Tag: Iron Man

Movie Review: The Avengers

Joss Whedon is a genius. He not only made a great film, but he also successfully reinvigorated four suffering franchises. That’s an epic move for Marvel, who will now be able to capitalize on the missteps of other directors, who caused significant damage to Hollywood’s biggest money-makers (see ‘Iron Man 2’ and Edward Norton’s ‘The Hulk’). The plot might actually be less important than the dialogue. All you need to know is someone is trying to destroy the world, and The Avengers are commissioned to prevent it. Their unity proves to be a hilariously difficult task, and they often spend more time fighting each other than the enemy. Does it get better than Iron Man insulting Thor’s dated manner of speaking, or everyone insulting The Hulk’s awful temper? The beauty of this film is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s an action film worth every penny, which is something difficult to achieve in such an ailing economy.

OVERALL RATING: 5/5 DISHES

Movie Review: Iron Man 2

The great Robert McKee says that you can tell within the first ten minutes of a film whether you will like it overall.  That was certainly the case with Iron Man 2. Before you read further, please be aware that you don’t have to worry about me revealing plot details, because there simply isn’t a plot.  Here’s the “story” in a nutshell: Robert Downey Jr. is an ego-maniac that women want to sleep with, and a certain disturbing looking individual hopes to kill. Why? Who knows. Perhaps you should go see the movie and alert me if I missed something.  I also finally understand why there were so many rumors about a Gwyneth Paltrow/Scarlett Johansson feud.  If I were Gwyneth, I would be infuriated by Johansson’s character.  There is absolutely no reason for her existence, other than to be a hot chick that draws men to the theater.  In fact, for mostly all of the film, she stands next to Gwyneth Paltrow and caters to Tony Stark, which pretty much invalidates the purpose of Paltrow’s character.  I really did hope this film would be good.  I loved the original, and was very excited for the follow-up.  But as my brother pointed out, sequels that are released so close to the original film, are usually terrible.  They are too rushed to be of high quality.  I would still encourage you to see the film though – Robert Downey Jr. sure is yummy to look at.

Robert Downey Jr. Confirms ‘Iron Man 3’

While promoting ‘Iron Man 2,’ Robert Downey Jr. confirmed that ‘Iron Man 3’ will start shooting after ‘The Avengers’ is complete.  ‘The Avengers’ will feature many superheroes, including Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, Nick Fury and Loki.  ‘Iron Man’ director Jon Favreau won’t be directing it, but he will be an executive producer.  I realize that ‘The Avengers’ is very popular with Marvel, but this just sounds like a bad idea.  If Favreau isn’t directing it, it could potentially change the entire tone of ‘Iron Man,’ and therefore threaten ‘Iron Man 3.’  I guess Marvel figures that there is a lot of money to be made from potential superhero spinoffs.  That money won’t be made though if the film tanks.  I say convince Favreau to direct. 

The Late DJ A.M. Has a Cameo in ‘Iron Man 2’

This certainly defines the word bittersweet.  Adam Goldstein, also known as DJ A.M., will appear in ‘Iron Man 2,’ as the DJ at one of Tony Stark’s parties.  Director Jon Favreau and Goldstein were friends, and Favreau chose to leave the scene in as a tribute.  Favreau said, “we tried to make it respectful, and for people who know him, they’ll get a kick out of it and for people who don’t, it will sort of slide by without much notice.”  I credit Favreau for leaving it in.  It’s a tough decision because it could be perceived as distasteful.  Good job.