This is a real step up from Avengers: Age of Ultron, with a complex (for Marvel) plot and the usual characters having to deal with personal conflicts, giving the actors something to bite on for a change outside of the action. The action scenes are well catered for, although I thought the airport scene was a bit drawn out, as if to fill out the perceived lack elsewhere. All-in-all, a superior pizza movie and recommended.
Showing posts with label Robert Downey Jr.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robert Downey Jr.. Show all posts
Monday, 21 November 2016
Captain America: Civil War
The latest in the Avengers series out on DVD (Dr Strange is out at the Pictures) sees a plot to implicate the Winter Soldier, a.k.a. Captain America's (Chris Evans) friend and former comrade Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), in a series of terrorist attacks, forcing th' Cap into a confrontation with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), a.k.a. Iron Man.
This is a real step up from Avengers: Age of Ultron, with a complex (for Marvel) plot and the usual characters having to deal with personal conflicts, giving the actors something to bite on for a change outside of the action. The action scenes are well catered for, although I thought the airport scene was a bit drawn out, as if to fill out the perceived lack elsewhere. All-in-all, a superior pizza movie and recommended.
This is a real step up from Avengers: Age of Ultron, with a complex (for Marvel) plot and the usual characters having to deal with personal conflicts, giving the actors something to bite on for a change outside of the action. The action scenes are well catered for, although I thought the airport scene was a bit drawn out, as if to fill out the perceived lack elsewhere. All-in-all, a superior pizza movie and recommended.
Sunday, 25 October 2015
The Trouble with Robots - CHAPPiE and The Avengers: Age of Ultron
A movie update, while we're all waiting for Star Wars to turn up in December. This time it's all about robots and their relationship with their creators (without Mary Shelley, where would the film industry be?).
First up, CHAPPiE from District 9 and Elysium director Neill Blomkamp. To cope with the increasing crime rate in Johannesburg, the police turn to Tetravaal and their latest robot invention, created by Deon Wilson (Dev Patel), while Deon has a bright idea...
With a workable, if rather slow, story and decent enough effects, with a few A-List names to pull in the punters (Sigourney Weaver as Deon's boss and Hugh Jackman as his rival), this is a pretty good pizza movie IF you can stomach the idea of Afrikaaner Punks, which is where it falls down for me. And, for South Africa, surprisingly few black people.
Continuing the theme, I watched the latest Marvel release (Antman hasn't come out on DVD yet). After a successful raid by the Avengers on a Hydra fortress, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) experiments with what appears to be a new form of intelligence.
With lots of bangs and crashes we've become accustomed to by now, the plot is reasonable and tries to include a softer side, with the unlikely romance between Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and Hawkeye's (Jeremy Renner) domesticity. James Spader provides the wit as the voice of Ultron, and I liked Iron Man's Hulk Smasher suit, but this felt to me like a mash-up of previous films, a film between other films. Plus this looks just awesome in comparison!
First up, CHAPPiE from District 9 and Elysium director Neill Blomkamp. To cope with the increasing crime rate in Johannesburg, the police turn to Tetravaal and their latest robot invention, created by Deon Wilson (Dev Patel), while Deon has a bright idea...
With a workable, if rather slow, story and decent enough effects, with a few A-List names to pull in the punters (Sigourney Weaver as Deon's boss and Hugh Jackman as his rival), this is a pretty good pizza movie IF you can stomach the idea of Afrikaaner Punks, which is where it falls down for me. And, for South Africa, surprisingly few black people.
Continuing the theme, I watched the latest Marvel release (Antman hasn't come out on DVD yet). After a successful raid by the Avengers on a Hydra fortress, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) experiments with what appears to be a new form of intelligence.
With lots of bangs and crashes we've become accustomed to by now, the plot is reasonable and tries to include a softer side, with the unlikely romance between Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and Hawkeye's (Jeremy Renner) domesticity. James Spader provides the wit as the voice of Ultron, and I liked Iron Man's Hulk Smasher suit, but this felt to me like a mash-up of previous films, a film between other films. Plus this looks just awesome in comparison!
Saturday, 24 August 2013
Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows
The sequel to the first Sherlock Holmes movie, I watched this through my LoveFilm subscription. Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and Dr. Watson (Jude Law) face Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris) in a race to prevent a European War.
Someone's seen Jared Harris as David Robert Jones in Fringe as he's an excellent Moriarty, and more than a match for Downey. The latter's portrayal of Holmes is a little less forgivable this time around and he's clearly struggling to maintain the accent, not to mention the unbelievably bad disguises. Jude Law does a fine turn as Watson and the plot is serviceable enough, with scenes evoking the World War to come. It's a decent pizza movie, fun and certainly action-packed, but a bit of a diminishing return.
Someone's seen Jared Harris as David Robert Jones in Fringe as he's an excellent Moriarty, and more than a match for Downey. The latter's portrayal of Holmes is a little less forgivable this time around and he's clearly struggling to maintain the accent, not to mention the unbelievably bad disguises. Jude Law does a fine turn as Watson and the plot is serviceable enough, with scenes evoking the World War to come. It's a decent pizza movie, fun and certainly action-packed, but a bit of a diminishing return.
Tuesday, 14 May 2013
Tuesday - Iron Man 3 in 3D
Being cheap Tuesday at Empire cinemas, I thought I'd take a rest from my studies and go and see Iron Man 3 in 3D.
Dunno. I thought the plot was a little all over the place, trying to be complicated and instead just being long winded. I also don't think that references to The Avengers helped either, because the assumption is that you saw that film (Is this Avengers 1.5 or was that Iron Man 2.5?). Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) was as cute as ever, even more so when she's annoyed, but it felt as if they were trying too hard. Ben Kingsley was really funny as The Mandarins' alter ego, and he stole the scenes right out from under Robert Downey Jr. Guy Pierce was also enjoying himself as Stark's nemesis, Aldrich Killian.
The problem I had with all the suits was probably the engineer in me: I wanted to know what they were all for and how they worked. Maybe more is less in this case. As for it being in 3D, well, that was a treat, but it didn't seem to add to the occasion much.
Dunno. I thought the plot was a little all over the place, trying to be complicated and instead just being long winded. I also don't think that references to The Avengers helped either, because the assumption is that you saw that film (Is this Avengers 1.5 or was that Iron Man 2.5?). Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) was as cute as ever, even more so when she's annoyed, but it felt as if they were trying too hard. Ben Kingsley was really funny as The Mandarins' alter ego, and he stole the scenes right out from under Robert Downey Jr. Guy Pierce was also enjoying himself as Stark's nemesis, Aldrich Killian.
The problem I had with all the suits was probably the engineer in me: I wanted to know what they were all for and how they worked. Maybe more is less in this case. As for it being in 3D, well, that was a treat, but it didn't seem to add to the occasion much.
Monday, 15 April 2013
Iron Man 3
Delayed due to a funeral, it should be out next week:
It's in 3D, for the first time, and quite right too. Yummy!
Nice to see Gwyneth wearing a suit.
It's in 3D, for the first time, and quite right too. Yummy!
Nice to see Gwyneth wearing a suit.
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