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Iron Man 2 starring Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke and Don Cheadle

Posted on June 23, 2010 Written by ripitup

And Tony Stark is back!!!

The first movie is about how Iron Man gets to be Iron man, his complicated relationship with his assistant Pepper and even more complicated relationship with his business partner Obadiah You might check the review for refreshing your memory.

Iron Man 2

Well, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is just being Tony Stark. He is mischievous, fun-loving, full of funny one-linters and witty sarcasm, and loving Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow). He has reassured the government – by making total fools of them-that Iron Man is a technology that no country has ever come close yet. Of course he has made enemies in the process: the weapons expert and the CEO of weapons manufacturer Hammer Technologies, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). He also has an outraged Russian enemy, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke). He is the scientist son of a scientist father who- according to Ivan-was not treated right by Tony Stark’s father, Howard Stark (John Slattery). Ivan is working on re-creating a fine weapon on his own. And Tony has another problem: he is dying. The palladium in his chest is increasing the toxicity in his blood and if he can’t find a replacement element or a cure, he will die…

So while Tony doesn’t go easy on any parties or crazy stunts, he is also making radical changes in his life. He hires a new PA, as he makes Pepper the CEO of his company. His new assistant is Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson): a fiery, intelligent and capable redhead who is just even more capable than Tony can actually imagine and will soon find out. These changes are driving Pepper crazy and she doesn’t know about his condition, are putting a strain on their relationship.

So Tony has to win a battle against himself, Ivan and later a collaboration of Ivan and Sam. It doesn’t help that he might also be screwing up his friendship with his close friend Rhoedes (Don Cheadle)….

New enemies, old and new allies, lots and lots of action (more than the first), great sexual and romantic chemistry, beautiful leads, great sound and visual effects, a kick-ass soundtrack and a very satisfying sctipt: Yes, I loved Iron Man 2. I freaking loved it. I have no idea it is rated less than the first one. Well, we will see what the eventual rating will be as it sits at 7.5 on IMDB at the moment, voted by nearly 50.000 people whereas the first is an 8.0, voted by nearly 170.000 people. I guess it is customary to rate the sequel lower for a lot of movies, no matter how great and fun it is. 9/10 from me.

I am not an Iron Man expert, mind you. I am not a comics reader. I am however a movie nut and I have an addiction for kick-ass entertainment movies like the Iron Man series. Lots of action, visually stunning, a good script and great sense of humor. Iron Man gives just that. I may not be a comic book fan but I am a fan of the movie adaptations. The technology and the fighting, the villain vs the nice guy are fun to watch. You should of course keep in mind Sam Rockwell is as terrific as always and Mickey Rourke makes a great Ivan. It is cool to have Samuel L. Jackson too. And I finally get why men love Scarlett Johannson. Yeah, yeah, she is a fine actress. But she is also playing one of the most gorgeous, dangerous and kick-ass female characters ever and she has red hair. Wow.

Scarlett Johannson as Natalie Rushman/ Natlie Romanoff in Iron Man 2 — Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushman/ Natlie Romanoff/Black Widow in Iron Man 2. Image: moviesonline.ca

Fun facts:

– Happy- Tony’s driver/mate/guard/boxing partner is played by Jon Favreau, the director of the series. Before Iron Man, Jon was mostly known as his frequent writing/acting collaborations with actor Vince Vaughn.

– The actor playing Howard Stark, Tony’s father, is John Slattery. Sex and The City fans might have felt he looks familiar. Well, he is. He is the actor who played Carrie’s politician boyfriend Bill Kelley in third season for 2 episodes. Remember the guy who had a really weird request? This might refresh your memory.

– James Rhoedes was played by Terrence Howard in the first movie. He is replaced by Don Cheadle and I have to say I think Don makes an even better Rhodey. He also gets have a lot more fun, wearing the suit: fighting and flying and all that….

The Trailers

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNQowwwwYa0[/pro-player]

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siQgD9qOhRs&feature=channel[/pro-player]

The Last Legion starring Colin Firth & Ben Kingsley

Posted on June 22, 2010 Written by ripitup

The Last Legion starring Colin Firth, Aishwarya Rai, Ben Kingsley, Thomas Sangster, Kevin McKidd and Rupert Friend. Image from: http://img5.allocine.fr/acmedia

Romulus Augustus (Thomas Sangster) is the new emperor of Rome. He might be young but he is carrying Ceasar’s blood in his veins. Even though he is protected by his parents and his new protector Aurelius (Colin Firth), they fail to protect him and themselves from the Goth attack. The king and queen are murdered and Aurelius loses his army. Rome is in ruins and Romulus is now a prisoner of the Goths. The only reason he is not dead- despite the wishes of the king’s right arm Wulfila (Kevin McKidd)- is his former caretaker/teacher Ambrosinus(Ben Kingsley)-who persuades the king that killing a young boy will not gain respect. So the kind decides to imprison Romulus and Ambrosinus.

By this time, Aurelius has gathered what’s left of his men and the guard their ally Constantinople’s messenger (Alexander Siddig) has assigned him. To his surprise, the masked guard turns out to be a very attractive woman named Mira (Aishwarya Rai), who fights just as well as he does.

The Last Legion with Colin Firth and Aishwarya Rai — Aurelius (Colin Firth) and Mira (Aishwarya Rai). We knew something was up when we learned he was single. Image from: http://images.allmoviephoto.com/

Colin Firth and Aishwarya Rai in The Last Legion — So, every couple has a different way of foreplay...Image from: http://www.pocandpoch.com

However they soon realize that saving their young emperor will be the least of their problems as even their own senators and allies turn against them and they will need to go to Britannia and find the last legion- their fellow Roman soldiers who never returned home. They will however have resistance and another and stronger nemesis….

This movie is pure fun. It is all there is to it. I am not really interested or knowledgeable when it comes to histories, legends and myths. So while lovers of the legend (I am not going to say which because it might be a lovely surprise if you don’t read the plot or tagline on IMDB) might be disappointed, I don’t see how entertainment and movie addicts like me- who also happen to be Colin Firth fans- will fail to have a good time. It has all the fun and glory of a fun little epic: strong and loyal characters, betrayers, romance potential, lots of fighting and battles, good-looking leads, some true wisdom, friendship, loyalty and more. It doesn’t hurt that it comes with a cast that features Colin Firth, Kevin McKidd, Ben Kingsley, Rupert Friend and Alexander Siddig. For those of you who have seen Love Actually- also featuring Colin Firth and Thomas Sangster- might enjoy watching Thomas as a teenager. Love Actually was made 4 years prior to this film and featured an almighty British cast including Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant. Thomas plays the stepson to Liam Neeson’s character. And they do have an adorable relationship. Which reminds me, I should write about Love Actually.

Kevin McKidd seems to be getting his fair share in epic movies as he also co-starred in Kingdom of Heaven (starring Orlando Bloom) and he played in the critically acclaimed TV show Rome. I first watched Scottish Kevin as he played the Scottish fiancé of Michelle Monahan- the love of Patrick Dempsey’s life-in Made of Honor. He and Patrick continued to act together when Kevin joined the cast of Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. Owen Hunt. It is nice to see Kevin go all evil here.

I am pretty sure Ben Kingsley needs no introduction but I feel his roles in Gandhi (as Gandhi) and Schindler’s List should be mentioned. He is also seen in a big role in Prince of Persia alongside Jake Gyllenhaal as his uncle.

Well, watching Alexander Siddig- albeit in a small role- was fun all the same. My recent admiration for the actor comes from watching Cairo Time. May he be in more and more leading roles without killing people. As he is quoted (from imdb)on his role in Cairo Time: “It was a real treasure, a treat, to find a character, a role, that wasn’t intent on trying to blow up the White House or hijack an airplane”. Well, he has been cast in 24. Boys might also remember him from Star Trek Deep Space Nine TV series.

Rupert Friend plays in Pride and Prejudice, Chéri and The Young Victoria.

Of course, I need to mention James Cosmo. Did you think the big warrior next to Kevin McKidd’s Wulfila seem familiar? It is because he played Campbell, Hamish’s father in Braveheart.

So, this is a movie about honor, loyalty, love and friendship. It may not be one of the best but it does show a good time. Of course there are many who disagree as the movie was rated a 5.4 on IMDB. Watch and see for yourselves. I think it is a 7.

Posts Featuring Colin Firth and his movies:

Dorian Gray

The British Actors We Love

22 Tall Actors From Hollywood

Apartment Zero

Trauma

St. Trinian’s

The Accidental Husband

The Devil and Daniel Webster starring Alec Baldwin, Anthony Hopkins and Jennifer Love Hewitt

Posted on June 21, 2010 Written by ripitup

The Devil and Daniel Webster- a.k.a Shortcut to Happiness starring Alec Baldwin, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Anthony Hopkins. Directed by Alec Baldwin. Image from: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/

Let there be spoilers!!

Jabez Stone (Alec Baldwin) is a struggling writer. He has unpublished and unwanted manuscripts, a writer friend called Julius (Dan Aykroyd) who just got a big paycheck and a great contract, a loaded brother, a sales job he just got fired from and a tiny flat. Sure, he has two other writer friends- who support him and encourage him. But one day Jabez gets robbed and loses the only thing he cared about possessing- his new manuscript. Broke, unlucky and miserable, he has a brief nervous breakdown where he throws his typewriter out of the window. When this gets unfortunately gets an old woman killed and cops are at the door, Bez gets an unexpected visitor: The Devil herself (Jennifer Love Hewitt). She offers him quite a deal. She will make the “law” problem disappear and give him what he has wanted the most in his entire life: Success and respect. Now, on another day, Bez would probably decline. But he now has a chance to save the person he accidentally killed and be a success- for once. He agrees. He will have 10 years of magnificent success in return for his soul…

And sure enough, the troubles go away. The literary agent – Constance Hurry (Kim Catrall) loves his manuscript. Soon, his books are being sold fast, he’s making great money, everyone knows his name and women are throwing themselves at him, including Constance. But of course who said the devil would play fair? She takes the success away from his friend Julius. Moreover, no critic loves his book. No one seems to care about what he wants to say. As long as it is written by him, it is gold. Success, fame and busy schedules also take away his two good friends. Not to mention, years go by pretty quickly…

Now this movie is not bad. The first half is pretty entertaining and I suspect it will hit home more with writers. Which writer hasn’t been through that desperation period? But after the deal, and the first couple of hints of success, the pace of the movie really slows down (not that it was exactly fast before that) and potential for a good (black) comedy and the chance to be a fun little satire die down. Sure, the drama is expected and welcome on a level but it shouldn’t have arrived at the expense of entertainment. There is also the relationship between Daniel Webster (Anthony Hopkins)- a respected and successful agent and the devil. I am not sure if that makes or breaks the movie.

The movie does have a good cast and some fun moments. But it is not enough. The story is based on an old play. There is also a 1942-dated movie of the same name where the deal takes place between a farmer and the devil. Since I haven’t seen that movie but what would the occupation of Webster be?

This is not a movie that deserves your focus. There is no harm in playing it in the background, but if you are not going to multi-task, you might not enjoy the film much.

The IMDB rating is 5.7. I think it is more of a 4 to 5/10. Let me know what you think about the ending.

Sex and The City 2: It rocked. Forget the negative reviews.

Posted on June 19, 2010 Written by ripitup

Sex and The City 2 starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Catrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis. Co-starring Chris Noth, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler, Jason Lewis and John Corbett. Image: beyazgazete.com

Sex and The City 2: It rocked. Forget the Negative Reviews!

The girls are back!!! If you want to know what went around in the show, check out the tv show trivia and if you need to remember what went on in the first movie, visit Sex and The City The Movie

Now, the second film:

Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Big (Chris Noth) are about to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Charlotte (Kristin Davis) has always gotten the family she wanted-she has two beautiful daughters and she is happy with her husband Harry (Evan Handler). Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Steve (David Eigenberg) are back and happy together. Samantha (Kim Catrall) is…well… Samantha.

Of course things are not as smooth as they first might seem:

Carrie is afraid Big is getting too comfortable in their marriage. She starts to freak out that they will turn into a boring old married couple. After all, Big is too fond of watching TV, ordering and staying in. She is now working on her new book and this time it is about marriage.

Samantha is over 50 and she is dealing with the side-effects of menopause in a very Samantha way: taking as many pills as she can so that she can “trick her body into thinking it is younger” and it seems to be working. Her libido is back and her hot flushes are under control. She is in fact the happiest of the bunch.

Miranda and Steve are great as a couple but Miranda’s now asshole of a colleague is giving her nightmares. For the first time in her life, Miranda is dreading her office and hating her job. It doesn’t seem worth the trouble that she is missing out on all of her son Brady’s important moments.

Charlotte is about to have a nervous breakdown. Her baby won’t stop crying. In fact she is so relentless and loud, she could have been a perfect commercial for promoting birth control. And despite being a mild child, her oldest Lily is sick of all the attention Rose is getting. Thankfully, her nanny (Alice Eve) is a godsent, She is sweet, lovely and really great with the kids. But one problem: She is a young, pretty blonde with big breasts. And she doesn’t wear bras….

So when Samantha meets her ex Smith’s (Jason Lewis) movie producer, a very rich man from Abu Dhabi and the gets a job offer, the girls are presented with the chance to an all expenses paid vacation. They will have a chance to get away from it all and there will be 4 of them- without the kids and the men. Just what they all needed. However, how smart is it really for Samantha to be in a Muslim city where most of the population doesn’t consist of modern, new generation Muslims but old-fashioned, ultra-traditional and conventional people? Where women mostly cover all of their bodies and hair and so do men? It gets much worse when she meets an attractive Danish architect (Max Ryan) and well…wants to do him.

But the greatest yet the worst thing happens to Carrie when he runs into Aidan (John Corbett), the second love of her life. The guy she almost married… Are they truly over each other? Will it be a reunion for “two old friends” or is she actually playing with fire as Charlotte suggested?

The expectations, The IMDB rating and the criticisms

The TV series are rated at 7.1 on IMDB. An HBO series, Sex and The City was the first show on TV where people-women-talked so openly and “shamelessly” about sex. While Britain’s highly successful sitcom Coupling’s characters talks just as freely about sex and the issues related with it, Sex and The City dared to “show” everything. And no issue was ever out of boundaries. Any type of sex, any awkward/hot/conventional/unconventional thing about sex was welcome. It was set in New York. It was all about glamour, sex, dating, love, relationships, friendship and well…shopping.

I was surprised that the first movie was only rated 5.4. Many people seemed to be disturbed by the fact that there was less sex and less sex talk. But it was essential to the story and it made sense. Because Miranda and Steve did have a dry spell going on. Miranda was too busy working and she was tired and well, Steve screwed up. Carrie and Big were happy at first but it is Carrie Bradshaw we were talking about. And Sarah Jessica Parker. She never once showed her breasts or butt in the 6 years of the show. And yes, she had hot moments with Big but remember Big was elusive and commitment-phobic He was also in his 40s when the show aired. In the movie, he was now in his mid-50s, in a steady relationship. He also screwed up a wedding and they broke up. Carrie and Big were separate for a good portion of the movie. And after 10 years of being desperately in love with Big, did anyone expect Carrie to go out there and act like single again? Seriously. Charlotte and Harry were happy and had a good, healthy sex life but nothing to write home about. Even Samantha was steady in a relationship with Smith. But hey, it didn’t stop her from wanting more, talking all dirty and fantasizing about her next door neighbor whose body and sexcapades we really got to see. There was of course a little less of Manhattan. But then again, Samantha was in L.A. and Miranda lived in Brooklyn. I watched all the episodes of the series and enjoyed the experience. I got to relate to the characters and even though there is usually one character you relate the most, there was a part of each character in me. I was never the same age with the girls. I was 14 when the show started and al little older when I discovered it.

Now, I am 26. Still, I find the show, the characters and the movies very relatable, very fun and just as true to life.

You should see the message boards and the movie reviews. The characters are called sexist and superficial. Hello??? When in the series were they deeper or more intellectual? They were who they were and we loved them for it. It was all about New York and shopping and sex and dating but it was more about friendship than anything else. Some – and I am guessing men- said the leading women were plain ugly or just got too old. Hello??? They got older, got more wrinkles. It is a fact of life. Shit happens. They may not look just as great. Deal with it!

Now, I actually laughed at the 3.8 rating for the second film. If anything, it was funnier and a lot more pleasant than the first. No one was in depression Samantha was single again as she was always meant to be. But hell, she can’t always be that active at 52, dealing with menopause.

Well, you can’t expect Steve and Miranda to bang each other every time they are in the same room together. And how is this not nice or good enough? Do people expect Miranda to talk about “skid marks”?

The characters are where they are meant to be. They grew older, but they are still who they are. Adding Abu Dhabi was a great idea because it was a great and rare opportunity for the girls to be away from all other distractions. Plus, Carrie got to run into Aidan. I don’t know about you, but Aidan was my favorite male ever to have appeared on the show. He was actually too good to be true: Nice, fun, funny, sweet, romantic, loyal, interesting. He also didn’t smoke and he loved rocknroll. And all this package had came in the shape of the tall and handsome actor John Corbett.

Aidan and Carrie had one-OK two-passionate, loving relationships that ended in disasters. The first time they were together, Carrie had screwed everything up by cheating on Aidan with Big. When she told Aidan, he naturally left. When they got backtogether and Carrie earned back his trust, Aidan wanted to marry her but she wasn’t ready. So he left. Aidan was never over Carrie. And as a fan, I was definitely not over Aidan….

It was good seeing him again, even though I thought he acted a little out of character.

I don’t know about you but I got exactly what I was looking for. And after the ceremony, I cared about what would happen to these four girls and I thought Michael Patrick King-writer/director/producer got things right. It is a journey. And it is a fun one.

I related to this women and it is nice to see how they grew up. Pluse they threw in interesting cameos in the form of Penelope Cruz, Lisa Minelli and Miley Cyrus.

It is for fun. I went to see the movie with three girlfriends of mine and we all had a great time. Even though, the story probably finished for good, I wouldn’t mind a 3^rd film. Not that nothing much is left to say. But hey, I just like the characters. Maybe the reason so many people didn’t like the film(s) is that they felt things lost the charm when everyone got their happy ending. After all we watched Big being elusive for 6 years and never knew his name until the last episode. Now we know his name, surname and he is mature and sweet and reliable. There was an episode in the 3^rd season where Carrie felt uneasy because things were so smooth with Aidan. Maybe people are just hooked on seeing drama for drama’s sake. The episode is called Drama Queens. Maybe some fans should revisit it?