My Old Ironman Review

Iron Man: Does the Suit Fit?

When the hype for Iron Man was just beginning I wasn’t all that interested. I didn’t have the same connection with Iron Man as I did Spiderman, and after Spiderman 3 kicked my ass I just didn’t feel like another superhero movie. Then the trailers got longer, the footage looked better and I realized how cool the character really was. Not just a regular superhero who gets their powers by luck, chance, or fate, he made himself a hero using his mind. That was a really intriguing idea, not to mention Tony Stark is cool on his own account. So after my frozen heart was thawed by napalm-esque bombardment of trailers on every form of media my thoughts turned from new found hope to fear. I was afraid this would be a repeat of my opening night viewing of Spiderman 3 where all the hype turned to misery. But now your wonder how did it turn out (or your just angrily waiting for me to get to the point), well I’ll tell you. It rocked!

Yes, Iron Man was just about everything I could have asked for in a superhero movie or any action movie for that matter. The acting was superb thanks to an amazing cast lead by Robert Downey Jr., who played Stark so well that I never once thought “he’s playing the part well”, he was Tony Stark to me. The plot was well written and it didn’t have thoughs lolls you usually see in adapted movies where they’re trying to force background information in. It all just flowed nicely from intro to climax and through the falling action. The action beats were perfectly placed throughout to keep up the excitement. And the action, oh the action. It was so well done and just left me wanting more. I’d give a brief summery of the plot but there is no need, the trailers have already covered that thoroughly and anything that hasn’t been shown in them should not be mentioned, as I would hate to ruin anything, the plot does take some interesting turns though. One thing is for sure; you have to stay through the credits, if you don’t your missing out.

So in conclusion Iron Man is the kind of movie that comic book and superhero fans have been waiting for. An action movie that stays true to its subject matter and can make you laugh without making fun of the characters or the story there in. It’s a serious and yet light-hearted film that left me longing for more and dreaming of sequel. If you love comic books or superheroes this is the movie for you, if you like action films where the characters are dynamic and not just stereo types then you’ll like Iron Man. If you were the type of kid who made tin foil armour and put a box on your head to pretend you were a robot…seek help, then go see Iron Man. If the premise sounds stupid to you or you can’t get past the implausibility of it all then this isn’t your type of movie. And while I’ve got your attention you should lighten up a bit too, you prude! I give this movie an A and a high recommendation to any of the aforementioned groups, except the prudes of course.

Victory is Mine!

I won the little writing contest I entered, if you would like to read my entry it's two blogs down ;)

Reviews of a few of the movies I've seen recently.

Ok, this is going to be quick. Just a rundown of a few movies I’ve seen recently and brief reviews of them. I would do a long review for each but frankly I don’t have time. My semester is ending and I have tons of work stacked up. So here we go.

Let’s start off with “The Ruins”, not bad but forgettable. I watched it last night and it was a fun little horror flick but there was nothing really special about it. The plot was basic but adequate, the setting was nice if somewhat limited (not a complaint unless a movie based almost completely in one setting bothers you, I know some people who don’t like that), and the characters are shallow. I know I defended the characters in “Cloverfield” and it could be argued these characters were from the same mould, but the characters in “Cloverfield” showed some depth on occasion, the characters in “The Ruins” mad me angry. The foreign guy and the blond were the only characters I liked and just from watching the trailer I knew the blonds chances of survival were slim. Speaking of dying horribly, the gore is top notch. It’s actually where the movie shines. Nothing puts a smile on my face like sever lacerations…um yeah, the gore is good. So in conclusion I give it a B-, and I recommend it to horror junkies but no one else. For normal people it could be a fun flick to rent or see on TV but certainly not a must see.

Now from average horror to truly excellent horror. I watched a movie that allowed me to finally say goodbye to slasher flicks, because lets face it the genre is basically dead. "Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon" is like an homage to all our favourite slashers. It is the story of Leslie Vernon a man who wants to be the next Jason or Myers and is filmed as a documentary. For most of the movie he’s followed by a film crew who watch him set up for that final night which will make him a legend. Periodically it shifts to a cinematic view when it’s most adequate. This movie is extremely stylish, clever, and at times wickedly funny. For fans of horror and especially slashers this is an A+ movie and I completely recommend it. For the general public it’s a fun little flick but it will be little more because you need to be a fan to get some of the references and jokes.

Anyone who knows me or has read my blogs knows I absolutely love “Cloverfield”, so it should be no surprise that I really enjoyed “Diary of The Dead”. Is it as good as “Cloverfield”? No, but it’s still a solid zombie movie that fans of the genre will love. Not as tightly made as “Cloverfield” and not as stunning, but at the same time it takes the same idea and makes it its own. There are some really nice scenes and the social commentary isn’t bad (though at times it seems a little forced). It’s a B, not great but fans of the genre will have a lot of fun with it.

Last and most certainly least “In The Name of The King”, a fucking horrible movie by the brilliant (retarded) director (asshole) Uwe Boll. This is a poor, bootleg “Lord of The Rings” and Boll never attempts to prove otherwise. There are so many lapses of logic I really don’t know how anyone could have written some of these things down: like any war movie night means flaming arrows; too bad it’s raining out (guess the rain doesn’t matter), wow the main characters name is Farmer; oh it’s because he’s a farmer (WTF), the orcs shoot other orcs off catapults for so kind o surprise attack, oh it’s night time guess it’s time to shoot flaming orcs…oh Christ…they are shooting flaming Orcs…and the list could go on. Realistically as awful as it was it could still be watchable, if not for the music. This has got to be the worst soundtrack I have ever heard, and that includes the music from “Turkish Star Wars” which was the theme from “Raiders of The Lost Arch” played over and over again. It seems like Boll was going for that epic feel that that all fantasy films try to do with booming orchestral scores, but it would seem he’s as tone deaf as he is inept at film making. This movie is epic fail and as such gets an F. If I hadn’t seen “House of The Dead” I would say this was his worst movie, and now I get to look forward to “Postal” and “Far Cry”, oh what joy.

Contest entry

This is a entry I made for a writing contest on another site. It required everyone to use the same opening (the first paragraph and the first line of dialogue) and it had to be 500 words or less. Many others had already done horror stories, so I had to do something else...here you go.



Dim lights played across their bodies, shadows dancing with every small movement they made. Kissing her soft red lips and looking into her eyes, he broke the quiet that had settled over them both.

"Don't marry him."

A thin blade of light shone through by the edge of the dirty curtain, lighting her face up as she looked towards it. Like she half expected it was her fiance pulling up. Her lover stared at her face, a beauty only he truly saw. To others she was plain but to him, breathtaking. But his heart ran cold as he looked; she had the look of a criminal facing trial. A strange mix of fear and guilt he had never seen before in her. Certainly not love… He silenced the thought before it could sink in.

“Don’t marry him, just leave. Be with me.”

He smiled at her as he realized this was the moment he had longed for. She wasn’t happy, not with her fiance, he was the one for her. He loved her, and he knew he always had. If things had only been different. So much wasted time, so many things left unsaid.

In the back of the small motel room a radio was just barley audible. Some generic light-rock band singing about love. Cliche, but it made the man feel stronger. The music gave him some courage.

After a long wait she finally spoke…“I can’t…I mean, I don’t know what to think right now. What will everyone think?”

“Who cares what they think!” There was a hint of panic in his voice. “ Don’t you love me?”

“Yes of course I do. I just…why can’t things just stay like this? I’m happy, aren’t you?”

He considered this for a moment. Was he happy? Not like this.

“Things can’t stay like this. If you love me we can just go, start somewhere new. Just us.”

“I love you but…I love him more.”

He sat silent, not wanting to even move. But he knew it was over.

“I’m sorry, for everything…”

He got up and left the room. He never looked back.Driving away he turns on his radio. Hoping the music will wash over him, anything to forget. First song to come on is “What if we could” by Blue October. The irony isn’t lost on him; in fact it’s the only thing keeping him listening. It’s as if it were his song.

“I’m glad to say that we met, but I’m sad to say that the circumstances weren’t on our side”

But is that it. Was it really the circumstances, or was it him? Deep thoughts, only broken by the feeling of a single tear rolling down his face. He wipes it away and scolds himself. He won’t giver her anymore. He had given her everything, his body, his mind, his heart. But she had never been his, not really…

The music filled him, but sometimes it’s better just to let go.

He turned off the radio.

Best of 2007 Review No Country For Old Men and There will Be Blood

Ok this may seem a bit late but I just want to give my own personal best of 2007 review. I’m going to breaking down No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood now that I have finally seen both, and have had time to really think about them. Also note this is not a comparison style review and don’t expect a top three towards the end. If you like the top three just wait for my next review, if you don’t know what I’m talking about feel free to check out my other reviews ;)

Lets start with No Country for Old Men as it was the first one I watched. The plot is, in essence, a simple one. Llewelyn Moss (played by Josh Brolin) stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong where he finds two million dollars. He takes the money and is now on the run from ultra badass Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), who is willing to kill anyone to get the money back. There is of course more to it but I don’t want to spoil anything. There is also an almost side-plot where we follow Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) as he discovers all the carnage Chigurh leaves in his wake. He always arrives just a little too late but is very important to the story because he provides an everyman character to fill our place in the story. He discovers all the pieces as we do, and gives us insight into the town around him. He begins and ends the story for us and sets a tone that follows through the movie with some truly amazing pieces of dialogue. There is also a character named Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson) who gives us a bit of background on Chigurh. Now that I have that out of the way let’s get into some criticism.

Bardem won his Oscar for a good reason, he was brilliant in this film. He played the most believable psychopath I have ever seen, which in this film is a really good thing. He was so cool and composed while killing and destroying (the action in this movie is brutal but also very stylish)and his dialogue was perfect, both sinister and brilliant. This is one of those movies where you’ll be thinking, “man I hope the bad guy survives". The rest of the cast is superb as well, with not one weak performance in sight. It’s also important to note the direction is great and the scenes are played out well to create all kinds of tension. Some beautiful cinematography aswell.

I never read the book but from what I hear the movie is very faithful to it. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because I’m assuming the lines the characters spoke come directly from the novel, but bad because they also brought in a flaw from the book. Anyone who has seen or followed this movie knows what I’m talking about. I’m going to clear this debate up now before I get ahead of myself, the movie has an ending and it’s perfect. What it lacks is a climax. And I don’t care what the fans of the book say you don’t cut out the climax of any story, no matter what medium it appears in. No matter how it’s portrait it’s a flaw. And yes it did make me mad until I realized the movie wasn’t done. The falling action (or the denouement, if you’re a lit geek like me) is awesome and resolution at the end sums up the entire film, both thematically and stylistically, perfect. Really the only problem lies with the lack of climax but at the same time this lone problem will make a lot of people mad, it’s the kind of flaw that could actually ruin the movie for you. But if you’re like me it will be over shadowed by the amazing acting and dialogue.

I loved this movie but I can’t give it a perfect score because of its one Achilles heel, the lack of a climax. So It’s an A and should be on your list of movies to see, unless you’re the kind of person who really needs that money shot to get off. But you know who you are and if that’s how you role I suggest the next movie I’ll review, There Will be Blood.

I heard nothing but praise about this movie going in, so my expectations were extremely high. Luckily, unlike most movies, this one did not disappoint. It was a really tight film with beautiful cinematograph great directing and…the acting. The acting is spectacular each character has so much depth and realism, but you won’t even notice them. Aside from the preacher kid the only thing you will watch is Daniel Day-Lewis, in one of the greatest performances I have ever seen. He was amazing, and though some might say the plot is only an excuse to see him act it doesn’t matter. There could have been no plot and I still would have been in awe for the entire film. If he had not won the Oscar it would have been a huge surprise.

The plot is good, not inspired but that’s not what the movie is about. It is a character film where we follow Daniel Day-Lewis’ character Daniel Plainview. We see him grow as a character; we see his highs and his lows. And no matter what path he takes we follow him, until the end. Now I know I haven’t mentioned any plot points so I’ll sum it up quick. Daniel is a self-made oilman in the process of build an oil empire and the bulk of the movie involves him trying to start a big oil site in Little Boston, California. He has to secure rights to drilling as well as deal with a young preacher named Eli Sunday (Paul Dano) who, like Daniel, wants power. Once again there is more to the plot but there is no sense ruining it for you. As mentioned it is good, just not brilliant. But what it does well is create situations that expose the depths of the main characters, especial Daniel.

It is a great film and has no real flaws. However some people will be turned off by it’s slow pace and emphasis on character development. It is certainly not an action flick. The first portion of the movie may bother some people as well, there is no dialogue for about the first ten or fifteen minutes. However if you’re the kind of person who loves to follow deep characters, loves beautiful directing and amazing acting, and isn’t bothered by the pacing this is an A+ movie.

Just to make this clear I actually enjoyed No Country for Old Men more. I loved both but for some reason No Country just struck a cord for me despite it’s flaw. However, on the whole There Will Be Blood is the better, stronger movie. If you have a problem with it’s pacing though you may prefer No Country because it is faster and more action packed. Both are extremely well written and if you are a movie lover you owe it to your self to see them both.