Craig's MovieBlog

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Just a few links to enjoy:

• There may never, ever be a better movie poster than this:
• Film School in Three Lines or Less - Thank you McSweeney!
• Quote of the day from The New York Times, "Edward is very passionate. He is as passionate about the Hulk as we are." (For those unaccustomed to Hollywood speak, "very passionate" roughly translates to a seven on the "he’s a difficult person" scale.)"
• Random, but you have to listen to the Artie Lange meltdown on Howard Stern.  Take 30 minutes, and enjoy the insanity.

New Speed Racer and The Incredible Hulk Trailers

Yesterday, the internets brought us the new trailers for two potential franchises, Speed Racer and The Incredible Hulk.

I don't know what to think about the Hulk.  Ed Norton always, always does powerful work, and as you know I'm a big fan of putting "real" actors into superhero roles (Christian Bale, Robert Downey Jr.).  But this trailer really didn't bring anything terribly interesting to the table.  There are lots of reports of trouble in the editing suite on this one, and anyone who is surprised by this hasn't been reading about Norton's involvement on past films.  I'm gonna wait for the next trailer before raising my expectations.

As for Speed Racer, I just think it looks unbelievable.  Yes, it's cartoony and video gamish, but that's exactly what they're going for, albeit in an incredibly fresh, creative way.  Just awesome stuff.

Iron Man Trailer

And now we can see that the decision to cast Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark in Iron Man was an absolutely brilliant one.  I love his attitude in the first 30 seconds or so of the trailer, and the intensity needed at the end is clearly something he can wrap his arms around.

I was a bit turned off by the "first" Iron Man that we see, when the movie seemingly turns into something akin to a bad Japanese B-movie, but then the real suit arrives, much sleeker, much more agile, and frankly, much more watchable and exciting.

Can't wait.  I love seeing what actors like Downey, Christian Bale (and soon Ed Norton in The Incredible Hulk) can do in these comic book roles.

Ed Norton Smash Internets!!!

The web has been all a twitter with the recent announcement that Ed Norton (Rounders, Fight Club, American History X, The Illusionist) will take over the role of Bruce Banner (aka The Incredible Hulk) in the upcoming re-tooling of the Ang Lee/Eric Bana film from just a few years ago.  You may remember that film as the one where Nick Nolte was stranger than normal, as he slowly transformed into Gary Busey due to accidental radiation overexposure.  Ring any bells?  No?

More importantly, the hiring of one of our best actors into a superhero role is always an interesting one, and I immediately recalled how excited I was when I heard that Robert Downey, Jr. had been cast as Iron Man.  I loved Anne Thompson's quote that Norton is "is constitutionally incapable of selling out" (although apparently she didn't see Red Dragon or The Italian Job).  Maybe it's true though, and he just locks the director out of the editing booth.  :)

Anyway, I'm loving that the studios are looking at real actors to play these comic book roles, rather than, oh I don't know... Ben Affleck or Wesley Snipes.  Even Tobey Maguire has some acting chops - go rent Pleasantville, The Ice Storm, or Seabiscuit.

However, I think it was Better Than Fudge that said it best:

Really? Seriously? Is this just an effort to one up the casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man? What’s next? Philip Seymour Hoffman as Captain America?

UPDATE:  I don't know how I forgot to mention Christian Bale in Batman Begins when thinking about "real actors" playing superheroes... but I did.  Also, The Guardian has an interesting take on this trend.