Hulk (2003) - Lee's fantastic comics adaptation drama

♥♥♥♥

 

+ Best San Francisco Movie of the Year + Best Superhero Movie of the Year + Most Expensive Flop of the Year: 38.92 mil. $ range

 

The green giant dominates this poster for Ang Lee's Hulk

Bruce Banner is a scientist who in a failed experiment is exposed to gamma radiation, which triggers a latent mutant gene in his body, put there by his crazed scientist father, so that the result is mad green giant persona the Hulk!

 

Hulk is written by John Turman (Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)), Michael France (The Punisher (2004)) and James Schamus (Pushing Hands/Tui shou (1991)), based on the Hulk comics (1962-) created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and directed by Taiwanese master filmmaker Ang Lee (Pushing Hands).

Lee makes an ambitious leap with Hulk, one of the most memorable of the modern superhero movies. Banner/Hulk is no conventional hero; rather a tragic hero if a hero at all. Lee thematizes the rage through several characters, - at least four, - and has success with a comics-inspired editing scheme, using split screen, among other things, as well as an impressive fusion of CGI and practical special effects.

The good performances from Eric Bana (Eric (1997, TV-series)) and Nick Nolte (Teachers (1984)) culminate in a father-son fight in the end, which underscores the film's drama, which is of Shakespearean heights. Hulk is ravishing entertainment.

 

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2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]  
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 
Top 10: The best big hit movies reviewed by Film Excess to date   

2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 
Life of Pi (2012) - Lee's triumphant, stunning faith-builder 

Top 10: Best erotic movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 

The 2000s in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Lust, Caution/色，戒/Sè, Jiè/Sik1Gaai3 (2007) - Lee's erotic spy thriller is an exquisite, complex masterpiece 

2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 
Brokeback Mountain (2005) or, That Place That Weren't Possible  

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

 

Watch a short trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 137 mil. $

Box office: 245.2 mil. $ 

=  Big flop (returned 1.78 times its cost)

[Hulk premiered 17 June (USA) and runs 138 minutes. Development of the film began in 1990. In 1998 Universal Pictures put the film in hiatus with reportedly 20 mil. $ already spent on numerous scripts as well as computer animation and prosthetics work. Jennifer Connelly (Little Children (2006)) was paid 1.5 mil. $ for her performance. Shooting took place from March - August 2002 in Utah, Arizona, California, including in San Francisco, and in Hawaii. 2.1 mil. $ were spent on a 30 second TV ad during the Super Bowl. The film opened #1 to a 62.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weekends in the top 5 (#2-#5) and grossed 132.1 mil. $ (53.9 % of the total gross.) The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 13.9 mil. $ (5.7 %) and Mexico with 11.6 mil. $ (4.7 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. It earned an additional 61.2 mil. $ in DVD sales in 2003 in North America. Sequel plans were snuffed out due to the film's disappointing performance; a reboot was instead made with The Incredible Hulk (2008). Lee returned with The Hire (2003, segment) and theatrically with Brokeback Mountain (2005). Bana returned in Troy (2004). Hulk is fresh at 62 % with a 6.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hulk?

GoldenEye (1995) - Brosnan arrives in Campbell's dumb Bond mess

♥♥

 

Flanked by two sensual women and his steadfast Walter PPK gun, Pierce Brosnan's Bond hovers over a menagerie of action-promising elements on this fiery poster for Martin Campbell's GoldenEye

 

A space-based weapons system gets stolen by a Russian crime syndicate headed by a former colleague of MI6 agent 007, James Bond.

GoldenEye is written by Michael France (Hulk (2003)), Jeffrey Caine (Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)) and Bruce Feirstein (The Best Legs in Eight Grade, TV movie (1984)) and directed by Martin Campbell (The Sex Thief (1973)). It is the 17th film in the Bond franchise and probably the stupidest of the lot.

There is no visible chemistry between Pierce Brosnan (Robinson Crusoe (1997)) as the new, 5th actor to play Bond, and Sean Bean (Sharpe (1993-08)) as villain, agent 006, Alec Trevelyan. Both Famke Janssen (Hide and Seek (2005)) and Minnie Driver (Big Night (1996)) impress me as unsexy Bond 'babes.' Alan Cumming (Nicholas Nickleby (2002)) appears as a bizarre hacker, who freezes to death.

The dialog seems to be wholly missing in long stretches of this debacle, and the plot is without mitigating qualities; among other things Bond trashes through an Eastern-European major city in a tank. Elegance is dead in this charmless stinker. Desmond Llewelyn (Thunderball (1965)) is one of few elements from previous Bond movies to reappear, and his scenes are among the film's few light moments.

 

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Dr. No (1962) - Bond # 1 is one attractive package

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 60 mil. $

Box office: 352.1 mil. $

= Huge hit (returned 5.86 times its cost)

[GoldenEye premiered 13 November (New York) and runs 130 minutes. 6 years passed since the release of License to Kill (1989), before the 17th Bond film was released, primarily due to legal battles following the sale of MGM/UA to Pathé Entertainment in 1990. Prior Bond actor Timothy Dalton's 3-movie contract elapsed due to the long unproductive period, and though he was invited back to the role, he passed, as producer Albert R. Broccoli wanted him to only return for several more films and not just one last. Pierce Brosnan was cast over Paul McGann, after Mel Gibson, Hugh Grant and Liam Neeson had passed on the role. Brosnan was paid 1.2 mil. $ for his performance. The script was the first not directly linked to an Ian Fleming novel. Shooting took place in Skt. Petersburg, Russia, Monaco, Switzerland, Puerto Rico, France, England, including London, from January - June 1995. The film opened #1 to a 26.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 3 weeks in the top 5 (#2-#2-#3) and grossed 106.4 mil. $ (30.2 % of the total gross). The film was the 4th highest-grossing in the market over-all of the year and the most successful Bond movie since Moonraker (1979). It was nominated for 2 BAFTAs. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, translating to 2 notches higher than this one. Brosnan returned as Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). Campbell returned with The Mask of Zorro (1998). Brosnan returned first in The Disappearance of Kevin Johnson (1996). GoldenEye is certified fresh at 79 % with a 7.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of GoldenEye?