MOVIE REVUE: Third Time’s the Iron Charm

In The Avengers, Steve Rogers once asked the beloved Iron Man Tony Stark “Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?” In true Stark style, Tony replied, “Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.” Now Stark faces a terror that will make him rethink the answer. Can Stark single-handedly start the 2013 summer movie season off with a bang? All will be revealed as Stark faces his biggest challenge to date as Robert Downey Jr. suits up one more time in IRON MAN 3.

MOVIE REVUE: A Frightening Injection of Reality In Contagion

We’ve seen plenty of pandemic films before. Varying from big budget successes like Outbreak, independent pictures like 2009′s Carriers and Danny Boyle’s gruesome vision 28 Days Later, the possibility of a global health emergency has been explored in movies for decades. It’s no wonder that this fictionally enhanced topic continues to instill fear in a world where diseases like malaria, Ebola and AIDS are still making an enormous impact on our population.  In Contagion, we are reminded of  the most devastating communicable diseases in human history – the plague, Spanish Flu and smallpox - all precursors  to HEV-1, the fictional killer virus at large in Steven Soderbergh’s $60 million contribution to the ’what if’ scenario in a massive airborne health crisis.

MOVIE REVUE: Country “Not as Strong as it Could Be”

 

Shana Feste’s second directoral attempt, Country Strong, opens up pleasantly. The movie tells many stories, but is the primary focus on two couples. The veteran country star Kelly Canter (Gwyneth Paltrow) and her husband and pain in the butt manager James (Tim McGraw); and down-to-earth country boy Beau Hutton (Garrett Hedlund) and aspiring country singer Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester). Country music fans, stay tuned, there is plenty to like about this film. Film fans be warned, there are plenty of tropes of this film, and many are clearly exports from real life.

MOVIE REVUE: Iron Man 2 Hot for Summertime

 

With the current trend of Hollywood movies, sequels have to follow a unique blend of key ingredients in order to make it taste good. First, it has to keep the spirit of the first film alive and well. Next, it has to bigger, better, and stronger than the last. The sequel has to give us that sweet taste that we want to come back for more. Finally, the next movie has to give you more insight of the characters we grew to know from the first movie then wrap it all up with a new story that appeases a newbie. While Iron Man 2 had some ups and downs like a roller coasters, it still delivers high quality entertainment with its action scenes, less CGI, and solved the problems of the first Iron Man. Truly; this movie is the front runner of the 2010 summer of movies!