Ben Affleck Ain't So Bad For Batman: A Rant by Mike CCD

Soooo... the news broke last night that Ben Affleck is going to be Batman in the upcoming Man of Steel 2. This has been the casting choice that has been hanging in the air for a month since Warner Brothers announced that there would be a Batman appearance in the Superman sequel. This is the movie that is to lay the groundwork for the future DC Comics cinematic universe, and by default set up the team for the Justice League movie that WB wants to get to so bad. And it seems that they have tapped Mr. Gigli himself to don the cowl. Now any comic fan worth their weight in salt knows that Bats & Supes are the cornerstones of any future success DC/WB can ever hope to have... and Man of Steel did do quite well ($650 million worldwide so far!)... so is DC finally on the right track after misfires like Green Lantern and Nolan's Batman trilogy coming to end? Could be... but is Affleck the guy to be the Bat for this whole transition? The general consensus is FUCK NO... and most people are shaking their heads in disgust that Big Ben got the role. They think he will suck it up, ruin everything, and set DC/WB is about to lose any traction they FINALLY gained with Man of Steel. But I think this could be a GOOD thing for the whole future DC Cinematic Universe... and I got some points to prove it. Check out after the jump why I don't think Affleck is all that bad as The Dark Knight....

So here it is in a nutshell... Once again the Internet & fan boys everywhere are over reacting. I honestly believe that this would have been the case with just about anyone who would have gotten the role... so check out my reasons why this ain't all that bad of a development:

Matthew Goode wasn't that bad in Watchman, was he???

1) No One Would Have Been Good Enough -

This is just typical Internet/Fan Boy hate in a nutshell. Bash something, and offer up some other casting choice who would have made a much better choice. Forget about the fact that this is just dumb (you don't know what roles an actor/actress has scheduled that could conflict, or if they even want the fucking role in the first place) and counter productive, but it usually goes like this: Affleck is chosen, and some schmuck says "Fuck Affleck.... Josh Brolin would have been a way better choice!" all over the 'Net. But if they would have picked Brolin, the statement would probably go "Fuck Brolin.... Ben Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms and would be a way better choice!". You can't make these fucking cry babies happy no matter what, so don't bother trying....

Academy Awards are still good... right?

2) Affleck Is A Pretty Good Overall Actor:

Listen... before you start talking about the shitty movies Affleck has made (Reindeer Games anyone?), think about how many GOOD movies he has made. He has been in well over 40 films, most of which he was in the starring role. Sure he has some duds like the aforementioned Reindeer Games, Gigli, and Paycheck... but he is also the guy who killed in The Town, all the Kevin Smith movies he has done (especially Chasing Amy), and Shakespeare In Love. And he has the legendary role of Fred O'Bannion in Dazed & Confused in there as well. Not to mention a little movie called Argo, which he DIRECTED AND STARRED IN!!!! This guy is a really good actor, and the fact that he even WANTS to be Batman is pretty cool in its own right. And before you fucks start getting on me for leaving out Daredevil as a shitty movie that Ben has done, just wait... that piece of junk gets its own reason...

A totally different (and much less shitty) movie

3) Yeah, Daredevil Sucked Balls... BUTTTTTTTTTT:

Daredevil is an easy target, mostly because the film most people saw sucked more dicks than Jenna Jameson. Not to mention that this was Affleck starring in a Super Hero movie... and we don't want to see him fuck up another great comic book character. But there is an interesting aside to the whole Daredevil movie that most people don't actually know about... and it makes a world of a difference. Director Mark Steven Johnson may have produced a steaming pile of shit, yet it might not have been his and Afflecks fault completely. The studio was meddling in every aspect of the filming, and they re-cut, re-wrote and required Johnson to do things he did not want to do with the film. This is apparent in the Director's Cut of the film, which has whole sub plots that were left out of the theatrical movie that make it a completely different film. It is also a much more violent cut (it would have been an R rating instead of PG-13) and focused less on the romance between Daredevil & Electra. I have seen it, I own the Blu Ray of the Director's Cut, and it is pretty much WAY BETTER in every way to the theatrical version. So if you only saw the theatrical version, and you think this is proof that Affleck can't do a super hero justice... well, take a look at the Director's Cut and then get back to me....

One of the best podcasts on the 'Net

4) Affleck Has Some Bat-Friends To Fall Back On:

As Ringo pointed out on 'With A Little Help From My Friends', having some good back up could be enough to put you over the top in any certain situation. Affleck may not ring bells for all Bat Fans... but his boy Kevin Smith sure does. Smith is an authority on all things Batman, has written some great Batman comics (Cacophony is nothing short of perfect), and even hosts a weekly podcast called 'Fatman on Batman' where he discusses his obsession with everything Batty. If Ben was ever gonna reach out to his ole buddy Kev and ask a question about anything, this would be the situation to do so. And this is probably the best person that could possibly offer up any advice to Ben on how to play the character. Kevin Smith knows Batman better than anybody in Hollywood... even better than Nolan. Sure, Nolan made three great Batman movies... but Smith is a true fan and can probably help Ben out. Smith also should have probably reached out to Affleck when he was playing Daredevil (which he didn't) and probably won't let his boy down again...

Never Forget

5) Finally... Chances Are DC IS Gonna Fuck This Whole Situation Up Anyway: 

DC Comics & Warner Brothers have had more false starts and miss steps than anyone with so many can't miss properties in their stable. Think about how many things they fucked up: The first set of Batman movie sequels (nipple suits for everyone), Green Lantern (How do you fuck this up?), Constantine (Keanu Reeves as Hellblazer... WTF?), Catwoman (Halle Berry almost killed the comic book movie industry as we know it) and Jonah Hex (what was this piece of shit?). And all of these fuck ups happened AFTER comic book movies became popular and are pretty much can't miss. These people fucked up Superman for Chrissakes... Superman Returns almost made all real comic fans not even want to go see The Dark Knight!!! People should worry much less about Affleck's choice for the role and be much more concerned with things like who writes the movie and how they are gonna twist it all wrong. Lets get it together guys... Marvel is fucking killing you. Try.. that is all I ask.

Applesauce, Bitch!!!!!

So thats that... see, it ain't all bad. Now talk about all this among yourselves and add your comments below so that we can all bitch about it together!!!! Can't wait to hear what you guys have to say... get in there people!!!!

Zoe Saldana Is Playing Gamora In 'Guardians of the Galaxy'... Color Me Intrigued!!!!

Casting news abound... and this is the kind of casting news that gets people excited for a project that is still 16 months away. Zoe Saldana, who is quickly becoming a fave among genre fans, has been cast as Gamora in James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy. Saldana is an intricate part of JJ Abrams Star Trek rebooted universe, was in Avatar, and was in comic book adaption The Losers (a very underrated movie...check it). She knows her way around a comic con... but this role will earn her infinite geek cred in the foreseeable future. Click after the jump for more...

Gamora is the adoptive daughter of Thanos, the guy who is being set up as the big baddie of the whole Phase II of Marvel's movie universe. Then she rebels against her poppa and joins the Guardians of the Galaxy to take on the mad titan as he constantly strives towards destroying the universe. She is a bad ass, has some high powered relationships with Nova & Adam Warlock, and a very intricate part of the whole Guardians/Marvel space stories mythos. I for one can't wait to see this movie. Star Lord has been cast as Chris Pratt, David Bautista is playing Drax the Destroyer, and now Saldana is Gamora. I imagine Rocket Raccoon & Groot will be CGI based (or maybe mo cap...please do mo cap!), and now we have an idea of what the whole team will look like.

I really love the casting choices so far, I think Gunn is perfect for the directing gig (Marvel did it again!), and the Guardians are an intricate part of an Marvel cosmic storyline in the history of  the company.  Guardians comes out in August of 2014. I will be there... how about you?  

Peter Dinklage Joins Cast Of X-Men: Days Of Future Past

Check out the cast to this film. Everyone has a reputation for signing onto quality projects which gives me hope that they will do this story justice. It's one of the great X-men tales of all time and opened the door to the best of the alternate reality X-Men stories like Age of Apocalypse. I hope that Dinklage is playing Puck who is a welcome addition to any X-Man story. It would be cool to see him tumbling into things creating havoc. Check out the pics and more after the jump....

Bryan Singer announced via his Twitter account that he's cast Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage in X-Men: Days of Future Past. There's no official word on who he will be playing in the movie, but for awhile fans have said he would be the perfect actor to play Puck, a dwarf member of Canada's mutant team, Alpha Flight.

Dinklage will join James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, IanMcKellen, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, and Shawn Ashmore who were already confirmed.

X-Men: Days of Future Past will start shooting in April for a July 18th, 2014, release.
Simon Kinberg wrote the script, and it is based on Chris Claremont and John Byrne's comic book storyline, Days of Future Past, that ran in "Uncanny X-Men" #141 and 142 back in 1981. The story is set in an alternate future where surviving mutants have been thrown in concentration camps, Sentinels are patrolling America, and most of the X-Men have been hunted down and killed. The present day X-Men are forced to stop a key event from unfolding in order to keep that future from occurring.

http://geektyrant.com/news/2013/2/14/peter-dinklage-joins-x-men-days-of-future-past.html

Get Ready For A Robert Rodriguez Double Dip This Fall...

Robert Rodriguez is one of my favorite film makers working in Hollywood right now. Why you ask? Well, for one his an original thinker who finds very practical ways to make fantastic movies. secondly, he has been making some of the best genre movies of the last 15 years (Desperado, Machete, Grindhouse, Spy Kids, Sin City) all very unique to their own genre, but all very Rodriguez in their delivery. And finally because my man R Rod is returning to two of his original films to give us sequels, and he is doing so in less then 3 weeks apart this Fall...

See more after the jump...

Rodriguez is set to re-enter the world of both Machete & Sin City this fall with many of his usual suspects in tow. First up is 'Machete Kills', the second installment about the militant Mexican policeman with the deadly touch and the heart of gold. Danny Trejo is back as Machete, and he is re-joined by Jessica Alba  & Michelle Rodriguez from the first films cast (they are probably the only ones who survived...lol). Rounding out this Mexploitation flick is an interesting cast of the always sexy Amber Heard, Lady Gaga, Sofia Vergara, and Hollywood's baddest bad boys Mel Gibson & Charlie Sheen. I can't wait to see which of them (or both!) takes over the villain role from Steven Sagal, because Segal was fucking fantastic in the first one. The second entry in the Machete mythos opens on September 13th and is to be part 2 of a proposed trilogy. I am in... Viva Mexicana!!!!

Which brings us to the second release Rodriguez has right around the bend. Not even three weeks after that we get the much anticipated second entry into the Sin City film series, based on the graphic novels of Frank Miller. This one is based on A Dame To Kill, , and focuses on Clive Owen's 'Dwight' character from the first film. But remember all that talk about Dwight having a new face in the scenes from the first movie with Shelly (the dearly departed Brittany Murphy)? they were true, and this film is a prequel to the first one... sooooo, we have a new actor playing Dwight. I am sad to see a quality actor like Clive Owen go, but I do love me some Josh Brolin!!!! he is set to tackle Dwight, with Mickey Rourke returning as Marv, and will also include Jessica Alba, Jaime King, and Rosario Dawson from the first film.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Christopher Leoni, Jaimie Chung and the venerable Dennis Haysbert taking over for the recently passed away Michael Clarke Duncan round out some of the new faces on the project. This one is sure to be great... so great in fact that Gordon-Levitt gave up his shot to be the lead character in the tent pole Marvel comics movie Guardians of the Galaxy because he couldn't do both. He choose Rodriguez, and I bet he made a hell of a choice.    sin City 2 opens up on October 4th...

I can't wait to see those two twins in action again... 

Which means that we will have two... COUNT EM, TWO.... Big Budget Robert Rodriguez sequels in theaters at once. That means you will be able to do an ole fashion double feature on these two bad boys in one day at your local theater. i don't think I have ever had the opportunity to see two films from the same director on the same day unless it was a special screening of something old paired with a new release, so this is historic. I think i will plan a CCD get together to mark the event!!!! Stay tuned for details... see you at the movies!!!!  

Here Is Some Comic Book Movie News I Can Get Behind!!!

As a true geek I am eagerly anticipating as many comic book movies as humanly possible. I don't give a flying fuck about overkill... as far as I am concerned I have been waiting on quality made comic book movies my whole life. They just seemed to start getting them right around 2000 with X-Men, so I'll take as many as I can get my hands on. Given the fact that these films are making big bucks, it is refreshing to see studios putting together stellar casts to staff the films. Some recent announcements on the comic book movie front have me quite excited. Click after the jump to hear my thoughts on Captain America 2, Lobo, and Ant Man.


First up, it has been announced that Captain America 2 will be The Winter Soldier storyline. This means Sebastian Stanz (the lad who played Bucky in Cap pt 1) will be in full commie mode as Winter Soldier... but I am much more excited to see Caps other sidekick Falcon join the fray. And who will be playing the bird of prey soul brother #1? Anthony Mackie, that's who!!!! I love this casting choice, as Mackie is riding high and will be a great addition to a strong cast for Cap 2. I'm really looking forward to this one because it will straddle both the 1940s & current time frames in the Marvel Universe.

Next, there are rumors circulating that Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, is in line to play the crazy ass Czarian himself... LOBO!!! What a great potential movie this could be, especially with Johnson in the driver seat of the space traveling chopper. I imagine this in the vein of a space based adventure movie like Chronicles of Riddick, with The Rock being snarky, tough as nails, and bad ass in white body paint with chains ablaze!!!! I can't think of anyone possibley better for this role... can you?

Finally, I am hearing that Edgar Wright is getting a great response to his SDCC footage for Ant Man, and obviously the film is moving forward. But who will be under the helmet? This is a big decision, because not only will the actor be getting his own flick but he is sure to play a part in future Avenger storylines in some for or another (either as Ant Man, Giant Man, Goliath or Yellow Jacket... or just Hank Pym the scientist). It's no suprise that Wright's good friend and usual leading man Simon Pegg is being mention for the role, but it seems like that rumor is now becoming more and more of a possibility. Couple this with the fact that Pegg is a natural fit for any comic book property and that he hasn't been in a Marvel flick, I think this is the clear choice... no?

Either way, I think the next few years will continue to be pretty great. As a comic book geek, I am thoroughly intrigued. See you at the cinema!!!!