| Name | xGary Xx |
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| Gender | Male |
| I'm From | Birmingham, UK |
| Member For | 570 days |
| Last Login | Mon. May 12 |
| Profile Views | 4346 |
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| Movie: | Goodfellas, Oldboy, The Usual Suspects, Fight Club, Heat, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Taxi Driver, Apocalypse Now, Fargo |
|---|---|
| Actor: | Robert DeNiro, Toshiro Mifune, Chow Yun Fat, Johnny Depp, Humphrey Bogart, James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Takeshi Kitano, Benicio Del Toro |
| Director: | Scorsese, Kurosawa, Tarantino, Leone, Kitano, Fincher, Burton, Del Toro, Chan-wook Park, Takashi Miike, Billy Wilder, John Huston, Coen brothers, Christopher Nolan, Ridley Scott, Alfred Hitchcock |
| Quote: | "Shitkicker, you're about this far away from hillbilly heaven!" from Blade 2 |
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http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=571755705 If you: 1. are under 18 2. have a really low MCT score 3. have Adam Sandler/tinkerbell/some sweaty bloke's sixpack as your profile picture 4. have Adam Sandler in your "favourite actors" 5. have the playboy bunny as your profile skin 6. have the word "sexy" or "princess" in your e-mail address 7. ryt yr msgs lyk ths lol xxxxxxxxx 8. list "chillin" as one of your interests 9. have got a profile that's wall-to-wall widgets then don't bother... Key to my ratings system: 5 stars In the presence of greatness 4.5 stars Inspired 4 stars Impressed 3.5 stars Thoroughly entertained 3 stars Satisfied 2.5 stars Not offended 2 stars Indifferent/bored 1.5 stars Irritated 1 star Insulted 0.5 stars Angry! |
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xGary's Recent Reviews
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The Forgotten
PG-13
A grieving mother obsessively hangs on to the memory of her son who was killed in a plane crash, only to find all evidence of his existence being stripped away. The Forgotten is very reminiscent of an M. Night Shyamalan film in that it's very well made, nice to look at and is initially very intriguing. There is some really nice direction and the central performance by Julianne Moore is strong, but also like a typical MNS film, the pay off at the end is lacking compared to the promise of the build up. It certainly passes the time likeably enough, but I think many will feel a little cheated by the rather half-hearted explanation for it all.
Sex and the City: The Movie
Unrated
I honestly do not understand the appeal of Sex And The City. All it does is perpetuate the stereotype of women as vacantly fluffy dimwits who do nothing but talk about cock and shop for shoes. I find the idea of women loving this kind of insipid tripe as inexplicable as a black person loving The Black & White Minstrel Show...
A Fistful of Dollars
R
The introduction of the iconic man with no name saw Clint Eastwood catapulted to international stardom in this remake of Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece Yojimbo. Of course there's a certain irony in the fact that an Italian remake of a Japanese film shot in Spain would be the birth of the modern western, but the elements combine to fit the setting of the old west perfectly. The script has taken rather a trim in comparison, this film concentrating on machismo and gunplay rather than the more artful and character driven original; the result is that Eastwood's gunslinger comes across as more of a cynical operator than Mifune's aimless but moralistic samurai, and the build up has a brisk, almost rushed feel about it. But this film is all about the showdown at the end which, combined with Morricone's unforgettable score, is classic Leone.
Hostage
R
A burnt out cop sick of the violence in Los Angeles takes a job as police chief in a quiet smalltown community when three petty thieves take a rich family hostage. To describe this film as Die Hard with an annoying kid and no laughs would be a little unfair, but not a million miles from the truth. It's nicely shot, and Willis brings his usual star presence but it's just so generic. The characters and plot are all so predictable that you know how it's going to end right from the very start ie. the usual cocktail of SWAT teams, hostage negotiation, and brave kids sticking together through adversity leading up to the inevitable slo-mo shoot out. The action is well handled and it's hard to fault technically, but there's little here to mark it out from such an overcrowded marketplace of extremely similar Hollywood thrillers. In fact easily the most memorable part of the film is it's particularly nice title sequence...
National Treasure
PG
Nicolas Cage plays Ben Gates, a man obsessed with finding a legendary treasure who stumbles on a clue that leads him to a code on the back of the Declaration of Independence. National Treasure is purely film-making by numbers; there's the wise-cracking side kick, evil gun-toting (and inevitably English) villain, loads of races against time and a ridiculously contrived love interest (I've no idea who the curator of the National Archive is, but I'm confidently betting that they're not a 'hottie'...) But, as anyone who has seen Hudson Hawk or Sahara can tell you, that is something that can sometimes go quite spectacularly wrong. This however is not the case with National Treasure, and it does exactly what it sets out to do; it's a cheerfully unpretentious family orientated adventure that even throws in a bit of edutainment on American history. It's no Raiders Of The Lost Ark (in fact the story is pretty much just a kiddie version of Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade with a bit of James Bond style gadgetry thrown in) but anyone who enjoyed The Mummy will probably enjoy this too.
xGary's Favorite Movies
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2.
Oldboy
R
Astonishing is the only word for it. Brutal, shocking, gripping, disturbing... the way such intense emotions and motivations are constantly shifting without ever feeling contrived or forced is just spellbinding, and surely one of the greatest cinematic performances ever from Choi Min Sik. A totally flawless modern masterpiece.
3.
Apocalypse Now
R
A dream-like journey through the horrors and absurdities of Vietnam, this exceptional film is head and shoulders the best war film ever made. Dark, disturbing, intense, intelligent and provocative. The Redux version is an interesting companion piece, although the reasons why the extra scenes ended up on the cutting room floor are obvious. Still, it's a bit like seeing a different side of an old friend for the first time.
4.
Yojimbo
Unrated
Toshiro Mifune plays a wandering samurai who chances upon a small town in which two rival gangs are squabbling for control and decides to manipulate them into killing each other off. Possibly the greatest director in cinema collaborating once more with one of the greatest actors on a script filled with nuance and timeless photography. Mifune's performance is filled with subtlety and charisma as his initial disdain of these big fish in a small pond turns to brutal retribution after his suffering a vicious beating at their hands when he makes the mistake of becoming personally involved. Kurosawa's sense of period and atmosphere is second to none, and his trademark use of composition is breathtaking. Often copied, never bettered.
5.
Fight Club
R
Intelligent, witty and visually inventive. Not what I was expecting at all! Probably the first movie that made me think of Brad Pitt as a serious actor...
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xGary's Talk
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jonathanstephensonposted 26 minutes ago -
I recommend you see...
Atonement
by GaryAfter hearing a few less than glowing reviews I was a bit jubious about this one, but it turned out to be pretty beautiful. An epic love story with some beautiful cinematography and solid acting throughout. Tragic and endearing in a very British way. Perhaps overrated and the sneaky ending was a very dirty trick, but the hopeless romantic in me saw past all that. And the Dunkirk scene.... WOW! Briony truly deserves to be one of the most hated characters in recent movie history. Wish I'd read the book first.
The Oscar contender that couldn't is actually a pretty amazing little British film that turns ageing romantics like me to mush.
More hardened viewers may find themselves looking at their watches alot.... Up to you!posted 3 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
A Free Soul
by Veronique"a free soul" is the very flick which gets clark gable some female attention with the notorious scene of him pushing norma shearer roughly to the couch for three times! blatant violence on woman, but endearing gable is always excusable since he's doing it for the sake of love.
norma shearer plays a spoilt rich gal jan ashe who defies her family by dating mobster ace wilfong(gable), emancipated by her alcoholic father(lionel barrymore) who encourages her to be free. so she sneaks to the mobster's residence shamelessly as if she's his mistress for months. infatuated by jan's tumultuous lovemaking, wilfong falls head over heels in love with jan, then he consults her father's approval for the marriage proposal...due to the gap of social status, the father finally sombers up and condemns jan for hanging around with wilfong. so jan makes a bargain with dad that if he quits booze, she would quits gable. then the father and daughter disappear for three months in wilderness for eradication of liquor which fails eventually. and norma shearer returns to the dangerously charismatic clark gable while he's infuriated by her abscence, then he threatens her to marry him or he would announce their affair to ruin her social reputation. in the end, shearer's another love interest leslie howard comes to the scene to shoot gable to death, gallantly rescuing her from gable's villainy.
clark gable is still in his mustacheless period and credited as the third in the cast, but his overwhelming caveman-alike machismo thrills millions of women then while he growls "you're mine and you belong to me! don't you ever run away!!!" and his disdemeanors to push norma shear in fur is highly appreciated by the audience in depression period due to the animosity to idle rich, and gable's contempt to norma's social superiority was approved by proles who disdain the condescending loftiness of upper class. besides, gable's character has been devoted to shearer who is just ficklely having a good time slumming, and she's contrary to whoever posts disapproving opinions on her. when her family refuses to accept gable, she throws herself to him, as gable declares his determination to marry her, she ducks away. and he's traumatized by her frivolosity but too proud to admit it. so his rage is perfectly justified, and he wants her so he's gonna rob her away to be his! this tough kind of savage manhood is considered utterly sexy by women then.it was made in the depression area. when norma shearer was still alllowed to behave sluttishly in movies before the demure lady image in the "the women"...gable was not major star then but his rough machismo attracts millions of women then when he pushes norma shearer to the couch...women were thrilled when he shouts "you're mine! and i want you! so you belong to me! don't you ever run away!"
posted 4 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
Step Up 2 the Streets
by FabioThis is much better than the first,in this there is more breakdance!!
Great the scene of the last battle under the rain.
Oh well but the story is ALWAYS the same uff!! Also the quotes are always the same...
Watch it only if you like breakdance movies and hip hop.
For me the best movie of the "breakdance" is "you got served".Hey, you should really see this!
posted 8 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
The Kingdom
by FabioThis movie will show you a slice of life in Saudi Arabia. The characters are real and the struggle to get to the truth is real. The interplay between the Americans and the Saudi troops really shows the differences in our cultures while also showing how police are police and just want the truth no matter where they come from.
I can say that the movie is separated in two parts.
First part is the the part of the investigations.
The second is the action moment,and what an action!!
the two parts are connected perfectly.Hey, you should really see this!
posted 8 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
Fahrenheit 451
by DanielleGuy Montag: "Look at that fellow over there."
Clarisse: "What's he doing?"
Guy Montag: "That's the information box, he can't make up his mind. "
Clarisse: "What does he want to find out? "
Guy Montag: "He doesn't want to find out anything, he knows someone who has books. So he got hold of the person's picture and number and is going to drop it into that box."
Clarisse: "But he's an informer! "
Guy Montag: "No, he's an informant."
Based on the 1951 Ray Bradbury novel of the same name. Guy Montag is a firefighter who lives in a lonely, isolated society where books have been outlawed by a government fearing an independent-thinking public. It is the duty of firefighters to burn any books on sight or said collections that have been reported by informants. People in this society including Montag's wife are drugged into compliancy and get their information from wall-length television screens. After Montag falls in love with book-hoarding Clarisse, he begins to read confiscated books. It is through this relationship that he begins to question the government's motives behind book-burning. Montag is soon found out, and he must decide whether to return to his job or run away knowing full well the consequences that he could face if captured. The plot is the strong point of the film. It carries a powerful message and leaves a strong emotional impact. Julie Christie's blandness and sporadic awkward enthusiasm work well enough in this environment for her almost to seem to give a good performance.Hey, you should really see this! And if you haven't read the book should also do that to, it's worth the time.
posted 9 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
The Free Will (Der Freie Wille)
by CeciliaIs there such a thing as free will? And if so: how far does it reach? Are we really able to forgive? Ourselves? Others? This film is one of the most serious striving for humanity and desperate search of meaning in this deep dark loneliness in our unspeakable grim society I´ve ever stumbled upon. It left me, with so many thoughts of what really should be done with this lifetime. Even if the film mostly is about the individual destruction and the collectives lack of mercy the story shows that real beauty exist but that it is so vulnerable one can hardly speak about it. The german director Matthias Glasners fourth feature film is a 160 minutes exceptionally intense, sad and brutal naturalistic report on human life, a naked portrait of perpetrators and victims and the very thin line in between. The film holds some of the most devout feelings I´ve ever watched on screen. The main actors Jürgen Vogel and Sabine Timoteo gets just as close to their characters Theo and Nettie as I think is possible.
Prepare for harsh and brutal german naturalism filmed with a dv-camera. Some of you may even shed a river of tears. And some will surely get provoked. No one will be left indifferent...
posted 9 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
1900 (Novecento)
by IrisBernardo Bertolucci shows some Commie love with his take on the epic film. The uncut version is five hours, so take a deep breath.
On the acting side, everyone involved does a decent job, except for Sutherland - who, let's face it, is legendary. Simply can't believe there was no Oscar nomination.
Bertolucci may still have been in his experimentation stage (compare this work to later pieces like Last Emperor), but he manages to make it interesting, taking into consideration the length. The writing may be somewhat unbelievable at times, so maybe there was a bit of English experimentation at this point in time too.
All would have been well had it not been for the crappy pro - Communist ending. One specific scene looks like it could have been cut straight out of a Stalin advertising campaign.
All in all, a worthwhile watch, if you're prepared to be patient.Been my first review sent out in quite a while.
Not the best example of what Bertolucci can do.posted 11 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
Irreversible
by Jacekfor Kasia
You ever felt disturbed when your girlfriend wasn't answering her cellphone after leaving the party or your house at night? You been ever worried that the route she'll be walking might not be the proper one for the sake of her safety? If you know the feeling, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's one of a kind. We live in a very unpleasant, paranoidial times, with violence and terror so widely publized that it's hard to listen to inner common sense many times, especially when you watching too much so-called-reality tv shows or even starting your day by reading the morning newspaper. If you're insecure with being in relationship, you better pass on "Irreversible". Wait until you accept the hard fact that being with someone you care for means being in two places all time in this fucked up world.
Noe's ultra-disturbing "Irreversible" left me sick for four days straight when I first saw it back in 2002. I hated every minute of it. I was shocked and pissed-off and felt that this bastard Noe took something very emotional from me without giving me anything in exchange. I was giving it a massively negative press everywhere to anyone everytime the subject of it came up. And then one day, after five long, difficult and painful years I came across it again.
Let's start with this line, which says "Time destroys everything". It has double-meaning. It can be simply viewed that time have the power to take, for instance, everything we care for the most. But that's obvious when you know that one day you'll be gone and no matter how abstract it may seem to you at this point or no matter what idea you'll come up with such as reincarnation or some subjective ontological nonsense about you being beyond all of it, the hard fact that you're locked up in a body that's aging will remain. Look at the camera work in this film. It seems to be operated by the child who has a new toy, with all the chaos and amazement in its mind. And then look closely at the orange city lights. The streets. They look so frightently real that it makes you feel as you were there among them, in a place when time is actually frozen, in command. That way you don't feel as if you were watching a movie. More of a statement. A warning.
While "Irreversible" is mostly seen as pseudo-art-messy-thriller rip-off from "Memento" with a great deal of shock value, it is in reality a powerful examination of masculinity, inevitability and loss. The most important thing in this masterful picture are the details. Noe uses backward narrative to avoid violence being calculated for entertaining effect so he gives us climax at the beginning. He's not making a picture about a guy named Marcus whose girl, Alex, gets raped and who with his friend (and former boyfriend of Alex), Pierre, out of misery and desperation, decide to take matter in his own hands. In fact, he (Noe) does quite opposite of it. When you watch the film closely, you will see that, for one: Marcus was persuaded to do so. Two: the man who is killed by Marcus' friend, Pierre, isn't the man who raped Alex. And finally, that all this mess starts not in the point where the actual rape takes place. It's starts earlier the day (therefore closer to the end) when Alex gets into a fight with Marcus and leaves the party. One thing leads to another and soon all three lives are devastated. Noe shows us, without a shread of compromise, step-by-step-consequential collapse of a living organism which consists three people, starting in hell and then slowly shifting to dreamy-like heaven of comfort and ease. And what's brilliant about this structure is the feeling of a great loss over small thing, a loss comparable to the child that's having in her womb at the time. We see them, happy and relaxed and, at one point, when Marcus asks Alex to have anal sex with him, we don't see anything disturbing in it, even though we know already that a few hours later she will be sodomized and treated like a trash and there is nothing we can do about it and it doesn't feel like a emotional blackmail because we know that Marcus lost it at the party.
Noe received an awful firewall upon the release of this film. Death threats, silent phone calls. No wonder. The problem with "Irreversible" is that it's so delicate it can be misunderstood very easily, especially when you - as in normal-sort-of-a-picture - wish to get something in exchange of having gone through it. But Noe won't give anything. Expect the images of destroyed lives and he'll even beat you down completely by making the perspective in your mind of what could've been if the two hadn't got into argument at the party.
What are we left with, then? Well. Enjoy your life while you have it. Love your partner. Be reasonable, and make no mistake that when something very bad happens at the beginning, it sure as hell can be followed by many other bad things.In case you wish to know what so special about this masterful picture if you don't know yet.
posted 13 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
An American Crime
by MarceyThis is quite possibly one of the more disturbing and heart breaking films you are likely to see. Based on the real events (They based a lot of it on the actual trial transcripts) of Sylvia, a young girl sent to live with a family who end up torturing her. The Prosecuter of the actual case has stated that it was the most terrible crime committed in the State of Indiana, and I have to say you can't seem to argue that point. The film stars Catherine Keener (Who was reluctant to take on the role) as Gertrude Baniszewski the housewife who took in Sylvia and her sister and 'punishes' Sylvia. Sylvia is played by Ellen Page, I think the look and innocence of Page just makes the viewing all that much more difficult when you see all the suffering she goes through. Both put on such strong and amazing performances, lesser actors I don't think could have done this. As I had already read a lot about the actual case, I knew what to expect, and it is actually tonned down a bit, but watching it unfold isn't easy to watch and it is rather disturbing, knowing it really happened and that there are people like this out there. The film (and novel) The Girl Next Door is based on this true story, and is quite similar, although that is more graphic, and it is just as strong and disturbing as this. Not for the faint of heart, but if you can manage it, I'd highly recommend this film.
Not easy to watch but I thought it was excellent.
posted 14 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
Scarface
by CeciliaThis may be one of the most overrated films I´ve ever seen. I can´t at all understand why Tony Montana has made such an impression on filmbuffs all over the world. Made in the beginning of the 80´s one can state that time hasn´t been too kind to this piece. Of course Al Pacino is truly impressive but most of the other actors are really bland, and the pushy soundtrack is beyond horrible. However there is an extremely amazing camera shoot from a hotelroom, where a bloody homicide takes place, out over a sunny and glossy Miami beach street which is quite unforgettable. But all in all there is at least three films in this genre that does a better job on the whole that I will recommend: the forerunner Taxidriver (1976) and the succesors Goodfellas (1990) and American Gangster (2007).
Al Pacino makes this one to what it has been considered to be over the years: a bit too praised, I think.
posted 16 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
Wristcutters - A Love Story
by LisaI've heard a lot about this film recently so I thought I'd better see what all the fuss was about. The title set certain impressions of the film, so I didn't really bother reading the synopsis. I was wrong about that. I thought it would be about teenagers trying to commit suicide. I thought it would just be some bad emo film. I was glad that I was wrong. No, it wasn't excellent but it wasn't your usual love story either so it's always a pleasure to watch films that have a different take on things. The inexperience of everything really comes through in this film. Although it doesn't hinder the film in anyway. It showcases the young talent in all the different fields of film making. Some of the sequences are quite striking, especially the very first one. Patrick Fugit does a really great job in the leading role and all the other characters work well together. I really can't complain about any of it. Yes, there are flaws but nothing that would bother you an awful lot. A recommended film just because it's different.
Hey, you should really see this!
posted 16 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
There Will Be Blood
by JacekOne expect greatness from such talents like Paul Thomas Anderson everytime he sits down to new project, knowing that he made such fresh, wonderful pictures like "Boogy Nights" or "Magnolia". Unfortunately, with all the sheer amazement coming with it, "There Will Be Blood" is a huge dissapointment, a half-baked picture made from a poorly written, shallow screenplay, having amount of blood you get from cutting up your finger accidentally with a knife when chopping stuff for a diner salad.
The obvious resemblance to the piece is, of course, Orson Welles' classic, "Citizen Kane", as it has strong character at the center of the story who goes from nothing to everything. Here we have the one Daniel Plainview, a business man who goes the simillar path but he's not one bit as strong and interesting. Kane was such a complex character not because he actually was but because Welles' putted him in circle of other characters that made him act, engaging us in the drama of his life. That's the way you create an interesting character in the film - by surrounding him among as much diverse characters as you can. I mean, hell, isn't that obvious, in a way? So, let's be open about this: there is no drama in this film. There were a few promises of the drama, between Plainview and his adopted son or Paul Dano's Sunday but none of it is developed enough well to made us intrigued. We feel as what Plainview seems to feel about what's around him - indifference.
What made Anderson think that Daniel Plainview will be standing on his own without getting into any true interaction and still be a full character, remains a mystery. We can only hope that the thought of simply having Daniel Day-Lewis in the crew wasn't the case. You can have a best actor in the world, but without a strong part, he won't do much. And since we're at it - Daniel Day-Lewis somewhat reprises his far more interesting since more complex performance of The Butcher from Scorsese's "Gangs of New York" and seeing him getting Oscar for the former is somewhat embarrising. The character of Plainview is like a sketch, it lacks fundamental context - we don't know anything about his motivations (aside from greed, of course) or the reasons for his anti-social attitude toward people. We can't even guess for he lives in such a isolation in the world of this film that even that is impossible.
Knowing all that, where does it leaves us? At the bottom of a dark pit of nothingness, watching a man about whom we don't know anything, really, and as the story of him ends, we are where we were at the beginning.
No wonder we don't care at all.People call it "masterpiece", "one of the best movies ever made"... Well, honestly, not that I want to offend anybody, but either they haven't seen Anderson's pervious work, or they have no idea what they're talking about. The recognition this picture gained is absurd. It didn't live up to its hype one bit. One of the greatest dissapointments of 2007.
posted 18 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
Bastard out of Carolina
by DanielleAnjelica Huston is the director and this is her first attempt at directing a feature length movie. The results are stunning. It is altogether a flawless movie, with an excellent script based on the Dorothy Allison novel. Ron Eldard is excellent in his depiction Glen, expertly capturing the character's pathetic childishness behind those icy blue eyes. Eldard often seems to play characters with a dark side and this role plays to his strengths, even if his southern accent slips from time to time. His scenes of violence with Bone are harrowing to watch and you can't help but feel uncomfortable, given the age of Jena Malone at the time. Special mention must go to Jena Malone for her sophisticated, passionate portrayal of Anney's young daughter, 'Bone'. Bone carries the weight of her mother's world on her shoulders. This is her first major role to speak of and she carries the movie effortlessly.
Hey, you should really see this! It's a very powerful movie.
posted 1 day ago -
I recommend you see...
Into the Wild
by MagaliThe first thing to mention about this great film is Sean Penn's brillant job as the director. The images, the sequence of scenes, the mix of shoots, the contrast achieved by showing a situation of total despair followed by a joyful one. Everything compiles to form a marvellously filmed movie.
The leading characters' performance is a very strong one. This guy, Emile Hirsch (who was, till that moment, a total stranger to me) surprised me for good, with his good job.
The key question is the philosophy of life that is presented and how it can be changed by a strong feeling of loneliness. The characters' emotions are very well transmited, and the last scene in which the real protagonist of the story appears in a picture is...the perfect ending.
Just a beautiful film.Hey, you should really see this!
posted 1 day ago -
I recommend you see...
Iron Man
by IlyaIron Man (2008)
Directed by Jon Favreau
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges"Tony Stark: [reading the newspaper] Iron Man? That's kinda catchy"Tony Stark is a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, Tony builds a high-tech suit of armour and escapes captivity. When he uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armour and vows to protect the world as Iron Man.
Iron Man was touted to be a good film from the start, but boy; I didn't expect it to be "that" good. It is primarily good because of its stunning special effects. Now, those who are familiar with Iron Man comic book or even those who have seen the TV series will know what I am talking about. For others who are not familiar with Iron Man, this film has a strong storyline that shows briefly how Tony Stark came up with the Iron Man suit and why did he actually decided to create it. You will also see a man who decided to change his life, in order to fight against evil and help all those innocent people from getting killed. Sounds familiar? Yes, the story is not original but it is well delivered.
The plot is a typical superhero story; a guy who uses his talent for doing something completely irrelevant or something that only makes his life better, (creating weapons of mass destruction and selling them worldwide in this case) but after a terrible situation that put his life in danger opened his eyes, and so he decided to use his knowledge by helping humanity and protecting civilians from the bad guys. Only one difference to most of the other super hero flicks: just like Batman, Iron Man doesn't have any super powers. He is a normal man, only he is extremely good at machinery and engineering. He is a genius. So, while Tony Stark has being attacked by terrorists, he was brutally injured by his own weapon during the attack. This made him realise that he wasted his life by creating something that takes lives of innocent people. After the incident, he constructs a suit which will help him escape from his kidnappers an later on; he will create a much better version of this suit, in order to protect people around the world. But unfortunately for Tony, there is someone that wants to stop him from helping people, someone who only wants to earn money by causing other people deaths, and therefore Tony Stark must face this person and stop him from killing him and everyone else.
Robert Downey Jr. Plays Tony Stark. A thing about playing a superhero in the movie like Spider-Man or X-Men is that people will remember you for your role, no matter how well or bad you performed in this movie. Robert most certainly will be remembered as one of the best actors to play a superhero. He did ever so great; he acted as a typical jackass millionaire at the start of the movie, but later on he changed, he became more responsible and grateful for things he could have achieved if he was using his knowledge in a good way. He was witty, hilarious and the way he said all of his dialogues, all that was fantastic. He handled the role well, even though he is older that Tony Stark. Gwyneth Paltrow played Tony's fiancé Pepper Potts. She and Robert had a lot of mixture between them, they looked great together and their dialogues were often hilarious yet romantic. Terrence Howard played James Rupert Rhodes, a close friend of Stark and his future superhero partner War Machine. Terrence were good in his role, even though at times he looked a bit out of place, he was generally fine and even funny at times. Even though we don't get to see him as War Machine, we get a hint that he will definitely use the suit in the next Iron Man movie. Finally, Jeff Bridges plays Obadiah Stane, Tony's business partner and later his primal enemy of this film, Iron Monger. Jeff is extremely good as a bad guy, I can guarantee that you will dislike his character after the first time you see him in the movie.
Most of the superhero movies are famous for its special effects but this one had more than that. The dialogues were really good; they are brilliant throughout the whole movie. Cinematography is great, the light mixture is good and it is easy to watch the whole movie without moving your eyes away from the screen.
Overall, Iron Man movie is a pleasure to watch, especially on the big screen. While most of the superhero movies don't have what it takes to be called "super", Iron Man rose beyond expectations and quite easily became one of this year's best superhero movies. A massive credit to John Favreau for creating this stunning film that can be truly remembered as one of the best in its category.
Review Date: 11th of May, 2008.Hey, you all probably seen this by now,and so have I (about a week ago), but I didn't had time to do a review straight away, and so i only finished it now. Definitly the best superhero I have seen so far, after Batman Begins of course. My mate at the ciname said after the film finished : " surely there is no film better than Iron Man in its category", on which I replied: " just you wait until The Dark Knight"...
posted 1 day ago -
Zodiac I recently watched this movie and thought it was a decent attempt to portray a long legged case, that still hasn't gotten a convincing end to it, with all the assuming that the perpetrator is either dead or already in prison on other charges, but no one knows.
Thanks for this review, I agree with it.posted 1 day ago -
I read your review of Star Wars and I agree with everything you said. Forget the special edition, more people need to watch the original cut.
and yes Speed Racer looks horrible.posted 2 days ago -
I recommend you see...
Seraphim Falls
by Antonyok film bit long at the end. turned abit wierd too, what with all sorts of people making cameo appearances, a bit unnessarily too. but all this happens after the twist of the story is revealed..worth a look though
Hey, you should really see this!
posted 2 days ago -
I recommend you see...
Smile
by DanielleKatie, a teenage girl from Malibu, California, finds herself in the throes of growing up, facing her parents, her boyfriends, her sexuality and a very privileged life. Half a world away in rural, China, Lin, born on the same day as Katie, faces a much different reality. Because of a severe facial deformity, she lives a life of fear and shame. Her father, Daniel, has devoted his life to her, with hopes and dreams that her circumstances will change one day. The opportunity comes with the discovery of the worldwide "Doctor's Gift" program. Katie volunteers and comes to China. Once there, she is deeply touched by the work, which prompts her to take off on her own to find Lin. A "smile" is brought to Lin's face, Katie finds her soul and their extraordinary connection becomes a life-changing experience for both girls. characters are well thought-out and are represented well by the actors. Mika Boorem plays the part of Katie as a self-involved teenager that has it all. It is interesting to see how she transforms into someone whose mission it is to help someone else.
Hey, you should really see this!
posted 2 days ago
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