Iron Man 2 footage from Comic Con

Well almost. Some people who saw it did a "sweded" version of it. Excellent stuff.

You can see some screenshots from the actual footage here.
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Iron Man 2 won't end on a cliffhanger for the Avengers to resolve

At the moment we know that War Machine (check out the screenshot from the Iron Man 2 footage) will make a significant appearance, Black Widow could be good or evil, and Sam Rockwell will be reinventing the character of Justin Hammer. Director Jon Favreau weighed in as well at Comic-Con with his own details on the film, stating that the sequel won't leave an open-ended cliffhanger for Marvel's 2012 "Avengers" movie. We also know what heroes to expect in the Avengers film.

"We're working towards 'Avengers,' but by the same token we want to resolve this film and make ['Iron Man 2'] play on its own," Favreau told MTV News. "It's not a serial. It's a self-contained film."

Since Marvel Studios began planted movie crossover appearances in "The Incredible Hulk" and the first "Iron Man," continuity buffs have had a great deal to speculate about, given Marvel's ambitious calendar of releases, including "Thor" and "Captain America: The First Avenger." Favreau stressed that while the movies would all be working off of each other, his focus remains on making his film work on its own.

"It's not building towards a cliffhanger that's the next movie," he explained. "It's about wrapping up our story and making it a complete tale."

What about Iron Man 3? "There’s an Iron Man 3. Here’s how I know. When they make the option deals, they include Iron Man 3. So I know they’re planning on 3. Whether that would be before or after Avengers, they’ve announced that Avengers is next but they pushed back The Avengers once which I thought was encouraging."

As for whether, like many sequels, there will be too many villains in Iron Man 2 Favreau had this to say, "Well, we had to walk a fine line. I think you’re good for number two. Two seems to be the charm because you got your origin story out of the way. You can add some complexity to it and you have room, because you don’t have to tell the origin story, to introduce the characters. When you get to number three, you can get hidebound. You’re like a beached whale sometimes because you have so much, you collapse under the weight of the complexity that you’ve created. We looked at the successful sequels that we liked. I’m not talking about Two Towers or films that are chapters based on novels or Harry Potter. I’m talking about true sequels. The two that we liked the most, this was me and Kevin Feige talking, were Wrath of Kahn and Empire Strikes Back. Those were the two that we said, “They did it right. Now let’s look at what they did right.” There were so many others that didn’t feel as good as the first but for those two, what we found was that it really gave room to explore the characters and the villain plotlines were very simple but the stakes were very high. The less you get bogged down in complexity, the more you could really let the audience enjoy what they really like which are the relationships. Two years later, I know I’m a pretty savvy audience member, I don’t remember the dynamics and the subtleties of it. It’s not as precious to me as it is to the filmmakers. So it’s putting yourself in the seat of the audience and saying, “What do they want to see more but you want to go bigger.” You go from Alien to Aliens and then you want to show them the characters that they’ve invested in and how they’ve changed and change those dynamics by introducing new characters. Don’t just add to the action but throw the relationship into a little bit of a curve ball."

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Iron Man 2 Comic Con Panel

San Diego Comic Con panel for Iron Man 2, which features Q&A with Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Sam Rockwell, and Scarlett Johansson.

Check out some photos from the exclusive Iron Man 2 footage that was shown.

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UPDATED with Pics - Iron Man 2 - War Machine has been seen at Comic Con

Jon Favreau premiered a look at for Iron Man 2 during the San Diego Comic Con. /film had the following description and it sounds brilliant.

Tony Stark is eating a donut while laying in the hole of the huge donut on the roof of Randy’s Donuts. Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury yells up “Sir, I’m gonna have to ask you to exit the donut!”

Cut to: Stark and Fury inside the restaurant eating and chatting. Stark asks if Fury was going to ask him to join his group again, to which Nick responds “I remember, you do everything yourself. How is that working out for you?” Stark asks Fury if he is supossed to look at his working eye or the eye patch.

Cut to: A government court hearing, where Tony is talking with Pepper Potts a few rows behind him. Senator Stern Asks Tony if he posseses a weapon, the iron man weapon. Stark says that its not a weapon, and that technically it’s a high tech prosthesis.

“Its a weapon Mr Stark!

“If your priority was to protect…”

“Well you can forget it!”

“I am Iron Man, the suit and I am one. You cant have it!”

The Senator calls Rhodey to the stand. Rhodey walks by Stark and tells him he’ll deal with it.

The Senator asks Stark what his point is and Stark responds that his point is “You’re welcome, I’m your nuclear deterrent,” … “I’ve kept the world safe, what more do you want? I tried to play ball with these ass clowns!” The Senator then says “F— You Mr. Stark!”

A montage begins with shots of newspapers and magazines with Stark on the cover. Voice over in a Russian accent “You come from a family of thieves and butchers…” Shots of Rourke putting together his whiplash suit. A bunch of random shots, including a bunch of girls dancing in front of a display with the American flag, and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, kicking ass. Rourke arrives at the race car track in his Whiplash suit. He activates it and the wires light up with electricity as he whips them around. Stark is bloody, in his racing suit, down on the concrete. We see a close-up of Rourke laughing.

Cut to: Iron Man flying through the night air, dodging missiles which explode behind him, as he blasts towards Earth.

The Iron Man 2 logo appears on the screen, along with the music.

Then we get an extra sequence. Rhodey in a air plane hanger. Justin Hammer walks over and asks what this is about and Rhodey says it’s classified. Hammer looks down at a suit, which appears to be Stark’s old Mark II armor. “Is that what I think it is?” “What can you do for us?” Hammer shows Rhodey a bunch of different weaponry. Rhodey tells Hammer “I think i’ll take it.” “Which one?” “All of it.” Cut to: A shot of War Machine blasting off his guns.

Teaser Trailer had the pics

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Photo of Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow in Iron Man 2

Marvel Studios has premiered a new photo of Scarlett Johansson in Iron Man 2 on Yahoo Movies. Johansson plays Russian superspy Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, who is hired as Stark’s assistant which inevitably sparks romantic tension between Stark and former assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), who’s been promoted to CEO of Stark Industries.

Iron Man 2is due out on 7th May 2010.

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Iron Man 2 has finished filming

Good news for fans of old shellhead. Production on Iron Man 2’s principal photography has wrapped on Saturday, after 72 days of shooting.

Marvel Studios producer Kevin Feige issued a statement to Marvel.com:

Shooting ‘Iron Man 2′ was a fantastic experience and we couldn’t be happier. Although there were many challenges in making this film, having Jon Favreau, Robert Downey, Gwyneth Paltrow and almost the entire crew from the first film back on board, allowed us to hit the ground running as everyone was instantly familiar with each other from day one. This dynamic allowed us to get done what we needed on a day to day basis and was a big factor in why we finished slightly ahead of schedule. Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell and especially Don Cheadle all stepped right in and meshed well with our returning cast. From our experience on the first film, we learned what works and doesn’t work in terms of shooting practical versus CGI especially with the Iron Man suit. This enabled us to be much more efficient in many departments, making it a much smoother experience.” … “The next step for us is beginning the post production process which is extensive and filled with its own set of challenges. It is also a very exciting time because you get to see all the hard work from the hundreds of cast and crew members begin to come to life.

We’ve only seen a smattering of photos from the shoot so no doubt there will be many more over the next few months. I also wonder what Jon Favreau will unveil at the forthcoming Comic Con this year. Personally, I am still itching to see the War Machine armour that is meant to be in the sequel.

What are you looking forward to seeing in Iron Man 2? Do you think there will be a glimpse of the mysterious Mandarin? Maybe Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer is working for him?

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Iron Man 2 - a better look at Black Widow and is Gwyneth Paltrow getting a suit?

This morning I posted the blurry photos of Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow in Iron Man 2. Now I have the much better versions from EW.com. The costume does seem spot on from the comic, but still not sure about Johansson as Natasha.
The photo below (via Topless Robot) shows Gwyneth Paltrow who plays Pepper Potts. Obviously there is a bit of Iron Man tech going on there, but not sure if it is simply for the photo or whether Potts gets a suit or an implant as she has recently had in the comic.
Still it is all good stuff from the house of Iron Man 2. Can't wait to see it.

What do you think of Johansson as Black Widow?

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Scarlett Johannsson as Black Widow in not very good photos

This Friday’s issue of Entertainment Weekly will have the first look at Scarlett Johansson as The Black Widow, Russian superspy Natasha Romanoff from Iron Man 2.

Here are a couple of not very clear photos of her. They also show Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark and Mickey Rourke as Whiplash. As soon as some better quality shots come out I'll get them posted.

It's due out on 7th May 2010.

Source: /film

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Green Lantern in Iron Man 2?

Well not really, but Jon Favreau did tweet that Scarlett Johanson's husband, Ryan Reynolds, visited the set. Who, as we now know, is playing Green Lantern.

Here is a video from the Iron Man 2 set at Sepulveda Dam in Los Angeles. It shows a great big green screen and not much else.

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Iron Man 2 - Nick Fury won't be doing much and lots of Armoured villains?

Samuel L Jackson is in Iron Man 2. That's known, as is the fact he's signed up to star in all the other Marvel films. However, will he be doing much kick ass spy type stuff? MTV spoke to Jackson who said fans will likely have to wait for The Avengers for Fury to see some action.

“Not this time, not yet,” Jackson said likelihood we’ll see his character become the action hero fans know in “Iron Man 2.” “We still haven’t moved Nick Fury into the bad-ass zone. He’s still just kind of a talker.”

Asked whether fans will have to wait until the superhero team-up in “The Avengers” to see Fury get into some action scenes, Jackson simply said, “Looking forward to that, yeah.”

Along with dropping some hints about Nick Fury’s potential brawl, Jackson also told MTV News that he’s done filming on the project, adding that most of his scenes were shot with Robert Downey Jr., but there were also a few with Scarlett Johansson, too.

Cinemablend have a news story saying Robert Downey Jr went to the aid of an extra who was injured during filming. That's not the interesting part though. Apparantly this happened during a scene in which stunt men dressed as robotic villains rampage through the set.

That's the interesting bit and reminds me of the Armour Wars storyline. That is the one when Stark realises his technology has got out and tracks down all the armour that utilizes it and shuts it down. We know Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) has armour that appears to be derived from Stark Tech, could these be more?

Image by Skottie Young

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Jon Favreau talks War Machine and Whiplash

Jon Favreau chatted to Empire about what we can expect to see in the sequel to Iron Man.

"Tony's expected to be a role model and I don't think he's ready to be one. He's under a great deal of pressure and when you're under pressure, I think you find outlets for that. That's one of the tensions of the film: it's one thing to say you're Iron Man, and another thing to actually become Iron Man."

He then went on to talk about Jim Rhodes (Don Cheadle this time round) putting on his own armoured suit as War Machine. "Rhodesy is definitely stepping up in this film. Let me put it this way: Tony's not the only person with technology in the film."

Mickey Rourke, who appears as new Iron Man nemesis Whiplash, had this to say "I'm having the time of my life!" he enthused about joining the Iron Man franchise. "It's been really brutal, because my Iron Man suit weighs 23lb. It's sort of a half-suit, with half my skin showing, with lots of Russian tattoos, because [Whiplash is just] out of a Russian-zone prison."

Iron Man 2 is due out on 7 May 2010.

I really hope this is going to be as good as the first one. Still not sure about Scarlett Johanson as the Black Widow.

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

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Johannson and Jackson have begun filming on Iron Man 2

Today, according to MTV , Jon Favreau has provided fans with two bits of information about filming on Iron Man 2 — the first of which involves the film’s new female lead.

“Scarlett’s first day on set in the Black Widow outfit,” the director wrote today on Twitter. “You’ve never heard a crew get so quiet so fast.”

Scarlett Johansson’s involvement in the movie as Natasha Romanoff has already been well publicized — but the character was originally referred to as Tony Stark’s assistant, leading some to wonder if we’d even see her action-packed persona. Yet Favreau’s comments confirm what everyone has hoped to hear: Johansson will definitely appear as a fully costumed version of the Black Widow.

In addition to verifying the arrival of an in-costume Black Widow, Favreau also confirmed that Samuel L. Jackson was filming his role as Nick Fury on the “Iron Man 2″ set. The secrecy surrounding the S.H.I.E.L.D. director’s cameo in the first film is clearly out the window, as Favreau not only revealed the character’s involvement — he spilled the beans on who he’s filming with.

“Now shooting first scene with Tony Stark and Nick Fury,” declared Favreau.

Great news indeed. Also as the Tweets were sent within a few hours of each other it could be assumed that the three actors may also have a scene or two together. I can't wait to see some photos of Jackson and Scarlett on set.

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UPDATED: Iron Man 2 - Gregg Clark is back as Agent Coulson, Kate Mara joins the crew - Will she be Bethany Cabe?

Jon Favreau has been busy filming Iron Man 2 over at Manhatten Beach. He has been twittering away about how it is all going.

Wrapped. Heading home. Robert was on fire. We're hitting our
stride

Scarlett's first day. Very exciting.

According to THR, Kate Mara has joined the cast, but it is not clear who she will be playing. Choke writer/director/actor Clark Gregg has officially returned to reprise his role as Agent Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Small cameo roles have also been shot featuring actors Garry Shandling and Gary Oldman. Apparantly Shandling will play a Senator who feels that the Iron Man technology should be in the hands of the Government. No news on who Oldman will be playing although he reminds me of a techie kind of character from the old comics. I just can't remember the name.

Any idea who Mara could be playing in the film?

UPDATE: Jens H. Altmann's has suggested the characters of Mrs Arbogast(Stark's secretary) or Bethany Cabe. As Jens says, Cabe (picture below) is the more likely of the two. Check out Jen's web site by the way.

Cabe first met Anthony Stark at a reception at the Carnelian embassy in New York City. Cabe and Stark became romantically involved with each other soon after Stark hired her as part of his security team.

When Stark first began drinking heavily, Cabe worried he was destroying himself as her husband had. Unlike van Tilburg, Stark asked for Cabe's help in overcoming his alcoholism and with her aid he succeeded.

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UPDATED: Robert Downey Jr talks Iron Man 2

Robert Downey Jr spoke to ET about the forthcoming Iron Man 2.

"The film is almost entirely about character, and yet we still have twice as much action as we did last time, so it's going to be nuts," said Downey Jr, set to start filming Monday. "Essentially 'Iron Man 2' is about looking behind the armor, or the armature, of a superhero. It's one thing to say you're Iron Man, it's another thing to be fully ready to do that."

Robert says he's no longer on his strict 'Sherlock Holmes' diet and has returned to some serious iron to once again portray Tony Stark: "I'm on Beefcake Charlie status," he jokes. "I've got to not be the skinny Brit anymore. I have to be the Tony that you know and may have loved."

As for co-star Scarlett Johansson, who plays the femme fatale Black Widow in the sequel, Robert says, "We've been rehearsing and she's in insane shape. She's getting lean and mean."

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Iron Man 2 - Rourke in, Blunt out, Johansson in.

Past news suggested Mickey Rourke could not be in Iron Man 2 due to being offered a low amount of pay. Now Nikki Finke has the news that Marvel Studios have upped their offer substantially and Rourke will now be in as a Russian villain opposite Robert Downey Jr. Thanks to Pam for sending me the news.

Variety say that he will be playing the villain Whiplash. They say that the version in Iron Man 2 "includes elements from that comicbook villain and Crimson Dynamo, another Russian baddie." Basically he'll be wearing a big suit of armour with big whip tentacle things on his arms.

Nikki Finke also confirmed that Scarlett Johansson will be indeed stepping in to replace the originally announced Emily Blunt in Iron Man 2. Blunt was initially chosen to play Black Widow, but then Fox required her to star in Gulliver's Travels instead, due to a contract she had signed with them during The Devil Wears Prada. Finke says that, "Scarlett actually screen-tested for the role and didn't get it," but is the replacement that Favreau and Marvel chose, primarily because her agent signed her on for a very low pay out.

I do think it is a damn shame that Blunt won't be playing the Black Widow as I feel she is a better actress and has the right athletic build for the character. I could see Johansson playing someone like the Scarlet Witch (no pun intended) but I just don't see her as the Black Widow. Don't get me wrong. Johansson was great in Ghost World and Lost in Translation, I just don't think she has kept the acting chops going in recent films.

I also hope Rourke brings his A-game to the villainous Whiplash. I don't want to see a retread of his bad guy character, Darrius Sayle in the not very good Stormbreaker.

How do you feel about the two pieces of casting news for Iron Man 2? Is it shaping up to be as good as the first?

Leave a comment on this post below.

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Iron Man 2 - Black Widow. Who's best Dushku or Johanssen?

There's finally a bit of an update regarding Iron Man 2, in particular the role of Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow (Russian secret agent super spy). EW have the news.

Because Emily Blunt's commitment to Twentieth Century Fox and the studio's upcoming Gulliver's Travels movie may prohibit her from costarring in Iron Man 2, Marvel is in discussions with other actresses, most significantly Scarlett Johansson, to take her place, EW has learned exclusively. Marvel will not confirm, but sources around Hollywood say Johansson has indeed met with the filmmakers and is interested in taking the role of Russian superspy Natasha Romanoff, who doubles as Black Widow. Blunt's reps are still trying to make both projects work, but Gulliver's is further along, with a start date of April 15. Iron Man 2 still doesn't have a shooting script and a start date has not yet been determined.

Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse, Buffy) had also appeared on the Howard Stern show recently and mentioned how much she would like the part.

“They’re doing Iron Man 2, and I’m so perfect for the Black Widow character, that they just need to get into it. They need to understand… I just learned Russian because I had to play a Russian girl in Dollhouse.”

Out of all of the people mentioned I do hope Blunt gets the scheduling sorted as I feel she would be best suited. Johanssen is just totally wrong for the part in my opinion and sounds like Marvel are jus going for a big name without thinking of the character involved. If Blunt can't do it I'd much rather see Dushku play Natasha as she has got the physical skills for the part.

If Blunt can't do it who do you want to see play Natasha? Dushku, Johanssen or someone else?

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The Spirit, 2008 - Movie Review

Director: Frank Miller
Starring: Gabriel Macht, Samuel L Jackson, Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johannson, Sarah Paulson
Running Time: 103 minutes
Score: 1 /10

This review is by Skon and may contain spoilers.

The Spirit is a film with few virtues. There's a fingerful but that's it.

Gabriel Macht delivers a certain charisma in the titular role as Will Eisner's classic middle-class superhero. This is his first time carrying a movie and had the focus been shifted more on him, his antics and his conflicts it would have been a better film. We witness some lovely moments when The Spirit talks about the love he has for his city, echoing something at the very heart of the superhero mythos. One scene has him even using the city as a shield, a weapon and a guide in his role as its guardian. These are poignant moments that evoke that somewhere underneath all the terribleness there might have been a spark of a good film here.

That's where all the virtues end.

People will probably gravitate to the cinematography of Bill Pope which does its best to marry Frank Miller's Sin City with the pulp comics of The Spirit's origins. But as pretty as the cinematography does look here and there, most of it is too busy, too dark and too careless. As a film that tries to show the protagonist's relationship with his city the cinematography should have created a sense of being in a vast metropolis. Instead the visuals feel completely green-screened and the effect is that the film ends up looking like it was shot on a stage instead of in a wide open city. There is also something that feels unfinished about the green-screening process as though some more work needed to be done and as such the film has the look of the cut scenes out of late 90's full motion video games with the characters standing out from rendered CGI effects like sore thumbs.

This is Frank Miller's first time out as a solo director. He is credited with co-directing Sin City and after seeing this film one realizes that Miller had very little to do with the physical directing on that film. It's sad to see one of the greatest comic book creators of all time helpless in trying to do justice to Will Eisner's creations. Miller even casts himself as a police officer whose head gets ripped off and used as a blunt weapon in the film's opening. One wonders if that was CGI or if the lack of any thinking going into this film can be blamed on Miller's headlessness. Either way it's an apt metaphor for a project that steams forward without any direction.

The film is a mess of tones and genres. Scenes tend to go on forever without anywhere to go in the first place. There's an overuse of flashbacks. And most of the dialogue is delivered in soliloquy (including a scene where The Spirit talks to a cat for 5 minutes). There are no subtleties in delivery, pacing or acting. Everything is blunt, harsh and cold. The audience knows everything in the first 15 minutes and it takes the rest of the characters an hour to catch up. It's frustrating, busy and excruciating to watch. Even attempts at humor fall flat. A running joke with 24's Louis Lombardi is amateur in its rendition.

The acting is where Miller's lack of film-making chops shows most prominently. Sam Jackson plays the Octopus, a villain whose face was never shown in Eisner's comics and rightfully so. Jackson is fresh off of a plane full of snakes and still acting like it. He plays the same tough character he always plays - shooting off big guns while shooting off his even bigger mouth. It's beginning to get boring and he needs to seek out more parts that explore his range. In order to make up for having no character depth or any credibility as a villain, Jackson and his henchwoman, played by the vastly overrated Scarlett Johansson, go through more costume changes than a Vegas strip show. Jackson goes from dressing like a pimp to a mutton-chopped samurai and even (I can't make this up) a monocled goose-stepping heil-hitlering Nazi in an offensive scene that seems like a bad pun on the classic Patton.

Further to the acting, there is a bevy of female characters that clutter this film in an attempt to create some element of pulp sex drama. Johansson's Silken Floss is just money thrown down the drain as she brings nothing to the movie. I've never understood her appeal and this film is perhaps best proof of her need to hire an acting coach. The Morgenstern character is a time-waster and eats up screen time lecturing the audience on the Electra principle (Miller you created a character named Elektra, you have a fascination with it, we get it, but it has no place in this film). To believe her character we'd have to believe that a rookie cop would be the only one to notice a gigantic clue two days after a crime scene has been cleared. Sarah Paulson and Eva Mendes, both in terribly written roles, try the hardest and as an audience member I appreciated that.

The free screening I attended last night had a number of rows oddly empty from the get go. And within 10 minutes about twenty people had already gotten up and left. The rest of us stayed because it was cold outside and perhaps hoping that things would only get better. They didn't. After the film we had a unique experience where audience members cultivated together, like strangers at a traffic accident, to criticize the film. People were upset over a film that failed in every possible way a film can fail and yet the advertising campaign paints it as a brilliant, exciting holiday adventure. I assure you it's not.

Lionsgate this is a train wreck. If this is your idea of giving your audience a holiday present honestly shame on you.

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The Spirit - Poster from Taiwan

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The Spirit - New Christmas TV Spot for Frank Miller's feature.

Here is a new TV spot for Lionsgate's adaptation of Will Eisner's comic book series, The Spirit, which is set to open on Christmas Day. Check out the new TV Spot below all ready for Christmas.

Whatd do you think now? Will you be going to see it? I'm still undecided.
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Another poster for The Spirit - This one has lots of posters on it

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