Green Lantern, Thor, and the Super Hero Bubble

What do you see in the image on the left? A super hero? A green one? A ring? A weird purple Kool-Aid spill in the background? Planet Earth? The Green Lantern**?

Warner Brothers certainly hopes that you see the Green Lantern. Coming out this summer, the studio that brought us "The Dark Knight" is delivering their next big hope at a mega franchise. However, this film is more than just another "super hero" film. It's a huge step for the genre.

Notice I didn't say "huge step forward" for the genre, because the fact is, "Green Lantern" is going to be different than any super hero film people have seen. When I say different, I mean it's going to be full of some hardcore sci-fi insanity. Think giant purple headed extra-terrestrials, alien landscapes, and giant green shapes coming out of a ring. Peep the trailer here if you haven't yet.

In the past the super-hero genre of films has been grounded in "reality," meaning that people buy into the concept of the "hero" because it's rooted in our reality. People love the "Dark Knight" because it's basically a crime movie that happens to have Batman in it. Spiderman is cool because he's just a normal kid with some average powers, nothing too nuts. However,  Green Lantern and also Thor, which will feature some far out Techno viking realm are full blown far out super heroes. Will general audiences be able to handle this?

I guess we'll know the answer this weekend. Tonight the trailer for "Green Lantern" will debut on the big screen with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1." If the multi-plexes go nuts when they see the Lantern regulating, I guess the audiences will be ready, but if they don't, looks like our super heroes might be grounded back in reality for a while. Also where the hell is our "Thor" trailer?

** My Dad loves the Green Lantern, me on the other hand, I'm more of a Batman dude, Green Lantern, not so much.

Is DC Getting Their Act Together?

DC comics is an enigma. Here you have a comics company with, no doubt, the biggest super heroes in the world in Batman and Superman, yet they still not nearly as big as Marvel. "The Dark Knight" is the biggest movie of the century on almost every level. However on the flip side, "Superman Returns" was a soul crushing disappointment. How much? Let me go on a little tangent here.

Is it too much to have Superman punch someone? Seriously he spent the whole movie crying like he was Harry Potter in Order of the Phoenix, I don't pay my hard earned summer loot to see Superman cry and moan about love lost to Cyclops, I pay money to see him punch bad guys over skyscrapers.

But wait, something is happening. DC comics is slowly getting their act together. They wisely ditched the Justice League movie, and now have some promising flicks in development. "Lobo" announced yesterday has Guy Ritchie set to direct. "Jonah Hex" comes up next year, and "Green Lantern" starring Deadpool, is due soon after that. So they might be getting their act together. I mean success with these movies is simple, it involves one thing:

Punch dudes through/over/on top/ through building. Don't believe me, just ask Marvel. They figured that out with Iron Man, and look where they are now?

Who Cares About The Green Lantern?

Bradley Cooper, Ryan Wilson, Justin Timberlake are the three finalists to play Green Lantern. Honestly, I don't know why this is a big deal because most people don't know shit about the Green Lantern. Hell, I consider myself I fanboy and even I don't know much about him. All this news about the Green Lantern makes we wonder two things: who/what is the Green Lantern and why is a movie being made about him?

After hours of research I can now safe that The Green Lantern refers to not one, but many intergalactic policemen who use one power ring on their finger to fight the forces of evil that exist throughout the universe. Uhhh, ok, when it comes to hand based superheroes, I'll take the badass dude with the claws that come out of his hands, not the Limited Too obsessed ring based hero.

As for the movie, you'd think that Warner Brothers would be more interested in making a movie about Superman. His logo is one of the most recognizable in the Universe, he has a rich history of actors playing him, and most importantly his powers are very cinematic (well more cinematic than a magic ring). And while "Superman Returns" turned the hero into a brooding whiny sucka MC, a new movie that featured Superman punching dudes through building or tearing giant city threatening robots to shreds would definitely require a viewing.

A dude with a magic ring, I'll pass.