Which superhero films are you most looking forward to in 2016?
Some great CBMs on the way this year:
Deadpool – February 12th, 2016
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – March 25th, 2016
Captain America: Civil War – May 6th, 2016
X-Men: Apocalypse – May 27th, 2016
Suicide Squad – August 5th, 2016
Doctor Strange – November 4th, 2016
Man, what a roster!
The biggest one for me is, hands down, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. A dream come true for a DC fan. I think everything about this flick looks great thus far, I'm hoping it is as epic as it looks. Batfleck, Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jesse Eisenberg all look like they'll be great. I loved Man of Steel, Watchmen, and 300 from Snyder. So I'm all-in on my hopes and expectations for this thing. I have never been more excited for a film in all my life.
Captain America: Civil War should be awesome as well. Love the MCU. I like the way this film seems to be about the personal relationships among the team more than an all-out war. And despite all that's going on in it, still very much Cap's story.
X-Men: Apocalypse I'm also very eager to see. Oscar Isaac looks like he is going to kill the role. And I actually like the reboot cast better than the original one (as wonderful as Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen were).
Anyway, those are the main three for me. But I'm psyched for all of them.
Actually there are some other great fantasy adventure films in 2016 as well, it should be a really exciting year:
The Jungle Book - April 15th, 2016
Alien: Paradise Lost (Prometheus 2) – May 30th, 2016
Warcraft – June 10th, 2016
Independence Day 2 – June 24th, 2016
Tarzan – July 1st, 2016
Star Trek Beyond – July 15th, 2016
Ben Hur – August 12th, 2016
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – November 18th, 2016
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – December 16th, 2016
Assassin’s Creed – December 21st, 2016
Among these looking forward most to
Star Trek Beyond
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Independence Day 2
Again, what a year! My God. :-)
Deadpool – February 12th, 2016
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – March 25th, 2016
Captain America: Civil War – May 6th, 2016
X-Men: Apocalypse – May 27th, 2016
Suicide Squad – August 5th, 2016
Doctor Strange – November 4th, 2016
Man, what a roster!
The biggest one for me is, hands down, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. A dream come true for a DC fan. I think everything about this flick looks great thus far, I'm hoping it is as epic as it looks. Batfleck, Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jesse Eisenberg all look like they'll be great. I loved Man of Steel, Watchmen, and 300 from Snyder. So I'm all-in on my hopes and expectations for this thing. I have never been more excited for a film in all my life.
Captain America: Civil War should be awesome as well. Love the MCU. I like the way this film seems to be about the personal relationships among the team more than an all-out war. And despite all that's going on in it, still very much Cap's story.
X-Men: Apocalypse I'm also very eager to see. Oscar Isaac looks like he is going to kill the role. And I actually like the reboot cast better than the original one (as wonderful as Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen were).
Anyway, those are the main three for me. But I'm psyched for all of them.
Actually there are some other great fantasy adventure films in 2016 as well, it should be a really exciting year:
The Jungle Book - April 15th, 2016
Alien: Paradise Lost (Prometheus 2) – May 30th, 2016
Warcraft – June 10th, 2016
Independence Day 2 – June 24th, 2016
Tarzan – July 1st, 2016
Star Trek Beyond – July 15th, 2016
Ben Hur – August 12th, 2016
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – November 18th, 2016
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – December 16th, 2016
Assassin’s Creed – December 21st, 2016
Among these looking forward most to
Star Trek Beyond
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Independence Day 2
Again, what a year! My God. :-)
Post edited by Lemernis on
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Comments
X-Men: Apocalypse, finally my favorite villain makes an appearance but alas, what they did with his looks does not fill me with confidence with this movie.
The Godzilla Resurgence I Shin Gojira - July 29th, 2016
I feel old!
..also, @Kamigoroshi thank you for a very "insightful" post 'bout Godzilla - my childhood fascination + scariness about those movies, could finally get some decent chills (not mentioning that 2014 "little-crap-monster" -.-)
Huge monstrosities - my only weakness
Despite Superheroes: Warcraft (we need some more truly, well made fantasy movies), Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (ALWAYS) and (don't know exactly why?) but:
I can feel, this is gonna be awesome too
But anyway, I do hope the the next generation of Tolkiens who inherit the rights will consent to having the Silmarillion made eventually. Just as long as it is done in a way that honors their Grandfather's work. I'm hoping anyway. So sad to see an end to such a beloved setting in film now!
Captain America: Civil War
Xmen: Apocalypse
Suicide Squad
Deadpool
Doctor Strange
BvS
I still have major reservations about BvS though (based on the trailers thus far). And I fully admit that my enthusiasm around Suicide Squad it largely on two fronts. 1) Harley Quin, and 2) That most recent trailer set to Bohemian Rhapsody. Not that I won't gush about both movies should they merit it, merely that I have apprehensions about them based on information to date.
superhero
sci-fi
high fantasy/sword and sorcery
sword and sandal
Arthurian legend/Medieval
I guess I would categorize Godzilla and other kaiju films as sci-fi/fantasy.
Are you worried that the film may be trying to pack in too much material?
I am totally not bothered by the approach the reboots have taken. As John Campea has said, as a franchise Star Trek was dead. No pulse. It needed to be revived for a whole new generation of viewers. It needed a fresh approach aesthetically, imho, and I'm glad it is getting one.
Let this crew get reinvented a bit, with more of an action vibe. It's fine. Better than fine--it's exactly what I want! I was never into ST's pretentious social commentary crap anyway! ;-P (half j/k there).
I look at the crew of the Enterprise basically as a D&D adventuring party that is exploring the cosmos, never knowing what they'll find around the next bend. They have to come together to find ways to creatively, inventively combine their various skills to overcome the obstacles that they face. It is high adventure to me; and about how the characters grow and evolve, and develop relationships with one another. I could care less if my social consciousness is raised about something through the film. (rant over, sorry)
Like all of us -.-
As for the Hobbit: I don't want to believe, it was Mr. Jackson's fault.. I prefer to spread the "Guillermo del Toro's and a lack of time fault" version
(also @Lemernis - for the love of AO! Please, control your multiple posting thing!
But I'm very excited for more Star Trek (I absolutely love the reboot; ditto Lemernis' comment, I'm beyond tired of social commentary) and Alien. There seems to be no shortage of action/adventure ahead, even if superheroes get the year off.
My "Worries" (which is to say that I don't have a problem per say, merely that I am concerned) are as follows.
1) I am not sure that Ben can pull off The Batman. I do not say he isn't a great actor, merely that I don't see him in that role. To be fair, I wouldn't have picked Hugh Jackman as The Wolverine either, so I am prepared to be wrong on this one.
2) Although I didn't "Hate" Man of Steel, I definitely didn't like the ultimate resolution. I've no problem with Superman being 'Dark', but that just seemed contrary to everything I've ever read about him in the comics in my youth. I'm not sure that I 'Necessarily' buy into Zack Snyder's vision of the big blue guy. This is highly personal and subjective. I don't say that the vision is "Wrong" by any stretch of the imagination, merely that it is not what "I" think of.
3) Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. Once again, I think that he can absolutely act. I've liked a lot of what he has done and think that he is talented. I just don't see him in this role. The trailer with him in it makes him out to be more of a manic jokester rather than the more traditional Lex of old. It may work. He may do a fantastic job. But from what I've seen thus far I would not have cast him there and I am not confident of the direction that it 'appears' (based on nothing other than the one trailer) they are taking the character. I am prepared to be wrong on that.
4) Doomsday. TBH, I am not sure that is who the monster is supposed to be. Nor do I want to know until I see the movie so please don't spoiler it if you know differently. "If" it is, that seems WAY premature to bring him on. Okay they need a monster to unite the heroes. Okay, that would fit the bill. Okay he looks impressive in the small clip. There are a lot of big baddies in the DC universe that would fit the bill. Doomsday is Superman's End, not (near to) his beginning.
To be clear, I in no way speak to the quality of a movie that I have not seen yet. I am prepared to be wrong and I will definitely see the movie on opening weekend. I merely worry about these factors and how much of an effect they will have on the experience for me.
I enjoyed the Hobbit trilogy even with its shortcomings, but the story itself can't just match the LotR trilogy.
As to if they could have made a movie that was a more faithful adaptation of the book? I think they could have done that just fine, it just would have had a different audience. Could they have made THREE movies off of the one book? No.
I do sense at least as much del Toro's influence in the changes as anything else. Jackson's vision of the original LoTR trillogy wasn't picture perfect either, but it was a lot closer to the books than the adaptation of The Hobbit. Again, I don't fault either of them for the movies we got because they were loads of fun. I do acknowledge that they have only passing resemblance between them and the book. But it was fun to re-visit the world again, and the movies were fun.
@the_spyder I agree exactly about Hobbit. It was obvious early on they were making an adaptation of the book and not being 100% faithful to the source. I'd say it worked out extremely well regardless. There's more than one way to spin a yarn!
1) If you haven't see it, I would highly recommend The Town which Ben Affleck both directed and stars in. When you see his performance in that movie hopefully it will be clear why Snyder decided he had to have him as his Batman. If you think he lacks the badass-ness and gravitas to play Batman, this film should persuade you. Argo (which he also directed and starred in) is really good, but imo The Town is even better.
If you haven't seen the latest TV spot, my guess is that it will give a pretty good flavor of the intensity that Ben can bring to the role:
2) Here's the thing about MoS that I actually find exhilarating, but it demands a psychological adjustment from previous versions of the character: Man of Steel is a reinvention of the Superman myth (in the Jungian sense that Joseph Campbell describes myth) that brings the character into our real modern world, to basically see what will happen. The premise is: what would this tale look like if it were to actually take place in our real world? As such, it essentially becomes a science fiction tale in a lot of ways. But in terms of how the myth is presented, remember that the Superman character was "raised" in a WWII and 1950s vision of America in which it was relatively easy to define our cultural identity versus first the Nazis and then the totalitarian communist Soviet Empire. Past version of the character are very much tied to this "apple pie and Chevrolet, weird American Dream" type of world (as Snyder has described it). Snyder felt that the character must be unshackled from the world, and he is out to shatter that mold in MoS. It is bold as hell. The 40s-50s world that Superman has represented is not the world we inhabit today, psychologically. For example, subsequent to 9-11 it has become much murkier "how to be the good guy" as we defend ourselves from external threats. So what we see in MoS is the archetype/myth going through a symbolic rebirth into this harsher, morally grayer world in which sometimes a choice is forced between two bad outcomes, and there is no perfect solution. Watch the excellent "A Thesis on Man of Steel" video for a well developed interpretation of the film that shows how Snyder uses visual imagery to drive the 'rebirth of the archetype' theme home.
3) Jesse is definitely a wild card, but it absolutely was time (imho!) for this character to get updated. No way should the film have recycled the camp version that Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey played. For him to be a Silicon Valley wunderkind hipster is a brilliant move, I think. Many believe that the glimpses we see of him is a persona that masks a deeper layer to the character that is chilling and has plenty of gravitas ("The devil will do it!" side). We'll see. I'm rooting for him to pull it off.
4) I won't spoil you on Doomsday, because I'm only guessing--what follows is only my speculation: I'll hide it in a spoiler though, anyway:
In the Death of Superman comic, Doomsday undergoes an evolution from when we first see him until his final battle with Superman:
So by the end expect the creature to evolve into this:
We'll have to see how well the film actually shapes up, of course. But there is so much riding on this for WB that I think they have labored meticulously over this film as a true launch point for the DCEU. I will truly be flabbergasted if it isn't at least a highly entertaining, thrilling film. I think it will be much more than that, and may even be a masterwork for Snyder, but time will tell. (As much as I love Watchmen, 300, and MoS, Zack also gave us Sucker Punch and the Owls movie! ;-P
If not then I guess X-men: Apocalypse
I've only watched season 7 episodes of season 1 of Arrow, season 1 of Flash, season 1 of Daredevil, and the first eight episodes of Supergirl. Loved DD and Flash. Arrow was moving too slowly for me, and I didn't have the time to continue with it. Watched the first episode of Flash season 2 and didn't care for it (seemed kinda soap opera-ish to me), although I've heard it's a good season so far. Supergirl... I like Melissa Benoist but I'm otherwise disappointed with. I have no time for TV shows anyway these days, though. I'm all about movies right now as my major hobby.
2) Deadpool
3) Deadpool
4) Deadpool
5) Deadpool
On the one hand I dislike the fact that superheroes, like other myth-based stories, keep changing over the years. On the other hand, the stories change as society/culture at large changes to reflect its current values; the way in which the stories get told and the messages they send serve to tell us who we are at a particular point in time.
That being said, we have to ask ourselves this question: what does Deadpool say about us as a society? @Notabarbiegirl says "we have become irreverent and slapstick, making jokes about anything and everything". Is this because we are secretly depressed and we are desperately trying to find the humor in every situation? Is it because we really don't value anything and thus everything is a joke? *shrug* Even I am uncertain at this time. That isn't to say that I don't want to see it--it seems like a really fun movie--but the broader and deeper questions still remain.
I changed what I originally wrote as "born in a WWII and 1950s vision of America" to "'raised' in a WWII and 1950s vision of America." That's more accurate.
I think that is a very interesting way of thinking about Deadpool and I agree that the character poses that question!
Batman
Lois Lane
Senator Finch
Superman
Lex Luthor
No idea whether these spoil what will be in the movie per se in terms of literally showing us scenes from the film. I'm almost certain that while they clearly reveal themes, they're just intended to give a flavor and are not 1:1 with the film. The MoS prequel comic did not use content that was in the film except for the final panel that simply shows Clark at sea on the fishing vessel.
Even if they are from the film, while I normally try to avoid spoilers, reading these brief comics strangely doesn't bother me. They get me stoked about how good it looks like this film is going to be. I'll take that right now over possibly losing a bit of surprise for the first viewing.
Can't wait to see what Collider Heroes has to say about these prequel comics!
I'm really looking forward to Warcraft. I hope it's good, makes pots of money, and kick starts big budget fantasy movies.
Other than that, I'm looking forward to Rogue One.