Joss Whedon Explains Why Ant-Man Isn’t In The Avengers

There are some purists that refuse to accept any alterations to the gospel according to their comic book creators.  I get it but what works in one medium may not translate to a different medium. A good example would be the first Fantastic Four movie where the origin story from the comic was changed to include Victor von Doom with the rest of the gang to be bombarded with cosmic rays which endowed them with superpowers though, Doom’s powers are not clear or as distinct as the Four.

Another alteration would the first Spiderman movie with Tobey Maguire. We still get the origin of Parker getting bitten by a radioactive spider but the alteration would be the webs Spiderman now can create organically. Does this change the dynamic of the character? I don’t think so. Sure in The Amazing Spiderman we are treated to another origin story but this time Parker creates the web shooter ala the comic book origin storyline. Again, did this change Parker or make him more like the comic book series? The movie sucked but Parker was the same as this did not enhance the character. His ability to create webs either organically or artificially was not as important as his ability to use the webs and swing through the city. Now, if you look at the video below of a Japanese version of Spiderman, I would have gone apeshit if this were to happen here.

So, Hank Pym didn’t create Ultron in the MCU; I can live with this alteration. I’m more concern about Ant Man sucking like Thor 2.

According to Joss Whedon, “Of all the heat I’ve ever taken, not having Hank Pym [in the Avengers] was one of the bigger things.” However, Whedon contests that it didn’t make sense to bring in Ant-Man into Earth’s mightiest movie heroes.

In an long interview with Empire Magazine, Avengers: Age of Ultron director Joss Whedon explained why Marvel kept Scott Lang away from the rest of the Marvel gang, and why the comic creator of Ultron (Ant-Man) would no longer be the villain’s creator in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Tony Stark.

via Joss Whedon Explains Why Ant-Man Isn’t In The Avengers.

Green Arrow and Wonder Woman on CW? ‘Arrow’ Bosses Sound Off

Well… well… well. Wonder Woman, huh? It seems that this may be just more talk than action. I’m mean seriously, do I want to see Wonder Woman? Fuck yeah!!!! But when do we get it? Seriously folks, can we a WW off the ground sometime before I die? Eventually but let’s not rush into things. Hera give me strength.

Could Green Arrow and Wonder Woman co-exist on the same network?

With the CW a month away from launching its take on DC Comics’ Green Arrow, the network seems eager to have its Stephen Amell starrer Arrow potentially joined by another member of the Justice League: Wonder Woman.

The network is eyeing an origin story for the famed female superhero, exploring Wonder Woman’s alter ego Diana of Themyscira in Amazon, which is in the early stages of development under comics scribe Allan Heinberg. (Coincidentally, he co-penned a five-issue JLA arc with DC’s Geoff Johns.)

via Green Arrow and Wonder Woman on CW? ‘Arrow’ Bosses Sound Off.

Requiem for a Speed Racer: In Praise of ‘Bad’ Wachowski Movies «

Aside from Speed Racer and Cloud Atlas and the upcoming Jupiter Ascending, one would have thought they had done more movies since then. As for V for Vendetta, it did involve the Wachowskis’ but only as screenwriters but still I see this movie as theirs and not the director James McTeigue (who has worked with them on the Matrix and Speed Racer as first assistant director and second unit director; respectively). Dollar wise, their movies worldwide did make enough to cover their budgets but not enough to be considered huge success like the Matrix. The question in my mind, can the Wachowskis’ make another movie like the Matrix that had huge appeal?

I think the Wachowskis’ have a unique appeal that will not translate to big office numbers after the Matrix. Even I was hesitant about watching Cloud Atlas. The storytelling using multiple storylines appealed to me along with their a wonderfully scored soundtrack by Tom Tykwer and Johnny Klimek. Speed racer was a colorful tech noir movie that despite the heavy CG usage still manages to create a very compelling and unique world. As for Jupiter, I want to believe that the Wachowskis’ made another film that few of us will enjoy immensely. However, my prediction is that SpongeBob will beat Jupiter over the weekend and will spell the end of the Wachowskis’ feature films as least in the short-term. Again, this is not to say that their vision will be over it just means that will have to tell their stories differently and with way less money.

There’s still a chance the Wachowskis’ Jupiter Ascending isn’t a bad movie, but there’s almost no chance it won’t be received that way. It’s had the appearance of badness ever since Warner Bros. bumped it from high blockbuster season to purgatorial February. Your more-on-top-of-things film-blogger types undoubtedly already have their “Can the Wachowskis Be Saved?” think pieces locked and loaded, with TKs where the disappointing opening-weekend box-office numbers go. It’s a movie about a Chicago cleaning person with a Very Special Destiny (Mila Kunis) and the extraterrestrial albino half-wolfman (Channing Tatum) assigned to safeguard her from malevolent immortal cosmic oligarchs in funny hats (Eddie Redmayne, playing somebody named “Balem Abrasax” and possibly Pluto Nash–ing his shot at an Oscar). The words “ridiculous” and “Waterworld” have cropped up in early reviews. It might still become a cult film; it probably won’t make back the $175 million it reportedly cost.

via Requiem for a Speed Racer: In Praise of ‘Bad’ Wachowski Movies «.

The characters of Star Trek 3, from lots of new women to a “Bryan Cranston” villain | Film Divider

I had already went down this road on what the next Trek movie and the overall franchise direction should focus on. The article below, if correct, does offer more food for thought. I do like the idea of seeing more female characters from being in less supporting roles to being one in position of authority. My favorite part of this piece is the possible introduction of McCoy’s ex-wife. If it plays out in my head, we can see a better bonding of the holy trinity of Kirk, Spock and McCoy via their female relationship. Urban definitely needs to have more screen time. He is just as valuable a team member as Kirk and Spock and not just not being the comic foil of doing medical testing in the most inopportune time. Let’s see the classic elements come back to Trek while still doing something new. As for the Bryan Cranston-like villain let’s not go down the same path as Nero and Kahn as just one-off characters. Let this not be our last battlefield; Star Trek must live.

I’m a forgiving soul but even I struggled with Star Trek into Darkness.

After initially enjoying the film’s scope and the welcome integration of dubious Starfleet Intelligence practices into the rebooted universe, I found that the further away I got from my first viewing, the less I saw to like.

I’m not saying it’s inherently a bad movie, but there was a lot to put me off: the whitening of Khan, a horrifically botched misinformation campaign throughout production, and the fan service inclusions of both Klingons and Old Spock.

But what drove home the final nail was the ‘Carol Marcus lingerie scene.’ Having Alice Eve strip to her underwear was arbitrary to the point of feeling clinical, and certainly did nothing for what was already an ill-served character. This choice seemed to reveal the movie for what it honestly was, being both loveless and exploitative of its founding elements.

via The characters of Star Trek 3, from lots of new women to a “Bryan Cranston” villain | Film Divider.

The Monster Scifi Show Podcast Has A Spinoff

WTF!?! (What the frell!?!) The Page 49 Podcast was born due to being a librarian. As much as I love all things scifi, I have a great interest in many other things that I want to talk about. On occasion, I might make some scifi references but the subtle ones will mark you as a uber geek. So, if a listen to my new show and let me know what you think. Hopefully, you will love what I have to say. Enjoy! (PS – there will be a separate feed for the show to subscribe in the future.)