We’re starting off a new feature here on Guy Movie Review called Monday Movie Battle, where we put together odd match-ups between movies and their characters and let them battle it out to see who reigns supreme. In the first GMR movie battle ever, we put together a ninja bout (who doesn’t love ninjas?) between my favorite childhood ninjas the Turtles and my favorite new ninja Raizo from Ninja Assassin!

Ninja Assassin Origins

Raizo from Ninja Assassin is one of the most talented ninjas from his clan. They are a group of mercenary assassins taken as children and trained in the deadly art of the ninja. Upon successful completion of a mission, Raizo refuses to take the life of an innocent to prove his loyalty and is attacked by his own clan. He resurfaces years later to avenge himself and the girl he loved.

Ninja Turtle Origins

The Ninja Turtles, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael are four turtles who grow in size and intelligence due to a radioactive ooze canister that was dumped in the sewer. A rat known as Splinter, also affected by the green ooze, grows as well and takes care of them as his own children. Being the pet of a ninja while in Japan, Splinter knows and teaches his turtles the ancient art form. They grow up to fight crime in New York while eating their favorite food: pizza.

How They Would Meet…

Raizo tracks the location of a group of ninja assassins to New York City, where they plan to off an especially troublesome reporter named April O’ Neil. The assassins are quickly dispatched of by the turtles, especially because they didn’t think she would offer much resistance versus say, a yakuza lord or political official. Watching from afar, Raizo attacks the strange-looking ninjas believing them to be enemies as well. Although at first outmatched by his long chain weapon and mysterious speed, the Turtles are able to fend him off long enough to figure out his fighting style. Using a four against one approach, Raizo is eventually outmatched by his inhuman foes.

Being as they are the good guys, the Turtles eventually let him go after he explains his story to Splinter. They split a box of pizza and depart as friends. Maybe he and April exchange numbers.

Stat Battle

Height
Raizo: 6′
Turtles: Under 5′
Winner: Raizo by way of being taller than teen girls

Speed
Raizo: Superhuman
Turtles: Superhuman
Winner: Even

English
Raizo: Broken
Turtles: Regular
Winner: Turtles

Weapons
Raizo: Sword, chain
Turtles: Sais, katanas, nunchucks, bow
Winner: Turtles

Hair
Raizo: Flowing, raven locks
Turtles: None
Winner: Raizo

Dancing Ability

Raizo: Rain is an international popstar

Turtles: The Turtles danced to Vanilla Ice…
Winner: Even

We hope you enjoyed this first edition of our Monday Movie Battle!

So I’ve been a little too busy with work to post, but I was informed of some rather interesting developments surrounding the new Avatar: The Last Airbender movie. As it turns out, many people are banning together to boycott the movie and its production team for casting white actor Noah Ringer to play Aang. Sporting the slogan “Aang is Asian and can still save the world,” a group of race activists created a group on Facebook called “People Against Racebending” that’s really starting to pick up steam.

>>>You can check out the group here: People Against Racebending

The Associated Press picked up the story and noted that many critics have panned the movie for ignoring diversity and richness of culture present in the beloved children’s cartoon series, which the movie is based on.

“To take this incredibly loved children’s series, and really distort not only the ethnicity of the individual characters but the message of acceptance and cultural diversity that the original series advocated, is a huge blow,” said Michael Le of Racebending.com

The MSNBC article also went on to compare the ordeal to the casting of Jake Gyllenhaal in the upcoming Prince of Persia movie. Hello people! I wrote about that issue back in November of last year! I need more press coverage!

>>>Read more about my initial reaction to the casting of Jake Gyllenhaal.

Noah Ringer a Scapegoat

I would love to see some diversity in film, but until the numbers back it up I don’t think the studios will ever change. Nothing sends a bigger message than voting for your dollars. I do feel bad for Noah Ringer being a scapegoat for the cause, but Hollywood indeed made the wrong move by “whitewashing” a children’s movie. I think it does send the wrong message. What would a parent say to their child if asked why Aang isn’t Asian? I’m not sure there’s an easy answer to this. People have to realize there are challenges in casting an Asian actor as well however. When I asked my Asian friends what they thought of the whole ordeal, many of them stated that “there really aren’t any Asian actors, especially kids, to choose from. Asian parents push kids towards being doctors or lawyers, not actors.”

Is Aang Asian?

I don’t share the same sentiment, but I’m really interested in hearing your reactions to the whole controversy. Some people are emailing me and saying that this is also why the Dragon Ball movie failed, to which I answered that the movie was doomed whether Goku was Asian or not. So I’m not really sure what to think at this point. Was it ever confirmed that Goku or Aang are Asian? It doesn’t matter to Hollywood but it obviously bothers many of you.

How do you feel about the casting of a white actor to play the Last Airbender?

The Last Airbender Trailer

Check out the trailer for The Last Airbender

Although the summer of 2010 hasn’t even come to a close yet, it’s never too early to look at what’s in store for us in 2012. Since it’s the last year EVER, it’s great that we have some great movies to look forward to. Don’t believe me? Read on…

Summer 2012 Guy Movie List

Here are some great guy movies you can all look forward to seeing in theaters.

Batman 3 – July 20, 2012: The sequel to the wildly successful film the Dark Knight is set to kick some ass at the box office. It’ll probably beat Avatar’s record. Okay, maybe I’m just getting too excited to see what Nolan can come up with.

Spider-Man – July 3, 2012: Not sure what Sony/Columbia is planning with the movie, but all things are pointing to a reboot. The script has been plagued with rewrites and there’s no clear direction in sight. Either way, I’ll look forward to seeing what the studios can do to get this franchise headed in the right direction. If I hear another “Batman Begins” treatment, I think I’ll hurl. That worked for Nolan – let’s move on.

The Avengers – May 4, 2012: Everything Marvel has been building up to in their Iron Man movies will lead to this moment. With Captain America: The First Avenger expected to hit theaters some time next year, it will really drive some great momentum for fans leading up to the collaborative Avengers movie where we’ll get to see the entire cast. I hope Downey Jr. and Norton are okay with Chris Evans calling the shots…

Star Trek Sequel – June 29, 2012: JJ Abrams reboot did wonders for the Star Trek films, so it’s no surprise that a sequel is on the horizon.

A lot of movies and a lot of Scifi planned for the movies. It’s a trend that’s not going away anytime soon.

Which of these films are you looking forward to most before a giant meteor hits the earth in 2012?

Chris Hemsworth as Thor

[source: MTV news]

I think he looks awesome as Thor. What are your initial reactions?

Everyone’s excited to see Iron Man 2. Some people have emailed me saying they’re not sure about the design of the Whiplash character or are asking if the producers took any liberties with the character. I’ve decided to clear things up with this post on everything you need to know about Whiplash before seeing the movie. Whiplash will be played by an excellent actor in Mickey Rourke, and I have no doubt that he will deliver a memorable performance as Iron Man’s main enemy in the sequel to Iron Man.

Whiplash Origin

Real Name: Mark Scarlotti Identity: Whiplash History: According to Marvel -

“Mark Scarlotti was a brilliant young man with a bright future. Graduating with top honors from college and a promising job at Stark International, Scarlotti could have had it all. It all went south, however, when he became friends with the wrong people. Filled with dreams of grandeur, he made some bad deals with hopes of a big payoff. Eventually, Mark worked developing weapons, first for the Maggia, then for himself. He took a more active role in their activities and became the costumed criminal known as Whiplash. His first real test put him up against the invincible Iron Man, but Whiplash could not complete the task of eliminating him. Suffering defeat after defeat at the hands of his armored foe, Scarlotti upgraded his weaponry and took a new alias. He remerged on the crime scene with a new attitude and called himself Blacklash.”

Whiplash Costume Evolution

Iron Man Animated Series Whiplash Costume

Iron Man Comics Backlash Costume

Iron Man Comics Leather Backlash Costume

Wicked Whiplash Art

Whiplash Iron Man 2 Concept Art

Mickey Rourke as Whiplash in Iron Man 2

I can’t wait to see what kind of life Rourke injects into this tortured character, because let’s be honest, he was a bit of a second rate villain in the comic book and animated series. I thought all told they did a pretty good job of bringing the character to life.

Will I be seeing you in theaters on opening night?

You start to see this with movies where producers are wanting to take a more “realistic” treatment of the property: aka, they want it to be less like a comic book. While some of the great films like Spider-Man and maybe even Thor can never escape their comic book ties (or rather, they don’t want or need to), the rest of the herd will look to distinguish itself by not falling under that superhero mold.

In any case, these movies are the ones we’re all anticipating most. Here are some updates on the biggest comic book movie projects right now.

Comic Book Movie Update

Superman
In a fresh jolt of amazing news, Christopher Nolan of Batman fame (the man largely credited with reinventing the superhero movie) will be in charge of putting together the pieces of the next Superman reboot! No word yet on whether Brandon Routh will return. Nolan will most likely not direct, but has signed on to direct the third Batman film.

Ant-Man
Director Edgar Wright is in talks to bring Ant-Man to the big screens after years of stalled production. The beloved Avenger will be getting his own movie according to Stan Lee.

Green Lantern
Tim Robbins has joined the cast of the Green Lantern along with star Ryan Reynolds, Peter Sarsgaard and Blake Lively. The project is expected to begin filming in March.

Captain America
Director Joe Johnston, who released The Wolfman in theaters recently, has given up some fresh tidbits on the Captain America property he is helming. Among the noteworthy details he gave, Johnston will be shooting The First Avenger in HD (possibly with 3D post-processing) in the U.K. He will be done casting in March preferring an unknown actor, and will have the iconic hero wearing two different costumes.

Plastic Man
Everyone’s favorite teen-wolf Taylor Lautner has been cast as toy maker Mattel’s Plastic Man. The young actor of Twilight fame has been capitalizing on the success of New Moon as of late, signing on for the Max Steel project as well. Studio executives are hoping the movie will have success much like that of another toy line re-imagined for the big screen: Transformers.

Daredevil
Regency Entertainment is preparing for a reboot of the popular Daredevil movie originally starring Ben Affleck. Peter Chernin formerly of News Corp is producing.

Well I’ve had enough comic book movie news for a while, how about you?

M. Night Shyamalan is at it again with his latest offering, The Last Airbender, based on a popular Nickolodean animated series that’s popular with children and many adults. I’ve always been a huge M. Night fan, though critics and most of you didn’t take too kindly to The Village and Lady in the Water. Okay, so maybe I didn’t like Lady too much either. M. Night is much more of a director than a writer, and that’s becoming apparent now that the Last Airbender superbowl TV spot has found its way online. People are raving about it, and I can see why.

M. Night lends his vision to an animated world that is very much in need of a director with vision. It’s a great combination – I was already impressed by the first trailer.

Avatar: The Last Airbender Superbowl TV Commercial

Check out the superbowl TV spot.

Avatar: The Last Airbender Teaser Trailer

And for those of you who have never heard of it, check out the first trailer.

The action still looks a little silly to me, but the world M. Night is creating seems fantastic, almost similar to what Peter Jackson did with Lord of the Rings. I for one am hoping M. Night is able to bounce back from his recent decline to fulfill the potential everyone knows he has. He certainly has rich source material to draw from that will allow him to focus on what he does best: directing.

Are you impressed by what you see so far in the superbowl commercial and teaser trailer?