Iron Man 3

ACTION/ADVENTURE

The Demons We Create

8.5 out of 10 | Movie and DVD

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Rated: PG-13 Sequences of intense sci-fi action violence throughout, and brief suggestive content
Release Date: May 3, 2013
Runtime: 2 hours 20 minutes

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Director: Shane Black
Writers: Shane Black, Drew Pearce
Cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Ben Kingley, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau, James Badge Dale, Stephanie Szostak, Paul Bettany, William Sadler, Ty Simpkins, Miguel Ferrer

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SYNOPSIS:  After the events in New York City fight off the alien attack alongside Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye and Black Widow, Tony Stark's world is further torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin. After those he holds dear are put into jeopardy, Stark starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.

REVIEW: Shane Black re-invented the action genre with his screenplay for Mel Gibson's Lethal Weapon. After writing The Long Kiss Goodnight, Black slipped into the background for a period of time before he and Robert Downey, Jr. on the 2005 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. That film may have been the catalyst that reintroduced both into A-list territory again. Now they collaborate again, with writing efforts from Drew Pearce (the upcoming Pacific Rim), with the fourth adventure of the armored avenger named Iron Man.

The alien attack on New York City from a wormhole connected to the other side of the galaxy is over. The Avengers have disbanded for the moment. Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr., The Avengers), still suffering from the aftermath of the battle and his near death experience, finds he can not sleep and finds himself spending sleepless nights making new Mark armors. Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow, Contagion) has moved in with Stark at his Malibu ocean front home, with her and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau, Identity Thief) working at Stark Industries. Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle, Flight) still pilots the War Machine suit, repainted and renamed the Iron Patriot as it serves the United States' interests.  AIM think tank director Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce, Prometheus) approaches Pepper with the idea of rewriting the human DNA structure for healing people, but she worries that the technology is too easily concerted to a weaponized version. All the while, United States President Ellis (William Sadler, Man on a Ledge) and Vice President Rodriguez (Miguel Ferrer, The Manchurian Candidate) deal with a new terrorist threat in the form of The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley, The Dictator), a man who hi-jacks the airwaves with announcements of America's corruption and need for cleansing fire. When a bomb blast puts Happy in a coma, Tony declares to the public that The Mandarin is in Iron Man's vengeful cross-hairs. Tony's public announcement sets off a chain reaction of destruction and damage that tests the limits of both the Iron Man suit and Tony's determination and abilities.

Tony Stark has come a long way from his abduction and captivity in the desert under the thumb of the Ten Rings. He has endured threats from within his own company and threats by his own government. Now a hero in the eyes of the nation, he must deal with internal demons revolving around his own insecurities against defending against the unknown, and new international terrorist threats that strike too close to his own home and family. Insomnia and anxiety rule his life, even with the support of Pepper.

Shane Black brings a different dynamic and tone to the third solo Iron Man adventure. Pulling his source from the 'Extremis' storyline, Black and Pearce create a modern villain to put in Tony Stark's path, coupling that hidden threat with the public face of Iron Man's most famous nemesis, The Mandarin. Tony Stark must face overwhelming powerful enemies, face questions about his own mortality against the likes of gods, aliens, and monsters, and face the fact that even with all of his armor he must rely on his own guile and wit. In the first two Iron Man films, Stark's genius created the Mark suits to win the day. In Iron Man 3, the power of the suits in simply not enough - no matter how smart Stark is.

Robert Downey, Jr. shows again why there is no other choice to fill the Mark suits as Tony Stark. Its not just the designer sunglasses and well groomed facial hair. Downey, Jr. has the humor, physicality, snark, and range to put Tony through all of his paces. Jon Favreau acts his namesake as Happy Hogan, happy to be an actor instead of pulling directing duties as well. He even gets to play detective for a bit. Paltrow shows she is not just a pretty face, donning the Iron Man suit on one occasion and kicking serious butt in another. Guy Pearce is at his slick, charismatic best as the rival genius Killian to Stark, taking Iron Man 2's Justin Hammer and adding a more beautiful exterior and a more mad scientist interior. Ben Kingsley, who may never hear the end of it from the devotee fans of the comics about his interpretation of The Mandarin, brings the Iron Man villain to an all-too-real modern era as a terrorist, losing the powers of the alien rings that the comics' Mandarin relied on to face the armored avenger. Rebecca Hall (Everything Must Go) joins the cast as bio-geneticist Maya Hansen. 
Joining the bad guys, James Badge Dale (The Grey) plays Killian #2 thug Savin and Stephanie Szostak (We Bought a Zoo) plays soldier Brandt. Paul Bettany (Priest) returns as the trusty A.I. servant Jarvis, and Ty Simpkins (Insidious) plays young Harley Keener, a kid that seems to set off Tony's anxieties with a couple simple questions.

Shane Black plays with a 70s motif and sensibility, making Tony Stark deal with a mystery that he may not be able to solve with computer models and simulations - or his powerful armor. Part Bourne Identity, part Mission: Impossible, part I Spy, Stark deals with a threat as fluid as Cold War tension and as real as Modern Era terrorism. Stay through the graphic end credits for the retro style and music to end cap Black's tone. Also stay until the end for an Easter egg scene. It's not as geek-tastic as some of the sequences we have seen in the past, but it is amusing.

Iron Man 3 is a different machine from previous outings. A little more serious than Favreau's films, this sequel has everything we have come to expect, and more. The only thing missing is the AC/DC soundtrack.

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Flight

Grounded

★ ★ ★ out of 5 buckets | Rental

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Rated: R  Intense Action Sequence, Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Language and Sexuality/Nudity

Release Date: November 2, 2012

Runtime: 2 hours 18 minutes

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Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: John Gatins
Cast: Denzel Washington, Nadine Velazquez, Tamara Tunie, brian Geraghty, Bruce Greenwood, John Goodman, Don Cheadle, Kelly Reilly

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SYNOPSIS:  After a veteran airline pilot saves a flight from crashing, an investigation into the malfunctions reveals that he may have been at fault.

REVIEW: Robert Zemeckis, one of Steven Spielberg's favored directors, has made a name for himself with the Back to the Future trilogy, special effect spectacles like A Christmas Carol, Beowulf, and The Polar Express, and dramatic triumphs like Cast Away. Real Steel and Coach Carter writer John Gatins takes to the skies with his script as Zemeckis returns to live action for a more grounded film involving a veteran pilot who becomes both a man of heroics and his share of secrets and struggles.

Captain Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington, Safe House) and flight attendant Katerina Marquez (Nadine Velazquez, War) take in a booze- and drug-filled three days sabbatical before returning to active duty on a flight pushing away from a Miami terminal. Joined on the flight crew are lead flight attendant Margaret Thomason (Tamara Tunie, Missed Connections), new co-pilot Ken Evans (Brian Geraghty, ATM), and co-flight attendant Camelia Satou (Boni Yanagisawa, Bare Knuckles). When the Captain diverts the flightplan due to severe turbulence, he managed to find some calm air and let the co-pilot take over for the majority of the flight while he gets some shut-eye. When the plane starts shuttering, the tail elevator freezes, and the planes goes into a nose-dive, Captain Whitaker does the unthinkable and rolls the plane onto its back, rights it again out of the dive, and glides the bird into an open field for a crash landing that most of the passengers and crew survive. Taken to the hospital with a concussion and bruising, Captain Whip becomes an instant celebrity and hero. But as the investigation starts, the Captain's flight fitness is called into question as a select few find out about his blood alcohol level. Whitaker takes to his father's old farm to get away from the spotlight, desperate to change his ways and gain a grip on sobriety. In his corner are pilots' union rep Charlie Anderson (Bruce Greenwood, Super 8), high-powered attorney Hugh Lang (Don Cheadle, Iron-Man 2), drug peddler Harling Mays (John Goodman, Trouble with the Curve), and a just-recovering heroin addict Nicole (Kelly Reilly, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) who seems more serious about recovery than Captain Whitaker.

Flight has been touted by most of the critic as 'terrific', 'riveting', and 'inspiring'. The visuals from the trailer of the daring save of the full flight, and the aftermath of a man who risked trusting his instincts to pull off the nigh-impossible save and suffers with his own share of secrets with the risk of exposure to the world media, would seem to make for a superior dramatic film worthy of Denzel Washington's stature and caliber of acting. I thought this could be the next Leaving Las Vegas. And in some ways, it is.

The first act is about the luxury and status that veteran airline pilots enjoy as commanders of their own vessels. Although divorced with a son, Whitaker enjoys copious amounts of booze, hard drugs, and the affections of a beautiful flight attendant. Even so, his experience and calm in flight saves the day and most of the crew and passengers. The visuals are stunning and the minutes leading up to the crash are intense. The rest of the film centers around Denzel's Captain Whitaker recovery, the atfermath of the crash and the ensuing investigation, and the decisions Whitaker must come to grips with concerning his own mortality and sobriety. Can he give up abusing legal and illegal substances for good - or at least as long as the investigation hearing?


With roaring rhythms of The Rolling Stones, Denzel Washington's Whitaker swaggers onto the jetways and tarmacs, exuding the confidence that only the indestructible can have. Even after the crash, his survival just reinforces the fact of his own immortality. Also notable in the film is Kelly Reilly's Nicole as the recovering addict who befriends Whitaker at his worst moments at risk to herself. Don Cheadle and John Goodman steal every scene they touch, whether sharing screen-time with Denzel or not. Cheadle is amazing as the reserved attorney with as much confidence as Denzel's Whitaker. Goodman's turn as Whitaker's drug contact is both hilarious and inspired. Taking a page out of the book of The Big Lebowski, Goodman switches from Walter Sobchak directly to The Dude.

With high hopes for Flight, I was somewhat disappointed. I will never say that Denzel, Reilly, Goodman, and Cheadle are not superior craftsman. They are always brilliant! Their performances are what get this story off the ground. But after the plane crash, the intensity of the story nose-dives into something more akin to a Lifetime Movie of the Week. Zemeckis has proven he has the directing talent with Cast Away and Forrest Gump, but something in Flight is missing that keeps it from completely pushing back from the narrative terminal.

Flight may be touted as a phenomenal film by others, but there is something missing from the flight plan to may it truly soar from beginning to end. A solid film, Flight will win on performances but may end up as memorable a tale as an in-flight movie.

Iron Man 2

Iron and Intrigue

[Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell]

Even though I was under the weather a bit, I still made it out to the theater for the sophomore effort of Iron Man. I indulged in a bucket of pop corn and kicked back for the festivities.

SYNOPSIS: Tony Stark and his alter ego, Iron Man, are targeted by a genius looking for revenge against the Stark family and a weapons manufacturer looking to take over Stark's government contracts.

As with all sequels, the same question comes up. Can you guess? Of course you know what it is. The question is whether Iron Man 2 is better or as good as the original. Cameron's "Aliens" pleased Scott's "Alien" fans with more fear and fire power, "Spider-man 2" grew up after "Spider-man" origins, and "The Empire Strikes Back" was the peak of the series, whether it is considered part 2 or 5. But for every "Empire...", there is a "Poltergeist 2", "Predator 2" and Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2". Where does "iron Man 2" fit in?

Reviewers have been critical about the film, and understandingly so. "Iron Man" was a great retelling of the Marvel character's origin. A great mix of humor and action, kinetic and fast-paced. "Iron Man 2" strives for the same humor and succeeds, but is tempered by less action and more intrigue. Where the original was straight forward, "Iron Man 2" delves a little deeper into the Stark psyche and his personal demons. While there are a pair of villains in each film, Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko and Sam Rockwell as the defense weaponeer Justin Hammer ramp up the vile and vengeance.

Robert Downey, Jr. returns as the billionaire industrialist Tony Stark, mere months after he announced to the world that he was the armored avenger, Iron Man. Failing to manage his company, his hero duties, and his deteriorating health, he turns the reign of Stark CEO over to Pepper Potts. Fearing his own mortality, Stark spirals out of control with drinking and recklessness, in and out of the suit.

Downey's supporting cast mesh in this second outing. Don Cheadle's Rhodey replaces Terrance Howard without skipping a beat. And he finally gets to don the suit under the guise of War Machine. Rourke brings a wonderful Russian accent and dense intensity to every frame as the hybrid marvel villain Ivan Vanko (Crimson Dynamo) using the tech of the villain Whiplash. Sam Rockwell weasels and worms his way through the movie as Stark's second string defense contractor rival Justin Hammer, pulling all possible strings to undermine Stark and his company in order to get government contracts. Scarlet Johansson joins S.H.I.E.L.D. as the double agent Black Widow, and Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg return as Nick Fury and Agent Coulson, providing easter eggs, hints and clues as to the expanding Marvel universe.

I know I haven't answered the question as to whether "Iron Man 2" is as good or better than the original. Whether it is or not doesn't seem to have had any effect on its box office numbers. And in the end, the legacy of the second "Iron Man" film will rest, not on the words of the critics, but in the hearts of the fans.

One final word, stay to the end of the end credits for a hint at things to come.

Worth: Matinee and BluRay