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Iron Man. I really think this is up there with Batman Begins as the movies in my collection I’ll just pull out and pop on whenever I just want something to watch. In my opinion Iron Man is everything a good “popcorn movie” should aspire to be. Instead of being brainless, pointless drivel a good “popcorn movie” should be fun and entertaining but still manage to have a brain. I can turn Iron Man on and pay attention and be deeply entertained or simply watch with a limited attention span and it’s still very entertaining.

I am very intrigued to continue to see how the success of Iron Man is going to affect the careers of Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau.

Christine Everheart: You've been called the DaVinci of our time. What do you say to that?
Tony Stark: Absolutely ridiculous. I don't paint.
Christine Everheart: And what do you say to your other nickname, the Merchant of Death?
Tony Stark: That's not bad.

As most of you know Iron Man 2 is being fast tracked by the studio. They have realized that Iron Man is a hot commodity and want to strike while the iron is hot, pardon the pun. Who can blame them? Because of Iron Man Robert Downey Jr. is hotter than ever and Jon Favreau can write his own ticket in Hollywood for the time being. If it wasn’t for the sweeping success of The Dark Knight, Iron Man may have been the #1 film of summer 2008.

Iron Man came out on DVD a few weeks ago and of course I bought it the day it came out. How could I not? I spent more than enough money watching it on the big screen, I think it was time for it to transition to the small one for me. And I do mean small – I have a thirteen inch TV.

It occurs to me that I’ve never really talked about the writing in Iron Man, but it is as equally brilliant as the rest of the film; that’s true for most great films, they usually come from a great screenplay that is paired with the right acting, directing and production talent. While good actors and directors can take a mediocre script and make it better, they can take a good script and elevate it to the stuff of cinema legends. It’s what writers hope for when they hand their work over – that it not be butchered but that it be honored and produced in the way the writer saw it.

The dialogue in Iron Man and the cohesion of the story prove that it was very well written and very well planned before it ever reached the first day of production. While rewrites, ad libs and various other things undoubtedly happened during production the basis from which it started had to be strong. That is why Iron Man is such a good character piece, the writers took time to stay true to the source material, make the character human and not stray away from his flaws.

Because Iron Man is such a dang good story it holds up over multiple viewings and doesn’t get stale or old in any way. I should know. I’ve seen it at least a half dozen times by now.

The only news that makes me sad about Iron Man 2 is that it is not being written by the same team; however, an equally good writer is taking the reins, Justin Theroux; Justin wrote another movie you would have seen recently – Tropic Thunder.

Nick Fury: "I am Iron Man." You think you're the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe. You just don't know it yet.
Tony Stark: Who the hell are you?
Nick Fury: Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Tony Stark: Ah.
Nick Fury: I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative.

Yes, I saw it again.

Yes, I enjoyed it just as much.

Yes, I need to buy the special edition of the DVD the day it comes out.

I swear I saw it for acedemic reasons this time. Really. I wanted to see a Spielberg movie to see how they did somthing but was not going to sit through Indy 4 again so I saw a Spielberg-esque movie.

Just wait till Dark Knight.

Feel free to make fun of me, I saw Iron Man yet again. No matter how much I see this film it entertains me.

However, this was the first time I’ve seen Iron Man knowing that Stan Winston is gone from filmmaking forever and that made me pay even more attention to the effects in the film.

I am still amazed that most of the Iron Man suit was practical (meaning a piece on set that actually worked, not CGI). Winston and his team found a way to make Iron Man mobile and present, and still look completely real and blend with CGI when necessary. It’s true that money solves most problems in movies, but that being said very few people in the effects industry would have even opted for making a working Iron Man suit as well as using CGI.

What grows on me more as well is Robert Downey Jr.’s performance. This is a flawed character that grows a conscience and it never once feels forced or fake. Downey makes a fantastic character feel believable and real, and I would rank his performance as Tony Stark up with Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne – both actors bring a much needed sense of depth and reality to what most people would write-off as “comic book characters”.

This may be the last time I see Iron Man on the big screen, but you can rest assured there will be another review or two once the film is out on DVD.

Agent Phil Coulson: I'm Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.
Virginia 'Pepper' Potts: That's quite a mouthful.
Agent Phil Coulson: I know. We're working on it.

When Ang Lee’s version of The Incredible Hulk came out a few years ago I didn’t really have a problem with it, but I also didn’t think it was a phenomenal film. Quite honestly, the Hulk is just not a character that floats my boat. I enjoy it, but as stated before I’m more of a DC girl than a Marvel girl. However, I was quite intrigued when I found out that Marvel so quickly wanted to restart the hulk – there was longer between Batman & Robin and Batman Begins than Eric Bana’s & Ed Norton’s incarnations of the Hulk.

This incarnation of the Hulk story picks up roughly where the Ang Lee version left off, but it is not a direct sequel. The beginning credits speed through the Hulk back story, laying out the origin of his powers, and relationship with girlfriend Betty and her father who commissioned the experiment that went awry to give him his abilities. Where the film actually begins is in South America where Banner has been hiding out, attempting to research a cure for himself and trying anything he can to avoid a Hulk “incident”. As usual, this fails and Banner must flee to a new location avoiding being caught by General Ross.

What this movie has that the Ang Lee version lacked, is a genuine interest in Banner as the man and as the Hulk. Nothing against Eric Bana, but Norton latches onto the turmoil of the character in a way that Bana never did.

As is rumored to become more and more common in the Marvel film universe this film also ties into the rest of the Marvel world, alluding to Nick Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D. and even contains a cameo by Tony Stark who is met with perhaps my favorite line “you do wear the most interesting suits” by a defeated General Ross.

The only thing that really hurts The Incredible Hulk is merely the fact that it was released right after Iron Man. Iron Man was a near perfect film, and it is almost impossible for any comic book movie to be as good. That’s not an insult to The Incredible Hulk, it’s just an unfortunate release schedule as they are released by two different studios.

Director: Louis Leterrier
Writer: Zak Penn
Bruce Banner: Edward Norton
Betty Ross: Liv Tyler
Emil Blonsky: Tim Roth
General Ross: William Hurt

Betty Ross: The subway is probably quickest.
Bruce Banner: Me in a metal tube with hundreds of people in the most aggressive city in the world?
Betty Ross: Right. Let's get a cab.

So I saw Iron Man yet again last weekend. I have to say that the more I watch this movie the more I am impressed with Jon Favreau's presence as a director and his ability to make such a crisp, clear and entertaining rendition of a comic book movie. I never knew much about Iron Man before the movie (even though I owned the action figure as a child), but the more I find out the more I am struck with how faithful those involved int he film stayed to the character.

I must say that Iron Man is one of my favorite films of the year so far, right up there with In Bruges. You can bet I will be buying the special edition of this film on DVD the day it is released and probably watching it that night.

By the way, if you think tthree viewings of one movie is bad just wait until The Dark Knight comes out. When Batman Begins came out I saw it at lest 4 times in the theatre and to this day it remains one of the first films I'll pop in if I'm bored and want to watch while I do something else.

On Mother's Day it was my Mother's pick as to what movies she wanted to watch and though it's a little sad that she picked two that I have already seen recently I am happy to report that with repeated viewings neither Iron Man or Enchanted grew old.

Jon Faverau's film remains just as fresh, daring and comical as it did when I saw it the first time & Enchanted is just as enchanting.

It was a good Mother's Day for my Mom.