The Amazing Spider-Man New Trailer Analysis

With the release of The Avengers came two new comic book movie trailers: The Dark Knight Rises, and in IMAX 3D showings, The Amazing Spiderman. Fellow blogger Peter already looked at The Dark Knight Rises new trailer, and now I'm going to look at the new Spiderman trailer. Instead of going through every single tiny scene and detail, I'm just going to look through some of the newer material.  Here we go!

Opening Monologue

The opening monologue can tell us a lot about this movie.  Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is talking in the past tense about his struggles as Spiderman.  We can assume this means the death of Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen), the enemies he's made, the impact it had on high school, how his loved ones are in danger, and a bunch of other really serious stuff.  Then we get the same plot point that Marc Webb has been drilling into our minds in every trailer so far.  "But the one thing that has haunted me...my entire life...is finding the truth about my parents..."  This is going to be a huge part of the movie.  Peter Parker's parents left him with his aunt and uncle at a very young age.  We know from enough previews already that Peter's father worked with Dr. Curt Connors at Oscorp, which we get to see a massive image of in this trailer. The speaking in past tense also means that the film will cover a pretty large time-frame. It's my opinion that we'll see Peter's beginnings as Spiderman, as well as quite a few flashbacks, a la Batman Begins, which is okay, since Nolan and DC have decided to copy the Spiderman viral campaign....

Marvel's Expanding Universe, Pt. V

Someone deserves some more screen time

"HULK WANT OWN MOVIE!"

Today, Earth's Mightiest heroes made us laugh, cry, and cheer as they defended us from an alien invasion. It's now safe to say the movie is incredible, and definitely worth a trip to the theater. We've been exploring some of the characters from the Marvel universe, and what they might be doing now that The Avengers is done. In the last article, I mentioned that we would be looking at some new characters who haven't hit the big screen yet, and sadly I have to take it back. Bear with me, because this series will now continue past the release of The Avengers. There's just one more character who deserves your attention.

He's been through three different actors now, since Eric Bana played him in 2003. The films have been passable, and the character has gone through some changes. Studios tried changing up his origin story. They tried making him look more attractive. They tried casting incredible talent to play him. He's been there and back again. Now the story of one of Marvel's greatest characters is being told the way it was meant to. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the big, green, ugly, unstoppable, Incredible Hulk.

Happy 100,000 Hits Day!

There's no party like a YAMB party!

On behalf of all of us here on YAMB, I would love to thank all of our fans for helping us get to 100k on the hit column. Who cares if we make up 98,000 of the hits. It's quite an accomplishment for my little brainchild that seemed 6 feet under not but a few months ago. Well, that may not seem like a lot for a blog that's been in existence for the past 2-ish or so years, it is. Let me explain...

Our lives. In college. In Kute Kitty Form.

While we started out with great intentions to do AMAZING things the summer out of high school, something big came up. College. Between the first few years of college and adjusting to the workloads, the B*Team wasn't really able to keep up Yet Another Movie Blog. Hey, we're only human.

However, lately, we've been pumping out some great content for all of you out there in Internet land. Largely, thanks to our newest blogger, Zack. He has definitely been integral to turning this blog around.

Even though we hit 100k, we are not stopping! We want this blog to keep going and keep flourishing! But! We can't do it on our own.

The Amazing Spider-Man New Trailer

Here it is gang.  Let us know what you think!

Recommend you watch in full screen.

It appears Marc Webb has managed to really separate his Spidey movie from Sam Raimi's version.  He has a great blend of bright colors mixed with dark shadows.  The web swinging really seems to employ real physics and mechanics.  The action looks intense, the story deep, and the characters realistic.  I think it's going to blow us all out of the water.

Your friendly neighborhood Spiderman,

Zack

X-Men Second Grade: We need a leader!

Casting the mighty Cyclops in the First Class sequel

Who will play the elder Summers's bother?  Also, look at his chin.  Memorize it....thank me later.

X-men First Class was one of those movies that left people wanting more.  Not entirely in a bad way, either.  Yes, it had it's issues, but it also had a ridiculously rushed production schedule.  You can't make an incredible film with people breathing down your neck, caring more about how fast you get something done, rather than how well it gets done.  Despite this, Matthew Vaughn did an incredible job with his X-men story.  Seeing mistakes in the first one only made me want to see them fixed in a sequel, and we will be getting that sequel.

A time will come when I'll write about who they've cast, what story they might be using, who the villains are, and all that jazz.  For now, I want to focus on something specific.  Although Xavier is technically the "leader" of the X-men, there has always been someone else who led the team into the field, trained a lot of new mutants, and has been someone to look up to.  Cyclops.

Johanna Mason: Sassy, Sexy, and oh so Dangerous (Casting Rumors)

Flying into theaters...

UPDATE: If reports are correct, all indications point to Jena Malone taking the role of the ax-wielding tribute from District 7.

With Catching Fire set to start filming as soon as August of this year and still many characters still yet to be cast, the interwebz have had its share of fun debating who should play whom. Lionsgate studios did a nice job at averting a crisis when director Gary Ross turned down a second go at helming the Hunger Games sequel by nabbing Francis Lawrence to call the shots. Now with the director's chair filled, fans want to see characters getting cast. I even got into the fun with an article on the possible candidates to play the hunky District 4 victor, Finnick Odair. Wow, that was a fun article to write. So many dreamy men...

Too bad we can't cast your reflection...

Now, the fun turns to looking at lovely ladies. For article purposes only. Right...?

I'll try not to spoil too many parts of the series, but... I must warn you, mild spoilers may arise.

In Suzanne Collin's series about children tearing each other apart, Johanna Mason is a previous Hunger Games victor from the lumber district, District 7. During her turn in the arena, Mason played a weakling girl to make sure that the other tributes wouldn't find her threatening. Then, when the number of survivors waned, Mason did her thing. Wielding axes, Johanna showed off her "wicked ability to murder" thus vaulting her to victory. A bit older than Katniss, when the two girls meet, Johanna is definitely envious of the attention Katniss receives. Katniss notes that Johanna is quite attractive, and like Finnick, she likes to flaunt it.

She's dangerous. She's cunning. She's brash. And, like Finnick, she's damaged. Still carrying the emotional scars from winning, Mason admits there's "no one left I love." After certain cataclysmic events in Catching Fire, Johanna becomes even more of a tortured soul in Mockingjay.

Seriously. She's awesome.

So who would be an ideal lady to play this sassy District 7 victor? Well, the actress would have to have the ability to play a wide range of emotions, ranging from wild-eyed and fierce to brooding and broken. She needs to be sexy, sassy, and an aura of "you can't touch me."

Well, gentlemen (and ladies...), I give you my candidates to play the sly, provocative Johanna Mason in Catching Fire.

The Dark Knight Rises Trailer #3 Analysis and Breakdown

EPIC!!!

By now, many of you have probably seen the latest trailer of Chris Nolan's epic conclusion to his Batman franchise, The Dark Knight Rises. While released to the general public as of April 30, 2012, the trailer will also be included with The Avengers as previously reported.

Even though the trailer was included in yesterday's YAMB article on Bane, it was hastily tacked on, as the article was written before the trailer was released and unfortunately scheduled to post the day after the trailer was sent out. Bummer. 

However, let's take a closer look at this trailer. But first, just back in it's glorious amazing-ness:

Um. Wow. Sorry Avengers you're great and all, but... 

BAZONGA! THIS IS GOING TO BE SO EPIC!!!!!

Whew. Calm down... okay. Now, let's take a rational look at what exactly is going on in this wonderful, spectacular, stupendous trailer.  

And here... we... go.

Updates from Zack-May 1: Superhero Reboots

If we were to name a common theme in movies today, one would absolutely definitely very completely 100% maybe say reboots.  Snow White,Conan, Footloose, Fright Night, True Grit, The Tourist, and The Thing, to name but a few.  There's quite a few in the works too.  Snow White, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Robocop, Judge Dredd, and of course more and more.  It's safe to say it's been happening a lot, and it's been happening in the world of superheroes too.  There's been an exceptional amount of news about three big superhero movies coming out this Summer: The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises (Batman reboot-old news), and The Amazing Spiderman (Spiderman reboot).  While there were tidbits here and there about them this past weekend, here's some movies you may not have heard about...

The Dark Knight Rises: Bane and NEW TRAILER

...until the reboot.

UPDATE: Check out this article to get an in-depth look at the third trailer!

With the flurry of Avengers news and updates, very little has been said about arguably the most anticipated film of the summer. This will-be blockbuster is obviously Chris Nolan's third and final installment of his acclaimed Batman franchise, The Dark Knight Rises. While The Dark Knight was on a full out viral marketing campaign, its successor's internet presence has been remarkably quiet. There has been some chatter about the announcement that a new trailer (the third) will be attached to The Avengers, but other than that, there hasn't been a whole lot of buzz concerning The Dark Knight Rises.

Bane breaks Frat Boys.

After The Dark Knight was released, people were already putting its sequel on their "Most Anticipated" lists. Regardless of the slow news days for Batman fans, this has not changed. I definitely expect that The Dark Knight Rises will undoubtedly release a viral marketing campaign soon (most likely when the trailer is released, or perhaps the trailer will launch it...). Unfortunately, 42 Entertainment is NOT going to be involved in the internet blast. It's a shame too because they did an amazing job with The Dark Knight and Pirates of the Caribbean: Whatever. 

Oh well. I will only have to assume that Mr. Nolan and the big wigs at Warner Bros. have something pretty sweet in store for us. Although, I do have the secret, nagging fear that The Dark Knight Rises won't really have much of a viral campaign, instead sitting back and like a frat boy saying, "What. What ya going to do? NOTHING! THAT'S RIGHT! NOTHING! 'Cause ya gonna watch my movie no matter what! SUCK IT!"

In the meantime, there is still much to be covered in The Dark Knight Rises. Just because there isn't much to talk about now, doesn't mean that there never has been. Au contraire mes amis. There is much to be covered!

For now, we will explore the vast network of characters involved in the threequel. A bit of a warning, there will be some spoilers, soooooo... Ye Be Warned.

Before we do this though... CHECK OUT THE LATEST TDKR TRAILER!!!

13 Oscar Contenders for '13

Well, we swung and totally missed out on the festivities of the 2012 Oscars... Some movie won, there was award show banter, and people were happy or sad about the winners. There. We didn't miss much... However, we do apologize whole-heartily for not covering the Oscars, as well as we should have. After all, we are, oh yeah, A MOVIE BLOG. Le sigh.

That being said, out with the old, in with the new! It's time to look forward and look forward we will. While the Oscar season may seem to be far off in the distance, it's never too early to think about what films are contenders to snatch up those weird gold, naked-men statues.

Do yourself a favor and WATCH THIS FILM!!!

After all, if we didn't cover the Oscars over the summer, you'd be bogged down by the latest superhero flick or mindless action movie... Not that there's anything wrong with that, just... Sometimes, a breath of high-brow film making is a sweet, sweet thing.

Like in years past, I have compiled a list of films that could be contenders in the upcoming Academy Awards. While my track record is less than stellar... these are films that should at least be kept tabs on. Even though some of the main Oscar buzz won't come until October or November at the earliest, again, it's never too early to look forward to these Oscar-esque films!

Here is a list of 13 films that should be contenders for the 2013 Academy Awards...