kanerazor

Iron Man provides about as much fun as one could ask. While it lacks the emotional punch of films such as Superman: The Movie or Batman Begins, the film has many virtues going for it and could be enjoyed any number of times.

The movie has some of the most visually inventive special effects I have ever seen. Watching all of Tony's inventions come to life consistently put a smile on my face. Plus the humor in the film is considerable. Jon Favreau knows how to brighten a viewer's day, and the film never ceases to be a joyous crowd pleaser.

The cast adds to Iron Man tremendously. I'm not usually a Gwyneth Paltrow fan, but she knew how to add spice to the role of the loyal love interest and she shared great chemistry with the hero. Terrence Howard makes a strong right hand man; all of Tony's goofy indulgences were made that much more entertaining by the contrast with his responsible, endearingly square best friend. Plus the caring bond between the two of them gave the film more heart. Jeff Bridges isn't given the kind of memorable villain role the likes of Willem Dafoe and Terence Stamp have gotten in the past. The movie is sometimes too light for its own good and the good vs. evil battle is not that compelling. However, Bridges is one of the best actors in history and he still manages to create a character we love to hate. Of course the most entertaining supporting character may have been the robot...

However the unquestionable star of this show is Robert Downey Jr., who elevated the film to another level entirely using his magnificent charisma. I found myself wanting to applaud Tony Stark even when he was at his most hedonistic, because he was just that charming. And when he chose to be a superhero, you'd be hard pressed to find someone you'd want to root for more. Downey of course proved himself to be too human in the past, but after years of his being clean his talent has finally taken over and brought him the role of a lifetime.

Here's hoping Iron Man lives on forever and its gifted star is only beginning his reign as a major Hollywood force!

The Ruins is a tense, consistently entertaining scare flick that will give all horror fans their money's worth. The early scenes of the film don't add too much, b/c it's obvious where the story's gonna go, but none of the scenes are boring and it is necessary that we know the characters somewhat in order to care about their plight.

Once the action shifts to the archaeological site, the intensity never really lets up. We feel the characters' nonstop fear, as they seemingly have no way out of their predicament and they're being attacked by something they don't know in ways they are virtually powerless to anticipate or prevent. While it does become a little easy to predict the story towards the end, that doesn't keep The Ruins from being a really fun popcorn flick.

One thing to my fellow male fans: in this era of political correctness and PG-13 ratings, I have no qualms about lauding The Ruins for its nudity. The hot blonde girl shows everything, while the only male nudity is virtually subliminal:)

Some people have derisively compared this film to The Blair Witch Project because it was all told from the point of view of someone's shaking camera. Unless you have motion sickness, I don't think that's a bad thing. What matters is who's in front of the camera. While The Blair Witch Project featured annoying people screaming at each other, this movie actually made me care about the characters. In fact if it had continued with the romantic drama tone established during the first half hour, I STILL think it would have been worth watching and that's the biggest compliment I can give it.

Of course people will be watching this movie for the visceral pleasure and Colverfield delivers. Many thrilling visual and sound effects wowed me (there were a few times I yelled out in shock at a sudden scare). Any horror film will also benefit from a sense of entrapment and this movie pulls off the seemingly impossible feat of making New York City seem claustrophobic because there was seemingly nowhere to hide from the monster.

What is the monster? Whatever it is clearly is meant to be an allegory for the carnage 9/11 inflicted on New York, much the same way Godzilla was meant to be an allegory for the damage inflicted on Japan by the atom bomb. There are moments seemingly recreating the documentary footage from 9/11, and they give the film verisimilitude. Touching upon real life horror, plus creating characters that we can relate to and care about, and assaulting our senses with incredible sights and sounds leads to entertainment worth watching many times over. Perhaps the 80 minute run time will bother some people, but on the other hand I think that's better than a film wearing out its welcome. Great job J.J. Abrams and company!