A short story ...

[quietprofanity]

So, I got bored and drove around aimlessly (yes, I know the price of gas, but I also have a sipper and I don't commute ... let me have a few indulgences) and ended up going to the mall because I wanted a salad at Saladworks. (Kind of disappointing ... they put in too much lettuce.) In the Dover Mall, there's a movie theater within the food court so I was like, "There is a movie theater right here ... but if I go see Iron Man, there won't be much to do tomorrow."

Then Chris sent me an IM that said, "I'm watching Iron Man right now" and I was like, "Fuck it, I'll watch Iron Man, too."

Before I watched Iron Man, I was reading Walden and enjoying it very much. And I thought, "You know, I've been rather pissed since Marvel took a collective dump on Spider-Man, perhaps I have moved beyond this, and should be content with reading Walden and doing other intellectually-stimulating things."

Then I saw the mini-scene after the movie and at the end threw up my hands - a girl sitting in the first row - THREW UP HER HANDS IN JOY AND MAY HAVE WENT "WOO!"

Ah, the nerdy heart still beats true. I'm proud of myself.

As for the movie ... I LOVE THIS MOVIE AND I CAN NOT THINK OF ONE BAD THING TO SAY ABOUT IT.

But first, a quick trailer roundup ... there may be more than usual because the ticket-handler directed me to the wrong theater and I nearly got stuck watching the new Harold and Kumar movie:
The Dark Knight: Looks great. Love Joker. Love Harvey. LOVE GAY ALFRED. But ... Batman does not seem to be in this trailer. What's up with that?
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: Well, this was nothing new, but ... they seem like they're adding a lot of extra bits to this one. Still excited, though.
What Happens in Vegas: Looks like one of those movies my Mom may watch while she's doing chores. I laughed at it more than I wanted to.
The Incredible Hulk: (a.k.a. "It Won't Suck This Time, We Promise!") I actually think I'm going to miss Jennifer Connely ... she was the best part of the last movie. Ed Norton looks like he may do a good job, though. Also, I would buy the super-hardcover-ultra-rare edition of One More Day if Marvel gave me a She-Hulk movie that doesn't suck. Just putting that out there.
The Happening: ... Oy, I don't know. At least it's not a "killer bee" movie. Right? RIGHT?
The Love Guru: MIKE. STOP. TRYING. SERIOUSLY.
(edit) Speed Racer: Ow, my eyes. My eyes! The souless fake fun, oh God why MY EYES!!! At least Christina Ricci looks cute.


Thoughts on Iron Man
- Robert Downey Jr. both looks and fits the part to a tee. I like how he was a little rough around the edges, especially in his face. And I realized that I had SOMEHOW forgotten Downey Jr. is a monstrous addict and how appropriate that was for the character. First with his drinking and then how he fell into making the Iron Man suit. It was as if he replaced his one addiction for another. I thought it was cool.

- Pepper Potts! I've always liked Pepper Potts, even when she's being a total bitch. Maybe especially because she can be a total bitch. And I'm glad that her bitchiness came out in the movie. Honestly, even her being played by Gwenyth Paltrow didn't ruin her for me. She outsmarted the badguy. She was in peril, but never was captured and she contributed to bringing about the villain's end. MAKE MORE GIRLS LIKE THIS, MARVEL!

- Jim Rhoades. Too bad he didn't get to wear the War Machine outfit but, like he said, NEXT TIME! He was a great character. I liked him much better than his "I am black and grumpy and would probably curse if they let me get away with it" 90s cartoon version.

- I was bummed Tony's Asian (broad term) friend died ... maybe I wish they had put more thought into him, but I did like it. I actually liked how the movie handled the placement of today's politics into the story. I think it could have gone really bad but since the movie was ultimately about the corruption of the military-industrial complex and not so much the war on terror it worked better. I also like the idea of Iron Man being a global hero. So very much happy about this.

- The surprise villain was pretty much telegraphed from the beginning, but I don't think I mind so much. (Although when he showed up in a surprise place, a woman in the audience made this sort of "YOU SNAKE!" moan.)

- Hee-hee fire extinguisher.

- A guy in the audience gave a loud sympathy cry when Iron Man fell on his car.

- I am full of glee with most of the fights and the flying and the all of it.

- I am a feminist, but sometimes I have an unfortunate habit of writing off skanky or stupid female characters. Thus the final scene where the reporter Tony fucked and forgot came back and called him on his bullshit was a nice surprise and a reminder that I shouldn't write off characters that way. Anyway, great final scene.

- One weird thing, though. Why is movie!Iron Man funnier than movie!Spider-Man? Oh well. ROCK ON WITH YOUR BAD SELF, FOGGY NELSON! YOU MADE AN AWESOME MOVIE!

Comments

[papajoemambo.livejournal.com]

I think it's alot easier than it should be to confuse Kirsten Dunst with Mary Jane Watson now, and that's probably the worst thing that the movies have brought us.

MJ is so much more cool than Kirsten Dunst. And, given the last Spider-Man movie I guarantee you that MJ cared a lot less about trying to get a singing career started.

The MJ I grew up reading was Paris Hilton on a hamburger budget, but she was a lot more interesting than Paris Hilton *or* Kirsten Dunst could ever be.

[quietprofanity.livejournal.com]

I could sympathize with M.J. in the last movie because Peter was being a bit dunderheaded at times. (Particularly at the botched engagement dinner when she wanted to tell him about being fired and he turned it into a speech about how awesome it was to be Spider-Man.) I don't really care so much for Dunst's dismissals of the series itself, though. The scripts haven't allowed her to have fun, either. Her plotlines are very angst-heavy.

There's quite a few things going wrong, I think.