Multiple Movie Updates

Ok, so this weekend there has been a flurry of activity with all of the new superhero movies coming out. To start off, lets take a look at some of the new updates for the upcoming third installment in Chris Nolans Batamn series.

Big news fans, as the first ever image of actor Tom Hardy as Bat villain Bane was leaked onto the Internet! The image here shows that not only has Hardy bulked up for the role (big plus for all Bat fans) but he is wearing a new, stylized version of Bane's mask. Now in the comics, Bane's mask is unique in that it also serves the purpose to pump the Venom (picture a man on super steroids and psychotic) into his body via his brain. Now this mask, if one were to zoom in, is reminiscent of the Shredder's mask from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies from the early 90's. Which begs the question as to what is the function of those little tooth like things on the front? There was a lot of talk as to wether Nolan would include Venom in his grim and gritty version of Bane, and the mask certainly lends creedence to that theory. Many have speculated that those are inhalers of some sort, in which case the Venom would used as a chemical air accelerate, rather than a liquid pumped directly into the body. This is also ties into the possibility that Bane would be allied with the League of Shadows. The League is known for using psychotropic materials in their rituals and practices, as seen in Batman Begins with the blue poppies, from which the hallucinatory vapor used by Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) is derived.  Whatever it means, this certainly follows Nolan's function of taking Batman characters and making them grittier and more realistic. In other Batman news, there are abounding rumors that the first teaser trailer for The Dark Knight Rises will be shown with the release of the second half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which is opening on July 15 of this year.

And finally, to cap things off for the day, early reviews of the upcoming film X-Men: First Class, have been giving good signs that this may be THE summer blockbuster, despite lousy campagin posters and poor reception thus far. Also, Stan Lee will NOT be appearing in cameo in this film, but has dropped that the cameo he has in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot film is "the funniest one yet". These all point to signs that despite the flow of very lousy super-hero films coming out of Hollywood, there is also a lot of great stuff as well. Nuff' said.