Blog Posts by Will Perkins

Photo: Marvel Studios

With the arrival of “Iron Man 3” on May 3, billionaire turned superhero Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is set to take on his greatest foe yet: the sinister terrorist mastermind known simply as the Mandarin (played by Sir Ben Kingsley).

But with the long-awaited arrival of Stark’s comic book arch-nemesis finally here, the Iron Man franchise faces a, well, stark reality going forward: With three movies under his belt, Tony may well have exhausted the last of his major comic book foes.

Sure, the character will always have evil aliens and demi-gods to face alongside his teammates in future “Avengers” movies, but in the Marvel Comics universe, Iron Man has always been pretty much a second-tier character. As such, the armoured hero’s gallery of rogues is a hodgepodge of third-string villains and superpowered nobodies.

"The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz"

It may have taken 39 years, but the classic Canadian film “The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz” is finally getting the recognition it deserves from a top tier film fest that originally snubbed it.

Starring Richard Dreyfuss (fresh from his breakout role in George Lucas’s “American Graffiti”) as the title character, 1974’s “Duddy Kravitz” was based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by famed Montreal author Mordecai Richler.

Chronicling the coming of age of an ambitious young Jewish guy from Montreal, the movie sported an impressive international cast (then almost unheard of for a Canadian film) that included Dreyfuss, Jack Warden (“12 Angry Men”), Joseph Wiseman (“Dr. No”), and Denholm Elliott (“Raiders of the Lost Ark”).

Michael Bay (Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Adding more confusion to an already confusing situation, director Michael Bay, tried to clear up a major point of contention for TMNT fans upset by... well, pretty much everything to come out of the producer's upcoming "Ninja Turtles" reboot.

In an April 26 interview with Moviefone, Bay wanted to set the record straight about the new “Ninja Turtles” film being helmed by director Jonathan Liebesman (“Wrath of the Titans”). Despite previous statements by the “Transformers” director saying that the reptilian heroes in the film would be aliens in the movie, Bay wanted to assure fans that the new film would be faithful to the comic book origins – that is, the Ninja Turtles would be the product of exposure to toxic ooze.

“There was that quote saying that we’re making [the Ninja Turtles as] aliens,” Bay said. "We’re not. It’s the ooze! It’s from the original source material.”

"The Manor"

The 20th annual Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival kicked off in Toronto on Thursday night, and is set to run until May 5. The largest festival of its kind in North America, Hot Docs features a lineup of nearly 200 documentary films from all over the world, as well as numerous panels and talks with notable doc filmmakers and producers.

Looking to see the next big, award-winning documentary? It's a safe bet that there are at least a few future Oscar nominees amongst this year's slate of Hot Docs movies. In past years, the fest has played host to countless Oscar nominated documentaries, including 2012 nominees "5 Broken Cameras" and "The Invisible War." A third Oscar contender, "How to Survive a Plague," was actually a product of the 2012 fest, having been pitched to producers at one of the festival's many industry forums. Not only is the Toronto-based festival featuring great films, the organization is also helping them get made.

Theo Wargo/Getty Images

By Hollywood standards, Tom Cruise is old.

He certainly doesn’t look old -- and by the standards of the “real world,” 50 is definitely not elderly. But in Tinsel Town, being a half century on this Earth is over the hill.

While Cruise is still playing lead roles in action packed movies like “Oblivion” and “Jack Reacher,” he’s also starting to take on parts that are a little more appropriate for his age.

Case in point: “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.” In his fourth outing as secret agent Ethan Hunt, Cruise’s character adopted more of a leadership role than he did in previous films. Hunt has been around the block a few times, and as a veteran agent, he acted as mentor to younger characters, like IMF agent William Brandt (Jeremy Renner).

See also: Tom Cruise's box office comeback... that wasn't really a comeback

Cruise has long been attached to star in a different gadget-filled spy franchise: Warner Bros’ years in development update of the

Ian Gavan/Getty Images

Actor and filmmaker Zach Braff (“Oz the Great and Powerful”) made a big splash on the indie scene back in 2004 with the cult dramedy “Garden State.” The movie put the “Scrubs” actor on the map as a promising new filmmaking talent, but he didn’t exactly trade in on all that hype. Other than a few music videos, a forgotten TV movie, and some episodes of “Scrubs,” Braff hasn’t directed anything major since “Garden State.”

That eight year drought is set to change, though, thanks to Braff’s next project: the Kickstarter funded “Wish I Was Here.” Launched on April 24, the crowdfunding campaign for this spiritual sequel to “Garden State” has already raised over $1.5 million of its total $2 million goal. Though the project didn’t quite match the record breaking-pace set by the “Veronica Mars” movie Kickstarter (which reached its $2 million goal in less than a day), the big numbers obviously indicate that Braff’s fans are very enthusiastic about the prospect of a new movie from the 38-year-old filmmaker.

See also: Does the 'Veronica Mars' Kickstarter campaign signal a change for movies?

But not everyone is so jazzed about the quick success of the “Wish I Was Here” project – or Braff’s decision to pursue crowdfunding. You see, Braff is a wealthy guy. He’s estimated to be worth around $22 million, due mostly his fruitful television career ("Scrubs" money!) and the success of “Garden State.” Made for a miniscule $2.5 million “Garden State” ended up earning over $35 million in theatres worldwide, and as the film’s star, director, writer, and producer, Braff was on the right end of the "Garden State" windfall. When you add in numbers like home video sales, digital distribution, and global TV syndication rights (not to mention kickbacks he must have received from all those Shins albums he helped sell), it’s safe to say that Braff is doing all right.

According to Braff, the main reason he decided to crowdfund the budget of the film was so that he could retain creative control over the project and not have to “sex up” the movie at the behest of money men and outside producers. It’s an admirable approach to the filmmaking process, but doesn’t having that $2 million or so just lying around sort of invalidate his argument?

As pointed out by several Twitter users, there’s also the fact that Braff will almost assuredly make more than what he raises through Kickstarter simply by selling the distribution rights to “Wish I Was Here” at a film fest like Sundance. If you were a regular investor in an indie film like this, you’d see piece of that sale, but as a Kickstarter backer,

20th Century Fox

Despite being one of Marvel’s most beloved and endearing characters, comic book superhero Daredevil hasn’t had much luck on the big screen. But with news that The Man Without Fear is back in the hands of the company that created him, that could change very soon.

While on the “Iron Man 3” press tour, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige told comic book news site Newsarama that the movie rights to New York City-based superhero Daredevil had finally reverted to the studio. Twentieth Century Fox, the previous rights-holders, controlled the cinematic iteration of the character for more than a decade, but lost those rights back in October after several abortive attempts to reboot the movie. Marvel made no official announcement at the time, so this is the first official word fans have that Daredevil is now playing in the big leagues with characters like Tony Stark and the Avengers.

"Revolution"

When it comes to Alberta's controversial Athabasca tar sands, "Revolution" director Rob Stewart ("Sharkwater") does not mince words.

"Canadians and people around the world need a bit of a wake-up call," says the director about the tar sands, an issue central to his latest film. "Most people don’t know or have not seen what the tar sands are actually like, but they are front and centre in the battle against climate change. I hope 'Revolution' can help more people see the reality."

Where Stewart's first film, "Sharkwater," focused almost exclusively on his efforts to expose the aggressive hunting practices that threaten sharks, "Revolution" follows the 33-year-old Toronto filmmaker around the world as he tries to grapple with some of the many serious issues facing our planet, including climate change, ocean acidification, pollution, extinction, and over-consumption.

Both inspiring and sobering, "Revolution" is a gorgeous, globetrotting doc centered on the people who are trying to make a difference for the future -- before it's too late. The film won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2012 Atlantic Film Festival and was the runner-up for the Blackberry People's Choice Award Best Documentary at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.

"I’d spent most of my adult life trying to save sharks," says Stewart of his pre-"Revolution" thinking. At the time, he considered his personal quest to protect the misunderstood marine predators the "pinnacle of what I could achieve as a human."