Blessed are the geek for they shall inherit the Earth

It's a very exciting time to be a geek. Cinema continues to evolve in to such an amazing and eclectic art form. It still blows my mind how good everything looks. Yeah, I know, 'Avatar' was the film that "changed" cinema. But if you ask me, what's a great looking film if it has little to no depth or heart? The older I get, the less I care about if the shot was filmed correctly and the more I focus on how the film can alter and expand the viewer's consciousness. It's just more fun that way.

Okay, now as an avid superhero fan since 1986, there are few superhero movies that I haven't at least tried to watch. I did however skip on Halle Berry's 'Catwoman'. But hey, 'Cloud Atlas' was so awesome, I may watch it for shits and giggs just because Halle is a part of that cool ass flick.  The first superhero movie I consider to be the start of the modern age of superhero cinema would probably be 2000's 'X-Men'. The movie was a hit and really opened the flood gates for more superhero properties. It was of course followed by 2 sequels, a spin-off, and a prequel. After 'X-Men's success, geeks around the world got to finally see their favorite superheroes get a chance at shining on the silver screen. Films like 'Daredevil', 'Spider-Man', 'Ghost Rider', 'The Punisher', yes, 'Catwoman', 'Hulk', 'Hellboy', 'The Watchmen', 'The Fantastic Four' and many more. Some were duds and some will forever be remembered.  It's now 12 years later, and these genre pics are getting even bigger and better. Filmmakers and producers are learning from past mistakes and finally catering to the needs of their biggest fan base....The Geeks.

'The Avengers'. It almost sounded like a dream come true.  Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and The Incredible Hulk all on screen at the same time?? Yeah, that definitely sounds wayyy too good to be true, and ambitious to say the least. Oh wait, Joss Whedon is going to direct it? Yeah, okay, sure. I'll believe it when I see it. And you know what folks? Seeing is believing because that shit was awesome. Sure the first two acts may be a bit slow in comparison to the whole, but oh man is the wait worth it. The third act and finale made the film. Whedon delivered the goods so well that I was legitimately surprised by just how terrific the final product turned out to be. So much so, that I'm currently counting down the minutes until 'The Avengers 2'. 

So now I look to the future. What kind of tantalizing geeky properties do we get to feast our eyes on next.

Here's a few projects gestating that I can't wait to see.

Guillermo Del Toro. What a geek. For those who don't know, he's responsible for 'Blade 2' (my favorite 'Blade' installment), the two Hellboy films and 'Pan's Labyrinth'. And while the latter isn't considered geeky per se, it's still a very good movie.  His current project in the works is a little film called 'Pacific Rim'. While details are scarce and no truly revealing pictures have been released, the plot alone has me sold.

"When an alien attack threatens the Earth's existence, giant robots piloted by humans are deployed to fight off the menace."

Two words: Fuck Yeah.

And if that's not enough, Del Toro recently expressed interest in making a DC film called "Heaven Sent" which would be an Avengers-style team up of the supernatural and magical entities of the DC universe. A superhero team film which would feature lesser known anti-heroes such as The Spectre, John Constantine, Swamp-Thing, Etrigan the Demon, Phantom Stranger, Deadman and Zatanna.

Yes Please. Why not spice up the genre and introduce a bombastic, grandiose horror-themed superhero movie? I guess 'Constantine' did that in 2005, but I remember how much better it could have been. The reason I think this will work is because these characters don't really need stand alone films. Use the best qualities of each character to make an amalgamation of otherworldly phantasmagoria.

Hey, did you happen to hear that story about some company called Disney buying Lucasfilm? Oh yeah Lucasfilm made 'Star Wars' by the way. That's right, there's going to be new Star Wars films. Now while that can go either way (we all saw 'The Phantom Menace') I stand optimistic. Just hoping for the best. At this point, that's all we can do.

A few more properties that are on my radar:

• The Robocop remake (I may be the only one seeing the set pics of Robo's new suit and actually liking it).
• Stan Lee recently announced that Black Panther and Dr Strange movies are on the way.
• The sequels to 'Captain America' and 'Thor' as well as the threequel to 'Iron Man'.
• 'The Twilight Zone' movie which has just announced, has a time travel theme (no surprise there).
• Zack Snyder's 'Man of Steel' (my fingers are crossed that it's nothing like 'Superman Returns' and that Kevin Costner doesn't stink up the joint).
• 'The Wolverine' (which is apparently set after 'X-Men: The Final Stand', and that makes me even more excited).

 

Yes indeed, it is an exciting time to be a geek. Now if Bill Murray would agree to at least make a cameo in a third Ghosbusters, my brain may explode from pure unadulterated ecstasy.

-Dom