Marvel Studios: Season Two?

There are several things that rummage through a studio's mind after a colossal debut like the one "The Avengers" just had. Immediately after "The Dark Knight" came out, there was heated speculation as to whether there would ever be another "Batman" film from Christopher Nolan. What does working on a film like that do to you after your featured star dies? But here we are four years later, with another go on the way. The "Transformers" series isn't at all likely to die down anytime soon. I'm surprised Warner Bros. hasn't pushed for further "Harry Potter" iterations wherever they can find them. So the question is worth raising, even if it's already answered, where do "The Avengers" go from here?

Marvel Studios already has its three primary sub-franchises renewed for further adventures. "Iron Man 3" has long been in pre-production, and will soon begin official photography. There's quite a bit of news and buzz surrounding that enterprise, with Ben Kingsley in talks to play a sort of villain for the film. Guy Pearce is pretty much a shoo-in at this point for a role. It's really advocating for a wide palette of stars in every Marvel film to come. They can't make excuses for not having people of high caliber anymore. Shane Black of "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" is set to direct the film after writing it, but what gets me most excited for the film is cinematographer John Toll. Tapping the man who shot "The Thin Red Line" for your film will get you that kind of attention.

Film Review: Thor (***)

I remember a few months ago when we were all in discussions about how awful this film was going to be. It's surprising how much negativity it has spawned so prematurely, and it's not even intelligently so. Originally people were worried that it might go for what's been called the Transformers style of humor, which can be more easily categorized as something called comedy. Admittedly, Thor is a particularly tough superhero to bring to the screen, and even more difficult to bring into the same world as Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Steve Rogers. Now the complaints about this film are focused around the phrase, "It could have been a lot worse." That's a very backhanded compliment, and it embellishes this film as just barely making it.

In actuality, I would say that Thor counts solidly as an equal superhero origin story as Iron Man was three years ago. The film starts out with a man plummeting to Earth from inter-dimensional vortex, right in front of dorky astrophysicist nut Jane Foster. We then flash back into the sky to find out who the man was, and where he came from. It turns out he's the mighty Thor, next in line for the thrown of Asgard, a Utopian type of realm that protects the other realms from certain annihilation. So when Thor decides seek foolish revenge upon one of the more stubborn realms, his father, Odin, banishes him to Earth.

I actually find it kind of bemusing that people are hoping that this film cuts back on the goofy humor, when that is actually one of the best parts of the film. The opening half hour of the film, action packed though it may be, is filled with a certain lifelessness. Maybe it's the bleak knowledge of what is coming, but for me it was more of the wanting it to happen sooner. So when we're blasted back to Earth, things become much more lively. Jane Foster and her groupies assistants brought such a likable sense of lighthearted criticism to the goofy ways of Thor and his ilk. Natalie Portman has been wandering about different roles that aren't as meaty as her role in Black Swan, and the same applies here. She's not meant to be taken seriously, because she's just a ditsy little nerd who believes in crazy tangents of science fiction. I feel like this role would have been better suited to someone else, but Portman does a good job making sure the audiences sides with her.

Teaser Trailer: Thor

This would be a whole lot more of a revelation for me if I hadn't already seen most of it. The new teaser trailer for the superhero action flick Thor is out, but it seems a little repetitive at this point, for me at least. That's probably because the comic-con footage that includes most of the teaser and even more than that leaked online shortly during the summer, and then was eradicated by the powers that be. So I've seen most of this already, and my first take on it was that it was a little cheesy, and it still is. Then again, I've also seen the trailer for Green Lantern, and Thor doesn't seem nearly as awful as that. Take a look, and let me know what you think.

"Iron Man 3" and "Avengers" Move to Disney

Well this will certainly be... different. It seems that when Disney effectively bought up Marvel, they had their eyes on a much bigger prize. It appears that Disney has bought from Paramount Pictures the rights to distribute The Avengers and Iron Man 3. It comes as more than just a small surprise, as we've come to know Paramount as the home of Marvel Studios for years now. It's definitely going to be strange to see the Disney logo at the beginning of these films, and it actually sounds a bit comical when you think about it. Thor and Captain America are still to be released by Paramount, so it will be rather disappointing if the films are as bad as I worry they will be. What do think of this startling news? Comment below on your thoughts.

Comic Con 2010: Thor Trailer Arrives! And Is Almost Immediately Gone

In the weeks after Comic Con, the footage that premiered there will start to trickle its way online, and now we have the first instance of that. The Comic Con trailer for Thor wass here for your viewing pleasure, but then it was quickly and predictably taken down due to copyright laws. Of the footage I saw, I'm a little bit split. While it looks cheesy as hell, and it doesn't seem there's anything new here, it looks like the kind of standard action film that pleases audiences in the simplest way. I don't think it will be anything special, but it looks fun. Since it was leaked onto the internet, no matter for how short amount of time, it'll probably still pop up in a few places. Once something makes it to the internet, you can't get rid of it entirely.

Comic Con 2010: Panels for Paul, Cowboys and Aliens, Captain America, and Thor!

As much as I'd like to go into extreme depth with this post, I'm just sick and tired of Comic Con by now. I hate hearing about all these things that I wasn't able to witness, and I really hope that I get a chance to be there next year. Until then, I leave you with one more link to In Contention, where you'll be able to find out what Kristopher Tapley thought of yesterday's panels, including that of Paul, Cowboys and Aliens, Captain America, and Thor. So the link is below. Enjoy reading about things you didn't have the pleasure of seeing for yourself.

In Contention