Director John Favreau commits a fantastic feat with “Iron Man”: He makes the character interesting. Iron Man has always been a second tier character of the Marvel Comic Universe who was never taken too seriously by avid comic fans. He was boring, and more often than not, lame. Stark was always a very unsympathetic figure of the Marvel mythos, and his ability to be taken down by almost anyone who ripped through his armor to get to the man, rendered him rather forgettable and often satirized. So what does Favreau do? He takes the character and turns him into a hero we want to see. Every adaptation of the character has been bland. Until now that is, where with pitch perfect casting and sharp writing, the character of Iron Man becomes an amazing presence on screen, and even better, Tony Stark becomes an alter ego we can care about, laugh with, and root for.
Tag Archives: Thriller
Southland Tales (2006)
Acting off the pretense that it’s smarter than we all think, for approximately two and a half hours, Richard Kelly’s “Southland Tales” is proof positive that “Donnie Darko” was a fluke and he is a one trick pony, and an insufferable one to boot. And alas, Kelly will always ride on the reputation that precedes this rancid pile of garbage and anything else on the way out of his mind. Here, Kelly taps the “Donnie Darko” well again. There are chapters, spirituality, a disjointed series of sub-plots, visual flourishes all with a touch of self-awareness that kicks us in the face every single second. And in the process, Kelly also manages to beat us over the head with political commentary that is warranted but so clumsily delivered he often seems to try too hard.
An American Crime (2007)
Last year I saw the film adaptation of author Jack Ketchum’s novel “The Girl Next Door,” a dramatic thriller based on the infamous case involving a young girl kept prisoner in a basement to be tortured relentlessly by her aunt and cousins. While I absolutely loved the Ketchum film, I was interested to see if it was any better or not as good as “An American Crime,” a festival runner that made considerable waves among audiences, but has yet to be released in America. Determined to seek out most (if not all) of Ellen Page’s prior work, I sought out “An American Crime,” and was surprised to see that it pretty much equaled in quality, and proved how much of a versatile actress Page is and will soon become.
Funny Games U.S. (2008)
The entire time I was observing the villains in Haneke’s remake of “Funny Games,” I could only ironically think back to the monologue Tim Roth gave in the opening of “Pulp Fiction.” His story about a man who robbed a bank over the phone by claiming he’d shoot a child, while the bank was never sure if there was ever actually a child was reminiscent of the two young men who could have posed a threat to the couple and their child here. There’s never an actual indication that they’re harmful in the beginning, nor is there an indication of their deadly capability until coerced with difficulty by their victims, there’s only the possibility, and sometimes that’s all people need to incite petrifying fear in a stranger.
One Missed Call (2008) (DVD)
It’s attack of the murderous Razr’s: the remake, in what is easily one of the worst horror movies of 2008, one of the worst movies of 2008, and one of the worst remakes of all time. And that’s not hyperbole, suckers. The remake of the 2003 Takashe Miike horror film stars a veritable cast of B listers dragging us through the doldrums of bland performances, limp tension, and a series of jump scares that go to ridiculous lengths to keep audiences awake; how else to explain a shock from a deafening asthma inhaler, and a falling marionette puppet?
Antebios (1998)
When I was a wee lad, all I wanted to do was review movies. And not movies made by people I’ve never heard of, either. No, I just wanted to see what was in theaters, and what Dreamworks and or Paramount had to offer. I wanted to review movies that people knew about in my local theater. And then came “Exposure.” A favorite of mine when the Science Fiction Channel was starting in the US, “Exposure” showed me that indies are always as good and (many times) better than the mainstream. I explored some of the early work from masters like Tim Burton like “Frankenweenie.” For an hour every Sunday, I watched indie shorts, and loved each and every one of them.
The Ruins (2008)
Relying more on psychological terror rather than CGI plant monsters, the reason “The Ruins” will get under the skin of most audiences is because Smith prefers to leave the plant terrors as silent sadistic predators that—well—get under the skin of its victims through cuts, and open wounds. These creatures are merciless in their pursuits to chomp on some thirty something college goers revealing some truly shocking abilities to lure prey, and breaking down the hunted through manipulation and classic torture methods.