IRON MAN is here people, brace yourself for the wave of comic book characters. Robert Downey Jr. Gets it.

Have you been by the AMC Cinerama the past few days? You may have noticed the IRON MAN sign on the marquee. No? Well maybe you noticed the line of people waiting to see the blockbuster over an hour prior to the movie start time. My guess is this took place in many theaters this weekend.

Tonight, I too went to the movies to see IRON MAN. I went in with very little expectations and what I got was a pretty good movie. IRON MAN was one of my favorite Marvel characters growing up. I had him right behind DAREDEVIL which in my opinion got totally screwed in the box office. Yeah, DD as a movie sucked. I’m happy to say the IRON MAN did fairly well in action and plot. My only problem was the bad guys were too one dimensional. Yeah, I know it’s a comic book character but people need to realize that character development is…aw…I was about to break the movie down and all I really wanted to do is give you my list of my top ten comic book movies.

From Best to Worst:
1. Batman Begins

2. Spider-Man

3. Hell Boy

4. Iron Man

5. Blade

6. V for Vendetta

7. Superman the Movie

8. X-Men

9. Batman

10. Spider-Man 2

GUEST BLOGGER: PT

Iron Man opens today around the country, and more importantly, at Cinerama, here in Seattle. I know that this film is in fact playing at many other area cinemas {ones that you should all rush out and patronize this instant}, but when you are looking for a midnight show of the latest action-packed blockbuster (the night before everyone else goes to see it on it’s “opening night”) then you must seek out Cinerama. Now that I have adequately thanked Cinerama for allowing me to see Iron Man at midnight on May 1st/2nd…I move on.

Film Forecasts…this new format is something I call a “Film Forecast.” It is meant to give the reader an idea of how he or she might enjoy a particular film. It is specifically designed NOT TO: (1) spoil the movie by forcing the reader to inexorably march through an overly revealing scene-by-scene recap of the film; (2) tell you that my opinion is more accurate than yours and that I have the end-all-and-be-all say as to the quality of any particular movie; and, (3) forget that a bad (i.e. intellectually stunted, hideously campy or just formulaicly pandering) movie can still be fun to watch.

With that, I give you my, ironically, overly biased Forecast for Iron Man…

What is it: A billionaire engineer/arms manufacturer (played by Robert Downey Jr.) has a life altering experience and becomes kind of a super hero.

At its best: Wow! Did I say “wow!” I think that it should be said that at this point it would be appropriate to say…WOW!

Really, At its BEST (10…yes 10; and no, I am not quick to give out 10’s): John Favreau does a wonderfully true-to-form take on the Iron Man lore from the pages of the Marvel comic. It is a blast, literally, from start to finish. Huge laughs, amazing effects, excellent acting, great interplay between the characters, good, evil, strippers, fast cars, and much much more. This is what you want when you go to the movies.

At its WORST (7): Enjoyable, action-packed, solid directing and acting. It’s still a super hero movie at its heart though and can’t escape that fact, leaving it to be a very entertaining action movie, but not “great cinema.”

Others like it: Spider-Man (1 and 2 more than 3), Batman Begins, Hulk (2003), I-Robot (which is not as good).

Who’s in it: Robert Downey Jr. (Zodiac, Chaplain, Only You, Less than Zero), Jeff Bridges (Tucker, Seabiscuit, The Big Lebowski, Starman), Gywneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love, Sliding Doors, Se7en), Terrence Howard (Hustle and Flow, Idlewild)

Who DIrected it: John Favreau (Elf and Zathura…he also acts (Swingers, Wimbledon, Rudy)

How long is it: 126 minutes

GUEST BLOGGER: PT

Forbidden Kingdom is a fairy tale about an American teenager (played by Michael Angarano); an old-school Chinese adventure where a hero is set free to fight a terrible evil-guy, armed only with the help of talented companions. His friends teach him martial arts as well as what he must do to succeed in his quest. This first time pairing of Jet Li and Jackie Chan is definitely much more of a Jackie Chan-styled picture than a Jet Li flick. The movie has a very Disney-esque feel to it, which is not surprising since it is directed by Rob Minkoff who also directed The Lion King, Stuart Little and Disney’s Haunted Mansion. Woo-Ping Yuen, famed action director from the Matrix and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon choreographs all of the film’s martial arts.

Forbidden Kingdom reminds me of: The Librarian (made for TV adventures with Noah Wiley), Mortal Kombat, Mulan and Bulletproof Monk.

At its BEST: (8) Entertaining, cute, fun, good ‘PG’ martial arts (not too violent), great-for-the-whole-family kind of fun, with enough excitement and action to keep you interested. Enjoyable.

At its WORST: (5.5) Too cute, a little too silly, never hard core enough, too much of a fairy tale and way too American for a martial arts film and a villain that isn’t given the chance to really be evil. Basically more Disney than Golden Harvest (Bruce Lee’s original film production company).

How long is it: 113 minutes

Other tidbits: Forbidden Kingdom is based on the classic Chinese epic tale, “Journey to the West” and is filled with characters from Chinese myths and legends (the Monkey King, the Jade Emperor). This is also the first film that Jackie Chan has been in where he is not the action choreographer. Woo-Png Yuen is an Executive Producer and the Choreographer on this film. His credits (as a fight choreographer) include the Matrix, Kill Bill, Fearless, Unleashed and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

Actually, I should say Seattle film festivals, Seattle film series and Seattle filmmakers are here. “They’ve been here for a long time Mulder”…um…never mind.

Were you at the Rawstock Short Film Festival last night (March 14th) at ACT Theatre (Kreielsheimer Place)? It was exactly as advertised. An eye popping animation, thrill-ride grindhouse action and irreverent comedy. My favorite film was “GIMME MUSIC, GIMME SHELTER”(directed by Shawn Telford). Justin Freet directed and starred in “New Beginnings” and it was really funny.

In January, The University of Washington Rome Center held it’s annual film series which celebrated the work of Italian Director Alex Infascelli. According to a blurb from the UW Rome Center, Infascelli…”cut his director’s teeth on pop videos for the likes of Nirvana, Prince and the Cocteau Twins and the slick-looking Almost Blue”. I’ll be there next year!

There’s still time to get to the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF). This festival runs from May 22 through June 15. One new addition to SIFF is the Student Short Film entry. Grooming aspiring young filmmakers is cool.

Only the tip of the iceberg you say? Okay smarty pants, what did I forget to mention? Huh?