Iron Man 3

With the success of The Avengers, it would appear the Marvel machine is now unstoppable. For all those in the know, Iron Man 3 represents a mere fraction of what's in store from this studio. So as exciting as it is to see Tony Stark in action again, it does feel like less of an event than some of the stand-alone movies coming our way this year (Man of Steel for one). This being said, Iron Man 3 is no less entertaining as it's predecessors - and does the job of furthering it's hero's journey with aplomb.

Shane Black takes over directing duties from Jon Favreau this time. Black takes a co-writing credit also, which is no surprise when you consider his past. Black was the go-to guy for testosterone-fuelled action scripts, overflowing with inventive and witty humour. His credits include; Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout and The Long Kiss Goodnight. In 2005 Black made his directing debut with the fantastic, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (starring Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr).

Blacks presence is evident upon watching Iron Man 3 - particularly in the script. The Iron Man films have all had humour. This time however we get some of the best gags from the least likely of sources; work for hire henchmen, an only child with Stark-like aspirations - and a particularly funny turn by one of the movies main stars!

Iron Man 3 kicks off after the events of The Avengers. In an interesting move (all be it obvious, from a serialisation point of view) the film deals with the repercussions of the extraterrestrial threat which the Avengers faced. Stark himself is deeply affected - and Black and his team present the human populous as forever changed and curious about their new guardians.
In an effort to get through his other-worldly experience, Stark does what he knows best - he tinkers! Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Stark are still very much in love and Tony still has a handful of (lesser-powered) friends to his name, including James Rhodes (Don Cheadle). Despite the support in place, Stark is suffering greatly with anxiety. To add insult to injury, there's a new villain in town - in the form of the Mandarin (a terrific Ben Kingsley). The Mandarin is a pastiche of middle-eastern fanaticism, intent on disabling western ideals.

After a spectacular attack on his home, not to mention the injury of one of his closest friends (security guard Happy, played by Jon Favreau), Stark finds himself far from home. His suit (by way of super computer, Jarvis) sends him to colder climes in an effort to solve one of many suspicious deaths. It would seem a handful of people have been spontaneously combusting - the cause emanating from a foreign substance in the body.
It's at this point one of the more popular Iron Man tales gets it's movie make-over. Extremis acts like a super drug, bonding with it's host in an effort to make them superior in every way. Like any other drug, if the hosts tissue/DNA rejects the substance, an overdose is inevitable. In this instance they tend to heat up!
With a madman such as the Mandarin controlling such a substance, Iron Man 3 offers up a different kind of villain. It's a refreshing change from another iron suit - although there's still plenty on the side of the hero this time (for all you metal-heads out there)!

Unfortunately (and this is my only real reservation) the last act offers up yet another shipping yard/dock-set action spectacle (which is anything but). After The A-team, The Losers, Red and countless others, surely the shipping yard finale/action scene has been done already. No doubt it's a cheap and effective way of staging an action scene, but it lacks smarts and inventiveness (see the Air Force One rescue earlier in Iron Man 3, for a truly memorable sequence). With the dock scene so close to the end, it regrettably leaves the viewer a tad underwhelmed.
Iron Man 3 has many attributes however - and can certainly stand along side it's predecessors with it's head held high!

No one has yet dropped the ball within this Marvel/Avengers movie-verse (we don't count The Incredible Hulk, do we?) and it pleases me to report that Iron Man 3 maintains the standard to which each adventure has aspired.
Thor: The Dark World is mere months away - and a week rarely goes by without a still or trailer for forth-coming adventures from the Marvel stable.
These characters and their ever expanding universe are here to stay - and I for one look forward to each and every adventure. Lets hope the ball stays in the air a while longer!

4/5

Poster image courtesy: http://www.4twenty.co.uk/
Iron Man 3 poster illustrated by Jock - a comic-book and conceptual artist. Check out more of his amazing work at the above address!
See also: review of Dredd (poster by Jock) http://alexsmith365.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/dredd.html

Warm Bodies

Warm Bodies is the next in what can only be described as the strangest sub-genre to emerge in recent years - the zom-rom-com! Warm Bodies presents us with another apocalyptic landscape, with Earth overrun with zombie hordes. Only a small number of humans remain, eking out a meagre existence in an effort to survive.

One such group of survivors is led by Grigio (John Malkovich). With his daughter Julie (Teresa Palmer) in toe, their group have the distinction of having military support - Grigio being a colonel of old.

The humans are of little interest in this movie however, as the majority of the running time is taken from the perspective of R (Nicolas Hoult), one of the living dead. R moans and groans like any other zombie, but his interior monologue is perfectly audible, as he goes about informing the audience of the state of the nation - and more importantly the details of his daily routine.

It's not long before the inevitable face-off of course. During a routine supply run, Julie and her team are besieged by an undead horde. Most of Julie's team are killed, yet Julie is spared by the love-struck R.
It would appear R is different to the rest of the undead. Upon saving Julie, he takes her to his den - a grounded passenger plane, decked out with trinkets of a once animated Earth. Despite R's undead status, it would appear he's not yet given up on the notion of living. His meeting Julie magnifies this, to the point where the spark of new life is present in his body.

Warm Bodies is wonderfully playful. Nicolas Hoult must be applauded for R's contradictory nature - his upbeat narration at odds with his near-wooden, physical self.
Teresa Palmer is beautiful and together, Julie and R make for an endearing couple.
The two young stars are ably supported by their friends (alive and undead). Rob Corrdry and Analeigh Tipton generate a lot of laughs, as R's Zestie and Julie's bestie, respectively!
The aforementioned Malkovich adds gravitas to proceedings, but beyond his parental concern, there is little for Malkovich to do (see Red and it's forthcoming sequel for a more entertaining performance).

With Romance at it's core, Warm Bodies offers a cure to the zombie plague. In a very sweet move the movie suggests love is the answer - the only thing to swell the heart and potentially get it pumping again! Warm Bodies goes further suggesting we love and respect our neighbour, regardless of viral out-break!

Warm Bodies is a fun addition to this new genre. Not as laugh-out-loud or as original as some, but it certainly wears it's heart on it's sleeve - giving romantic hope to the most miserable and down-trodden zombies among us!

3/5

Poster image courtesy: www.sftv.com.au

The Company You Keep

The Company You Keep is the new film by Robert Redford, director of A River Runs Through It, Quiz Show and the recent, Conspirator. This new film is a good fit for Redford (who also stars), having made his name with other politically-conscious movies (All the Presidents Men and Three Days of the Condor).

Redford would be no stranger to the plight of the Weathermen - a group of young activists intent on bringing the government to it's knees over their involvement in the Vietnam war.
Violent in their actions, the Weathermen were successful in their campaign until the robbery of a Michigan bank in 1980 (the actual robbery was that of an armed car in New York, the following year), which turned sour. A guard was shot dead by one of the group, ending their reign of terror and leaving each member a fugitive of the state.

These facts are presented to us in a pre-credit sequence, allowing the rest of the film to take place in the present day.
With a lifetime to dwell on their actions, many of the former activists went underground, forging new identities and finding the means to pass on their beliefs and ideals through more passive acts, such as education and law.
After 33 years, one of the group (Susan Sarandon) feels it's time to atone for her sins and offers herself up to the F.B.I. So begins a house of cards, as connections are made to each of the former Weathermen - principally by a hot-headed young reporter (Shia LaBeouf).

Robert Redford plays Jim Grant, one such former activist. A widowed father, Grant has a young daughter to his name (many former Weathermen have families and deeply rooted attachments now). Grant decides to track down his former comrades in the hope of finding the still elusive (and somewhat active) Mimi Lurie (Julie Christie), in the hope of clearing his name and returning to his daughter.

Redford has assembled a great cast for this film - particularly in the long since retired Weathermen. Many are contemporaries of Redford, who set alight the cinema of the 70's and 80's. From Nick Nolte to Susan Sarandon, these actors continue to bring class and gravitas to the cinema today - and this film continues to highlight their individual expertise.
The only character I didn't quite buy was Julie Christie's, Mimi. As a seventy-something freedom fighter, Christie has the toughest role. Despite her efforts, it's hard to get past the glamorous, movie-star exterior.

The first half of this film is excellent! Through Grant and his former comrades, we learn how ultraism inevitably leads to casualty, how much can be achieved through knowledge and communication alone and how, as we inevitably age and bring children in to the world, we reassign importance . These grandiose themes are replaced with a more personal story towards the end of the movie.
Regardless, The Company You Keep is never less than captivating and thought provoking.

4/5


Poster image courtesy: ca.eonefilms.com

Oblivion

Oblivion is the second feature from director, Joseph Kosinski, after Tron: Legacy. With Tron, Kosinski gave an 80's favourite an update which celebrated the world of gaming, particularly in the advances it had made - what was once Atari 2600 was now Playstation 3!
Tron: Legacy was a tremendous achievement in design. One can only hope what was lacking in story will be beefed up for the next instalment (lets have a truly remarkable light-cycle race next time)!

With Oblivion, Kosinski has once again played to his strengths. The sound and score is befitting that of an epic sci-fi tale, with M83 replacing Daft Punk this time (both of whom collaborated with composer, Joseph Trapanese).
The design of everything is second to none, particularly the hero's ship and the onboard toys at his disposal. What's particularly imaginative is the functionality of everything. Despite the futuristic setting, it all feels plausible.

Oblivion was set up at Radical Studios, a multimedia company based in California. Radical are a publisher of comic-books and Oblivion was originally set to be a short comic-book series (and/or graphic novel). The series was written by Kosinski as a means to garner interest in his project to further develop as a film. There is still no sign of the once mooted comic-book series/graphic novel, making Oblivion no more a comic-book adaptation than any other story-boarded pitch. Oblivion marks Radical Studios first foray in to the movie industry, with other projects imminent (next up Hercules, starring The Rock).

The aforementioned hero of Oblivion is Jack (Tom Cruise). Jack lives with his partner, Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) in a very slick apartment - upon a scaffolding, high above Earth's crust. We learn (by way of Jacks narration) that an alien race (known only as Skavs) obliterated our moon, causing all manner of catastrophe to occur on Earth. After nuclear war with the alien invaders, the remaining human population fled to the only other habitable rock, Titan - one of Saturn's many moons.

Along with their mother-ship (in Earth's orbit), Jack and Victoria monitor the mountainous machines put in place to source and store what little resources Earth still has to offer.
Jack's particular job is to monitor and repair the drones put in place to protect the vacuum-like machines from attack. With Skavs inhabiting the apocalyptic terrain, the drones are equipped with firepower to defend themselves - as is our hero.
All is well, save for Jack's reoccurring dreams and the unwavering notion that Earth is not lost. Jack's dreams feature himself and a woman (someone other than his partner, Victoria). Together they visit the Empire State building of a populated New York - long before the decimation of Earth.
During his daily routine, Jack witnesses a ship of some sort crash-land. To his utter surprise the woman from his dreams is aboard - alive and safe in hypersleep.
The film continues in this mysterious vein, as Jack slowly pieces together a truth to which he was previously oblivious to.

Oblivion is the culmination of an imaginative and design-conscious team. It didn't occur to me at first, but it does borrow from other sci-fi tales. Despite treading closely to other similarly themed features, Oblivion succeeds in it's execution. It's an exciting adventure that captivates from beginning to end.

3/5


Poster image courtesy: www.empireonline.com