Hey folks, Harry here... Just got back from the Midnight screening of X2 at the Alamo Drafthouse which sold out all 4 screens with heavy duty geek audiences. Before the film was the old "PRYDE OF THE X-MEN" cartoon, which really underlined just how far the X-MEN have come under the guidance of Singer, Donner, DeSanto and crew. Just amazing quality difference. ANYWAY, before the movie I saw this new HULK trailer, but also the new LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMAN trailer which look far far faaaaaar better than those early teasers. No more funky green sky. The Jekyll / Hyde stuff looks downright creepy, and now it looks like a Norrington film... Somehow, even that damn car that I hated last time looked way better. I really want LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN to work out for all of us, because... As great as these Marvel films are... there's a whole universe of wildly divergent comic properties out there that deserve and warrant screen time....

Before you read Fathead's look at the HULK novelization, here's the latest HULK trailer that I've already gone frame by frame on 3 times, cuz... well I just love them Kirby panels brought to life. I also love how they're keeping pretty much the entire last 30-40 minutes under wraps in the trailers. SWEET. Hope it stays that way. Here Ya Go! Hulk Out! Oh, and you may want to watch out for a couple of spoilers below...

Hey Harry,  

This is my first time writing in, but I am a huge fan of the site and visit it on a daily basis. Anyway, I am writing in with a review of the new novel version of the upcoming HULK movie. I saw this when I was online at my local Borders Books the other day so I picked it up. All I can say is WOW. I can’t believe how much I enjoyed this book. I never read any of the HULK comics, and vaguely remember clips of a green-slathered Lou Ferrigno running through some forest or something, but I was really impressed with the way they fleshed-out the characters. 

Bruce is thoroughly tormented by these inner demons, and you really get a sense of how much it affects him with his work and especially his relationship with Betty Ross. Betty is in love with Bruce, but she isn’t pleased how unresponsive he constantly is. They had a relationship going which is described, but it was broken off, and now they are just good friends. It is extremely evident that she wants there to be more, and so does Bruce, but they don’t have any idea how to go about it. You really feel for Bruce because he’s got all this shit bottled up, and he can’t express his emotions like he feels he should, and he keeps convincing himself that its normal to be detached.

 A lot of this is due to shit from his father, David Banner. A good portion of the beginning of the book is devoted to setting up the back story with David Banner, and his son Bruce. You really get a sense of what an asshole he is, and just when you think something is about to change, and he is going to stop being a douche bag, he puts a stop to that thought, and you say “JUST DIE ALREADY YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!!!!!!!!!” Sorry, got a little carried away……but, he is responsible for almost all of the negative shit Bruce goes through. The trailers are deceiving too, he plays a much larger part in the book than they lead you to believe.

 General “Thunderbolt” Ross, who is Betty’s father doesn’t really impress me all that much, maybe this will change by the time the movie is released though. You do get the sense that he is a very important and powerful character, but something about him just didn’t click with me about him. Maybe because he’s the only one who doesn’t call the HULK, what he’s been dubbed, but instead, he decides to call him Angry Man. 

Glen Talbot, this guy is someone you want to see the HULK smash to itty bitty pieces, then put back together so he can do it again. God I hated this guy, but everything rectifies itself, so it was OK in the end. 

That’s about it for the main characters………except for the title character himself. This massive beast is absolutely awesome! This guy is Gi-normous, and should be astounding to see in the theater. As silly as it may sound, the much discussed Hulk Dogs scene should be pretty cool too. If there was any fear about how they may portray a monstrous green beast, it has been eliminated. I don’t really know what to say about the plot without giving anything away, because it’s all about Bruce and his struggle to really kind of find himself. 

Unfortunately there will be no naked Jennifer Connelly, so there are points off for that, but it’s understandable. How would naked Jennifer Connelly have anything to do with a man who morphs in to a big green walking wrecking ball? 

The action scenes are pretty wild, or at least the way my head translated them are. ILM better not mess this up, because this shit is important, and we don’t want to see Jar Jar when he gets angry. He’s not pretty when he’s angry. Come to think of it, he’s not pretty at all. Stupid Gungan. George you suck, let someone else direct Episode 3. 

Anyway I’m starting to rant, so it’s time to end this review. I cannot wait for this movie, and I have the utmost faith in Ang Lee to make this something other than “The Jolly Green Giant Takes San Francisco”. If the movie is at least as good as the book, then we will be in for a fantastic ride.   

P.S. – If you use this, call me FatHead