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Iron Man 3 starring Robert Downey Jr, Guy Pearce and Ben Kingsley: Fun, Fun, Fun

Posted on August 26, 2013 Written by ripitup

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iron-man-3-poster
Image via marketsaw.blogspot.com.

 

If I had to choose just one word to describe Iron Man 3, it’d be fun. It’s a fast-paced, action-packed, and highly entertaining superhero movie. It could use some more rock numbers that made the first 2 awesome, but overall it is the right type of film for the series.

Of course like any movie, Iron Man 3 isn’t without its haters or discontent viewers. But given that you know what to expect, you shouldn’t be disappointed – especially if you like director/co-writer Shane Black’s more mainstream work (the action classic Lethal Weapon, for instance).

In addition to the usual cast of Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle (who took over from Terrence Howard after the first Iron Man), we get Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Schindler’s List, House of Sand and Fog), and Golden Globe nominees Rebecca Hall (The Awakening, Vicky Cristina Barcelona) and Guy Pearce (Memento, Lockout, LA Confidential).

Keeping in mind Robert Downey Jr.  has 2 Oscar nominations, Don Cheadle has one, and Paltrow has one Academy Award, we can add the cast of Iron Man 3 to the superhero movies that casts critically acclaimed actors who also happen to be box-office draws – e.g. check out the cast of Man of Steel.

Some viewers weren’t happy with the twist, but I found it quite fun- it was one of those laugh-out-loud moments for me, and it was perfectly acted and directed.

It was also fun to see our beloved cheeky hero Tony Stark to be suffering from anxiety attacks after everything they went through in The Avengers. Alien attacks can get to a guy, apparently…

And yes, there are clichés in the movie.

The Story:

In 1999, at a Christmas part in Bern, we meet the ever-cheeky Stark hooking up with an intelligent hottie (Rebecca Hall), and ignoring anyone who is not his date. Among the ignored and humiliated is Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), a geeky scientist adoring Tony’s work and wanting to work with him.

Fast-forward to now, Tony is with his former assistant/current managing partner/acting CEO Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow). While she is busy running the firm, Tony is obsessing over creating back-up Iron Man outfits, paranoid that there can be other alien attacks he will need to protect Pepper from.

In the meantime, the recent terrorist leader The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) who is hacking satellites and distributing scary messages and threatening the president (William Sadler).

When a different kind of bomb badly injures Tony’s friend/head of security Happy (Jon Favreau, director of the first Iron Man) and puts him into hospital, he openly threatens The Mandarin, and Mandarin responds more openly and violently than anyone could have predicted.

With his house and lab pretty much destroyed, Tony has his intelligence, Jarvis on zero battery and smart kid he runs into to deal with Mandarin, as well as the weird Terminator-like human/robots who just don’t get killed easily…

**

Have fun!!!

 

Also on Robert Downey Jr.

Due Date starring Robert Downey Jr. & Zach Galifianakis

Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Mark Strong and Rachel McAdams

Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard

Iron Man 2 starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke

Also on Guy Pearce

Death Defying Acts starring Guy Pearce & Catherine Zeta-Jones 

Guy Pearce Trivia

Lockout starring Guy Pearce & Maggie Grace

The King’s Speech starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter & Guy Pearce

 

More on Gwyneth Paltrow 

A Perfect Murder starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Viggo Mortensen and Michael Douglas

Shallow Hal starring Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Ben Kingsley, Don Cheadle, guy pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow, iron man 3, iron man 3 cast, Jon Favreau, Rebecca Hall, robert downey jr, robert downey jr. iron man 3, shane black, shane black iron man 3

A Perfect Murder starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Viggo Mortensen and Michael Douglas

Posted on August 27, 2010 Written by ripitup

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A Perfect Murder starring Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow and Viggo Mortensen. image via sinepil.org
A Perfect Murder starring Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow and Viggo Mortensen. image via sinepil.org

Emily (Gwyneth Paltrow) is married to the older and successful businessman Steven (Michael Douglas). From the outside, they are the perfect couple. However, the reality is very different. Steven is having serious financial problems with his business and Emily is cheating on Steven with a guy who couldn’t have been more opposite: passionate, young and struggling- handsome artist David (Viggo Mortensen).

Emily doesn’t know that Steven knows. Steven knows all about the affair and David’s shady past (another thing Emily has no idea about) so he comes up with the perfect plan that will rid him off his financial troubles and a cheating wife: he meets David and asks him to kill Emily, in exchange for half a million dollars. David is trapped: if he goes to Emily or police about this, Steven will prove how David uses rich women to get their money. Convicted before, David will face serious jail time and probably they wouldn’t believe him anyway. So he agrees. Steven plans the night of the murder meticulously. However he might have underestimated David’s feelings for Emily or at least overestimated his capacity to commit murder: things go wrong, Emily survives. Who will the game? David or Steven? And can Emily survive again?

***

1998’s A Perfect Murder is a remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder (1954). I haven’t seen the original so I can’t make comparisons. But despite the “flaws” of the characters (and I do realize that without the “flaws”, there wouldn’t be the same story), I enjoyed the film. The music, direction, setting and the acting are all decent and the casting is just perfect. From the smart homicide detective David Suchet that forms a bond with the graceful Emily, to the absolutely gorgeous Viggo Mortensen, the cold  smart Michael Douglas.. This is a pretty film. It is not the smartest or the best thriller around, but it is enjoyable enough.

***

As for the “flaws” of these characters, well I actually mean stupid actions. So I am listing them below. Mind the spoilers.

Emily (Gwyneth Paltrow)

  • Well, I have seen younger women marry older men for money, but this younger woman is actually richer than the man- or at least will be. The age gap is huge, and from her lover and way of life, Emily doesn’t seem like the girl to be attracted to Steven’s type. But let’s suppose Steven acted all sweet and seduced her in the beginning. Fine. You don’t love the guy, you are loaded, you don’t have kids and you are staying in the marriage because…??? Oh, and if you are about to inherit $100,000,000, you sign a pre-nup! It is a no-brainer. I am a romantic but you just need to be an idiot if you are not signing something when that much is involved, even though your man seems rich on his own.
  • Emily thought David didn’t know about the money. Great. It is one thing thinking he is in love; it is another thinking he wouldn’t have had a clue about who she is. She didn’t need to think he was in it for the money, but she should have considered he had a clue. So Emily was gullible and stupid way before she got attacked.
  • And so what David turned out to be a criminal? How does that justify her warming up to Steven, whose cold attitude drew her to David in the first place (I am not saying cheating is OK. But it is stupid to believe a guy who has been doing business illegally, is going bankrupt because of it, hid it from you and seems OK with your affair). No sane man will forgive Emily without at least one angry/emotional tantrum, and definitely not Steven.
  • What if Steven overpowered Emily in the last struggle and killed her? Yeah, confronting him like that usually only works in the typical Hollywood endings.

Steven (Michael Douglas)

  • So of all the contracted and professional killers Steven could have hired, he chose the boyfriend. Great but what about his feelings?  Whether it is open to discussion David was in love with Emily or not, you can’t trust your wife’s lover to kill her!
  • And again with Steven hiring David. Of course David doesn’t trust him and will try to screw  over if he gets a shot.  If anything, you cost the guy his lover and his chance to have much more money.
  • And since he is capable of murder, he should have come up with a plan where he murders Emily and gets away with it. No honor among con men, Steven!

David (Viggo Mortensen)

  • And he should have either went in to kill Emily himself, or at least played the tape for her and beg her forgiveness about the con. And Emily could forgive him, with him being honest and all.
  • Great job making a deal with a man who wants to kill his own wife for money. And great job trying to con a man without letting know he will be busted if he kills David anyway.

6/10 for the overall movie.

7/10 for actors.

Currently 6.4 on IMDB

  • Fun note: Viggo Mortensen is one talented man. He is also a jazz singer, poet, horseman and a painter. The paintings in David’s studio were done by him. Oh, and he also speaks multiple languages frequently:      Danish, Spanish and French. He is also pretty good with Swedish and Norwegian too.

Posts on Viggo Mortensen

Handsome Actors to Play Villains: Viggo Mortensen, Tom Cruise, Xavier Samuel, Kevin Bacon and Kevin Costner

ACTORS AND LITERATURE: Ethan Hawke, Hugh Laurie and Viggo Mortensen

Post on Gwyneth Paltrow

Shallow Hal starring Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow

Iron Man

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

3 Happy Celebrity Couples: Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Martin, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: A Perfect Murder, David Suchet, dial m for murder, dial m for murder remake, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michael Douglas, movies, thriller, Viggo Mortensen

Shallow Hal starring Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow

Posted on July 14, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Shallow Hal starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black
Shallow Hal starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black. Image via terraespiritual.locaweb.com.br

Shallow Hal is one really good movie. It is funny, but it is not always laugh-out-loud, let’s- get- as-crude-as-possible sort of movie. If anything, it just might be the gentlest thing the Farrelly Brothers ever did. Before I get carried away, here is the plot:

Hal (Jack Black) is a shallow guy. As much as you would sometimes want to call him a jerk, “shallow” describes him much better, as he is very in humane in shallowness. After all, he is a guy who just wants to be with as many hot women as he can. It doesn’t really matter whether he is a hunk, he just wants hot women. And while we- and I mean women- may not be that aggressive in showing it, we do want hot dates. Don’t give me that I’m- all- too –deep- for- this- line- of- thinking- attitude; even for a second. Just do me a favor and consider these two hypothetical options:

–          There are two men who want you. They are both good guys, fun to be around and you have loads in common. But one of them is not attractive at all in your standards. The other is gorgeous. Which one would you pick? Assume they both want you. Neither has a bad bone in their body. Admit, it you’d go for the gorgeous one. Some women would go the other way, not because they are deeper but because they wouldn’t feel secure, as their boyfriend would get so desired by other women and they wouldn’t feel comfortable. This is not deep. This is called having issues.

So, can readers of both sexes be honest with me? You can be a nice person and you can place all the importance you want on personality. But given the choice between pretty and ugly (pretty and ugly in your terms) and assuming everything else is equal, you’d choose pretty. It may not be a great human trait, but unfortunately it is sort of imprinted on us. Blame whoever, whatever you want but it is there.

So, Hal, despite being a totally average-looking guy, wants to date babes. And it is screwing with his life because a hot girl won’t generally go for Hal. Let me “shallow” here. The moment Hal started appreciating hotness over everything, all I could think was,” Dude, look in the mirror! You are way too short, you need to lose like 15 pounds, get at least 5 pounds in muscle, and you don’t exactly have the prettiest face!”.  Of course as you watch Hal and see him transform, you start to find him cute. Oh yeah, he can be sweet. He can look nice. Still, Jack Black or Clive Owen?  Answer me. Exactly.

And then there is his much less attractive and much more shallow friend Mauricio (Jason Alexander, aka George Costanza of Seinfeld). He is even worse than Hal. But something changes drastically when Hal gets stuck in an elevator with self-help guru Tony Robbins (played by Tony Robbins himself). Tony notices Hal is totally looking at the wrong things, but is a nice guy inside. So he sort of hypnotizes him into seeing only the inner beauty of people. So if a person is nice, she will look like a babe to him. She will look like a babe to Hal, even if she is ugly and/or very fat.

That’s why obese Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow) looks like an extremely fit woman with a really good body to Hal. Of course to everybody else in society, she is fat and not so attractive. Mauricio is terrified as he can’t understand the sudden changes in his best friend. So even though Hal is head over heels with Rosemary, Mauricio makes sure he finds a way for Robbins to take the whole thing back. But what happens if he can reverse it? Hal will see a fat woman whose personality he is in love with…Tough call, right? And yeah, she is borderline fat- not just plump or a little heavy. She is fat enough to have health problems due to her weight, fat enough to break some solid chairs and sofas.

Despite appearances, this is not a shallow movie. It is done by humane people with the deepest of intentions. We keep our own superficial tendencies in check and hope Hal will make the right decision- the right romantic comedy decision, that is- to be with Rosemary at all costs.

We all judge books by their covers whether we want to admit it or not. Farrelly Brothers just have brought a nice little twist to the thing. Yes, more often than not, we don’t care about the looks that much if we are in love. But how do you get past that until you are in love? Do you really need a hypnosis or just some faith? And what is the guarantee that person who is not beautiful in your sense of the word is not superficial? Would he/she still go for you if you weighed 100 pounds higher? 200 pounds higher? 100 pounds lower? With virtually no breasts? With no hair? With absolutely 0 taste in clothes?  Multiply and diversify the examples. But make sure you think about it….

And then again, there is the notion that we do want to be considered pretty, inside out. Who here wants to be considered ugly by the person they are attracted to? No one. You wouldn’t probably care if the rest of the world thought you were average, but the person you want, should think you are beautiful/handsome, right?

This is a lovely romantic/comedy/drama and a lot less crude than Me,Myself and Irene, The Heart Break Kid or There is Something About Mary. Even the fat jokes feel like they are there to make fun of Hal and not Rosemary. See this, no matter how you see yourself. No matter how you think others see you. You will feel good.

Other Movies of Peter and Bobby Farrelly


Dumb and Dumber starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels

There's Something About Mary starring Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon and Ben Stiller
There's Something About Mary starring Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon and Ben Stiller. Rated 7.2 on IMDB. Directed and co-writen by Bobby and Peter Farrelly. Image via klausen1976.files.wordpress.com
Me,myself and Irene starring Jim Carrey and Renee Zellweger
Me,myself and Irene starring Jim Carrey and Renee Zellweger. Directed and co-written by Peter and Bobby Farrelly. Image via images.amazon.com
The Heartbreak Kid starring Ben Stiller, Malin Akerman and Michelle Monaghan
The Heartbreak Kid starring Ben Stiller, Malin Akerman and Michelle Monaghan. As usual, directed and co-written by the Farrelly Brothers. Image via bloggang.com/

Back to Shallow Hal…

And yes, it has unrealistic parts. So what? It makes nice points, sometimes at the price of looking overly optimistic and/or naïve. 6/10 on IMDB. I think it should get at least a 7 for all the decent jokes (and there are many!), making amends for the way we are, showing how things should be and making you laugh all the same…

All posts on Gwyneth Paltrow

A Perfect Murder starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Viggo Mortensen and Michael Douglas

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

3 Happy Celebrity Couples: Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Martin, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher

Shallow Hal on Amazon.com

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Bobby Farrelly, comedy, dating, drama, farrelly brothers, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jack Black, Jason Alexander, movies, Peter Farrelly, relationships, romance, Shallow Hal, Tony Robbins

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

Posted on June 23, 2010 Written by ripitup

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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 starring Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johannson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Mickey Rourke
Iron Man 2 starring Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Mickey Rourke. Co-starring Samuel L. Jackson and Jon Favreau. Image: costumzee.com

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]

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: action, Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, John Slattery, Jon Favreau, Mickey Rourke, robert downey jr, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson, scarlett johansson, thriller, tony stark

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