Fantastic Four rebooted - What in the name of Aunt Petunia is going on here?

Back at the start of March I posted the news that the Fantastic Four could be heading back rebooted with a new set of unstable molecular clad heroes.

The reboot was among the many projects promoted at the Licensing International Expo 2009 event held in New York earlier this month.

It sounds as if 20th Century Fox are going The Dark Knight route as they are reportedly planning an "all-new cast" and a "far darker take" on the Fantastic Four in their proposed reboot of the franchise.

Jim Hill Media, which attended the convention, said the reboot will "feature an all-new cast as well as a far darker take on this classic Marvel comic."

The original starred Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis as adventurers transformed by cosmic radiation, and Julian McMahon as Doctor Doom. Unfortunately, the didn't do Marvel's first family much justice, although the Silver Surfer looked cool.

Now the Fantastic Four have had their share of adventures that have run the gamut of emotions. They cover all styles from Pulp to high Science-Fiction by way of family soap opera so there is plenty to choose from to make an excellent comic book film. I don't think going the darker path is the best way to go, although it would be nice to see Sue Storm in the Malice costume! Instead they should forget the origin story in the the reboot, or have it in the opening credits, and then show the FF as the celebrities they are. Then send them through adventures through time, space and the Baxter building.

It's a pity Marvel Studios don't have the rights as it would be excellent to see Reed Richards brainstorming with Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark. Imagine if they went with the alternate Fantastic Four of the Hulk, Wolverine, Ghost Rider and Spider-Man?

What do you want to see in a new Fantastic Four film? What storyline, characters and villains? Who should be cast in the roles and who should direct?

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W. (2008) - Movie Review

Director: Oliver Stone
Starring: Josh Brolin, Richard Dreyfuss, James Cromwell, Toby Jones, Stacy Keach, Thandie Newton, Ioan Gruffudd
Running Time: 131 minutes

This review by John Hiscock of the Telegraph. Cheers to Andy D for forwarding it on.

Oliver Stone has said he wanted to understand, not to hurt, George W Bush and to give a fair and true portrait of the man. And with W, the filmmaker - who stirred a firestorm of controversy with JFK and Nixon - has presented a relatively even-handed and entertaining portrait of the current US president, although it is sure to raise White House hackles, nevertheless.

W covers Bush's life from the age of 21 up to his invasion of Iraq, portraying him as both an arrogant, egotistical bully and a confused, sad and almost tragic figure manipulated by his aides and helplessly unable to come up with an exit strategy for Iraq.

Stone made the film in a quickfire 48 days on a £15 million budget to have it ready for release in the US before the November 4 presidential election, but the production values are excellent and there are no obvious signs of it having been a rush job.

As the title character who is in almost every scene, Josh Brolin has done his homework well and offers a convincing interpretation of George W, effectively capturing his mannerisms and style of speech.

Thoroughly researched and based mainly on available documentation, W opens with a post-9/11 cabinet meeting in the Oval Office.

In a series of flashbacks, we then follow Bush's early days as a hard-drinking, rambunctious womaniser and ne'er-do-well, his conversion, at the age of 40, to born-again Christianity, his sobriety and his career in politics.

Stone and writer Stanley Weiser, who also collaborated on Wall Street, place a great deal of emphasis on the father-son relationship, taking the position that George H Bush (James Cromwell) favoured his younger son Jeb and considered George W the black sheep.

Consequently George W is shown as constantly striving to demonstrate he is stronger than his father, castigating him for not finishing the job and taking out Saddam Hussein during the 1991 Gulf War and for losing the 1992 election by running a poor campaign.

Among the mainly excellent supporting cast, Richard Dreyfuss is downright scary as Richard Cheney, Britain's Toby Jones is outstanding as Karl Rove and Stacy Keach has some good scenes as the preacher who aids W's conversion.

Thandie Newton, with little to do, bears a startling resemblance to Condoleezza Rice and Ioan Gruffudd makes a brief appearance as Tony Blair.

Inevitably, because the story of the George W Bush administration is still being written, the film's ending is ambiguous.

Poignantly, the smug and self-righteous president is seen struggling at a White House press conference to define what he thinks his legacy will be.

'W' will be released in the UK on Nov 7

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