Trainspotting (cult Classic)

This is the third movie in the series of cult classic movies. Click the label to find the other two reviews.)


This is the first cult classic review of a movie I had scene before I watched it to do the review of it. Also, I watched it over the course of 3 days in class, so my perspective may be a little different. I have always believed Danny Boyle to be an overrated director. He has an interesting visual style and creates a few great shots, but as a story teller he is weak and lacks focus. He and Guy Ritchie have that in common. This was the movie that broke Boyle into the big time. It also launched the career of Ewan McGregor.

Is Trainspotting a movie glamorizing drugs or is it a cautionary tale in the same vein as Requiem for a Dream? Does it really matter? Are movies supposed to take sides on an issue? Sure they can, but is that the point of a movie- to take a side? Trainspotting follows the lives of a bunch of British Junkies. That is the basic idea of the story. McGregor plays Renton, a man who "chooses" heroin because it is easy. Addiction to heroin means you only have one worry- finding heroin. You are not worried about all the other little things in life. You just need to find money to get high. You rob stores if you have to, but you get the drugs. Renton tries to quit a few times, but he keeps the same friends and that spells disaster.

However, like any Danny Boyle movie it is not about plot, it is about the visuals. And in that department this movie definitely succeeds. It succeeds in grossing us out, tripping us out, scaring us and making us laugh. The use of quick cuts give us the impression of what it is like to be high while making us laugh at a scene where a heroin user is trying to get a real job. When Renton is going through withdrawals we get a very visually disorienting scene with a fake baby crawling on the ceiling and quick images of other characters. Boyle does an incredible job of creating a drugged out environment and all of the actors, especially McGregor play their roles within these visuals. They seem to know that Boyle is unsure of what to do with them but they trust he will make it up to them with editing and camera angles, especially the POV shot of Renton after he overdoses.

Trainspotting touches briefly on the HIV epidemic that flooded the drug scene in the Nineties as Tommy catches it. The interesting thing about Tommy is that he was the friend who did not do drugs or drink. He was a clean living guy until his girlfriend broke up with him. he heard Renton talk about how the high from heroin was like multiplying your best orgasm by 1,000 and you still weren't there. He believed him and got hooked. His "friends" kind of ditch him because as everyone knows, a druggie is not a reliable friend. This is a movie 100% about addiction. Everyone in the movie is addicted to something- drugs, alcohol, fighting, working out, sex. It seems to think we are all addicted to something. Life is nothing but an addiction and the time between addictions. In the words of Renton:

Now I'm cleaning up and I'm moving on, going straight and choosing life. I'm looking forward to it already. I'm gonna be just like you. The job, the family, the fucking big television. The washing machine, the car, the compact disc and electric tin opener, good health, low cholesterol, dental insurance, mortgage, starter home, leisure wear, luggage, three piece suite, DIY, game shows, junk food, children, walks in the park, nine to five, good at golf, washing the car, choice of sweaters, family Christmas, indexed pension, tax exemption, clearing gutters, getting by, looking ahead to the day you die.

Final Grade: B+

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Like everyone else who loves movies, I have been waiting for a fourth Indiana Jones movie since The Last Crusade came out. They were fun romps and made every young boy want to seek out treasure. Time went on and on and everyone involved moved to other projects and I moved on. I moved on to smaller and darker movies. We tried to get our treasure hunting fix with the Mummy movies or those tedious National Treasure movies, but deep down we knew they weren't the same. We needed Indiana Jones. A few years ago The Powers that Be, started to look to revive the talk. And now the time is here. in 2008, 19 years later, Indiana Jones is back! We waited so long, but did all that waiting make it impossible for this movie not to disappoint?

Set in the post war 1950s, during the red scare, Indiana (Harrison Ford) has been kidnapped by Russians and brought to Area 51, a holding cell for Government and military secrets and he told to find a box. He knows what box and he finds it, but escapes in a thrilling opening scene. The FBI picks him up for helping KGB members and he is given a leave of absence from work due to it. He is going to go to Europe when a young man, Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) finds Indiana and tells him his old friend Oxley (John Hurt) is in trouble. Here we get all the exposition we could ever need about how a Crystal skull was stolen from an ancient Mayan temple and he who returns it will get all of the powers of the skulls. Indy and Mutt head off to Peru to search for the skull and along the way have an awesome motorcycle chase, fend off some luchador looking things shooting poison darts, and of course, some dead people. When Indy and Mutt find the skull they are captured by the Russians who reunite Indy with Marion Ravenwood, Indy's long lost love and Mutt's mother. Hmmmm. Indy, Marion, Mutt and Oxley escape in a very fun, if a bit over the top chase sequence and it is a race to the kingdom of the crystal skull!

This is not a perfect movie, but if you really go back and watch the original trilogy, you will find they are not perfect either. Movie fans have romanced those movies, but they are all flawed, over the top fun movies. This movie falls directly in line with the previous movies. The 50s brought a lot of alien movies and this movie homages to those, much like the originals were homaging 1930s serials. Speilberg knows what he is doing and while the influence of George Lucas is certainly there, with a little too much CGI, the movie works. It is fun to see Indy crack the whip while wearing the hat as we hear John Williams' Indy theme underneath it. Say what you will, but that is what we have been waiting for. Sure, the dialog is pretty weak and maybe the jokes do not cackle the way they once did, but this is about a hat, a whip, some music and Harrison Ford's ruggedly handsome face getting in and out of trouble. That is what we want from Indiana Jones. Shia adds a fun sense of youth to the movie and actually helps keep Ford on his toes. Indy needed a sidekick and why not make him a young man to show the generation gap and Indy is worlds tougher than Mutt, even though Mutt pretends to be tough. It adds a nice sense of fun to the whole movie. The opening sequence is classic Indy and the car chase is the perfect mix of thrilling, over the top fun and silliness.

Was it worth the wait? Sure it was. It made me think about selling all of my possessions and heading down to South America myself. It brought back all those feelings of treasure hunting and what more could I ask for? A lot of people will be thrown by the final act, but go back and watch Raiders or The last Crusade and tell me those were not bizarre endings. Cate Blanchett adds an element of sexiness to her villainous Russian leader. Her accent is perfect and her thirst for knowledge and power is right in line with Indy villains from the past. I have often said that when a big fun summer movie is entertaining enough to forgive plot holes, then it is a success because let's face it, all summer movies are ridiculous. When they can make you forget that, they have accomplished their goal. I strongly believe Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull accomplishes that.

Final Grade: B+

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

While I read the books growing up, I was not a huge fan of them. I preferred things like The Lord of the Rings trilogy or my personal favorite book growing up- A Wrinkle in time. However, I do not believe you have to know/enjoy a book to enjoy the movies on which they are based. The first Narnia movie was boring, oddly paced and tried to make up for it with one single awesome battle at the end. Narnia 2 looked much much better, but looks are often deceiving.

Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy(William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes,Georgie Henley) are called back to Narnia a year after they leave, but when they arrive they find desolation, ruins and Narnia almost non-existent. A year in Human time translates to a thousand years in Narnia and the Telmarines destroyed Narnia completely because they fear what they didn't know. Aslan is nowhere to be found and saying his name is almost a bad word these days. On the Telmarine front, the evil king finally has a son so he ordered his people to kill the young, handsome Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), the rightful heir to the throne. Caspian runs into the forest and comes across a talking Badger and a dwarf(Warwick Davis). The four kids are met by another Dwarf, Trumpkin(Peter Dinklage) and he fills them in on what is happening. The evil King and his telmarines are building a massive army to conquer the rest of Narnia and the 4 young kids are tested to the max in their ability to lead, to fight and to have faith in Aslan and the cause of the Narnians.

I immediately wished I had re watched the first movie as Narnia 2 started. I was confused for about the first 25 minutes, but I kind of liked that. I kind of liked that the director assumed people would remember and therefore did not waste a bunch of time rehashing what had happened in Narnia 1. That being said, my confusion did not really hinder my ability to follow what was happening in this movie. There are still some pacing problems, especially in the first act, but once the movie gets going it is actually quite a fun ride. The four kids are still annoying but not nearly as much so this time out. Moseley is coming into his own as the the High King Peter and Popplewell, with her sexy pouty lips, does a pretty good job as Susan, but as with Narnia 1, Henley is the main focus and she mostly succeeds. As Caspian, Barnes is pretty with long flowing hair and an odd Spanish-ish accent, but he is wooden in his acting. This may be a star making turn, but he better keep playing these kinds of roles if he wants to not get his acting bashed. To me the acting stars of this movie are the two little people. First of all, the godfather of little person actors, Warwick Davis is such a great actor and brings a sense of gravity to his role. Peter Dinklage is the real true star of Narnia 2. He is an amazing actor and he plays Trumpkin's bravery and skepticism perfectly and when he is on screen your eyes go straight towards him.

There are two long sequences that make this movie ultimately work. Our four young heroes, Caspian and the Narnians believe they can pull a sneak attack and siege the castle of the telmarines and what follows is an exhilarating, thrilling, heart breaking, action packed, funny and intense scene. We get to see all of these mythical creatures in action led by a tiny mouse (voiced by Eddie Izzard) who is as brave as anyone, despite being a mouse. The scene is long, but wonderfully directed and the complexity of the plan is laid out simply enough for anyone to follow. It really gets you on the edge of your seat, even if only for a few minutes. The second scene is the extended climatic battle. It starts as a duel between Peter and the evil King and ends in a total melee. The duel is an awesome sword fight shot in a crystal clear filter of the camera surrounded by ruins, Peter and the King are jumping off rocks and hacking away at each other. Once the duel turns into a full on battle, there is a really cool effect of the ground falling and before long it turns into just a total battle scene. These two scenes make up for some of the slower moments and and take the sting off of the annoying young actors.

Of course, these books/movies are supposed to be about a deep routed spirituality and I think some of that message is lost in Narnia 2. I get that when Peter loses his faith in Aslan, he makes bad decisions and that the child, Lucy, is the one who believes the strongest, but I am not sure the message was as clear this time out. Aslan makes an appearance as we all knew he would as he attempts to save the day, by raising the Earth from the dead, but there was something missing. I cannot quite put my finger on it, but the spirituality of the first movie is hidden behind a little too much CGI. Overall Narnia 2 is a fun ride and a good way to spend a few hours, but I still think these movies are better suited for the December time slot.

Final Grade: B

Redbelt

David Mamet is back! If you do not know who Mamet is, go rent anything in his collection of movies. He has written some of the best scripts and directed some great movies and you should at the very least check out Glengarry Glenross, State and Main, The Heist and The Edge. While Mamet writes in every genre the two things his movies always feature are great scripts and awesome twists. For the last 4 or 5 years Mamet has been studying Jiu-Jitsu and so he wrote a movie about it. He mixed in the Mixed Martial arts world as well because it is coming into its own as a sport these days.

Mike Terry(The constantly amazing Chiwetel Ejiofor)is a man of principal and honor. He teaches Jui-Jitsu but he refuses to fight in Mixed Martial arts because competition weakens a fighter. He teaches his students that there is always an escape and that you use the your competitor's strength against him. He emphasises being clam, breathing and keeping the outside world outside of the ring. His wife, Sondra(Alice Braga), loves him but she knows they are in debt and wants him to get a loan from her brother who runs a Mixed Martial Arts company. Terry refuses but he is low on money. One fateful night, Laura Black(Emily Mortimor) comes into his work building and in a weird turn of events, Laura shoots out a window. That same night Terry saves big actor Chet Frank(Tim Allen) from a big bar brawl and is rewarded with a $20,000.00 watch and a possible job on Frank's new movie as a fight producer. Terry teaches a method of Jui-Jitsu where he puts three marbles, 2 white and 1 black, in a cup and if a competitor picks the black marble he will have a handicap like having one arm tied to his body for the fight. Terry sees that his methods have been stolen by the Mixed Martial arts company for the upcoming fight. Double dealing happens; a loan shark gets involved and ultimately Terry has to fight for survival.

If you don't like David Mamet movies chances are this one will not change your mind. However, it is the most accessible Mamet movie I have ever watched. There is nothing too complex and complicated and even the back stabbing is pretty well made obvious. This disappointed me a bit, only because when I see a Mamet movie I expect to be challenged. Redbelt is still an awesome movie, it just isn't a super awesome movie. Mamet really helped himself out this time around by casting Chiwetel Ejiofor in the lead role. Every time I see him in a movie I know he will bring something important to it and here be brings an amazing sense of levity to a role that doesn't have a whole lot of dialog. He nails every aspect of the character of Mike Terry. He is subtle when needed and intense when needed. He delivers Mamet's distinct dialog with ease, establishing himself as one of the best in the game right now. Everyone else does a great job, but they are all in the background of this movie. Mortimer continues to impress me and she really should be winning awards very soon. Of course, the real brilliance in a Mamet movie is David Mamet himself. As a director he really lets the movie speak for itself. He is confident in his dialog and he is confident in the performances and he is just there to set the pacing. The one major fight scene is paced beautifully and shot beautifully as well.

Redbelt is a movie about honor and survival; it is about staying focused being a good person. Bad things happen to Mike Terry, but it is up to him to overcome them, and it is up to him to defend the honor of Jui-Jitsu. Redbelt accomplishes all of its goals and does so briskly. I cannot find quotes to show how good Mamet is but the thing with Mamet dialog is that it sounds effortless. It sounds real, even though it is complex. Unlike someone like Aaron Sorkin or the new princess of writing Diablo Cody, you can actually hear yourself using Mamet's words. The beauty is in the simplicity of it. Mamet has scored yet again. It is a shame this movie has got an early May release. GO SEE IT!

Final Grade: A-

Speed Racer

Nostalgia is very big in movies right now. Transformers started the trend and right now a G.I Joe movie is in production and Masters of the Universe is not far behind. Speed Racer did seem like an odd choice though. Basing a live action movie on a Japanese cartoon from the 60s/90s didn't seem like a sure thing. But, when the makers of The Matrix chose this as their follow up, there was excitement about it. The Wachowski Brothers have a knack for revolutionizing special effects and when I heard that the movie was going to be shot almost entirely in deep focus, I was more intrigued. The trailers were fun, but as the movie got closer, it started to look less and less like a sure thing.

Speed Racer(Emile Hirsch) only cares about one thing: racing. He is a race car driver and he lives to be on the track. His parents Mom and Pop Racer (Susan Sarandon and John Goodman) raised him in a racing environment and his older brother Rex(Scott Porter) taught everything he knew about racing. Speed is on the track when the movie opens and in a very long opening scene we get all of the exposition we could ever need. Rex died years ago in a bad race car accident, but before he died Rex' name had been totally desecrated. he was called a cheater and a low life. Speed is racing to forget all of that. With his little brother Spritle(Paulie Litt), girlfriend Trixie(Christina Ricci) and the rest of his family watching, Speed wins the race and catches the eye of Mr. Royalton. Royalton wants to make Speed a member of his big corporate racing team, but Speed is not sure he wants to do it. When Speed says no, Royalton goes into a crazy long and excruciatingly boring speech about what will happen to Speed now. He will lose the next race, not qualify for the championship and his name will be desecrated. After all of that comes true, Speed is forced to race outside of the track. He and a mysterious racer named Racer X(Matthew Fox) join forces with another racer to win this elaborate cross state race in hopes of getting the other racer to turn on Royalton. Plans fail, double crosses happen and Speed somehow finds himself in the Grand Prix race.

Will Speed win? What really happened to Rex? Just who is the mysterious Racer X? Oh gives a crap! By the time this movie gets to the damn final race about 2 hours of nonsense prior to it have obliterated any passing interest I once had. Visually Speed Racer plays like a live action cartoon without a sense of subtly, humor or good taste. Even the most fabulous Gay guy is going to wish it wasn't so colorful. This is an unbelievable pile of crap. The Wachowski's have bombed yet again and it appears maybe the first Matrix was merely a fluke in an otherwise awful career. The acting all around is just terrible, which is saying something because they are all talented people. There is way to much time spent with the annoying younger brother and his stupid monkey. This movie is obviously aimed at children, but it is too long and boring for them and while the colors are pretty for a while, at some point you just become immune to them and want a cohesive story. If I may use an analogy, Speed Racer is very much like a really pretty girl who is an idiot. For a while you don't even realize she is an idiot because of how pretty she is. Then when you realize it, you forgive her because she is so pretty, but at some point her stupidity overrides her hotness. Speed Racer starts as a gorgeous piece of moving art, but at some point the fact that it sucks overrides the moving artiness of the picture.

I don't want to be subtle in my review so how I can plainly put this? Here it is: I would rather be locked in a room with Will Ferrell while I am on a StairMaster listening to Garth Brooks and looking at naked pictures of Rosie O'Donnell than ever watch this movie again. How is that for hyperbole?!?! Speaking of hyperbole, Speed Racer uses the transitional aspect of the cartoon, but over uses so much, they start high lighting mundane activities and by using that transitional method they attempt to make them greater than they really are. Even the music in Speed sucks. Michael Giacchino usually creates brilliantly lavish scores of action adventure, heightening the sense of danger or mystery, but here he reuses the old Speed Racer theme song every 5 minutes to create the most obnoxious score I can ever remember hearing in a movie.

The one thing that could have saved this movie was the big final race. If it had been awesomely awesome, all else could have been forgiven. Yet, instead of ramping up the action for the big finale, the movie SLOWS DOWN!! During the race, the movie keeps cutting back to scenes from earlier so we can see what Racer is racing for. Inf act, if you just watched the 15 minutes of the movie you would get everything that happened and you would save yourself from the two hours prior! I cannot in good faith recommend this to anyone, not even my biggest enemy, if I had one. No one in the right minds should watch it and if you were to tell me you loved it I might have to question your sanity. I am not only dumber for watching this, I am angrier at kids, monkeys, The Wachowskis and racing. Speed Racer commits the worst sin in movies: It was supposed to be awesome and it sucked. There is nothing worse than thinking something will be awesome only to have it suck. This belongs in a group with Pirates 2 and Van Helsing.

Final Grade: F

What happens in Vegas (spoilers, I guess)

A movie like this makes one wonder what other commercial slogans will eventually make their ways into the world of movie plots. How long until "I just saved a bunch of money on car insurance" becomes a movie? How long until "Can you hear me now?" makes its way onto the big screen? Of course Las Vegas has provided movies with a locale for years and it often surrounds either gambling or marriage. This movie falls into the marriage category. Of course, hardly any of this movie takes place in Las Vegas.

Joy McNally(Cameron Diaz) has just been dumped by her fiance just as she is about to throw him a surprise party and Jack Fuller(Ashton Kutcher) has just been fired by his dad; so to wash their troubles away these two New Yorkers head off to Las Vegas. McNally is armed with best friend Tipper(Lake Bell) and Fuller arrives with best friend/lawyer Hater(Rob Corddry). Due to a hotel mix up the two twosomes end up in the same room, setting up an unfunny introduction. After they fix the mix up Fuller convinces the two girls to have a drink with the two guys. One drink turns into an entire night of alcohol, gambling, dancing, falling and eventually sex. Oh and marriage. The morning after brings bickering and eventually Fuller puts a quarter in a slot and wins $3,000,000.00 half of which is NcNally's. Upon returning to New York a cranky judge (Dennis Miller) hates young people and orders them to spend 60 days as a married couple and if they do it, they will split the winnings. The two "lovers" hate each other and both figure if they can get the other one to end the marriage early, they will get the full amount. This brings on about 35 minutes of throwing things at Ashton's balls and Cameron falling in the toilet and all sorts of stupidity. As the 60 days draws to a close, do they really fall in love? DO the not? Oh no, who knows what will happen?

Ashton is pretty and charming and Cameron is pretty and charming and when you put them together, you might think it is a no brainer, right? Well it is not. It is not to say there aren't moments of comedy to be found in this movie because there are. In fact, there are some moments that are flat out hilarious, but those moments are overshadowed by stupidity all around and of course, taking the best joke, Ashton stealing the toilet cover, and putting it in the trailer. Ashton and Cameron have obvious chemistry and they handle the physical comedy pretty well, especially Ashton, but the fact of the matter is that it just isn't very good material. Ashton has even made this movie before when it was called Just Married. The two people never seem genuine in their meanness to make the movie work because they are trying too hard to continue to look pretty. In a movie like this you have to be willing to go all in and not be afraid and neither Ashton, Cameron or the director is willing to do that. Then when you add Rob Corddry, the most annoying actor out right now, to the mix, you just have a recipe for a kind of mess.

There are two kinds of romantic comedies- your traditional fall-in-love-but-and-things-happen kind and the kind where the two people hate each other supposedly. The latter kind, the anti-RomCom can work, but the only way to really make it work is to go for the atypical ending. Movies like How to Lose a guy in 10 days, Just Married and this one don't make any real sense because they tack on a happy ending when the characters and the audience do not deserve it. What makes a movie like The Break Up work so well is that they went for the ending you maybe did not see coming. But here, the button down hard working Diaz and the charming slacker Kutcher, of course seem like a perfect match once things get going. The only two who don't realize it are the two lovers. Shocking right? Look I know the audience wants its happy ending and if the couple had not ended up together people would be furious, but this movie also makes it seem like getting drunk in Vegas and marrying a random person is a good idea because it can lead to a perfectly happy life together with $3,000,000.00 to start that life.

Ironman

As a huge movie lover, there are two times of year I live for- summer and winter. I live for May-August and then November-January. I live for them for two different reasons of course, because summer brings big action movies and winter brings thought provoking Oscar bait. Each year summer comes earlier and earlier. In fact, it used to start on memorial day but with more summer releases every year, they had to push it forward. I feel like the first summer movie of the season sets the tone the rest of them. Last year Spiderman 3 set the tone for the rest of the threequels and this year it is up to Ironman to set the tone.

Tony Stark(Robert Downey Jr.) is a genius and he has used his genius to build an empire with weapons. He creates all kinds of new weapon technology for the Military. He is cocky, witty, womanizing and he loves his alcohol. When the film opens he is riding in a Military vehicle with some young military people. He is cracking jokes and taking pictures but soon one of the army vehicles is blown up and Stark is kidnapped. Then it cuts back 36 hours earlier and we find out all about Stark's life. When it cuts back to the present, Stark wakes up to see himself attached to a car battery. The shrapnel from a bomb has punctured his chest and the car battery is keeping the shrapnel from puncturing his heart. His kidnappers want him to somehow create his newest weapon, The Jericho, using makeshift tools. The man kidnapped with Stark, Yinsen(Shaun Taub) somehow convinces Stark to find a way to fight back. Stark creates a suit fights his way out and is rescued. He comes back a changed man, though. He vows to stop making the weapons and secretly he is hard at work to create a better version of that superhero suit to fight global terror. His assistant, Pepper Potts(Gwenyth Paltrow) is by his side no matter what. His best friend, Rhodes(Terrance Howard) knows he is up to something but stays away from Stark because Rhodes is a military man and Stark is not working with the military anymore. Obadiah Stane(Jeff Bridges) is the second in command at Stark Enterprises and he is resistant to the change Stark wants to make.

If this movie is really setting the tone for the rest of the summer, we are in for one hell of a summer. Who knew the guy who directed Swingers, and Elf-Jon Favreau- could create such a perfect superhero movie. If you look at the cast, you see they are all amazing actors and how the studio allowed the director to Cast Robert Downey Jr. is beyond me, but thank god they did. As Stark, RDJ finds every ounce of humor and humanity to the playboy. He is the most perfect casting for a superhero I have ever seen, yes that includes Bale as Batman. Paltrow looks liek she is having more fun than she has in years and really helps find the heart of the story and Howard, in a glorified cameo adds an element of fun to the relationship between Rhodes and Stark. Jeff Bridges is the one who nearly walks off with the movie though. He is brilliantly bad in the way Willem Dafoe was in Spiderman. He totally makes you forget he is "The Dude." The opening sequence is about as intense as a movie can be and I liked that Favreau opened with that and then went back to the back story. Also, the creation of the Ironman suit served about 3 or 4 purposes, if you are paying attention. First it is the creation of the super suit. Second, it shows how much of a genius Stark is, as opposed to just telling us. Third, the whole thing is hilarious. However, another very important purpose is that the entire time he is creating the suit, he is watching T.V and seeing what is going on in the world and with his company. Instead of having to pause the story to cut to some news story or something, we get the dual action and we see the news the same way Stark does. It helps keep the movie in this very tight and amazing rhythm.

Once the suit is up and functional, the movie takes a whole new turn, the way way Spiderman did when Peter embraced the Powers and was soaring through New York. I love that RDJ appears to be having the time of his life as he is soaring through the air in this gorgeous looking suit. The in-helmet camera was a great touch as well. The first time we see Stark use the new suit, we are witness to rockets shooting, flares snipering and Stark maneuvering awesomely between two military jets. Basically the fun does not ever stop. By the time we get to the big climatic battle, we have not only bought the transformation of Stark, we believe he is willing to die to save the world. The final battle between Ironan and Iron Monger is a dazzling mixture of special effects and fight choreography. Using cars as weapons the scene is brutal, fast, furious and action packed.

My lone complaint about the movie is that when the villain steps into the Iron Monger suit, he seems to be able to work everything right away. He is a pro the first time he uses it. It doesn't make sense since Stark struggled at first and he created the technology. However, that complaint is minor compared to how much awesome is to be found inside the movie. Ironman is an example of how Superhero movies should be made. There is an overwhelming energy that permeates throughout the entire picture and it is the kind of movie that looks like it was so much fun to be in, you wish you could have been in it yourself. With the announcement this morning that Ironman 2 has already been set and with Marvel having its own studio and announcing the release of no less than 4 more movies all revolving around the scene after the credits, I suggest staying after, really.

Final Grade: A

Young at Heart

When it comes to documentaries I feel like there are two kinds- those meant to incite anger or disgust and those meant to inspire. When done well, they do not only achieve their goal, but often times stay with me for days after. There was a time when I was bored by documentaries, but a few years ago I was shown the error of my ways by riveting documentaries like Spellbound, Bowling for Columbine, Wordplay and Super Size Me. Young at Heart plants its goal directly in the category that is meant to inspire us, but does it succeed?

Stephan Walker fell in love with the singing group Young at Heart the first time he heard them that he wanted to document them for television. After the success of it, he re cut his footage and turned it into a feature length film. Young at Heart is a choral group of senior citizens singing popular music, often punk rock. They sing songs from The Ramones, The Clash, Sonic Youth, James Brown, Outkast, Coldplay and others. If it sounds a lot gimmicky, give it time. Walker filmed for seven weeks as the group was getting ready for a new tour. Bob Cilman, the director of the chorus, started the group in the 1980s where the group sang old Vaudeville numbers, but the group has obviously changed its tune now. Cilman is a task master who does not treat the senior citizens with kid gloves and he is often expressing his disappointment, especially with the new songs- I feel Good, I can do it and Schizophrenia. For this particular tour, Cilman wants to bring back two former choir members, Fred and Bob, to sing a duet of Coldplay's "Fix You." Fred and Bob both had to leave the group due to health complications. In between the rehearsals we get to know some of the choir members and get invited into their homes. This is where the movie really gets it's heart because the old folks are some serious characters. The ones that really seem to love the camera are Eileen, a 92-year-old flirt; Lenard, a speed demon on the road; Steve, who still loves sex; and Joe, the star of the group. Spliced throughout the movie are music videos by the group to songs like I wanna be Sedated and Staying Alive.

Young at Heart is the kind of movie that will have you laughing one second and have you tearing up in the very next moment. Death is never too far away from the thoughts of the group and we even see death hit the group twice. However, this is not a sad movie; it is a movie that reinforces life. It is a movie that believes the power of music can make anyone feel young again and the members of the group truly believe they can go on as long as they have the music. It is a very touching story and while the director sometimes gets in his own way, the story never feels forced. I never felt like I was being manipulated into a specific emotion because the group members are so genuine it is hard not to want them to be your grandparents. Whether it is Fred's bad Rodney Dangerfield like jokes, Steve flexing in the mirror or the whole group dancing around to "I Feel Good." There is a life and a spirit in these senior citizens that made me embarrassed to feel the way I feel about life. As one guy says "Singing makes you forget the aches of the knees, the hips and the breathing." About death, Eileen said "I told them to go on without me because I will be sitting on my rainbow in the sky watching over them." It sounds cheesy, but as I sit here typing this remembering this adorable 92 year old saying it, I get choked up.

My only complaint about the movie is about the band director, Bob Cilman. This guy comes off often like a total tool. He seems narcissistic, like he is doing this just to get the glory. He performs in stage with them- taking solos, dancing, interrupting- and he is kind of annoying. However, he redeems himself mostly by the time the film ends. Moreover, while the group feels like an exploitation of old people, it is not. Trust me, people may have gone to watch this group as a carnival side show but were soon in love with the group. These group members have a real passion for singing and for life and it is clear that they are not being exploited. This is a sincere group of singers, dancers and life livers. Some of them can really sing well and listening to senior citizens sings lyrics like "If you say that you are mine/ I'll be here 'til the end of time" gives the words a whole new meaning. When the group sings "Nothing compares to you" as a tribute to a fallen friend and they do it at a prison where criminals are tearing up as well, just try and not shed tears. The climatic concert provides the joyous climax but it also provides the most touching, heart breaking moment. The duet of "Fix You" became a solo and while the song on its own is a heart wrenching song, Chris Martin's whiny singing voice gets in the way of the lyrics. Here, with a deep smooth baritone, Fred gets every ounce of sadness out of that gorgeously written song and it provides such an emotional out pouring on so many levels it made me want to call my estranged grandparents and hug them via phone.

Documentaries are not for everyone, but a movie like this should be. Maybe I am more emotional than others, but I really feel this movie is genuinely moving and am not surprised that the film has played to standing ovations. If you get the chance to check it out, I really recommend it.

Final Grade: A

Deception

I am not sure when a movie goes through a name change every few months that it spells good things for the movie. At first this was called The Tourist then it became The List and about two months before the release they finally settled on the name Deception. Perhaps it is not indicative of how the movie will turn out, but it did not appear to be a good sign for me. What was a good sign was that Hugh Jackman liked the script so much he wanted to produce the movie and on the big screen he hadn't made a majorly bad movie since Van Helsing. I have a kind of affinity for bad erotic thrillers that dates back to my days of renting direct to video movies in hopes of finding something so awful and juicy that I could not help but love it.

Jonathon McQuarrey(Ewan McGregor) is a by the numbers accountant with a dull existence and no friends. One night while doing an audit for a big law firm, a big wig lawyer Wyatt Bose(Jackman) introduces himself, they smoke weed, chat and become fast friends. Bose is a funny, cocky and personable person; he is everything McQuarrey is not. An accidental phone switch by the two men right as Bose is heading to London, leaves McQuarrey with Bose's phone and suddenly a whole world opens up to him. He is fielding calls from women asking "Are you free tonight." Quickly he cannot resist taking the calls and finds himself in the middle of a sex club, or "The List." One night he meets a woman he actually like a and they don't have sex; they just talk. They meet again the next night and while McQuarrey leaves the hotel room to get ice, she goes missing and he gets knocked out. It does not take long before Bose is seen again and this time that fun loving person is gone and in his place is a crazy, money hungry nut job. He says he has the girl kidnapped and McQuarrey can get her back if he transfers 20 million dollars from some big bank. Who is who? What is what? Oh snap, who is dead, who is alive?

If you cannot figure out this movie within the first 15 minutes, I would suggest you never open a detective business. Whether you had plans to do so or not, just don't do it. Deception telegraphs every twist and turn to the point where you have it figured out so early. None of that would matter to me if the movie had been able to maintain a level of stimulating interest, but it did not. The script is weak, the performances are just as weak and it leaves me curious as to what Hugh Jackman saw in this to begin with. As erotic thrillers go this one is luke-warm, with only one even remotely hot scene, but it is just a tease and we spend the rest of the movie hoping for something to get hot again, only to be disappointed. It could have been salvaged by an interesting ending, but sadly, it goes exactly where you expect it to go. You hope to see Ewan's character finally nut up and make a bold decision but the decisions he makes start out bold, but never materialize into anything remotely interesting. There are 2 false endings and the actual ending seemed tacked on specifically because the director felt like the happy ending was what was needed in this mostly gloomy movie.

Final Grade: D-