The Film Reporter

Over the past decade franchises has risen dramatically as filmgoers who are are low on money (thanks recession) want to know what they’re getting when they pay £10 for a ticket. Iron Man fits that bracket, and I didn’t dare set my hopes up for this film because they often disappoint and after Iron Man 2, I had right to.

Iron Man 3 is set shortly after The Avengers when Tony Stark saved the planet by retuning the missile into the ‘wormhole’ shall we say to defeat the aliens. However Tony has now started to go through anxiety attacks. You may squint but I was happy to see that Shane Black had written this into a mental flaw for Tony after taking the reigns as director from Favreau. Iron Man has utilised one liners to attract a bigger audience and it does so in this film far too often, but for once we really see that Tony has suffered from his battle scars, it was just a shame the comedy undermined it. 

So in this sequel to the franchise, a mysterious man who seems to be hidden away in the Middle East under the name ‘Mandarin’ has been the culprit for many untraceable explosions that has been set off in the Middle East itself as well as the U.S. The Mandarin calls himself the teacher and wants to teach the U.S a lesson, one of which infuriates Tony into provoking the Mandarin to which he complies and destroys Tony’s house which we so kindly revel in in the trailers. 

Iron Man 3 does touch on sensitive issues, including terrorism threats from the Middle East and loss of Fatherhood but once again manages to undermine them. This is where I felt they really lost their way, the film had a lot of potential, and it’s worth mentioning most of us all love to see the one liners Tony pulls out the bag as they’re often very funny, which not to mention are in this movie, but are used way too often making him look, well, a bit of a dick and undermining almost every serious situation in the film to the point where I was like, you know what, who gives a crap?

However the main antagonist in this film is that hidden treasure, Guy Pearce who plays Aldrich Killigan, a hugely talented man who works for ‘AIM’. We see him in a prologue where Tony revisits a memory from 1999 where he teased Aldrich when he was a cripple creap, but has now become the founder of a hugely powerful organisation as well as reaped the rewards of physical therapy. 

Aldrich has developed a physically changing process called ‘Extermis’ which somehow makes the body reach temperatures of 3,000 degrees on and off, but when it doesn’t work on certain subjects, develops into these ‘untraceable explosions’.

I’ll leave it there for you guys as many of you would not have seen this movie yet, especially over in the U.S. But don’t be fooled, this is still a good movie to watch with twists and turns that will keep an audience excited. 

Iron Man 3 is in theatres everywhere.

As the French press laughs 

He’s a bit of an entertainer isn’t he..

(via branaghing)

#sneakpeek #workinprogress #illustration #ironman3 #tonystark

Tropic Thunder (2008) written and directed by Ben Stiller, is a film that plays on typical action genre conventions, the hero, the dramatic dyeing speeches, the brave hero in the climax and so on, and has become a cult film amongst comedy fans and indeed film fans in general. 

Ben has written this film in truly a great and fun way and has picked a cast who fit the role perfectly, although Robert Downey Jr as an African-American soldier seems slightly odd, but plays it in a very funny and ironic way. For me both Robert and Jack Black stole the show, the highly professional actor and the drug addict who has been a crappy franchise to which he has become famous for. 

The guys who are supposed to be playing out a true Vietnam story of rescue are thrown into the jungle without any security after the director comes under huge pressure to deliver, along the way they some how begin to indeed play out the plot in ‘real life’ and along the way many of the actors develop as characters and indeed unite to save Tugg (Stiller).

Tropic Thunder - 7/10 One of the best comedies in recent years.

As I strolled along the Brighton seafront today I came across a collection of DVD’s on sale and noticed with excitement ‘Natural Born Killers’ (1994) which is recognised as a cult film and made many stars such as Robert Downey Jr, Woody Harrelson and Quentin Tarantino for the story. As I’ve wanted to watch it for some time now, the cheap price of £2.95 seemed reasonable!

It’s been superhero frenzy this past year, with the new Spiderman, last Batman film of Nolan’s trilogy, The Avengers, as well as the new Superman which has been announced. Personally these are my two favourites above, which one did you prefer more?

Comic Con is a huge convention held every year at different places in the world. One thing is for sure is that they have grown larger and larger every year. They’re a hot spot for the biggest celebrities the world has to offer and this year the San Diego Comic Con (3rd largest) is no different. Marvel have announced multiple sequels to our favourite superhero films, including ‘Thor, The Dark World’ “Iron Man 3’ ‘Captain America, The Winter Soldier’ ‘Ant Man’ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’. 

Excited much? 

Robert Downey Jr. sporting some of his Iron Man armour at the Comic Con festival in San Diego 2012.