Banshee Cast For X-Men: First Class

Wow, it seems like with each day comes a new cast member for the upcoming Matthew Vaughn film, X-Men: First Class.

Just a day after the casting of Alice Eve in the role of Emma Frost, it looks like another classmate has been cast. According to Latino Review, the role of Banshee, an Irish mutant who has the power to disarm and even harm baddies with his voice, which can reach subsonic frequencies, will be played by the 21 year old actor Caleb Landry.

Best known for his turn on Friday Night Lights, the actor hasn’t had a ton of work, but definitely looks the part, especially for what they are doing with the film. However, like the character of Emma Frost, the character of Banshee isn’t quite the most beloved or well used character in the history of the X-Men franchise. The film will feature characters like Beast, Mystique, and Cyclops, but this also means that smaller, really poorly colored characters like Sunfire and even Banshee will also be used, which may very well spell doom for this film.

Sure, I’m not one to think that this film will fail, particularly with Vaughn at the helm, but if a film is set to become a giant clusterfail of a film, it’s this one. All still remains to be seen, but lets just say that this is a perfect example of cautious optimism.

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REVIEW: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

It's officially the summer film season.

Last year, the summer season got kicked off, or launched more like it, by the solid surprise of the year, Iron Man. With a combination of action, special effects, and great performances, not only was that film a fun way to start the blockbuster season, but it also gave us a film that is worth it's weight in crime fighting metal.

However, in 2009, the film is X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and along with controversial re shoots, a faltering studio backing it, and the death blow, a leaked copy of the film a whole month prior to its release, this has been about as action packed of a release as he film itself. Did it live up to the long weight, or does the failing franchise get the final slice to kill it off?

X-Men Origins: Wolverine, or just Wolverine as I will call from now on, tells the tumultuous tale of Logan, a.k.a. Wolverine. Set as a prequel to the X-Men film franchise previously done by Brian Singer (and yeah, Brett Ratner, but we can forget that one ever happened), and is 10-15 years before X1. It looks at Wolverines violent past, including his relationship to Victor Creed (Sabretooth), Team X, and how he became the indestructible adamantium beast that he is.

When talking about the character of Wolverine, the conversation starts and ends with who is on screen, Hugh Jackman's back muscles...umm, I mean, Hugh Jackman. When he is in the outfit and those stunning sideburns, you can really tell that he loves this character, and that he is having a blast digging into this character. He's witty and intense, and sure, at moments it's comical, but really, the character has always been a bit out there, so it really fits.

Then there are the cast of thousands it seems, ranging from Gambit to Emma Frost. The film looks at his time with Team X, and therefore you get to see many a mutant, most of which have never been seen on the big screen, including the capstone of the crew, Wade Wilson, better known as Deadpool. The Merc With A Mouth is a perfect role for Ryan Reynolds who, when his mouth isn't sewn shut, just oozes charisma, the main reason the character is as popular as he is. He is easily the best part of this film, and the pace of the film really falls flat once he leaves the screen. It starts as a comedic, almost B-level film, but in a really fun way. However, he leaves the film, and enters the full story.

This is where the film falters. From the very outset, you can tell where this film will go, and where it will end. It's a cliche ridden film, as well as a cliche ridden screenplay, full of cheesy one-liners and really awkward interchanges between Logan and his love, Silver Fox. It looks at what a man will do for revenge, and what happens when he does. Sure, it's a standard plot, but throw in some claws made of indestructible steel, it makes it a bit more interesting, right? Not when talking about this film.

However, that has been a flaw with the character as a whole, when making a jump to the big screen. In the X-Men film franchise, the character of Wolverine has been misused as a romantic lead, with a love triangle between he, Cyclops, and Jean Grey, which makes the characters mentality a lot less important.

Sure, that's not why you are in your seat, but in a film chock full of mutants, based around a team, there really isn't much of a storyline pertaining to the said team. It not only comes off as flat, but also comes off as a bit awkward, in that the blatant disregard for these important characters is an obvious pull to make spin offs, particularly with the character of Deadpool, which, with the "bonus" ending, should be getting his own film sometime very soon, especially with the monster box office this film is set to claw in.

However, the action definitely makes up for some, not all, but a little of that, particularly a really well done and very intense final action scene between Wolverine, Sabretooth, and Deadpool. The effects work, while monstrously cheesy, worked for the most part, especially the mutant power effects, the teleportation effects being the leader of the pack. The director, Gavin Hood, didn't rely on silly cut aways or other crutches, and just let the action lay on screen, which made for a much more fluid of an experience. Yes, some scenes fail, mainly a weirdly shot battle between Wolverine and Blob, but for the most part, it nails it.

So, what I am trying to say, is that this film will not give you any more intelligence than you walked in with. However, it is a really fun film, that has a few very strong action scenes, and Ryan Reynolds steals the show. It's a cliche ridden film, top to bottom, but then again, with X-3 being around, this is definitely a step above that. See this with some friends, or wait to rent it, so you get ALL of the Easter egg endings.

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE - 5/10

Not a great film, but fun. Worth a rental at the least.

Go see something good!

NEWS: Gambit Will NOT Be In X-Men: First Class...

Hollywood often has a brain fart. Well, over the past couple of years, it seems like Hollywood has become that guy on the bus on your way to class who continually lets one loose, and continues his day. One of these mental lapses comes to us in the form of X-Men: First Class.

For those out of comic circles, X-Men: First Class tells the story of the X-Men, but before they began running Professor X's school. The story takes us through the life of the X-Men as they were taking classes and learning how to control their powers. It has long been thought of as a possible film project, and now it looks to be coming to us, by O.C. creator Josh Schwartz, but it will also be a prequel to the successful X-Men film franchise.

That said, one thing that kind of gives me solice, is the following bit of news.

In X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Wolverine meets more than a fair share of young mutants. However, he also meets Sabretooth, which is a direct timeline breaker for the actually X-Men franchise, as he did not meet Sabretooth until X1. Also, in Wolverine, the titular character meets Gambit, and it has been announced that Gambit will NOT be in First Class. Hopefully this is to be a prequel to the full franchise, instead of a sequel/spin off to Wolverine.

Come back later for more news and notes.

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NEWS: Exactly How Different Is The Wolverine Workprint?

Not at all says AICN.

“Well, having seen the finished film, the mystery is solved: the workprint version IS in fact identical to the release print, sans effect and some audio work. It's obvious that FOX is trying their darndest to keep this news from getting out, because it will eliminate most of the motivation for people who have seen the workprint to pay for a ticket.

Some scenes from the trailer are not in the finished version, either.

The finished effects are lackluster, to say the least - some really bad CGI work made me groan numerous times (especially, but not restricted to, Patrick Stewart's cameo). The scene with Stewart looks so much better in the workprint - trying to digitally de-age him did NOT work this time around..."

Here's a bit of backstory as to why this is newsworthy.

About a month ago, after a copy of the Wolverine workprint was leaked onto the web, the head of Fox, Tom Rothman, told Entertainment Weekly that the print was 10 minutes shorter than the theatrical version and was lacking a few key scenes. Well, it appears that that was a complete lie, and one that gets me to my overarching point.

For some really weird reason, Fox has no faith when it comes to this film. Since the film got into production, Fox has used words such as disaster and failure when discussing this flick. All seemingly was lost until the first few trailers were released, and while the film doesn't look great, it does look like it will be more than a blast. This spin from Rothman makes it obvious that the heads at Fox have no faith. If the film was good, at least in their eyes, they would have seen no reason to say anything on the subject. If the film was good, people would still go out to see it, at least those who have any interest in the film in the first place.

Just to let you all know.

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TRAILER: Final Wolverine Trailer...

Honestly, I really really love this trailer. It delves into the story a bit more, and it looks like most of the characters have been done right. Sure, it will be cheesy, but that shot where we first see Cyclops using his powers in the school hallway just worked. I think that you are either totally into this film, or not into it one bit, and I'm going to say, it's looking better with everything that comes out, minus the first 1 minute spot that aired on Fox. Hell, I think even some of the reshoot footage made it into this trailer.

That said, there is no getting around the fact that this has been completely dumped on by the people at Fox. Never have I heard such completely horrible buzz being sparked by the studio releasing the film in question, EVER. Though hearing it coming from Fox in the first place had me pause. Remember, these are the bastions of cinematic briliance that will be bringing us Drangonball and the Tooth Fairy, so they know what really solid films are made of.

What do you think?

Go see something good!

NEWS: X-Men 4: Laguna Beach...

Today has been one hell of a busy day, and the news just keeps rolling in...

It looks as though the rumors has been true, and Fox Studios is now currently in search for a director to helm X-Men: First Class. Variety is reporting that O.C. and Gossip Girl Creator/Producer Josh Schwartz is set to pen the script for First Class...

Studio has tapped "Gossip Girl" creator Josh Schwartz to write "X-Men: First Class." He'd also been offered a chance to direct the film, but declined.

Schwartz, the creator and exec producer of CW's teen sudser hit as well as Fox's youth-centric "The O.C." and NBC's "Chuck," is expected to inject a next-gen sensibility into the superhero series, which has collectively earned $1.2 billion worldwide.

Fox is keeping quiet on its specific plans for the new project.

But the studio has been considering ways to continue its successful series of "X-Men" movies after the third installment, "X-Men: The Last Stand," helmed by Brett Ratner, collected $459 million in 2006.

It's been leaning toward using the younger characters introduced in the previous pics in future installments --teenagers with powers taught at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.

Now, personally, I have little hope for this film. I never watched the O.C., and ditto for Gossip Girl, but I just don't think this is a necessary film. If they take the road of an origin to the main group of X-Men, then I may be in. However, the way this news, and the full article, sound, it seems as though they will be going on with the rest of the cast, such as Ice Man and Angel.

Resulting film would likely draw from elements of the Marvel Comic of the same name, launched in 2006, and enlist such characters as Iceman, Rogue, Angel, Colossus, Jubilee and Shadowcat, who have appeared prominently or made cameos in prior pics.

This is one that I am interested in simply because it's a comic book film, but I have little to no hope for it. However, nothing more has been said, so if someone gets behind it, and it starts to look solid, then my opinion will change, but as of this second, this is one I will probably be avoiding.

What are your thoughts?

Go see something good!