Iron Man 2

 Iron Man 2 (2010)

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johannson, Sam Rockwell, Paul Bettany (voice), and Mickey Rourke

Directed by Jon Favreau

Written by Justin Theroux

Click here for my Letterboxd review

Click here for my prior RyMickey's Ramblings review

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

The 2010 RyMickey Awards - Worst Performance

In 2009, I saw many, many bad films.  That's what happens when you watch over 200 flicks.  In 2010, I count myself lucky as I didn't see nearly as many bottom of the barrel movies.  That said, there were still a few performances that left me astonished that they ever made their way to the big screen.

Worst Performances of 2010

#5 -- Paz de la Huerta - Enter the Void

I really liked this trippy film mainly because of directorial choices...certainly not because of the acting.  Paz de la Huerta is painful.  (It should be noted that in the little bit I've seen from her in other things, her awful performance here is not a fluke.  I think she only gets hired because she seems to love being naked.)

#4 -- Johnny Depp - Alice in Wonderland

Yes, I get that Johnny Depp was playing the Mad Hatter as super crazy and drugged-out, but the character ends up being utterly incoherent and it seems like painful overacting.

#3 - Thandie Newton - For Colored Girls

I'm beginning to think that Thandie Newton is not the actress I once thought she was.  For some reason, I always thought I liked her, but looking back on her filmography, I realize that she always plays anger and frustration with this incredible screechiness that is so overpoweringly unbelievable that it ruins any scene she's in and hampers the actors around her.  In this flick where she's surrounded by some surprisingly good actors, she is unable to step up her game.

#2 - The Cast of the Expendables -- The Expendables

Excluding Jason Statham, this cast of geriatric action stars proved there is a reason they haven't been cast in many films lately.  Of course, the group is certainly hampered by an awful script courtesy of Sly Stallone, but it's not exactly like Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke (who is proving The Wrestler to be the exception rather than the norm in his oeuvre), Dolph Lundgren, et. al are up to the task of doing anything beyond holding a firearm.

#1 - Mark Wahlberg - The Other Guys

An honor I'm sure the actor-producer of The Fighter doesn't want on his mantle, but Mark Wahlberg and comedy do not mix.  Wahlberg's attempts at humor amounted to yelling at everything and opening up his eyes really wide to emote some type of anger and frustration.  Stick with drama, Marky Mark, because comedy is not your forte.

Movie Review - Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johannson, Sam Rockwell, Paul Bettany (voice), and Mickey Rourke

Directed by Jon Favreau

I watched Iron Man 2 nearly two weeks ago now and never got around to writing anything about it.  One would think that I hated it.  That's certainly not the case.  In fact, for the film's first hour, I found it very engaging and actually a bit more enjoyable than the origin story that took place in the first film.  However, as hour two rolled around, the excitement level actually dwindled and the climax was quite a letdown.  

Still, the Iron Man series is one that I'll continue to watch mainly because of Robert Downey, Jr., who puts in quite a spirited cynical, semi-sardonic turn as the billionaire Tony Stark.  The problem with the film, I guess, is that when Stark is in the Iron Man get-up, I really just want him to become the enjoyable Tony Stark again.

Supporting roles in this one were decent across-the-board.  Gwyneth Paltrow has seemingly become one of the most hated celebrities on the planet according to some blogs I read, but I'm not quite sure why.  She's decent enough and does what is required of her barely fleshed-out role.  Scarlett Johannson, Sam Rockwell, and Don Cheadle (replacing the original Iron Man's wooden Terrence Howard) are all welcome additions.  Mickey Rourke is still coasting on his Wrestler mystique and his second helping of fifteen minutes of fame is about up.  He's okay here as the Russian nemesis to Stark, but he's nothing special.

I realize this isn't much of "review," but seeing as how I haven't posted anything in nearly a week, I was kinda tiring of staring at the same thing at the top of the page.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - The Expendables

The Expendables (2010)

Starring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Charisma Carpenter, and Mickey Rourke

Directed by Sylvester Stallone 

As a guy, it's probably sacrilege for me to say this, but The Expendables is awful.  Starring, directed, and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, there is not a decently shot, written, or acted scene in this dreadful muck.  Action movies should be fun.  This one, about a group of men ranging from middle age to old geezer who are sent forth on a mission to bring down some evil Latin American government, is a bore filled with excessive gore which, in and of itself, would be perfectly acceptable if the violence actually looked good as opposed to looking like it came from the designers of the latest SyFy movie.  There's nothing wrong with a good decapitation here or there, but make it look realistic.  Is that too much to ask?

Of course it's also too much to ask for these "big name action stars" to have any semblance of acting chops.  Stallone is awful.  Jet Li is one-note.  Dolph Lundgren is painful to listen to.  Mickey Rourke proves that his stellar turn in The Wrestler was just a fluke...I could go on and on.  Jason Statham is the only one who comes off as bringing anything to his character beyond the simple task of reading the horrible dialog.  And even he is saddled with a completely unnecessary subplot involving some chick who won't reciprocate his love.  When a cameo two-minute walk-on role from Bruce Willis is the best part of your movie, you know you're in trouble.

Honestly, there's nothing remotely recommendable in this movie.  It was really awful and well-deserved of its Razzie nominations.

The RyMickey Rating:  D-

Movie Review - The Informers (2009)

Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Mickey Rourke, Kim Basinger, and Winona Ryder

Written by Bret Easton Ellis and Nicholas Jarecki

Directed by Gregor Jordan

This one will be short.

A bunch of interweaving storylines that have precarious connections at best about pretentious assholes that live in L.A. in 1983, doing drugs...and each other (I must admit, the "pretentious assholes" was mine, but I stole the "doing drugs...and each other" from imdb).

Awful movie with awful acting across the board (poor Brad Renfro who killed himself shortly after filming this was the worst of the bunch by far). Not a single reason to care about anyone. Sure there were lots of boobs, but at some point, that's not enough.

The RyMickey Rating: F

FYI...Because I care about all my readers...

In case you didn't know, according to what happens in this film, you can seemingly not have any symptoms of AIDS, but then develop purple splotches and die within in a week. Be careful out there, folks!

Movie Review -- The Wrestler (2008)

starring Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood

directed by Darren Aronofsky

written by Robert D. Siegel

I don't think that I have ever watched a wrestling match -- professional or the type of "professional" that Hulk Hogan calls himself. So this movie really didn't appeal to me in the least. It took me a long time to decide to finally watch...and I'm glad I did.

Plain and simple, I thought Mickey Rourke was amazing. Being a young kid in the 80s, I wasn't cognizant of Mickey's first "era" -- the era of the soft-core 9 1/2 Weeks and Angel Heart -- I've heard about both, but really have no desire to see either. So, knowing next to nothing about this guy, I came into this with a clean slate. But this was an incredible performance. Not only is Rourke incredibly believable in the ring as aging wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson, but he's gripping in his scenes with his estranged daughter Stephanie (Wood) and his stripper crush Cassidy (Tomei). I really could go on and on. I thought it was a stellar performance. By far, the best I've seen this year, male or female. (Granted, I didn't see Sean Penn's Milk, but I can't imagine I'd like it better than this, so I'm rooting for Rourke to get the Oscar.)

I never really thought of her in this way, but Marisa Tomei is sexy...and I swear that's not because her breasts are ever-present in this flick. There's something that kept me riveted whenever she was onscreen. Her scenes with Rourke felt very true (that's a compliment). As far as Oscar-worthy...I'm not so sure. There was nothing incredibly powerful and she didn't have any "wow" scenes. She played her role perfectly well and entirely believably. If that means Oscar, than so be it. The other lady in the flick, Evan Rachel Wood, has minimal screen time, but her scenes proved pivotal and quite emotional.

The flick isn't perfect. It lulls a bit in the middle and I'm not sure I cared for the ending. For those that saw it, what do you think happens at the end in terms of Rourke's relationship with Tomei?

Anyway, I loved director Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, but was very disappointed with his disjointed and entirely odd The Fountain, so this was a great comeback for him, in my opinion.

Be warned that the wrestling scenes are quite intense...I definitely cringed multiple times during one of the fights, but if you can make it through them (which I imagine won't be something everyone can do), you'll be able to see a performance people will be talking about for years to come.

The RyMickey Rating: B+