Iron Man 3 Trailer

Here it is, the first full-length trailer of Iron Man 3! I have to say, it automatically has a much darker feel than the other two films — which I’m a huge fan of. This one plays off of last summer’s smash blockbuster, “Avengers,” which  was very fun. At the end of that film, Iron Man goes through a hole to another world. In this, we see that’s it has changed him. And, of course, this is the first appearance of his great comic book enemy, The Mandarin, played by Academy Award-winner Ben Kingsley. This film has massive promise.

Top 5 underrated actors

Brian

There are a lot of great actors that are worth the hype – Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro or Philip Seymour Hoffman. There are also some guys that are overhyped, like Tom Cruise. But this list is for the unsung actors who sometimes get accolades but not enough love. So here is some just-due love for five of our favorite unheralded actors.

5. Viggo Mortenson: Performance after performance, this guy delivers the goods and yet is very rarely talked about amongst the industries’ best. If you watch “History of Violence,” “The Road,” or “Eastern Promises,” he gets better and better with each film he does.

Here’s a nice clip from Mortenson’s Oscar-nominated roll in “Eastern Promises”

4. Alec Baldwin: He has never delivered a bad performance and is just as adept at comedy as he is at drama. If he hadn’t been such a pain in the ass to work with throughout his career he could have been one of the biggest stars ever. If you doubt his abilities, I recommend watching him in “The Cooler” or any of the times he hosted Saturday Night Live, or from his recent series 30 Rock.

Here’s a great clip of Baldwin in “Glengarry Glen Ross”

3. Sam Rockwell: The epitomy of the great actor that no one mentions among the best. He can play characters, he can do comedy, and he can carry the leading role. His skills were most on display in “Moon,” “Iron Man 2,” and “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.”

Even in small roles, Rockwell steals the scene

2. Joaquin Phoenix: Before he went insane and started a career as a rapper, Joaquin Phoenix was becoming one of the great actors today. I felt he should have won the Oscar for “Walk the Line” and he was best performance in “Gladiator” despite Russell Crowe getting the statue. and in “Two Lovers” he anchored the entire film. I hope he gets his brain back and starts acting again because he’s a true talent.

Here’s a clip of Phoenix talking about learning to sing for “Walk the Line”

1. Tim Roth: This guy is a genius who is always believable no matter what the role is. He can do any style of film with any form of character and nail the performance time and time again. He’s played heroes, villains, bellhops, an ape, and other varied roles. He also handles the physical elements of acting roles in “The Incredible Hulk” and “Rob Roy.” Currently, he’s on the show Lie to Me and excels as usual. A truly gifted actor.

Roth freaks out in “Four Rooms”

Roth in the opening scene of “Resevoir Dogs”

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Why we love drive-in theaters

Matt

You should thank the movie gods if you are lucky enough to have a drive-in movie theater near you.

At the height of drive-in popularity, there were 4,063 in 1958. In 1952, drive-ins actually surpassed traditional theaters in attendance. By 1989, there were only 999. The good news is, though, that the number of drive-ins has been stable since then, and you should support the one near you.

There is a charm about drive-ins. It’s a community event, where it’s OK for kids to run around before the movie starts, we can wear pajamas, make out, drink a beer, or even chat during the movie without bothering anyone. There is a freedom at the drive-in you don’t get at a regular theater. Granted, the sound system is your car (which is actually a bonus), the image isn’t as sharp, and sometimes the smell of pot from the teenagers car next to you can be overwhelming, but we feel the charm outweighs the negatives.

3. The Novelty: Call us corny, but there’s a nostalgic novelty from the drive-in. The Malta Drive-In, in Malta, NY, still plays those corny snack stand reminder videos, and has everyone honk their horns before the movie starts. I just love that. It’s so much fun. Their snack stand is like many of the other drive-in theaters I’ve been to, it’s old, straight out of the 50s, everything is deep friend, and the prices are cheaper than traditional theaters.

2. Price and value: It’s hard to beat a double feature for $8 for an adult. We had our choice of “Robin Hood” and “The Backup Plan” or “Iron Man 2” and “Shrek Forever After.” Not bad, considering these are new movies. I was glad to see both were sold out. Our theater charges $5 if you bring your own food, but we opted for the popcorn at the stand, which was $5.75 for a monster tub.

1. Freedom: You get to horse around at the drive-in, as long as you’re not a jerk. One of my favorite things to do is make shadow puppets on the screen during intermission. It’s really gratifying to make the dog shadow puppet eat the big tub of popcorn on the screen the theater is advertising. Also, you can chat in your car without bothering anyone, as long as you’re not loud about it. You can put the air conditioning on or turn up the heat, open the moon roof, put your seat wayyyyy back, bring a pillow, determine how loud you want the sound, and our drive-in lets me bring my dog. Try doing all that at a mega cine-plex. The other aspect is, you’re outside when the sun’s setting. It’s a perfect way to spend a summer evening.

Iron Man 2

With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) faces pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to let go of his invention, Stark, along with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle) at his side, must forge new alliances — and confront powerful enemies.

Matt
Rating 9 out of 10

Tony Stark is delightfully unlikable.

He’s the rich kid with all the toys, whose so full of himself it’s amazing he didn’t spend his money and time making clones of himself rather than inventing a suit to help save humanity from war and poverty.

We see Stark as a more flawed character in this film. He’s more arrogant, more brash, and yet he’s weak. His suit is literally poisoning him, and he’s secretly trying to find the cure. He’s also botching things up badly with his love interest, Pepper Pots, and his enemy, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), is more powerful and dangerous than anything he’s faced. His business is also on the firing line as he faces serious competition from his rival (Sam Rockwell). His best friend Rhodes is also upset with him. Stark’s life is going to pot.

This movie develops Stark and the surrounding characters deeper than the first, which was forced to have an origin story. I walked out of the theater saying this movie was just as good as the first, which I gave a nine. The critics are off on this one, which have been giving it mediocre reviews.

Brian
Rating: 8 out of 10

I was sitting in the movie theater watching this film and saying to myself, “Why do I have this perma-grin when I watch an Iron Man film?”  Is it Favreu’s frenetic direction that never takes a front seat to the characters?  Is it Robert Downey Jr’s note perfect performance of the most likeable egomaniac of all time?  Is it the incredible ILM special effects that look better than ever?  It’s all of the above.

This is what a super hero sequel should be.  New characters, new challenges, and an upped ante of special effects with a more compelling villain than the first.  Speaking of the villain, there is not a better actor working today than Mickey Rourke and it’s so good to have him back.  Here he plays Ivan Vanko, the son of the man who invented the technology that keeps Tony Stark alive and he’s none too happy about the fortune and fame it has given him.  I could go on and on about the S.H.I.E.L.D. subplot, Tony’s challenges with not only his best friend but alcoholism, and the absolutely stunning Scarlett Johansson but I’ll just sum it up by saying:  Go See this movie! Is it as good as the first? No, but it’s damn close.