The storyline is one we have seen before but the way in which it was written came together in a very easy way. A newspaper head dies, his/her son takes over the empire, finds out some missing information, corrupt cops and the like. But we have no dull moments, nothing too in your face, just the right amount of action and comedy thrown in.

Christoph Waltz gives us another performance worthy of an award. No not really, but he plays a villain that makes me cringe with dumb chills. An aging villain who we see having a mid life crisis and having ti reinvent himself. Kato is a great sidekick and possibly rank’s up there with John from Chips! Britt himself is a mystery that we don’t dive into too much besides his part boy exterior breaking down into a bad ass journalist of sorts.

This movie is a must see in my opinion for the shear joy factor alone.

Blu-ray will be sitting on my shelf for sure and I can only hope that the re-watch value is one of great fun!

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Today at Comic-Con saw less news, but much more high-profile announcements. Most of the action took place in Hall H, which was bogged down with some serious line management problems, but we’ve got it all summed up right here for you.

The first big presentation of the day was from Warner Bros. First, the first footage from Green Lantern was screened. Although nothing spectacular, the fans enjoyed it overall, but were disappointed with the lack of Reynolds in the suit. This only confirms the fact that the suit is a work-in-progress. Still, I am looking forward to this film and hope that it can be a simple, fun superhero origin story, which we haven’t seen a lot of recently. Also, I’m looking forward to the more fantastical elements of the hero. Producer Donald DeLine said that many other Green Lanterns are featured and that the movie is part space opera, which is a good sign that they’re not ignoring that area of the Green Lantern mythos. And although the Green Lantern announcements are cool, DC has really not stepped up their game to challenge Marvel’s cinematic dominance. Geoff Johns is now in charge of their creative decisions moving forward, which is a great move, but the company has not centralized their film properties as Marvel has to such enormous success. Also, there was no word on Batman, which was a huge missed opportunity. Still, I’m hoping that after Green Lantern DC gets their act together and makes something great, maybe a Justice League movie? (Although I’m torn on whether or not Chris Nolan’s Batman should be a part of anything like that.) After a short Harry Potter trailer and panel, Zack Snyder came onstage for Sucker Punch. This new movie is based on his idea and stars an ensemble cast of women who are breaking out of a mental institution and includes Carla Gugino, Jamie Chung, Vanessa Hudgens, Jena Malone and Emily Browning. I’m not sure what to think about this movie, but the footage got a fantastic reception and it sounds truly unique. Hopefully the trailer gets released online soon so we all can see it.

Let Me In, the American remake of the Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In, has had an enormous 360 when it comes to the public’s view. After a period of resenting the fact that such a movie was being remade, it seems like every detractor has been shut up by footage from the upcoming movie. I know I wasn’t too excited for this, but now its definitely on my radar. Matt Reeves (Cloverfield), from what I can tell, is doing a fantastic job helming the movie. He talked about how Steven Spielberg gave him tips for interacting with young actors, and that is what has me most excited for this film. Both Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road) and Chloe Grace Moretz ((500) Days of Summer, Kick-Ass) have a lot of potential to give amazing performances and I hope they both pull it off. Check out this trailer for the film:

At this point, Hall H screeched to a halt after a fight broke out. It’s still unclear what actually happened, but the prevailing rumor is that someone asked another guy to move and when he didn’t, he stabbed him in the face with a pen. That’s speculation, but the scene was pretty grisly with blood everywhere and the victim being taken out on a stretcher, all with 8 or 9 cops in the vicinity.

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost then introduced their new film, Paul. In the movie, the duo travel to Comic-Con and then embark on a road trip to Roswell, New Mexico. On the way they meet an alien named Paul, who is voiced by Seth Rogen. Paul is directed by Greg Mottola (Superbad) and the supporting cast includes Sigourney Weaver, Jason Bateman, and Jeffrey Tambor. I am really looking forward to this movie as Pegg and Frost are consistently hilarious and the story is pretty original. Paul is not your typical alien – he basically thinks of himself as an everyday Joe. Road trips are always pretty fun so having one with this trio of comedians and an alien should be awesome.

Once again Jon Favreau showed his skill at captivating the geek demographic by creating huge anticipation for Cowboys & Aliens, his new movie starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, and Sam Rockwell. Although the idea is great, it takes skill to blend such two very different genres, but Favreau is going for a very Western feel. After explaining that he is trying to emulate the Sergio Leone/John Ford films of the 40s and 50s, while using practical effects from the 80s as well as CGI for the aliens, he decided to just screen some early footage. Although the crew has only been shooting for three weeks, attendees were very impressed by the scene. In a surprise appearance, Harrison Ford was brought on stage in handcuffs by two security guards. It was his first appearance at the convention and the crowd went nuts. This a natural reaction, of course, to the man who played Han Solo and Indiana Jones, as well as many other awesome characters. I hope Favreau can really nail the Western feel and deliver a really fun, interesting film due out next summer, July 29th.

Now the presentation you’ve all been waiting for: Marvel. What Marvel is doing with their properties on film is incredible. By going independent and forming Marvel Studios where writers can collaborate and come up with great, interlocking stories for all of their superheroes, the company shows that it knows what its doing. Hopefully the result will be incredible, but there are a lot of moving parts, and all of them must come together perfectly. Captain America was first, as a short teaser showed Chris Evans in full costume throwing the iconic shield at the camera. After some discussion, the filmmakers actually had some footage to show which involved Hugo Weaving as Red Skull searching for an artifact that has something to do with Odin. I really like the Indiana Jones/World War II period piece vibe I’m getting for this movie. I hope Joe Johnston can create a very good atmosphere and seeing Cap killing Nazis is going to be sweet. Next up was Thor, which is much farther into production. A lot of footage was shown, and I can’t wait to see the trailer. Apparently the costumes are not nearly as cheesy as they looked in the first images we were shown. Reactions were very positive, which is a relief. Finally, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige brought on The Avengers. After years of rumors, this movie is finally actually happening. The final lineup was announced: Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson, Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushman/Black Widow, Chris Hemsworth as Donald Blake/Thor, Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, and Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk (see the full cast in the photo from the event). It’s going to be insane seeing so many heroes on screen at the same time. I hope Joss Whedon can bring together all of this madness and deliver an amazing film.

Behold the cast of "The Avengers"

Well that was a very big day at Comic-Con, and while we knew most of this going in, it was still awesome to see all of these projects materializing before our eyes. Its going to hard, but we can’t fuel the hype too much. I’m looking forward to all of these films as much as anyone, but I’m not going to let the anticipation ruin my enjoyment of the movies as movies.

“I want to go to there” to quote the great Liz Lemon that’s exactly how I feel after watching the trailer for Michel Gondry’s blockbuster. I don’t want to run this point through the ground but Michel Gondry (director of such art house classics as Human Nature, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Be Kind Rewind) doesn’t make blockbusters and after watching this trailer you can’t help but feel like you’re seeing a bizarro Iron Man (directed by regular Jon Favreau). I hope that this film just proves how great a director Gondry really is, able to give us beautiful artsy films as well as this mainstream production, a much more difficult task than one might think. Then there’s our star Seth Rogen, who looks very comfortable in this role (which I found surprising) even delivering a very Seth Rogen line such as “I want you to take my hand. I want you to come with me on this adventure.” which could have come from any Seth Rogen film to date (Pineapple Exress, Knocked Up, Observe and Report). We don’t see enough of Christoph Waltz’ character and we probably see all we need to see of Cameron Diaz who looks like she’s impersonating Gwyneth Paltrow from the Iron Man series… oh well, you can’t have it all. Anyway, I cannot wait to see The Green Hornet when it’s released in theaters January 14, 2011! Enjoy the trailer-

I had every intention of recapping Thursday night’s episode of NBC’s Parks and Recreation; alas, “94 Meetings” wasn’t much fun for me and so I didn’t care to write a column about how the rest of this season has been awesome. I would attribute most of Parks and Recreation’s awesome to two men, Nick Offerman and Aziz Ansari. While I’m still trying to get Mr. Offerman a woodworking program on PBS, Aziz Ansari can be seen Sunday June 6th hosting the nineteenth annual MTV MOVIE AWARDS. Indeed Aziz can be seen anywhere these days, from Human Giant to Funny People (Adam Sandler), Observe and Report (Seth Rogen), I Love You, Man (Jason Segal) and the soon-to-be-released Get Him to the Greek (Russell Brand). Can’t wait until June for some MTV and Aziz comedy? Enjoy.

The first picture from the set of Michel Gondry’s The Green Hornet featuring a glimpse of what Seth Rogen’s costume will look like, and I gotta tell you: don’t expect any surprises. The hero looks like he’s been ripped straight from the old series, and I can’t say that’s a bad thing.

I can’t tell if the photo is of Seth Rogen in costume or a stand-in or stunt double, but I like the homemade look. It’s certainly indicative of the style Gondry is going for, and I can’t wait to see it in action.

Edward James Olmos, who will star in the film as Seth Rogen’s character Britt Reid’s father, said the film has been “quite a fun journey…It’s my first time doing this kind of a movie. Blade Runner is the only thing that comes close to this. I’m having a lot of fun. People are really going to like what we’ve done.”

Not entirely sure what he means by the Blade Runner comparison other than as an action genre film, but we’ll be seeing more of the film before its release on December 17, 2010.

Finally we get our first slew of pictures of the Michael Gondry directed feature The Green Hornet. Starring Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz, Jay Chou and Nicolas Cage, filming is greatly underway. The Green Hornet will blaze its way into theaters on December 17th, 2010. Special thanks to SuperheroHype and Just Jared for obtaining the pictures.

It seems that Michel Gondry’s perpetually stalled Green Hornet film has finally started production. Several new names have been added and confirmed in the cast by the film’s press release. The first is Tom Wilkinson, from Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Michael Clayton. The second is David Harbour, of Quantum of Solace and Brokeback Mountain.

Also confirmed to be in the cast are Edward James Olmos and Nicolas Cage. The details of the press release, as revealed by Slashfilm, are as follows:

CULVER CITY, Calif., September 2, 2009 – A classic character of film, television, radio and comic books returns to the big screen in Columbia Pictures’ feature film The Green Hornet, starring Seth Rogen (Superbad, Knocked Up) as the vigilante crime-fighter. Production is underway on the Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) helmed film, which is produced by Neal H. Moritz (I Am Legend, The Fast and the Furious) and executive produced by Michael Grillo (The Accidental Tourist), Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg (Superbad, Pineapple Express), Ori Marmur (Evan Almighty) and George W. Trendle, Jr. The screenplay is by Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg, based upon “The Green Hornet” radio series created by George W. Trendle and shoots entirely in Los Angeles. The film is set for release December 17, 2010.

In addition to Rogen, the film also stars Taiwanese actor-pop star Jay Chou as Kato, Cameron Diaz (Charlie’s Angels, What Happens in Vegas), Edward James Olmos (“Battlestar Galactica”), David Harbour (Revolutionary Road) and Tom Wilkinson (Valkyrie). Nicolas Cage is also in negotiations to appear in the film.

Academy Award®-nominee John Schwartzman (Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian) is the director of photography. Production designer is Owen Paterson (The Matrix Revolutions), Kym Barrett (Speed Racer) serves as costume designer and Michael Tronick (Mr. & Mrs. Smith) is editing.

Finally! Let’s hope they’re through hitting snags with this film.

It’s pretty hard for me to get too excited about The Green Hornet. The Michel Gondry/Seth Rogen/Evan Goldberg film has plenty of potential but I’ve seen nothing interesting about it due to the amount of times it’s been completely shafted by studio politics and silliness. Now, the film’s release has been pushed back 5 months, to December 17, 2010.

This is indicative of bad things, in my opinion. Possibly, it means a lack of faith in the film’s success on behalf of the studio. Hitfix recently obtained a quote from Seth Rogen regarding the delay, however:

“It gives more time for post, which would have been immensely rushed if we were to come out in the summer. It also affords us more time to promote the film, (now we can go to Comic-Con with more than a car!) and ultimately is a great vote of confidence from the studio.”

I can’t say I agree with Rogen, but I could be even less optimistic if he wasn’t. Time will tell if Gondry can shape this into a worthy film that hits all of the comedic action notes Rogen and Goldberg intended.

By the way, Jay Chou is the new Kato (a role originated by Bruce Lee on television), with Rogen acting as the Green Hornet. Alongside them will be Cameron Diaz, Nicolas Cage (!?), and Edward James Olmos (!!).

Fingers firmly crossed.