Review: Iron Man 3

Director: Shane Black

Written By: Drew Pearce, Shane Black

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Rated: PG-13

Brief Overview: The world is suffering from the terrorist attacks from a man called The Mandarin and Tony Stark must save the day once again. 

Following is the trailer for Iron Man 3.

I love Marvel movies. So needless to say I was pretty excited for Iron Man 3 and expected big things from it. I can't say I really got what I was expecting from it but to be fair I was too excited and went into it expecting it to be the best movie ever. However, out of the movies I have reviewed so far on this blog, this one takes the cake for best yet.

There are people out there who are Marvel enthusiasts and go to these movies knowing every single little detail about the comic books and leave disappointed and mad that the movie didn't follow the comic book exactly. This is not me. I have seen every Iron Man but have never read one comic book. So if you are a comic book guy or girl this review is not for you. It is strictly about the movie itself.

A lot of critics have been giving Iron Man 3 bad ratings and basically ripping on it for this and that. While I agree there are things that could have been better in the movie, I think for the average person going to see a movie with their friends, it is a hit and must see. 

Robert Downey Jr. is the Iron man. It is tough to see him in any other movie or setting because of the great job he does in all three of these movies. However, in this movie we find "Tony Stark" in a whole different place in his life than in the previous two. He has a whole new persona and is not the "billionaire, philanthropist, playboy" that we are used to seeing. The events of "The Avengers" seemed to have taken a big toll on Stark emotionally and has been giving him bad anxiety. While his character has changed a little, RDJ performs magnificently and does not disappoint. 

We also meet a new villain in this movie called The Mandarin. At the beginning of the movie we see real life looking news coverage of bombings and explosions that have been happening that the Mandarin has been taking credit for. The movie revolves around the Mandarin, and Tony Stark has the task of taking him down in order to save the President of the United States and many other lives. The Mandarin seems like a very scary and intimidating character but there is a twist that ends up leaving you disappointed. 

The main problem with the movie as a whole is that there seems to be a handful of subplots that never end up getting developed and leave you thinking that there is a lot going on but nothing is actually happening. (If that makes sense.) That being said, lets get to the cool stuff. This Iron Man doesn't disappoint when it comes to the action scenes and cool new gadgets that Tony Stark has been tinkering on. There is new upgrades on the armor suit and only about 50 new ones that Stark has been creating as his "hobby." There is some really cool scenes where Stark is in action inside of the suit, especially this scene where he must rescue 13 people falling from an exploded plane when he can only hold onto four people himself. 

(Cool plane rescue scene) 

It is hard writing these reviews and trying to explain details about the movie without ruining parts of the movie for people who have not seen it yet. So I will stop there and say that aside from there being a lot of little subplots and details that could have been explored more, this movie will be enjoyed by a majority of people and I would recommend it to basically everyone. 

Personal Ranking: 8.5 out of 10

"A good end to a great three movies..."

Review: The Company You Keep

Director: Robert Redford

Written By: Lem Dobbs

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Robert Redford, Julie Christie

Genre: Mystery, Suspense

Rated: R

Brief Overview: The story of wanted felons from the "Weather Underground" group from the early 90's being discovered by a journalist (Shia LeBeouf) and being hunted down by the authorities. 

Following is the trailer for The Company You Keep.

It has been a busy last few weeks. I mention in my profile that I play college baseball. Playing in Minnesota this year was really crazy and no one will probably ever experience a season like this again. We got snow all the way into May so all of our games were getting post poned. I feel like in the last week the only place I have been is a baseball field. Because of that it took me a while to get this review written on a movie I really enjoyed. 

Once again I gathered my movie buds up and we headed off to our favorite theatre where movies are only five bucks. After our usual Walgreens stop for candy we went into the theatre and I still hadn't told them what we were gonna see. When I told them we were gonna see The Company You Keep they weren't too happy but after the movie ended they were on the same page as me and ended up loving it. 

I will start off by saying this is not an action packed, fast moving, thriller. So if that is what you are wanting or expecting you might want to give this movie a pass. This is a slow moving drama in which we follow the aftermath story of a fictional happening. 

The beginning of the movie shows us real life clips from the early 90's of a group known as the "Weather Underground." The "Weathermen" were a group of radicals that are known for their many bombings and riots here in the United States. This is the where the movie begins. We are met with the story of how there was a bank robbery 30 years before where a security guard was shot and killed and the people responsible had never been caught. 

Right after the brief history lesson we are brought to modern day, about 30 years later, where we meet one of the people who was a part of the bank robbery. Sharon Solarz, who was part of the bank robbery group, is headed to supposedly turn herself in when FBI surrounds her at a gas station and arrests her. This fresh arrest of such a big name criminal, from so long ago, sparks interest in a local journalist named Ben Shepard (Shia LeBeouf) and his not so sure boss assigns him to follow up on the story. 

Ben Shepard just so happens to have a connection to someone in the FBI. That someone is his ex-girlfriend. Luckily they still keep in touch so he has an in with someone who has real and valid information. After telling Shepard some things she probably shouldn't, Ben ends up being in the right place at the right time (many of times) and ends up shining some light as to the where a bouts of the remaining robbery group members. 

From the beginning of the movie to the end you as a viewer get to watch the story unfold and meet all of the members of the robbery group and learn details about their character. In the end after the pretty exciting chases and manhunts there is some unexpected twists that you will not see coming. 

I would recommend this movie to all audiences. It is a fun and exciting movie that also gives somewhat of a real life history lesson. I also am a big Shia LaBeouf fan (partially from the show Even Stevens) which also made this movie enjoyable seeing as he was a lead role. 

Personal Ranking: 7 out of 10

"One of few history lessons I have enjoyed..."