Movie Review: ‘Green Lantern’

By Don M. Ventura

There is an art to the adaptation of a comic book to film.

So many elements go into making a successful motion picture, but for an adaptation it’s all about how and what the filmmakers choose to adapt. And for me, this is where Green Lantern fails.

I got the sense that the filmmakers used the source material as a license to throw in everything without concern for what the audience would accept as the film’s established reality. The movie slavishly throws Green Lantern mythos at us that finally, as a filmgoer, you choose to accept it or not. I did not.

Explanation Speculation: Where are the JSA in the DCnU?

After DC announced the last of their "New 52" books, one group of characters was noticeably absent: the Justice Society of America. While Mr.Terrific has his own ongoing book and a spot on the Justice League (as well as Hawkman for that matter), most of the JSAers are nowhere to be found.

While Dan DiDio has been cagey when asked point blank, I believe I may have stumbled across an explanation. On the always-superb Wordballoon podcast hosted by John Siuntres, writer Jeff Lemire (writing Frankenstein and Animal Man in "The New 52"), in discussing his current mini-series Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown, explains that in the world of Flashpoint, "Basically Frankenstein and the Commandos, they show up and kind of take care of the Nazis and as a result there was never any need for the JSA or the All-Star Squadron to have been born" as shown in issue #1 of the mini. However, a few minutes later Lemire also explains that "a lot of the characters and concepts in the Flashpoint world are gonna bleed over and become part of this new DC Universe."

Could this be the reason there is no JSA in the post-Flashpoint/post-relaunch DC Universe? Lemire confirms later in the interview that the new creatures he created for the Flashpoint mini are featured in his September-launching Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. ongoing so perhaps the characters aren't the only idea "bleeding over."

Max Beckman is a manager at Pulp Fiction in Long Beach, CA and CheapGraphicNovels.com. You can follow him on Twitter @CheapGNsdotcom and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pulpfictioncomics. Pulp Fiction can be found on the web at www.pulpfictiononline.com and at 1742 Clark Ave. Long Beach, CA 90815.

Superhero Box Office

Hey there movie goers and superhero fanboys...

It's June and we are now three superhero and comic book films in, let's check in and see how they are doing. Cause we all want sequels and spin offs, right?

Green Lantern opened this weekend and despite negative reviews the DC Comics 'space cop' brought in a worldwide total of $70,174,303.

X-Men: First Class has been out for 17 days and the merry group of mutants has so far brought in a worldwide total of $282,458,086.

and finally,

After 6 weeks Thor is still going strong (mighty even) with a worldwide total of $435,214,432.

Not bad for a bunch of guys and gals who have been in the funny books for over 50 years

'100 Bullets' Heads to the Small Screen

Deadline is reporting that popular Vertigo comic series 100 Bullets by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso (the team currently behind Flashpoint: Batman - Knight of Vengeance) is coming to Showtime courtesy of prolific comic-to-screen adapter David Goyer (writer - Batman Begins, Blade Trilogy). The critically acclaimed hard crime/noir series ran 100 issues from 1999 to 2009.

Max Beckman is a manager at Pulp Fiction in Long Beach, CA and CheapGraphicNovels.com. You can follow him on Twitter @CheapGNsdotcom and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pulpfictioncomics. Pulp Fiction can be found on the web at www.pulpfictiononline.com and at 1742 Clark Ave. Long Beach, CA 90815.

Casting Update for 'Powers' TV Pilot

Deadline is reporting that Lucy Punch (Dinner For Schmucks, Hot Fuzz) has been cast as the female lead FX's pilot 'Powers' based on the comic book series by triple-named duo Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming. Punch joins already cast actors Charles S. Dutton (playing Captain Cross) and Bailee Madison (playing the young girl Callista) will play Deena Pilgrim who, along with her yet-to-be-cast partner Christian Walker, work as homicide detectives in a world where "powers" (super-powered individuals) are prevalent. Punch will next appear in the feature film Bad Teacher, opening this Friday.

Personally, this casting news comes at somewhat of surprise to me. I do think Punch has great comedic chops (I actually saw a test screening of Bad Teacher several months ago and thought she was the best part) but I've never seen her in a more serious role. Previously, Katee Sackoff (Battlestar Galactica, 24) had expressed great interest in the role and she would have been absolute perfect. I'm disappointed she didn't get the part but I trust the people behind the show to get this right.

Max Beckman is a manager at Pulp Fiction in Long Beach, CA and CheapGraphicNovels.com. You can follow him on Twitter @CheapGNsdotcom and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pulpfictioncomics. Pulp Fiction can be found on the web at www.pulpfictiononline.com and at 1742 Clark Ave. Long Beach, CA 90815.

Cape Town Community Podcast - Ep. 022 - "Kneel Before Grodd”

We’re still reeling from this weekend’s great Green Lantern movie debate, but the show must go on. And go on it does! We offer a spoiler-filled review of Invincible #80, say farewell to Judd Winick and his wonderful run on Power Girl, test out John Layman’s take on the King of the Monsters, and continue to provide our thoughts on all of the Flashpoint tie-ins.

The show is embedded below and is now available on iTunes for subscription. Each episode will labeled "podcast" so you can link to previous episodes here on the blog. Refer to the Show Notes after the jump as well as a direct link to download the MP3.

Cape Town Extra: "Green Lantern" Review

In this Special Edition episode, Don and Jerry review the new film Green Lantern! While the movie has been derided by critics, Don and Jerry both went in with open minds. They came out, however, with different thoughts on the film.

As always, we remind you that this episode is as spoil-heavy as our review show, so you may want to give it a listen after you’ve seen the movie.

The show is embedded below and is now available on iTunes for subscription. Each episode will labeled "podcast" so you can link to previous episodes here on the blog. Refer to the Direct Download link after the jump to download the MP3.

Captain America Retrospective Part 0: An Intro

I am a Marvel zombie. Don't get me wrong, I love all comics (at least the good ones) and I am able to criticize Marvel books when it's warranted but my heart belongs to the House of Ideas. That being said, while I have kept up with almost all of the Marvel books for the past six or seven years (actually starting with X-Men, Spider-Man, the Ultimate universe, and a few others almost eleven years ago), my experience reading the past adventures of these heroes (again except the X-Men and Spider-Man) has been, up until this point, very limited. It's because of this that I set out to vastly expand my experience with the rest of the Marvel U this year specifically concerning the characters gracing the silver screen this summer.

Earlier in the year, I read (and in a few cases re-read) about 225 issues of Thor in anticipation of his theatrical debut and now I am doing the same with Captain America. With just a little over one month until Captain America: The First Avenger's release on July 22, I definitely have my work cut out for me. I'll be posting reviews along the way and below I'll include a reading list of the graphic novels comprising my retrospective.

Chronological Reading List:
Captain America Comics #1 70th Anniversary Edition
Captain America Omnibus Vol.01 HC
Captain America & The Falcon: Secret Empire TP
Captain America & The Falcon: Nomad TP
Captain America by Jack Kirby Omnibus HC
Captain Amierca: War and Remembrance HC
Captain America: The Captain TP
Captain America: Scourge of the Underworld TP
Fear Itself: Sin's Past One-Shot
Captain America: The Bloodstone Hunt TP
Captain America: Man & Wolf TP
Captain America: Fighting Chance - Denial TP
Captain America: Fighting Chance - Acceptance TP
Captain America: Operation Rebirth HC
Captain America: To Serve and Protect HC
Captain America: American Nightmare HC
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty HC
Captain America by Dan Jurgens Vol.01 TP
Captain America: The New Deal HC

Check out CheapGraphicNovels.com for the best prices around on these Captain America books and all your other graphic novel needs (cheap plug I know).

(Note: I have been reading Captain America since Ed Brubaker took over so his run will not be included in the retrospective unless time permits which, from looking at this hefty list, seems pretty unlikely)

Max Beckman is a manager at Pulp Fiction in Long Beach, CA and CheapGraphicNovels.com. You can follow him on Twitter @CheapGNsdotcom and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pulpfictioncomics. Pulp Fiction can be found on the web at www.pulpfictiononline.com and at 1742 Clark Ave. Long Beach, CA 90815.

Green Lantern: Critics VS. The Fans

There is already debate over Warner Bros adaptation of Green Lantern.

As early as Wednesday of this week (June 15th) the Green Lantern film was getting crushed by critics. The film has a 23% approval rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes and just about everyone who gets paid (or wishes they were getting paid) to review movies is saying just about the same thing,

Green Lantern is a failure.

However, 65% of audiences who have seen the film....like it.

I have seen the movie and I will save my opinion for our special podcast review show, which should be up for listening pleasure later this weekend.

Before seeing the movie I started to wonder if superhero films have now become their own genre of film, and that if Producers and Directors don't provide critics with anything new then it will simply get panned.

Could there simply just be, too many superhero films?

What Consumers Should Know from the DC Retailer Roadshow

By Max Beckman

Yesterday DC Entertainment invited retailers to the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California,  for the first of five stops on their DC Comics Retailer Roadshow.  The purpose of this tour is to present all of their plans for the upcoming September relaunch, dubbed "The New 52", and take any and all questions and feedback we had on the initiative.

In attendance on DC's side were Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee, SVP of Sales Bob Wayne, Hank Kanalz (an executive in the digital branch), and John Rood (EVP of Sales, Marketing and Business Development).  President DC Entertainment Diane Nelson was also in attendance but did not take part in the presentation or Q&A herself (she's a pretty busy woman with Green Lantern opening that day and the final Harry Potter film right around the corner).  There were approximately 20 different stores in attendance—mostly from California, but there were also some long distance travelers (from Portland, Las Vegas, the Bay Area, and Arizona).

'Green Lantern' Opens Today

I’m going to see Green Lantern in an hour or so and I’m completely torn as to what I can expect. The critics are ravaging it. A few people I know have seen it and loved it. Of course I’m concerned any time a film is not screened early for critics, which is the case with Green Lantern.

None of this seems to be totally affecting me though. I am going into this movie with a completely open mind. I think all of the negative reviews has kept my perspective more open than normal. I say this because I normally will walk into a film thinking “I’m going to really enjoy myself” or “the trailers haven’t been great, but I’m going to turn off my brain and just enjoy it.” With Green Lantern I have been asking myself “I wonder what I will think of this film?” Sure my head is telling me that the lack of confidence that Warner Bros. has shown in this film is all I should need to know about its quality, my head is also telling me that they don’t know what they have on their hands.

You can hear what Jerry and I thought of the film when our Special Edition Green Lantern podcast is posted this weekend. It should be interesting.

One last note: I am hopeful that the film that inspired the following magical moment from last year’s San Diego Comic Con will have a little magic of its own.

Mangold Signed to Direct 'The Wolverine'

While he has had hits (3:10 to Yuma) and misses (Knight and Day) in action films, James Mangold most consistent work has been in his more dramatic fare (Walk the Line, Girl, Interrupted and Copland).

According to the Hollywood Reporter Mangold has been tapped to direct The Wolverine for Fox; this, of course, is the sequel to 2008’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine. After Darren Aronofsky left the project after determining the shooting schedule would have taken him out of the country for too long a time, Fox began to whittle down a short—and eclectic—list of directors. The film’s co-producer and star, Hugh Jackman, has also made no secret that he is eager to keep this film on track.

There is no word yet on when the film is set to begin rolling, but my guess would be that Fox is eager to get The Wolverine out for a 2012 summer or Christmas release. If it’s summer, the hero won’t have much room to stretch out his claws since that movie season is already stuffed with the biggest franchises in comic book moviedom: The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises.

The Wolverine, written by Christopher MqQuarrie, is said to be based on Chris Claremont’s class Wolverine 1982 mini-series, which is primarily set in Japan. With Mangold on hand as the director, I would assume that Jackman and company are looking to keep the material as serious as we would have expected from Aronofsky’s take on the film.

Marvel Announces 'Uncanny X-Men' #1 and 'Wolverine & the X-Men' #1

In an interview with the Associated Press, Marvel Comics’ Editor-in-Chief Alex Alonso announced that once the current run of Uncanny X-Men comes to a close this October, the book will split into two conflicting titles: Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine & the X-Men.

After the events of Schism, the Jason Aaron penned mini-series, the X-Men will be clearly divided into two camps—one behind Wolverine and one behind Cyclops. What is the catalyst that sees Logan and Scott choosing such divergent paths? That’s the million dollar question.

Aaron will guide Wolverine’s team in Wolverine & the X-Men and current Uncanny writer will continue writing the title when it is relaunched in November, albeit with a fractured Cyclops led team.

Here’s my question: why would both teams call themselves X-Men? Sure that is how they have always identified themselves, but at the end of whatever it is that tears this team apart, wouldn’t Charles Xavier also be on one side? Why would the side with the disparate perspective still use his team’s name? Unless of course if Xavier does not survive Schism and Cyclops and Wolverine interpretation of the professor’s mission is what causes the rift.

Schism #1 is scheduled for release on July 13^th.

Captain America Out On DVD This July

Remember this film?

Official Description,

Experience The Original Adventure
CAPTAIN AMERICA
Available on DVD for the First Time Ever

The Very First Avenger Makes His Long Awaited Debut On DVD on July 19th

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment’s “manufacturing on demand” (“MOD”) program is excited to announce its newest addition, CAPTAIN AMERICA, available on DVD as part of MGM’s Limited Edition Collection.  Based on the bestselling Marvel Comics series, CAPTAIN AMERICA stars Matt Salinger (What Dreams May Come) as a crime-fighting superhero whose strengths and abilities may save the United States from nuclear destruction.  

During World War II, a brave American soldier (Salinger) volunteers to undergo experiments to become a new super-soldier, codenamed “Captain America.”  Infiltrating Germany to sabotage Nazi rockets pointed at the U.S., Captain America faces off with Nazi superhuman warrior Red Skull (Scott Paulin, The Right Stuff) who defeats the hero, throwing him into suspended animation.  Frozen for 50 years, Captain America is found and revived only to find that Red Skull has changed identities and has targeted the President of the United States (Ronny Cox, RoboCop) for assassination.  With America on the verge of utter chaos, it is up to one man to save the day!

CAPTAIN AMERICA also features supporting performances from Ned Beatty (Superman), Darren McGavin (A Christmas Story), Michael Nouri (Flashdance) and Melinda Dillon (Close Encounters of the Third Kind) and Kim Gillingham (“One Big Family”).  The DVD will be available for sale on online retailers everywhere.

Best quote, "THANK YOU MR. PRESIDENT!"

Superman: Man of Steel Casting Part Two

Today is a big day for Superman casting news.

Variety is reporting that actor Russell Crowe is in final negotiations to play Superman's father Jor-EL.

The strange part in of all of this, is that both Crowe and Connie Nielsen were in Gladiator.

Does this mean Joaquin Phoenix is up for Jimmy Olsen?