Agent Coulson: Good luck! We need you!
Tony Stark: More than you know.
Agent Coulson: Not that much!
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Showing posts with label mickey rourke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mickey rourke. Show all posts
Friday, December 3, 2010
Iron Man 2
Agent Coulson: Good luck! We need you!
Tony Stark: More than you know.
Agent Coulson: Not that much!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
The Expendables
If you’ve been missing action movies the likes of Running Man, Commando and Rambo, then The Expendables is right up your alley. Helmed by a cast of the most widely known action stars of now and the past twenty years, and anchored by Sylvester Stallone both in front of and behind the camera, The Expendables is a series of action scenes and explosions thinly veiled by a plot that substitutes a military dictatorship on a small island for Castro and the CIA.
Now, when I tell you The Expendables is thin on plot, I mean it. The actors move around and interact as if there is a plot, but in fact all there is to this is one script page after the next that must be played out in order for the action sequences to evolve in grandeur and eventually reach their denouement. I don’t mean this as an insult, in fact this is probably why the film works in the manner it intends – it’s a fun romp of gunfire, fist fights and explosions provided by people that the audience wants to see do what they do best.
What doesn’t work so well is the random bits Stallone throws in there to try and give these action stars a chance to act…most of them are action stars for a reason… The most legit actor of the bunch, Mickey Rourke, even has a scene where he manages to squeeze out some tears, despite the ham handed dialogue that accompanies it. Perhaps, I’d see more merit in the acting segments if the dialogue were given another pass – but again that’s not what you see a movie like this for.
The Expendables really settles into its groove in the final act of the film. Why? You guessed, because the last act is nothing but car chases, fights and explosions –one exhilarating romp after another. It’s so fun to watch you cease to care that the coup Eric Roberts character helped fun was apparently for profits from cocoa beans, or that the General/Dictator has made all of his soldiers wear face paint to show loyalty (seriously?), or that Stallone and Li manage to survive and Bonnie & Clyde style ambush in their car – it looks good on film and so begins a sequence of activities where every one of the stars gets their moment.
If you’re looking for an action movie that has it all from this past summer then you should see Inception. However, if you’re looking for a throw-back from the good old days when explosions ruled action films, see The Expendables.
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Writers: Dave Callaham & Sylvester Stallone
Barney Ross: Sylvester Stallone
Lee Christmas: Jason Statham
Ying Yang: Jet Li
Gunner: Dolph Lundgren
James Munroe: Eric Roberts
Toll Road: Randy Coture
Paine: Steve Austin
Gen. Garza: David Zayas
Sandra: Giselle Itie
Lacy: Charisma Carpenter
Hale Caesar: Terry Crews
Tool: Mickey Rourke
Church: Bruce Willis
Lee: What's he sayin'?
Hale: He said we're dead, with an accent!
Now, when I tell you The Expendables is thin on plot, I mean it. The actors move around and interact as if there is a plot, but in fact all there is to this is one script page after the next that must be played out in order for the action sequences to evolve in grandeur and eventually reach their denouement. I don’t mean this as an insult, in fact this is probably why the film works in the manner it intends – it’s a fun romp of gunfire, fist fights and explosions provided by people that the audience wants to see do what they do best.
What doesn’t work so well is the random bits Stallone throws in there to try and give these action stars a chance to act…most of them are action stars for a reason… The most legit actor of the bunch, Mickey Rourke, even has a scene where he manages to squeeze out some tears, despite the ham handed dialogue that accompanies it. Perhaps, I’d see more merit in the acting segments if the dialogue were given another pass – but again that’s not what you see a movie like this for.
The Expendables really settles into its groove in the final act of the film. Why? You guessed, because the last act is nothing but car chases, fights and explosions –one exhilarating romp after another. It’s so fun to watch you cease to care that the coup Eric Roberts character helped fun was apparently for profits from cocoa beans, or that the General/Dictator has made all of his soldiers wear face paint to show loyalty (seriously?), or that Stallone and Li manage to survive and Bonnie & Clyde style ambush in their car – it looks good on film and so begins a sequence of activities where every one of the stars gets their moment.
If you’re looking for an action movie that has it all from this past summer then you should see Inception. However, if you’re looking for a throw-back from the good old days when explosions ruled action films, see The Expendables.
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Writers: Dave Callaham & Sylvester Stallone
Barney Ross: Sylvester Stallone
Lee Christmas: Jason Statham
Ying Yang: Jet Li
Gunner: Dolph Lundgren
James Munroe: Eric Roberts
Toll Road: Randy Coture
Paine: Steve Austin
Gen. Garza: David Zayas
Sandra: Giselle Itie
Lacy: Charisma Carpenter
Hale Caesar: Terry Crews
Tool: Mickey Rourke
Church: Bruce Willis
Lee: What's he sayin'?
Hale: He said we're dead, with an accent!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Iron Man 2
Six months after Tony Stark revealed his alter ego to the world, he is more famous and more alone than ever. His party-boy lifestyle enhanced by his new fame, Tony finds little time for the running of Stark Industries and turns the empire over to Pepper, and takes on a new assistant named Natalie. However, this new level of fame comes with consequences – the government wants to take the Iron Man weapon away, Rhoadie is pulled between friend & country, rival Justin Hammer is the new government weapons man and an old secret from the Stark family past surfaces in the form of Ivan Vanko. Vanko is set on proving Tony Stark is a fraud and invents a rival technology and alter ego bent on destroying Iron Man & Tony Stark.
Jon Favreau has done it. He’s proven that he and his franchise have the stuff; he’s turned out a quality movie that isn’t just a great sequel to a fantastic first part, but it’s a great movie on its own. Iron Man 2 is a sequel that lives up to its original and helps to make what we love about that world even better than it was before.
One of the elements that makes Iron Man 2 such a spectacular film is that while being a summer blockbuster, and an action film Favreau and writer Justin Theroux managed to remember that the effects and action are meaningless unless there is a story behind all of it. There is a story in Iron Man 2, a great one and what makes it great it exactly what made Iron Man great – it’s story about a flawed man that decides to do better.
Tony Stark is and always will be an amazing character, and in Iron Man 2 Stark ends up on a free fall, rushing towards rock bottom as he deals with fame, life and the monster in himself. Stark has the entire world at his fingertips and yet he is living completely out of control, drunk on power and fame. Robert Downey Jr. again takes a powerful turn as Stark and lends the role great gravitas, centering Tony’s arch which is one that is eerily similar to a spiral he was on earlier in his life.
Don Cheedle is also notable as Col. Rhodes and had one of the hardest parts in the film as he took the role over from the ousted Terrence Howard. However, by the end of Cheedle’s first scene you will forget Howard completely and be glad for the grounded air Cheedle gives Rhodes and his relationship torn between his country and Stark.
Perhaps what is the most comforting about Iron Man 2 is the obvious care shown throughout the film to create the Marvel Universe. This is a film about Tony Stark, but woven throughout the film are subtle hints that perhaps there are other things going on there as well, things that Nick Fury & SHIELD aren’t telling Stark or any of us.
This is a movie that will be seen multiple times by most audience members, and I urge you that when you go, especially if you are a fan of the Marvel Universe – stay until the end of the credits.
Director: Jon Favreau
Writer: Justin Threoux
Tony Stark: Robert Downey Jr.
Rhodey: Don Cheedle
Natalie Rushman: Scarlett Johansson
Pepper: Gwyneth Paltrow
Ivan Vanko: Mickey Rourke
Nick Fury: Samuel L. Jackson
Agent Coulson: Clark Gregg
Howard Stark: John Slattery
Happy Hogan: Jon Favreau
Jarvis: Paul Bettany
Ivan Vanko: If you could make God bleed, people will cease to believe in Him. There will be blood in the water, and the sharks will come. All I have to do is sit here and watch, as the world will consume you.
Jon Favreau has done it. He’s proven that he and his franchise have the stuff; he’s turned out a quality movie that isn’t just a great sequel to a fantastic first part, but it’s a great movie on its own. Iron Man 2 is a sequel that lives up to its original and helps to make what we love about that world even better than it was before.
One of the elements that makes Iron Man 2 such a spectacular film is that while being a summer blockbuster, and an action film Favreau and writer Justin Theroux managed to remember that the effects and action are meaningless unless there is a story behind all of it. There is a story in Iron Man 2, a great one and what makes it great it exactly what made Iron Man great – it’s story about a flawed man that decides to do better.
Tony Stark is and always will be an amazing character, and in Iron Man 2 Stark ends up on a free fall, rushing towards rock bottom as he deals with fame, life and the monster in himself. Stark has the entire world at his fingertips and yet he is living completely out of control, drunk on power and fame. Robert Downey Jr. again takes a powerful turn as Stark and lends the role great gravitas, centering Tony’s arch which is one that is eerily similar to a spiral he was on earlier in his life.
Don Cheedle is also notable as Col. Rhodes and had one of the hardest parts in the film as he took the role over from the ousted Terrence Howard. However, by the end of Cheedle’s first scene you will forget Howard completely and be glad for the grounded air Cheedle gives Rhodes and his relationship torn between his country and Stark.
Perhaps what is the most comforting about Iron Man 2 is the obvious care shown throughout the film to create the Marvel Universe. This is a film about Tony Stark, but woven throughout the film are subtle hints that perhaps there are other things going on there as well, things that Nick Fury & SHIELD aren’t telling Stark or any of us.
This is a movie that will be seen multiple times by most audience members, and I urge you that when you go, especially if you are a fan of the Marvel Universe – stay until the end of the credits.
Director: Jon Favreau
Writer: Justin Threoux
Tony Stark: Robert Downey Jr.
Rhodey: Don Cheedle
Natalie Rushman: Scarlett Johansson
Pepper: Gwyneth Paltrow
Ivan Vanko: Mickey Rourke
Nick Fury: Samuel L. Jackson
Agent Coulson: Clark Gregg
Howard Stark: John Slattery
Happy Hogan: Jon Favreau
Jarvis: Paul Bettany
Ivan Vanko: If you could make God bleed, people will cease to believe in Him. There will be blood in the water, and the sharks will come. All I have to do is sit here and watch, as the world will consume you.
Friday, October 3, 2008
The Wrestler
Anyone who has seen The Fountain knows that you would never describe Aronofsky's work as simple or mainstream; that being said, The Wrester is by far Aronofsky’s most simple and mainstream story even though it is really nothing of the sort.
The Wrestler is the beautifully told tale of Randy “The Ram” a pro wrestler that hit it big in the 80’s, but the film is not about him then, it’s about him now – it’s been 20 years since his glory days and he is now living in poverty and obscurity. The only thing Randy has been able to hold onto is his love of wrestling and the charge he gets from the crowd so he continues to wrestle in any match he can find. The only problem is that the only part of his life that Randy understands and can control is his wrestling and when he tries to change that balance and have a life outside of wrestling and move past his days in the ring he is unable to do so.
In classic Aronofsky fashion this film is so layered that my brother and I were able to debate for quite awhile what the subtext in the film was, and even though we each had different thoughts neither of us could prove the other wrong.
While this is the most mainstream and easily digested of all Darren Aronofsky’s tales it is by no means a flat story and used many of the themes he loves to deal with. This film deals with aging, materialism, family and a character that seeks to regain prominence. Thematically I would say it is closest to Requiem for a Dream - just not nearly as disturbing or depressing.
One thing that truly makes Aronofsky’s films stand out from some other contemporary filmmakers is the performances he is able to get out of his actors and The Wrestler shows this yet again primarily through Mickey Rourke as Randy. I can honestly say that Rourke deserves an Oscar nomination for this film, and I had no idea he was capable of the sheer raw emotion he brings to this film.
I know that The Wrestler will not be a box office smash, it will actually probably piss off a lot of people that see it. However, for those that want to see a moving, relevant film I do recommend it.
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writer: Robert D. Siegel
Randy “The Ram”: Mickey Rourke
Cassidy: Marisa Tomei
Stephenie: Evan Rachel Wood
The Wrestler is the beautifully told tale of Randy “The Ram” a pro wrestler that hit it big in the 80’s, but the film is not about him then, it’s about him now – it’s been 20 years since his glory days and he is now living in poverty and obscurity. The only thing Randy has been able to hold onto is his love of wrestling and the charge he gets from the crowd so he continues to wrestle in any match he can find. The only problem is that the only part of his life that Randy understands and can control is his wrestling and when he tries to change that balance and have a life outside of wrestling and move past his days in the ring he is unable to do so.
In classic Aronofsky fashion this film is so layered that my brother and I were able to debate for quite awhile what the subtext in the film was, and even though we each had different thoughts neither of us could prove the other wrong.
While this is the most mainstream and easily digested of all Darren Aronofsky’s tales it is by no means a flat story and used many of the themes he loves to deal with. This film deals with aging, materialism, family and a character that seeks to regain prominence. Thematically I would say it is closest to Requiem for a Dream - just not nearly as disturbing or depressing.
One thing that truly makes Aronofsky’s films stand out from some other contemporary filmmakers is the performances he is able to get out of his actors and The Wrestler shows this yet again primarily through Mickey Rourke as Randy. I can honestly say that Rourke deserves an Oscar nomination for this film, and I had no idea he was capable of the sheer raw emotion he brings to this film.
I know that The Wrestler will not be a box office smash, it will actually probably piss off a lot of people that see it. However, for those that want to see a moving, relevant film I do recommend it.
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writer: Robert D. Siegel
Randy “The Ram”: Mickey Rourke
Cassidy: Marisa Tomei
Stephenie: Evan Rachel Wood
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