Theatrical Review: Avengers- Endgame

Date: Sunday April 28, 2019
Location: Cinemark Theater at Stroud Mall
Time: 12 noon
Party: 3 (my mom, sister and I)

Directors: Anthony and Joe Russo

Cast:
(oh god... so many...)

Tony Stark/Iron-Man- Robert Downey Jr. 
Steve Rogers/Captain America- Chris Evans
Thor- Chris Hemsworth
Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow- Scarlet Johansson
Clint Barton/Hawkeye- Jeremy Renner
Bruce Banner/The Hulk- Mark Ruffalo
Rocket- Bradley Cooper
Pepper Potts- Gwyneth Paltrow
Rodey/War Machine- Don Cheadle
Scott Lang/Ant-Man- Paul Rudd
Nebula- Karen Gillan
Thanos- Josh Brolin
Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel- Brie Larson
Peter Parker/Spider-man- Tom Holland
Doctor Stephen Strange- Benedict Cumberbatch
Peter Quill/Star-Lord- Chris Pratt
Gamora- Zoe Saldana
Groot- Vin Disel
Drax- Dave Bautista
Mantis- Pom Klementieff
T'Challa/Black Panther- Chadewick Bosman
Sam Wilson/Falcon- Anthony Mackie
Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier- Sebastian Stan
Okoye- Danai Gurira

...if I forgot ANYONE, I'm really sorry... it's a lot to remember... 

Duration: 181 minutes (+ 7 minutes)... ok, the last LOTR movie was 3 hours and 21 minutes... so this movie wasn't nearly as long as that, but it came close... 

Opening Commentary
I was actually trying to hold off on doing this as long as I could... but considering I had a dream last night where I attempt to tell one of these people how great they were in these movies, the time is about right to do it... admittedly, it's been a weird past couple of weeks and I'd been in a weird state of mourning between a lot of different things in my work life and personal life and this movie added a bit on a top of that... 
However, I will try my best to go into this movie without spoiling anything... as much as there are some things I really do want to go into, that will be a separate post. It's something that will need to be done... after all, I did invest a lot of time and money into keeping up with these movies since 2010. It's a big investment monetarily as well as emotionally. And above all else, it's difficult saying goodbye. I will still see Marvel movies (I'm already looking at Spider-Man for sure), just not every single one. It'll be all about the characters involved. 

As for seeing the movie itself... I feel kinda lucky I got there that first weekend. Granted, this theater is has a couple dozen movie houses, so they're able to show it on multiple screens. But the fact the first 2 shows were sold out and we had to wait to see the 12 noon showing, yeah, that tells you all you need to know. 
We went into the theater and literally sat there for 90 minutes waiting for it. The one big negative I take away from this... they are pumping music through the speakers so it's not completely quiet, but it's the same program played on a loop... at least 5-6 songs they played several times... they do this "Noovie" thing before even showing commercials and trailers and that didn't even come on until T-15 minutes. It's just a pet peeve of mine to have things repeated. Come the third time, I just put on my iPod. I got through Side A of "Abbey Road" before the screen turned on-- it was a good way to kill time for sure. 

Trailers... yeah roughly 17 minutes of trailers on top of an already long movie... at least we did bathroom breaks before all this cuz there was no point in the movie where I could have left and come back without missing anything

"21 bridges"- not only written/directed by the Russo brothers, but it stars Black Panther himself, Chadewick Bosman. Kudos for them putting this guy into position to make more great movies. I just hope this was a good movie. Supposedly, this is about trying to hunt down a cop killer and they have to close the 21 bridges leading in and out of the city to do so. It's also very current and topical and if it's well-received, will stir up some good conversation. 

"Hobbs and Shaw"- I already voiced my opinion on the Fast & Furious series... pass!!

"Godzilla: King of the monsters"- my dad loves Godzilla movies, so he'll probably want to see this one. Supposedly 17+ monsters have risen and are threatening mankind and they want to bring Godzilla to take care of them. Particularly the alpha. All the while, they're playing some version of "Somewhere over the rainbow"... don't know why, but it got me a little choked up. Somewhat of a weird music choice, but this haunting rendition oddly worked...

"Dark Phoenix"- the more I see trailers for this, the more I think I might be interested in seeing it... Jean Grey has always been a tortured character and it really goes all in.

"Men in Black: International"- yeah, I don't think this necessarily needed a remake. And another nod to Marvel- it has Thor and Valkyrie (Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson) teamed up as H & M... it did have some funny jokes, though... 

"Lion King"- first time I'm seeing a proper trailer for this... it looks AMAZING... wow, this is gonna be a great year for Disney movies

"Star Wars- the Rise of Skywalker"- this was a teaser trailer really... but considering how the Last Jedi ended, the title confuses me a bit... unless it turns out that Kylo Ren lied and Rae  really is related to someone we knew from the original trilogy. 
The other night, I saw Return of the Jedi for the first time since Luke came back in the previous movie... it was a little strange... also the fact Luke's Jedi powers seemed to have grown exponentially between episodes V and VI... 

The Main Event
Again, as spoiler free as I can manage... but I'll give the basic details...

We catch up with the Avengers remaining immediately following the events of Infinity War. And some of them got a rawer detail than others about the people that were lost... I just had to say "that's not fair!"... 
As shown in the trailers, Captain Marvel joins them and those remaining get to finally rectify the way the previous movie ended... my only question was... why couldn't they have just added these 10 minutes to the end of the previous movie? Maybe the ending of the previous movie wouldn't have been as somber... 

Then we catch up with everyone left 5 years later... you see those words come up and I'm thinking "whoa"... it kinda knocks the wind out of you.

However, despite all the time that has passed, a sentiment remains about fixing things. And this is brought into motion because Ant-Man comes back after being MIA... I did not see the most recent Ant-Man movie, so I was completely lost about the events that transpired. (yeah, I'd seen all of the movies but this one and it wound up being the most crucial detail... go figure!)
And the solution is... wait for it... TIME TRAVEL... 
pretty much every pop culture reference is made in relation to this and I cheered when "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" was among them. Love that movie. 

One fascinating turn of events... Tony Stark's role in all this... back with the Ultron saga, he was the one who wanted to "build a suit of armor around the world" and everyone thought he was crazy... he's the only one who isn't really into this because he'd actually moved on and found his happy ending. But Captain America, who still never got over losing his past (after being defrosted and after these 5 years), is the one pushing for this chance at fixing things. It's almost like Civil War all over again where both of them take different sides on an issue and it's because Tony wavers in his position that the events follow as they do. 
Ultimately what we get from all this... those who have followed these characters after all this time know and understand why they decide to take the actions that they do... and actually, that's the theme for the entire movie. 

CGI comes into play a lot in these movies, but they really upped their game with physical transformations whether it's Tony being emaciated after being stuck in space for 21 days or what happens to Thor 5 years later (why they did that- I think it was strictly comic relief and Tony getting to finally use that Big Lebowski reference he'd been saving... I remember RDJ being on the red carpet, talking about how Jeff Bridges is "The Dude" and his son Indio had no idea what he was talking about)... it also made me think whether Thor and Aqua-Man have more similiarities than I realized. I got a very similar vibe and I'd only seen Aqua-Man in the Justice League movie. 

So with this movie... not going into great detail... 
I actually looked at my phone 3 times throughout the movie to try to gauge time stamps and I think I managed to get each hour perfectly. 

Hour 1- finishing off the previous movie, catching up with the characters, establishing where they are and getting the plan together
Hour 2- Time travel and putting those plans into action
Hour 3- the final epic battle with ALL the characters and the epilogue 

In this respect, the three hours really didn't feel that long at all. At least not to me. 

Much of this movie is fan service- it rewards the fans who saw all the movies because we get to revisit moments from previous films. And the dialogue makes dozens of references to previous movies. I think YouTube had a video that showed all 300+ Easter Eggs in this movie that harkened back to the previous ones. 
And all things considered, I got nearly all of the references and it felt empowering. Almost like following a book series and it's transitioned to the big screen and I get things that other people don't because I read the books. (Also a double-edged sword because I'm upset when things from the books are omitted or completely changed). 

These characters (and the actors playing them) are so well established that none of their actions are surprising at the end of the day. 
I liked how they focused more on Nat and Hawkeye's friendship. Instead of getting a few hints in the first few Avengers movie, they really get a lot of screen time together. I'm still hoping that they shoot a prequel where they really show what happens in Budapest. I just know they were both there and they "remember it very differently." There's so much call for a Black Widow movie, but why not have a movie with the both of them, their different bios and how their paths inevitably cross. Plus, as much as I wanted them to be romantically involved, they're not and it'd be good to see a movie with a male and female working together and it doesn't have that romance. Because romance more often than not ruins these things- particularly in TV shows. Castle and Blindspot are among several that went down or lost viewership because of that.

Of course the time travel thing isn't completely foolproof and one extra stop needs to be taken by Tony and Steve... where they go, I really had no clue about, but it was a really special scene for both of their characters. (This is also where Stan Lee makes his cameo).

One moment that happened made me think about "Heart and Souls" where RDJ makes a comment "It's been an emotional time for us all"... in the movie, he's the "corporeal being" that 4 departed souls use to complete unfinished business. The emotional exchange that happens makes sense for that particular person, but with him conveying the action, it's more than a little bizarre. Especially he had encountered this character a number of times throughout the movie and he happens to be connected to someone's unfinished business. 

The final battle is pretty insane... all the battles really are and they all get to a point where the actions more or less blur together... but like with the previous movie, it's absolutely painful how difficult Thanos is to kill... every single split second is crucial. And Doctor Strange mentioned how it was 1 chance out of 7 billion (it was some huge number- I forgot exactly what that they can win)... he wasn't kidding. 

I also got to thinking about Harry Potter and how that movie ended... and Snape's comment to Dumbledore when he reveals that Harry must face Voldemort when he's at his weakest... saying with sarcasm how he was raised as a lamb for slaughter.
It made me also wonder if certain characters were entrusted with the full truth of what would happen with this movie or these movies, just like J.K. Rowling told Snape what happened with his character. Apparently, that was true for at least one person. 

Yeah, everything in this movie happens exactly as it is meant to. Even how it ends and who makes it and who doesn't. I accept that there was a reason for all of it. I even said at the end of my post on Infinity War that I'd be ok with things ending a certain way... 
but it is nice to see character arcs finishing as well as small hints of future movies. 
There are no post-credits scenes. But it's just as well.
I'd like more Marvel movies... I just don't want all of them to build to a massive climax like this again. Not because it's emotionally taxing, but it's just a massive committment and I'm ready to move on. 

I revisited a bunch of the movies leading up to this... admittedly, I started getting sick of them... but after this, I was happy with the conclusion, but it's very bittersweet at the end of the day. 
It'll be a while before I watch anymore. But I know I at least have to rewatch Spiderman before the new movie comes out (plus I need subtitles to catch EVERYTHING going on- those first 10 minutes were going so fast, it gave me a headache) and Doctor Strange (cuz I got it for Christmas and still haven't watched it- I saw it in the theater ages ago and it's time to revisit that)

Grade: A
(pretty close to perfect, but I can't quite give it an A+... even if its length is justified, it's still an unnecessarily long movie)

Theatrical Review: Mortdecai

Date: Friday January 23 2015
Time: 2 pm
Location: Pocono Movieplex
Party: 3 (my mom, sister & I)

Director: David Koepp
Based on the novel "Don't Point that Thing at me" by Kyril Bonfiglioli
Type: Comedic Heist spoof

Cast:
Mortdecai- Johnny Depp
Johanna- Gwyneth Paltrow
Martland- Ewan McGregor
Jacques- Paul Bettany
Krampf-Jeff Goldblum
Georgina- Olivia Munn

Introduction and Trailers
The three of us were the only ones in the theater, but then it's not every day that the local theater has matiness on Fridays... rather strange, considering that movies come out on Fridays. I paid for the tickets, my sister paid for some Reese's Pieces... and we practically had the place to ourselves.

The two trailers were so-so.
The first was for Will Smith's new movie "Focus"... I can't even remember what it's about other than he's a bit of a gambler/player who hires a girl to get to someone he wants to steal from... I didn't even catch the name until we left the theater and saw it on one of the posters.

The second had me thinking about the sad state Adam Sandler's career has taken over the last five years... not that Will Ferrell does a lot of great movies in general... having Kevin Hart as his co-star might give "Get Hard" a boost. Supposedly, Will Ferrell plays a rich guy who is indicted and has jail time coming to him and Kevin Hart teaches him how to "survive on the inside"... why do I get the feeling he's not even going to spend jail time?

Story
Mortdecai is a rich snooty Brit who happens to be an expert in fine art. Occasionally, this allows him to be an asset to the local police. He lives with his wife, Johanna, who takes a strong stance against his new moustache, and his manservant, who takes a lot of accidental damage in the field of duty.
The plot revolves around finding a missing Goya painting.

Casting and Other Comments

This is probably the first time in a couple years I saw a movie before reading any of the reviews... somehow I get the feeling all of them will read the same after a while.

Based on the trailers, I figured this would be a decently funny movie. It's certainly in the vein of the "Pink Panther" movies. The question is whether it's better or worse than the Steve Martin versions of that brand...
I don't know what I came expecting, but the way they were selling soap for this movie... the fact Ellen said on her show that was ridiculously funny and asked how they could survive laughing between takes, I thought it'd be a LOL type of affair.
During the first half of the film, it was anything but that and I was very disappointed.

Johnny Depp is recognizable as this character about as much as his accent is well-done. In which case, it wasn't the best British accent I've ever heard. But I don't think that was the point.
The point was that he's supposed to be the protagonist yet I didn't really find him very interesting.
Gwyneth Paltrow lit up the screen as his wife and attempted to keep Mortdecai grounded as best she could...
The most interesting character was actually the manservant. Jacques suffers from a lot of accidental injuries. Heck, Mortdecai has him accidentally shot at least three times (once in a flashback that was obviously a jab at Dick Cheney's "hunting incident"). But like a good employee, Jacques does everything asked of him without question. He also has a very healthy sex life that leads to some good shenanigans.
And of course I found Ewan McGregor charming... I always find him charming. Even though he is trying to woo Johanna away from her husband (who is less than pleased with the moustache), he doesn't do it in an overbearing manner as to make him unlikable.

One could argue that Mortdecai had all the makings of a primary character. Some defined traits. Motivation. But I didn't feel like he was three-dimensional.
A lot of the other characters had the issue of not being three-dimensional... but the protagonist kinda needs that to succeed.

The editing can be jarring at times, particularly when they transition from city to city, showing the airplane travel over 3D renderings.

To their credit, the movie did get funnier when the action started coming in. The movie began with Mortdecai negotiating a price for a vase with some gangsters of Asian decent, something that goes terribly wrong. At one point, he gets kidnapped by another group of people interested in the Goya painting.
The realization that we were in Moscow, I felt like that flipped the switch and I became invested... between that and the realization that the Russian thugs were threatening to apply shock therapy to Mortdecai's nether-region... probably because they reminded me of two key interests of mine... a great chase scene followed where Mortdecai and his manservant (who somehow managed to follow his kidnappers all the way here) escape on a motorcycle and sidecar.

The movie did get progressively better, but there were still a lot of goofy moments that generated awkward laughter... like how two people who planned to steal the painting from Krampf's residence poured poison randomly over the shellfish platter... whoever wrote the line in the script "It's the shellfish!" should never work in this industry again.
To make up for that, partially, vomit did have practical use in the following chase scene... something I never thought I'd get to say because I usually am very anti-vomit when it comes to movies.

Another positive that came later on was a revelation about Johanna that got her more involved with the movie... making her more than just Mortdecai's wife who might leave him in his absence because of his moustache and the fact they're steeped in debt.

...as for the rating, I thought it was a little much. There was one f-bomb (the only profanity in the entire film). There was a very brief sex scene in a flashback with no nudity to really speak of, one scene where we hear sex noises in a hotel room, and multiple references to Jacques's sex life.
They could have easily gotten away with PG13 on this... I've expressed these concerns previously about G-rated movies. One lewd reference or moment of "peril" automatically garners a PG rating. By those rules, anything that isn't direct-to-DVD and/or based off a show for elementary kids will be PG... therefore the G-rated movie is as good as dead.

Grade: B+
(The first half was worth a B, the second half an A-)

I don't think I'd recommend spending money to see this. Although my mom and sister said they enjoyed themselves as well.
It saddens me to say this as a Johnny Depp fan, but based on recent choices he's made (by that, I mean "The Lone Ranger"... I actually liked "Dark Shadows"), I don't think I can put him in the same class as some other A-list actors... not anymore.

14. Iron-Man (2008)

Code-name: JARVIS
(just founding out now that's an acronym that stands for "Just A Rather Very Intelligent System"... oh yeah, very creative #sarcasm...
reading further, in homage to Edwin Jarvis, Tony's butler from the comics and they went to AI root to avoid comparisons to Bruce Wayne's Alfred... #nowTHATScreative)

Director: Jon Favreau
Type: Marvel, comic book, action, comedy

Cast:
Tony Stark- Robert Downey Jr.
Pepper Potts- Gwyneth Paltrow
Captain James "Rhodey" Rhodes- Terrence Howard
Obadiah Stane- Jeff Bridges
Christine Everhart aka "Miss Brown"- Leslie Bibb
Jarvis- Paul Bettany
Happy Hogan- Jon Favreau
Agent Phil Coulson- Clark Gregg

Notable Awards and Nominations:
AFI- Movie of the Year
nomination-OSCAR-Best Visual Effects
nomination-OSCAR-Best Sound Editing
nomination-Grammy-Best Score Soundtrack for TV/Movie

Write-up:

First Impressions

Those who've visited this blog before know I'm a huge Robert Downey Jr. fangirl.
Those who haven't... well, there you go.

For as long as I can remember, when I enjoy a movie, I usually come away with a couple names... people I want to keep in the back of my mind so I remember them for the next time...
Taking that all that into account, that was NOT the case with "Iron-Man."

When it was first announced, I just heard he was a 2nd-tier Marvel superhero, not quite as big as Spider-man or the X-Men. Didn't think too much of it. I heard two sequels were announced early into its opening weekend. I was super skeptical because things never happen that fast.

Then we borrowed the movie from family when it came on DVD.
Don't remember exactly when but it was definitely before I saw "Tropic Thunder," the movie that slipped RDJ into the back of my mind... because there was no way I saw that movie and not immediately focus on him during "Iron-Man."

By this point, I'd been through all the "Spider-Man" movies, all the Batman movies (except "The Dark Knight") and a couple X-Men movies. So I knew a little bit about superhero "folklore."
This was a completely different ball game.

This was maybe... wow, 6 years ago... so I don't remember a lot of details, but after the dust from that mental supernova clears, I offer the following:

fyi
SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT FORWARD

• At best: Tony Stark was an incredibly flawed superhero with charisma and a wicked sense of humor
• So many superheroes have "damsel in distress" type love interests: Pepper Potts is not one of those girls and that makes her awesome
• The storyline creatively used our war in the Middle East as the backdrop for a lot of its key pieces
• Defying conventions even further, in one final mind-blowing moment: Tony Stark reveals that he's Iron-Man just before the end credits roll

Kinda funny, isn't it?
A lot of the things I loved about this movie the first time was that it defied the conventions of all other films in this genre.
It should only be fitting that the same can said about the portrayer of our titular superhero. Once massive success happened, it's impossible to think about Tony Stark without RDJ in the same train of thought.

Director Meets Actor, Actor Meets Destiny

Off the top of my head, I really don't know how this brilliant match made in Marvel heaven materialized. Whether it was something Robert heard about and desperately wanted to be a part of or whether it was suggested to him, I don't know.
What I do know is that he prepared for this screen test so feverishly, he knew it backwards and forwards to the point where nobody else could do it better.


I did not know the name Jon Favreau before I started reading into Robert's films, but he's one of those people I definitely am super grateful to. And with the expanding Marvel universe, the reasons why keep growing all the time. Until this point, Jon Favreau was an indie film writer/director (still meaning to see "Swingers" to get a feel for that) and his support of Robert for this role went a long way.
Given the time and place, yeah, it's a little unconventional and a little bit of a gamble... the first time he's headlining a film of this size (and dozens of other reasons I won't go into because I'm a fangirl who keeps things positive).

Amazingly, it worked out, well, AMAZINGLY
There was some luck involved, but for the rest of it, all of the right pieces were in place at the right time. That's all there is to it.

The Story

Right away, I think superhero movie and Gotham City pops into my head. As well as worlds where mutants walk among us humans. So off the bat, it was mind-blowing that this took place in present day America, including our engagement in the Middle East.

Tony Stark is debuting his company's latest weapon for the military: the Jericho missile.
While in Afghanistan, he gets kidnapped and threatened to create the Jericho for a group of terrorists known as the Ten Rings. (Again, really topical stuff because there were dozens of videos circulating of terrorists holding Americans hostage and making demands... somehow that feels like forever ago).

But instead of making the Jericho, he first makes an arc reactor: a self-sustaining electromagnet to keep the shrapnel (from the assault on his Humvee that led to his capture) from reaching his heart. Then he creates a body of armor to escape after 3 months of captivity.

After returning home, he shuts down his weapons division due to the lack of accountability for whose hands his weapons fall into, and begins work on a new project: the suit of armor.
Without him knowing it, his partner Obadiah is plotting against him. Not only did he supply the terrorists with weapons dealing under the table but the kidnapping was his idea to get Tony out of the way so he can once again take charge of Stark Industries (as he did from Howard Stark's death until the day Tony turned 21).

Upon finding out accountability is still not happening, Tony takes the suit for a test run to the Middle East where he takes care of some terrorists and their supply of weapons.
Unfortunately, this catches the attention of the military (those flames are temporarily contained by his friend Rhodey who writes it off as a "training exercise" to the press) and Obadiah, who steals to the specs to make his OWN suit.

We have an epic showdown, bada bing bada boom, Tony does another press conference to the end the movie and reveals that he is Iron-Man.

...and for those who stuck around for the end credits, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury pays Tony a visit to talk to him about "The Avengers Initiative."

More on Cast and Characters

While I will maintain Robert's best acting is in the indie film circuit, by far, Tony Stark has to be my favorite persona he'd brought to life on screen. Various running jokes in the Marvel community poke fun at the fact he and his character are indistinguishable.

Without committing the name of his actor to memory (the reasoning beyond which escapes me), Tony Stark as a future superhero blew my mind because the two entities don't work together on paper. Most superheroes are selfless humanitarians while he's notorious for his egotism as much as his womanizing. Yet, somehow, he gains somewhat of a moral compass and you want nothing more than to see him succeed.
But really, the thing that turned me on the most about him was his unique sense of humor.Something Robert Downey Jr. possesses and, aside from his wicked good looks, is why I'm the fangirl of his that I am. As for how I know the difference: despite all these qualities, I actually find the genuine article more attractive: for his eloquence as much as how grounded he is.

Despite how Tony Stark operates as if he's an island, he wouldn't have made it through this movie without his greatest supporters: Pepper and Rhodey.

I only had seen Gwyneth Paltrow in "Shakespeare in Love" (which I saw in 10th grade and have ZERO memory of). Rachel Adams may have been Jon Favreau's first choice to play Pepper (how she turned it down, I cannot fathom but "Sherlock Homes" proves it had nothing to do with the leading man), but Gwyneth brings a certain charm and sophistication to this character she'd be incomplete without.
We first meet her after Tony has his one-night stand with "Miss Brown" (a Brown alum Vanity Fair reporter critical of his company) and she says how she does anything Mr. Stark requires "including, occasionally, taking out the trash." See, Pepper isn't just a swooning fangirl or a girl-next-door. She's just as smart as, if not smarter than, Tony and handles everything like a professional.
This helps especially when she has to deal with Agent Coulson from the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division. Your first impression of this guy is that he's a corporate suit whose constant badgering for answers won't lead to anything good. Ultimately, the opposite turns out to be true and he develops into one of the Marvel universe's most beloved characters-- certainly the most beloved non-superhero.

Rhodey is Tony's best friend and just like Pepper, gives him support when needed and tries to reason with him when he seems to be in over his head (which happens often).
After bridging the gap from fan to fangirl, I saw the original "Iron-Man" at least 7 times in 2011. For that reason, I grew very accustomed to see Terrence Howard in this role. To the point where I still have trouble seeing Don Cheadle in the sequels. At the same time, though, the former has an unfair advantage since I'd only seen "Iron-Man 2"  twice and "Iron-Man 3" only in theaters last year...
I'm still waiting for that trilogy boxset with all the special features, guys!!!

So anyway... it was a shame when this role was recast. Granted, the recasting rose from some rather negative circumstances. Terrence Howard wanting more money, recently blaming Robert for his departure... People well versed in celebrities, movies and such say he has an attitude problem.
His version of Rhodey, I still prefer in its given context of the first film. I haven't felt that comfort level with Don Cheadle as of yet, but Rhodey having a more active role (as in being in the thick of the action as "War Machine" and "Iron Patriot") in the sequels, takes some getting used to as well.

Paul Bettany as JARVIS is a piece certainly not to be estimated. Loved him in "A Knight's Tale" (not for the running joke of nudity but for his inspirational pre-joust speeches). He doesn't just bring authority and class as JARVIS, but the perfect wry sense of humor for the necessary situations.
Then we have our villain- my first encounter with Jeff Bridges.
To this point, I'm not still a big fan. This movie is a huge part that's still hard for me to shake, that old snake in the grass (never mind that Tony Stark needs that arc reactor to STAY ALIVE, he steals it to power his obscene suit of armor). Another part is the "True Grit" remake... I'm sorry, after seeing John Wayne in that role, nobody else will do.
Robert name-dropping him as "The Dude" from "The Big Lebowski" convinced me to get the movie for $10 at Target... I'd been meaning to watch it a 2nd time, just to see if knowing what I'm in for will change my mind about it. So off-beat and WEIRD.
...plus I'm not willing to admit that there was a single time RDJ steered me wrong with his movie suggestions ;)

I do appreciate how he lobbied to have "The Giver" adapted to film, but there are so many debacles in place (Meryl Streep's expanded role, the two of them getting higher billing than the fricking protagonist...) that I don't think I can bare to see it.. so disappointing.

Additional Comments

I don't think anyone imagined just how much this franchise would blossom. This was the first self-financed film from Marvel Studios and is the reason for its existence.
With the exception of "The Incredible Hulk," every film to come out of Marvel Studios has done really well in the box office as well as its target audience. All of the origin stories were great, "Captain America" especially blew me away. "Avengers" remains the best, I think, of all the films so far, but "Iron-Man" I'd probably still place at the top a) cuz it was the pioneer and b) I have my biases.

It's somewhat unfortunate the sequels haven't recaptured the same lightning in a bottle, but not for lack of trying. I loved the character development on "Iron-Man 2" in theaters, but the second time around... Tony Stark's downward spiral was hard to watch in places (especially after knowing how some of it kinda hits home). Who knows? I might come around now that "Seven Psychopaths" made me a Sam Rockwell fan. Did not like him in this movie at all.

Then "Iron-Man 3," it did a lot of things better than "2," but still not quite as good as the original. However great the best parts are, the time Tony Stark spent as a civilian in hiding (love the acting in those scenes because they're so raw and remind us he's still human), I'm still getting over the overlong 3rd act and the villain that WOULD NOT DIE.

One thing definitely worth noting: Stan Winston was one of the best known special effects guys in the business (other credits include the Terminator movies and Avatar). He's the main reason these Iron-Man suits became as effective and aesthetically pleasing as they are. Sadly, this was his last project before his death later in 2008.
As often as Robert name-dropped Jon Favreau and credited him with this film's success, he gave just as much to Stan Winston. He will be sorely missed.

Coming Soon

All I can really say is that next week will be a Brat Pack film.

51. The Avengers (2012)

Code-name: Marvel
(what else, right?)

Director/Co-Writer: Joss Whedon
Type: comic book adaptation, action/adventure, dramedy, sci-fi/fantasy

Music: Alan Silversti (known for his work with Robert Zemeckis, but scoring "Captain America" was his previous Marvel connection).

OSCAR nomination: Best Visual Effects

Cast:
Tony Stark/Iron-Man- Robert Downey Jr.
Steve Rogers/Captain America- Chris Evans
Thor- Chris Hemsworth
Bruce Banner/The Hulk- Mark Ruffalo
Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow- Scarlet Johansson
Clint Barton/Hawkeye- Jeremy Renner
Loki- Tom Hiddleston
S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson- Clark Gregg
S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Maria Hill- Cobie Smulders
S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury- Samuel L. Jackson
Pepper Potts- Gwyneth Paltrow
Dr. Eric Selvig- Stellan Skarsgard

(Aside: You know I'm crazy about a movie when I can list all of the cast members by heart, but not all of my favorite movies have this vast an ensemble of big names).

Write-up:
Tread lightly, there be spoilers afoot

Part One: The Story so Far

This picture (as well as the universe it represents) is so vast, it's probably best I write it over a couple days.

The biggest selling point of this massive franchise is how the story builds and remains consistent throughout the movies.
All the Marvel fan boys knew that this movie would be huge with all these big characters coming together under one roof.

Me, I knew I'd be seeing it because it was another Downey picture, but I wanted to do my homework on the other Avengers before seeing the movie. That way, I'd know the rest of the characters just as well as Tony Stark.
And to their credit, the rest of the films were done exceedingly well... with, possibly, the exception of "The Incredible Hulk." Sometimes, I wonder if the dysfunctional "Hulk" "franchise" isn't more complicated than amassing the Marvel universe as a whole.

I'll try to keep this short and concise, but going from all the films to this point, this is where we stand:
(Also, Feel free to skip down to "Part 2" for my discussion of "The Avengers" film)

• Billionaire playboy Tony Stark was attacked, then kidnapped by terrorists in Afghanistan. In captivity, he not only constructs a self-sustaining electromagnetic (arc reactor) to keep the shrapnel out of his heart, but a body of armor to escape. This body of armor evolves into the Iron-Man suit, which Tony uses to "protect the people [his weapons] put in harms' way," writing the wrongs committed by his Stark Industries colleague Jebadiah. By the end of this movie, he reveals his "secret identity" and S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury pays him a visit to tell him about "The Avengers Initiative"

• In the sequel (Iron-Man 2), Tony takes on a few new rivals while going through a mid-life crisis AND the government nagging him to turn over his technology. Nick Fury determines that Tony he doesn't qualify for "The Avengers" because of his [several] character flaws. Black Widow also makes her first on-screen appearance.

• Dr. Bruce Banner was experimenting with Gamma radiation when something went terribly wrong. Now when he gets angry, he transforms into a big green monster known as The Hulk. After the events of The Incredible Hulk, including a relationship with Liv Tyler's character (when he's transformed, it reminded me of "King Kong"), he removes himself from society where he can work on controlling his transformations... (P2: replicating the super solider program)

• Thor is a demi-god who hails from a realm known as Asgard. When he commits a major discretion, he's banished to Earth, stripped of his powers. While Thor learns humility (and finds love), his "adopted" brother Loki assumes the throne. Eventually he regains himself and overthrows Loki, who falls to his supposed death.
• If you pay attention, you see Clint Barton (code-name Hawkeye) make a cameo in "Thor". (Thanks to my research, I caught that the first time 8-) ).

• Steve Rogers was a young man from Brooklyn whose host of medical issues kept him from enlisting in WWII. He is recruited for a "Super Solider" project where he is injected with a powerful serum that enhances his physicality as well as the personality traits that set him apart. Captain America starts as a character he plays to sell war bonds, but soon he puts his new powers to great use... leading him to take on Red Skull of the evil organization HYDRA, who aspires world domination with the Norse artifact, the Tesseract. He's victorious, but his movie ends with him crashing into the ocean, preserved with the Tesseract for 70 years until they're found by S.H.I.E.L.D.

Part Two: "Avengers" Assemble

For the most part, I only included information vital to the backstory directly leading to this movie.

In his "exile," Loki finds new allies to exact revenge on Thor and the planet he'd fallen in love with, Earth. The Chituri present him with a weapon in exchange for the Tesseract and opening a portal for their invasion.
Meanwhile, the Tesseract is being studied at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters by Dr. Selvig (who worked alongside Jane Foster, Thor's love interest). Acting on its own, it opens a portal, bringing Loki to Earth... making for an action packed opening scene ending with not only his escape, but the brainwashing of Dr. Selvig and Hawkeye, now his allies.

Other than this movie running a little long (2 hours, 24 minutes), my only other gripe is the fact Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) spends most of the movie as a bad guy. His character is developed somehow through Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) and how this turn of events affects her, but not enough "good" screen time for my tastes. 
I looked them up on Wikipedia previous to this and from what I gather, they have an interesting history that I'd love to see put to film. Unfortunately, it's highly unlikely.

For the most part, we find all of the main characters where their stories left off.

S.H.I.E.L.D. spy Natasha Romanoff (aka Black Widow) gets the call when she's in the middle of an interrogation. Hawkeye is her main motivation for coming aboard, but it's more about her owing him a debt than anything romantic... or so she says.

Dr. Bruce Banner is in Calcutta, far removed from civilization. Black Widow insists they need him to trace the Tesseract's Gamma signature more than they need "the other guy" (aka The Hulk).

Steve Rogers is exactly where we left him at the end of "Captain America"... give or take a couple months.

Then there's Tony Stark, who's christening his new self-sustaining Stark Tower in NYC with his girlfriend, Pepper.
(I'm sure I'm not the only one who's noticed this, but isn't it interesting how she's the only superhero girlfriend in this movie?)

Although Nick Fury abandoned the "Avengers" issue, he brought everyone together out of desperation... and let's just say, given all the different personalities, it doesn't go over smoothly at first.
Heck, when Iron-Man and Captain America meet Thor for the first time, they're beating the crap out of each other :-P but that's what happens when Thor gate-crashes their plane and steals Loki, who'd they'd just taken hostage. It serves to give Loki a scope of the people he's up against, but I think these battles are here to indulge the fanboys.

The first half of the movie takes place on a flying fortress enveloped by a cloaking device. Absolutely massive and impressive to look at. I'm sure fans of the Joss Whedon series "Firefly" were pleasantly reminded of what once was. I knew very little about him and his work going in, but I did know "Firefly" had a strong ensemble cast.
For that reason, he's the perfect director for this movie because it's about all the pieces and how they work together.

Before going any further, the recast of Bruce Banner needs to be addressed. From how I understand it, the studio had a similar falling-out with Edward Norton that they had with Terrence Howard... minus all the extra drama that recently surfaced.
I thought Edward Norton did a good job balancing the aspect of his character, but Mark Ruffalo fit into those shoes rather well too.

I heard a rumor that he came on-board because Robert recommended him. The two had worked together previously on "Zodiac," granted they were on opposing sides.

For me personally, RDJ is in his prime in this movie, both physically (Tony Stark at his most attractive, lol) and with his acting prowess. The pace of his dialogue continues to be amazing and he cornered the market on hilarious one-liners.

If all that wasn't enough, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner together was a huge fangasm. I love both of these actors and their characters got along so well because they spoke the same language... complicated scientific stuff. I understood most of it, but I'd never be able to explain it :-P
Mark Ruffalo said in an interview he did with Robert that Tony Stark was the successful scientist he wanted to be.

Early on, we see friction between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers because they operate on different wavelengths. Steve Rogers has that old military mentality, which was about following orders and careful planning... Tony's the opposite, more about attacking first and asking questions later.

Perhaps the most curious aspect of the first half was that Loki more or less allowed himself to be captured at Stuttgart, Germany, and nobody could figure out how to get answers from him about his motives.
You can't 100% take him seriously so his level of villainy is subliminal. He likes to gather information and use it to his advantage, pushing buttons and such. When Black Widow pays him a visit in his cell, he explains how much Hawkeye told him about her and uses it to threaten her... what he doesn't get is that he divulged something he didn't mean to:
he wants to "release The Hulk."

Everyone starts coming to terms with that, but an argument between these personalities ensues after Tony Stark and Steve Rogers's investigation (using different methods) leads them to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s "Phase Two"... using the Tesseract to make weapons of mass destruction. According to Nick Fury, all of that was put into motion after the events of "Thor" occurred.

Which brings us to the first of two HUGE battles that encompass the second half of the film:
Hawkeye and the rest of Loki's forces find the fortress by using the Tesseract to track his scepter. He cripples the controls of the ship as well as destroys one of its four engines. While Captain America and Iron-Man come together to fix that, Banner transforms into The Hulk and Black Widow can do nothing more than escape his rampage. He and Thor also get into it. Interestingly, The Hulk is stronger, but he's incapable of lifting Thor's hammer.

Black Widow also gets into a good fight with Hawkeye, both of them being equally matched. Finally, he got a good smack upside the head that knocked him out... and allows him to finally come around (seriously, he spends roughly 90 minutes of this movie playing for the wrong side... that sucks).

Thor and The Hulk get hurled back to Earth. As Loki makes his escape, the last line of defense he has to get through is Agent Coulson. He put up a great fight, but his death was such a sad moment in this movie.
We got to know him in "Iron-Man" as well as "Thor"... in this movie, we even learned that he was a huge Captain America fanboy.
But as we all know now, he was resurrected for the TV series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.". The only trick is we don't fully know in what matter he was brought back.

As for the avengers, post-confrontation, this tragedy manages to do exactly what Fury hoped for: it brought them together.
And so we get "The Battle of New York"... ironically with Stark Tower at the center of it.
It's hard to imagine, I know, but there is actually someone in the universe that's more vain than Tony Stark :-P

It goes without saying, but the battle is pretty massive, taking up a huge chunk of this movie. It's pretty cool out all the different superheroes and their abilities come together to handle the Chitauri invasion. Amidst all the action, there's still room for a little humor every now and again.

Captain America has a great scene where he's giving cops a few orders about handling the crowd control. The cop's like "why should we take orders from you"... something happens and his skepticism immediately vanishes :-P
Loki isn't entirely absent from the action, duking it out with Thor and later, The Hulk... most likely the one moment people couldn't stop talking about after seeing the movie.
Loki can act tough all he wants and he plays a good mind-game, but he's not the kind of villain you can take seriously. Nonetheless, he likely has a good sized fanbase all to himself.

Final Remarks

I'm borderline on parodies, but "SNL" did a hilarious one when Jeremy Renner was hosting. The main plot: what can Hawkeye do when he runs out of arrows? (which he does at some point during the battle).

When putting together my list, I thought it might have been soon for me to consider this among my favorites... but the fact is that it's my favorite theater experience of 2012, maybe among my favorites in my lifetime. It's literally built for the big screen and it helps to have a lively audience who laughs at all the right places.

After "The Dark Knight" trumped the box office success of "Iron-Man" (and the following year's Oscar race... yeah, I'm never letting that go), part of me will always worry about whether they'll ever make "The Justice League" happen in the same fashion.
Because Superman and Batman are really huge, iconic, comic book personalities, I think it's highly doubtful they can pull it off. 

Ultimately, "The Avengers" was the third biggest box office hit of all time... with "Titanic" and "Avatar" as super-stiff competition. And I'm cool with that.