Excuse me while I sit here with minimal excitement. After I get the details, maybe I’ll get excited. Right now, too much can go wrong and Hollywood has shat upon source material too often for me to get hopes up. Still, this movie is likely from Marvel, so perhaps there is reason for optimism?

Nah. I’ll keep my expectations low and be excited if they are exceeded.

This is an amazingly entertaining movie. It is not a great movie. Nope. But it delivers. Boy, does it deliver. It is a fun movie, an exciting movie, and absolutely the best Punisher movie yet made. This movie seems to get it. This is a comic book movie about a comic book vigilante and it has comic book sensibilities.

It’s also gritty. Frank Castle’s world is dirty and depressing. It is always night and wet. It is also incredibly well shot for what is basically an homage to B-movies wrapped in a violent comic adaptation.

And Ray Stevenson: this man needs much more work. Much. More. Listen, I have a soft spot for him and Kevin McKidd due to HBO’s Rome. Stevenson was outstanding in that. But he’s been outstanding in everything I’ve seen him in, whether he’s supporting—as in Book of Eli—or starring—as in Outpost, which I’ve also reviewed. This is Frank Castle—massive, intimidating, beefy but not pretty-boy cut. And the costume is great, just enough of the comic influence while providing something that looks like it could protect one from a 9mm.

If you like the Punisher comic, found the Dolph Lundgren vehicle appalling, but weren’t totally enthralled by Thomas Jane’s turn, give War Zone a shot. I wish there were a sequel with the same cast and crew coming out way, but that doesn’t look likely.

More information on this movie can be found here.

The Punisher: War Zone episode of How Did This Get Made is here.

My review of Outpost can be found here.

I’m pretty optimistic about the Avengers movies. That’s mainly because my expectations are low. Those expectations are low not because I don’t like Joss Whedon—I do—nor because I think the film doesn’t have enough impressive actors in it—it certainly does—but because even Kenneth Brannagh didn’t totally crush Thor.

Listen, I like Joss Whedon, and I enjoyed Serenity, but it wasn’t a great movie. It was a good movie. A good movie is enough. It is not a bad movie nor a mediocre movie, but a good movie.

Thor was a good movie. I wouldn’t call it a great movie, though I enjoyed it. It was a good movie, it did its job. It—like the Avengers—had a pretty stellar cast. The character development, even for its main character, fell a little flat and the fight scenes didn’t have much energy. I’m not going to complain, though, because I got to see Thor on the big screen.

I expect the same from the Avengers. The photos that I’ve seen so far have been great. The trailer—I am certain—will be awesome. It will look spectacular. And, in the end, it will be good. I’m fairly certain of that. I don’t think, though, that it will great.

I was a big fan of the comic when it was running. Granted, I only bought the collections, so maybe I was part of the problem, but I was very sad when it disappeared. I didn’t really follow the Thanos Imperative, because while it kind of continued the Guardians, without Starlord there really is no Guardians.

Now it looks like Marvel is banking that the concept that couldn’t keep a comic running will make a profitable movie. I truly hope so, and I also truly hope that they look at the Guardians series for their story and characters.

Unfortunately, though, it looks like they will go back to the original Guardians concept, which I have absolutely no stake in and could not care less about. I am not surprised by this, given how much Hollywood hates me.

By the way, when is someone going to give me my Immortal Iron Fist movie starring Ray Park? When?

Read the leaked information here.

Read the Wikipedia article on the cool Guardians of the Galaxy here.

First, the director, Darren Aronofsky, left the project. Then natural disasters and their aftermath scourged Japan, where the Wolverine was to be filmed. Now it looks like Hugh Jackman may be looking for other work until the movie gets back on track.

While we will likely have First Class to keep us going until the Wolverine gets made, the fact that Jackman is going to be involved in another production means that we will likely be waiting two years—optimistically—for the Wolverine to arrive, if it ever does. The sad thing is that maybe what made this movie anticipated will be lost in the interim. All it takes is a mediocre director, or one with a vision at variance with what is in the script to change it into another Origins fiasco.

Please, no.

And to add insult to injury, it looks like the Deadpool movie is languishing as well. Should Green Lantern make money, Ryan Reynolds will likely be back on for the sequel production quickly—with little or no time for Deadpool. And that’s even if a director can be found in the near future.

Things are looking grim. Thanks Hollywood—or the Fates, Satan, whomever—for taking my dreams and drilling them in the pooper.

I like Viggo and I like the thought of Zod in the movie, but the two just don’t fit together in my mind.

Second is Diane Lane as Martha Kent. This conflict is something a little different. I have no doubt that she can play the role, but she really is far too hot for my conception of Martha Kent. No matter how much they “dowdy” her up, unless she’s going to pull a Charlize Theron Monster trick, I just can’t picture her as Mommy Supes.

Starring as the young Judy Jets . . . er Robinson was an actress whose name I had heard but knew nothing about. Adrienne Palicki.

And then it turns out she’s going to be the new Wonder Woman for the David E. Kelley NBC series.

Weird how these intersections work.

I can’t say that she looks the part of Wonder Woman, at least not to me. Wonder Woman is the product of a warrior society, and perhaps the finest warrior from that society. She is also a diplomat and a kind of royalty. That’s a pretty tough job. I honestly don’t know who I would want for the role—maybe Gina Torres—but Ms. Palicki certainly isn’t it. Maybe they’ve got her on a massive training regime that is going to buff her up before filming. Who knows.

Also? Everything I’ve read about the Wonder Woman TV series leads me to believe it should suffer the same fate as that Lost in Space revival—disappear for six years only to surface on YouTube—to no acclaim.

If you want to read about the John Woo Lost in Space project, go here.

If you want to read about the new Wonder Woman, go here.

I will not Google image search for you.

I liked Con Air and all, but it seems to have been an anomaly. I found Lara Croft: Tomb Raider pretty pedestrian, actually boring in parts. It totally failed to hold my interest, and that was even with Angelina Jolie in a tight shirt. He’s going to need to really up his game if he’s going to interest me in Red Sonja, which basically has the same assets as Lara Croft . . . well, that and it’s based on a sword & sorcery property that is tangentially linked to Conan.

And the young lady to play Red Sonja? Well, the producer wants Amber Heard, of whom I had not . . . heard. Sorry about that. Google image search tells me she’s an attractive enough young lady, but I don’t really see her as Red Sonja. She’d have to hit the gym a lot to make me believe she’s a warrior-woman.

So yet another “meh” response to big Hollywood news. Get yer shit together, Hollywood.

You can find my review of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider here.

I remember her very well from Superman II. I have no idea if she’s been in comics, cartoons, or other Superman properties since that movie. I don’t really follow Superman. However, the possibility of Ursa brings about the possibility of Zod, and we all know daddy likes his General Zod.

Of the three, I’d go for Alice Eve or Rosamund Pike. Diane Krueger as Helen was a very painful part of Troy. I’m not looking to see her again any time soon.

Now, bring on Zod. And for extra points, get Terence Stamp to play him again. That man is fukin’ Golden.

My previous Zod gushing here.

I’m not a particular fan of the Black Panther, but I’ve read some stuff with him that is pretty cool. The writer in question, Mark Bailey, is mostly known for documentary work, though he has done at least one other adaptation that might see the screen. There’s no word yet on how Marvel or Mr. Bailey intends to adapt the story of the Black Panther, but the last time there was any serious interest in the character, he was going to be involved in some kind of Indiana Jones/Alan Quatermain-style adventure.

Oh, please, no. That just sounds so stupid.

Granted, that was in the 1990s. Hopefully Hollywood has gotten smarter.

And then I remembered Catwoman, and that shot that idea to shit.

Read the article at Collider.