New Batman costume and other goodies
With that headline, you probably guessed that our first topic for musing-upon will be the now-public first glimpses of the new costume for "Batman Begins." Ain't seen `em yet? Here's the link:
http://batmanbegins.warnerbros.com/batphoto.html
I'd have prefered the first look at this have been in "harsher" lighting so we could get a good look at the design of the suit, but these "mood lighting" shots (from the film?) offer a good idea of what it will look like onscreen.
That in mind, my immediate reaction: This is the best suit for a Batman film thus far. I love that it looks lightweight and semi-loose, definately NOT the big clumsy armor jobs from the Burton and Schumacher films. The two details that'll prove most controversial about the suit are fully on display, as well: The "small-ears" look on the cowl and the "two colors/textures" scheme of the design. It's hard to make out in these shots, but the suit mirrors the comic version in that the torso, arms and legs are dark gray while the cape, cowl, boots and gloves are black and, it would seem, of a different material.
For the record: I tend to prefer Batman with the longer ears, but this is a great interpretation on the small-ears version which I know many fans prefer (and are present in the "Batman: Year One" comic that the film is partly inspired-by.) What makes them work for me here is that, if you look close, you can see that they actually curve and point forward, giving the cowl a slick "determined" shape. Well done.
As for the two-colors (though it seems to be a VERY slight difference, more in texture than color, from these shots) look, all I can say is it's about damn time. The "solid black" color scheme was always a big problem in the prior films, serving to often reduce the Dark Knight to a solid blob of black and seriously limiting perception of movement (not that the actors could move much in the bulky armor-style costumes to begin with.) This is a gorgeous set of design choices, even if a part of me still wishes that they'd have REALLY been ballsy and used the classic blue-gray colors rather than black-gray. Ah, well.
Now for some bad news.
Continuing the "we have NO IDEA what to do" state of affairs surrounding development of the "Hulk" sequel comes THIS report that star Eric Bana (about to get some BIG exposure in "Troy") hasn't even been ASKED about reprising his role:
http://www.superherohype.com/hulk/index.php?id=1307
This is problematic, as he's UNDER CONTRACT to make at least one sequel, so if ANYTHING was happening he'd have been the first to know. Good news for those expecting a sequel this is not.
Meh. "Hulk" will continue to be the misunderstood wonder of the first-wave of Marvel movies.
Enough comic-related news. Big surprises at the box-office this past weekend, and for a change a few pleasant ones:
Tina Fey's "Mean Girls" opened HUGE at #1. Haven't seen the flick yet, but just about everyone worth listening to has told me it's just about the best "teen" comedy in ages, and it's a comfy feeling to think that the same teen-girl audience that was supposed to turn the moronic "13 Going On Thirty" into a big hit has instead embraced something that endeavors toward intelligence.
It's actually a big summer for clique-culture-related youth-appeal flicks with female leads. Next week will bring us good sis bonding with bad sis in "New York Minute," the vehicle in which the Olsen Twins officially declare their intention to stop being seen as an annoying duo-act aimed at small children and instead be seen as individual sex-objects aimed at horny older men. I don't mean to be crass, but the film looks awful and there's something innately "off" about how enthusiastically the pair are jumping at the chance to embrace "look! blonde barely-legal twins! please fetishize us!" as a method of self-promotion. (Film's trailer has them capering around wearing towels.) At this rate they'll be on an MTV stage making some TiVO moments with Madonna within a year.
The most buzzed-about of the youth flicks (and the one I'm most interested in seeing) is "Saved," following the adventures of a high school girl who rebels against the powerful clique that dominates her school. The twist is that in this case the clique is a fanatical gang of born-again Christians. A satirica; flaying of the WWJD crowd is just what the doctor ordered, and will hopefull make a handy antidote to "The Passion." Added bonus: Mandy Moore ducked out of the film "Havoc" (it would've required kinky nude scene) to star in this, leaving the "Havoc" role (and it's nudity) to be filled by "Ella Enchanted's" luscious Anne Hathaway. Amen.
For those keeping track: Yes, I'm praising an anti-youth-ministry spoof and anticipating the nude starlet in another film it has made possible. Anyone in some way "troubled" by that is advised to read another Blog.
Hey, speaking of "The Passion," guess what else came out this weekend? Jim "Jesus Christ Action-Star" Caviezel's golf-legend biopic "Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius." Didn't hear it was out? Didn't hear about it, period? You're not alone. The film is a bona-fide commercial dud. It used to be being the suddenly-famous star of "one of the biggest films ever" could generate interest in subsequent projects. Wonder why it's not working in this case? Could it be, maybe, that "the world" isn't as in love with Mel Gibson's Christian-Right Torture-Porn epic as we've been led to believe? That the massive grosses are more driven by controversy-hype and the agressive free-promotion by preachers and religious groups with an agenda to see the film do well than by actual mass-market enthusiasm?
Nah, guess I'm still just a "conspiracy nut," right?
Ahem. Finally, what would a Movie Geek Blog be without some dispatches from the Land of Once-Great Franchises Being Slowly Bludgeoned to Death By Their Half-Mad Creators, aka "Star Wars" news. For over a year, we've been hearing that a SW-universe TV series is planned to follow Episode 3, and now it's looking like confirmation. TheForce.net has some details:
http://www.theforce.net/holonet/index.shtml#23814
Sigh. It's starting to hurt to keep pretending that SW is still some kind of viable thing. "Star Wars" is DEAD. Lucas started bleeding it slowly to death via papercuts with the ghastly Special Editions, then picked up the pace and shot it between the eyes with the Prequel Trilogy, and will soon dance all over it's bloodied corpse with the S.E.-only DVDs.
People, geeks and non-geeks alike, please listen to me: It's over. It's sad that it's over, it's unfair that it's over, but it's over. The only thing that can "save" Star Wars is for it to take a break. Let the beast sleep awhile, let time and tide push the memories of Special Editions and Prequels far into the dark reaches of popular culture, so that the original Holy Trilogy can be seen once again in it's own glory apart from the inferior junk that followed.
Trying to "draw it out," no matter how decent a TV series might be, can likely only serve to dillute the franchise further. I'm imploring us all here to prove we love it by setting it free.
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