Movie Review - Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau, Ben Kingsley, James Badge Dale, Stephanie Szostak, Ty Simpkins, Paul Bettany, William Sadler, Dale Dickey, Miguel Ferrer, and more.

Directed by: Shane Black Screenplay by: Drew Pearce and Shane Black Based on the Comic by: Stan Lee, Don Heck, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby Cinematography by: John Toll Original Music by: Brian Tyler

Premise: As a new terrorist makes his tread felt over the world, Tony is dealing with anxiety attacks which have plagued him ever since he went into the wormhole in "The Avengers." A female conquest from his past, and some decision he made in 1999 also come back to haunt him. If he's not careful, he might lose the thing he cherishes the most - Pepper Potts. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Robert Downey Jr is always such fun as Tony Stark. His 'snark' and one liners dot the entire film. Gwyneth Paltrow once more didn't get given much to do through most of the film, but she shines in all of it. Don Cheadle looked great during several scenes and even gave Tony some snark back. Guy Pearce was very smooth as Aldrich Killian. The hints of slight madness here and there were very nice. Ben Kingsley will surprise everyone, and he was quite funny as well. Ty Simpkins and Robert Downey Jr together were adorable and hilarious.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Great job on the special effects! The armor pieces must have driven the department insane, but looked so very awesome. The whole scene where Tony's house is destroyed was fabulous. And the work they did on the Mandarin's people gave me chills. You could almost see their humanity escaping their grasp.

The 3D brain live feed took my breath away. Definitely recommend seeing the film in the IMAX 3D.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: For the most part that is. Fans of the Iron Man comics will get a shock and it will dilute the pleasure they derive from the film. Though the commercials mentioned the Mandarin, and we saw him with the rings - it's false advertizing. This Mandarin is not the alien tech/magical ring wearing megalomanic the comic book fans will be expecting. Sadly, there is little to nothing with this Mandarin that matches Iron Man's comic book arch-nemesis. However, most of the viewing public won't realize this, and for them it won't be a detriment.

The powers of those who've been injected (can't say too much or I'll give things away) did not appear to be consistent. Yet no real explanation was made as to why. The bad guy ends up showing powers beyond all his compatriots, to the point he seems almost god like, but the information we've been supplied with does not substantiate the end product.

Lots of little twists, many of them quite delicious. Others will be seen coming from miles away. They tried to bring back some of the feel of the first film, and this worked pretty well. The scenes Tony spends with the little boy while in hiding were priceless. Some of the best bits of the film come from those two interacting.

Make sure to STAY THROUGH THE CREDITS! One of the best bits in the entire film awaits you there.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Amazing CGI assisted stunts abound through the entire film. The whole Miami sequence was great!

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Got some wonderful overhead shots of Tony's house, letting us appreciate the place one last time before we see it totally destroyed and from many different angles. The Miami location was fabulous. And the set up for the final battle zone made combat into a three dimensional affair and this worked to great effect.

6) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: Pepper in the white power suit looked fabulous! Also Tony's shirt in the beginning section. Costuming and makeup also made the Killian transformation from when we first see him in 1999 and then in the present a startling contrast. Tony's wounds all looked very real, and very painful.

Conclusion: "Iron Man 3" is a fun action packed film and well worth watching. Unless you're a fan of the comics, then you might feel a bit robbed with what they did (or mostly didn't do) with the Mandarin. Great one liners abound. Definitely worth seeing in IMAX 3D. The soundtrack rocked!

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price To See Again!)

Movie Review - The Avengers

The Avengers

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smolders, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Samuel L Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow, and more.

Directed by: Josh Whedon Screenplay by: Josh Whedon Story by: Zac Penn and Josh Whedon Based on the comic books created by: Jack Kirby and Stan Lee Cinematography by: Seamus McGarvey Original Music by: Alan Silvestri

Premise: Loki has made a deal with an unknown alien force and so he's returned to Earth to recover the Tesseract, a recently uncovered energy source. He wants to use it to open a gate to Earth to let in his borrowed army, and then subjugate humanity so they may worship him. Nick Fury and SHIELD gather together a set of unusual but powerful allies in the hopes of recovering the Tesseract before it is too late.

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Half the fun of the movie was watching all these great actors interact. I was ecstatic when I spotted Gwyneth Paltrow as her interplay with Robert Downey Jr. is always such fun to watch. Clark Gregg broadened his role as Agent Phil Coulson and proved that even agents can have a little bit of a geek inside them. Scarlett Johansson and her character were so much more than just the 'token female' of the film. She not only outfought most men, but she showed a devious, cold interior that will always get the job done. Cobie Smolders also showed the strength and competency of women as Nick Fury's second right hand. Mark Ruffalo conveyed tremendous amounts of feelings with just a look. Tom Hiddleston also gave a great performance as the aggrieved god Loki.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Where superheroes are involved, you need super special effects - and the team that worked on them for the Avengers film were more than superb. From energy gates, to imploding secret bases, to alien invasion, explosions, and destruction, everything was very detailed, flawless, and best of all, believable.

3) Plot/Story - Total Thumbs Up: I've been following the works of Joss Whedon for a while now and he has yet to disappoint. He always knows how to play the audience and give it what it wants. Unlike other works where a combination of superheroes come together but get overshadowed by one or two key figures, Mr. Whedon and Mr. Penn managed to give equal weight to all those concerned, even Bruce Banner's alter ego, the Hulk.

The pace was brisk; all the details furthering the story. The only time it felt bogged down was during some bickering and then not for very long. Some viewers will not realize the staff has a lot to do with the escalation of frayed tempers, so the fact this wasn't mentioned by any of them later might hurt the story in their opinions but the later part of the film more than makes up for it.

Using the Hulk as comic relief during the combat sequences was genius! It gave depth to a character who normally has little to say and showed that he is more than the monster he appears to be. Captain America's instructions to the Hulk during the battle a master stroke of leadership.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: While some of the action is CGI, not all of it is. The actors and stunts people worked hard for their wages and it shows. In turn, this gave the audience an awesome and unforgettable set of action scenes. Good job everyone!

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: With a wide range of filming spots from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, to California as well as those created through virtual reality, they were strung together to create a viable world of great locations for our heroes to protect. The Stark building was amazing. The cinematography of the streets of New York swamped by invaders and the collapse of the research base will play in your mind for some time.

6) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: The heroes' costumes closely resembled the look of their comic book originals. Hawkeye was the only one who's uniform did not match in any way, totally missing his telltale mask, but I have to say that the detail paid to his bow and how he could program it to send signals to his quiver so arm his special arrows was fantastic. Thor's hair looked stringy and dirty for the full film, which seemed odd, but could have been a stylist choice. The wounds and bruises received and later maintained on all the characters were very well done. And when our heroes were finished, they looked tired and worn as they should have. Great job.

Conclusion: A fantastic, fun filled film. Definitely worth seeing in IMAX 3D and more than once if you can get away with it. (Sit through ALL the credits! There are TWO extra scenes!)

Rating: 4.75 pout of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Paying Full Price To See It Again!)

Movie Review - Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Rachel McAdams, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry, Paul Anderson, Kelly Reilly, and more.

Directed by: Guy Ritchie Written by: Michele and Kieran Mulroney Based on Characters by: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Original Music by: Hans Zimmer

Premise: Dr. Watson is getting married. Holmes is not dealing well with the news and to make matters worse, Moriarty has made the doctor and his new bride a target. Holmes must keep them alive while also attempting to foil the plans of his archenemy. (Rated PG-13)

Review: The unique portrayals of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson by Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law are back! And adding to the team is Stephen Fry's interpretation of Mycroft, Sherlock's brother.

The film starts at a fast pace as Sherlock and Miss Irene Adler share some fun moments in some dangerous meetings. Then she is gone, pitched from the story. Not entirely sure why they went this route unless it was to make room for the new female lead, but whatever the reason, it doesn't quite work. At least to me. The expectation was that she would somehow return, that some hint of her would be seen, despite everything we're told. But such was not the case. (We sat through the credits still expecting SOMETHING! But no.)

As in the first film, we get mental foreshadowing of hand to hand combat, which are pretty cool, but possibly done too many times, in my opinion. Definitely needed to be done in the one true battle that mattered (can't tell you!) which was fabulous but otherwise... Because this meant less cases of seeing Sherlock's mental visual deductions of the crimes being committed, something which had me totally fascinated in the first film.

Great vistas and city fronts, which did much to set the locations and mood. The crossing of the border between France and Germany - hilarious!

Several good comedic moments. Some quite poignant ones. I have to say several spots and Sherlock's actions would have stopped me from wanting to be his friend. Not sure how Watson forgave him about the stag party and the following morning. Though Sherlock was able to put him back together in time. lol. Needless to say their relationship was rather strained during the film, so some of the buddy banter is not as before. :P

One thing I did totally love was when they were in Germany and also at the Peace Summit. You could see the signs of things to come in real history. The weaponry and preparations by the different players for what would in not too many more years turn into WWI. And when a lot of viewers see the cool place in Switzerland for the peace summit, the waterfall there will speak volumes. :P

There was one set of scenes interplaying with each other that were totally masterful. They formed a beautiful dichotomy as we watch the opera by Mozart unfold (way cool costumes!) and Sherlock's last minute attempt to stop a tragedy and the time after.

Their run through the woods as they are fired upon not only by bullets but then cannon was eerily cool to watch. There was a lot of action and good combat scenes.

Overall a nice and enjoyable romp. Not quite as good as the first one, but still well worth it. Especially with the Moriarty and Sherlock Face-off Supreme towards the end. (Oh come on! You knew it was coming.) :)

Raring: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission.)