New ‘Iron Man 3’ Posters Arrive, Mandarin Looking Strangely Chill… (UPDATED)

Over at Uproxx we saw the arrival of some new Iron Man 3 posters (via Empire Magazine). Marvel has recently put a lot of different ones out there leading up to the films release on May 3rd.

The poster that most people will get excited about is a full shot of Ben Kingsley as the most famous Iron Man villain, The Mandarin.

This poster is simply incredible. I love the elements of the Mandarin’s back drop, with the elephant statues and his robe. It pays homage to the comic design, but also modifying it and making it more up to date and taking out a lot of the racial overtones the original character had in the comic books. But with this is also the inclusion of camouflage trousers, showing the more militant side of his character, grounding him more in reality. The next poster is Gwyneth Paltrow as Peppers Potts cradling a destroyed Iron Man helmet.

The molten ash flying across this poster helps add to the atmosphere of this darker instalment, but also is a continuing factor throughout the other posters. Not an amazing poster by any means, but it does show that Pepper is going to have a very emotional journey throughout the new movie. Guy Pierce is next as Doctor Aldrich Killian.

For people unaware of Doctor Killian, in the comic he is one of two scientists who create The Extremis, a techno organic virus that rewrites genetic code. Though the poster is quite uneventful, Killian will no doubt have a big role to play in the new movie. Finally we have Don Cheadle in his new armor, doing the standard Hollywood action pose.

Overall the posters are pretty amazing. The only downside could be that the Mandarin poster is so good that it steals some of the other posters’ thunder. They also shared even more of Empire Magazine’s posters, with a few photos thrown in for good measure. The photos are slightly uneventful with Tony Stark looking a bit worse for wear and Pepper Potts and Doctor Killian having a moment. One interesting bit that is worth noting about one of the stills is that Tony is seen wearing an AIM T-Shirt. AIM stands for Advanced Idea Mechanics and is a group of super intelligent scientists who use their knowledge to gain power. They also created MODOK, an artificial mutated human killing machine. It will be interesting to see if any more information about this comes to light before the film’s release. The most promising piece out of all of this is the new poster (actually Empire magazines cover) which has Tony Stark in his wrecked Iron Man suit (again with ash flying everywhere). It is a great view of his new Iron Man armor. No doubt there will be more information coming out very soon so keep checking with Grizzly Bomb to find out more.

‘Iron Man 3’ Gets a Teaser…for the Trailer

On Tuesday, October 23rd, we will get a teaser trailer for the Iron Man 3. But because marketing are bunch a teases, like that hot catholic chick you knew in high school, we only get a peek of the goods until the big shot says so apparently. Here’s the teaser of the teaser trailer:

Soooo yeah. Pepper Potts apparently is in danger riding a roller coaster judging from the harness she’s in, Iron Man is saving falling people, paparazzi are bitches, and the back of the Mandarin’s head is…there. We’ll probably just have more questions when we see the actual trailer but for now, time to get your nerd boner up.

Thoughts? I know the director Shane Black thing is getting Dr. Kronner excited and after Iron Man 2, which sucked ass, this could be a new breath of fresh air. It looks good but that’s what a trailer does. I guess we’ll see on Tuesday so we can speculate more and hopefully, geek out a bit more. Hopefully I’ll have more educated guesses on what’s going on other than Gwyneth Paltrow riding the Millenium Force or something.

Grizzly Dailies – Neighborhood Watch, Looper, and Bullet to the Head

Welcome to Grizzly Dailies! A new feature where we will cover a bunch of movie news in the manner we love. Jam packing a ton of links and info in one post so you don’t have to waste your valuable time (and ours) by combing through a ton of articles!

And if you are unaware of the term ‘Dailies‘ don’t expect this feature every day. It’s a film term and not a promise. Just wanted to get that out there.

Showtime’s ‘House of Lies’ – Pilot Review

Recently, Showtime decided to give all of us a little nugget and release the entire pilot of their new show, House of Lies, on YouTube. I have been so entirely excited for this show to release.  I’ve heard such amazing things about Homeland (I’m new to Showtime and haven’t watched it, don’t judge).  Couple that with the cast, and you’re sure to have a winner. Don Cheadle is so versatile and amazing. Kristen Bell is a goddess. Jean-Ralphio is HILARIOUS, he has to be just ripping joke after joke.

These things, I thought, were obvious statements.  It turns out obvious statements – straight to camera, no less – are exactly what I got.

I will preface the review I’m about to give with a statement.  And that statement is this: this pilot was not terrible.  Not a ringing endorsement I realize, but it’s important to remember that a lot of good shows have sprung from awkward pilots (such as America’s version of The Office).  Sometimes shows can really hit their stride after a few episodes in, so it’s important not to throw a show completely out the window based on one episode.

However…

There isn’t a lot I feel like House of Lies has going for it.  The characters seem overdone and cliche to the extreme.  Marty is the asshole.  Jeanie is the no-nonsense independent woman.  Both are secretly lonely and it manifests itself in completely different ways.  She swears they’ll never sleep together, which means they probably will.  Marty refuses to be Dr. Phil’d by his retired shrink father when he has hate-sex with his psycho ex-wife, who happens to have his position in a competing consulting firm.  He has a gender-confused son who tries to Kurt Hummell his way into a musical. Jeanie, of course, can take care of herself, and has frozen her own eggs to prove it.  She is confident, self-sufficient, and married to her job.

The pilot leads us down the rosy path of redemption.  Each characters flaws are displayed in detail, with a hint that we will get to their cores, learn more about them, grow to understand and care about them.  The thing is, I don’t care.  I’ve seen these people before, I wanted to see some new ones. So you’ve got a tired plot in one hand, half-ass character development in the other; and then you throw in the commentary.  Of course, the common watcher may not know a thing about consulting jargon, so it would make sense to want to explain it.  However, I really don’t think everyone watching ER is a doctor, or needs to have someone look into the screen and explain what an aortic dissection is.

I have no problem with Marty talking to the camera.  In fact, the one part of the pilot I did really like was the presentation to the bank toward the end.  Marty looks at the camera and says, “you’ve got the company that has the US by the balls… by the balls.”  That’s the kind of commentary and humor that this show needs and that this pilot lacked.  I felt like every time he looked the camera and explained a term like data dump, I was watching a cheesy training video about consulting on my first day at the firm.  I don’t think a show needs to be dumbed down to that point.  They should be relying on clever writing telling a story and this just felt lazy.  Shows walk the line between correct and believable while still appealing to mass audiences.

I will give House of Lies an honest chance, a real one.  The potential is just too great for me to ignore.  And like I said, the pilot wasn’t terrible.  It was just underwhelming.  I was disappointed in the lack of depth and intelligence in it.

I give this episode 2.5/5 bears, so your rating glass can be half empty or half full.  You pick.

Showtime’s ‘House of Lies’ Premiere Date, and an Interview with Kristen Bell

Not too long ago, we told you all about House of Lies, a new show coming soon to Showtime.  The network liked the new show enough to order 12 episodes of the show, which we now know will premiere on Sunday, January 8th, 2012 at 10 pm.

House of Lies will star Don Cheadle as Marty, who every piece of news is describing as a “cutthroat/self-loathing consultant of a top-tier firm.”  And also, apparently he’s a real envelope-pusher who threw out his moral compass before he came to work.  The show will also star Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Dawn Olivieri (Heroes), Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation) and Glynn Turman (the creepy old black guy from Super 8).

 I am super excited!  I think this show is going to be majorly awesome.  I’ve already fan-girled about the cast; but if the writing is good, it could be a sparkly jewel in the 2012 TV programming crown.

In an interview with the website Zap2it, Kristen Bell talks about her character and about the series:

Zap2it: Are the characters political consultants?

Kristen Bell: Really anything. It’s basically a group of cutthroat management consultants that will do whatever is necessary to get the job and the after-work. It’s murky as to what they actually really do, which I think is the actual description of consultants. If someone has a problem, we come and fix it — you’re downsizing, you need to stop fighting, whatever needs to be done. And their moral compasses are a little bit wonky. … But there’s a dynamic between the four of us — Don Cheadle, me, Josh Lawson and Ben Schwartz — that’s very fun. We travel together all the time, we spend 100 hours a week together.

So it’s kind of our life as traveling salesmen.

Would you call it a comedy, a dark comedy, what?

KB: It’s a dark comedy — a dark dramedy, I’d say actually. Tonally, it’s very Showtime.

What about the role appealed to you?

KB: I’d been searching for the right TV project. I knew I didn’t want anything built around me, for the reason of it’s difficult to be No. 1 on the call sheet. It’s a very different workload than No. 2. But also I wanted to find a writer or creator who had a story to tell, who wasn’t just like, “OK, what can we do with her?” I didn’t want it to be sold on me; I wanted to be part of a good project. And I trust Matthew Carnahan [“Dirt”], our creator, implicitly. I think he’s very funny, he’s very dark, he’s very provocative. I think Showtime also has a lot more they can do with storylines — what they show, the subject matter they broach. And working with Don Cheadle is not a bad thing. He’s pretty exceptional, both as a human being and as an actor, and I just feel like I’m learning a lot from him. I’m trying to absorb how he works.

Other than not being in every scene, what’s different about being part of an ensemble vs. being the star of a series?

KB: Then you’re No. 1 on the call sheet, when you completely represent a show, there’s so much more that’s required of you. You’re in every frame of the show, but there’s also the publicity aspect that’s a reality for us. There’s just a lot more on your shoulders, a lot more pressure. There’s a lot more pressure when you’re the main component of a show, and I didn’t want that pressure. I wanted to have fun, and this has actually been really fun.

Can you talk more about your character?

KB: I don’t know if I can. A lot is revealed in the first three episodes. She’s very compartmentalized. She has a lot of issues.

I’d imagine that in a show called “House of Lies” the people probably aren’t squeaky-clean.

KB: Yeah — she’s very flawed. All the characters are kind of flawed. So the dynamics are a little bit deeper — no one is exactly what you think they are. That’s partly because their line of work bleeds over into their personal lives. They’re chameleons. They transform into whatever the client needs them to be and do whatever they need to get the job. If you need us to be firm, we’re firm. You need us to be soft, we’re soft. You need us to rub your back, we’ll rub your back. The ability to transform to get what you want is what bleeds into my character’s personal life.

It almost sounds like you’re getting to play several different characters.

KB: There are many facets to my character’s personality, and every time they come up with a new one they’re like, “Oh yeah, and she’s this, and she believes this. Which could be directly contradictory to something we’ve already established, but that’s what they’re asking me to do, and it’s really exciting as an actor.

I look forward to DVRing this in January!

Showtime’s ‘House of Lies’ – Coming Soon to a Boob Tube Near You!

Summer is still in full swing, but one thing is captivating the minds of TV execs – Fall TV programming!  With so many shows crashing and burning in the last year (The Event, Camelot, Detroit 1-8-7) and so many veteran programs having seen their last (Friday Night Lights, Smallville, Rescue Me), there are some large spots to fill.  Showtime promises to provide some interesting heavy hitters under the regime of new president, David Nevins; including an order for 12 episodes of House of Lies, written and executive-produced by Matthew Carnahan (Dirt).

House of Lies is loosely based on the novel House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell You the Time by Martin Kihn, a satirical commentary that attempts to break down the fluffy misconceptions of the consulting business.  His stance is that consulting is mostly a joke that became profitable; and that anyone will listen to an Ivy Leaguer with an MBA who wears a nice suit and uses fancy-pants words like “paradigm” and “granular.”  Even if this finely pressed suit is spooning you information that you already know and taking credit for a success that isn’t theirs.

House of Lies (the TV show) will be a dark comedy that follows the career of consultant, Marty (Don Cheadle), who is described as “cutthroat,” without a moral compass to guide him as he does anything and everything necessary to succeed.  The show will also star Kristen Bell (that native Detroiter that we love!) as Jeannie, a razor-sharp Ivy League grad, who is alleged to act as a voice of reason.

The show will also star Ben Schwartz (Jean-Ralphio from Parks and Recreation) who is  about twelve shades of hilarious, and Josh Lawson, who has been in only B-movies and crappy TV shows.

I think this show has the power to premiere to strong numbers.  Not only does it have an all-star cast lineup, but it sounds pretty darn interesting and hilarious.  Having worked for a consultancy firm, I’m curious to see how much steam they take from Martin Kihn’s book.  I’ve heard he really tears the whole institution apart in it.  Which is funny in my book, because consultants are all self-righteous stuffed peacocks who think that the ground they walk on turns to gold and that they shit sunshine and rainbows.  If the show makes fun of consulting as much as I hope they do, I will be a fan for life.

[Editor’s Note: I’ve included an interview with Bell that has almost nothing to do with the show. How can you not like her?!?!]

House of Lies has started production and will begin filming soon.  Look for it to hit Showtime in the Fall 2011 or Spring 2012 lineups!

Hero Express – Captain America Trailer, Cowboys & Aliens Featurette, and Cheadle talks War Machine

Welcome to Hero Express, your one-stop shop through the news filled world of superhero’s in Film, TV, Video Games and whatever else floats your boat.

This is the Hero Express for June 24, 2011: