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New ‘Venom’ Trailer Breakdown

Sony has unleashed a new trailer for Venom, and there’s a few interesting things to look at. Here ’tis:

It looks as if they are indeed adapting the “Lethal Protector” series where Venom is the hero/protagonist, and it appears that Spider-Man will make nary an appearance, let alone the Tom Holland version in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This seems to be its own thing, like those odd standalone Fox Marvel movies from a decade ago. Is anyone else getting strong Ghost Rider vibes from this trailer? “I’m the only one who can walk on both worlds; I’m Venom/Blade/Ghost Rider/Constantine.” Here we seem to be getting investigative journalist Eddie Brock uncovering a conspiracy about the suit, manufactured in a lab rather than catapulted from space, and after he steals it wacky hi-jinks ensue, or something. There isn’t much to go on but that big tongue right out of the ’90’s comics at the end looked pretty nice at least! Continue reading “New ‘Venom’ Trailer Breakdown”

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Why the World Doesn’t Need Superman Returns

Before Man of Steel was a gleam in Zack Snyder’s eye and we had any idea how the DCEU would look, and certainly before we had any idea of who Kevin Spacey and Bryan Singer really were offscreen, Superman Returns was at best a divisive movie. To some it was a charming throwback to the Donner era; to others, a gluttonous mess of a vanity project for Singer with no respect for the comics. There are not too many genuinely divisive comic book films; by that I mean, when you think about it, how many movies in the genre have an opinion right down the middle? Certainly not something like Batman v Superman, where although it has many fans, the divide is something like 80/20 against. The closest one can recall might be the Ang Lee Hulk movie, where even though I can admire it for personal reasons, admit it was a noble failure. But that’s the key difference between something like that and Superman Returns, released in the summer of 2006 to much fanfare by critics but met with bewilderment from a nonplussed public. Continue reading “Why the World Doesn’t Need Superman Returns”

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Let the Crime Fit The Punisher: Analyzing the 2004 Film

Released in Spring 2004 to middling reviews, little fanfare and a lousy box office take, The Punisher is often seen as the red-headed stepchild of the Marvel films, not a good film by any measure but a distinctly vexing one, let down by a weak budget and an inexperienced director more so than being a complete fiasco. The tone, borrowed heavily from Garth Ennis’ seminal Marvel Knights run of stories, is wildly inconsistent, alternating between mean-spirited sadism and downright wacky slapstick comedy. Eventually, over-the-top ultraviolence and silliness overtake the sorry spectacle, and it’s remembered not as a high watermark in comic book film but a hiccup before Marvel Studios got their hand on the characters, and they started to actually get away from Avi Arad’s death grip. Still, there are many many things to analyze, most of which relate to the story and the choices made- some of them not good. Strap yourselves in folks, as we take a look at the very first (second I guess, if you count the Dolph Lundgren version) big screen adaptation of our favorite judge, jury and executioner rolled into one skull-faced package. Continue reading “Let the Crime Fit The Punisher: Analyzing the 2004 Film”