Saturday, May 10, 2008

On Summertime Movies, of Which I Always See Too Many

Plantboy and I kind of have a standing rule about movies: if it will be just as meaningful on the small screen, for goodness sake, don't pay $8 apiece to see it when you can Redbox it for a dollar if you are a little bit patient. This is because (a) we are cheap and (b) date nights are limited. What it really means is that I haven't seen a chic flick (aka, movies with good acting, characterization, and getting acquainted before sleeping together) in the theatre since roughly, hmmmm, the Clinton administration.

In fairness to Plantboy, I DO like action-adventure movies, though I put my foot down to PG-13 comedies staring Jack Black or Adam Sandler. This is a fair trade-off, I think, for the allergic reaction he always fakes when I say "Jane Austen" or "Masterpiece Theatre" or even "period piece."

But we both have a deep and abiding love for movies based on comic books. Granted, some of these are better than others, and I haven't seen all of them. Since Tim Burton's Batman (4th of July weekend, the summer after 8th grade), the best of these have been X-Men I, Batman Begins and Spiderman II. The worst list has to include Daredevil, Catwoman, and Fantastic Four.

Yes, they are formulaic. Yes, they can be a little bit creepy. Yes, you have to suspend all belief for two or more hours to lose yourself in such film-making.

And, yes, I love them. There is nobody in this forum from my college days (pity), but I will admit that for several years I hung a poster of the Fox cartoon Batman on my wall. Holding out for my own hero I suppose. I guess we all need a little bit of guilty pleasure in our lives.















But last night, I think I may have just seen the best of the lot. Ironman is pretty much awesome.
And though everyone is saying it right now, Robert Downey Junior is really great in this role. He takes a bad rap because he was such a crackhead in the late 90's, but some of his earlier stuff is not bad. (His performance in Heart and Souls is particularly good.)

My friends and I were all pretty much in love with him in junior high/high school. He isn't such a hottie now--he's looks like he's been around the block a few too many times, and he has those same fakey white veneers that every Hollywood star pays way too much money for, but this movie is just great.



Except for one thing. He never kisses Pepper Potts. Which is just lame. Who can resist the intelligent, red-headed, freckly Gwenyth? Or does she resist him? Either way, huge mistake.

10 comments:

Sherry said...

Iron Man is definitely on my list of to-see movies. But what really has me antsy is the new Batman. OHMY! Have you seen the previews? Go watch them right now. The Joker is utterly convincing and creepy (at least int he previews). July cannot come soon enough.

Janssen said...

I LOVED Iron Man too! Such a great great movie. It really was one of the best super-hero movies I've seen in a long time. I'm glad you liked it so much.

(Also, I always use free codes to get Redbox movies so for me it's a decision between $16 for the two of us or zero dollars. All hail coupon codes).

FoxyJ said...

We have a similar policy as far as movies goes, and since having kids our average has been two movies in the theater per year. Most of the ones we've seen have been comic book ones, since my husband is a total comics nerd. I'm still kicking myself for letting him go see Iron Man with a friend, because I've heard it's good. But I'm sure we'll get it on DVD and so I'll see it eventually. We have a very tiny DVD collection that mostly consists of Superman, Batman, Spiderman, etc. :)

Kimberly Bluestocking said...

Your marital movie quandary sounds pretty much like mine. My sweetie usually enjoys the dramas I like if I can just get him to sit down and watch them, and I like his action films if they aren't too violent.

Caitlin said...

My husband and I agree that "Iron Man" was the best comic book movie we have seen yet. We have also seen all of the comic genre movies too, so we were way into it. Robert Downey is SUPER HOT! I thought he did a wonderful job in this role and I thought he was really funny. I am so happy to read that someone else liked it as much as we did. We don't see movies much either because they are $12 here!!! Luckily we got some gift certificates, so that's the only way we are able go. I am excited to get out of Orange County, gas is just under $4! Alas, I digress. Did I mention RDJr. is a hottie?

Desmama said...

Saw Iron Man last night too and I thought it was pretty good. There were a few boy moments as far as blowing things up goes, but really, not bad, I must say. The previews for the next Batman got me excited to see it. I hope it's as good as the first one.

Science Teacher Mommy said...

I would have never guessed that I had so much sisterhood going on this one.

I think I blog to know I am not alone. This just confirms it.

Z. Marie said...

I'm not part of the comic-book movie sisterhood. But it's possible I'll catch it on DVD.

Christie said...

I too liked Batman Begins, but I'm not sure I'll be seeing the latest Batman. In fact, I haven't been able to re-watch any Heath Ledger movies after his death, and I love Knight's Tale and Four Feathers. I've heard that part of his depression was a result from immersing himself in the role of Joker for the Batman movie. I just can't bear to watch him in an evil role and have that stick in my mind as part of what may have contributed to his death.

Thanks for the review of Iron Man. We're planning to see it. :)

Courtney said...

So when I first saw that Robert Downey Jr. was doing this super hero movie thing I was like Yeah, Right! But I keep hearing (from women) that it is really good. Your review has pushed me over the top and I am now making some plans to go see it.