Iron Man 2 (2010)

Directed by Jon Faverau

Written by Justin Theroux

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwenyth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson

Billionaire industrialist Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) has now revealed himself as Iron Man, a protector in a metal suit. 6 months after the events of the first one, Tony is attacked by Ivan Vanko (Rourke), a man with a personal vendetta against him. He must also contend with the fallout his announcment had on his friends Pepper Potts (Paltrow) and James Rhodes (Cheadle).

After a streak of semi disappointing comic book sequels, including X3 and Spiderman 3, Iron Man 2 comes as a breath of fresh air. Everything in this movie is great, from the acting, to the writing, and even the effects. Tony Stark is a more rounded out character this time around. He actually has more depth to him, something that I felt the first one was missing. And I love that they padded out the role of Pepper Potts. She was one of my favorite characters the first time around, and it was cool to see her around more.

The villain was awesome. Mickey Rourke is a great actor, and is at his best as Vanko. I know I was supossed to root for Iron Man, but sometimes I found myself rooting for him instead. In the words of Ferb, a hero's a hero, but everybody loves a good villain.

When I first heard about the recasting of James Rhodes from Terrance Howard to Don Cheadle, i was a bit ticked. Howard has been one of my favorite actors since Hustle and Flow and Crash. It all turned out great, though because Cheadle took the character to new levels of toughness that I'm afraid Howard wouldn't be able to pull off.

If you do go see this, make sure to stay after the credits for a nice surprise.

9/10

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some language.

There isn't much to worry about with this one. There is some intense violence, where people are hurt and possibly killed. Tony is an alcoholic, and drinks frequently, and he makes continuous sexual advances toward Scarlett Johannson's character. I'd say about 11+

Just arrived in theatres 2 weekends ago. It should be on DVD by September.

Armored (2009)

They have a plan to catch EVERYBODY off guard.

Directed by Nimrod Antal

Written by: James V. Simpson

Starring: Matt Dillon, Lawrence Fishbourne, Columbus Short, Jean Reno, Skeet Ulrich, Milo Ventimiglia

A newbie armored truck guard is coerced by the veterans on the squad into robbing the truck he's driving.

Are you fucking kidding me? Nothing in the film makes any sense, from the motive (Hey, let's just rob the truck we're driving!), to the acting (You can practically hear Fishbourne thinking "I don't need this crap. CBS is signing all my paychecks from now on!"), to the writing (Does it really take 30 minutes for a man to knock the hinges off of a truck door? In real time?). Do yourself a favor. Skip it. This is 88 minutes I wish I had back.

Really, what happened to these actors? They all used to do such strong roles in great movies. Dillon had Crash, Fishbourne was awesome as Ike Turner in What's Love Got to Do With It? I guess they all had their rent come due at the same time.

4/10

I didn't even watch any of the special features, so I can't tell what was on it.

I hope Antal does a better job at directing Predators this fall.

The Boondock Saints (1999)

Before the MacManus Brothers get to Heaven, they're gonna raise a little hell.


Written and directed by Troy Duffy
Starring: Sean Patrick Flannery, Norman Reedus, Willem Dafoe, Billy Connolly, David Della Rocco

Fraternal twins Connor (Flannery) and Murphy MacManus (Reedus) get into a bit of a scuffle one St. Patrick's Day, which they survive on pure dumb luck. (A falling toilet gets most of the credit) This causes them to belive that they're on a mission from God to kill the whole of the Boston underground mafia. Hot on their trail is Agent Paul Smecker (Dafoe) who has his own wild theories about how everything goes down.

This is one of my favorite action movies. Everything that happens is so outrageous that you have to love it. The characters are all larger than life, and the dialogue is great. There isn't much I can say without giving it all away.

If you do watch this, you have to see the unrated director's cut. The film was meant to be released in May 1999, but was held back and had all of the violence cut out because of the Columbine attacks in April of 99. Finally, after the film had gained a sizable cult following was Troy Duffy allowed to release his true version.

A few warnings about the film: There is nonstop bad language in it. The word "fuck" is used at least 250 times. The violence in the unrated cut is substantial. Many of the death scenes are super bloody. 17+

The Unrated DVD contains bloopers, deleted scenes, the original trailer, and a printable script.

If you can, you should check this one out. It's so much fun.

10/10