My Best Movies Of 2008

1. Wall-E: Easily, without question and hands down the best film of 2008. The movie is a brilliant mixture of humor, emotion and message. Never before have I seen a character so engaging, likable and emotionally investable without ever really saying a word (other than Eve a couple of times). It is the #1 critically rated film of the year for good reason.

2. The Dark Knight: Sometimes you just have give it up for the leader. And this one dominated the box office for the best of reasons: outstanding technical elements, a story that thrills and provokes and a crackerjack cast led by the cackling Joker of the late, great Heath Ledger. If only every blockbuster were this good.

3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: The special effects alone make you stare in wonder, as Brad Pitt seamlessly transforms from senior to newborn. But there's also grand fable and epic inspiration in this life lived backwards, with David Fincher's skilful direction pulling it all together.

4. Kung Fu Panda One of two fantastic animated films in the first half of 2008. The great thing about both animated features this year is that neither one of them relies on silly pop culture references and actually have a fun story to tell. So many animated films today think name dropping pop culture icons and mimicking them is an easy out for a source of comedy, but, as Shrek has proven, it’s an old tactic that many audiences are wise to.

5. Cloverfield I Loved it.... So what? I don't care what many critics said about it — I loved this movie!

6.Ping Pong Playa Easily the funniest movie of the last two years. It eventually hit theaters earlier this year, but barely anyone knew it even existed. It was sad to see it go unnoticed because not only does its lead actor, Jimmy Tsai, and its director, Jessica Yu, deserve plenty of praise for their skills, but it is literally one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.

7. Tropic Thunder I certainly was skeptical when I heard that Ben Stiller was directing himself and Jack Black in a war comedy, and then there was that whole business of Robert Downey Jr. in black face, which got a lot of "what the ?!?!" reactions. Amazingly, this works, not really as a spoof of war films as much as a war film gone horribly wrong, and it's already up there as one of my favorite comedies. The opening war sequence is really impressive, but when it gets into the relationship between a group of actors stranded in a South-Asian jungle filled with armed drugdealers and the behind-the-scenes of making such a film, that's where the movie delivers the best laughs of the year. Robert Downey Jr. as Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus playing a black soldier was particularly genius--well worthy of what looks to be another Oscar nomination in the fallen actor's comeback year--but it was the work of the ensemble as a whole that made the movie so funny.

8. HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY One of the best action movie of the year didn't make the most money at the box office or even come inside the top ten. What it did do is bring Guillermo del Toro's artistry of Pan's Labyrinth to a superhero template and went far beyond where most action films dare to tread. He ended a set piece on a sad and contemplative note with the defeat of the Forest Elemental. He took us to a world unlike any we'd seen before with the Troll Market. He contemplated the conflict between the fantastical and the mundane and where a demon, sent to destroy us all and instead working as our protector, finds a new destiny. GdT did all of this and more with "Hellboy II" and while I respect "Hulk" and "Iron Man", Big Red easily bests them both.

9. Iron Man I think the first half of Iron Man is utterly fantastic, this film suffers from major final act problems that are too many to mention here. Simply put, turning what could have been a kick ass war on terrorism into a monster movie wasn’t what the first hour was building toward.

10. Hulk I believe this may be the first time ever that I actually enjoyed watching an all out CGI vs. CGI monster mash battle. The climax in The Incredible Hulk was a fun and extremely loud brawl that gave me plenty of enjoyment.

Captain America's Shield is in Iron Man?!

You might have thought that all Marvel buzz was over as of last week with the announcement of their upcoming line-up - but guess again. I have confirmed myself, along with our comic book expert Roman Chavez, in person that Captain America's shield is actually in Iron Man. Yes, you heard me right, and if you need to go out and see it again this weekend I suggest you do. We'll provide the information on when and where it shows up below if you care to go find it, but we're pretty damn sure this is it. As for what this means for the Marvel universe and future movies - who knows? I thought Captain America wasn't around at this time and I thought he got his shield from S.H.I.E.L.D.?

The scene in which you can see the shield is after Iron Man returns from Afghanistan after fighting with the Mark III red/gold armor for the very first time. Right after he fights the two F-22 fighter jets, it shows him back in his lab trying to remove his armor but having trouble. Right as Pepper Potts walks down into his lab and asks him "what is he doing?", the shield can be seen sitting on one of his tables behind him in the lower left corner. This happens around 1 hour and 30 minutes into the movie. Make sure to account for trailers if you're going in. We confirmed it at a 6:40PM showing and the scene played at around ~8:18PM. Here is a very low quality photo just for reference. It looks much better in the movie.

The shield is actually red, white, and blue, although you can't see the red in the photo. But if you see the scene in the theater, the shield is actually there and very identifiable. It looks like it is half-constructed and being built by Tony Stark, but you can definitely see the unique star. It is a round shield with circular red, white, and blue stripes. What does this mean?

Apparently Captain America was actually given his shield from the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization, which could make sense in this universe. Maybe Tony Stark has been building a shield, for whatever reasons, and eventually S.H.I.E.L.D., who was revealed at the end of the movie, will find out about it at a future point and suggest they give it to Captain America for his use. And this means maybe it will involve some sort of awesome Tony Stark technology instead of just being a metal object he throws around. How about that for a concept?

There are so many considerations and ideas for discussion surrounding this reveal, that almost anything right now is valid. The common reaction seems to be "that is very interesting" with much speculation thereafter. Why is Tony Stark building a shield when, as far as we know, Captain America hasn't been introduced and isn't around? Is Samuel Jackson's appearance at the end and mention of other superheroes in this universe a hint that Captain America is already around? What do you make of this?!

Iron Man's Actual Weekend Figures

The actual figures are in for Paramount Pictures and Marvel Studios' Iron Man and they are just slightly lower than the ones we showed before.

The comic book adaptation, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges, earned $98.6 million from 4,105 theaters domestically during its opening weekend and has made $102.1 million since debuting Thursday night. It averaged an impressive $24,024 per theater.

Internationally, the film has also earned $95.5 million in 57 countries since it began opening Wednesday, putting its worldwide total at $197.6 million after just five days.

Despite the lower actual figures, Iron Man is still the 10th biggest opener of all-time and the eighth biggest debut for a movie in May. It is the fourth biggest opening for a superhero movie, trailing just X-Men: The Last Stand ($102.8 million), Spider-Man ($114.8 million) and Spider-Man 3 ($151.1 million).

Financed by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount, the movie cost about $150 million to make and $75 million to market.

Source: Box Office Mojo

Up Up and away. Iron Man Rockets to $201M worldwide!

Paramount Pictures and Marvel Studios' Iron Man exceeded all expectations, earning a massive $100.75 million during its opening weekend domestically from 4,105 theaters and $104.2 million since debuting Thursday night, averaging $24,543 per site. Internationally, the film has also earned an incredible $96.7 million in 57 countries since it began opening Wednesday, putting its worldwide total at $201 million after just five days! The comic book adaptation, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges, was the 10th biggest opening of all-time and the fourth biggest for a superhero movie. Among nonsequels, it came in behind only the first Spider-Man, which opened with $114.8 million. As far as May openings, Iron Man came in at #8, just behind X-Men: The Last Stand's $102.8 million when you look at the three-day figure (not counting Thursday night). Financed by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount, the movie cost about $150 million to make and $75 million to market.

Debuting in second place with $15.5 million was Sony's Made of Honor, starring Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan. Budgeted at $40 million, the romantic comedy was released in 2,729 theaters and averaged $5,679 per location.

Last week's champ, Universal's Baby Mama dropped to third and added $10.3 million for a two-week total of $32.3 million. The Tina Fey and Amy Poehler comedy cost $30 million to make.

Remaining in the fourth spot, Universal's Forgetting Sarah Marshall earned $6.1 million in its third weekend for a total of $44.8 million. The romantic disaster comedy was made for $30 million.

New Line's Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay rounded out the top five but fell almost 60% in ticket sales its second weekend. The comedy earned $6 million and has a total of $25.3 million so far. Likewise, Lionsgate's The Forbidden Kingdom dropped a big 62.5% in sales, making $4.2 million to push its total to $45.1 million after three weeks.

In limited release, Fugitive Pieces made $108,000 from 30 theaters, Redbelt took in $68,600 from six theaters, Son of Rambow collected $52,500 from five theaters, and Mister Lonely received $19,100 from just one theater.

Although Iron Man had a big opening, overall business was down 15% from the same weekend last year, when Spider-Man 3 had its record debut of $151.1 million.

Source: ComingSoon

Howard talks Iron Man sequels

Terrence Howard can look forward to a prosperous future in superhero movies, it seems, with the actor claiming you’ll see a lot more of Rhodes/War Machine in future “Iron Man” movies (maybe even a spin-off).

Talking to IESB, the actor said he’ll likely get his own movie after “Iron Man” chalks up a coupla more sequels.

“If they do a 2 I know they'll do a 3, and this is just speculation on my behalf, and if they do a 3 then they'll spin-off into War Machine 'cause War Machine seems to have its own little following. Which, you know, galvanizes my own personal interest in it, I've never really signed on to be a sidekick.”

As for what the next “Iron Man” movie will be about, all indications point to not only an appearance by comic villain The Mandarin but the return of the agents from S.H.I.E.L.D.

“There's been a great deal of introduction about The Shield and where that will lead to. I think we're falling into the tradition of Marvel keeping up with the truth in how they wrote the comics initially”.

In an interview with IGN, Howard said he’d like to see a battle between Rhodes and Tony Stark/Iron Man.

"I think it should be [a battle between them]," he says. "I think it should start that way. I'm supposed to don his suit, be affected neural net-wise, have my brainwaves changed, then [it would be] Tony having to put his suit on and take it from me. And then I come and put the suit back on later -- you know, we build another suit later."

As for why Rhodes would take over as Iron Man in the first place, the actor says it's "because Tony refuses to put it on for a time. And S.H.I.E.L.D. calls and I end up doing it, according to the comic b

Paramount Pictures 2008 Summer Preview

Paramount Pictures has provided ComingSoon.net with its summer preview, which includes new photos from comic book adaptation Iron Man, the return of The Man With the Hat in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda, Mike Myers comedy The Love Guru and Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder.
Click on the 'View Pics' links to see the galleries and on the movie titles for info, trailers and more on comingSoon.

May 2
Iron Man (View Pics)

May 22
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (View Pics)

June 6
Kung Fu Panda (View Pics)

June 20
The Love Guru (View Pics)

August 15
Tropic Thunder (View Pics)

Confirmed: Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk Crossover Scene!

It's been rumored (and supposedly confirmed) for months now - Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk will each have crossover scenes, as in, each character will show up in each other's movies (somehow). Now today live from the New York Comic Con we have confirmation. After an impressive presentation for The Incredible Hulk, director Louis Leterrier and star Tim Roth presented the final trailer that will debut online in the next few weeks. And as a special treat, at the very end, we got to see the scene where Tony Stark shows up in a bar and talks with General Ross.

If you want to stay surprised, stop reading, but there's been so much buzz about this, that they just decided to show it to everyone early and confirm it. But I bet you there is a lot more to this scene than we know… Can anyone say Hulkbuster Iron Man (at least maybe sometime in the future)?

The scene shows a completely drunk General 'Thunderbolt' Ross (William Hurt) sitting in a bar when Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) walks in. He says "I hear you've got an unusual problem." "You should talk," Ross slurs. Stark replies, "you should listen." That was all we got to see, but there could be more because it cut rather quickly at the end.

This most likely will not show up in the full trailer, but you will eventually see it in the movie. The full trailer itself was pretty impressive. I've got a good feeling now that this could be that hidden gem this summer that pops up in June and surprises all of us. I think Louis Leterrier was the perfect guy to direct it and Edward Norton the perfect guy to star in it. It's going to be the Hulk we always wanted but never got until now! The new image at the top comes from the latest issue of Empire - check it out!

We were also shown one of the first fight scenes before Emil Blonsky was fully Abomination. The military gases Bruce Banner in a building and forces him to become Hulk, in which he then goes chasing after them and eventually fights a fairly skilled and acrobatic Emil. It honestly looked great and I've got high hopes now. And to see the Marvel universe completely coming together really gets me excited. Marvel has really got their shit together!

Source: FirstShowing

Wildly Popular 'Iron Man' Trailer To Be Adapted Into Full-Length Film

Looking to profit off the millions of folks who want to see more of the trailer, the Onion has decided to adapt it into a full-length film. (Unfortunately, out of the 758 Iron Man trailers currently available online, they do not say which one will be getting the feature treatment. One assumes, however, it will be the seventh international teaser extended intro scene.)

Luckily, those crazy cats at The Onion were all over this story -- debating whether or not it's smart to extend what most people felt was an excellent trailer 179 more minutes. Good news is Robert Downey Jr. has decided to reprise his role from the trailer (fans would've freaked if they re-cast the character) and reporters from The Onion do hope they bring back that pretty red head played by Gwyneth Paltrow. Amen to that! Says The Onion, "The studio has tried to reassure the public that everything they love about the trailer will be incorporated into the movie, right down to the actual lines from the trailer."

Awesome. Could go either way here -- but what do you think: Would you pay to go see a feature-length trailer?

Source: Cinematical

New 2 min Iron Man Clip

Nickelodeon has aired a new 2-minute clip from Iron Man which you can now watch using the player below! Directed by Jon Favreau, the May 2 release stars Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges

2nd Iron Man Clip Online!

Paramount Pictures has revealed a second clip from Iron Man, opening in theaters on May 2. Directed by Jon Favreau, the comic book adaptation stars Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges.

You can watch the clip, titled "Run Before You Can Walk," in High Definition QuickTime and standard QuickTime sizes by going here!


In related news, the studio has created a Widget for the film, which you can grab, embed, and view at the film's MySpace page. At the page, you can also befriend the movie and enter to win a chance to attend the premiere and meet Downey Jr.

Source: ComingSoon