Oh, Finnick Odair. Please Be Dreamy. (Casting Rumors)

Fly Mockingjay! FLY!

EDIT: Sam Claflin (Pirates 4 and Snow White & the Huntsman) was tagged to play Finnick Odair. So, in short, this post is irrelevant. But! Take a look anyway at who we assessed should play the role. Also, there are copious amounts of Jennifer Lawrence love.

While the Hunger Games sequel, Catching Fire, has officially announced its next director, there is still much speculation on the casting of certain characters. Well, mainly one. There is a certain character in Catching Fire that drips of manliness and sultry sexiness. Yes, yes I am talking about non-other than the dreamy male tribute and victor from District 4:

Finnick Odair.

More Jennifer. Just because.

Now, I won't spoil too much of the book, but I will say that Finnick is the epitome of every girl and guys dream crush. Every woman in The Capitol succumbed to his overwhelming handsomeness, and well, his beauty was one of the contributing factors to his victory in the 64th Hunger Games.

Obviously handsome, but also tall, muscular, and athletic. Whew. To top of that package, he's described to have tan skin (the byproduct of being in the fishing district, 4) with bronze hair. He knows he's gorgeous, and he is extremely flirtatious. His voice has a "seductive purr" to it. Um. Yes.

While his physique causes everybody to swoon, his most stunning feature is probably... his eyes. (Get your mind out of the gutter.) He possesses deep sea green eyes, or rather, eyes the same color as the sea. Eyes that even hypnotize the un-swoonable Katniss (played by Jennifer Lawrence. *swoon*).

Many a-fangirl and guy has chimed in on their choices of hunky actors who should play the dreamy Finnick. It ranges from the established actor to the up-and-coming pretty boy to the just plain obscure. Now, it's my turn.

Another one. Deal with it.

While I said I wouldn't spoil too much of the book, I will say this. Finnick is not just a pretty boy. He's dangerous. He's ruthless. He's damaged... He carries the physical and emotional scars from killing fellow youth in combat. Whoever plays the seductive Finnick Odair must also possess the acting chops to present a character who can range from seemingly being indestructible to incredibly vulnerable.  As the books progress, Finnick becomes increasingly unstable from a pent up fear and worry that I will not spoil.

Ladies (and gentlemen), I give to you the best choices to play the alluringly gorgeous Finnick Odair.

Django Unchained. Or rather, The Best Thing Ever.

Tarantino's next romp.

Okay, so maybe not "The Best Thing Ever", but pretty darn near close. The casual movie goer is probably thinking, "Uh. What?" Allow me to explain why Django Unchained will be so awesome.

Quentin Tarantino does Spaghetti-Western.

This guy. I love. So much.

AWESOME!!! AM I RIGHT? If you do not know who Quentin Tarantino is please kindly leave this planet. Well, maybe you haven't hear of him, but I'm sure you've at least heard of some of his cult classics (oxymoron...?) such as Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Inglorious Basterds, Death Proof, Jackie Brown, and oh yeah, Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Kill Bill Vol. 2. Now, if you haven't heard of any of those, let alone never seen them, please, do yourself a favor and watch them (or if you do not, please, GET OFF MY PLANET).

I want one...

While I must admit that I am a rather late-bloomer when it comes to Tarantino (I was aware of his work, but never really fully appreciated them until someone introduced me in full my Freshman year of college), it should in no way put a blemish on my incredible man-crush for everything he does. And I mean EVERYTHING. I get that his 1950s-60s grindhouse style doesn't suit many people (hence, he's collected more of a cult following), but you still have to appreciate his artistic flair in both film style and scriptwriting prowess. Seriously. He makes the ridiculous violence in his film look high-brow. Da-what.

Django Unchained should keep up Tarantino's streak of over-the-top violence and gratuitously gratuitous gut-splattering. Plus Tarantino collaborates with the incredibly talented cinematographer, Robert Richardson. While he is probably not a house-hold name, the three-time Academy Award winner for Best Cinematography has been involved in projects with Tarantino that include the Kill Bills and Inglorious Basterds. Richardson has also been a frequent choice for filmmakers Oliver Stone, Errol Morris, and my hero, Martin Scorsese.

So, Tarantino, Richardson, Spaghetti-Western... the whole thing sounds too good to be true. Oh believe it. You better sit down if you can't handle it because we haven't even gotten to the star-studded cast of A-Listers, who are not only known for their ridiculous good-looks, but also have incredible acting chops to boot.

Oh yeah. He's in it.

Avengers Preview, Mk. III

Like the Mk. II, just with lots of explosions and cool colors.  Still better than any of Michael Bay's stuff.

Last night, The Avengers hit the big screen in international audiences.  So far it's done nothing short of what was expected.  It broke records all over the globe, and has earned an incredible rating on rottentomatoes.  One week from now Earth's Mightiest Heroes will come to American theaters, and I will also have just finished watching them be awesome.  Joss Whedon and the folks down at Marvel Studios have done some incredible work building hype for their baby.  Everything about this movie has been BIG.  The first time we saw actual footage in teaser-form was during Superbowl XLVI.  Both trailers since then have been epic, epic, and more epic.  There have been so many TV spots, I still am not sure if I have seen all of them.  And that's just the promotional stuff!  Don't forget about their enormous budget, their all-star cast, the 5 blockbusters leading up to this movie, and of course the legendary heroes themselves as seen in thousands of comics.  With a skilled story-teller at the helm, and 5 excellent prequels, was it ever really possible this movie couldn't be something....Epic?  Invincible?  Incredible?  Amazing?  Fantastic?  Thunderous?  Heartfelt?  We'll soon see.

Marvel's Expanding Universe, Pt. IV

You say you want some more?  I'm not surprised.

        Joe Johnston's (The Rocketeer) Captain America: The First Avenger was a critical and financial success.  Being the last of Marvel Studios' Avengers' lead-in films, it had a lot to live up to.  I think we can for the most part say it more than lived up to expectations.

        I believe the main reason for this is the reason why I actually enjoyed TFA.  As a die-hard Marvel fan, I have to say I'm not a fan of every character.  One of the characters I'm super not a fan of is Captain America.  I think he looks ridiculous, acts ridiculous, takes himself too seriously, and looks ridiculous.

Did I mention he looks ridiculous?     

        Having said that, I think Chris Evans did a fantastic job of making Captain America into everything I just described, but he did it in a way that was appealing and downright awesome.  Of the current Marvel movie heroes, Cap is one of my favorites.  I was worried when I heard The Human Torch was taking up the mantle, but then I saw how insanely buff he got.  I was feeling better.  Then I saw the preview.  I felt way better.  Then I saw the movie.  NOW I LIKE THE HERO, EVEN IN THE COMICS.  Go Chris Evans.  Oh Captain you are my captain.

        After basically winning World War II, Captain Steve Rodgers crashed a giant plane in the arctic, not to be seen for almost 70 years.  After being found and rescued by SHIELD, Rodgers woke up to the modern day.  He is a member of SHIELD, and one of the first Avengers.  So far the story of how he came to be an Avenger is congruent with the comics, with a minor change here and there.

Updates from Zack-April 26

This is me. Obviously.

This week featured a lot of comic-book movie news.  The Avengers is hitting international theaters tonight, The Amazing Spiderman is releasing their final trailer, and The Dark Knight Rises is apparently starting their uber-promoting earlier than expected.  I'll take you guys through the best parts of recent news, and give you my thoughts and feelings.  Afterwards let's hear your opinions!  Just shoot us a comment or a reaction, or help us out by posting on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter!

The Amazing Spiderman: Summer's Underdog

   
        Well gang, I guess you could call this my debut.  What better movie for me to write about in my first article as an official member of the B*Team than the iconic Marvel character I have been nicknamed after 3 times.  This Summer will feature some heavy-hitting superhero movies.  Marvel comes out with their juggernaut The Avengers, and DC wraps up the Nolan-Batman trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises.  Oh and also Marvel/Sony is releasing The Amazing Spiderman in the shadows of those two movies.  Probably won't be as good, eh?  Think again....

Meet the New Guy!

Zack is no stranger to YAMB, as he's written several articles as a Guest Writer for us already.
We welcome his enthusiasm and skill to this site!
Welcome aboard, Zack!

Hey guys what's up? Thanks for stopping by and checking me out. I'm Zack, and I'm kind of the new guy around here. I've written as a guest a time or two, but that was a while ago. Now it's great to finally be a part of the B-team! So I guess here's me in a nutshell.

Updates from Zack - 24 April 2012 (Iron Man 3 and The Dark Knight Rises)

Zack has been an awesome addition as a Guest Writer! So much so, we've made him a member of the prestigious B*Team! Stay tuned for a short intro to Zack...

This is going to be the staple image for my updates.  Just imagine it's me in that suit, looking super serious.

        In an attempt to generate more traffic bring you more comic book news, as well as get an idea into your heads just what we at YAMB at working on in the future, I decided to write this nice article for views you.  Since I'm still technically a guest writer, you're welcome.  In a different reality (obviously not this one) I'm really just writing more so that I can figure out how to use the writing tools for the site.  However like I said....different reality...

Marvel's Expanding Universe, Pt. III

Just two guys. Or gods. Whatever.

What do I want to see more than a Stanley Kirk Burrell cameo in Thor 2? Nothing. However with a director like Alan Taylor and the current script being reviewed and edited by Robert Rodat, I don't think I'll be getting my wish... If these names aren't familiar to you, then listen up. Alan Taylor is known more in the television industry than the movie industry, due to his direction of things like Sex and the City, Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos, an episode of Law and Order, and even an episode of Lost. Oh and don't let me forget this one: Game of Thrones. Yes, the director of the popular TV series Games of Thrones is directing Thor 2. How do I feel about that? Pretty durn great.

God of Mischief. And Ridiculous, Insect-Like Headgear.

On to the other guy. Robert Rodat is probably not a name that's familiar to you, but it should be. He's an Oscar nominated writer for his work in Saving Private Ryan. What's that you say RottenTomatoes? 93%? Sounds good to me. I think we'll be seeing a very serious Thor 2, with some intense character moments and action. We've already seen in this new clip from The Avengers that Thor and Loki are good at creating moments where you feel chilly inside and as though the air around you is literally tightening up. Alan and Robert can bring us plenty of moments like that. Needless to say these men can write a good story. So what story will they be writing?

Because... because you're welcome.

The Avengers is going to test our bulky, blonde hero. While most of the team is trying to avoid a war, and will stop Thor's treacherous brother, Loki, by any means, Thor is trying to keep his family from falling apart. He doesn't believe that his brother is pure evil. He's just misunderstood! Like how Hitler should have been given a second chance, because all he really wanted was some attention from daddy, so he tried taking over the human race. I might not be historically accurate but whatever. Also, Hitler joke… (we’re going to get so much crap for that…) Insert snarky comment about non-successful artists and mental problems.

I hope that in The Avengers we see Loki finally realize the pain he's caused. I don't know if I could see Loki vs. Thor round 3. What I would LOVE to see is Loki AND Thor vs. some cosmic bad guy. Who might that be? Well, currently a Marvel cosmic baddie has a confirmed cameo in The Avengers.

(extreme spoiler alert)

The Avengers Preview, Mk. II

The city is collapsing out of the sheer awesomeness.

When this blog was still young, we'd heard that Marvel was going to make an Avengers movie. I had the privilege to write a preview article for it. Here we are two weeks before the worldwide release of the greatest undertaking in comic-book movie history. Two weeks from this time the reviews will be out, you and your friends may have seen it, and a TON of people are going to be talking about it. Two weeks until Marvel's The Avengers comes out, and here's preview article Mark II.

If you think early reviews are anything to go on, then you'll be interested in reading this. If you aren't the kind of person who wants to hear anything about a movie before you see it, then this isn't the article for you. Also, how did you get here anyways? No, but really...

I see an awesome movie for you...
and millions of dollars for me.

Joss Whedon is one of my favorite writers and directors. He's also a huge Marvel fan. A lot of people could make an Avengers movie work. What sets Joss apart in my mind is that I believe he can make it work, and also make it amazing. My feelings about this movie were already very positive. After reading early reviews for The Avengers, I was left feeling extremely confident that The Avengers was going to be a good movie.

Did I have crucial plot points spoiled for me by a few poor reviewers? Yarp. Will that ruin the movie for me when I see it May 4 at 12:01? Not even a little. Today though the icing was placed on the cake, and it is yummy icing indeed. I'm generally a huge fan of the website RottenTomatoes. I rarely have an argument with the percentage a movie is given on their site. If you are feeling uncertain about how The Avengers is going to turn out, then hopefully this rating will put you at ease.

Can you say Hulk smash box office? How about great character moments? Good storyline? I hope you can. Otherwise...sorry. Here's what we can expect from this movie.

 Spoiler alert on.