Since I’ve now seen this film twice, I figure it’s about time I gave some thoughts on it. I must admit that at first I wasn’t too interested in this movie because it was going to be another comic-book-film and Robert Downey Jr. was going to be playing the lead role. Now don’t get me wrong, I think Downey is an amazing actor, I just have to always remind myself of that. Liz got onto his fan wagon way before I did. I didn’t really become aware of him until he started having his drug problems aired to the world and he spent some time in jail. I think mentally, I just wrote him off as another trashy Hollywood denizen. In contrast though, whenever I actually think about the roles Downey has done and some of the films he has been in, I can’t help but think he’s awesome and I’m proud to report he did not let me down in Iron Man.
The first and foremost thing I must say about this film is that even though it’s based on a comic book, it doesn’t come off as a comic book film. You know what I’m talking about - it’s that thing you just can’t quite put your finger on. In the same way you can recognize a film by your favorite director, there’s just something about the style on about 95% of comic-based films. Iron Man didn’t have this mark and I believe most of that credit goes to Jon Favreau for directing. If you don’t remember who Favreau is, you need to pop in Swingers and give it a watch. Favreau hasn’t always been directing, but he’s definitely very experienced in Hollywood with plenty of acting, producing, directing, and writing credits to his name.
Not having read any comics as a child, I didn’t really know much about the Iron Man story. I did have some action figures back in the day, so I knew what he looked like, but that’s where my experience ended. While most superheros have some special power they were either born with or developed, Iron Man is one of the few that is just a “normal” guy. The only other one I know of in this respect would be Batman. Tony Stark is a genius weapons developer that is kidnapped by some terrorists and told to create a missile or else. Instead of bowing to their demands and creating their weapon of mass destruction, Tony bows to their demands and makes his own WMD in the form of an iron suit complete with weapons and booster rockets. After escaping, Stark decides to try and help the world instead of just providing weapons for it and starts refining his suit into something much, much better.
One big draw to the movie for me was Jeff Bridges playing the bad-guy role of Obadiah Stane. Being a Lebowski-fan, I’m always interested in seeing more of Bridges’ roles and wasn’t disappointed with this one. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Pots, Stark’s assistant, and Terrence Howard plays Col. Rhodes and good friend of Stark’s. You also need to keep your eye out for Favreau’s role as Hogan. I loved seeing him in the casino scene. It’s also nice when a director plays a role in their own movie and can actually act.
I’ve heard mostly positive reviews about this film and am quite positive you’ll enjoy this one. So get out and see it before it leaves the theaters. You might also be interested in knowing that Downey will be playing the role of Tony Stark in the upcoming The Incredible Hulk starring Edward Norton
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Lars and the Real Girl
It’s about time I finally saw Lars and the Real Girl, a movie that has long since reigned on top of many of my friends’ movie lists from last year. And these aren’t just anybody’s lists — these are the lists of my friends who LOVE movies. My friends whose taste in movies I actually value.
If you haven’t heard the premise of Lars, it’s this: lonely, lonely Lars (Ryan Gosling) orders a real doll (see: super-realistic sex doll, subject of this documentary) online, but he doesn’t order it for sex. He orders it because he needs a companion. In his mind, Bianca the Real Doll is just that — real. He presents her to his family (Paul Schneider and Emily Mortimer) as a former missionary who speaks little English and uses a wheelchair.
Of course this freaks out his brother and sister-in-law, but based on the advice of the local therapist (Patricia Clarkson), they decide to indulge Lars’s delusion in hopes that he won’t need it forever.
You know how some movies are described as “heartwarming”? And oftentimes what the critic really means is syrupy-sweet fluff? This movie is definitely heartwarming, but there is nothing cheesy about it. It’s a great story, full of sweet and compelling characters. Lars may be painfully shy, but he’s likable at the very beginning and only becomes more so as he comes out of his shell.
Lars and the Real Girl shows how a group of people come together to support someone going through a rough time. Lars and Bianca are embraced by his family, by the town, and even by the girl who has a crush on him, played by the super-cute Kelli Garner.
Ryan Gosling is always incredible, and it was fun to see him return to playing a good guy that’s not a caricature, like he was in The Notebook. (Sorry, Notebook lovers. I liked the movie, too, but you have to admit that his character was a bit, well, unrealistic.)
The women in the film — Garner, Clarkson, and Mortimer — all do well. These are the women in Lars’s life, aside from Bianca, and he brings out different emotions in all of them. Garner is young and infatuated with Lars, accepting of his delusion but hoping that he’ll change. Clarkson, the therapist and physician, wants to help Lars not just because she is a good person, but because he brings to her mind the losses that she has suffered in her life. You get the idea that she understands his loneliness, even though she’s got the social graces to appear more normal. Mortimer, his sister-in-law, has some of the most powerful scenes in the movie. She’s the one who sacrifices the most to help Lars.
I’m really beginning to enjoy Paul Schneider, who I originally noticed in the similarly titled All the Real Girls. (Now that’s a sad movie, if you’re looking for one.) I haven’t seen him for some time, but now he’s getting a bunch more roles, including The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Elizabethtown. I hope to see him in more. He’s interesting on the screen and memorable.
Lars and the Real Girl belongs on my friends’ Top 10 lists. I think it’s going on mine, too.
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