After the narrative train wreck that was Iron Man 2, I was curious where the story would take us with inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) in the Marvel universe. Last time he was on screen was the terrific The Avengers, where his sarcasm and narcissism was balanced by having other characters share the screen, but in Iron Man 3, it’s all about Tony. Or is it? Turns out that when James “Rhodie” Rhodes (Don…Read More
Review: Cowboys & Aliens
There’s something timeless about a good Western, even if the genre has generally fallen out of favor with modern filmgoers. Sprinkle in some scary aliens, stunning special effects, and a terrific cast and the mashup film Cowboys & Aliensturns out to be a terrific and highly entertaining summer tentpole adventure. Set in sparsely populated New Mexico around 1875, the film starts with bad hombre Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) waking up in the middle of nowhere,…Read More
Review: Iron Man 2
Sequels are rarely as good as the original, but Iron Man 2 is one of the few exceptions. It’s not a perfect movie by any means, but it’s sure darn fun and engaging, and the new story twists, the health issue that Tony “Iron Man” Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) faces and the half-baked but disturbing archenemy Whiplash (Mickey Rourke), all add up to create a film that’s sure to be the first summer blockbuster. The…Read More
Review: Couples Retreat
Director Peter Billingsley had a tough assignment: take four suburban couples and put them through a series of “relationship building” challenges that were thought-provoking, poignant, revealing, and funny. In his attempt to accomplish this, he commits the cardinal directorial sin: he makes everyone a crass caricature, preventing us from engaging with any of them, nor caring about the outcome of their journey. Worse, it’s just not that funny. Couples Retreat could have been a funny…Read More