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Home > Oracle News > Geeks pick the top movies of 2007 |
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The coming year promises great things for the types of high-tech and imaginative movies that technophiles tend to love, and geeks are lining up to give their predictions for the top movies of 2007. But, essentially, their excitement can be summed up in one word: Venom. One of the most beloved comic book villains of all time, Venom, a symbiotic alien organism that makes everyone's favorite wall-crawler do the unthinkable, is hitting the silver screen in Spider-Man 3 on May 4, 2007. Many geeks are already lining up for tickets, if only in their minds.
After what some felt was a disappointing year for geek movies in 2006, fans of the ultra-imaginative say they're also looking for relief in 2007 in the form of Ghost Rider, which features Nicolas Cage in his superhero debut, and the third installment of Pirates of the Caribbean. Meanwhile, fans of the popular Harry Potter series say they're ready for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Other films geeks can look forward to in 2007 include The Simpsons Movie, Transformers the Movie, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and 300, a film based on the work of popular graphic novelist Frank Miller, who also created The Punisher and Sin City. But even with all these highly anticipated new flicks on the horizon, conversations with geeks on the topic always seem to lead back to Spider-Man and Venom. Know your enemies To better understand this Venom phenomenon, TechTarget turned to a geek whose professional interests lie outside of the world of IT. "Venom made his first appearance in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, Volume One," said Steven Myers, owner and manager of World of Comics, a comic book store in South Daytona, Fla. "It's a story in which the heroes are transported to another planet, and they basically have to fight each other, and whatever team wins gets to go back to earth." While on the planet, Spider-Man's classic red and blue costume is damaged and he makes a black and white replacement using materials native to that world. Later on, Myers continued, the heroes manage to outwit the forces which pitted them against each other and they return to Earth. Back on Earth, Spider-Man realizes that the black and white costume is actually a symbiotic organism which takes over his mind and body at night, forcing him on jaunts through the city, and he is unable to remove it. Eventually, with the help of scientist Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, Spidey does remove the costume and encases it in a special tube. Some time after that the symbiotic bad guy escapes and joins forces with convicted killer Eddie Brock, and a new Spider-Man enemy, Venom, is born. Myers said he's unclear on whether Spider-Man 3 will remain true to the original story line. The comic book expert says he's looking forward to the film but remains skeptical, because Venom isn't the only antagonist featured. Spider-Man 3 also features Marvel Comics villains the Sandman and the Chameleon, and Myers fears that the film's tension will be spread a little too thin. It's a problem that plagued the Batman franchise, he said. "It sort of takes away from the movie," Myers said. "Venom is a great standalone villain himself, and it would be nice to see the movie devoted entirely to him." 2006: A 'disappointing' year for geek movies The shining light of 2006's collection of superhero movies was Superman Returns, according to some geeks. But others say the film -- the first major release of a Superman movie since 1987's Superman 4: The Quest for Peace -- failed to deliver the goods. "I think that 2006 was actually a really disappointing year for movies, especially comic book movies," said Joey Di Girolamo, a self-professed film geek and the webmaster for Florida's Miami-Dade County elections department.
Superman Returns features the Man of Steel returning to Earth from the ruins of his home planet Krypton after a five-year sabbatical. The man who made blue tights cool then finds himself faced with the pressures of new parenthood, courtesy of love interest Lois Lane, and a diabolical real estate plot, courtesy of arch nemesis Lex Luthor. To some geeks, Superman Returns didn't remain true enough to the original comic book series. And this may have been the recurring theme in 2006. "Superman Returns and X-Men: The Last Stand spit on decades of comic book legend by going off on their own tangents," Di Girolamo said. "The best comic book movie of the year would have to be, surprisingly, V for Vendetta. Then again, I have a thing for Natalie Portman, so take that for what it's worth." Another somewhat geeky film making a lot of money at the box office in 2006 proves that a drunken, obscenity-laced, anti-Semitic and sexist tirade in front of police doesn't necessarily make one a bad filmmaker. The controversy surrounding filmmaker Mel Gibson -- and the abundance of subtitles in his new film Apocolypto -- have the late-night talk show hosts crowing. "If I want to see a movie that's incomprehensible in language, I'll go see Rocky Balboa," quipped David Letterman, host of CBS's The Late Show with David Letterman. 2007 and beyond Looking to 2007, Di Girolamo said he's particularly enthused about Grind House, which includes two full-length feature horror movies written by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. The first segment, Planet Terror, is a zombie film written and directed by Rodriguez. The second part, Death Proof, is a slasher film written and directed by Tarantino. The double feature is set for release on April 6, 2007. Meanwhile, some geeks are already looking beyond 2007 to films like Indiana Jones 4 and Star Trek XI "Nothing outweighs Indiana Jones 4 in terms of movies I'm looking forward to, and I'm extremely happy the wheels are finally in motion," said Dave Pye, a search engine optimization consultant and blogger. "If Connery comes back, that will just be the icing on the cake." |
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