Iron Man 3

My View:  Iron Man 3  (2013 )  PG-13  Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) is obsessed with building more of his Iron Man suits, however they are causing him sleepless nights and are straining the relationship with his girlfriend, Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow). A new villain, named Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), is suddenly attacking the U.S. and is hell-bent on destroying everything Tony holds dear, including Pepper. Iron Man has done it before, but can he come back from the brink of destruction once more?  I enjoyed this film more than Iron Man 2, as I felt the action sequences were well done and exciting. The chemistry of Downey and Paltrow from the earlier films is still there and working.  What I didn’t like about the film is that all through the film, Tony Stark is making quips, and that constant need to utter a  punch line after punch line became old after a while. But, overall this is an entertaining film.  Ben Kingsley does his usual brilliance with the bad guy Mandarin, and it is worth seeing in 3-D for all the action sequences. Be sure and stay through all the credits as there is a bonus scene at the end of the film.    My Rating:  Full Price   Iron Man 3 Website

The 50 (A Movie from My Best/Worst Films of All Time):

#6 Worst Film

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians  (1964)  The children of Mars are upset because Santa Claus doesn’t visit them at Christmas time.  So the Martians hatch a plan to kidnap Santa and bring Christmas to Mars.  The film is filled with horrible costumes, acting that gets on your nerves and incredibly poor special effects. Legendary bad actress Pia Zadora (The Lonely Lady) makes her big screen debut as an earth child who is kidnapped to Mars along with Santa. She sings the show stopping number, Hooray For Santy Claus, which, much like the rest of this film, will haunt you for years.    Santa Claus Conquers the Martians Info

Forgotten Film:  Jacob’s Ladder  (1990):   R  Part horror film, part psychological drama that stars Tim Robbins as Jacob Singer, a man, who at the start of the film is an American soldier in Vietnam under attack.  The next thing we know, Jacob wakes up in the New York Subway, dressed as a mailman, trying to figure out how he got there and what has happened to him for the last 4 years. The film is full of mystery and suspense, with director Adrian Lyne doing a masterful job taking us back and forth between the present and the past where Jacob relives the traumatic experiences of his life.  Robbins is brilliant as the tormented Jacob, a man who only wants to find out the truth, but may never get it.    My Rating:  Full Price   Jacob's Ladder Info

In Case You Missed It (A Film Just Released on DVD):  Gangster Squad (2013)  R  I didn’t like this film about an elite squad of  1950’s Los Angeles policemen who try to stop a mob boss (Sean Penn) from taking over the city.  I felt the film had an almost cartoon-like feel to it, as if they were remaking the 1990 Warren Beatty film, Dick Tracy.   My Rating:  Bargain Matinee    Gangster Squad Website

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I’ve Only Seen in Trailers But Just Looks Like a Bad Idea):  After Earth (2013)  PG-13  I only have to tell you one thing about this film, and you can make up your mind on whether to see it or not:  It’s directed by M. Night Shyamalan, whose last three films were The Last Airbender (2010), The Happening (2008) and Lady in the Water (2006).    After Earth Website

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Iron Man 3:  Costumer to Mr. Cheadle

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You:  Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)  PG-13  I have always been more a fan of the Star Trek series than Star Wars.  I loved the first J.J. Abrams directed Star Trek (2009) film, which, I thought, was a fresh take on the series.  Can’t wait to see what kind of bad guy Benedict Cumberbatch will play in this one.    Star Trek Into Darkness Website

Until Next Time!

Zero Dark Thirty

My View: Zero Dark Thirty (2013): Maya (Jessica Chastain) is a CIA investigator who goes on a ten year mission to hunt down Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of the Twin Tower attacks on 9/11. Chastain is amazing in this role as a character who is so driven to find Bin Laden that she has no personal life, almost no friends and she displays a single-minded determination that antagonizes everyone she works with. There are some very good supporting actors in this film, including Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler and Jennifer Ehle, but it's Chastain’s film, and she dominates every scene she's in.  When you see it, though you know its outcome, you are still on the edge of your seat until the very end.   My Rating:  I Would Pay to See it Again   Zero Dark Thirty Website

My View: Gangster Squad (2013) :The story of a group of police officers who form an elite squad with the intention of keeping 1950’s Los Angeles free of Mafia influence. This squad, though, will have to make tough decisions in their attempt to fight crime, and the Mafia plays dirty, so the squad may have to do the same. Be warned, this film contains a lot of violence.  The first time we meet gangster, Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn), he is having a man ripped apart by two cars. While I like Josh Brolin, I just feel like the part of the leader of the squad, Sarge, was just too big of a role for him. I did like Ryan Gosling as the slick police officer, but the film mostly wastes such talents as Emma Stone and Robert Patrick giving them one dimensional characters to work with. Overall, the film had an almost cartoon-like feel to it, Sean Penn's makeup is campy, and it was as if I were watching a remake of the 1990 Warren Beatty film, Dick Tracy.     My Rating:  Bargain Matinee   Gangster Squad Website

The 50 (A Movie From My Best/Worst Films of All Time)

#10 Best Film

The Searchers  (1956):   Directed by John Ford, this western is about Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) who returns from the Civil War to his brother’s ranch in Texas. While Ethan is out tracking an Indian raiding party, Ethan’s brother’s family is attacked by Comanche’s who kill the entire family except Ethan’s niece, Debbie, who is kidnapped. Ethan, with Martin (Jeffery Hunter), Debbie’s adopted brother, sets out on a quest to find and bring back Debbie, but as years pass, the quest turns from being a rescue mission to one of revenge. In one of his better acting roles, Wayne is brilliant as the hard-nosed Ethan, whose hatred of Indians is apparent almost from the start of the film. This is a quintessential John Ford film with dynamic and sweeping camera shots that fill the screen with breathtaking scenery.    The Searchers Info

Forgotten Film: Downhill Racer (1969) Dave Chappelet (Robert Redford) is an ambitious skier who is added to the U.S. National team as a last minute replacement. Chappelet clashes with both his teammates and his coach (Gene Hackman) from almost the very start as he puts his own goals ahead of his teammates.  He has talent, though, and may be America’s best hope for a medal at the Olympics. This is not your usual Redford role, as his character for most of the film is self-centered and unlikeable, but Redford makes the role work. The racing scenes are well done, and the final race is extremely exciting to watch.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Downhill Racer Info

In Case You Missed it (A Film Just Released on DVD):  Looper (2012) This film is set in the future. When the mob wants to rub out someone, they send them 30 years into the past where Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is waiting to commit the perfect crime. The mob has a surprise for Joe, though. They are sending him his future, older self (Bruce Willis) to be killed. Will Joe do the deed? I enjoyed this film and especially enjoyed Gordon-Levitt’s performance as the young Joe, but I was left wanting the storyline to be a little more complicated and better thought out.   My Rating: Full Price   Looper Website

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I’ve Only Seen in Trailers but Just Looks Like a Bad Idea):   Identity Thief (2013) When Sandy (Jason Bateman) finds out that his identity has been stolen, he sets out to find the thief and bring them to justice. Diana (Melissa McCarthy) is the woman who has stolen Sandy’s identity, but Sandy isn’t the only one hunting for Diana - so is the mob. This just looks like an attempt to put McCarthy into one zany situation after another, which means a film that just won’t be funny.   Identity Thief Website

Weird Credits: From the credits of Zero Dark Thirty: Sign Writer

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Warm Bodies (2013) I have seen the first three minutes of this film, and it looks like so much fun.  A zombie (Nicholas Hoult) falls in love with a human girl (Teresa Palmer). Will their love survive the end of the world?   Warm Bodies Website

Until Next Time!

This is 40

My View:   This is 40 (2012)   Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) are dealing with the reality of marriage with children. Their life isn’t what they thought it was going to be, and now that Pete’s record label is having trouble, so is their marriage. I liked parts of this film, some of which are extremely funny, but the film, overall, feels really disjointed, as if Judd Apatow, who wrote and directed the film, decided to put skits together to make a film. I liked Leslie Mann’s performance, as she has the right mix of craziness and desperation for the role. As usual, Melissa McCarthy, in a very small role, comes in and steals the film from the rest of the cast. Be sure and stay for the first part of the end credits.  There are several outtakes where McCarthy just goes on a rant that had me crying it was so funny.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee   This Is 40 Website

Family Faire:  Cirque du Soleil: World’s Away (2012) A young couple are separated and must travel through the wonderful and mystical world of “Cirque du Soleil,” determined to be reunited, all in the magic of 3-D. It’s basically the best bits of a bunch of the Cirque shows (they use eight different Cirque shows including Love and Ka) interwoven with a very thin story line.  It's a film, though, that is very beautiful and worth seeing in 3-D. It doesn’t quite have the impact that the live shows have, but the film come close, and some of the acts are astounding.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Cirque du Soleil: World's Away Website

The 50 (A Movie From My Best/Worst Film of All Time)

#11 Best Film

Napoleon  (1927)  This silent film is an absolute masterpiece of cinema. Abel Gance wrote, directed and edited this film about the rise and fall of Napoleon. Using camera and editing techniques that were years ahead of their time, the film is a stunning experience to watch. Gance sometimes used three cameras to convey a scene and the film, when properly shown, at times uses three projectors side by side, that fill up the screen, sometimes with one panoramic shot, and at other times the three cameras show different scenes. Gance also hand tinted some of the film, which make the scenes more dramatic. This is truly one of the great films of all time.   Napoleon Info

Forgotten Film:  When a Stranger Calls (1979) The film begins with a babysitter (Carol Kane) who gets threatening phone calls. She then discovers that a madman is in the home of the family that she is babysitting, and he has murdered the two kids.. She is attacked by the madman and is nearly killed, but is saved by the police. Years later, she is now a wife and mother, who, once again, is getting threatening phones calls. Could the madman be back? This is a suspenseful, scary film that horror movies today could learn from. Kane is splendid in the role and wonderfully conveys the emotions and horror of being targeted by a killer. And the film has one of the great horror movie lines of all time, “The calls are coming from inside the house.”    When a Stranger Calls Info

In Case You Missed it (A Film Just Released on DVD):  Pitch Perfect (2012) Of all the movies that I have seen in 2012, this film surprised me the most. Music is Becca’s (Anna Kendrick) life, so much so that she wants to move to Los Angeles to become a music producer. Her father, who is a professor, though, wants her to get an education first, so he makes a deal with Becca – stay at the university for one year and join at least one group activity. So, Becca joins “The Bellas,” an all-female A Cappella group as they work to reach the A Cappella national championship. The only problem is their main competition is an all-male group on their own campus called, “The Treblemakers.” Anna Kendrick is exceptional in this film. It’s fun, great music and the quality of the humor In this film is superior to any of the other comedies that have come out this year.  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again   Pitch Perfect Website

In Memory of Ed Woods (A Movie I’ve Only Seen in Trailers But Just Looks Like a Bad Idea):  Parker (2013) Jason Statham plays a thief who is double-crossed and left for dead. He plans for revenge and asks Jennifer Lopez for help. Jason Statham plays the same role over and over and over.    Parker Website

Weird Credits: From the credits of Cirque du Soleil: World’s Away: Tricycle Operator

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Gangster Squad (2013) This film has a horrible title but a great cast that includes Emma Stone, Sean Peen, Ryan Gosling. It takes place in 1940’s L.A., where the cops are trying to keep the East Coast Mafia from taking over the city. Gangster Squad Website 

Until Next Time!