Iron Man 2

Starring Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Jackson, Mickey Rourke

Iron Man 2 takes place six months after the events of the first film, and not much has changed for Tony Stark. Oh, besides the fact that the palladium core in his chest is slowly killing him (who would’ve thought that having a power source implanted in your chest would be bad for you?), the U.S. government is on his ass, forcing him to share the Iron Man technology with the U.S. military, and his BFF James Rhodes is having trouble deciding whether his allegiance lies with his country or his best friend.

Considering most of you have already seen this movie, I’m just gonna skip the bullshit and get right to it: this movie was BAD. After the massive opening of the first Iron Man, Marvel Studios announced the sequel after only 3 days. The director Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. themselves admitted this was being rushed, and boy does it show. The action scenes were horribly shot, especially the ones with Black Widow. There were a lot of scenes that were unnecessary and could’ve been taken out. They try WAY too hard to set up The Avengers. I could see why they would do this, since this movie will surely have a bigger audience than the upcoming Thor and Captain America films and they want to get the Avengers name out there, but they could’ve at least been more subtle about it. That’s what made the first movie so cool for comic fans: we were able to catch all the little Easter eggs without having them shoved in our faces.

One of the biggest issues plaguing this film was the characters. There was really no reason for the Black Widow character to be in this movie other than to give teenage males another woman to drool over. Every time she does something bad ass, she’d look at the camera in slow motion and it would stay there for a few seconds. Now I know she’s a pleasure to look at, but Jesus if I wanted to look at her for that long I’d Google Image her. Mickey Rourke was also a complete waste as the underdeveloped, poorly motivated villain Whiplash. Don Cheadle was a disgrace, having replaced Terrance Howard, who at least LOOKED like James Rhodes. Most of the movie has Cheadle struggling to fit the boots left behind by Howard, but unfortunately there isn’t half as much chemistry between him and Downey as there was with Howard. As for Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury…YIKES. That wasn’t Nick Fury. That was Sam Jackson wearing an eye patch.

The only positive addition to this movie was Sam Rockwell, who plays the jealous, childish arms industrialist, and rival to Tony Stark, Justin Hammer. Seems pretty ironic considering he was originally set to play Tony Stark in the first Iron Man (I’m glad it went to Downey, though it would’ve been interesting to see what Rockwell would’ve done). He steals every scene he’s in and is able to stand toe to toe with Downey, which I’m sure is no easy feat. The inclusion of War Machine was pretty bad ass too, though he was slightly underused (seems to be the trend in this movie don’t it?).

The film seemed to have several different themes going on, none of which were appropriately tied together: legacy, alcoholism, the U.S. government and their love for weapons superiority. At the end of the day, you’re left wondering: was this movie really necessary? The answer is NO. It wasn’t.

D+

Kick Ass

Starring Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Nicholas Cage, and Chlöe Moretz 

“How come nobody’s ever tried to be a superhero?” 

That is a question Dave Lizewski asks his friends while hanging out at their local comic shop. Determined to take up the cause and help his fellow man, Dave dons a scuba suit he purchased online and the name Kick-Ass. After a video of him in action is posted on YouTube, he begins to attract the attention of the costumed father/daughter team Big Daddy and Hit Girl, and of the local mob, who is none too happy with the crimefighters’ actions. 

Kick-Ass was one of my most anticipated movies of the year. Having read the comics, seen the Comic-Con footage and the red band trailers, I really could not wait to see this movie. After hearing so many great things about it though, I couldn’t help but fear that it would fail to live up to the hype. Fear not however, as this movie was absolutely fantastic. I cannot recommend it enough. Everything about it was great: the dialogue, the action, the pacing, and the acting. 

Though all the actors were great, there are two that deserve a special shoutout. The first being Nicholas Cage, whom I was never a big fan of (sorry Mom). As someone who hasn’t been a fan of his acting since Matchstick Men, I’ve gotta say he was just perfect for the role of Big Daddy, the morally questionable father of Hit Girl. Cage mentioned in several interviews that his biggest inspiration for the role was Adam West’s Batman, and it clearly shows. They even acknowledge the similarities in the movie a few times.

The other actress, and the one who is sure to be everyone’s favorite, was Chlöe Moretz, who completely steals the movie as the vulgar 11-year old assassin Hit Girl. Everytime she’s on screen you can’t help but keep your eyes on her. She is just adorable, and has quite a career ahead of her. 


Of course, most movies aren’t perfect. Even a movie as great as this had its issues. Minor, but they were there. In terms of the theme the movie had, at times I wasn’t sure if I was watching a satire of comic book movies, a morality story or a coming of age comedy, but all that seems insignificant when the movie delivers what is sure to be one of the best times you’ll have at the movies this year. 

A

Date Night

Starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey

Before I start the review, let me just say that it is about DAMN TIME someone put Steve Carell and Tina Fey in a movie together. What the hell took so long? 

Anyways, this movie stars the aforementioned actors as Phil and Claire Foster, a jaded suburban couple whose marriage has gone sour. Determined to spice their marriage up before it comes to an end, the two decide to hire a babysitter and have a Date Night. Opting to try something new, the couple go to a trendy Manhattan bar, one that requires reservations a month in advance. After being rejected by the snobbish waiter, Phil decides to take the table of a no show couple, the Tripplehorns. Halfway through their very expensive dinner they are interrupted by two gentlemen, believing the couple to be The Tripplehorns. It seems the REAL Tripplehorns stole something of value from them and they want it back. One thing leads to another, and the story eventually becomes a case of mistaken identity. 
This movie was A LOT better than I expected, all thanks to Tina Fey and Steve Carell. These two were meant to star in movies together, playing off each other so well you’d think they were actually married. 
It also didn’t hurt to have one of the best supporting casts in ages: Kristen Wiig, Mark Ruffalo, Mark Wahlberg and Ray Liotta all bring their A-game, not to mention James Franco and Mila Kunis, who were it not for the casting of Carell and Fey, would easily walk away with the movie.

My only problems with the movie were that some of the editing felt a bit sloppy, but that was probably due to the improvising by the actors, and a stripping scene in the third act that went on for a little too long. Other than those minor issues, you really can’t go wrong watching this one. I’d highly recommend it. 



B

Hot Tub Time Machine

Starring Craig Robinson, John Cusack, Clark Duke, and Rob Corddry 

This was one of those movies where the title alone was enough to piqué my interest. The concept is fairly simple: 4 miserable friends take a trip to a ski resort where they used to party as teenagers, only to get in a HOT TUB, which is, you guessed it, aTIME MACHINE. They travel to 1982 and face the dilemma of either reliving the past exactly as they already did, or changing it and risk affecting the future in unforseeable ways. 

One of my biggest issues with the movie was how badly it wanted to be The Hangover. You’ve got the wild one who gets all the funny lines (Corddry/Galifianakis), the giant puss who is whipped by his cheating wife/girlfriend (Robinson/Helms) and the asshole who only thinks about himself (Cusack/Cooper). Unfortunately, the 4 actors in Hot Tub don’t have what the 3 actors in Hangover had, which is what made the movie work so well:CHEMISTRY. Hangover worked because you could actually picture those guys (minus Galifianakis, since he was more or less the wild card) hanging out and dicking around, whereas the guys in Hot Tub looked bored in each others company. Maybe I’m wrong, but shouldn’t a buddy comedy have stars that actually look like buddies? 

While the movie wasn’t anything great, it did have it’s memorable performances: Chevy Chase, Lizzy Caplan, and Crispin Glover being the standouts. It’s just sad that they’re all supporting performances. 


C