Iron Man

HollywoodChicago.com Podcast, Episode 3: ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army,’ DC Comics vs. Marvel Comics, Oscar Talk

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:27:00 -0700

CHICAGO – In episode three of the HollywoodChicago.com podcast, staffers Adam Fendelman, Dustin Levell, Patrick McDonald and Lauren Fendelman discuss “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (which opened on Friday), DC Comics vs. Marvel Comics films and early Oscar predictions.

Films discussed also include “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man,” “Spider-Man,” “Superman” and many more. This podcast is approximately 22 minutes in length. In tandem with releasing episode three, we’re also conducting a new poll for you to vote for your favorite podcast personality!

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Clockwise from left to right: HollywoodChicago.com staffers Adam Fendelman, Lauren Fendelman, Patrick McDonald and Dustin Levell discuss “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” and DC Comics vs. Marvel Comics films in episode three of the HollywoodChicago.com podcast.
Image credit: HollywoodChicago.com

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By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Following ‘Pan’s Labyrinth,’ ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’ Regresses From Best to Worst For Guillermo del Toro

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:01:00 -0700

CHICAGO – Hellboy is plugged as the world’s brawniest, kitten-loving superhero. While that paradox is supposed to be both funny and action packed, “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” from famed writer and director Guillermo del Toro falls flat on the funny front and instead winds up on the funny farm.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

Amid a superhero-laden 2008 with true blockbusters including “The Dark Knight” (opening on July 18, 2008), “Iron Man,” “Hancock,” “The Incredible Hulk” and “Punisher: War Zone” (opening on Dec. 5, 2008), “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” had just as much potential but reveals only semi-blockbuster status.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” in our reviews section.

View our full, high-resolution “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” image gallery.

On the heels of the majestically dark “Pan’s Labyrinth,” Guillermo del Toro regresses from perhaps his finest film hour to his among his greatest misfires in the action-packed but story-miscued film about a tough-talking hellspawn who wages war against rebellious and ridiculous creatures.

If you recall 2004’s “Hellboy” at all, it’s not likely because of the $60 million in domestic dollars the film raked in theatrically or its $100 million worldwide total in theaters. Rather, “Hellboy” earned cult-following status from its subsequent DVD release. It’s that launch pad that’s propelling “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” with steam in 2008.

But while the film will show an improved box-office balance sheet and critically is earning rave reviews, don’t be fooled by the hype machine. Guillermo del Toro delivers the Hollywood filet mignon we’ve come to expect wrapped nicely in all the special-effects bacon we’ve come to desire but without the heart we’ve come to demand.

Do we care about any of these characters? Do we care if this one actually falls in love or if that one actually lives or dies or if this one makes amends or if that one comes to terms with destiny? What we do feel isn’t for the characters, their missions or the performances they deliver.

“Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” which is written and directed by Guillermo del Toro and stars Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Seth MacFarlane, Luke Goss, Anna Walton, Doug Jones, John Hurt and Jeffrey Tambor, opened everywhere on July 11, 2008.

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” review.

Hellboy (Ron Perlman) does battle with an elemental in “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”.
Photo credit: Double Negative, copyright Universal Studios

Writer and director Guillermo del Toro holds Hellboy’s revolver on the set of “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”.
Photo credit: Egon Endrenyi, copyright Universal Studios

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” review.

Robert Downey Jr. Confirms Sherlock Holmes Role With Guy Ritchie Directing For Warner Bros.

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:04:34 -0700

CHICAGO – While the leap from 2008 blockbuster film “Iron Man” to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s titular mega sleuth wouldn’t seem the most logical next move for “A”-lister Robert Downey Jr., he will indeed play perhaps the most famed detective in literary history: Sherlock Holmes.

Guy Ritchie (“Revolver,” “Snatch,” “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”) will direct the film for Warner Bros. Early reaction to the announcement worries some film pundits.

Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark and Iron Man in 2008’s “Iron Man” (left) and Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes (right) in 1939’s “The Hound of the Baskervilles”.
Image credits: Paramount Pictures (left image) and BBC (right image)

Josh Horowitz at MTV wrote moments ago: “[Robert Downey Jr.] will surely make something arresting and innovative out of the part, but … does it have to be helmed by Guy? Does anything on his resume give you hope he has a Sherlock tale in him? I worry.”

The Hollywood Reporter adds: “The movie, which will shoot in the fall, takes its cue from a forthcoming comic book that producer Lionel Wigram wrote as a selling tool for a new take on the classic character. The concept sees Holmes as more adventurous and less stuffy than previous screen incarnations and mines more obscure character traits.”

E! Online reminds us: “This is not to be confused with the other awesome-sounding Arthur Conan Doyle-inspired film Judd Apatow is producing for Columbia Pictures with Sacha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell set to star as [Sherlock] Holmes and Dr. Watson.”

The Robert Downey Jr.-starring and Guy Ritchie-directed Sherlock Holmes film is slated to begin filming in Oct. 2008 with a release date in 2010.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Superhero Film ‘Hancock’ With No Superhero Ancestry Proves Bold But Deadly Decision

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:35:37 -0700

CHICAGO – With superhero films as hot in 2008 as psychedelics were in the 1960s, the new blockbuster superhero film “Hancock” fits in with the label but without any of the ancestry.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

While 2008 superhero films such as “Iron Man,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “The Dark Knight,” “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” and “Punisher: War Zone” (along with “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” coming in 2009) are all based on previous stories with a previously ravenous fan base, “Hancock” with an alcoholic and listless Will Smith and Charlize Theron – who hides a surprise bombshell – literally comes from nowhereland.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “Hancock” in our reviews section.

View our full, high-resolution “Hancock” image gallery.

In fact, “Hancock” is the only 2008 superhero film not derived from a previously established comic book.

The original script for “Hancock,” which was inked by Vincent Ngo in 1996 and called “Tonight, He Comes,” was shuffled through the Hollywood director’s circuit until director Peter Berg (“The Kingdom,” “Friday Night Lights,” “The Rundown”) finally ate it up in Oct. 2006. Filming began in July 2007.

Its truly original origin could have either been its golden savior or its deadly assassin. The decision ultimately proved treacherous as everything it tried to do to be different just made it the same.

Its originality actually might not seem so novel, too, once you consider the 1983 film “The Return of Captain Invincible”. In that film, Alan Arkin plays Captain Invincible and Christopher Lee plays his nemesis (Mr. Midnight). Captain Invincible is asked to return from retirement to the superhero battlefields, but this time around, he’s a raging alcoholic. Sound familiar? Uh huh.

“Hancock,” which features Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman and director Michael Mann in a small acting role, opened everywhere on July 2, 2008.

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Hancock” review.

Charlize Theron (left) and Will Smith in “Hancock”.
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment

Will Smith (center) “Hancock”.
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Hancock” review.

‘Speed Racer’ Condemns Franchise Dignity, Delivers Sensorial Explosion

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:45:52 -0700

CHICAGO – While Hollywood slapped “PG” on the hotly anticipated “Speed Racer” to line its pocketbooks with the widest hodgepodge of people (ahem: kids) everywhere, those same kids will leave the theater with that lollipop nearly sucked to the stick but then yanked away with confusion.

Rather than the “go!” marketing hype, this is a stop-and-go proposition. Chicago brothers Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski are ultimately wrangling with a clear identity crisis of who this film is meant for.

Is it the 1967 crowd who adored the American anime version following the Japanese manga creation? Is it for today’s children who didn’t grow up with the franchise but will magically identify with it from scratch because it’s on the big screen? Perhaps it’s for “The Matrix” crowd who slobber over the Wachowski’s sensory orgy?

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “Speed Racer” in our reviews section.

View our full, high-resolution “Speed Racer” image gallery.

A slathering of all of the above will be influenced by the omnipresent advertising and power of the Wachowski name, which has been catapulted to stardom with the trail-blazing triumph of “The Matrix” films.

But with summer blockbuster season in full effect for 2008, moviegoers won’t spend in droves the way they recently did with “Iron Man,” which is so far the best-reviewed film of the year.

With a production budget of $140 million, “Iron Man” has already earned $220 million in worldwide box-office receipts in its first six days of release, according to Box Office Mojo. With a production budget of $100 million, “Speed Racer” won’t compare.

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Despite its bevy of blemishes, you can’t deny its color. There’s an intense vibrancy to the environment that – while unrealistic in the real world – is beautifully charming in Hollywood’s CGIville.

Knowing they had to hop beyond another planet in the solar system following 2003’s “The Matrix Revolutions,” the Wachowskis don’t disappoint in the “Speed Racer” special effects department.

The brothers continue to break new ground, and in doing so, they play an important role in inspiring other visionaries to forge new lines of thinking.

Just as “The Matrix” in 1999 had sequences that have been among the most emulated in Hollywood today over the past decade, the Wachowskis continue to up their own bar.

Emile Hirsch in “Speed Racer”.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Matthew Fox (middle) in “Speed Racer”.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full “Speed Racer” review…

‘Iron Man’ Sits Indisputably in Club of Highest-Rated Superhero Movies Ever

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 02 May 2008 09:53:58 -0700

CHICAGO – Move over, Superman. This lush, high-octane playboy never tasted so good.

Robert Downey Jr. fittingly opens “Iron Man” with a cocktail in hand and all the arrogance in the world. As the story goes, his conceit is indeed respected as Earth is his oyster both for the playing and for the taking. With the American marketing machine in full effect for 2008’s first summer blockbuster, the inaugural one lives up to the buildup.

“Iron Man” has already not only etched itself the mark of the first indisputable blockbuster of 2008 and one of the best-reviewed films so far in 2008 but also one of the highest-rated superhero movies of all time – yes, of all time. The film deserves every million it makes.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “Iron Man” in our reviews section.

View our massive, high-resolution “Iron Man” image gallery.

Even before he’s Iron Man, Downey Jr. is authentically transformative as the lush, cash-flushed, comedic, all-powerful and all-knowing Tony Stark.

Even those who aren’t fans of the comic series and just enjoy quality entertainment with fall prey to his allure as well as the blockbuster power of the film in general.

Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts – Stark’s assistant who keeps him functioning and even remembers his social security number for him – is indeed the subservient, selfless character she’s written to be. Hollywood gives her great hair, too. Paltrow took the role only after Rachel McAdams turned it down.

Iron Man is in the throes of a pitched battle with a determined nemesis in “Iron Man”.
Photo credit: Industrial Light & Magic

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in his battle-scarred Mark III armor in “Iron Man”.
Photo credit: Zade Rosenthal

Read Adam Fendelman’s full “Iron Man” review…

Paramount Pictures Releases Flood of New Production Stills For ‘Iron Man’

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:40:08 -0700

CHICAGO – Paramount Pictures on Monday released a flood of new production stills for the highly anticipated film “Iron Man” with Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Samuel L. Jackson, Hilary Swank, Leslie Bibb and Stan Lee. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film opens on May 2, 2008.

While we have several of the new, high-quality production stills below, you can view our massive new photo gallery here in full. Click “Original” on each photo for high-quality versions. In our updated gallery, photos 19 through 40 are all new from Monday. We last published the release of new “Iron Man” production stills on Feb. 4, 2008.

View our massive, high-quality “Iron Man” photo gallery.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

In the Forums: ‘The Dark Knight,’ ‘Public Enemies’ in Chicago, ‘Iron Man,’ James Bond Secrets

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:19:29 -0700

CHICAGO – In this edition of In the Forums, we bring you news from our discussion boards about “The Dark Knight” continuing to heat up with its comprehensive viral marketing campaign, Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies” with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale turning heads in Chicago from local filming, new production stills for the hotly anticipated “Iron Man” film with Robert Downey Jr. and news about the unveiling of new James Bond secrets.

“The Dark Knight” celebrates April Fool’s Day with enthusiasts in style.

Read our full coverage here!
(Photo credit: IMDb)

“Public Enemies” is live and loud on the Chicago scene.

Read our full coverage here!
(Chicago Tribune photo by John Smierciak)

“The Dark Knight” viral marketing phones have been ringing off the hook.

Read our full coverage here!
(Photo credit: IMDb)

New “Iron Man” photos with a Paramount watermark have mysteriously surfaced online.

See them all here!
(Photo credit: Superhero Hype!)

A second Joker phone for “The Dark Knight” viral marketing has been snagged in Chicago and in cities across the U.S.

Read and see our photos here!
(Photo credit: IMDb)

James Bond revealing his own secrets? No, but an author will in a new book.

Get the full scoop here!
(Photo by Keith Hamshere on Nov. 17, 2002)

What’s the purpose, by the way, for this In the Forums package? While our discussion forums are an unfettered venting ground for all of our readers, we also originate a wide array of must-read news there from other trusted, high-quality entertainment publications.

For those of you who don’t frequent our forums and for those of you who typically read us via RSS or our daily mailing, the purpose of this package is to bring the news we’re publishing in our forums front and center into our news section, RSS feed and daily mailing.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Following Super Bowl Spot, 13 New ‘Iron Man’ Production Stills Surface

HollywoodChicago.com — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 22:32:57 -0700

CHICAGO – Paramount Pictures on Sunday decided not only to rain by advertising “Iron Man” at the pricey 2008 Super Bowl but then also pour by releasing a flood of new, high-quality production stills. We reveal to you several of the new images below and have all of them (13 in total!) at our “Iron Man” image gallery.

View the rest of the new photos at our “Iron Man” image gallery!

Discuss this on our discussion boards here!

Directed by Jon Favreau, “Iron Man” features Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges. It is slated to open on May 2, 2008. The new “Iron Man” Super Bowl spot is below. It can also be found at Paramount’s “Iron Man” site and in HD at Apple.com.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Marvel Releases Two New Production Stills of ‘Iron Man’ With Downey Jr.

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:29:49 -0700

CHICAGO – Marvel on Monday released two new production stills from the highly anticipated adaption “Iron Man” with Robert Downey Jr. In the first photo, he displays a gauntlet for from the “Iron Man” armor and the second new photo shows Downey Jr. with director Jon Favreau as they talk about a scene on a workshop set.

Favreau has also directed “Elf”. “Iron Man,” which is scheduled to open on May 2, also features Samuel L. Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard and Stan Lee. In playing Tony Stark, Downey Jr. fashions a life-support suit to keep him alive after an accident. He decides to use the suit to fight crime.

The first photo above is similar to the production still below, which was released on Jan. 9.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com