Iron Man (2008)

Let me first say “Thank you. Thank you, Jon Favreau. While you had ample opportunity to stuff this summer action flick with enough cheese and patriotism to fill the bellies of America, you did not. Iron Man was topical and intelligent - as well as entertaining. You directed a fantastic Marvel-character movie. Also, thank you for not using the Black Sabbath version of “Iron Man” a billion times in your film; you limited it to an abridged instrumental version in the credits.”

Iron Man is based on the Marvel comic created by Stan Lee. In the film, billionaire Tony Stark is the leading weapons developer and head of Stark Industries. Stark is a brilliant engineer who goes to Afghanistan to promote his latest and extremely advanced missile, Jericho. Before he can head back home to have sex with more Maxim models, he is kidnapped by a terrorist group called the Ten Rings who hold him hostage and force him to build them a Jericho missile of their own. However, during his kidnapping, he sustained an injury caused by shrapnel near his heart. Luckily, fellow captive, Dr. Yinsen, created an electro-magnetic device that attached to Stark’s chest, preventing the shrapnel from reaching his heart and killing him. Being resourceful as he is, Stark used the supplies meant for the Jericho missile to create a miniature arc reactor to power the device keeping him alive. He also designed the first Mark 1 “Iron Man” armor (also powered by the arc reactor) complete with missiles and rockets to escape.

While back in the US, he renounces his service as weapons developer, and wants to take Stark Industries in a different direction. Instead, he was blocked out of his company by the board, including his partner and friend, Obadiah Stane. Feeling a sense of mission, Stark secretly begins to build a more advanced version of the Mark 1 suit; however, the remnants of his original design are discovered by the Ten Rings. Stane takes the initiative and constructs his own version of the Mark 1. When it is discovered that Stane had a hand in Tony Stark’s kidnapping, that generated a substantial enemy for Stark/Iron Man.

Robert Downey, Jr. could not have been a better Tony Stark/Iron Man. He filled out that “titanium-alloy” suit perfectly. Rather than portraying the character with farce, and making it, well, like a comic book character, Downey played the Stark like an actual human, especially during the transition from Stark being a bombastic playboy to superhero. The character itself was not changed – just the motives and mission.

Gwyneth Paltrow played Pepper Potts, Stark’s assistant and potential love interest for the sequels. The character came to Paltrow with extreme ease, and while it did not appear to be the most taxing character to create, she was beautiful in that role.

Of course, Jeff Bridges was fantastic as the super-villain and former partner of Stark, Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger. It was a typical friend turned foe role, but you almost did not see the sleaziness creeping up.

The script itself was tight. The plot flowed, the jokes fell into place effortlessly, and while some of it predictable, it never was cheesy. It was a believable film – the events were topical, the effects plausible, and the heroes and villains were ultimately human. Those were the aspects that made this film so successful.

We know that a ridiculous amount of money went into the special effect for this film. Gratefully, it didn’t overwhelm the storyline. Also, the massive amounts of effects were convincing, rather than cartoon-like. This movie should make greater strides for comic-book action flicks in the future to up the quality of their effects.


Iron Man is what a summer flick should be – violent, well produced and smart. There were few slow moments in the film – even where they were, the film was never boring. This film is geared more towards the adult audience, definitely, but could not offend children Oh, and I learned AFTER waiting through five minutes of credits (I always like to give props to the little guys), that I should have stayed longer. There is a cameo at the very end of the credits that has garnered almost as much attention as the movie – at least on the nerd circuit.

Baby Mama (2008)

30++ year old, single, uptight, business woman Kate Holbrook (played by Tina Fey) starts to hear her biological clock ticking like a timebomb. The only problem? Her "T" shaped uterus. As a last, viable option, she looks into surrogacy, and decides, despite the costs and stigma, to go ahead. The agency matches her up with fertile, and immature, Angie Ostrowiski (played by Amy Poehler), and through a series of happenstance and plenty of colorful characters, the two learn how to grow up, and loosen up.

Okay, that summary really doesn't do this film justice. It makes it sound like a cheap, schlocky, blow-off mini-comedy. Which I was about ready to write this film off as. I'm really glad I didn't. Michael McCullers, who's more known as a writer for SNL, and the Austin Powers movies, to name a bit of his work, directed and wrote this film, and I have to hand it to him. He knew his leads, and did a great job of bringing the laughs out of them. It probably helps that Fey and Poehler are ridiculously old friends dating back to their time together at Second City. But still, he knew how to create a great backdrop for the two to play in.

There are some great surprise actors in this film. Steve Martin is always a treat to watch on screen, and he had some great lines as Kate's boss, Barry. Also, Sigourney Weaver is a great laugh as the head of the surrogacy clinic, Chaffee Bicknell. Plus Dax Shepard as Angie's common-law husband, Carl Loomis, Maura Tierney as Kate's sister, Caroline, and Greg Kinnear as Kate's love interest, Rob Ackerman. A great cast, where even the bit parts play well with the leads.

Seriously, Fey and Poehler work so well together. I had plenty of genuine laughs from the two of them. Fey had said in an interview that this was as close as we would ever see them play Laverne and Shirley, and I definitely see why she drew that parallel. They really know how to give and take. This film wouldn't have worked without that, and I'm glad they were able to monopolize on it.

Give this film a whirl if you haven't already. There are some great laughs. Even ones you don't see in the trailer.

Mulholland Drive (2001)

If there's a movie that really sums up David Lynch's WTF style of direction, this would be a sterling example.

Mulholland Drive stars Naomi Watts as Betty Elms/Diane Selwyn, Laura Harring as Rita, and Justin Theroux as Adam Kesher. It all starts with a car crash/botched hit involving a woman who comes to call herself Rita. She has amnesia after the wreck and picks the first name she sees on a movie poster for a Rita Hayworth film. She ends up hiding out at Betty Elms' (an aspiring actress just in from the boonies) Aunt Ruth's apartment, where Betty finds her, and decides to help her find out who she is. While this is going on, we come across Hollywood director Adam Kesher, who is trying to recast the lead female role in his film that is in production, but being strongarmed by mobsters on the decision. The two storylines converge as Betty is called in to audition for Adam's film, the appearance of a blue key in Rita's purse (to what, she can't remember), Rita remembering the name Diane Selwyn, and the Spanish word Silencio.

Okay, so David Lynch made a list of 10 things to watch for to unlock the mystery of this film. Meaning, you will have no idea what the hell is happening unless you know to look for these 10 clues. There's an Easter egg to the list on the DVD menu, so I highly recommend looking over this list before watching the movie. The tagline for this film is "A love story in the City Of Dreams," and really, even having that piece of information is helpful before watching this film.

Despite HATING the fact that this film needed a cheat sheet to be understood, I do find it a beautifully painful piece of cinema. Watching the love stories evolve and break apart in this, watching how consumed the characters are by them. David Lynch did well in portraying that pain and euphoria. As a mystery, it was a bit too mysterious. I don't like to feel like I missed the joke, and everybody else is laughing. My solace: everyone else I talked to about this seemed to not get it, as well.

The acting at the beginning seemed to be in slow motion. Like watching a film underwater. I later realized that this was actually a great effect. It annoyed the crap out of me at first, because I just thought the pacing was too slow, but after watching the film it all made sense, and kudos to cast and crew for pulling that off.

Without giving too much away, because telling you about any other parts would give away surprises, and just sound weird out of context, I will mentioned the Club Silencio scene. On the hunt for Rita's past, Betty and Rita end up at Club Silencio, and watch that night's performance. This scene had me riveted to the screen. The sheer power of the inactivity, your mind working to make sense of what's happening, watching Rita and Betty go to pieces over it all; it captivated me. Points for David Lynch. All of this confusion and emotion translated to well for me as a viewer. Like feeling what the characters were feeling. And that rendition of Crying tears your heart out.

This movie, as a whole, really worked. No one person really popped for me. It's more of an ensemble piece for cast and crew. You don't really think of this as a Naomi Watts picture, although she is quite good in it. This is known as a David Lynch piece, and he guided the helm of this picture really well, but it wouldn't have worked if not for all of the others. Definitely worth a watch, but be prepared.