Iron Man 2

What is there to say about Iron Man 2 that people don't already know or expect? The movie was full of amazing action and special effects, and a great cast. There really is not that much else to say. Not being a comic book reader myself, I can't really say how close to the comic the movie is, but I can say that it was terrific fun.

Downey gives a great, convincingly full of himself performance as Tony Stark. Rourke plays revenge fueled villain Whiplash. Cheadle replaces Terrance Howard as Stark's best friend James Rhodes. Johansson plays the smokin' Black Widow. Paltrow plays Stark's low key love interest Pepper Potts. The cast is just as solid as it, though I must admit while Downey and Paltrow have some great scenes together, there were times when you just didn't feel all that much of a connection between some of the other cast. Downey just doesn't feel like all that great of a pair up with Don Cheadle or Mickey Rourke at times, but these moments are nowhere near enough to distract you from the movie's entertainment value.

The story was standard, and just what you would expect. Absolutely no surprises, which won't necessarily upset people. The only thing that was kind of lame was the whole Tony Stark slowly dying aspect, it just didn't really make me care at all really (Downey is not at fault). There were some occasional lapses in logic, but no one goes to see a movie like Iron Man without preparing themselves for suspension of disbelief once in a while.

Overall, seriously fun movie, (though not totally on par with the first) see it with friends, and in theaters because you may not feel the need to buy it on dvd.


"Enjoy the potatoes."

Buy This DVD #3: Children of Men

Written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón who has been involved with other fine films such as "A Little Princess," "Y tu Mamá También," and "Pan's Labyrinth," and based on the novel of the same name comes this British dystopian/action/sci fi/thriller mix up.

I thought this movie was absolutely great and it actually found its way onto my list of all time favorites. While the film had a theatrical release and got positive reviews, it still flew under the radar of a lot of people despite its fantastic, some may say innovative, action shots. Though not technically filmed in one shot (several spliced together) the effect is absolutely flawless with three scenes of intense "single shot" action in particular.

I have heard of some people being put off by this movie, claiming it was was too slow. On the other hand I felt the movie moved at a perfect pace so I guess the term "slow" is relative.


Buy This DVD.


A biology lesson from Julian: "Y'know that ringing in your ears? That 'eeeeeeeeee'? That's the sound of the ear cells dying, like their swan song. Once it's gone you'll never hear that frequency again. Enjoy it while it lasts."

Clash of the Titans

Clash of the Titans ended up being a pretty fun action film. Although even clocking in at 1:50 it still felt surprisingly short which isn't necessarily a bad thing if you are a casual movie watcher and don't like sitting through anything that really takes a second to get going. The action is exciting and well choreographed and theres just enough breathing room between each that it doesn't feel like the action is completely mindless.

The movie isn't the deepest, but then it doesn't really try to be, and in the case of a fun action films this isn't really much of a problem for most people. The acting is good, the pace was at times a little fast at times, and sometimes the plot is a tad flimsy, but overall not a bad view.


um, not a whole lot of quotes that stuck in this one, but..."Release the Kraken!"

Check Out This Trailer #3: Predators

From director Nimrod Antal, a new direction for the Predator franchise. This time the most dangerous people on Earth (predators, if you will) have been brought to another planet to be hunted by predators (the aliens...if you will.) The human side includes Adrien Brody as a mercenary and Topher Grace as a serial killer.

Check Out This Trailer #2: Inception

From Christopher Nolan we get a new mind-bending, sci-fi, summer blockbuster called "Inception." It looks interesting to say the least.

Check Out This Trailer #1: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

If you haven't seen the trailer for the upcoming Summer movie "Scott Pilgram vs. The World" well...here it is. Looks great, and its from the guy who brought us Shaun of the Dead.

Buy This DVD #1: 16 Blocks

This week you should consider buying this Bruce Willis action movie that really flew under the radar. It's called "16 Blocks" and while some ride it off as just a remake of "The Gauntlet" this movie is really something special. It has some nice action featuring Willis, a great antagonists in the form of David Morse, and a surprisingly, to some, very good performance and comic relief from Mos Def. Some found Def's voice to be annoying in this, but I personally thought that it worked. Another thing that surprised me about this movie was the lack of the love story that so many movies make mandatory now, and this movie does fine without it.

Buy It.

In the words of Jack Mosley, "You're a sunny little shit, I'll give you that much."

Brooklyn's Finest

I’m going to kick things off with a post on Brooklyn’s Finest, a movie that’s not too far off everyone‘s radar and that is still in theaters. Just noting though that I will also make posts about films that have been out of theaters for a while, foreign films, etc; but lets just start it all off with a nice cliché cop drama.

Notice the use of the word ‘cliché.’ Technically cliché never ever means a good thing, but I had to make an exception in its use in this case. Brooklyn’s Finest is what clichés cop dramas should attempt to be. Its all there: the alcoholic cop, a week from retirement, the dirty cop struggling to make ends meet for his family, and the undercover cop who starts having a harder and harder time sorting out his priorities (Notice how many times I used the word ‘cop’). Despite all of these all too familiar elements the stories in Brooklyn’s Finest never feels boring, and the characters are not just boring archetypes, they are legitimately interesting characters who progress through the story just great.

On a bit of a downside the story was fairly predictable, and some people just have a hard time buying Richard Gere as a depressed, hooker loving, suicidal cop.

Overall, this movie is definitely worth the ticket price. It has great heart pumping moments, terrific characters, and of course the superb “hooker clean-up” scene.

In the words of Sal, “I don’t want God’s forgiveness–I want his fucking help!”