What the!

And... old-timey!

http://gizmodo.com/384271/creepy-80+yea ... ck-to-life

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http://www.apple.com/trailers/independe ... ourmonkey/

Not seeing it, but really, you have to give them credit for the basic premise of monkeys and throwing stars , used in a movie poster.

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i take it all back. THIS looks awesome.

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1. The Incredible Hulk
2. incredible hulk onesheet
3. FULL GI Joe trailer

OK, get ready for an even longer review than the Hulk one back in the day!

:::



I was about as biased as you could be coming into this show. As you well know, R3 readers, Iron Man is my Original Hero. He's the guy that sparked my jets as a kid. I love superheroes, and I'm a Marvel Zombie, to be sure, but Iron Man's central conceit: a normal, albeit brilliant, guy, cruising around in skintight body armor (with frickin lasers) appealed to me more than anything else I read. And As I grew, my love for him followed suit. I can't say for certain that my interest in science fiction, science in general , and the powered armor genre grew exclusively from my Iron Man origins, but Stark's story influenced me greatly. In fact, looking at the TRDL Universe I've been writing about for years now, the entire premise of the stuff is that the abilities were granted by science, not evolved, magically formed, xenobiologically-based, or any of that. In my mind, Iron Man represents the first, best example of a normal human becoming more than human. And that sets aside the principle thematic elements to his story that are so powerful. Simply on a comic book kid level, you can't beat him. So, walking in, after a year of struggling to contain my excitement, I was ready for the awesome. Having given in and watched, watched, and rewatched the trailers, spied the photos, read the interviews, etc. I was, as I mentioned to Lung, completely overstimulated, sitting there waiting for it to start. It was like my higher brain functions had been shut down by a breaker switch, and I was now just vibrating under a perpetual, hazy loop of armors, violence, and pencil skirts. And I have to say, if that wasn't enough, we had trailers for Hulk, Indiana Jones and The Dark Knight, to whip us up into fanboy frenzy.




This is a spoileriffic review, so if you don't want that 3% of the film spoiled for you that hasn't already been spoiled by the trailers and the hijacked footage and all that, then defer reading this until later. The baisc premise of the film will be familiar to comic fans and general udiences alike, having either read about Iron Man over the years, or watched the trailers, which did a great job of showing the basic plot, the imagery and style, without ruining theenjoyment of the film. Yes, there are many tweaks from comics continuity, but I am definitely a film revisionist when it comes to adaptations: I think all bets are off, as long as the project is in keeping with the SPIRIT of the source material, changes must and will occur to make a quality film, and attempts to carbon copy comics to screen fall flat to me. So, I'm not a fanboy who would balk at continuity adjustments made along the way. And there are plenty. Here, Stark is a cocky, familiar weapons manufacturer in a James Bond lifestyle, as we expect, however Obadiah Stane is not an external threat and rival to Stark, but rather a mentor and father figure, a former partner of Howard Stark, who took over the company upon Tony's father's death. Tony's return to control the company in implied to have been encouraged by Stane, but we can infer that Stane would have issues with handing over the company to a genius, playboy prodige. Anyway, Pepper is much the same, but with some contextual updates, Happy's role is driver and bodyguard, not shown (yet) to be involved with Pepper, and Rhodes is a military liaison to Stark Industries, and is more a partner than a right hand man.



The meat of Stark's origin story has been updated, now occuring in Afhghanistan, as Stark is in country to hold a demonstration of his new 'Jericho' smart bomb system. His convoy is attacked, he's taken captive and forced to build a missile for local warlords, instead building a suit of armor, with Hinsin's help, to escape his captors. He returns to the States, commits Stark Industries to abandoning weapons manufacturing, and focuses his energies on thwarting the use of his technology by enemies, (broadly defined, at this point, as being 'them', or overseas warmongers) while Stane, under the initial guise of friendship and fatherly assistance, undermines Stark on the Board of Directors, steals the company, discovers the secret existence of the original MK I armor, develops his own powered armor on the basis of it, and battle ensues to climax. Much of this is clear from the trailers. But many details in the script, and choices made, stitch this story together in ways that made it MUCH more enjoyable than I even hoped going in. They rationalized SO many relationships and plot devices, in very subtle ways.



Essentially, we have the Origin Story, the Armor Wars, and the Stane Takeover all in one film. Sounds disastrously broad, doesn't it? But they pulled it together in a completely logical manner. One of the principle problems in superhero films is the Why. Why would I guy do these things, make these choices? And so often, we just have to take them as a priori facts pulled from comic logic. But here, the seeds for planting a plausible cause and effect relationship of events are sown in such a way that even a non-comic fan would buy it. Why does Stark build an armor suit while in captivity, rather than just some cool weapon system? Because he needs to protect Hinsin, his collaborator, a captive scientist whose desire to return safely to his family, and encouragement for Stark to make something of his life, drives Stark to fight back against this seemingly hopeless hostage situation. Stark is defeated, depressed at the realities of his life's work: his weapons are in the hands of enemies, the collateral damage of his products destroy innocent lives, he's squandered the life he's had, and is now mortally wounded, and in his arrogance, didn't even recognize the man who worked with him in that cave, having met him years before at a conference, but was too drunk to recall it. So, he wants to build a defensive system, to draw the fire of his captors, and to slowly clean house, while Hinsin may follow at a distance, in safety. And of course, Hinsin sacrifices himself for Stark to buy him time, and on his deathbed, begs Stark to make something of the chance he's been given. Motivation to build the first armor, and now motivation to end Stark Industries' weapons manufacturing, and make amends for the past. How does he power the suit? He's been mortally wounded, as we saw, but the simple electromagnet tied to a car battery (AWESOME detail, and symbolism) is upgraded to a perpetual power source developed from components of various Stark tech gathered for his use in building a new Jericho. It's a condensed version of a power source developed on a massive scale as a publicity stunt back at home, and desperation allows Stark to refine the design to be portable, and to power the electromagnet that holds those shrapnel shards away from his heart. A high-concept, far-fetched technological innovation, BUT a rational reason for a power source to exist that might power the armor too, being deliberately designed for far greater capacity than needed for his heart. And the root of this technology was already developed back home, as was the root of the repulsor technology used in the original Jericho. So, again, back at home, why continue development of personal armor, when Stark is determined to be a pacifist? He sees examples on the news of his weapons, in the hands of villains, being used to terrorize innocent third world populations, where the military is unable to act. We now have not only the rationale for him to develop his powered armor, but a reason for him to be piloting it personally. It's a passion thing. He has to be personally responsible for those weapons being destroyed. It's pride, but in a good way. And now we have Armor Wars, but with weaponry. Why does Stane screw Stark over all of a sudden? He doesn't. He orchestrated the attack on Stark in the first place, but the warlords double crossed him and took him alive. All of these events involved in the takeover of the company were done for Stane's 'lust for the throne' , but also to maximize manufacturing profits. Instead of stumbling upon Stark's hidden laboratory of armors in the comics, here Stane is summoned to Afghanistan again, when the surviving warlord presents him with the recovered MK I armor, which he reverse engineers, and builds up in typical military fashion to bigger, badder, and more offensive. All the details are connected. Rhodey being roped in, Pepper's complicated relationship with Tony, SHIELD involvement, issues of identity, both secret and self-aware, and even rationale for how the armors are powered and used. I was blown away.



Still with me?

The cast was solid. So much has been said about Robert Downey, JR's performance, I hesitate to add to it. His improvisation, his passion for the character, his utter believability, tackle and overcome the difficult task of making a selfish, arrogant war mongering womanizer into a sympathetic character. We root for him when he's being a prick, and we root for him when he changes his life. And we BELIEVE his transformation. It's amazing to watch.

Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane was a casting stroke of genius in my opinion. He undersells Stane, relying on calm confidence and an unassuming, mentorly personality, letting his striking bald head and shock of white beard, his tall, comfortable but powerful stance, and most of all those glittering black eyes, show us the man he will be revealed to be. He's glorious, and more than a little Dude is present here, despite the polar opposite personality: the carrying of the glass, the chewing of ice and lip smacking. He's a LION, very calmly sitting near the herd, taking his time.

Gwenyth Paltrow was a mildly controversial choice for the role of Pepper Potts: she isn't a comics fan, shows little interest in the stuff, and has a love/hate relationship with the press, and America in general. But she brings a sense of normalcy to the story. Her reactions to the remarkable, and disturbing, things she sees are the perfect tone for a woman who is accustomed enough to the wildly extravagant, and shockingly bizarre, events in Stark's life and technological experimentation, comfortable being entirely responsible for his day to day functional life, and yet honestly appalled and a little wild-eyed at the sight of bullet-ridden armor or a pulsing power core in her boss' chest. Her scenes with Downey are electric, the sexual tension present, but also the respect and the sympathetic nature of their relationship being obvious, and important to the story. She is the one person Stark NEEDS. And the scene of her having to reach into his chest and remove a coupler are surprisingly romantic. Kind of the sex scene of the movie. I'm not going to lie, she looks incredible in the pencil skirts and heels and swept back red hair, and the like, as well.

And Terrence Howard plays Rhodes, his cadence and delivery style bringing a realism and personality to a character that could be terribly pigeon-holed. I was extremely impressed by his likability, his attitude as a character, his confidence, but also his enthusiasm at seeing the armor.



The effects in this film were top notch, as expected, and as seen in the trailers. The decision to use real suits in many of the scenes was a perfect choice, as we feel grounded in the moment, and the movements of the armors are tangible. We get very little sense of the FX insertion, and I thought it was an impressive feat to fuse the CGI with the real deal. Some of the most impressive details were the multiple adjustments and movements that armor sub-components would make, from the spinning fan on the MK I to the vents and armor panels of the MK II and III armors, the the way Iron Monger's mass was represented. And just as important as all of these physical details, the sound was absolutely critical to the suspension of disbelief. Armors, at various stages of development, have different mechanical sounds, whirs and clicks and tones, bassy footfalls, sexy repulsor whines, and so on. I was fully there. The quality of the effects just can't be stated enough. This film was going to be made or broken on the basis of how convincing the armor effects would be. SOLD.



On a personal note, there were several details I geeked out on. Lung and I were pretty much rubbernecking between the screen and each other. The familiar TRDL R3 symbology was everywhere, from the news channel reporting on the press conference (in red, even) to the numbers of illuminated lights on a bomb, missiles in a launcher, dancing hot stewardesses, and more. One, in particular, even slipped past me, but Lung caught it, and I'll let him mention it. Impressive catch. Also, a horde of other little details delighted me. Stark has everyone sit down, at his hastily arranged press conference after returning from captivity, during which he hoovers a cheeseburger (that he haz) which, though he denied to Stane, was actually his second. Awesome. SHIELD was incorporated throughout the film, and was shown to be an organization in development. The final post-credits scene at the end, on and off youtube as fast as they can track it, was worth the wait, and offered a meta moment for Bryan Hitch, I would imagine. Not ONLY do we see Fury… but he wants to talk about the 'Avenger Initiative'… look, I don't care if they EVER make an Avengers film at all… just the nod to the comics, and the intentional weaving of this thread into the Hulk film, gives me great joy that Marvel is finally making their OWN films. Also, there's a GREAT twist in the last three seconds of the film, where they pull in a MAJOR element of the comics continuity, and it was totally in keeping with the character they presented for us: Stark outs himself in the press conference… with pride. Finally, a little detail: When Stark lands int he Afghan village (arguably the films most fun action scene) he lands in the prototypical pose we see so often, pulled directly from Adi Granov's cover... one fist down, one arm up, landing hard. Sick!

It's obvious what I'm going to rank this film. But beyond my Iron Man obsession, this was a solid film for superhero adaptations, a solid film for action/adventure fans, appealed to both kids and adults, had tons of character and personality, a plot and script that was well executed, and was directed with remarkable reserve and human scale by John Favreau, who I truly believe is finally showing how Indie directors can take the small-scale, intimate nature of character-based film and apply it to large projects without compromising the positives of either.

10/10 Clicks!

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1. Review: Iron Man 2
2. The New Iron Manual!
3. Iron Man Adventures: More Awesome Concept Art

That's all I'm saying.

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Eliot R Brown, the workhorse of the original Iron Manual and a well-known name for those that read and enjoy the Marvel Handbooks of back in the day, has finished a new updated version of the Iron Manual, the encyclopedia of Iron Man armors...

His interview ( a two-parter I've been reading through for the last few days) is AWESOME. When he wrote the first manual, he was rationalizing the Iron Man technology using real-world examples, given the technology available and publicly known at the time of that writing. This time around, he has an array of awesome tech concepts applied to both the original armors and the new stuff. Smart guy, great read...

Discussing 3D Looming and the first armor:

"For the latest Iron Manual, I was asked to do something for the very first suit. The one featured in Tales of Suspense #38—old steel-gray “Toaster Head!” This was a suit design that had all of the power and flexibility of all subsequent suits—but the technological base was not there yet and certainly not in the jungles of Viet-Nam where the laboratory-workshop of Ho Linshen was. Computer power, high-resolution motors with encoders, 3-D design—none of that was around back then. But there were 3-D looms around at the time—this is how socks are knitted in 20 seconds flat! Do the work needed to substitute wire for wool and you can knit a sleeve, a torso section or a leg! Joining the ends is the usual hassle, but should be a simple application of existing, knitting theory."

Also, a bunch of new original armor illustrations that are really spectacular...

Part One:
http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=154962

Part Two:
http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=155227

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according to MTV'S INTERVIEW WITH HUGH JACKMAN, the movie we're going to see when we sit in our jujubee-laden seats in may of '09 is more dark than the x-men franchise, and riddled with emotional complexity. according to jackman, it's got "layers of pain and darkness to this character," and is tonally "more in the ‘Batman Begins’ sort of realm."

i know it sounds like a no-brainer, and in fact, i contend that especially as we got deeper into the x-franchise, that character began to be played much more dark anyway, alluding more towards the origins, but it's good to have validation. plus, "batman begins" was the greatest superhero movie ever, so.

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according to ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, apatow/ironlung fave jonah hill is in talks to play "...the comic relief as a sidekick to Shia (LeBouf)'s Sam Witwicky" in transformers 2. which is wierd, because i thought shia lebouf WAS the comic relief in the franchise. hahaha!!!

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This is from a new Vertigo book, AIR...

GREAT cover composition, lettering, image, everything...
totally sells it.

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=155218

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ha

Pretty good stuff, actually.
http://gizmodo.com/385262/lenovo-parodi ... d-for-x300

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