The Road to the Top

Director Nick Ryan's first documentary The Summit is a gripping tale of the horrible tragedy on K2 in 2008. I should state up front that very shortly before seeing this movie I had read the fantastic book Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. I think that may have influenced my viewing of the movie somewhat.

The Summit is a documentary, but it is one of those documentaries where you feel as though you don't know what happens at the end even though you do know what happens. The story follows the climbers from the beginning of the climb through to its tragic end and aftermath. You come away with an understanding of the passion that drives serious mountaineers, but also an idea of the terrible choices that people sometimes make on a mountain. That part was a bit difficult to understand. Why go on when things have gone so terribly wrong?

There were a couple of things about the documentary I did not enjoy. One, the movie claimed to be an exposition of some great mystery. From this I implied some sort of foul play, but the mystery was not really there in the documentary. My takeaway was that above 8000 meters things can get hazy and tragic. Two, I didn't really care for most of the actor reenactments of the events. Some were a bit too hokey. I should say that there were one or two that were very moving.

Those concerns aside this is a good documentary that tells an interesting story. The people interviewed seemed very frank in how they answered questions, and it didn't appear that anyone was trying to do some salvage job, or rewrite history. If you have any instance in mountaineering, or general adventure, you would probably enjoy this documentary.

6/10, but maybe 7/10 when I'm feeling very Tenzing Norgay

Let's Dance

I'm not sure what I expected from Silver Linings Playbook. David Russell really put together a very good film. Even a great movie, but not a super movie, or super great if you will.

This movie is very Bradley Cooper driven. His character is completely incapable of accepting reality, and yet at the same time is not oblivious to reality. There are strong performances from Jennifer Lawrence, Robert DeNiro, and most impressively, Chris Tucker. I think that my two favorite performances in this movie were Chris Tucker's and John Ortiz's. Ortiz's portrayal of Cooper's buddy overwhelmed in his marriage was fantastic. This is not to discount Jennifer Lawrence and Robert DeNiro. They both were exceptional in their roles. In fact, I think Jennifer Lawrence was more convincing than Bradley Cooper. There was a palpable sense of vulnerability in her character.

This is one of those movies where you watch it and you have your fair share of "What, is going on?" moments, but at the end you are very happy that you watched it. The story is sad. Bradley Cooper's situation is depressing, but the response of those around him is truly uplifting.

I don't think this movie should have been nominated for Best Picture (I can think of another movie that should have taken its slot), but it was a great movie.

9/10, this is a really good movie, a great movie. You will be happy you watched it.

How dare you attack the son of Odin!

Thor is the fourth movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series of films. Kenneth Branagh's film starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and that titan of character actors, Stellan Skarsgård is a decently entertaining film. Also, isn't it weird that this is a Kenneth Branagh film?

For those unfamiliar with Norse mythology, Thor is one of the Norse gods and the son of Odin (played in typical intense fashion by Anthony Hopkins) the head honcho Norse god. In the movie Thor falls out of Odin's favor, and proceeds to engage in shenanigans down on Earth. On Earth Thor encounters Natalie Portman, and Stellan Skarsgård. You see Portman and Skarsgård's character are scientists, and they are ahh researching stuff, about like the sky or something? It doesn't really matter. This movie is not to be taken seriously, and it doesn't take itself seriously. Agent Colson (played with characteristic deadpan by Clark Gregg) from S.H.E.I.L.D. is a main character in the movie. Thor isn't the same on Earth as he is on Asgard. This movie is classic fish out of water. Blah, blah, blah.

If you catch this movie on a lazy day it is worth leaving it on. The acting is serviceable, the story mostly makes sense, and if you are a fan of the Marvel movies you should probably watch it. There isn't a lot to the movie, but it is fun.

6/10, but really more like 6.5. This is no Iron Man, but it is definitely consumable comic book fare.

WELCOME TO THE ROCK!!

Michael Bay's The Rock may be the quintessential 90's action movie. It has all the absurdity that you would expect from the pre-911 action genre. In fact, I think the only other movie that comes close to competing with it would probably be True Lies. Now before this post devolves into a one-man love fest of the Governator I should get back to The Rock.

The Rock is a reference to Alcatraz Island and accordingly, the movie is aptly named, because it is where the action in the movie takes place. You have people breaking into Alcatraz, people that broke out of Alcatraz, and people that just wanted a picture of them behind bars at Alcatraz before they went back to their hotel. The acting in this movie is actually really pretty good. Ed Harris's portrayal of the misguided general is believable in nearly every way. Sean Connery basically plays a retired James Bond, and there is nothing wrong with that. Nicholas Cage. Well, Nicholas Cage plays Nicholas Cage. He isn't losing it the whole time, but he is very Cagey.

Here's the deal. The Rock is a good movie. People don't want to accept that because of Nicholas Cage, and because it is a Michael Bay movie. However, if you don't believe me, maybe you'll believe what the late Roger Ebert had to say about the film. The movie is a fun no frills action movie. It doesn't go over the top with special effects, and it delivers equal parts suspense and absurdity in a delightful manner. If you like action movies, The Rock is for you.

8/10, own it, will watch again, and again, favorite Michael Bay movie, that's a short list

I like the way you die boy.

Django Unchained. Quentin Tarantino. Jamie Foxx. Christoph Waltz. Do I really need to keep typing things? Kerry Washington. Leonardo DiCaprio. Samuel L. Jackson.

This Tarantino offering, like many of his other films, is packed full of quality performances by the actors. Additionally, it's not just the actors performances that are quality. As you have no doubt come to expect, the story, cinematography, music selections, and overall feel of the movie are also of the highest quality. I can only speculate that Tarantino has the most voluminous movie mind out there. Every shot that he does seems to have meaning and is a homage to some other famous movie. For example, Waltz's character being a dentist is apparently a reference to an old Bob Hope movie, The Paleface.

The movie is in the style of an old Spaghetti Western revenge flick. Since this is Quentin Tarantino we're talking about the movie is gory. In fact, this movie has one of Tarantino's highest death tolls. The carnage is not really the central focus though. The movie is much more about Django's odyssey to find his wife Broomhilda.

The great thing about a Tarantino movie, and really all well done movies, is the level of detail in each shot. For example, there is a scene where Django and Christoph Waltz's character Dr. Schultz go into a bar. Dr. Schultz goes and pours a beer for himself and Django and you are treated to a closeup of Dr. Schultz wiping off the top of the head from the beer. I don't know why, but I just thought that was such a cool little detail to add. That little closeup probably isn't even important to the story in anyway, but you'll appreciate it when you see it.

9/10 will watch again, gory, but great revenge/rescue epic

P.S. There was buzz about DiCaprio and Jackson being snubbed, and truth be told they were fantastic in the movie, but I've come to expect such superb performances from them every movie so just how fantastic they are seems self-evident to me.

Wielding Neptune's Spear

The operation that killed Osama bin Laden is not without controversy. Anything surrounding terrorism is, and always will be, a loaded subject. Some people even accuse Kathryn Bigelow's movie Zero Dark Thirty of being a propaganda piece. I have no comment on all of that, because I just write about movies as movies.

As an aside, apparently, 2012 was the year of the CIA movie since Zero Dark Thirty lost the Academy Award for Best Picture to Argo. Yeah, yeah, but what about this movie?

This movie is all about Jessica Chastain, and she rightfully earned a Best Actress nomination for her role as Maya. More to the point, this movie is all about Maya's obsession. It shouldn't come as a surprise that she is obsessed with finding Osama bin Laden. With each event Maya believes she is getting closer to finding bin Laden, but that isn't really the case.

The supporting actors are all quite solid, such as Kyle Chandler and Jennifer Ehle, but the two that really stick out for me were Reda Kateb (as the detainee Ammar) and Jason Clarke (as the CIA officer Dan). The interaction between Ammar and Dan is uncomfortable on many levels, but it would be hard to say it isn't convincing. There is also a considerable amount of torture in the film. You've been warned.

This movie could easily fall into the category of "not needing to see again," not because it is a bad movie, but because it hits a little too close to home. You already know the story, and yet the tension is there. So many emotions surrounding the subject matter are evoked by the film that it could be the kind of thing you don't want to revisit.

9/10, although I reserve the right to roll it back to 8/10 if I ever watch it again. I thought it was a great movie, but there's something about it I can't put my finger on.

Tin man gets a heart

Writing this review of Iron Man 3 was difficult in that I didn't want to reveal too many spoilers. Ultimately, this is the worst of the Iron Man movies. That doesn't mean that the movie is bad, but that the other two are pretty good. If I had to rank the movies from best to worst I would do so in the order that they came out.

Robert Downey Jr. is so familiar with the character at this point that it looks almost too easy for him to pull off Tony Stark. Somewhat surprising to myself in this one is how much screen time is devoted to Gwyneth Paltrow's character Pepper Potts. However, upon reflection, it does make sense, because the events center almost entirely around Pepper and Tony's relationship.

From the trailers I was expecting a very epic clash between a worthy mad genius foil for Tony Stark, ie The Mandarin. I will say this, Ben Kingsley can do no wrong. Spoiler alert, do not click this link about why comic book fans didn't like the Mandarin in this movie.

Apart from the aforementioned controversy this movie actually has the most tension of all the Iron Man movies. Iron Man might not make it through this time. The enemy is substantial, and the fight is larger than before. You've got all the necessary Iron Man whiz bang, and snarkiness. Don Cheadle is there to help out. And you know what, that is enough. Definitely a movie you wouldn't mind watching if it happened to be on, and you'd probably deem it a worthy waste of time.

7/10 Good cap to the series......so far, I mean they are going to make another, no way they don't

P.S. Guy Pearce is in this movie, and he is almost as scuzzy as he was in Lawless. All I've got to say about that.

AS YOU WISH!!!

At its core, The Princess Bride really is a love story. Sure, there is a ton of comedic gold, and the narrator can be jarring, but ultimately this is about Westley and Buttercup. This movie is as witty as they come, and equally memorable, but at the end of the day it is all about "Toooooo bllllluuuuuuuuuffffffff."

True love is the motivation for our principal actors, Cary Elwes and Robin Wright, respectively Westley and Buttercup. Speaking of actors who never became as big as they probably should have, this was hands down André René Roussimoff's greatest film role. Yes, he was only in five films, but so what? The guy was great in this particular movie, and how dare you denigrate his memory.

Now that I think about it, the narrator, aka Grandpa, (played masterfully by Peter Falk) really adds a lot to the film. Initially, you are kind of like "come on," but later in the movie he adds an element of suspense. In reality, all of the pieces in this narrative play a useful and enjoyable role. Miracle Max played by Billy Crystal and his wife Valerie played by Carol Kane, are such a welcome addition, and really when you think about how little they occupy the screen it is a rather outsized addition. Of course there is also Fezzik and Inigo's boss Vizzini deftly portrayed by Wallace Shawn. Full disclosure, I had to look up his character's name, because I'm pretty sure it is never mentioned in the movie. Maybe during the game of wits.

This movie belongs in the definitive collection of American films. The film has a little bit of everything for everyone. You can't go wrong watching this. Even if you aren't in a movie mood I guarantee if you force yourself to start watching it you will be happy with your decision.

10/10 will watch an innumerable amount of times in my life

Fake Movie, Real Acting

Argo is a very good movie. Ben Affleck manages to continue directing engaging, and gripping films. I would have never guessed that from the guy in the southie tuxedo in Good Will Hunting, but it is the current reality.

For those that don't know, Argo is based on the Iran Hostage Crisis, and specifically the Canadian Caper. This isn't required knowledge to enjoy the movie, but it helps you with context. I went into the movie knowing a little about these historical events and it didn't ruin my movie experience.

I think that John Goodman's performance in this movie sticks out above all the others. For some reason I totally bought him as the Hollywood insider, injected enough into the industry, but detached enough that he would have the freedom to indulge his inner patriot and help the CIA. Also, I really liked the main revolutionary guard that holds them up at the airport, I think the actor is Bahram Khosraviani. It was a small role, but I thought he nailed it.

It's kind of odd to try to analyze the movie, because it is based on actual events, so I can't really complain about a bunch of plot points. However, not all of the facts are known about the event, and as such I do think that the way that they portrayed things was well done. I didn't feel like they made the scenes too Hollywood. I guess you could quibble about the bazaar scene, or the escape from the embassy, but that seems a little extreme to me. The ending was for sure a little dramatic, and I read that the former Canadian ambassador was a bit miffed that Canada's role was not played up to its actual level, but other than that I think the movie was pretty compelling.

Solid movie which was an easy choice for Best Picture, 8/10, will see again

A Long Time Ago Almost Exactly as I Remember

May the Fourth has become a bit of a national holiday for Star Wars nerds like myself. So, like any good observing member of a faith-based group who observes their respective holidays, I elected to watch Star Wars this past May the Fourth. I chose Episode IV: A New Hope because in many ways that is the most complete film. George Lucas managed to nail directing his third feature length movie. Go figure. I've seen the movie more times than I could ever count, but I tried to be a little more critical while watching it this time.

First off, Star Wars as a whole is deliciously cheesy. The movie is really broken up into a bunch of mini-narratives which transition like power point slides. Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher were surprisingly good as Luke and Leia. I think there performance is somewhat glossed over by people that are hung up on the subject matter of the film. I did notice that Sir Alec Guinness was a little out of place as Obi-Wan, probably, because he was one of Britain's most acclaimed actors of all time, and the role may be a bit below him.

As I struggled to write this critique I realized that I can't really critique this movie. You see, Star Wars is a part of me, for better or worse. I just can't treat this movie, or any of the other movies in the original trilogy, the same as any other movie. I suppose that might be a deficiency I have, but truly I don't care. I love this movie, and all of the Star Wars movies, even the prequels. They represent something pure and detached from reality. I fully understand the marketing angle employed in the prequels, and arguably in the original trilogy as well, but the beauty of the tropes utilized by Lucas in all the movies is that they are damn near universal. What adventurous kid with dreams bigger than their surroundings doesn't want to save the galaxy like Luke Skywalker?

The fact of the matter is that Star Wars is not novel. Star Wars is based almost completely on preexisting material, but it is culturally significant to a particular time period. As many would argue all creative work is derivative, but in my opinion, this is a particularly apt derivative work.

You don't watch Star Wars because you want to see great film-making. You watch Star Wars because you want to see a great film.

10/10, Will watch again and again, and introduce my children and grandchildren to the series

Oh, by the way, Harrison Ford plays Han Solo masterfully. But, you already knew that so it wasn't really worth mentioning.

Just Another Day in Paradise

"Puerto Rico Welcomes You!" reads the banner as the plane streaks by Johnny Depp's hotel room in this hilariously quirky, but twisted comedy. The Rum Diary is based off of Hunter S. Thompson's novel of the same name. Director Bruce Robinson intentionally, or unintentionally, does a homage to the mayhem of and absurdity of Johnny Depp's other take on a Hunter S. Thompson work, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

I'll just come out and say it, this movie has two of my biggest man crushes: Johnny Depp, and Aaron Eckhart. Eckhart plays the exploitative yankee businessman keen to capitalize on the sugar sand beaches and perfect clime of la Isla Encanta. There are other interesting characters we meet in this playful romp, such as: Giovanni Ribisi as apparently an employed reporter, Michael Rispoli as a reporter who claims to know the island, and Richard Jenkins as the editor of the paper that hired Depp.

However, it is Depp's relationship with another man's woman that really drives the story. Amber Heard is excellent as a more than meets the eyes woman who Depp covets from Eckhart. Their affair motivates Depp to action, and well you get the rest.

I loved this movie. It wasn't a great film per se, but it was deliciously entertaining to me. They do an excellent job of capitalizing on the beauty of the island to further what I guess they are calling a plot. In a lot of ways the plot is really just "let's have Johnny Depp play a reporter on drugs in the Caribbean and see what happens."

7/10, but I'm probably being generous on the score, it is realistically a 6/10 that bats like a 8-9/10

It was him, right?

The movie Zodiac is creepy. For those of you unfamiliar with the movie it is based on the historical events surrounding the Zodiac Killer who terrorized California in the late 60s and 70s. David Fincher's film does an excellent job of roping you in to the story, and generally making your skin crawl.

One of the things that I really thought was done well was the general sense of unease that you felt throughout the film. Is this person the killer? Is that person the killer? Will they find the killer? Jake Gyllenhaal was perfect parts obsessed, endearing, and quirky as the illustrator interested in Zodiac. Likewise, Mark Ruffalo was superb as the Inspector hunting Zodiac. For my money, John Carroll Lynch was the best actor in this film as the suspected Zodiac Arthur Leigh Allen. His ability to portray a sort of detached humanity and casual evil was off-putting.

I thought that Chloë Sevigny did a great job in her role by being convincingly understanding, yet pragmatic about her husband's obsession. She hated the obsession, but she realized she couldn't control it, and so left him to finish it alone.

One thing that was a little confusing is that the current temporal position in the story was sometimes hard to discern. Months would fly by, and although you did get guideposts via onscreen text it could feel a little off. Along those lines I have no idea how closely the movie followed the facts of the case. This may seem like a minor point, and it probably it is, but I thought it was pretty wild that the police officers cooperated so much with Gyllenhaal. On the other hand, if Robert Graysmith, who is played by Gyllenhaal was able to figure all of this out without the help of police that is probably more ridiculous.

Worthwhile movie that moves along at the right pace at the right times, 8/10 easily

One Day of Autumn

500 Days of Summer is a good movie. Marc Webb's movie is a little self-indulgent at times, but not to the point of making you annoyed with its borderline hipsterness. The cast I thought was great, and the story was more or less believable.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays our would be Romeo, Tom, and Zooey Deschanel is his somewhat distant, unwilling Juliet. The movie claims to not be a love story, but it clearly is. on this point, I actually found Zooey Deschanel convincing as a cold uncaring lover. The reason why? She always seems so flighty in her movies. Not necessarily in a bad way, but more so in a detached "Heeeeeey" kind of way. You remember what she was like in Elf? She was engaged, to a point.

Gordon-Levitt has quite the support system in this movie. There is his sage little sister Rachel played by Chloe Grace Moretz. His two buddies are played by Geoffrey Arend, and Matthew Gubler. As far as these supporting characters go his little sister takes the cake. When it comes to dealing with Tom's neurotic behavior she offers up pearls of wisdom beyond her years. I was a little disappointed that when Rachel asked Tom to look back on his relationship with Summer that he did not see the actions of Summer more negatively. I mean, it was a negative portrayal, but not as much as I thought they could do by repackaging his memories.

I don't really have much else to say about this movie. It was a good comedy, and really worthwhile, but I don't have much to add. Quirky movie. I did really like that Tom keeps his optimism in the end, and dares to dream again when he goes to his job interview. The world needs idealists.

7/10, would watch again

Downey Jr. Continues his Jaunt as Snarky Billionaire

I watched Iron Man 2 recently. I would say it was as enjoyable as the first Iron Man. Much like my critique of the first Iron Man (which I saw about a month prior to viewing Iron Man 2) I bought into a lot of the characters. The movie was entertaining, and a good sequel to the first.

Often times sequels fail to live up to the standard that the first movie established. I'm thinking of things like: Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, The Matrix Reloaded, Die Hard 2, etc. It's not that these movies are bad per se, it's that they weren't confident enough in being their own movie, so they just did the first movie over. Now, it probably seems like the difference between the approach of those three movies to being a sequel and Iron Man 2's approach is not that different. I would agree with you in part, but disagree overall.

Iron Man 2 operates under a separate paradigm from the first movie. Here Tony Stark is known the world over as Iron Man, and things are pretty hunky-dory. But, of course things are not what they seem. There is trouble brewing in Russia. Iron Man has a dangerous secret. He wants to give up, but he finds redemption, and together with the help of his friends saves the world! Isn't that the same story arc as the first movie? Yeah, more or less, but so what? This movie was just as entertaining as I was hoping it would be.

Robert Downey, Jr. was his typical solid self. Mickey Rourke did a more than sufficient job as Ivan Vanko, ie the bad guy. Although, to be honest, it was a little hard to think of Rourke as some sort of tech genius. I'm not sure who should have been cast in the alternative. Maybe Peter Stormare? Peter Stormare can be pretty menacing. I mean if you told me that guy would be getting behind a computer, and then breaking someone's neck I would say "Sure, seems believable". Seriously, why didn't they call Peter Stormare? Other than that minor issue, I thought the returning actors did a good job, and the new additions (Don Cheadle, and Scarlett Johansson) were believable in their respective roles.

Oh yeah, Sam Rockwell is in this movie. Has there ever been a more outmatched villain than Rockwell in this movie? Yes. Vernon Wells as Bennett in Commando. Rockwell was very Rockwelly, and kind of annoying, which makes me question my assessment of other Rockwell movies.

All told, the movie was just as entertaining as the first one, and advanced the overall Iron Man story nicely. I look forward to the third installment coming out in less than a month.

7/10 would watch again, probably multiples

An Uncomfortable Reality

The Savages is a good movie. I won't go so far as to say it is a great movie, but it touches on all the hallmarks of a quality dramatic film: tension, relationships, uncertainty, relatability, redemption, and closure. I can understand why there was considerable buzz around this movie when it came out. Tamara Jenkin's movie deals with an all too common reality here in the United States, what a family is to do with a loved one as they pass beyond the point of being able to care for themselves.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Laura Linney play a convincing brother and sister pair that have to figure out what to do with their father, Lenny. Although not exactly stated in the movie, the viewer is correct to assume that Lenny was an abusive father. There are frequent references to this throughout the film. Despite this strike against Lenny, his character is still highly sympathetic. The movie is difficult to watch sometimes because of Lenny's inability to cope with situations as well as the multiple indignities he suffers. Speaking of Lenny, the actor who plays him, Philip Bosco, did a very convincing job. He manages to slip in and out of lucidity in a very natural manner.

I could have used a little more background information on the family dynamic as a whole, specifically how their mother fit into the equation. Did she die young? Did she run away? Was she even more abusive than Lenny? The two kids hadn't spoken with their father in a long time when all of the action of the film starts occurring, but we aren't given much of a window into what the characters were like before their current time. I get that the kids are neurotic, and intelligent, but ultimately a little messed up, but it doesn't feel entirely organic, or justified. Perhaps that is my own biases coming into play.

I think that my favorite character in the movie may have ended up being the attendant Jimmy at the nursing home, played by Gbenga Akinnagbe. Jimmy is one of the few characters developed in the movie that seems relatively normal. He is audience to the final moments of the Savage family, and there isn't much he can do to avoid that, but he takes it in stride.

The movie was a pretty realistic, at least I think, portrayal of our nursing home culture. The movie moves slowly at times, but so does life. As if to accentuate that slowness, the movie makes ample use of dramatic pauses, awkward situations, and emotion to bring you in. I don't know if I would watch the movie again by choice. I'm not sure I would turn the channel if it came on tv, but at times it seemed just a little too real.

8/10, glad I watched it, but may not see again.

A Lonely and Secret World

I re-watched The Good Shepherd and I must say that it is far darker than I remember. I can't help but feeling quite sorry for Edward. The life that he eventually lives can't be what the budding young poet had in mind. There really is nothing happy about the movie. The movie is not only dark from a thematic standpoint, but it is also just dark in general.

I remember the first time I watched the movie I was enthralled with the story it told about the CIA. This time around I was much more interested in the story of Edward. The movie is in part about the CIA, but really it is about the rise of, and compromising of, Matt Damon's character. He dutifully does as he is asked throughout the movie, but then he goes and has his dalliances throughout the film. He is a very flawed character, but I found him a very compelling character. He is obviously pained as he goes through his life, but he rarely shows it on his face.

The movie did a good job of pacing that I don't recall from my first viewing. It is a long movie, but it does cover a lot of ground. The story it tells, if you are a fan of Cold War history, is one that will keep you connected to the film. The supporting cast is excellent, although I thought Angelina Jolie's character was a little off. I think they should have cast someone a little less va voom, and a little more conservative.

This is Robert De Niro's film (he directed it) because his character takes the cake. His lines are full of gems about the nature of the CIA. Although he was obviously a bigot, he was the only character who showed concern for the agencies place in American society. The movie ends with Lee Pace's character Richard Haye's calling Damon the "heart and soul" of the agency. That was almost exactly what De Niro advised a young Edward against happening.

I should mention something about Edward's son. The dynamic between the two is fairly straightforward: Edward, the distant father; Edward, Jr., the starving for approval son. What is interesting to me is that Edward does sacrifice his son's happiness because of his commitment to a higher duty than his family. Yet another tragic layer to an already tragic figure.

Good movie. A bit confusing at times, but I would watch it again for sure.

7/10, already own it, gonna watch it again.

Downey Jr. Plays Snarky Playboy

It took me forever to see the first Iron Man movie, but I am happy I finally did. Jon Favreau's movie was thoroughly entertaining. First off, Robert Downey, Jr. is perfectly cast as Iron Man. There is something about his personality that matches the snarky, playboy billionaire that Tony Stark is supposed to be. The casting of Gwynenth Paltrow doesn't make all that much sense to me, however, I do think she was good in the role. I think it is mostly just odd to see her in such a supporting role, although I guess her last lead role was Sky Captain? Bounce? Seriously, what is Gwyneth Paltrow doing these days?

The film itself was quite enjoyable. The plot was very straightforward comic book fare, but at the same time wasn't overly cheesy. The delivery of one-liners was timely, and not awkward. There was a sufficient back story for me to believe Stark's transformation from nihilist to savior. One thing that I would have liked to see more of was information on the leader of the Ten Rings. Up until the point he showed up it seemed like Stark was kidnapped by a fairly unsophisticated bunch, but then BAM some dude with no accent shows up speaking English, and laying down the law. That was an interesting twist. Also, Jeff Bridges losing his mind was not terribly convincing. I mean, yes, he did get his hit exposed by Paltrow's character, but then he just decides to suit up? He doesn't try to flee? He just goes nuts? I think maybe if Jeff Bridges had whipped out a silenced pistol and killed the leader of Ten Rings I would be a little more okay with his suiting up at the end of the movie. Point being, he didn't do enough explicitly bad things (aside from ordering the hit) to make me buy the suit donning. I guess he did later say that he didn't have the stomach "for this kind of thing," but that seems very insufficient.

I think as far as comic book movies go, this has to be near the top for me. My first introduction to Iron Man was The Avengers. I loved the Avengers, and specifically Robert Downey, Jr. It is pretty easy to kind of do whatever you want technology wise when your protagonist is a billionaire weapons manufacturer. You can just have him invent stuff. I feel like the movie ended perfectly to set up the next in the series. In this movie SHIELD's involvement is somewhat confusing, but it doesn't take away from the movie. You probably just think that there is no reason for them being there. That is assuming you aren't familiar with the comic book universe, or The Avengers.

I wonder if I would like this as much if someone else had played Iron Man. I also wonder how much of the character is just just Downey, Jr. himself, and not acting. Come to think of it, he is like this in pretty much every movie. That's not a knock on Downey, Jr., but more of an observation.

All around, I would totally watch this again. I would recommend it to others, but I think a great many people I know have already seen it.

8/10, will watch again, probably buy too, seriously fun.