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."

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!”