Review of Iron Man

Iron Man has to be one of my all time favorite superheroes, so you can imagine my excitement when I heard of a movie that would bring Iron Man to life. Who else better to play the wise-cracking, Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist Tony Stark, than Robert Downey Jr. Downey's performance is intriguing, and unexpected. he doesn't behave like most superheroes: He lacks the psychic weight and gravitas. Tony Stark it seems like was created from the many personas Downey has fashioned through his many movies: irreverent, quirky, self-deprecating, wise-cracking. Some superheroes speak in a kind of heightened, semi-formal prose. Not Tony Stark. He could talk that way and be Juno's uncle. "Iron Man" doesn't seem to get how serious other superheroes take themselves. If there is wit in the dialog, the superhero is often unaware of it. If there is broad humor, it usually comes from the villain. What happens in "Iron Man", however, is that sometimes we wonder how seriously even Stark takes it. He is flippant in the face of disaster, casual on the brink of ruined.

Iron Man has to be one of my altime favorite superhero movies. What I like even more than the mind-bending action sequences, and trust me I love those too. Is the characters that it brings along with it. Tony Stark manages to somehow relay sarcasm and humor through a huge suit of armor. It seems with most superhero movies all you get is the surface of illusion. With "Iron Man" it gives you a glimps into the depths of Stark's life. Take Pepper Pots (Gwyenth Paltrow) Stark's loyal aid, and Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) Stark's business partner. When you see them interact, you feel like they have been working together for quite a while, not just charters drummed up for the occasion.  Much of that feeling is created by the chemistry involving Downey, Paltrow and Bridges. They have relationships that seem fully-formed and resilient enough to last through the whole movie, even if the plot mechanics were not about to take them to another level.

This a great movie, and I would recommend it to any superhero fan that has not already seen this movie

Review of Pulp Fiction

     Full of blood, guts, shootouts, gimp men, drugs, and plenty of cussing, Pulp Fiction has all the ingredients of a Tarantino film. Pulp Fiction is filmed in in such a nonlinear way that you see it a dozen times and still not remember what comes next. It doubles back on itself, telling several interlocking stories about characters who inhabit a world of crime, intrigue, triple-crosses and loud desperation. The title fits the movie perfectly, like in the old pulp mags named "Thrilling Wonder Stories" and "Offical Dectective". The movie creates a world where there are no normal people and no ordinaries days -- where breathless prose clatters down fire escapes and leaps into a dumpster of doom.
                    

Tarantino takes us on a ride, weaving in and out and going back and forth through the plot. Slowly, he unravels the stories, giving us a backstory or explanation to each scene. What I love most about this movie, is how Tarantino sets up a great scene, then gives a flashback or flash forward in time that makes the previous scene even better. The main stories and characters that Tarantino follows are: the two hitmen, Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent Vega (John Travolta). Jules is one  cold blooded mother f*cker who quotes the Bible, Ezekiel 23:17 right before he puts a cap in your ass, and Vincent, who can't quite handle the assignments that are givin to him. Not only does he kill people inadvertently ("The car hit a bump!") but he doesn't really know how to clean up his messes either. This does not take away from the fact that he is one ruthless character.                                                                             
Some others are, Butch Collidge, a boxer who had just killed the prized boxer of the infamous mob boss, Marsellus Wallace. Butch is now on the run for his life from Wallace, but fate would bring them together in a way that I do not think either of them enjoyed
                                       
This is such a great film, and it is truly a masterpiece to watch unfold. If this does not represent Tarantino's true skill as a director, than I do not know what would.

Review of Shaun of the Dead

     Shaun of the Dead is a British zombie comedy that follows two layabouts. Shaun (Simon Pegg)  and Ed (Nick Frost), who's life mostly consist of drinking, video games, and more drinking. When a zombie apocalypse breaks out they view it as more of an interference with their drinking time than a deadly threat that could possible wipe-out the entire human population. When it becomes apparent that the zombies might actually pose a threat, the two friends lead a group of survivors, mostly consisting of their friends and close relatives to the Winchester (Shaun and Ed's favorite pub) to wait out the zombie apocalypse. 

                    
                                     
     The irony in this is that Shaun's girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield)  had just previously asked him to get his priorities in orders, and to choose between her or the pub. She lives with her friends, Di and David, who think that in a showdown, Shaun would choose the pub. So you can imagine the fuss it creates when Shaun suggests that The Winchester be their hid-away.

                                            

     I really like this movie because of the the wonderful and colorful characters it brings to the screen as well as their dynamic, and the way they interact. Written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright and directed by Wright. Between these two they create the thing I love most about this movie. Which is, that instead of mainly focusing on the undead, and trying to raise a few laughs here and there, it treats the living characters as sitcom regulars, whose conflicts and arguments keep getting interrupted by the flesh-eating zombies. 

     This is great movie, and I highly recommend it.