Categories
Movies Theater

Iron Man

Iron Man PosterAs a comic book fan, I look forward to summer movie season with both excitement and dread. It is always exciting to see a hero make the transition from the page to the screen, yet you always know that much like a ride in Seth Brundle’s teleporters, the process won’t be without its complications. (Remember nipples on the bat suit?) As an Avengers nerd since the mid-80’s, I was happy to see that Iron Man made the journey in beautiful shape.

I do not think there is any secret to making a comic book film work. Fans can bitch about uniforms, looks, and origin stories, but the only thing that matters is whether or not they get the character that’s underneath the suit. Preening and posing in your colorful outfit is something every kid that grew up with Underoos has practiced for years. The hard part is making us believe that the man behind the mask is a fully developed character and worth rooting for. This is precisely why we all owe our gratitude to Jon Favreau and whomever he had to bribe, beg, and blow to get Robert Downey Jr. cast as Tony Stark.

Tony Stark is a billionaire. Tony Stark is a genius. Tony Stark is a military industrialist. Tony Stark is a man whore. Tony Stark is a drunk. Sounds like someone you can really identify with and pull for doesn’t it? Even in the comic books, Stark can come off as a know-it-all, and a bit of a prick. Despite all that, he is still a character that is driven to be a hero, and one of the few heroes that does it through his own intelligence and not via some accident or mutation. Downey takes a character that could easily come off as a jerk, and makes him amazingly likable. He has taken over this character to the point where comic book readers will picture him when reading about Tony Stark.

The story isn’t anything too complex and does what it does quite nicely. The origin story, despite being adapted to more modern times, is quite faithful to the original material. The rest of the movie is basically a set of vignettes of youthful dreams rolled into one character. We dream of being a knight in cool looking armor (why else would a throwaway character like Boba Fett still be so popular?) We dream of flight and soaring through the skies. We dream of bringing justice to those that prey on the helpless and fill our television with a never-ending stream of sorrow. And of course… the house, the car, the money, and the women make for nice dreams as well.

There are some minor issues with the film. The villain isn’t terribly menacing, but to his credit, Jeff Bridges does the best he can with the somewhat limited screen time he has. Having to tell the origin story hurt the ability to create a more substantial villain. You most likely wouldn’t even know that the giant suit of mechanical death was known as Iron Monger.

I also thought that Gwenyth Paltrow’s portrayal of Pepper Potts was a little inconsistent. At times she would appear to be a loyal and strong-willed assistant to Tony Stark. While at other times, especially during the 3rd act, she seemed to get a little too girly, or dainty.

These are just minor quibbles in a movie that succeeds in everything that it set out to do. Add in some references to S.H.I.E.L.D, foreshadowing of The Mandarin, and a post-credits appearance by Nick Fury, and you have enough geek references to keep us comic book nerds hyped up for Marvel Studios future onslaught of films.

Iron Man @ IMDB

Categories
Music

Song In My Head #2

Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

I can’t claim to be quick in finding this one. Originally released in 1998, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, was an indie music hit with all the people you know that like bands as long as they were the first to discover them. A decade has past since its release and the album is now considered a modern classic. If you’re wondering about the Anne Frank imagery in the video, it just so happens that the entire album is inspired by/based off of the life, experiences, and fate of Anne Frank.

Neutral Milk Hotel – official site

Neutral Milk Hotel – Wikipedia

Categories
General

State of the Blog

Ugh… did I really just write that title?

OK, so as you may have noticed by checking the dates on my posts, things have dried up a bit. I have loads of excuses like reviews taking time, being away from the computer, too busy consuming media, and just general avoidance of blogging. So pick a couple and make up your own for good measure and that will cover everything. I am going to press myself to keep up a nice consistent pace through May (famous last words), and I will start it all off with my review of Iron Man… but not right now… because I haven’t seen it yet.

Other upcoming reviews include:

Movies

  • 3:10 to Yuma
  • Away From Her
  • Beowulf
  • Cloverfield
  • Dajeeling Limited
  • Hatchet
  • La Vie en Rose
  • The Mist
  • No Country For Old Men
  • There Will Be Blood
  • The Orphanage

Books

  • The Boy Detective Fails
  • Charlatan
  • Criminal (comic book)
  • Happy Endings: Tales of a Meaty Breasted Zilch
  • Soon I Will Be Invincible

And much, much more!

Stay tuned. I’m sure I’ll have it done by 2011… I’ll get started on it tomorrow. It’ll be great, seriously.

Categories
Web

Fun With Garfield

One of the great things about having an unfiltered outlet to creativity that is the Internet, is the ability for people to take something that could be considered old and stale, spin around in their head, and offer a fresh new take on it. Recently, that old fat cat Garfield has received a couple of new looks on the web.

The first twist is a surprisingly funny, if not slightly disturbing take on the old Garfield strip. In garfield Minus garfield, the creator(s) have taken the old Garfield strips and removed Garfield and Odie from the picture. What’s left are panels with a lonely Jon, with only himself to talk to.

A whole new take on the Garfield strip

The second take on Garfield goes in a bit of different direction. The crew over at Fatal Farm have created Lasagna Cat, a live-action version of Garfield. That’s right, they dress up as the characters and even throw in some special effects for good measure. What you end up with is a satirical take on the comics that falls somewhere in between low-rent kids show and a bad acid trip… and I mean that in a good way.

Categories
Music

Song In My Head #1

Sam Cooke (with Lou Rawls) – Bring It On Home to Me

Over the last year I realized that my music collection was somewhere between stagnant and long dead. I wanted a fresh start, a second chance at finding music that I wouldn’t be ashamed to own in a few years. The problem I can often run into with any medium is finding a jumping off point. With music, I had always had an attraction to the past. Thankfully, that attraction, along with a little luck, helped me rediscover Sam Cooke. One of the radio shows I enjoy listening to regularly always opens with a different movie clip followed by a song from any random genre of music. On this one particular day that song just happened to be “Bring It On Home to Me,” and I was instantly hooked. I purchased Portrait of a Legend: 1951 – 1964, and I consider it to be the cornerstone of my new foundation in music.