Tag Archives: DC Comics

Trailer: The Dark Knight Rises (Nokia Exclusive)

Posted on by Arleigh

Marvel Studios’ The Avengers has been the runaway, blockbuster hit of 2012’s summer film season. The film has also become the film which detractors of Christopher Nolan’s third and final entry in his Dark Knight trilogy put up as the film to beat this summer. I like the fanboy enthusiasm that always comes out of the shadows whenever comic book films battle it out during the summer blockbuster season year in and year out, but I will say that instead of pitting the two mega-hits against each other fans of the comic book genre should embrace both because just around the corner will be the average to awful comic book films.

With just a month to go before the film’s release we get a new trailer (this one a Nokia Exclusive) for The Dark Knight Rises which looks to emphasis the action of the film where the previous trailers and teasers concentrated more on keeping the film’s story a secret. I’ve looked at these series’ of trailers and ads for the film like another of Nolan’s previous films with The Prestige. The first trailers and ads I see as the “The Pledge” from the film’s creators that hints at the grandiose event we’re going to be witness to. This latest trailer acts like “The Turn” as we see the magician performing the trick of this latest film giving the audience a bit more flash and pizzazz (maybe some misdirection as well to keep the story secret until the film’s release). For The Dark Knight Rises it will be on opening weekend when we finally see “The Prestige” that closes out (hopefully with critical-acclaim) Nolan’s turn as the caretaker of the Batman film franchise.

The Dark Knight Rises is set for a July 20, 2012 release date.

Trailer: The Dark Knight Rises (3rd Official)

Posted on by Arleigh

With the North American release of Marvel Studios’ The Avengers just days away it looks like DC Films’ parent company, Warner Brothers Pictures, is playing a little bit of gamesmanship by releasing a brand new trailer for their own superhero blockbuster offering this summer in The Dark Knight Rises .

The third film in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy and one that has much to live up to with the financial and critical success of the previous film, The Dark Knight. With no Heath Ledger to help anchor this third film it looks like the final leg in this trilogy will have to rely on the addition of Bane as Batman’s main antagonist. The film will also see the return of one Selina Kyle aka Catwoman who may or may not be a character Batman has to treat as an enemy as well.

From the previous teasers and trailers released for this film fans of the franchise will have a story that’s much more epic in scope than the previous two, but also one that seem to have the hit-or-miss of the three. Film trilogies rarely finish off as well as it starts with a few exceptions and hopefully Nolan’s final entry in his gritty take on the Dark Knight will be one of those exceptions.

The Dark Knight Rises is set for a July 20, 2012 release.

Source: The Dark Knight Rises Official Website

Trailer: The Dark Knight Rises

Posted on by Arleigh

There’s nothing much else to say other than 2012 looks to be the year of The Dark Knight Rises.

2005 saw the reboot of the Batman film franchise. This first film in the new trilogy put Christopher Nolan on the map as an action filmmaker. 2008’s The Dark Knight with it being such a huge critical and, more importantly, a mega-blockbuster made Christopher Nolan a filmmaker who could do anything he wants and with whatever budget he asks for. Nolan was able to cash in some of that cred to make 2010’s Inception which was also a runaway success.

2012 is just around the corner and we have the third and final leg to Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. With the success and popularity of the two previous films to say that the hype and anticipation for this third film has reached stratospheric levels would be an understatement. This is not to say the film can’t flop, but with Nolan’s track record I am in the camp of highly doubt it.

The Dark Knight Rises is set for a July 20, 2012 release in both regular and IMAX (though not in 3D).

Game Preview: Batman: Arkham City – 10 Minute Gameplay

Posted on by Leonard Wilson

This may have already been posted on the Shattered Lens, and I apologize if that’s the case (did a search, didn’t see anything on it).

Eidos and Rocksteady are almost ready to bring us the next chapter in their hit Batman: Arkham Asylum with Arkham City, due out this October. With a wider playing around and a bigger story, it’s expected to be a hit. This preview showcases Catwoman as a playable character, along with some of the updates in the gameplay overall. It’s looking very good.

100 Bullets To Be Developed For Showtime

Posted on by Arleigh

One of my favorite comic book titles ever ended up not being a superhero title, but an inventive take on the pulp noir stories which has it’s basis on the stories of such luminaries as Dashiell Hammett, Mickey Spillane, Jim Thompson and Raymond Chandler. 100 Bullets by DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint is that very title and it’s creative team of Brian Azzarello (writer) and Eduardo Risso (artist) were able to fit a complex, morally ambiguous tale of betrayal, conspiracies and bloodshed.

In years past there had been talk of adapting the 100-issue maxi-series into an HBO series, but those plans went for naught. With DC now hellbent on adapting much of their comic book properties to the big and small screen it was a nice surprise to read from Slashfilm.com that 100 Bullets is in development for premium cable channel Showtime with David Goyer executive producing the show. Whether this news ultimately reaches it’s logical conclusion and Showtime picks up the show is still up in the air.

The fact that there’s a good chance the series will finally have it’s live-action realization has made this news a happy one for me. I have always thought that Azzarello and Risso created something that was tailor-made for premium cable. Even the way Risso drew the scenes on the pages of the comic was done so as if through a film camera recording every detail. The series also has quite a cast of characters that makes it easy for an audience to latch onto and invest themselves emotionally for their well-being.

Here’s to hoping that Goyer is able to set aside his ego and find quality writers to help him adapt the series. Of all the details about this news it’s his name that worries me the most. Showtime definitely needs a new series to counter the runaway hit HBO has in it’s hands with it’s Game of Thrones series. I believe that 100 Bullets could be Showtime’s counter to HBO’s new show if they decide to pick it up.

Source: /Film

Trailer: Green Lantern (2nd Official Trailer)

Posted on by Arleigh

The WonderCon 2011 exclusive trailer and footage was a major step in creating major buzz and hype for Warner Brothers’ and DC Entertainment upcoming superhero film Green Lantern. With just a little over a month left before the film premieres the second (most likely the final trailer for the film) trailer has been released and whatever doubts early marketing and ads the film seemed to give rise to have gone away with this final release.

Green Lantern is sort of the Iron Man of the DC Comics pantheon in that he’s one of the more powerful characters in that universe, but he never got to the level of iconic status as Superman and Batman. There’s a reason why the only DC comic characters to have sustained any sort of film franchise have been Superman and Batman. The Green Lantern character was never about fighting evil on Earth. His fight was always on a much more cosmic-scale and this trailer shows that the danger in the Green Lantern is cosmic in scale even. The last superhero to attempt such a concept story-wise was the Fantastic Four sequel with Silver Surfer and Galactus. That didn’t turn out as well as many hoped it would. Here’s to hoping that Green Lantern will succeed where the Fantastic Four sequel failed.

Green Lantern is set for a June 17, 2011 release. It will come out in both 2D and 3D (RealD and IMAX 3D).

Green Lantern: WonderCon Exclusive Footage

Posted on by Arleigh

I posted just recently that Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment had been dropping the ball when it came to promoting their upcoming superhero action-adventure film slated for this summer blockbuster season. Green Lantern had its first teaser released around November of 2010 and the reception to that trailer was lukewarm at best and dismissal of the film at it’s most vocal.

It’s been almost 4 months since that disastrous attempt at promoting what would be Warner Brothers’ biggest film of the 2011. It looks like Warner Brothers and those in charge of promoting their films may have just learned a valuable lesson in releasing promotion materials when footage needed to spice it up for the target audience is not ready.

WonderCon 2011 at San Francisco has become Green Lantern central as the studios in charge of the film have released not just a kickass official theatrical poster for the film, but a 9-minute sizzle reel for those lucky enough to get a seat in the film’s panel at the Esplanade Ballroom at Moscone Center South. For those who weren’t able to see that 9-min footage the people at Warner Brothers have been gracious enough to release an abridged 4min and 3 second version into the interwebs for everyone to witness.

Even just looking at this abridged version of the WonderCon-exclusive footage has helped in dispelling much of my apprehension towards the success and workability of this film as a live-action blockbuster. The footage goes a long way in setting the tone of the film. Green Lantern has always been part of the cosmic tapestry of the overall DC Universe and the filmmakers seem to have found a way to show that epic cosmic side of the character and do it without making it look cheesy (though some of the CGI effects on the non-human members of the Green Lantern Corps could still use much tuning up).

Except for the part where Jordan is trying to figure out the Green Lantern oath in his living room the footage seems very serious in tone with little comedic beats like the teaser. I would hope that the film does have some comedic beats to it since this is Ryan Reynolds and early Hal Jordan wasn’t always the serious, gloomy gus he turned out later on in his Green Lantern run.

Green Lantern is slated for a June 17, 2011 release.

Green Lantern Poster (WonderCon Exclusive)

Posted on by Arleigh

DC Entertainment and Warner Brothers have been criticized these last few months for their handling of the ad/media blitz for their upcoming summer tentpole film: Green Lantern.

People have been quite underwhelmed with the teaser trailer shown a couple months ago then with releases of concept art for the film. It’s true that the character of Green Lantern is not as iconic as Batman or Superman, but who are outside of Spider-Man and the X-Men. Still it’s been quite perplexing how little hype Warner Brothers has been working on giving this film (starring Ryan Reynolds in the role of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern). One would think that both WB and DC Entertainment would make a massive push for this film not just to try and set it up as another DC film franchise the way Marvel has been creating their very own film universe with their properties.

One thing that may be a sign that Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment are ready to unleash a major advert and media blitz for Green Lantern is the panel at this year’s WonderCon at San Francisco where the cast were available for roundtables and a con exclusive poster of the film was released. The poster will be one of the few things from WonderCon that non-attendees will be able to see and examine.

The poster goes a long way in helping dispel my feelings about this film. While I still haven’t fully bought into this project I do get a sense of the cosmic nature of this film which other superhero films of the past decade haven’t been able to convey. If WB and DC are able to build on the positives that this new poster is giving this film then maybe Green Lantern may just become a must-see for this summer.

Green Lantern is set for a July17, 2011 release date.

R.I.P. Dwayne McDuffie

Posted on by Arleigh

February 22, 2011 marks a sad date for the comic book and animation world. One of it’s brightest and most forward thinking talents has passed away.

Dwayne McDuffie has become one of the giants in the comic book world. He began his career in comics in the late 80’s and early 90’s with Marvel Comics where he wrote for the titles, Damage Control and Deathlok. He would also do freelance work for DC up until 1993 when he finally decided to create his own comic book studio, Milestone Media, as his way to respond to how minority characters were being handled in the two main comic book houses.

With Milestone Media he was able to create a studio which  had multi-diversity character that had been lacking within the more traditional Marvel and DC Comics. Titles such as Icon and Static became fan favorites. Even though the studio he created finally shutdown in 1997 he was still able to parlay one of his Milestone titles into a WB cartoon series, Static Shock. He would find his true calling as writer and soon story editor in some of DC Animations best work. A majority of the stories for the animated series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited were either written or supervised by him. He would also be on hand to revamp Cartoon Network’s Ben 10 into Ben 10: Alien Force.

His return to comics in 20o6 would include stints as writer for Fantastic Four and Justice League of America. But his best work continued to be in the animation side as he writes two of the best received animation films from DC Animation with Justice League: Crisis on Two-Earths and, the recently released, All-Star Superman. The latter has already gained such a positive response from critics and fans alike that they’ve called it the best thing to be released by DC Animation.

So, it is with a sad heart that on the release date of his greatest work one Dwayne McDuffie passed away leaving behind legions of fans and contemporaries. There is no better tribute for this giant of the comic book world than one of the greatest episodes of Justice League.

The Dark Knight Rises Gets Selina Kyle and Bane

Posted on by Arleigh

January 19, 2011 is the first day of the new year when the internet exploded with reactions concerning Warner Brothers’ announcement about two key characters in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming and final film in his Batman trilogy.

According to a Warner Brothers press release Anne Hathaway will take on the iconic role of Selina Kyle. For those who don’t recognize the name it’s the public face of the female foil for Batman. I’m talking about none other than Catwoman herself. While the press release doesn’t mention the name Catwoman anywhere it would be only logical that Hathaway as Selina Kyle will end up as Catwoman before the film ends.

The other character announcement was about who Tom Hardy was going to portray in the film. Speculation since Hardy was cast mostly had him taking on the role of the villain Hugo Strange, but in a curve out of left field it looks like Hardy will be playing villain Bane.

While reaction on Hathaway as Selina Kyle has mostly been positive the one concerning Hardy as Bane has been met with a combination of guarded optimism (much faith and trust has been earned by Nolan from fans) to outright fanboy rage. Both from film bloggers who should know better and just people who want to grab onto anything that they see as the downfall of the Nolan take on the Batman franchise.

Some still remember the catastrophic Bane from Schumacher’s deservedly-panned Batman & Robin thus think this Nolan take on Bane will be just the same. Others just never bought into the ‘roided-out criminal villain when he was first introduced in the “Knightfall” crossover during the 90’s. If Nolan hadn’t earned my trust as a film and comic book fan from his previous Batman films I would react the same way but I won’t.

While the comic book version of Bane did look like a muscle-bound luchador who used a super-soldier serum called “Venom” to roid-out people fail to remember that bane was very close to Batman’s equal when it came to the intellect department. This was the one villain who deduced Batman’s true identity and found a way to mentally and physically break the Bat down before finally breaking his back.

I believe that Nolan will probably dump the luchador mask and outfit and concentrate on Bane as a criminal kingpin who doesn’t just have the physicality to match Batman punch for punch but also the mental acuity equal to the task of breaking Batman. Does this mean that rumors of the character Hugo Strange has been nixed from the film?

I happen to think that either Hugo Strange will be merged with the character of Bane or may actually appear as the true mastermind who turns Bane loose on the Batman. Either way I’m quite interested in finding out how Christopher Nolan plans to adapt the Bane character to his realistic take on the Batman universe. I’d be very surprised if the wrestling mask and outfit remains. The venom injections could easily be adapted to become more believable and as Tom Hardy has shown in the film Bronson he can physically bulk up and look believable as a muscle-bound heavy.

Source: Slash Film