The Screengrab : the incredible hulk

DVD Digest for October 21, 2008

Paul Clark — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:00:00 GMT

This week, a Japanese master gets the Eclipse treatment, and the first wave of 007 Blu-Rays hits the shelves.

DVD of the Week: To those who are getting acquainted with Japanese cinema, the three biggest names to know have long been Kurosawa, Ozu, and Mizoguchi. But while the first two directors have been getting the DVD treatment for years, only a handful of Mizoguchi’s best-known films (Ugetsu, Sansho the Bailiff) have been released on DVD. This week, Eclipse is taking steps to rectify this, by gathering four of the master’s greatest achievements in a lovely box set. Entitled Eclipse Series 13: Kenji Mizoguchi’s Fallen Women, the box set includes four of Mizoguchi’s finest and most poetic films about the plight of Japanese courtesans and geishas, a subject to which he’d return numerous times throughout his career. Two of the inclusions are pre-war titles- Osaka Elegy and Sisters of the Gion- while the others came after World War II, those being 1948’s Women of the Night and his final feature, Street of Shame. One of the most interesting aspects of the box set is seeing the differences between how he observes his subjects pre-WWII and post-WWII. As for the films’ other (considerable) pleasures, I’ll leave those for you to discover.

This week’s recent releases coming to DVD are headed up by two Universal releases which costar Liv Tyler, The Incredible Hulk (Universal, also Blu-Ray) and The Strangers (Universal, also Blu-Ray). But those more adventurous viewers out there shouldn’t require much persuading to watch Hou Hsiao-hsien’s first feature made outside of Asia, Flight of the Red Ballooni (Genius), starring the ever-enchanting Juliette Binoche. Also of note: Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (Universal), and Anaconda 3: Offspring (Sony).

On the classics front, Warner will be releasing two new DVD sets of Looney Tunes favorites: Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6 and Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection Volume 6. And Criterion will be represented this week with their new DVD pressing of Missing. Finally, James Bond is back with new “Collector’s Editions” of both versions of Casino Royale- both the late-sixties lark (MGM) and the lean, mean 2006 take on the story (Sony, also Blu-Ray).

In TV on DVD news, this week brings the latest box set for the seemingly deathless animated phenomenon, Family Guy Volume 6 (Fox). Or if you’re looking for something less oppressively “hip”, today also brings a handful of old-school series: The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Series (Universal), The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: The Complete Series (Warner), and The Outer Limits: The Complete Series (Fox).

Finally, the big Blu-Ray only news this week is the release of the first six MGM-made James Bond titles in the format. James Bond Blu-Ray Box Set Volume 1 (Fox/MGM) includes Dr. No, Live and Let Die, and Die Another Day, while Volume 2 (Fox/MGM) contains From Russia With Love, Thunderball, and For Your Eyes Only. I suppose we’ll have to wait for volume 3 to get more of Connery’s classics, but it should prove worth the wait. Also this week, the bloody trio of Diary of the Dead (Weinstein), Halloween (2007) (Weinstein), and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Paramount).

Nick Nolte Does His Own Stunts

Leonard Pierce — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:15:00 GMT

It's not easy being Nick Nolte. His last Oscar nomination was ten years ago, his recent roles are less memorable than his recent mug shots, and his role in Ang Lee's version of The Hulk was the cherry of incoherence on the top of its incomprehensibility frosting. On top of everything else, his house in Malibu just burned down.

Then again, maybe it ain't so bad. After all, the guy has appeared in a handful of beloved films; he just became a father at the ripe old age of 66; and, in one of the most stunning displays of celebrity unflappabilty since a BB-wielding assassin went after Werner Herzog, he actually broke a window and leapt to safety during the fire. Not bad for a guy pushing seventy!

Despite having caused no structural damage, the fire is said to have caused over a million and a half dollars in damage (what was he keeping in his living room, anyway?). Which Nolte can easily recoup with his next picture, if he keeps up the action-hero bit.

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Spider-Man Spectacular, But Hulk Not So Incredible

Leonard Pierce — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:45:00 GMT

As part of my 12-step recovery program to stop gabbing nonstop about Watchmen (I'm currently on Step 8, where I make amends to everyone I forced to watch the "Architects of Fear" episode of The Outer Limits), I'm happy to bring you news of other comic book movies that haven't been made yet. By the time March of 2009 rolls around, I hope to have gotten to at least Step 11, where I can look at a smiley-face button without crying.

Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire has agreed to keep slinging webs for at least two more movies, for an unprecedented $50 million deal that includes profit-sharing and family leave time to hang around with his daughter, the only-slightly-ridiculously named Ruby Sweetheart Maguire. Strangely, it was the family leave time, not the gargantuan paycheck, that was almost the dealbreaker; Sony was ready to walk and restaff the role when CEO Amy Pascal gave in to the demand, saying six months was too long for any parent to spend without family leave. Which should come as a surprise to the majority of working mothers, none of whom make $50 million per anything. To put the figure into perspective, this is the same amount of money Alex Rodriguez makes per year to not win the World Series, or roughly $1.5 million per minute Maguire spends doing a disco strut onscreen like he did in Spider-Man 3.

Meanwhile, Edward Norton, who recently failed to rejuvenate the Hulk franchise, says that if they have any plans to bring him back for a sequel, or for a spot in the proposed Avengers movie, they haven't bothered to let him know. Norton, who has what is known as a 'prickly' reputation on Hollywood with an emphasis on the first syllable, claims that Marvel is being opaque, but he stops short of calling them obtuse, which is just the sort of talk that explains why he hasn't gotten a phone call yet.

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Screengrab 2008 Summer Movie Season Prediction Results!

Andrew Osborne — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Way back on May 1, yours truly and fellow Screengrabbers Paul Clark, Leonard Pierce and Scott Von Doviak made our predictions about the Top 5 Hits and the Top 5 Bombs of Summer 2008. Now, with Labor Day Weekend in our rear-view mirror, I’ve compared our predictions with the box office results and industry perceptions of the past summer season to see how we did (and which one of us has the brightest future as a Hollywood Suit in charge of picking the production slate for Summer ’09)!

But before I get to the results, I should mention that I didn’t calculate based on grosses alone, since industry expectations and the initial (estimated) cost of a film’s production and marketing factor into whether any individual project is generally considered to be a success or a stinker.

That said, our overall batting average was pretty good when it came to picking hits. Four of our consensus picks for the successes of Summer ‘09 turned out to be unqualified hits: The Dark Knight, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Iron Man and Kung Fu Panda. However, our fifth consensus pick, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, is a bit of a sticky wicket. On the one hand, the fantasy flick is the 7th most successful flick of 2008 thus far (according to Wikipedia, anyway), with a theatrical gross of nearly half a billion dollars. On the other hand, it “only” grossed $141-ish million in its domestic run, and generally fell below expectations raised by the Red State driven success of its predecessor, The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe.

So, giving half points to Caspian, Screengrab went 4.5 out of 5 on hit prediction, which ain’t so stanky.

On the other hand, our bomb predictions more or less blew up in our collective face. Oh, sure...most of us could smell The Love Guru and Speed Racer stinkin' up the cineplexes from a mile away, and both films were, in fact, Hindenburgian box office disasters. (Oh, the humanity!)

But our third prediction, The Incredible Hulk, somehow rode the summer superhero wave to a respectable (if not sensational) gross, and our fourth pick, The Happening, while yet another disappointment for M. Night Shyamalan, at least managed to improve on the box office of the writer/director’s previous effort (Lady In The Water) and, thanks to a (relatively) low budget, failed to produce quite as big a crater as expected.

And, like most of Hollywood’s own testosterone-fueled prognosticators, we got caught with our pants down on our fifth pick: Sex and The City, which (like Mama Mia!) flooded America’s theaters with a tidal wave of estrogen, reminding the Suits that if you build good projects for women, they will come.

Thus, we essentially got three out of five of our bomb predictions right, for an overall batting average at LEAST as respectable as any four studio execs making double (triple? quadruple?) our salaries at Universal, Warner Bros., Paramount, etc.

As for our individual scores, I’ve included our original predictions below, annotated to indicate whether the films in question turned out to be unqualified hits (H) or bombs (B). Films that had respectable box office without quite qualifying as full-scale hits (for one reason or another) are identified with an (R), while disappointments that didn’t leave full-scale bomb craters are marked with a (D). And Hellboy II: the Golden Army is a push, since it didn’t exactly light up the box office, but still did better than 2004’s Hellboy.

HIT PREDICTIONS:

Leonard Pierce

1. The Dark Knight (H)

2. Kung Fu Panda (H)

3. Speed Racer (B)

4. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (R)

5. What Happens In Vegas (R)

Scott Von Doviak

1. The Dark Knight (H)

2. Iron Man (H)

3. Hancock (R)

4. Prince Caspian (R)

5. Indiana Jones (H)

Paul Clark

1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (H)

2. Hancock (R)

3. The Dark Knight (H)

4. Wall*E (H)

5. Iron Man (H)

Andrew Osborne

1. Indiana Jones (H)

2. The Dark Knight (H)

3. Prince Caspian (R)

4. Pineapple Express (R)

5. American Teen (D)

BOMB PREDICTIONS:

Leonard Pierce

1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (H)

2. The Incredible Hulk (R)

3. Hancock (R)

4. Get Smart (R)

5. Sex and the City (H)

Scott Von Doviak

1. The Happening (D)

2. Sex and the City (H)

3. You Don’t Mess With the Zohan (R)

4. The Love Guru (B)

5. The Incredible Hulk (R)

Paul Clark

1. Speed Racer (B)

2. The Incredible Hulk (R)

3. The Love Guru (B)

4. Get Smart (R)

5. Wanted (R)/Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Push)

Andrew Osborne

1. The Love Guru

2. The Incredible Hulk (R)

3. Speed Racer (B)

4. Wall*E (H)

5. Hancock (R)

Thus, after totaling our individual scores (with a secret Price-Waterhousian formula too arcane to explain at length), it seems PAUL CLARK is Screengrab’s reigning Chief Prognosticator, with the most accurate Hit AND Miss predictions for Summer ’08.

(Please send any and all cushy studio job offers to Mr. Clark, care of Screengrab@Nerve.com.)

Morning Deal Report: Superman Goes Dark

Scott Von Doviak — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:45:00 GMT

Tropic Thunder is tops at the box office for a second week, taking in $16.1 million for a total haul of $65.7 million. Our Screengrab Bunny of the Week Anna Faris took second place with $15.1 million, leaving Death Race in the dust at third. The Dark Knight closes in on $500 million, adding another $10.3 million to the Bat-coffers.

That being the case, the news that a new, “darker” Superman movie is in the works is perhaps the least surprising development in recent Hollywood history. According to MTV.com, the new Man of Steel offering will be “a complete reimagining along the lines of this year's The Incredible Hulk.” And we all know how well that turned out. “We're going to try to go dark to the extent that the character allows it,” says Warner Bros. chieftain Jeff Robinov. Great – The Dark Dork.

But what you’re really wondering is, “What’s that lovable hobbit Sean Astin up to these days?” It says here in The Hollywood Reporter that he’ll be starring alongside David Cross, Michael Vartan and Sara Foster in the indie comedy Demoted. As you may recall, the movie “centers on two tire salesmen (Astin, Vartan) who delight in playing cruel pranks on their co-worker (Cross). When the victim unexpectedly becomes their boss, he places the humiliated duo in secretarial jobs.”

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Jason Statham: I Dare You

Leonard Pierce — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:30:00 GMT

Marvel's recent forays into the world of superhero films have been dynamite. With the Spider-Man franchise more or less held up as the gold standard of super-action, the X-Men movies still holding up strong despite the disastrous third installment, the recent Iron Man film reminding everyone of how much fun comics are supposed to be, and even the Hulk reboot carrying with it the perception of success even though it basically matched the box office numbers of its unfairly vilified Ang Lee predecessor, it's easy to forget they're plenty capable of super-duds. The 2003 adaptation of Daredevil is one of Marvel's few notable duds (the less said about the Elektra spinoff the better); a lukewarm lead performance by Ben Affleck, a morally and technically confused plot, and uncertain direction by Mark Steven Johnson were largely to blame.

Still, for comics fans, the character has a lot of life to give, and most devotees of the comic -- particularly of the so-called "Born Again" plot arc of the 1980s, with its stark religious imagery, sense of moral atonement, and brutal, noirish crime elements, all of which were present in the 2003 movie but ineptly handled -- would be more than willing to give a chance to a potential remake. And while there's nothing official in the works, according to Geoff Boucher, proprietor of the L.A. Times' genre-driven "Hero Complex" blog, if a remake ever gets made, it may benefit from an infusion of a much more dynamic, enthusiastic and charismatic lead actor in the person of Jason Statham.

In the waning hours of the San Diego ComicCon, Boucher found himself in a hotel bar in the presence of stuntman turned actor Statham (there to promote his remake of Death Race 2000) and Frank Miller, who wrote the "Born Again" stories and was primarily responsible for Daredevil's stunning renaissance of the 1980s and early 1990s (and who was there to hype his movie version of Will Eisner's The Spirit). Statham expressed a keen interest in playing the alter ego of blind lawyer Matt Murdock: "Just give me the chance. I would love to play Daredevil." Miller quietly agreed that he thinks Statham's good for the role. But does the rest of the world? It's easy to see the explosive, rough-and-tumble Statham turning Daredevil's action scenes into gripping, bloody street combat, but it's less easy to imagine him losing his bluster to play the sightless attorney, who hides himself behind a mask of timidity to lull his many opponents. Whether or not this really happens is contingent on Marvel's permission (though they maintain strong times to Miller), and how successful the Spirit movie is -- a bomb may take Miller out of the driver's seat, while a success may make him a player with the resources to make whatever movie he wants, including an adaptation of one of his best-loved works in "Born Again".

Can you see Statham in the devil horns and red long johns? Sound off in comments...

Marvel Comics is Ready for Its Close-Up

Morning Deal Report: Wolverines! “Red Dawn” Remake Rising

Scott Von Doviak — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:00:00 GMT

As always, a reminder that we don’t make this stuff up, except once a year on April Fool’s Day. And surely there must be some fools behind the idea of remaking the Commie-baiting camp classic Red Dawn, perhaps the most genetically pure ’80s movie in existence. Yet here it is in the Hollywood Reporter: “Red Dawn will be redone. Screenwriter Carl Ellsworth has been hired to recraft the ultimate homeland invasion story about a new generation of besieged high schoolers…‘The tone is going to be very intense, very much keeping in mind the post-9/11 world that we're in,’ says Ellsworth, who was 11 when the original was released.” But amusing/befuddling/horrifying as this may be to contemplate, the Reporter has buried the lead. Tucked into the third paragraph is an offhand mention that MGM is also developing “a big-budget rebuild of RoboCop, which director Darren Aronofsky among others has recently been in to discuss.” If Aronofsky is remaking an '80s movie, shouldn’t it be this one?

MGM has been busy, as Variety reports the studio has greenlit the Joss Whedon thriller The Cabin in the Woods. Whedon has co-written the script with Drew Goddard, “with Goddard signed to make his directorial debut and Whedon producing.” Not much more is known about the project, but our sources tell us it involves a cabin in the woods.

And in keeping with the “everything old is new again” theme, Hulk history is repeating itself. “After four weekends, the Louis Leterrier-directed The Incredible Hulk has earned $125 million, the same as what [Ang Lee’s] Hulk had pulled in at the same time in its run,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. “Hulk finished with $132 million, and its successor is unlikely to do much better." Fans looking forward to seeing Tim Blake Nelson as The Leader may be out of luck, as Marvel has yet to greenlight a sequel.

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Stan The Man & His A-Fan Plan

Leonard Pierce — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:45:00 GMT

As everyone with a pulse and the patience to sit through endless special effects credits knows by now, both Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk have featured in-continuity teasers at the end which are meant to prepare audiences for Marvel Studios' upcoming Avengers movie, in which the characters (as well as those from yet-to-be-released Marvel projects like The Mighty Thor, Captain America and Ant-Man) will all come together as Earth's mightiest super-team. It's still unclear whether or not the Hulk will be a hero in the film or the villain, but it's sure that Marvel will continute to take the same intertwined, big-event approach to their movies that they did (with great success) with their comics. All of which begs the question what does Stan Lee think of all this?

Stan "The Man", editor-in-chief, head writer, and co-creator of the lion's share of Marvel titles during their most productive (and profitable) period, has always been an enthusiastic interview and an outspoken character with lots to say about how his characters are handled onscreen. Now 83 years old, he's clearly looking forward to at least another two decades of goofy cameos in Marvel films, and he even drops some amusing anecdotes in this USA Todayinterview about the Avengers project. There's the news that romance novel cover boy Fabio once auditioned for the role of Thor; the oft-told genesis of the Astonishing Ant-Man; and how Nick Fury owes his existence to Stan's low boredom threshhold.

Even more amazing is that USA Today managed to defrost 94-year-old Captain America co-creator Joe Simon and ask him about the picture. Simon suggests that it would be fun to have America's super-soldier go after Osama bin-Laden (hey, someone's got to do it). Of course, being the comics nerds that we are, this just got us wishing that there could be a big-screen adaptation of some of Simon's beloved, but less-known characters -- like Fighting American, a jingoistic, commie-bashing parody of his own Captain America, or better yet, Prez, America's first teen president. Come on, Hollywood! Buy this man a new boat while there's still time!

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Thursday Morning Poll for June 26, 2008

Paul Clark — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Well, it’s about time we had a close poll. After weeks of runaway favorite, last week’s question on your preferences re: the Hulk franchise failed to yield a definitive winner. Of the choices, 35% of respondents preferred Ang Lee’s take on the comic book, as compared to 25% for Louis Leterrier’s. 5% like them both about the same, while another 25% professed their shared displeasure for both films. Finally 10% of those answering showed their true colors (green, of course) by voicing their love for Lou Ferrigno’s incarnation of the character. What does this prove? You tell me. Maybe nothing.

Earlier this week, I took Entertainment Weekly to task for some of the, well, poor choices they made for their list of the 100 best films of the last 25 years. Yet some of the films they picked were deserving, right? So of EW’s top five films on the list, which do you prefer?

As always, the comments section is open, especially if, like me, you want to bitch some more about the list. Believe me, I understand.

Morning Deal Report: Requiem for a Class Clown

Scott Von Doviak — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:30:00 GMT

Get Smart was in CONTROL (see what I did there?) of the weekend box office, taking in an estimated $39.2 million. The new and improved Hulk is performing an awful lot like the Hulk Who Will Not Be Mentioned, tumbling to third place with $21.6 million, a 61% dropoff. And what may be the worst-reviewed movie of the year, The Love Guru, opened in fourth with just $14 million. Unfortunately, this probably means we’ll see another Austin Powers movie sooner than later.

“DreamWorks has pre-emptively bought the original comedy pitch Home Schooled from screenwriters Mike Arnold and Chris Poole,” says the Hollywood Reporter. It’s “the story of a 30-year-old man who was home schooled and is now heading off to college.” No word yet on which man-child comedy star will fill the role.

Variety reports that Rogue Pictures picked up an adaptation of the Jennifer Egan novel The Keep, a “thriller that revolves around a mysterious prisoner who seduces a local woman with his tale of a supernatural secret that can transform her life.” Who is this woman who’s picking up guys at the prison? She sounds like she could use a supernatural secret that can transform her life.

And of course, we’re flying the Screengrab flag at half mast today for George Carlin, who has died at the age of 71.

Thursday Morning Poll for June 19, 2008

Paul Clark — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Back in 2000, M. Night Shyamalan boldly predicted that Unbreakable would be a smash hit like his previous film, The Sixth Sense. However, this didn’t happen, with the superhero-themed thriller drawing modest box office compared to its predecessor. However, judging by the results of last week’s poll, the film has a strong following, at least compared to Shyamalan’s other work, with Unbreakable bringing in an impressive 60% of the vote, and Signs a distant second. As always, Lady in the Water is the unwanted child in Shyamalan’s filmography, although the reaction to The Happening has been as negative as the critical reaction to Lady, if not more so. What did you folks think of his latest release?

This week, we’re asking for your thoughts on the relative merits of the Hulk movies. Does the new version smash Ang Lee’s, or does it just make you angry? Pick the choice that most closely reflects your thoughts on the franchise.

As always, the comments section is open for your thoughts. See you next week!

Don't Mess With The Norton

Leonard Pierce — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:45:00 GMT

You'd think that Hollywood would have learned its lesson by now, but no: another major release starring Edward Norton, another script controversy.

As Anne Thompson reports in Variety, during the pre-production stages of the new Incredible Hulk movie, the fledgling Marvel Studios made the mistake of letting time slip away from them until they were put in the position of offering Norton a screenwriting credit (as well as an unbilled producer's role) in order to get him on board. Unfortunately for everyone within a gamma bomb blast radius of the film, the movie already had a screenwriter (Zak Penn) and a producer/director (Louis Leterrier) with ideas of their own, and by the time the movie finally opened, we were treated to the hauntingly familiar sight of Norton appearing on talk shows to complain about how his vision for the movie was bastardized by studio hacks.

Thompson follows the whole complex affair, with its typical behind-the-scenes wheedling, Norton's pretensions of classing up the superhero movie, Penn's determination to see a script he wrote almost 20 years ago finally see the light of day, and the post-production battles over who owned the right to the final cut of the film. No one emerges smelling like a daisy, with Marvel Studios coming across as naive at best and duplicitous at worst, and Norton once again looking like both a man who's passionate about his work and a total prick.

Why does it all seem like something we've seen before? Perhaps you remember a little movie called American History X...

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The Screengrab Highlight Reel: June 7-13, 2008

Scott Von Doviak — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 21:00:00 GMT

Guest editing this week’s Highlight Reel will be noted physicist Dr. Bruce Banner. Dr. Banner, if you could just…Dr. Banner? Is there something wrong? You look a little angry, and…what’s happening to your pants? Dr. Ban –

HULK BLOG!!!!

Hulk has new movie for puny humans to see! Also see Hulk’s old movie! It a little artsy-fartsy for Hulk, but Hulk appreciates innovative editing scheme!

Hulk think Zooey Deschanel very pretty and sings like bird!

Hulk not opposed to Liv Tyler making out with Kate Hudson!

Hulk remember stupid Jaws 2 movie and stupid Battlefield Earth movie, but Hulk not see Summer Catch with ten foot pole!

Hulk like Top 10 Empowered Girls more than Top 9 Disempowered Girls – they snap like twigs in Hulk’s embrace!

Although a big Guy Maddin fan, Hulk admits to not yet seeing My Winnipeg!

Hulk think Sam Hamm Watchmen script reductive and trite!

Hulk stomp Terence Stamp!

Hulk take Spike Lee and Clint Eastwood by necks and crash heads together like cymbals!

Hulk miss last Friday the 13th movie because puny Banner want to see revival of The Robe instead!

When Good Directors Go Bad: Hulk (2003, Ang Lee)

Paul Clark — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:00:00 GMT

In recent years, as “sequel” and “remake” have become dirty words in the minds of moviegoers, Hollywood studios have scrambled to come up with new, less offensive alternatives. How many blockbusters based on previously-adapted properties have been tagged with descriptions like “re-invention”? Yet even by these standards, the efforts made by Universal and Marvel Studios to distance their new, more “crowd-pleasing” version of The Incredible Hulk (“You’re going to like him when he’s angry!”) from Ang Lee’s 2003 film Hulk have been particularly aggressive. And for good reason, as Lee’s take on the classic comic left most viewers disappointed or even pissed off. Does Hulk deserve its reputation? Not really. But just because it’s not that bad doesn’t mean it’s all that good either.

In the early part of his career, Ang Lee was known primarily for his modestly-budgeted films which deftly mixed domestic drama with light comedy. Titles like Eat Drink Man Woman and The Wedding Banquet helped to make the NYU grad’s reputation in the States even before he began making movies here, and Sense and Sensibility and The Ice Storm only served to further this reputation. But while 1999’s Ride With the Devil was widely considered Lee’s first disappointment, he quickly recovered by returning to the Far East to make Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the critically-acclaimed martial arts epic that brought Lee the best reviews of his career to date and his first Oscar, as well as record-breaking U.S. box-office for an Asian film. It was Crouching Tiger that caught the attention of Universal Studios, who were looking for a fresh voice to bring Hulk to the screen.

But while Lee was an inspired choice for a comic book movie, I really don’t think he was the right one for Hulk. Lee is a gifted filmmaker, but he’s never had a strong, easily recognizable visual style, instead preferring to let his story determine the look of his films. But although other Lee films have benefited from this versatility- the chilly, sterile images of The Ice Storm bear little resemblance to the sweeping vistas of Crouching Tiger, but both are ideal for their respective films- Lee never finds the right look for Hulk. Although it’s not for lack of trying- attempting to accentuate the story’s comic book origins, Lee subjects the audience to a barrage of split-screens and snazzy wipes. Unfortunately, instead of creating any sort of kinetic excitement, the tricked-up style is merely distracting and, in the end, tiresome.

As for the individual shots themselves, Lee’s framing is rarely dynamic enough to make the images pop the way they should. All too often, shots are murky when they should be crisp. This is especially true of the film’s night scenes, which look dank and under-lit. Even worse, Lee insisted on shooting many of the film’s big action sequences at night. But whether this was an artistic decision on Lee’s part or a trick by the effects team to cover for some occasionally dodgy CGI, these sequences are often incomprehensible. This is especially true of the final battle between Hulk and his father- in a scene that serves not only as the action climax of the film but also the resolution of the lifelong conflict between father and son, the last thing you want is for the audience to wonder what the hell is going on.

In addition to the film’s stylistic shortcomings, the storytelling in Hulk leaves something to be desired. Part of the problem is that as far as comic book heroes go, Hulk is a strange case. Rather than being a hero who uses his powers for positive ends, Hulk is unleashed aggression personified- a man who has been cursed by fate and the sins of his father to expand and beat the crap out of anything in his way whenever he gets angry. The premise plays closer to tragedy than traditional comic book action, and to his credit, Lee takes the dramatic stuff seriously, rather than treating it simply as exposition and padding between the action scenes. However, the film’s broad-strokes-only storytelling and one-dimensional characters are less than compelling. Too much time and energy are expended on unlocking the mysteries of Bruce Banner’s past, a torturous bit of “dollar-book Freud” (thank you, Orson Welles) that stops the film dead in its tracks and makes the film less tragic than dour. Not helping matters is Eric Bana’s colorless performance as Banner. Bana came to the attention of Hollywood with his live-wire performance in Chopper, but he displays none of that volatility here. Shouldn’t someone as deeply troubled as Bruce Banner show some evidence of inner life?

Hulk is a strange creature, a film that attempted to be a stylish, kickass summer movie with a solid dramatic foundation but ended up satisfying almost no one. I admire certain aspects of the movie, like the way Lee counterpoints the restrained work by his leads with the unhinged mugshot-era performance by Nick Nolte, or Lee’s occasional use of quietness (a rare quality among most comic-book movies). But at the end of the day, the movie just doesn’t work. Yet I appreciate Lee’s efforts to make an honest-to-goodness art film out of a superhero movie. Hulk isn’t a success, but it’s more thought-provoking than most of the forgettable fare that has characterized the genre for years. It’s no Spider-Man, but I’ll take it over the likes of Fantastic Four- or The Incredible Hulk, for that matter.

Screengrab Review: "The Incredible Hulk"

Scott Von Doviak — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:00:00 GMT

As one of the few defenders of Ang Lee's 2003 Hulk – and as someone who picked The Incredible Hulk to be the biggest bomb of this summer – I readily admit to having some preconceived notions about Transporter director Louis Leterrier's take on the latest Marvel comics adaptation. This would be the part where I tell you how pleasantly surprised I was to be proven wrong…but unfortunately, that didn't happen.

The big question all along about The Incredible Hulk has been: What is it? Is it a sequel to the Ang Lee movie? A remake? It's sort of neither, which turns out to be the cleverest aspect of Leterrier's movie. As the opening credits roll, we see a montage of scenes from a previous Hulk movie that never existed. A Hulk origin sequence closer to the 1970s TV show than either the comics or the previous movie plays out as Dr. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) uses himself as a guinea pig in an experiment with high-level gamma radiation. We know what happens, so why dwell on it? Within two minutes, Banner has Hulked out, smashed up the lab, destroyed his relationship with fellow scientist Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) and pissed off her father General “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt), who vows to pursue him to the ends of the earth. It’s as if Letterier is saying, “Let’s just pretend we all saw this movie and be done with it.” And really, that’s perfectly in keeping with the Hulk’s Marvel comics universe, where new writers and artists are constantly taking over his story and retroactively tweaking his origins.

As the story proper begins, Banner has been on the run for five years. Now working in a Brazilian bottling plant, Banner has learned to keep the Hulk under wraps with a few simple deep breathing exercises. His serenity doesn’t last, as General Ross and his troops – including British commando Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) – track him down and unleash the beast within Banner. The Hulk escapes but the hunt continues, pretty much for the rest of the movie. In order to boost his chances against the green goliath, Blonsky undergoes a series of injections that promise to transform him into a super-soldier. Banner reunites with Betty, who helps him find Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), a genetic scientist who may be able to cure him. Instead, Sterns ends up transforming Blonksy into the Abomination, an even bigger, uglier mass of roid-rage than the Hulk.

As expected, The Incredible Hulk is louder, faster and more action-packed than the 2003 version. Every twenty minutes or so, Ross and his goons show up and there’s another big battle. (The most entertaining one, in which Ross keeps escalating the level of artillery to no avail, almost plays like a Monty Python sketch.) By the end, when the Hulk and Abomination are going mano-a-mano in the streets of New York, the movie resembles less a Marvel comic than an updated King Kong vs. Godzilla – you’re basically aware you’re just watching one big slab of pixels punching the crap out of another big slab of pixels. The Hulk actually looks pretty good most of the time, especially if it’s dark or raining. The humans don’t come off quite as well. I’m willing to bet this isn’t the cut Edward Norton had in mind, but that’s okay – I didn’t need a lot more Banner torment in my life. Roth doesn’t do much but glower, Tyler’s role is even more thankless than the Jennifer Connelly version of same, and when it comes to mustachioed generals, William Hurt is no Sam Elliott.

Leterrier does try to provide a little something for everyone. There are inside references for the comic book fans, geeky cameos by Stan Lee, Lou Ferrigno, and someone else who is supposed to be a surprise, except that his appearance is all over the TV ads in what smells like a desperate marketing stunt, and jokes about stretchy purple pants. (The best gag involves Norton’s mangling of the signature “You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry” line.) And we finally get to hear that immortal call to action, “HULK SMASH!” There’s even a brief stab at Ang Lee’s more lyrical, haunting tone as the Hulk broods on a cliff in a rainstorm. But the whole thing plays like it’s been focus-grouped to death, stripped of any real personality of its own. It may not end up being the biggest bomb of the summer – stuff does blow up real good, after all – but despite hints of another sequel, it provides no compelling reason for the Hulk’s big screen career to continue.

Related:
Hulk Smash?
The Summer of Super-Duds

Summer of ’78: “Jaws 2”

Scott Von Doviak — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Each Thursday this summer we’ll hop in the Screengrab time machine and jump back thirty years to see what was new and exciting at the neighborhood moviehouse this week in…The Summer of ’78!

Jaws 2

Release Date: June 16, 1978

Cast: Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Joseph Mascolo, Jeffrey Kramer

The Buzz: Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…

Keywords: Shark Attack, Waterskiing, Beached Whale, Lighthouse, Ribbon Cutting

The Plot: It’s been a few years since that pesky shark attack ruined the summer for the residents and tourists of the quaint New England island town of Amity. Brody (Roy Scheider) is still the chief of police, and inexplicably enough, sleazebag Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) is still the mayor. (“Re-elect Mayor Vaughn! He didn’t let all of you get eaten!”) Mrs. Brody is now working for a slick real estate developer, and eldest son Mike is a horny teenager with a sailboat. Everything seems normal, until a series of freak accidents awaken a fishy fear in Brody. Two divers disappear after stumbling upon the sunken ruins of the Orca, Quint’s boat from the first movie. A waterskiing boat blows up. A killer whale washes up on the beach with huge chunks bitten out of it. Brody’s shark fever gets out of control when he shoots up the surf in front of a huge crowd of beachgoers, only to find he’s been targeting a harmless school of bluefish. Worried that Brody will scare off all the developers, the mayor and city council give him his walking papers. But the joke’s on them, as Mike Brody and his gaggle of teen buddies learn when they go sailboat racing the next day and Amity’s new shark starts using them as its own personal concession stand.

The Test of Time: I can’t think of many movies I ever anticipated more rabidly than Jaws 2. When everyone else my age decided Star Wars was their favorite movie, I still stood by Jaws – I even remember being bummed out when Lucas’s clunky space opera overtook my beloved shark movie as the all-time box office champ. So when I heard a sequel was on the way, I was all over it. By the time the movie opened, I had already consumed the making-of book, the novelization (a cut above the usual hack job, written by Hank Searls as a follow-up to Peter Benchley’s novel, complete with a continuation of the Mafia subplot that never made it to the movies), and the Marvel comics adaptation (based on the early footage shot by original Jaws 2 director John Hancock, who was fired a few weeks into production). I think the future movie critic in me made his first appearance that day in 1978 when I walked out of the matinee show. I’m not sure I was disappointed, exactly, but I knew something wasn’t quite right. It may have been my first realization that the director was more than just the guy who called “Action!” and “Cut!” They might have both gotten their starts on Night Gallery, but there was a big difference between Steven Spielberg and Jeannot Szwarc, even if I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was.

Thirty years later, it’s a little easier to figure out. (In case you’ve lost track of Szwarc’s career, he went on to direct Supergirl and Santa Claus: The Movie, and currently helms episodes of Cold Case and Without a Trace.) With Robert Shaw’s character dead and Richard Dreyfuss deciding he had better things to do, only Scheider remained from the original Orca crew, and he made it clear to anyone who would listen that he was basically doing the sequel at gunpoint. To fill in the gap, Universal essentially fused their shark movie with a teen sex comedy, with the result that we spend much of the running time waiting for some really unappealing young actors to get eaten. Even the most effective moments in Jaws 2 are pale echoes of scenes from the first movie, as when Brody wades out into the surf, overturns a piece of driftwood, and a burnt corpse pops up. The one kernel of a new idea is Brody’s shark paranoia threatening to ruin his career and marriage; it’s possible Jaws 2 would have been more interesting if it turned out there wasn’t a shark at all, but of course, that’s a movie that would have never been made. The shark sequences are sorely lacking Spielberg’s sure-handed touch, and naturally, the bigger and better mechanical fish looks much faker than the original. Obviously, Jaws 2 wasn’t the first such follow-up – we just saw Damien: Omen II last week, after all – but it was really the birth of the blockbuster sequel, the “tentpole” movies that would come to dominate the summer season, which is reason enough to look back on it with very little fondness at all.

Quotable Quote: “Open wide!”

2008 Equivalent: A redundant sequel/remake about a powerful, dangerous beastie? The Incredible Hulk, of course.

Previously on Summer of '78: Damien: Omen II

Liv Tyler Should Have Totally Made Out With Kate Hudson

Scott Von Doviak — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:30:00 GMT

You heard me. Liv Tyler should have totally made out with Kate Hudson. This isn’t just a thought that occurred to me over my bagel and cream cheese this morning, although that’s not an unfamiliar direction for my breakfast musings to take. That’s straight from the horse’s mouth – the horse in this case being Liv Tyler herself. (I should probably rephrase that. I’m not saying you look like a horse, Liv! Call me!)

Doing the publicity rounds on behalf of The Strangers and The Incredible Hulk, Tyler made that forthright admission in response to a question from the U.K. Metro: “When playing a lesbian in Robert Altman’s film Doctor T And The Women, what was it like having to snog your friend Kate Hudson?” (Those of you not up on your British slang should not confuse ‘snogging’ with ‘shagging.’ It’s more like ‘smooching.’) Tyler replied, “We were always so shy about the kissing but in retrospect we were like: ‘We so should have just totally made out and tongued each other.’ But we never did, we were just too scared to do it.” Somewhere in the ether, Robert Altman is nodding vigorously in agreement.

Tyler also managed to share some thoughts on her role as the Hulk’s scientist girlfriend Betty. “My agent called me late one night saying: ‘Will you get on a plane in the morning and go to LA for a meeting on The Hulk?’ I was, like: ‘What do you mean? Didn’t they make that already?’…I’ve been working as an actress and a model since I was 14 and so my education in the world was wonderful but I graduated from high school and didn’t go to college. And Edward Norton is so intelligent it’s ridiculous. He likes to improvise so he’d just start riffing with me and I’d say: ‘I’m not really a scientist, I can’t do this with you. Please write something for me!’”

No word yet on whether Tyler regrets not snogging the Hulk.

Related:
And Now, Scarlett Johansson Making Out with Penelope Cruz
Maggie Gyllenhaal Lesbian Orgy!

Heterosexual Males Survive “Sex and the City”

Scott Von Doviak — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 19:00:00 GMT

I’m going to go out on a limb and gently suggest that there may be something vaguely condescending about this AP story by Jake Coyle, beginning with its dateline: ESTROGEN CENTRAL. “This reporter was (forcibly) dispatched to a Manhattan theater to determine whether the ultimate ‘chick flick’ could be a welcoming experience for a guy,” the brave Coyle writes. “And with look of determination that said, yes, he was confident enough about himself to make such a trip, this reporter went. Talk about embedded journalism.”

But surprise! “Interviews with three couples suggested that Sex and the City has plenty to offer men — or at least isn't worth avoiding like a well-dressed plague.” One man who at first claims he was dragged to the movie by his date breaks down under Coyle’s relentless interrogation to confess: “I'm totally into it and I'm straight,” says Anthony Smith, who goes on to report, “You understand women better watching Sex and the City.” Well, let’s hope that’s not entirely true. I for one am eagerly awaiting the reports from women who claim to understand men better after viewing The Incredible Hulk. But then, you never see those sorts of reports, do you? Somehow it’s deemed worthy of comment that some men have actually relented and deigned to attend Sex and the City with their significant others, but where are the interviews with women who are deeply embarrassed to be attending Iron Man? Besides, a quick scan of the box office top 10 reveals at least three other certified chick flicks doing well in theaters: What Happens in Vegas, Made of Honor and Baby Mama. Why, it’s almost as if Sex and the City isn’t the first movie ever targeted to a female demographic!

As it happens, Coyle found at least one couple with whom the idea of attending the movie originated with the male. The “facilitator” declined to be identified in the story, however. I guess America isn’t quite ready for that.

Video of the Day: Marvel -- The Crummy Years

Leonard Pierce — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:30:00 GMT

We're not too cool to admit it: what with all the Marvel Films pictures coming out, and the Iron Man movie being so universally well-recieved, and the movie franchise taking a smart, fan-friendly approach to continuity and all, we here at the Screengrab are actually starting to get a bit nostalgic for the days when comic book adaptations really, really sucked.

Not that they don't suck now, at least on occasion. It's just that now, when a superhero movie sucks, it sucks in a big, expensive, ambitious, spectacular way. Back in the day, they sucked because they were made by hacks who spent about eight dollars on the whole production and farmed out most of the work to their nephew who used to work in a group home. Don't believe us? Take this, Robert Downey Jr., you smarmy sophisticated so-and-so:

Did Downey ever make you think he was a cool exec with a heart of steel? Okay, yeah, maybe. But check this shit out, Mr. Ed "I'm the GOOD Hulk" Norton:

Uh huh, yeah, you know it! Ain't he un-glamorays? Uh, sure! I guess so! Take that, Mr. Too Cool for School! And don't think we've forgotten you, Mr. Yet To Be Announced Star of the 2011 Captain America Movie:

ALL THOSE WHO CHOSE TO OPPOSE HIS SHIELD MUST YIELD! That's right, we said it! What? WHAT?

Thursday Morning Poll for May 8, 2008

Paul Clark — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:00:00 GMT

With Iron Man rocking the box office last weekend, the summer movie season is officially in full swing. But with all of the goodies coming our way in the next three months or so, it’s pretty clear what the hottest tickets will be this summer, if your voting is any indication. Throughout the week, the poll for the predicted box-office champ this summer ran neck and neck, but in the end The Dark Knight prevailed, beating Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull by a 50% to 45% margin. The only other film to garner even one vote? The already-playing Iron Man. But you know what the best thing about this summer is? That no matter which of these three ends up on top, the winner is almost guaranteed to be better than last summer’s highest grossers: Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third, and Transformers.

As for the predicted losers, you folks ended up spreading the wealth a bit more, but the winner was no less clear: the atrocious-looking Mike Myers vehicle The Love Guru. Following it in descending order: The Happening, The Incredible Hulk, and Speed Racer. No one seemed to agree with us that Sex and the City will be a major bomb. No doubt you figured that the film will sell enough “fine, honey, if you insist” tickets to turn a profit. Personally, I'm with you folks, although I still think it’ll do most of its business on DVD. But then, what doesn’t these days?

Switching gears this week, it’s occurred to me recently that if you’re a filmmaker, now is a great time to be named “Anderson.” With Paul Thomas and Wes competing in many cinephiles’ minds for the title of “best director of their generation,” it’s a name that carries a good deal of clout. Add to the mix indie favorite Brad (director of The Machinist and this summer’s Transsiberian) and that’s some pretty good filmmaking. Of course, some of you gluttons for punishment might prefer the hacky stylings of Alien vs. Predator auteur Paul W.S. Anderson, and that’s fine too- I respect your opinion even if I don’t understand it. Finally, to bring in the world cinema crowd, I decided to cheat a bit and include Sweden’s Roy Andersson, commercial director extraordinaire and the creative mind who gave the world Songs from the Second Floor and You, the Living. So, I put it to you: which filmmaking Anderson do you love most?

As always, comments are strongly encouraged, particularly among you disenfranchised Thom Andersen fanboys. See you next week!

Toaster Head Fans Viciously Snubbed By Marvel

Leonard Pierce — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:00:00 GMT

With Iron Man looking to be a runaway success, Marvel Comics' film production arm is naturally looking to capitalize on the box office take to move ahead with production on future superhero franchises. So what comic book superhero is next for the House of Ideas? How about...all of them?

In its quarterly earnings report, Marvel discloses (among other things, including that it made enough money this year to buy Stan Lee a Silver Surfer-themed iron lung) that it's in the process of developing a boatload of new multimedia projects for release in the next four years. In addition to a plethora of video games, TV shows, animated series and direct-to-DVD animated features, Marvel Film -- the company's in-house production unit -- has scheduled for release The Incredible Hulk, an Iron Man sequel, a Thor movie, a Captain America solo adventure, an Avengers team picture, and, of all things, a feature film starring perennial sad-sack second-stringer Ant-Man. (We're hoping that this one sticks to the current comics approach to the character and plays as straight-up satire.) In addition to all of that, Marvel has two licensed properties set to release in the next year: a Punisher sequel, entitled War Zone, is releasing through Lionsgate this Christmas, and an X-Men prequel, entitled Wolverine, drops a year from now through Fox. All that, and no Dr. Strange? I guess no one wants to take on the supreme challenge of out-acting Peter Hooten.

Speaking of the X-Men prequel, who better to write the screenplay than, uh, the guy responsible for Gossip Girl? In an interview with Black Book magazine (that, ominously, has since been deleted from the site's archives, leading Comics2Film to speculate that he spoke a bit too soon), Josh Schwartz slagged on previous X-Men franchise directors, took a cheap shot at a movie he hasn't seen yet, and salivates at the big paycheck he'll be getting, but tells fans not to worry: "It's not like I'm adding new characters like Toaster Head, or anything like that." Angry Toaster Head fans immediately flooded Marvel with e-mails.

Trailer Review: The Incredible Hulk Trailer 2

John Constantine — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:25:00 GMT

The Hulk is an easy sell on screen. It has a foundation ready made for spectacle but is also based around a character built for pathos. While our first look at Marvel’s franchise reboot didn’t exactly promise any sort of delivery on these inherent themes, this fresh trailer is very, very promising. The all-Ed Norton action is particularly compelling with the introduction of a Brazilian favela as a setting and an absolutely fantastic Tim Roth showdown. Roth has a reputation for portraying some truly intimidating aggression (just look at Rob Roy) and it looks The Incredible Hulk has the man playing to his strengths. While the CG effects don’t shine quite like those in a certain Robert Downey Jr. picture, it looks like the human element in the Hulk will be super in its own right, bomb or not.

The Summer of Super-Duds

Leonard Pierce — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:45:00 GMT

With so many superhero movies set to come out this summer, one of them is bound to suck. Well, that's not true -- chances are pretty good that all of them are going to suck. But the folks over at New York magazine are ever the optimists, and they're handicapping the cape-and-cowl movies of the hot months to determine which one to avoid.

They peg Iron Man as most likely to succeed (despite the fact that ol' Shell-Head "has nowhere near the Q-meter rating of Spidey or Supes", but The Incredible Hulk is their even-money choice to bomb out: "The initial trailer made the movie seem exciting but shallow and somewhat humorless. And if a legitimately great director like Ang Lee can't make the Hulk story into a good movie, what chance does Louis Leterrier (previous credits: The Transporter, The Transporter 2) have?"

Us, we're just flattered that New York's "Vulture" bloggers are fans of our Thursday polls here at the Screengrab...

Edward Norton Hulks Out

Scott Von Doviak — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:00:00 GMT

When last we checked in with The Incredible Hulk, Marvel Studios and star Edward Norton were squabbling, with Norton threatening to abstain from publicizing the movie if it didn’t turn out as he hoped. We were told that Norton is “passionate,” and then we were told that, in Hollywood-ese, “passionate” translates as “a big pain in the purple pants.” Now Norton is speaking out for the first time...sort of.

Entertainment Weekly tried to interview Norton for their new story on the Hulk, but after weeks of negotiation, “the actor's publicist e-mailed EW an exclusive 257-word statement, approved in advance by Marvel and Universal.” Surely such a statement could contain nothing but Norton’s unvarnished feelings on the situation.

Apparently the actual shooting of The Incredible Hulk went swimmingly; the dispute stems from the movie’s post-production process. As you’ll recall, Marvel was intent on distancing itself from Ang Lee’s dreamy, contemplative take on the character. “The company wanted to release the most commercial film possible: lots of action and a running time under two hours. Norton and Leterrier, however, lobbied for a more meditative cut of the film that ran about two hours and 15 minutes.” Meditative is definitely not what Marvel is looking for this time around, and apparently tempers flared.

Director Louis Leterrier, who says he had no trouble at all with Norton, feels the feud has been overblown. “Everyone was exhausted; it was like a little burst,” Leterrier says. “I'm angry with you!' 'No, I'm angry with you!' And me in the center saying 'Boys, calm down.' It didn't come to blows. It was just a remark here and there.”

Predictably, Norton’s statement downplays the dispute as well. “Every good movie gets forged through collaboration, and different ideas among people who are all committed and respect the validity of each other's opinions is the heart of filmmaking. Regrettably, our healthy process, which is and should be a private matter, was misrepresented publicly as a 'dispute,' seized on by people looking for a good story, and has been distorted to such a degree that it risks distracting from the film itself, which Marvel, Universal and I refuse to let happen.” You can read the full statement at the EW site; the full truth will probably have to wait.

Hulk Smash?

Scott Von Doviak — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:30:00 GMT

There are sequels, there are remakes, there are even “re-imaginings,” but The Incredible Hulk may be Hollywood’s first “do-over.” That’s the word from Marvel Studios, the folks who unapologetically brought Elektra and Ghost Rider to the screen, but for some reason are still deeply ashamed of Ang Lee’s 2003 take on The Hulk. “The 2003 movie was like test-driving a car,” Marvel Studios chairman David Maisel told the New York Times. “We were able to see what people liked and did not.”

Lee’s version took in $132 million at the box office, and while that isn’t exactly chump change, it was a disappointing haul given the movie’s budget. But that’s not really the biggest obstacle the Marvel people had to overcome in re-launching the franchise. They’re hoping to overcome the notion that the first film was too artsy and light on action – you know, too interesting for a movie about a big dumb man-monster who likes to smash things.

“Starring Edward Norton, The Incredible Hulk, set for a June 13 release, will serve up more action (Hulk battles a new creature called Abomination) and more female-friendly themes,” according to the Times. “The monster was mute in Mr. Lee’s film, but this one speaks, a nod to the campy 1978-82 television series that starred Bill Bixby and the bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno (resplendent in green body paint).” Sorry, New York Times, but the Hulk talked in the Marvel comics; he was mute on the TV show when he was played by the deaf guy.

Sadly for Marvel, not everyone shares their enthusiasm for the reboot. Even the ever-cooperative Norton is getting angry – and you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry. “Mr. Norton and Marvel, which has the right of final approval on the film, have sparred in recent weeks over trims, among other issues, said studio executives involved, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to speak publicly. Mr. Norton — who was hired to rewrite the script along with playing the lead — has made it clear he won’t cooperate with publicity plans if he’s not happy with the final product, these people said.”

The biggest threat the Hulk faces this summer will likely come from his fellow superheroes. With Batman and Iron Man both storming theaters this summer, will there be enough of an audience left for the green goliath? Marvel hopes to create some crossover appeal by having Robert Downey Jr. cameo as Iron Man in The Incredible Hulk, which is either a clever idea or a cry for help. Hey, nobody ever said it was easy being green.

Thursday Morning Poll for April 10, 2008

Paul Clark — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Well, that fairly well. In the first week of our new Thursday Morning Poll, our loyal Screengrab readers overwhelmingly selected The Dark Knight as their most-anticipated comic book movie of this summer. Coming in a distant second was the similarly awesome-looking Iron Man, with Hellboy II and The Incredible Hulk in a virtual tie at #3. Wanted proved to be singularly undeserving of its title, receiving no votes whatsoever.

To switch gears a bit, this week's poll was inspired by Tuesday's DVD release of Paul Thomas Anderson's latest magnum opus, There Will Be Blood.

And remember, sound off in the comments about your favorites.

Trailer Review: The Incredible Hulk

John Constantine — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:52:00 GMT

Yeah, yeah, Ang Lee makes beautiful movies. Oh, Brokeback Mountain is a romantic masterpiece! Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a ballet of sound and emotion! The Ice Storm is tense, suburban tragedy at its finest! Fuck all that. Ang Lee made Hulk. He is the director who thought giant CGI dogs and Nick Nolte were a good combination. Marvel Pictures is banking on the whole world to have shoved that atrocity out of their minds as The Incredible Hulk is a reboot for the franchise and from the looks of this trailer, it’s a fine upgrade. We’ve gone from Eric Bana to Ed Norton (awesome), giant CGI dogs to giant CGI Tim Roth (double awesome), and sloppy introspection to big, dumb action (not necessarily awesome but wise). There are some downgrades (Jennifer Connelly to Liv Tyler is not awesome) but things are looking good. Ed Norton is pitch-perfect as Bruce Banner in these scenes, a perfect mix of frightened and exhausted. It’s nice to see Tim Roth back in a blockbuster as well. I was beginning to think that Planet of the Apes had done scared him off for good!

Universal Lines Up 2008

John Constantine — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 22:20:00 GMT

Film studios have followed a rigid thematic release schedule year in and year out since 1970. You’ve got your lightweight comedies until spring, then a bank of action blockbusters that are either sequels or adaptations, a drama or two in the fall coupled with some quick horror from a side studio, and then as much award fodder as you can fit into December. If there’s enough time, you fit some big family friendly hooha in there as well, preferably animated or based on a true story. This summation might seem flippant if Universal’s release schedule didn’t follow the formula so specifically. From February 8th to May 30th, Universal will drop six comedies that seem progressively promising. It starts with Martin Lawrence in Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, the no doubt side-splitting tale of an L.A. talk-show star going home to small town Georgia, and ends with Forgetting Sarah Marshall, the latest from Judd Apatow’s crew. It’s about hard luck in love. Surprise! From June 13th to July 11th, moviegoers will get three, count them three, comic book adaptations including The Incredible Hulk, a sequel/franchise reboot with 100% less Ang Lee and 100% more ripped Ed Norton. The fall’s quiet right now but the schedule might bulk up as the year goes on but December already has the heavy Academy hitters lined up with Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon, about, um, Frost and Nixon, alongside Clint Eastwood’s The Changeling, which actually sounds pretty cool. Seems predictable on the whole but who can say a giant, green Ed Norton is bad until they see it for themselves?

Geekfare

Leonard Pierce — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 20:30:00 GMT

When you're a comics nerd, it's Christmas every day, and over at Comics2Film -- rapidly becoming the indispensible site for those of us who can't get enough of men in tights on screen, "Strip Club" blogger Supernaut lays out the case that as great a year as it was for movies in general, it was an even better year for comic book, fantasy, and "geekfare" movies in general. Elsewhere on the site, we're treated to the first stills from The Incredible Hulk, the debut trailer for Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and, via Wizard magazine, an interview with Christopher Nolan about The Dark Knight, in which he discusses Heath Ledger's interpretation of the Joker as "the most extreme form of anarchist" and his own plans, or lack thereof, for a third Batman picture: "Every film I’m working on, to me. is the last film I’m ever going to make."