Latest Micro-Reviews - Edition 13

The upcoming week will find me strapped to blog, so I will post now, in advance. And, since I just saw "Iron Man" last night, I'm dying to mention it!

Gladiator	91	Great battles, big and small. Despicable villain. Strategy and tactics, with a coherent plot and meaningful motivations. Bloody, but with a purpose.
The Golden Compass	82	Now that I’ve read the books: Still a good film, but I don’t see how they can make a sequel. I really want to see one, but how? Even ignoring the changes to the plot order, things can’t stay sweet and wholesome, and there are some key elements that should have been introduced in this episode for the future.
Iron Man	83	What fun! I believed Stark could make it, and make it fly. Downey had just the right confidence. Paltrow as Pepper was excellent. Howard’s line as Rhodes – “Next time” – perfect! The updated origin was very close to the original, and worked. And comic relief! Way to go.
Reign Over Me	77	Cheadle was great, as expected. Sandler was up to the task, which was a surprise. Excellent interweaved themes. I think it was satisfying, despite the review I saw. Oh, and the title of the game in the movie “Shadows of the Colossus” is perfect.

Let me talk a bit more about Iron Man. The comic book character has an unfortunately easy time being compared with the older Batman. Playboy billionaires who lost their parents young and now have butlers managing their home affairs. Iron Man sounds like a rip-off. But he's not, and never was. This film makes it clear. Jarvis is an AI (and that voice just has to be Jude Law)! Stark is not just pretending to be egotistical (as Batman's Bruce Wayne does) -- Tony Stark loves himself! And, well, there's one other big difference, but if you don't know it, and haven't seen the film yet, I will not spoil it for you.

SHIELD got introduced, and even though Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) did not make it into this film, there is certain to be a sequel. Please!

The effects are so impressive - you simply cannot tell where the CGI ends and the real person begins. The suit is to die for! Who wouldn't want to wear that!?! And Tony's power source - are you kidding me!

According to reports I read, this is the first of the Marvel projects totally controlled by Marvel. That worried me. They proved more than capable. As I said above: Well done.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Previews we saw: The Spirit (Frank Miller version) - could be cool. Batman, The Dark Knight, looks to be the best Heath Ledger ever did. The new Indiana Jones movie will be a wonderful ride.