Home for the Holidays

 Home for the Holidays (1995)

Starring Holly Hunter, Robert Downey, Jr., Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Dylan McDermott, Geraldine Chapman, Steve Guttenberg, Cynthia Stevenson, and Claire Danes

Directed by Jodie Foster

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: C

Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau, James Badge Dale, Paul Bettany (voice), and Ben Kingsley 

Directed by Shane Black

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The (current) RyMickey Rating:  B

Click here for my previous RyMickey Rating

The Avengers

 The Avengers (2012)

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgard, and Samuel L. Jackson

Directed by Joss Whedon

Written by Joss Whedon

Click here for my (current) Letterboxd review

Click here for my previous RyMickey Review

The (current) RyMickey Rating: B-

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-

Iron Man

 Iron Man (2008)

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub, and Gwyneth Paltrow

Directed by John Favreau

Written by Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper, Josh Brolin, Danai Guirra, Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland, Zoe Saldana, Evangeline Lilly, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Letitia Wright, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Cobie Smulders, Linda Cardellini, Vin Diesel, Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson, Tessa Thompson, Tilda Swinton, Hayley Atwell, Marisa Tomei, Rene Russo, Taika Waititi, Angela Bassett, William Hurt, Winston Duke, Frank Grillo, Robert Redford, Natalie Portman, and Gwyneth Paltrow

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo

Written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Josh Brolin, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettanny, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Benedict Wong, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillan, Danai Guirra, Letitia Wright, Peter Dinklage, Benecio del Toro and Gwyneth Paltrow

Featuring the vocal talents of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo 

Written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

Summary (in 500 words or less):  Seemingly every single character from every single Marvel movie (with the exception of the Ant-Man cast for some reason) teams up to fight Thanos (Josh Brolin), a being who longs to collect six Infinity Stones scattered the universe in order to gain great power which he plans to wield in order to destroy half of the universe's population in order to create what he believes will be order across the galaxy.

• I've watched every single Marvel movie, but I've got to be honest -- when it comes to these Infinity Stones that are front and center in this flick, their importance never registered a lick for me when I watched the flicks.  Fortunately, it's not difficult to catch on -- and likely through some type of unknown osmosis, I must have somewhat understood things about this concept in the multitude of other Marvel movies despite never really paying attention to them before.  Nevertheless, the six stones -- Mind, Soul, Space, Power, Time, and Reality -- would allow Thanos to be seemingly unstoppable in his quest and this flick, despite carrying the "Avengers" moniker in the title is really a "Thanos flick."
• Interestingly enough, while Thanos is most certainly a "villain," his intentions carry much depth and by having this film focus so greatly on him, the audience is able to oddly connect with him in ways that we never really have done before with the baddies in the Marvel universe.
• The flick is a ballsy one, quite frankly.  Much has been made about how no one is safe...and that's certainly true.  Multiple deaths pepper the film and a few of them even carry some surprisingly emotional resonance.  Whether the sequel to the film changes the path of these now-deceased individuals, we will have to wait to see, it still packs a visceral wallop at moments.  You won't be on a high after watching this one...in fact, it'll likely be just the opposite.  And for a big budget motion picture that's a risky move...but it does pay off for the most part.
• Unfortunately, the film starts to drag after about an hour.  Action scene is stacked on top of action scene in the flick's final ninety minutes and the nonstop loud noises, explosions, and chaotic nature grow wearisome.  Yes, we get the standard Marvel humor peppered throughout -- which helps to make this company's films so much better than the dreary, "unfun" DC brand -- but it's not quite enough to boost this upward ratings-wise into the top five Marvel films for me.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Starring Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Zendaya, Laura Harrier, Jacob Batalan, Tony Revolori, Marisa Tomei, Chris Evans, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Robert Downey, Jr.

Directed by Jon Watts

Written by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Jon Watts, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers

Summary (in 500 words or less):  After the events of Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) - AKA Spider-Man - returns to New York where he wants to officially join the Avengers, but is told by Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) that he is not ready.  Peter returns to high school while fighting minor crimes in the city underneath the Spider-Man outfit.  At the same time, Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) is incredibly angry after the Department of Damage Control reneges on the deal his salvage company had received to continue clean-up of the Battle of New York (which was seen in the original "The Avengers" movie).  Toomes had already uncovered several pieces of extraterrestrial paraphernalia and has discovered that he can utilize them to create advanced weapons.  Eventually, the worlds of Peter Parker and Adrian Toomes will combine as Parker attempts to prove to Tony Stark that he deserves to be an Avenger.

• Undoubtedly the best Spider-Man movie to date, Spider-Man: Homecoming is a fun ride, filled with some great performances and a bad guy in Adrian Toomes - AKA The Vulture - who feels based in reality as opposed to being some maniacal supervillain hellbent on the destruction of Earth.
• Despite having storylines being built upon from previous Marvel films, I couldn't help when watching this to think that this would be a great introduction into the Marvel Universe for a young kid.  There's something refreshingly innocent about the proceedings.
• Sure, there may have been a sextet of screenwriters for this one -- a number which usually doesn't bode well for things -- but this group manages to create a balance between typical Marvel tropes and a 1980s John Hughes-ian vibe which the screenwriters and director Jon Watts admitted they were going for.
• Tom Holland is absolutely engaging as Peter Parker and actually feels like a high school kid which is something the previous iterations could never quite manage.  His classmates -- Zendaya, Laura Harrier, Jacob Batalan, and more -- help to create a humorous and realistic high school atmosphere that doesn't feel fake, but also doesn't feel outside the realm of the Marvel Universe itself.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Captain America: Civil War

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey, Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland, Daniel Brühl, William Hurt, Martin Freeman, John Slattery, Alfre Woodard, and Marisa Tomei

Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

The casts of these Marvel movies just keep growing -- I can't tag nearly all of those famous people in the labels attached to this review -- but the films following the Avengers team saga keep getting better so I approve of the multiplying ensemble.  Captain America: Civil War certainly has its epic action sequences, but it's the Marvel movie that feels the most grounded in reality -- of course, it's a reality filled with flying, shrinking, web-slinging, and energy manipulating superheroes, but it's the most realistic Marvel depiction of these folks yet.  Without aliens desiring to wreak havoc or supervillains intent on literally raising cities off of the Earth, Captain America: Civil War pits Iron Man Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Captain America Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) against one another as they try to determine the Avengers' place in the world.

Building off the events of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Civil War asks the question as to whether the Avengers do more harm than good.  Following the devastating damage the Avengers helped to cause when taking down Ultron who was intent on destroying Sokovia, worldwide agencies want to make the Avengers answer to a governing body in an attempt to keep them from simply running rampant across the world.  Sure they do good, but the Avengers are also reckless at times.  Tony Stark is amenable to this treatise, but Steve Rogers feels that it will severely inhibit the Avengers' ability to fight evil.  Our superheroes -- Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), and the newest member Spider-Man (Tom Holland) -- take sides, all while Captain America tries to figure out if his former buddy Bucky Barnes AKA the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) is responsible for an attack on the United Nations-esque body that is responsible for instituting the Sokovia Accords.

For me -- someone who isn't a huge comic book movie fan, despite having seen all of the new era of Marvel films -- the biggest reason for the success of Captain America: Civil War (which isn't really a Captain America movie so much as another Avengers picture) is that the villains here aren't foreign entities like superhuman computers or outer space creatures, but based in reality.  Add to that, the tension that arises within the Avengers group themselves is surprisingly palpable and dramatically effective.  Plus, in typical Marvel fashion, the film knows when to lighten things up, creating nice pops of humor when the heavier story desperately needs it.  The Russo Brothers who did a great job with Captain America: Winter Soldier do an even better job here and I look forward to what they can bring to the oftentimes over-bloated Avengers films.

The character of Captain America is one that didn't start out successful for me in the slightest.  In fact, the original Captain America film is one of my least favorites in the Marvel canon.  However, as the character of Steve Rogers has grown and developed, he's become compelling and captivating.  Placing him front and center here in a battle against some of his former allies creates what I think is the best Marvel film to date.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, and James Spader

Directed by Joss Whedon

Back in 2012, everyone fell head over heels for The Avengers -- everyone except for me, that is.  I didn't dislike the film as my C+ review attests, but I found it overblown and a bit underwhelming with the action sequences working, but many of the dialog and character-driven moments disappointing.  Oddly enough, Avengers: Age of Ultron has just the opposite problem with its character-based scenes working surprisingly well and its action aspects sorely lacking.  Considering both films were written and directed by Joss Whedon, the contrasting differences are a bit startling and, as the rating below will attest, end up being about equal in terms of how I felt overall about the flick.

Once again, our Avenger crew bands together to fight something gigantically evil.  Rather than aliens, though, this time it's a form of advanced artificial intelligence that Iron Man Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr) created in secret in order to try and assist should the world face another huge attack as occurred during the first film.  After a bit of a tête-á-tête about the necessity of AI to help, Tony, Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) head out to find Ultron (James Spader), the AI that has created a robot body for himself and set out to destroy humanity with the help of two Russian twins Pietro and Wanda Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen) who want to bring down the Avengers due to an incident from their childhood caused by one of our fearless fighting crew that changed their lives forever.

Story-wise, I think the film is actually more successful than its predecessor.  I enjoyed the camaraderie between the heroic crew which I felt was sorely lacking in the first film as well as the deviousness of Ultron and the twins.  Knowing nothing about the comics upon which the films are based, Ultron was deliciously snide and humorously villainous.  Perhaps that isn't his demeanor in the comics, but on film, Spader voiced the character with such over-the-top charisma that I couldn't help but long for the character to appear again to liven things up.  Plus, I think it helped things that Ultron's villainous intentions stemmed from the chaos inflicted in the first film.

Unfortunately, the film's action set pieces just didn't work for me.  During the opening scene which includes slow motion AND seemingly sped up moments, I found myself vehemently annoyed, feeling as if I were watching a poorly conceived video game as opposed to a movie.  Fortunately, things got a little better after that, but I still went through the whole movie thinking that the action sequences felt less integral to the plot than nearly any other Marvel flick and were put into place simply because "we need an action scene now."  Whereas Whedon seemingly had control of these moments in the first Avengers, he disappointed here.

Overall, though, Avengers: Age of Ultron works.  The flick is briskly paced and despite disliking the more "intense" moments, I never found them overblown or overlong.  The interplay between the core group of Avengers is growing more natural and I'm oddly looking forward to what the Marvel Universe has in store for these characters.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Chef

Chef (2014)

Starring Jon Favreau, Sofia Vergara, Emjay Anthony, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johannson, Dustin Hoffman, Oliver Platt, Bobby Canavale, and Robert Downey, Jr. 

Directed by Jon Favreau

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

Chef certainly isn't aiming to be anything deep, but director and screenwriter Jon Favreau creates a lovely glimpse at a father/son relationship, the simplicity of which we don't often see on screens in this day and age.  Chef details the story of chef Carl Casper (Favreau) who has worked in a moderately ritzy restaurant owned by Riva (Dustin Hoffman) for years, but has really been unable to create unique dishes as Riva wants to maintain the status quo because customers are still pouring in.  When a food blogger/critic (Oliver Platt) comes to the establishment one evening, he writes online that Carl's food is tired, old school, and lacking any modern flair.  Upon receiving the bad review, Carl goes a bit berserk online thanks to a visit from his son Percy (Emjay Anthony) who introduces his father to Twitter.  After Carl inadvertently tweets numerous public jabs at the critic that he thinks were sent privately, Carl becomes a bit of a laughing stock across the country at which point he realizes that he's not happy doing what he does anymore and decides to take a little respite to Miami with Percy and his ex-wife Inez (Sofia Vergara) where he rediscovers his passion for food and his desire to show that to the public.

Chef is a movie broken up into two halves -- the first with Carl at the restaurant and the second with Carl reinventing his food passions by opening up a popular food truck.  While the halves certainly carry a similar tone to them, the film feels almost like two different movies at times.  Fortunately, Carl's relationship with his son is the through line between the two and it's this paternal connection that feels incredibly comforting and realistic.  In fact, what really makes Chef shine is that all of the relationships here -- Carl with his ex-wife, boss, co-workers -- carry a sense of believability and genuineness.  Favreau as a writer seems to have a real grasp of dialog -- his characters' moments with his son are particularly authentic despite the fact that his son seems a bit too tech-savvy for his own good at age ten.

Nonetheless, there's a charm that exudes in Chef thanks to the writing and the cast, all of whom really take Favreau's words and make them come to life.  Sofia Vergara is at her least annoying here, playing a loving mom and ex-wife to Carl -- once again, the ex-wife/husband relationship exudes a credible believability despite being a shockingly pleasant association we don't typically see displayed in films.  John Leguizamo as Carl's friend and co-worker adds some character to the mix and Scarlett Johansson and Dustin Hoffman keep the first half of the film buzzing with some interesting camaraderie with Carl.

In the end, Chef is maybe a bit too simple for its own good -- I compliment the film quite highly above, but I found it a little bland at the start and it took me three sittings to make it past the first hour.  While that sounds a bit damning, I simply don't think I was giving Chef a big enough chance.  Had it dropped an F-bomb or two or a sexual innuendo out of the equation, Chef would've been fit for all ages, exuding a sweetness that I frankly wasn't expecting, but truly enjoyed.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - The Judge

The Judge (2014)

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Billy Bob Thornton, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Dax Shepard, Leighton Meester, and Clint Howard 

Directed by David Dobkin

How anyone was expecting The Judge to be a prestige picture seeing as how the man behind the camera brought us flicks like Fred Claus, Shanghai Knights, The Change-Up, and Wedding Crashers is befuddling to me.  Pre-release Oscar buzz and snagging the opening film slot at the Toronto Film Festival upped The Judge's aire of importance.  Admittedly, if you walk into the flick with that mindset, disappointment may set in.  However, if you erase all that talk from your mind, The Judge is a decent paint-by-numbers tale about a family coming together at a difficult moment that surprisingly holds one's interest for (surprisingly brisk) nearly two-and-a-half hours.

When his mother passes away, hotshot Chicago defense attorney Hank Palmer (Robert Downey, Jr.) returns home to a podunk small town in Indiana to attend her funeral.  Estranged from his family having not visited home in years, Hank's return is greeted with disdain from his father Joseph (Robert Duvall) -- the two obviously having had issues in the past that pushed them apart.  After the funeral, Joseph -- the small town's respected judge -- goes out for a drive to clear his mind and the next morning Hank and his two brothers Glen and Dale (Vincent D'Onofrio and Jeremy Strong) discover that their father's car has been in some kind of accident -- a thought that is confirmed as the cops pull up to take Joseph in for questioning for the death of a cyclist who died in a hit and run the night before.  Later charged with murder, Joseph and Hank must attempt to work together to acquit Joseph of the crime, but their complicated past doesn't make things easy.

You know where The Judge is heading right off the bat and you know how it's going to get there.  Script- and dialog-wise, the screenwriters have crafted something that is so incredibly by-the-book, I feel like I could've written it.  Directorially-speaking, David Dobkin didn't do a single thing worth mentioning.  So, how in the world did I find myself maintaining interest in this work?

It all comes down to the very talented ensemble, all of whom elevate the lackluster elements above into something that is able to hold interest.  Admittedly, Robert Downey, Jr., isn't doing anything we haven't seen him do before -- make smart-ass Tony Stark a lawyer and you've essentially got Hank Palmer.  Somehow, though, Downey's charm and humor captivate.  (And there's actually quite a bit of gentle humor which is surprising and welcoming.)  Robert Duvall isn't necessarily reinventing the wheel either, but his character's humility and heart play a nice counterpoint to his son's brashness.  We all know where the story's going to end up, but with Downey, Jr., and Duvall playing off one another, it becomes worth watching.  Add in some nice performances from Vincent D'Onofrio, Billy Bob Thornton (as the prosecutor trying Joseph's case), and Vera Farmiga (as Hank's high school girlfriend) and you've got a cast worth watching.

I look back on The Judge and find many faults with it -- there are so many subplots that weigh down the script that it's almost laughable -- but I also remember it fondly.  There's a simplicity to the overarching story that we often don't see in films today and while some may find it clichéd or treacly, I found it a little bit ballsy in the midst of our crazed society.  It's the kind of movie Jimmy Stewart would've been starring in were Jimmy Stewart alive today -- and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau, James Badge Dale, Paul Bettany (voice), and Ben Kingsley 

Directed by Shane Black

After the overhype that was The Avengers -- yes, I didn't love it, so perhaps my thoughts on Marvel movies automatically get negated because of that -- I admittedly wasn't looking forward to tackling Iron Man 3.  In fact, my biggest issue with The Avengers was Robert Downey, Jr.'s portrayal of Tony Stark who I found to be obnoxiously annoying in that piece.  [Yes, I realize that's the point, however, as I mentioned in my Avengers review, setting him amidst "nicer" superheroes made the character's self-important sarcastic nature more grating.]

So, color me surprised when I sat through Iron Man 3 and found it an enjoyable action flick.  Tony Stark is dealing with the aftermath of that wormhole/alien incident in The Avengers and it's mellowed him out, helping to build a character that has more depth than the playboy we've seen in movies past.  Stark still has his sarcastically quippy replies to most things, but the script (and Downey, Jr.) does a nice job of creating a few more emotional layers on the character.

In Iron Man 3, Stark is faced with battling The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), an American terrorist who's hellbent on making the US pay for their "crimes" against humanity.  After a bombing outside the Chinese Theater in L.A., the police are unable to find any bomb residue or any evidence that a bomb even existed onsite which begs the question of how exactly the Mandarin is causing these disasters.  Despite being more based in reality than some of the previous Marvel flicks, let's just say that the cause of the explosions takes us down that fantastical comic book unrealistic path -- and I don't mean that in a condescending way at all.

Admittedly, director Shane Black hasn't had much experience behind the camera (this being only his second film) and it shows a bit when it comes to lensing action sequences.  While the quick cuts aren't necessarily abundant, I couldn't help but think that many of the "BIG" scenes felt a bit muted in terms of excitement and were a bit confusing and slapshot in the way they were filmed.  Still, Black does a very nice job in the film's quieter moments and gets some good performances from all of his players with Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, and Jon Favreau making return appearances and Kingsley, Guy Pearce, and Rebecca Hall making solid debuts in the Marvel universe.

The RyMickey Rating: B

Movie Review - The Avengers

The Avengers (2012)

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Stellan Skarsgard, Paul Bettany (voice), and Samuel L. Jackson

Directed by Joss Whedon

Yes, I'm about sixty days late to the party here...and unfortunately the raves that I've been hearing for two months concerning The Avengers set expectations that were too high to be achieved.  While this is a decent comic book flick, it's still a part of a genre that I'm unable to really relate to because on a purely cinematic level I rarely am able to feel any modicum of tension for the formidable, unflappable, and nearly immortal main characters.

Seeing as how everyone has already seen this third highest-grossing movie of all time, I'm not going to waste time detailing a summary except to say that this gathering of Marvel's Superhero Elite does prove to be successful once it brings its cadre of power players together, but the round-up of these heroes is where the film lacks.  I must preface my "complaint" by saying that i watched The Avengers at the end of a three-movie, seven-hour marathon so that may have something to do with my lack of excitement for the product, but I do also think that I'm maybe using that simply as an excuse for my disappointment in the movie since everyone else seems to be fawning over it.  The whole thing eventually comes together rather nicely and the final ninety minutes really does seem to fly by, but I couldn't help but find myself in a state of ennui during the first hour.

It doesn't help that Robert Downey, Jr., is as annoying as heck in this.  His egotistical Tony Stark plays fine in a movie on his own where he's the main player, but when you put him amidst a group of other more unselfish folks, his character rings obnoxious more than anything else.  [Yes, I realize that's probably the point -- he's kind of a jerk unlike these other guys -- but it still didn't make his character any more tolerable to watch for extended periods of time.]  The less said about Chris Hemsworth's Thor the better (fortunately, his part was minuscule).  Oddly enough, it's the Iron Mans and Thor flicks that I found most successful in the Marvel universe so not caring for those characters here was a bit odd for me.

Mark Ruffalo kinda steals the show with his Bruce Banner/Hulk.  It's a shame the Hulk movie didn't star him as opposed to Ed Norton.  Surprisingly (considering my disdain for his movie), I found Chris Evans' Captain America a big improvement over his eponymous film.  It's also nice that a bit of the focus went to Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow as she's not only pretty on the eyes, but has a storyline that's at least a bit intriguing.

In the end, the whole thing is silly nonsense, but director and screenwriter Joss Whedon is able to at least direct action sequences without relying on Michael Bay-esque nonstop camera cuts and his script has a few witty moments which provide a needed boost.  Some may call this the greatest comic book movie of all time, but coming from a non-comic book fan, I didn't find it as impressive as the millions who did.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

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 Soloist (2009)

Starring Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey, Jr., and Catherine Keener

Written by Susannah Grant

Directed by Joe Wright

This flick was supposed to come out last year and delays in the film industry typically signal an inferior product. Unforunately, that rule reigns true in the case of The Soloist.

The plot's simple. Reporter Steve Lopez stumbles across homeless guy Nathaniel Ayers playing a violin. Friendship blossoms.

And that is all.

The problem with this film didn't necessarily come from the actors, although I never once got a sense that Downey, Jr., was playing anyone other than himself (Foxx, on the other hand, gives a surpringly strong turn as the schizophrenic musical "genius").

Half of the problem comes from the script (nothing really happens in the film when you look back on it). There was humor and pathos in the main storyline, but when some of the subplots take the front seat -- the L.A. Times newspaper in economic trouble, the difficultly in providing care to L.A.'s homeless population -- the movie just falters.

The other major issue with the film is Joe Wright's shoddy direction. There were shots that had me flabbergasted as to why they were in the film at all -- a scene where we follow birds as they fly over L.A. while classical music plays; a Fantasia-esque light show to "symbolize" (I guess) what Nathaniel "feels" when he's listening to an orchestra. These shots in particular were there simply to "show off," and the rest of the film, if anything, is rather stodgy in how it's presented (the complete opposite of "show-off," to me). The film jumps back and forth from feeling like a PBS Masterpiece Theater piece to an ABC afterschool special from the 90s. Granted, that's just as much the screenwriter's fault as it is the director's, but the film was just too flat and "blah" too much of the time for me to recommend it.

The RyMickey Rating: C-