It's difficult (and a little silly) to try and judge an entire quarter-year's movies in one lump sum -- but that's what we seem to do at the end of every Summer Movie Season. That's when all our excitement, expectations, and final reactions come colliding together and we find ourselves thinking: "Was I actually looking forward to that piece of crap for four months?" But to me, each summer is like a walk through a carnival: Some of the attractions dazzle me, others simply don't interest me, and a few are just a waste of tickets. But once early May rolls around, I'm always ready for another trip to the Hollywood Movie Carnival. (It's where you find all the tentpoles!)

So while I'm elated to greet the upcoming season of "prestige movies," there's little denying that we've had one hell of a good summer, cinematical-ly speaking. I'm not talking about box office grosses, because frankly that stuff is so unimportant. What matters is that we got some good flicks, a few pieces of mindless (yet well-made) popcorn adventures, and even a few great films that will enjoy a very long shelf life. So while I'm not exactly sure that 2008 represents the finest Summer Movie Season of all time, I'd definitely say it was more good than bad. But if you can think of a summer that was better than this one, you know where to throw your comments. (In the comments section.)

I haven't seen this weekend's The Incredible Hulk yet, and will do so a little begrudgingly because it's an implicit (or explicit, depending on whom you ask) diss of Ang Lee's Hulk, a film I admire. But to the extent my interest in the Louis Leterrier version is piqued, it's mostly because of the casting of Edward Norton as the title character's alter ego. It's such an interesting choice -- partly because Norton usually stays away from projects like this, partly because he's so uniquely gifted, and partly because my mind just reels at hearing "you wouldn't like me when I'm angry" coming out of his mouth. I'll watch The Incredible Hulk less because I want to see another movie about Bruce Banner than because I'm curious to see Norton's interpretation of him.

All of which got me thinking about superhero/comic book casting in general. It's a subject that attracts a lot of breathless speculation every time a new movie is in the works, and there's rarely consensus on anything. In this edition of Cinematical Seven, I take a look back at what I think have been the most inspired, interesting, or appropriate superhero (and villain, because why not?) casting choices in recent history -- not so much the resulting performances (though it can be hard to distinguish in hindsight) but the initial casting decisions.

As I like to do with these lists, I tried to mix the obvious with the out-of-the-blue, so feel free to weigh in with what I unjustly left out. In no particular order:

USA Today has a piece up today about 16 "hot" movies to watch for in 2008. Here's the list:

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Sex and the City: The Movie
The Dark Knight
Mamma Mia!
The X-Files
Quantum of Solace (aka the New James Bond Flick)
Star Trek
Iron Man
Speed Racer
The Incredible Hulk
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Madagascar: The Crate Escape
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Day the Earth Stood Still

Back and forth, back and forth -- The LA Times have finally come out and cleared up the rumor that Edward Norton started during ComicCon. As previously discussed, it was during Marvel's The Incredible Hulk panel where Norton made a comment that suggested he was writing the script. This confused a lot of people (including me) who were under the assumption that Zak Penn had (and was) penning the kind-of-sequel-but-not. Well, now it seems we know what happened. According to The LA Times, Penn was indeed the original writer and had written three drafts of the script prior to production. However, when the script needed more work -- and with Penn busy promoting his indie mockumentary The Grand -- Norton stepped in, offered up his own ideas, and came on as not only a writer, but also the film's star.

This, of course, is the story we're being told. As The Times even suggests, Norton is somewhat known around town for strong-arming his way into the writer's seat. There are rumors that he took it upon himself to re-write dialogue during Brett Ratner's Red Dragon -- not just his own, but also Anthony Hopkins'. Norton's reps insist that Ratner asked the actor for help, but others beg to differ -- not that it matters much; the film still turned out like crap. Keep in mind I'm in no way saying that Norton decided to take the role on the condition that he could re-write Penn's script, but it was part of his initial deal. And not for nothing, but if I was Penn, I'd be pretty pissed that I spent a whole year on three different versions of a script only to watch Norton come in and change up the entire thing. For all we know, Norton's additions helped the film, but one day I'd love to get my hands on both versions to see if Penn's would've translated better to the big screen. The Incredible Hulk is set to smash its way into theaters on June 13.

If you just casually glanced through Kevin Kelly's superlative coverage of the San Diego Comic Con Marvel event, then you may have overlooked a tidbit from Edward Norton that will have the Incredible Hulk producers wringing their hands while screenwriter Zak Penn politely asks the Writers Guild for a friendly arbitration. What was it that Mr. Norton said?

"Well, you're making me be immodest ... I came into this and I wrote the screenplay. I was a Marvel kid growing up, and I used to subscribe to a lot of the books. Remember when they used to come in plastic with the little piece of scotch tape on the back? This story has almost limitless potential in it to be remade and redone. It's a really classic modern mythology."

Hmm. Now, I know full well that Mr. Norton is a multi-talented guy. In addition to being Oscar-nominated two times in three years (for Primal Fear and American History X), he's been consistently strong in The People vs. Larry Flynt, Rounders, Fight Club, 25th Hour, The Italian Job, The Illusionist, etc. He directed the romantic comedy Keeping the Faith, and his second directorial effort (Motherless Brooklyn) will mark his "official" screenwriting debut. He also produced The Painted Veil, edited Down in the Valley, contributed an amusing cameo to Kingdom of Heaven, and recorded music for Everyone Says I Love You ... and, um, Death to Smoochy.

But I thought Zak Penn was the one who wrote the screenplay for The Incredible Hulk. Penn, the comics expert who is credited on X-Men 2, (ahem) Elektra, X-Men 3, AND the Fantastic Four video game! (How does one receive credit for the game but not the movie??) Could it be that Mr. Norton signed on for the role of Bruce Banner under the arrangement that he could script-fiddle? Heck, maybe Mr. Penn knows all about it, couldn't care less, and is already knee-deep on his Spy Hunter and Avengers projects.

I just found it interesting is all. All I know is that if Norton's writing contributions make for a more entertaining flick, go for it. As I've mentioned only 455 times by now, The Hulk is definitely my favorite Marvel character. And frankly I'm pretty thrilled with the way the new flick is coming together.

We're here, literally crammed like a sardine into some of the first few rows at the Marvel Studios panel, and they've hit the ground running by introducing the talent right away. No fancy speeches or anything.

The Incredible Hulk just started shooting, so we unfortunately won't have any footage or pictures coming your way, but they did manage to bring Liv Tyler and Ed Norton down from the set. Woot! The questions are from the moderator, IGN's Eric Moro.

• So where does The Incredible Hulk fit into the movie mythology? "This is a part one, and it's the beginning of a whole new Hulk saga."
• Why another Hulk movie? "Because he's The Incredible Hulk!" Well, that tells me a lot. "We also won't have a Hulk that is three different sizes."
• Edward, you're contributing more than acting to the film, what else are you doing? "Well, you're making me be immodest ... I came into this and I wrote the screenplay. I was a Marvel kid growing up, and I used to subscribe to a lot of the books. Remember when they used to come in plastic with the little piece of scotch tape on the back? This story has almost limitless potential in it to be remade and redone. It's a really classic modern mythology."
  
• Liv, Betty Ross definitely isn't a damsel in distress ... what's your take on the character? "Well, I haven't started shooting yet, so I'm a bit out of the loop, but I used to love the television show and I'd watch it with my mom. In this film, we're searching for a cure for him."

By the time next Monday rolls around, just the near mention of ComicCon will most likely make me sick to my stomach. That's because we plan to cover the hell out of this convention when it kicks off later this week. And when I'm not reading our coverage, I'll be trolling the many sites out there for stuff we've missed. I'll be up to my neck in geek news, as will most of our team, but why bitch now when things haven't even started yet. I won't be heading out to San Diego this year (which kinda stinks -- I would've loved to meet some folks from other sites); instead, Cinematical is sending two of our West Coast boys, Kevin and Chris. To say we will make their lives crazy over the next week is a massive understatement. That being said, with all that's going on (and all they have planned), I'll owe them each a nice cold one if they can successfully pull it off.

There's so much taking place at this year's Con that it's kind of hard to say which aspect of it I'm looking forward to the most. Do I want to hear J.J. Abrams announce the cast of Star Trek XI, or do I want to hear J.J. Abrams clue us into this damn Cloverfield project a bit more instead? Do I want to see photos of the new (and improved?) Incredible Hulk, or do I want to see the first teaser for The Dark Knight? Or how about that Watchmen cast (which, when it's all said and done, will probably be leaked online in its entirety before the actual panel discussion)? Will 20th Century Fox decide at the last minute to duck out from behind a bush and present something? And how stupid will the Kevin Smith questions be ( I don't even want to go into the absurdity of some of the questions asked to Smith during New York ComicCon)? Will we get an Iron Man teaser? An Indiana Jones 4 teaser? And, how long will it be until the clips leaked onto YouTube get pulled? So much going on, so much to anticipate -- how will we get through it all?

So, I ask you: What's the one thing you're looking forward to the most regarding this week's ComicCon?

In the vein of everyone having an opinion, many of which don't agree, The Guardian's film blog has a piece about superheroes -vs- talented actors. The spin -- the actors who are taking on the roles of comic icons are being fooled into doing so: "What seems to be happening is that the actors themselves are being duped into thinking that these are roles of Shakespearean complexity." Is that the case? The piece mentions George Clooney's less-than-loved Batman and Robin and Halle Berry's terrible stint as Catwoman. If either of them took on the roles thinking they were getting a meaty, complex story, they should probably get their heads examined.

The blog goes on to talk about the increase of suffering and torment in superhero roles, and that the ones who are truly successful don't take themselves seriously -- Spider-Man, Wolverine. Wait ... Hugh Jackman? His role isn't the darkest thing out there, but the character definitely has his share of angst. Considering the built-up aversion to dark superheroes, it's no surprise that the piece then goes on to describe Batman Begins as "a po-faced, dark (in every sense) and confusing two hours in the company of a man with the lowest voice and most clenched jaw in Gotham city." Sure, if Spidey had to fall into the depths of despair, that would be strange, but can you fault Batman for being dark? Isn't it supposed to be? It's based on an orphan who wants revenge. That's not light and happy fare, even if the television version made it that way.

What do you think? Are some superheroes failing because the actors are taking the roles too seriously? Did Eric Bana's green, fighting fiend fail because he made it too awkward and real life? Is Batman Begins not half as good as we've all said it is? Does suffering make superheroes smaller?

Well now here's a piece of casting news I can get behind! Nothing against Eric Bana, who I consider to be a fine (if somewhat vanilla-flavored) actor, but if we needed a legitimate reason to get excited for Louis Leterrier's The Incredible Hulk, here it is: Bruce Banner and his massive green alter ego will be played by Oscar nominee Edward Norton! Best known for his superlative work in movies like Primal Fear, Rounders, American History X and Fight Club (oh, and Death to Smoochy), Norton steps into a role vacated by Bana -- and I for one think it's a really excellent choice on the part of Leterrier and his Universal overlords. (Between this decision and the casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, us superhero nerds are being treated to some great casting choices.)

Ever since he was hired to helm the second Hulk flick, Mr. Leterrier (who also directed Unleashed and both Transporter flicks) has been assuring everyone that it's not a full-bore "sequel," but more of a "reboot," as if Ang Lee's original was something less than sequel-worthy. (I've said it before and I'll probably say it again, but I just don't understand why there's so much hate for Lee's rendition of The Hulk.) Those who had their fingers crossed on Leterrier snagging his Transporter star (Jason Statham) for the role of Banner will probably be a bit disappointed here, but c'mon: The idea of seeing the mild-mannered and generally amiable Edward Norton "hulking out" sounds like a whole lot of fun to me. Scheduled for a June 13, 2008 release, The Incredible Hulk still has a lot of casting announcements to go, but I'm of the opinion that they're really starting the "reboot" off on the right foot -- although I certainly wouldn't mind if the producers brought Jennifer Connelly back for a second spin.

Move over Orlando, Dubai is looking to become the world's next major theme park hub. United Arab Emirate-based Al Ahli Group and Marvel Entertainment, Inc. have announced a joint partnership that will bring a new mind-blowing theme park to Dubai; one that can (and most likely will) utilize Marvel's entire library of superheroes, including Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, The X-Men, The Fantastic Four, The Silver Surfer and Iron Man. According to a press release, the project will open in 2011 and is sure to become a must-see for you thrill fanatics and Marvel fanboys.

A number of Marvel characters (including Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk) are already featured at Orlando's Islands of Adventure -- however, to my knowledge, there are currently no parks that specifically cater to the Marvel universe. Mohamed Khammas, CEO of Al Ahli Group, notes that with this new partnership they aim to create "the ultimate entertainment destination for families and children of the region and the world, a destination where they can live their childhood fantasies and create new memories for the entire family to cherish and remember." The creative team (working off a direct investment of $1 billion) will be based in Hollywood, Orlando and Dubai during the development process, with the ultimate goal being to create "a new standard for theme parks around the world." The only problem? You have to go all the way to Dubai. Drats.

The whole thing sounds pretty interesting, and I wonder whether they will incorporate scenes from the films into each ride (a la Disney with their Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Orlando). Is this a place you'd be interested in visiting? What sort of rides would you like to see show up?

[via Hollywood Wiretap]