real person.

Punisher Is Not For Kids

One thing I have against the new kind of superhero movies being made is that they really aren’t kid friendly. Comic books and superheroes have for a long time been the one thing that appealed to children and families. It was a place where kids could begin to look up to something bigger than life. However, the recent movies (The Dark Knight, Watchmen) are trying to put a dark edge to it all.

Punisher: War Zone does the same thing. The violence is quite graphic and some of it seemingly unnecessary. Another unnecessary part if the over abundance of swearing. I really wasn’t expecting it to be that “adult”. You definitely wouldn’t want children seeing this movie. If you’re looking for a superhero movie for kids, or a family night, check out The Incredibles. Stay away from Punisher: War Zone

Last Remarks

In the end, I did like Punisher: War Zone. Much improved upon from the first one and has the possibility to get you excited about a future Punisher movie. The story was a good one, the actors were a perfect fit for the characters they played, and the experience of watching the movie was enjoyable.

If you haven’t picked it up yet, Punisher: War Zone was just released on DVD and would be a good addition to any home movie collection.

The guys over at Filmonic.com has shared some information on these dates. I’ll put them up here again.

Spider-Man 4 – Release date: May 6, 2011
Iron Man 2 – Release date: May 7, 2010
Thor – June 17, 2011
Captain America – July 22, 2011
The Avengers – May 4, 2012

Now that you know all that, isn’t it great that you can wait another couple of years to actually see them?

[Info via Filmonic.com]

Superhero movies are big-money makers. In the big scope of all movies. Just where do the superhero movies stack up? There are four superhero movies listed in the Top 16 highest grossing movies of all time. That’s one fourth of the highest grossing movies of all time!

What Are The Top 10 Highest Grossing Superhero Movies Of All Time?

Good question. So… in order from where they rank in the all-time list…

Here are the top ten highest grossing movies of all time!

No. 62 Hancock I debated whether or not to list Hancock as a superhero movie. But, in the end, he does fly, have super-strength and saves people, sort of.

Making $227,946,274 at the box office, I think Hancock did pretty well. Beating out the closest competitors, X2 and Batman Begins by a slim margin.

I didn’t hate Hancock, but I didn’t absolutely love it either. It was a pretty good movie that held your interest, mostly because Will Smith does a good job of portraying a superhero with some very BIG issues. I also liked the twist at the end. Never even saw it coming.

No. 57 X-Men: The Last Stand

The third movie in the X-Men saga actually out ranks the second in the series. I wasn’t that surprised by that. If you saw the second one, then you really had to finish it out and see what happens, especially to Jean.

Anyway, X-Men: The Last Stand was very well done, had great continuity with the previous two and was good enough to make you want more. It’s also very rare to see an entire cast return for each successive movie, and actually want them too. As far as superheroes go… the X-Men are classics and an enjoyable ensemble at that.

No. 45 Batman

We’re talking the original. I love the fact that the original Batman is head and shoulders above the rest of the movies within the Batman camp. (Well, except for one…)

This is one of my favorites, as far as Batman

A true classic, Batman, has stood the test of time (first released in 1989) and raked in $251,188,924 at the box office. A great cast with Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger help make some of the more memorable parts. If you haven’t seen this original one and have only grown up with Bale as Batman, do you yourself a favor and check it out.

No. 40 The Incredibles

Oh yeah… a little animation thrown into the top ten superhero movies! I loved The Incredibles. I am not usually one for animated movies, especially lately, but have to say that this is one of those that you can watch over and over and not get tired of it.

A family of superheroes is forced to go into living a normal existence and not use their superpowers. But, as with all superheroes, the head of the household, Mr. Incredible, can’t seem to let the old days go by and begins to do some superhero work. Only to be led into a trap by a villianous mastermind who is out to rid the world of all superheroes so he can be the only one!

Much like Hancock this group of superheroes is not based on any other publications and are just to simply have a good time with the movie.

No. 21 Iron Man

We take a large jump from number 40 all the way to 21 for one of my favorite movies of all time. And this is one that I didn’t think I would like. Iron Man is one of those superheroes that doesn’t really get talked about a lot, and I have to admit that I didn’t think it was going to be a good movie. But, once I saw it, I quickly changed my mind.

As major weapons manufacturer Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr., has a change of heart because of first hand experience with that his weapons do, he becomes the world protector in Iron Man. Armed with superior intelligence and a very cool suit, he sets out to keep peace instead of rain destruction.

Haven’t seen it yet? What are you waiting for?

No. 20 Transformers

Ok, before I get going on a long rambling rant on how much I loved this movie… I’ll just let it be know right now that Transformers is my favorite movie of all time. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it and each time I’ve seen it I have a greater appreciation for it.

With that said, Transformers is a delightful joyride through a few days in the life of a young man who gets his first car; a 1977 yellow Camero. And if that isn’t sweet enough, his car changes into a robot sent to protect him and the earth. Cool!

Honestly, I don’t see how anyone could ever not like this movie. Well, that’s not true. My wife doesn’t like it and hates it when I put it on. I hate to think what will happen when the second movie is released.

No. 16 Spider-Man 3
No. 11 Spider-Man 2
No. 8 Spider-Man

Funny how that worked out isn’t it?

Pulling in a combined total of 1,113,614,571 in US box office revenues alone, it is pretty safe to say that Spider-Man is the biggest superhero series of all time. And I think for pretty good reason.

While I’m not really happy with the casting of Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker (just don’t think he’s that great of an actor) I think the rest of the cast is pretty solid. And while the movies began to get more heavily into being more cinematic instead of superhero-ish, I still think this is a great series.

The first one still is my favorite with them following in order from there. The third, while big in scope as far as overall message and theme of the movie, was just a little bit… I don’t know… off. Don’t get me wrong, it was a solid movie, but just didn’t compare with the other two. Even my wife agrees.

No. 2 The Dark Knight

Ok, ok. You knew this one was coming.

There has been so much written about The Dark Knight and how great it is, but I just don’t see it the same way. However, it is very hard to argue with the numbers. Pulling in $533,316,061 in the US alone, and over a billion dollars worldwide, The Dark Knight is the biggest theatrical production of all time.

Picking up where Batman Begins leaves off, and a kind of a remake of the earlier versions, The Dark Knight shows the battle between Batman and the Joker with a little bit of Harvey Dent/Two-Face thrown in to boot. The story was ok, although I think they could have left out the whole Two-Face thing for another movie.

There They Are… Voted In By Your Money

Are you surprised by any of these movies? Did you think they should have been higher or lower?

While there are some lists you can argue about you really can’t with a list that was, in essence, created with your money.

Following up on his highly acclaimed, and downright awesome movie, 300, Snyder went to bring to movie life the events, characters, and story of the graphic novel by the same name. While true fans of the novel, and comics, will have some mixed feelings about the adaptation from novel to screenplay, the fact remains that Watchmen is one BIG movie. With BIG meaning both in scope and time.

Clocking in at a butt flattening 2 hours and 48 minutes, the movie will have to be good to carry people through to the end without having them doze off or having their mind distracted by other thoughts. Fortunately, Watchmen delivers with heart pounding success!

First, The Review

Reviews are funny. Because really it’s all in the eye of the beholder whether or not a movie is good, great, or worthy of legendary status. For instance, The Dark Knight. While my review of The Dark Knight is not overly rosey, a lot of people think it’s the greatest movie ever made. The same can be said for Watchmen. There are those that like it and those that don’t, the reviews are mixed.

That being said… I loved this movie.

I need to say from the outset two things. First, I’ve never read the novel, or any of the comic book issues. When the news was first announced that this movie was being made I had never heard of the Watchmen. Pathetic I know. Second, I wasn’t all that excited to see it. I figured it was just another over-hyped movie that isn’t going to live up to the hype. So, I went into watching this movie from the perspective of someone who didn’t know who these superheros were and wanted to hate it anyway. I really kept trying to find things I didn’t like about the movie.

But, I loved it.

Watchmen is exactly what a truly great movie should be. Compelling story, engaging characters, depth of emotions, and great action what carries you from scene to scene. Everything comes together for an exhilarating movie watching experience.

Set in 1985, Watchmen takes you into the lives of some rather obscure superheros who have been forced into retirement because of a Presidential Order from President Nixon. Yeah, he’s still president. Anyway, a murder happens, and one by one they come back together to stop the two superpowers (US and Soviet Union) from entering into a nuclear war. That’s the quick synopsis.

Throughout the movie, though, there are several other plots that do not distract from the overall plot and actually help you understand where the characters are going and why they do what they do. The flashbacks, even to the 1940′s, are integral and create a sense of knowing the main characters in a much better way. I actually started to feel sorry for Mr. Manhattan and sympathized with his feelings. Rarely has a movie drawn me in so much that I had feelings for some of the characters.

The Things I Loved

Watchmen had so many great little moments in it that I would be able to write novels of them, but I will only focus on the larger aspects of why I loved this movie.

1. Amazing, gripping characters. One of the most complex, but truly magnificent characters to come along in a long time is the vigilante superhero Rorschach played by Jackie Earle Haley. Everytime he was on the screen you were just pulled into him and couldn’t wait to see what he would do next. Great character.

2. Fight scenes galore! And they weren’t that bad. A whole lot better than Chun Li. Each fight scene was full of an abundance of bone-crunching hits and kicks, some hacking off of limbs, torching, skull bashing, and even vaporizing. Yes, the violence was a little extreme, but when they take place in prison, Vietnam war, involving a child rapist and murderer… I can see the extreme use of force.

3. The story didn’t have any dead spots. Even though the movie clocked in at almost three hours it didn’t feel like it. It went by pretty fast simply because the movie didn’t let up. Each part just drew you in. You wanted to see it. You didn’t want to turn away… (well, maybe during the almost porn like sex scene).

4. Love the slo-mo. Snyder has a love for slowing down the action so you can see it happening instead of flashing from one camera angle to another so quickly you’re left with a sense of nausea. Instead, you can see the action and have a great appreciation for what is actually happening.

5. Even though some of it was far-fetched… it was also a little realistic. To me, a great movie, one that pulls me in, is relevant to me. Or real. It is something that I can relate to and can possibly think can happen. (Which is probably why I hated War of the Worlds). Anyway, Watchmen, while a superhero movie and has some pretty weird stuff (Nixon president in 1985 for a fifth term, Dr. Manhattan glowing in blue and naked, walking around on mars) it didn’t feel weird. It felt like it could possibly happen.

6. Definitely a movie I would watch over and over again. In fact, I’m going again tonight to see it at the theater.

Some Warnings

While a truly great movie, Watchmen has received its R rating for a reason. This is not a movie for kids. As much as my own kids love superhero movies, they will not be seeing this until they are of age.

There is a lot of language and a pretty graphic sex scene between Nite Owl and Silk Spectre. The violence is also quite graphic and there is a lot of blood in some places.

You Should Go See Watchmen

Even if you don’t like superhero, science fiction, action, or just plain man type movies… go see Watchmen. It is a movie experience that only comes along once in awhile (Armageddon would be another such experience) and, no matter your movie preference, is one of those must sees.

There isn’t really one major standout from the movie. The entire package is what makes it a great time and thrilling movie experience.

One question that has been pondered lately is whether or not you need to have read the novel or not to fully understand the movie. I don’t think so. If you’ve never even heard of the Watchmen this movie will still get you excited. As stated at the beginning of this review, I’ve never heard of the Watchmen. But, that didn’t stop me from truly enjoying the movie. In fact, it probably released me from the sense of having to compare it like people did with their Twilight reviews.

If you get a chance, go check it out. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Watchmen Movie Trailer

]]> http://www.movie-holic.com/2009/03/09/watchmen-a-review-and-why-you-should-see-it/feed/ 4 http://www.movie-holic.com/2009/03/06/watchmen-opening-tonight/ http://www.movie-holic.com/2009/03/06/watchmen-opening-tonight/#comments Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:14:23 +0000 Tim http://www.movie-holic.com/?p=250 Just in case you haven’t heard…

There is a new movie making it’s premier debut tonight based on the same name as the highly acclaimed graphic novel; Watchmen. I’ve been watching some of the early reviews from movie critics with special privileges and they seem to be mixed. I am going to save my judgment for when I get to actually see it, but the trailer looks good and I love me a good superhero movie. I’m just hoping Watchmen is a good superhero movie.

Watchmen is opening tonight and stars Billy Crudup, Carla Gugino, Malin Akerman, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Directed by Zack Snyder.

We’ll see.

I have had some recent conversations with both readers, and friends of mine, about The Dark Knight and whether or not it is really that good. While I have let my feelings about the Dark Knight be known I have to point out that I didn’t hate the movie. I just don’t think it’s the greatest movie ever.

With that I went back to my DVD collection and sat down with The Dark Knight to revisit the movie and see if I can somehow come to grips with what everyone else feels about it. I also went into the watching of the movie with a few criteria just to make sure I paid more attention that I usually do. The things I was going to look for was The Dark Knight as a superhero movie, a fun, entertaining movie, a family friendly movie, and a movie that keeps my attention. I really don’t care about the cinematics, the camera angles, the lighting (although it was a little dark for me), or thespian excellence.

So, with that in mind…

The Dark Knight As A SuperHero Movie

I love Superhero’s. I love the movies about superheros, the comics, and graphic novels. The Dark Knight is a superhero movie. It’s about one of the most known, and liked, heros of our time… Batman. While I would put Superman over Batman as the best superhero, I guess that’s a debate for a later time.

But, the fact remains that at it’s core, The Dark Knight is a superhero movie about Batman. While watching the movie again I really tried to pay attention to whether or not the movie portrayed Batman as a superhero or a rich spoiled brat with issues. In Batman Begins I feel that the superhero of Batman came out more than it did in The Dark Knight. I got the feeling that the movie was more about The Joker than it was about Batman and his evolution into the world’s foremost superhero (besides Superman that is.)

Movies like X-Men , Ironman, and even Fantastic Four are solid superhero movies. Yes, Batman saves people. Yes, he stops The Joker. Yes, he even takes on the burden of being hunted to help save innocent people. But…

I don’t know. I just wasn’t left with a comfortable feeling with the way that Batman was portrayed as a Superhero. Am I wrong?

The Dark Knight As Fun and Entertaining

Another one of the criteria that I set out for myself as I watched The Dark Knight again was whether or not I had fun watching it. For me, having fun watching a movie is a big thing.

And, I did. For the most part. There were some great moments in the movie. The magic trick with the disappearing pencil. The bike chase where. The cellphone bomb. The hospital. They were fun. It was engaging as far as pulling me in and helping me to want to watch the movie for the energy and action. But, in between these parts, I felt, were slow and too disengaging.

Then we get to the whole Harvey Dent/Two Face thing. I felt it just wasn’t needed. It made the movie too long and added parts of the story that just wasn’t necessary. I completely lost interest at this point and had a hard time focusing on the rest of the movie.

But, for the most part. The movie was fun. It did entertain. I just wish it had about 30 less minutes.

The Dark Knight As A Family Friendly Movie

The first time I saw the movie was with my sixteen year old daughter who absolutely loves Batman. I was ok with her watching it. But, when we got home and my youngest, seven year old and ten year old, kids wanted to go and see it. I had to really think about it. I mean, really had to think about it.

Once we bought the The Dark Knight DVD I still waited for awhile before I let my youngest kids watch it. And even then I felt a little uncomfortable.

As a father, I just didn’t think that they needed to be exposed, willingly, to that kind of dark violence. And even above that it was more that complete disregard for rules and morality. I didn’t want them to emulate what they saw these characters portraying on screen.

Is it a family friendly movie? I guess that’s up to the eye of the beholder. As I said, I had to stop and think about it before I let them watch it. And even now I won’t let my kids watch it by themselves. But, that’s me.

Did The Dark Knight Hold My Interest?

The Dark Knight is a good movie. In some ways it is even great. But, the question I asked myself after all the other ones was, “Did this movie hold my interest?”

I think back about it and have to say that mostly it did. I do have to say this though. The first time I saw it was in the movie theater on opening night. Mostly because my teen daughter wanted to go. It was a late night showing at 10:00. I was already tired so that might have played into it. However, I fell asleep about an hour and forty-five minutes into it. I just couldn’t stay focused on the movie.

Maybe if I went to the earlier showing I might have been ok, but I don’t know. I’ve seen the movie several times since then. Once again at the theater, but mostly at home on DVD. And the same thing happens. I become distracted towards the end of the movie. I am ok during the beginning up until the hospital section. Once it blows I begin to drift off. I lose focus. I am quickly and easily distracted.

But, up until then… I’m ok. I am pretty much into the movie and will intently watch it.

Final Grade.

So did I change my mind about The Dark Knight? Am I willing to rank it higher in my list of favorite movies?

Probably not. That’s not to say I didn’t like it. I did. I thought it was a good, solid movie. I thought were some great moments that I don’t mind watching over and over again. But, I think I’ll put the “skip” feature on the DVD player to skip over parts that were not all that interesting.

What is your favorite part? Why do you like the movie, or even dislike the movie? Would you say it’s the greatest movie or just a good movie? Did Batman live up to being a Superhero? Let us know. Leave your comments below.

It seems that Superman Unleashed is to be a sequel to Superman Returns (which I though was pretty good by the way) and is suppose to be something very different than anything we’ve seen yet. While this is still unclear as to what is going on, both Slashfilm and Firstshowing.net have news about it.

I hope this is not just rumor and will actually happen. Superman is he ultimate in superhero and there just can’t be enough movies made about the man of steel.