Posts Tagged ‘Robert Downey Jr.’
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First things first. The Kickstarter fund raising campaign for Theater Hopper: Year Three. You know the drill. I really, really, REALLY need your support! We have less than a month to raise $2,000, so please pledge today!
As an extra incentive, I am giving away my DVD copy of Monsters, Inc. along with some custom artwork to one lucky person once we cross the $1,500 milestone and right now we’re $50 away from that goal! That means if you pledge $50 right now, you have a 1 in 40 chance of winning! Those are good odds!
If you would like to see what the finished artwork looks like, check out this update I posted on the Kickstarter campaign site. I also threw a camera over my shoulder and shot a time-lapse video of me creating the artwork. So, if nothing else, you can spend a couple of minutes watching that. I threw in some very relevant, very peppy music with the video to help keep you entertained!
Again, I can’t stress this enough, I REALLY need your support on this book. Even if it’s a dollar. If everyone who visits the site each day pledged one dollar, we’d have this campaign in the bag. Please pledge today!
Now, back to your regularly scheduled blog!
Yesterday, Paramount Pictures released the teaser poster and four publicity stills for Iron Man 2. If you haven’t seen them yet, let me get out of your way so you can take a look.
Niiiiiiiiice.
I’m loving this teaser poster. It’s such an improvement over the teaser poster for the original Iron Man. Which, if you remember, kept much of the armor in shadow to whet our appetites for what we would see on screen.
Well, now we have a pretty good idea what the armor looks like from the first movie, so why not put it front and center in glorious color on the second one?
Oh, what’s this? You’ve brought a friend? He’s a little bit shy, isn’t he? We’re only going to get to see the side of his face? That’s okay! I know who you are, War Machine, you rascal!
I can’t tell you how excited I am to see War Machine on the poster for this movie. It let’s you know right off the bat how prominently the character will be utilized in the second film. That’s good news for die-hard Iron Man fans like myself. I just hope the focus stays in that realm. Because, frankly, I’m a little worried that they might be packing too much into the sequel.
Between Scartlet Johansen as Black Widow, Mickey Rourke as Whiplash and Sam Rockwell as Tony Stark’s business rival Justin Hammer, I hope there is enough time left over for a big throw down between Iron Man and War Machine. This, of course, before the eventual team-up that takes down the big bad guy.
As a director, I think Jon Favreau has a pretty keen sense of what fans want to see. I’m optimistic. But Sam Ramii knocked it out of the park with Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 before the major let down that was Spider-Man 3. So anything is possible.
Paramount releasing these images now lends strong support to the rumor that the teaser trailer for Iron Man 2 will appear in front of Sherlock Holmes when the movie is released December 25. Things will be crazy for me around that time since the baby will be born on the 10th. But I’m hoping maybe Cami and I can leave the kids with grandma and grandpa for a couple of hours so we can sneak out to see it.
If we manage to do so, my next concern will not be succumbing to a lack of sleep in a darkened theater!
Speaking of the baby, as I said, she’ll be here in a little over a week. Obviously, we’re over the moon about it. Originally, the idea was that I would take all of December off to give us time to prepare and then (of course) attend to the baby once she’s born.
I have a bunch of guest strips ready to go, but I think I’m going to put off posting them for just a little while longer. We’re pretty much ready to go on the home front and it makes more sense to build in a little extra time off after she arrives. So look for those guest strips in the next couple of weeks!
In the meantime, let’s talk about Iron Man 2! Are you guys as excited for this film as I am? Since the movie doesn’t come out until May 7, how long do you think you’ll be able to tolerate the marketing push before going insane? Does anyone have the number for a psychologist that can help with unhealthy obsessions?
DISCUSS!
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A comic about Sherlock Holmes should come from someone British, don’t you think? I do. That’s why it worked out so perfectly for our friend Jon Scrivens to provide us with one!
Jon is the creator of a macabre web comic called Little Terrors! and if you want to see how they do thing across the pond, then you should check it out!
Thanks, Jon!
Part of me wonders how British people feel about American actors playing classic characters of British literature. I know there was a lot of hub-bub about using ANY American’s in the Harry Potter films, but I’ve heard no such uproar about Sherlock Holmes. Weird. Movie producers would catch hell if some British production company had Kenneth Branagh play Davy Crockett.
I didn’t get a chance to see Sherlock Holmes over the Christmas weekend, but hopefully I’ll get to see it in the new year. Critics kind of seem to hate the idea of taking a literary character known for combating his enemies with his intelligence and turning it him into a squalid brawler. But of all the friends I know who have seen it, most have come out of the film feeling very positive about the experience.
I was kind of disappointed that I didn’t make it to the theater this weekend for another reason. Apparently it was the largest box office weekend in history with $270 million in tickets sold and I missed it. What really astounded me is that Avatar only lost 2% of it’s business from the previous weekend and since that time, it’s been bringing in $15 to $20 million daily. That’s nuts. That’s pure blockbuster right there.
I was kind of suspicious of Avatar’s ability to be a long-term earner. But this thing has a “gotta see it on the big screen” vibe stamped all over it. Certainly an event.
Not much else for me to talk about today. Due to New Year’s there’s nothing really interesting coming out in theaters this weekend.
I suppose I could mention the Kickstarter fund raising campaign for Theater Hopper: Year Three one last time. As of this writing, there are 28 hours left in the campaign. It ends on December 31, so by the time I update on Friday, it will be over.
As you know, we’ve met goal. So I’m not aiming for more money. But if there are any rewards you would like to take advantage of by pledging, this is the 11th hour. I won’t be offering these incentives in the future. So if you want to take advantage of them now, this is the time to do it.
That’s all I have for now. Has anyone here seen Sherlock Holmes? What did you think of it? How was Robert Downey Jr. in the role? Would you recommend it? Leave your comments below!
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PREFACE: I originally wrote this review to Iron Man 2 back in May when the movie originally came out. However, I was also wrapping up one of my Masters courses at the same time and couldn’t finish the review when it would have been timely. So I just kind of tucked it away for a rainy day.
Considering that Iron Man 2 is now out on DVD and this week’s comic is late due to the fact that we moved into a new home last week, now seem liked a good time to dust it off and post it to the site.
I hope to have a new comic for you later in the week. But hopefully, until then, this review will tide you over. Thanks for your patience and understanding!
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I had to watch Iron Man 2 twice before writing this review. As the die-hard Iron Man fan you know me to be, that should cause you some concern.
After watching the film the first time a week ago, I was undoubtedly entertained. But I left the theater questioning if I actually liked the film.
I enjoyed the movie much more the second time through. While it lacks the sense of discover and wonder of the first film, I still appreciate the final product. I like both films. They’re just different from each other.
First, let’s talk about the performances.
It should go without saying that Robert Downey Jr. owns this film six ways from Sunday. His improvisational style is loose, yet hyper-kinetic. You can’t help but watch the guy as he plays Stark as a genius whose mouth can’t keep up with his brain.
Compared to RDJ, however, the rest of the cast looks like stuttering wallpaper. Gwyneth Paltrow tries to match wits as Stark’s Girl Friday – Pepper Pots, but comes of like much more of a pecking hen then she did in the first movie.
Don Cheadle (stepping in for Terrance Howard) as Stark’s friend and confidant James “Rhodey” Rhodes isn’t given much to do except glower and become frustrated by Stark’s antics.
Similarly, Mickey Rourke – who plays the most tan Russian you’ve ever seen, the villain Ivan Vanko – is also curiously mute. His performance is relegated largely to sideways glances, the occasional chuckle and muttered Russian sentences.
Rourke tries to add texture to Vanko by giving him a parrot as a pet and an omnipresent toothpick on which to chew. He has also appeared to have stolen some of Viggo Mortensen’s character research from Eastern Promises, adorning Vanko with a tapestry of Russian prison tattoos. We’re supposed to believe this grimy ball of eccentricities is a brilliant engineer and physicist?
Lastly, Scarlet Johansson – as S.H.I.E.L.D. undercover operative Natasha Romanoff – sucks the life out of nearly every scene she’s in. Is Downey Jr. is 100% charm, Johansson is anti-charm. Like the rest, she’s given very few lines of dialogue, so she spends most of the time trying to pose like a bad-ass while clomping around in knee-high stilettos. It’s as awkward as it sounds
The only performer besides RDJ that looks like he’s having any fun is Sam Rockwell as Stark’s corporate rival, Justin Hammer. It is as if director Jon Favreau instructed Rockwell to do a bad Robert Downey Jr. impression and let him off the chain. He prances, he preens, he makes Hammer look like a wolf in sheep’s clothing trying WAY too hard to sell you something and ALL of it works. I’m curious how much of Rockwell’s performance was improvised considering how much of his performance mirrors Downey Jr. in its tone.
Ultimately, Iron Man 2’s biggest problem is its script by Justin Theroux. If not for the charm and improvisational skills of RDJ and Rockwell, one wonders if the film has anything original to say at all.
Sure, there are plot points that propel the movie forward – the US government wants to Tony to turn over the Iron Man technology, meanwhile, the RT unit in Tony’s chest is killing him. Ivan Vanko wants to avenge his father who once worked with Tony’s father. Pepper is appointed to CEO of Stark Industries and Rhodey steals the Mark II – but the script lacks the connective tissue to form a cohesive experience. Taken in chunks, Iron Man 2 is fascinating. Stitched together? Less so.
I presumed since the first movie was so successful that we might get to see more of the Iron Man armor in action, but that’s not entirely the case.
While the initial confrontation between Tony and Whiplash debuts the awesome suitcase armor, it’s on-screen briefly and is dismantled pretty quick. Fan favorite War Machine makes an appearance, but spends most of it standing around at the Stark Expo. When it DOES launch into action, Rhodey’s not even in control of it! The suit’s programming has been commandeered by Whiplash.
Free of Whiplash’s influence in the final confrontation, War Machine and Iron Man put the smack down on a platoon of robot drones. But this battle is effectively meaningless considering that these are robot drones we’re talking about and there’s nothing really at stake.
By the time Whiplash shows up in a more souped up version of his laser-whip rig, there’s barely any time left in the movie to showcase a proper fight. It’s edited horribly and over way too soon.
Something that any good superhero movie does is give the audience the sense of wonder and discovery of the protagonist discovering their powers. Sam Raimi did an excellent job of this in the first Spider-Man and Favreau did a great job as well in the first Iron Man.
Considering Stark’s penchant for upgrades, it would be very easy to reinsert that sense of wonder and discovery into a sequel – new technology, new features of the armor and so on. While the suitcase armor was a step in the right direction, they didn’t push the concept far enough. The third act feels like a huge step back.
Did I love Iron Man 2? Of course I did. But I’m also a crazed fan.
That said, I’m not so blinded by my undying admiration for the character that I can’t recognize that the film has problems. Whereas the first movie rocketed out of theaters with energy and a sense of purpose that breathed fresh air the super hero genre (“I am Iron Man.” – END CREDITS!), Iron Man 2 stagnates and doesn’t fulfill the promise of the first film.
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I know it’s kind of cheap to compare Due Date to Planes, Trains and Automobiles. But no matter how I looked at it, that was the most glaring thing about the movie I could make fun of.
I mean, sure, I could have taken a shot at Zach Galifianakis and his bearded weirdo shtick. But that’s kind of like making fun of a fourth grader for eating paste. He’s not hurting anyone. Just leave him be.
Incidentally, does anyone have the sneaking suspicion that Zach Galifianakis might already be wearing out his welcome? I like the guy, but I think he’s best in small doses. Sticking him into the middle of a quasi-mainstream comedy like Due Date doesn’t seem like the brightest idea to me because it puts a lot of pressure on the guy to go toe-to-toe with the lead actor (in this case, Robert Downey Jr.) instead of leaving him to operate on the fringe, tossing in odd and funny one-liners.
I cast serious doubt over Due Date at the end of the first trailer that came out back in July when Galifianakis tells Downey Jr. “You’d better check yourself… before your wreck yourself.”
I know that’s a weird detail to focus on. But, for me, it became representative of an awareness Galifianakis seems to be developing about his performances. Before, he was weird for weird’s sake – which is entertaining – but now he needs to be weird because audiences expect him to be weird – which is patronizing.
At this point, the weirdest think Galifianakis can do is play a role completely straight.
Obviously, my excuse for seeing Due Date is for Robert Downey Jr.. I just kind of wish they flipped the script a little bit in terms of the movie’s plot. An uptight dude and a weirdo? Like I pointed out in the comic… it’s too much like Planes, Trains and Automobiles. If they wanted to make a REALLY interesting road movie, they should have paired Downey Jr. up with Vince Vaughn – just to see which actor could out-motormouth the other one!
I think what surprised me most about Due Date was how badly Cami wanted to see it. I still haven’t been able to pinpoint why. Which can only mean one thing – she has a secret crush on Zach Galifianakis. I can see why. Never underestimate the appeal of an overweight weirdo. She married me, didn’t she?
So what did you guys think about Due Date? Anyone skip it and see Megamind instead? Leave your comments below!
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Okay, if you’ve been on the internet at all today, you know that the first trailer for The Avengers is tearing thing up.
(Although, oddly, when I tweeted about it without linking to it, several people wrote back “Uh, link?”)
So that’s what this blog post is for. If you haven’t seen the trailer for The Avengers yet, here it is:
INITIAL REACTIONS
Immediately I was impressed that there was an adversarial tone between the individual members of the team. “I don’t play well with others,” Tony Stark quips. “Big man in a suit of armor – take that away and what are you?” Captain America sneers. Oh, and is that Thor taking a flying leap, about to smash Captain America’s shield?
This is all very much in keeping with the comics. The “friendly misunderstandings” that lead to heroes battling each other before banding together to fight the common enemy. Total “Who Would Win in a Fight” geek bad-assery on display here.
Clearly Joss Wheadon is giving Tony Stark all the best lines – at least in the trailer. I hope this is the case throughout the movie. One of the biggest advantages to the Iron Man films was Robert Downey Jr’s motormouth style. With a script by Wheadon, you’ve got the best of both worlds when it comes to words and delivery.
What I really like is how close to the vest they’re keeping Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk. Barely any screen time or dialogue for either of them in this trailer. Everyone else we’ve seen in action in other movies. But these two are the last unknown variables. Expect Marvel to continue to keep fans on a string regarding those two.
What’s you reaction to the trailer? Personally, I think it was perfectly executed and it gives me high hopes for May 2012. Why don’t you leave your comments below. C’mon. You know you wanna…
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If you travel in geek circles, the big news today was that Marvel aired the latest trailer for The Avengers during some… sporting event last night? Football? I don’t keep up on these things.
Let’s focus our attention on what really matters.
This trailer is the extended online edition which is somehow 30 seconds longer than what aired last night without telling us too much more about the movie.
I’d say Marvel is doing a pretty good job of whipping up a nerd frenzy. They’re showing us just enough without giving away too much. With each additional release, they show a little more, but they don’t go overboard. Clearly they know that the Hulk is their ace in the hole and they’ve done a good job obscuring him up to this point.
GeekTyrant did an excellent job of dissecting the trailer and grabbing stills – a few of which I’m going to share here. But you should really check out their article for more details.
Here’s our best look at the Hulk so far.
And because you all know what a huge Iron Man geek I am, here are the two stills that got my heart racing.
Suiting up…
…and would you look at that? I see some additional back thrusters and shoulder-mounted weaponry in that still! Looks like Iron Man got an upgrade!
Yeah, I know, I’m hopeless.
What’s your reaction to this trailer? Leave your comments below!
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The Avengers got a new poster today in advance of their May 4 opening date.
Is it just me, or is Iron Man, like, ALWAYS losing his helmet. He should, like, bolt it down, or something.
Nice of them to stick Chris Evans’ Captain America in the back. Oh, he’s not that important…
What do you think of this new poster? Does it trip your repulsor blasts?
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Did you guys hear that The Avengers got a new trailer? No? THEN LET ME BE THE FIRST TO TELL YOU ABOUT IT!
Selfishly, I think the most interesting part of the trailer is Tony Stark landing on top of the Stark Industries building and watching the Iron Man armor be peeled off him like a grape.
That’s a straight-up PIMP STRUT, SON!
What’s your favorite moment from the new trailer?
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