Greatest Cameo Ever?

Y'know how Stan Lee always makes those crazy, fantastic cameos in all the Marvel movies?  They're priceless.  I would never expect a guy like Nolan to have something similar.  The movies were always a little more on the serious side.  And there's no crazy, iconic figure to use for them.  Or is there?

ADAM.  WEST.  The man could be getting a cameo in the final installment of the epic Bat-trilogy, and I for one support this motion.

Come on, it's Adam West!

Wolverine Ready to Be Unleashed!

After X-Men Origins: Wolverine, fans weren't necessarily clamoring for an encore. That all changed when visionary director Darren Aronofsky was named as director, with a strictly non-sequel mentality. Considering the man usually makes movies about psychotic ballerinas or world-weary wrestlers, this somehow made sense in some crazy way. And the Internet wept when Aronofsky dropped out. Who could fill that void? Was this movie even happening anymore?

He really wants to know.

Well, I can happily say it is. Not only is the movie scheduled to start shooting in October, but we also have James Mangold directing. At first the name didn't ring any bells for me.  Other than "Man-gold" being something awesome to call your buddy. He has a fairly strong resume, with movies such as 3:10 To Yuma and Walk the Line. Two pretty cool movies. Although he's not as exciting as Aronofsky, the man seems to be be a quality film maker, and I'm willing to give him a shot. Get ready kids, the Wolverine is back.

Green Lantern 2 Still Happening?

I've been hating alot on Green Lantern lately. ALOT. I do however, think this movie deserves it and was extremely disappointing. It was no secret that Warners was hoping to turn this into property into a new franchise. Perhaps even more than a trilogy. The writers were rehired almost a year ago and are also busy on a Flash script, which was just a terrible decision. But with a sub-par opening, huge decline in second week figures and critical panning I was hoping that the sequel would never happen.

How very foolish of me.

Not that I can blame Warners for this decision. They've invested so much into this franchise and have all the design and effects work to go off of. Throw in an almost complete script and hey, why not?

To fix this property, alot needs to change. We already know Campbell isn't coming back, so a new director who's gutsy enough to take on this challenge is a must. If they're going to keep Hal Jordan as the main character, things will only get awkward with recasting.  The new script needs to show us more of the day to day stuff for the Lanterns. Let's see some arrests and investigations on alien planets, hunting down warlords and extraordinary villains. We didn't see any substantial moments where Sinestro might become a villain, so hold back on that. Build the Sinestro/Hal relationship before you tare it down.

The biggest thing the movie needs though? A sense of fun. Green Lantern's first adventure was boring, tedious, and lifeless. Take Thor as a counter example. The movie was far from perfect and had its flaws, but was just so fun and entertaining that it worked.  If you aren't going to go the Dark Knight route, then make it something I can enjoy.

How Green Lanter Tried To Be Like Iron Man (And Failed)

Everyone involved in Green Lantern has at some point tried to compare their movie to Iron Man and in several ways. Not only did it hope for a tone that combined the light hearted and fun with serious character development, it also wanted to open up the stable of DC heroes in the way that Mr. Stark unleashed the Avengers.Of course, those comparisons go a little deeper. Here are the ways Green Lantern tried to be like Iron Man (and failed).

The Quirky Humor
One of the things that caught the public so off guard was how utterly hilarious Robert Downey Jr. was. And it's not only the script: all those quips were improv. RDJ is one of the funniest human beings alive, and he can make you laugh with just a twitch of his eye. He has a distinct quirkiness to his humor, The man was nominated for an oscar by doing black face for god's sake! So who do you get to play Hal Jordan? How about Ryan Reynolds, an up and coming potential A-Lister known for a razor ship wit.

How it Failed- It doesn't matter how talented your star is, no one can salvage a truly terrible joke. And let's face it, all of those jokes were terrible. Both movies had a similar kind of humor and wanted to achieve the same end, but the difference is that one was funny and the other wasn't.

From Jerk-Ass to NobleHero
When we first saw Tony Stark, he was a prick. Completely irresponsible, he gives off the vibe that he just doesn't care. But you love him anyway because the man has so much fun with it. He's not nasty or a tool, he just blows of the boring stuff and would probably be awesome to hang out with.  And we see him became a selfless hero, one everyone can root for. Hal Jordan is also irresponsible and a bit of a tool, and in the end hopes to win us over as a courageous warrior.


How it Failed: Hal is an asshole. He's irresponsible and you hate him for it. Stark missed a pretentious award ceremony because who really cares? Or being late when it's his own damn jet. Hal missed the most important flight of his life (which...he was supposed to lose?) and then people lost their jobs because of him. And he doesn't care. People suffer and it's just...whatever. With a lightening quick redemption moment, why do we buy it? Stark was tortured in a cave and confronted with his legacy, which transformed him. Hal got a talk from his girlfriend.

By the way, why would the military possibly agree to letting Ferris' own pilots fight against his drones? If he was even slightly smart, he would tell his pilots to lose and impress the investors. Is he just counting on Hal being that much of an asshole? Apparently yes.

Setting Up a Larger World
Iron Man had SHIELD, and all roads now lead to the Avengers. Green Lantern has Amanda Waller, and the script writers has commented on how they want to start up a shared universe.

How it Failed: Waller wasn't a -bad- character, but she didn't give us any reason to care about her either. I won't exactly be excited to see Angela Bassett in the Flash, and don't fully understand why they made such a big deal of Hector seeing her past. Why waste so much time and focus if the character wasn't meant for more? I don't know what "more" would be, since Waller lacks the coolness of Nick Fury or even the witty charm of Agent Coulson. And for the love of Oa, what happened to the John Stewart cameo?

Green Lantern Review

My goal in these reviews is to offer as balanced a review as possible. Super fans such as myself are all too quick to tear a movie apart, instantly categorizing it as a success worthy of worship or the worst movie ever made. Following the highly enjoyable pair of Thor and First Class, Green Lantern has already generated a significant amount of bad buzz. But hey, I've been surprised before. I didn't have huge expectations for First Class, and found it to be highly enjoyable. Could Green Lantern do the same?

No.  Not even close.

I don't know if I can say a single good thing about this movie. If something worked or was interesting, it was dragged down by something else. Ryan Reynolds wasn't "bad" as Hal Jordan, but he was still miscast. Part of it isn't his fault: Hal's written as a complete tool. He's never cringe worthy with this material, but he doesn't take charge with it either. He just doesn't have that action hero quality or physical presence to make up for it. So they could easily have cast someone more fit for the part. I just don't think that would have saved it anyway.

I can say the same for almost the entire cast. Blake Lively is actually charming, and looks utterly gorgeous. She just exists as the most bland love interest of any superhero movie, and Lively just doesn't have the talent (yet) to make a bad character good. Or take Hector Hammond, the most bizarre waste of a villain in a comic book movie yet. Before you even know who he is, Hammond is whisked away by men in black suits and then quickly begins his transformation. Oh come on guys, you ripped off enough from Spider-Man already, you could at least rip off the idea of making your antagonist sympathetic or even interesting.

But how about all that science fiction stuff? Recent marketing campaigns have been focusing entirely on that, so it should be big, right? Well if you've seen the trailers and the Wonder-Con sneak peak, congratulations, you've seen the majority of the outer space stuff. Hal's stay on Oa is decidedly short, and he never ventures any further into the cosmos. None of the scenery is especially memorable and all feels somewhat familiar, and not from the comics. And if you were hoping to see the Corps. in action, you'll be disappointed. Literally all they do is point their rings the sky and chant. You never get a sense for what these Lanterns do from day to day, since the only threat the Corps has faced is a once in a lifetime apocalyptic threat.

And the three key members are kinda meh. The ever-talented Geoffrey Rush is resigned to a plot exposition device, filling our hero in on the mysteries of the cosmos. Which is odd, because wasn't Hal just uploaded with a full database of info on the galaxy? I would have thought the Guardians of the Universe would have earned a mention in it. Kilowog is somewhat boring and exists to give our hero a quasi-montage of training, which is a shame considering I just named him "Greatest Green Lantern". Mark Strong as Sinestro suffers the same problem as the rest of the cast. Poor script and dialogue give him nothing to work with, and he never comes off as more than a minor character.  And do they really want him to be a villain in the sequel? I can't see how this character, personality or story wise, could suddenly start ravaging the Corps. They portray him as too loyal without any of the hidden menace you'd need from a future villain. And the after the credits revelation comes out of nowhere.

So what made the story quite so bad? Filled with exposition and a classic case of "telling, rather than showing", it serves as a joyless, humorless adventure. Thor didn't have a perfect story, but was just so much damn fun you could get over it. So much of the dialogue was about fear and will power that were just blanket statements. We're never shown this difference and are just told it. And then Hal has his magic transformation into a courageous warrior, which happens in the blink of an eye once Carol Ferris tells him he needs to overcome fear rather than be without it. You thought Thor had a quick transformation? Hal's happens in less than a second. Nothing interesting every really happens, and the pacing is all over the place. And a downright awful musical score just sucks any wonder from the picture. What happened to the music from the trailer?

And special effects? If you're going to have weak story, at least give us some pretty to look at. Partly due to poor execution and partly due to flawed design, they feel worthless. Occasionally, they look actively terrible. Parallax in particular makes Galactus cloud seem cool. He's an awkward cluster of tentacles and junk with an ugly head.

Some movies are worth checking out just for the sake of seeing them. This isn't one of them. Stay the hell away from this one. It's a painful waste of two hours, and if enough people don't see it then maybe we can dodge a sequel. Too bad the same writing crew is already working on it.

Best of the Best: Top Green Lanterns Day Three

A simple question: who is the greatest Lantern? I mean, even Hal Jordan couldn't earn that title. Before that, I would like to give a shout out to one member of the Corps who didn't make this list: Abin Sur. Sure, he was a noble warrior, but he's never been in a story for more than five seconds before getting killed. That's a piss poor track record if you ask me. Still, the mythos as we know it couldn't technically exist without him. Now on to the top two!

2. Thaal Sinestro
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa??? Isn't he the archenemy of the Green Lanterns? Hasn't he lead to more deaths in the Corps than space polio? Well, for a brief moment he was hailed as the greatest Lantern, and that's a title he has refused to let go. Even as their most hated foe, he still believes he's fighting for their cause. Y'know, even as he's murdering them.

You see, Sinestro realized that order is needed for a peaceful universe. And if you want order, you need fear. To protect the galaxy, he'll go to any length and any cost to achieve it. Hell, the entire point of waging a massive war against the Lanterns was purely to convince the Guardians to change their rules and become feared. Even if he's hated, even if it leads to his death, Sinestro will fight to be considered the greatest. The most complex character in the comic, Sinestro gives the Lanterns not only an archnemesis, but a foe who forces them to be better.

1. Kilowog
The Green Lanterns chose only those capable of overcoming great fear and spreading light to the darkest reaches of the universe. Each and every one of them is a hero beyond compare. But to be the greatest of the great? That takes someone special. And no one but the gruff, unrelenting drill sergeant of the Corps could ever earn that title. Kilowog of Sector 674, you are the greatest of the Green Lanterns.

"Greatest". I never said prettiest.

In battle, Kilowog is ferocious. Unrelenting, Kilowog is like a well trained boxer. Powerful and tough while always thinking tactically. Few can claim to understand how to unlock the mysteries of the ring quite like the Wog. He sets an example in battle, frequently serving as a defacto leader for his brothers in arms.

Yet where Kilowog truly shines is as a training instructor. I'm almost shocked he hasn't killed half of his recruits. He's more than willing to put them through the most brutal of conditions, chewing them our for being such utterly worthless Poozers. Despite this grim facade, Wog deeply cares for each and every one his recruits. It's tough love at its finest. Every death haunts him, and he makes the strongest recruits to keep them alive as long as possible.

Kilowog brings more than just an infectious, loveable attitude to his role. He forges the Corps. into what it is. He represents the best of what they have to offer, embodying their spirit, their sense of right and wrong, and their unrelenting will to guard the universe. Kilowog might not be the strongest, the most powerful, or even the most committed to the cause. He has weaknesses and imperfections and stubbornly pushes past them, showing a courage possessed only the greatest Green Lantern could wield. Truly, no evil could ever escape his sight.

Best of the Best: Top Green Lanterns Day Two

Ready for more of the best Green Lanterns? Who's go what it takes to be considered the best of the Corps? Let's find out!

6. Kyle Rayner
Everything needed a radical, edgy update in the 90's, and Green Lantern was no exception. After Hal's stint as a supervillain, Kyle Rayner took over his legacy and became the last remaining Green Lantern. But unlike most fads from the 90's, Kyle has stood the test of time and has cemented 

I'm going to get so much shit for not having him above Hal Jordan.

He might have been pushed to the sidelines with Hal's return, but Kyle still boats die hard fans eager to see him claim the spotlight once again. Following the original is a hard act to follow, and Kyle just managed to pull it off.


5. Mogo
Mogo earns this nod because of his integral role in the Corps. and high concept nature. An entire planet as a member? That's such a wonderful twist that helps define the extraordinary nature of comics in general. Mogo has a barely noticeable personality, but can you imagine the Green Lanterns without him? Maybe, but it would be significantly less cool.

4. Guy Gardner
Out of all the earthbound Lanterns, Guy always stood out as having the most fleshed out personality. He's not a classic, square hero. He can be a jerk, he can be crude, even obnoxious. But he never, ever gives up. Guy is the pugilist, the Lantern who will take a beating to keep throwing punches. He brings some grit to the team, a more down to earth perspective on vast sci-fiction epics. The Corps. may have countless heroes, but there is only one Guy Gardner.

3. Hal Jordan
There's a reason how was chosen to star in the feature film over the other Lanterns. Sure Alan Scott was technically the first with the title, but Hal was the original Lantern as we know them today. Through him we learned of the mythical Green Lanterns and he's carried the mythos to where it is today.

In movie form. Perhaps not the best representation?

Hal sadly suffers a bit from a flat character to keep him away from the top spot. Any time you can label the hero's flaws in a nice one package like "arrogance" as Geoff Johns so constantly reminds us, you're a touch stale. Just because you have a traditional hero doesn't mean you can't be complex and interesting, which Hal just can't claim. Instead, he's a vessel for us to enter this world and experience what it means to be a Lantern. The Green Lantern legacy revolves around Hal, and you have to respect that.

So who could possibly take the title of "greatest lantern" over the mighty Hal Jordan? I left two candidates out, just to keep you guessing. Whoever could it be?!?