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The Iron Lady (2012)
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Stephen Bourne's Movie Quips © Stephen Bourne. Moviequips.ca and moviequips.com are the property of Stephen Bourne. All content of this website is owned by Stephen Bourne, unless obviously not (such as possible reference links, movie synopsis and/or posters featured under the terms of fair use) or attributed otherwise. This website is based in Ottawa, Canada. |
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Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)
Unfortunately, as partially suggested in my review of Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) here, I barely remember what happened in either that second sequel - beyond the introduction of Latifah's character - or in this crew's comparably forgettable third outing Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), so specific comparisions won't be drawn by me. The first Ice Age is still the best of the bunch, though. While Ice Age 4, or Ice Age: Continental Drift, essentially sticks to the same, now-familiar template of simple heroic comraderie and family bonding, a mildly dangerous quest, and Sid hilariously messing up seen throughout this series of films, this latest feature easily wins second place behind the original - particularly on the laugh-out-loud gags scale. That's partially because the wealth of entertainment value here doesn't seem to so heavily rely on the wonderfully bizarre acorn-obsessed skit antics of Scrat the sabre-toothed squirrel. Writers Jason Fuchs and returning Ice Age screenwriter Michael Berg construct a stronger, effortlessly fun script that gives each primary and supporting character the chance to give a paying audience reasons to like and laugh with them individually as their world literally heaves and crumbles around them. Even the peripheral stories of teen infatuation and angst felt by Manny and Ellie's daughter Peaches (voiced by Keke Palmer), and similar emotional turmoil experienced by Diego over sabre-toothed feline newcomer Shira (Jennifer Lopez) deliver crisp dialogue and unburdened scenes worth seeing. There are other truly welcome surprises here, but the overwhelming scene stealer by far is the self-proclaimed undisputed master and commander of the high seas and primate pirate pioneer Captain Gutt (Peter Dinklage), the prehistoric orangutan tyrant of an ice floe galleon crewed by his motley band of critters including Shira. My hesitation going in to this screening was that this was merely a lazy cash-in on the recently misstepped yet relentless success of Disney's live-action Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and Captain Jack Sparrow specifically that seems to have spawned countless tiresome big and small screen pirate acts. No worries, thankfully. Whether intentional or not, Dinklage easily appears to channel an abundant portion of Tim Curry's humourously smug and treacherous Long John Silver from Muppet Treasure Island (1996) throughout, making the part his own and cleanly solidifying Gutt as the best antagonist for Manny and the gang seen since the original Ice Age. That's saying a lot, considering we're talking about voice acting. Good stuff. Check out this memorable and
consistently funny, family-friendly feature on the big screen
for much more than just the movie theatre's air conditioning
and what you saw in this flick's trailer. Ice Age: Continental
Drift is rated PG by the Ontario Film Review Board for suspenseful
situations with short scenes or glimpses of scary characters
or images, scenes that may cause a child brief anxiety or fear,
and restrained portrayals of non-graphic violence, and is rated
G by la régie du cinéma in Québec. REFERENCE:
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Stephen Bourne's Movie Quips © Stephen Bourne. Moviequips.ca and moviequips.com are the property of Stephen Bourne. All content of this website is owned by Stephen Bourne, unless obviously not (such as possible reference links, movie synopsis and/or posters featured under the terms of fair use) or attributed otherwise. This website is based in Ottawa, Canada. |
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The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013)
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is an absolutely riotous, laughs-filled big screen effort showcasing the immense comedic talent of this cast throughout, while delighting in the astounding and bizarre profession of modern illusion. The arc that Wonderstone takes, from being a completely egotistical, womanizing showbiz sleazebag who loses everything towards awkward redemption and a slow reclamation of his passion for sleight of hand is, well, pure magic. Carell and Carrey effortlessly bring a wonderful intensity of outrageous verbal and physical humour left unseen from either of them since sharing the spotlight in Bruce Almighty (2003). Just looking at Buscemi in his ridiculously coiffed, wavy blonde wig is side-splitting. It's also a treat watching how Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley's screenplay cleverly pits smug Wonderstone's flamboyant, velvet costumed showmanship against crazed Gray's shock value antics, bringing in Arkin's Holloway as a sober voice for the simple craft of inspiring wonder. Awesome. Switching over to the visually impressive official site at theincredibleburtwonderstone.com conjures up the usual static film synopsis, photo and video galleries, and the soundtrack available through iTunes and Amazon.com. You'll also find PDF access to the fairly interesting production notes, wallpaper downloads, an interactive features page, and a comprehensive sweeps section of tie-in swag. Of course a lot of the contests were only good leading up to this movie's opening date, but probably the most impressive related gem found online is magic resource site theory11.com's video challenge for your chance to win a grand prize chat with world-renowned illusionist David Copperfield, promoted on this film's Facebook page. Clever! Definitely do yourself a huge favour and check out this oftentimes irreverent and outrageously funny flick of wondrous and maniacal mayhem. Good stuff! Reviewed 03/13, © Stephen Bourne. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
is rated PG by the Ontario Film Review Board for use of expletives,
mild sexual references, limited use of slurs, illustrated or
verbal references to drugs, alcohol or tobacco, crude content,
scenes that may cause a child brief anxiety, or fear, bullying,
embracing and kissing, mild sexual innuendo, and restrained portrayals
of non-graphic violence, and is rated G by la Régie du
Cinéma in Québec. REFERENCE:
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Stephen Bourne's Movie Quips © Stephen Bourne. Moviequips.ca and moviequips.com are the property of Stephen Bourne. All content of this website is owned by Stephen Bourne, unless obviously not (such as possible reference links, movie synopsis and/or posters featured under the terms of fair use) or attributed otherwise. This website is based in Ottawa, Canada. |
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Iron Man 3 (2013)
Debuting in Marvel Comics' Tales
of Suspense #39 in 1963, Tony Stark/Iron Man first faced arch-nemesis
The Mandarin in the 50th issue of that publication a year later.
Issue #1 of The Invincible Iron Man was finally released in 1968,
with writer Warren Ellis' six-issue Iron Man: Extremis comicbook
series first hitting shelves in 2005. Much of the reimagined
history and tech seen in all three Iron Man movies reportedly
trace back somewhat to the Extremis comics. In Iron Man 3, Extremis
itself appears as a "DNA upgrade" wielded by dangerously
enigmatic Advanced Idea Mechanics founder Aldrich Killian (Guy
Pearce). At any rate, the movie Iron Man 3 brings with it a lot of the CG flash and pyrotechnics already enjoyed from this character's franchise so far. Much of it is in the trailer, without giving away too many twists and plot points. Man, there are a lot of twists in this flick. What's notable is that Stark is essentially stripped of his newly upgraded, Mk42 Iron Man suit as this 130-minute feature progresses, leaving him with little more than his wits and ingenuity to solve and stop further homeland bombings dispatched by The Mandarin. #badorange Once again, Downey Jr. is phenomenal as Tony Stark, wonderfully fleshing out the more vulnerable traits that emerge this time around, but still snapping out funny one-liners with ease throughout. Top marks also go to Kingsley for his surprisingly clever Mandarin screen persona, as well as to Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle and Ty Simpkins, as Stark's corporate CEO and feisty girlfriend Pepper Potts, War Machine/Iron Patriot suit pilot and U.S. Air Force Colonel James Rhodes, and precocious child prodigy Harley Keener, respectively. They all bring a measured spark of believable dimension and attitude to their 2D-inspired roles here, thanks in large part to Drew Pearce and director Shane Black's crackling screenplay - until Act Three. Black last directed the hilariously irreverent Val Kilmer/Robert Downey Jr. crime comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), also scripting it and adapting part of the late Brett Halliday's pulpy 1941 novel Bodies Are Where You Find Them for that movie. Black's previous screen writing credits include The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) and Lethal Weapon (1987), but he also shared a Razzie Award win for The Last Boy Scout (1991). Iron Man 3 could have gone either way. Unfortunately, it does. While the action and acting is great, probably the most flawed aspect of Iron Man 3 is the wildly disappointing ending. I'm not going to ruin it for you. The screenplay does that just fine on its own. Let's just say that, after seeing everything that comes before the ending play out in such fine detail, the last 20 minutes before the closing credits and mildly humorous stinger are pitifully, shamefully thrown away. 'Nuff said. Another notable annoyance is what I've already mentioned: It's a sequel of The Avengers film. You'd reasonably expect going in that this big screen effort would more readily carry on from, oh I don't know, the memorably impressive Iron Man (2008) and its comparably less memorable sequel Iron Man 2 (2010). Expecting that would be wrong. If you saw those flicks but missed The Avengers movie featuring Marvel Comics superheroes Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye coming together against a near-disastrous alien invasion of Manhattan, you're pretty much out of luck easily following along with the first part of Iron Man 3. I imagine the next round of Marvel hero movies featuring the above-mentioned (and possibly other) characters will carry on from The Avengers too, while leading up to the next Avengers flick already slated for theatrical release in 2015. It's just like when a comicbook's story arc is purposely carried through several different titles to sell more comicbooks. I've always hated that, but it is what it is. Checking out the visually impressive, parallax scrolling website at marvel.com/ironman3 serves up the usual synopsis, pics and clips, plus device wallpapers and various tie-in contests for sponsored swag. Beyond that, you'll find Amazon.com links for the movie soundtrack and for Heroes Fall: Music inspired by the motion picture, as well as a link to the CG game run through Facebook by gameloft.com that - if it works, unlike when I tried it - apparently lets you pick one of 18 Iron Man suits to fight A.I.M. goons or foes from the comicbook series. A free download of the game's mobile version is also available at iTunes and Google Play. As for the poster, there are a bunch of them for Iron Man 3 and most of them are either ill-conceived mash-ups of the teaser posters or meaningless and boring. They're the kind of layout work designers call "flipping burgers", because results lazily resemble every other so-called heroic poster design dating back to the era of Silent Film. However, the Gwyneth Paltrow teaser poster reportedly from BLT Communications, showing her facing forward, bowing her head in shadow while holding a sliced open Iron Man mask in her arms, is the best of the bunch at conveying the film's story. Good stuff. Not nearly as spectacular as Downey Jr.'s first Iron Man movie, unnecessarily bolted to The Avengers film reliance and a tarnishing ending, Iron Man 3 still takes a decidedly refreshing, non-stereotypical approach to the Tony Stark character for the most part. That's what makes this effort well worth checking out - despite the flaws - at a big screen matinee for fans wanting more than just a lot of fights in tin tights from comicbook-inspired movies. Reviewed 05/13, © Stephen Bourne. Iron Man 3 is rated PG by the
Ontario Film Review Board, citing scenes containing some grotesque
images in a fantasy, comedic or historic context, use of expletives,
mild sexual references, scenes that may cause a child brief anxiety,
or fear, limited embracing and kissing, and restrained portrayals
of non-graphic violence, and is rated G by la Régie du
Cinéma in Québec. REFERENCE:
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Stephen Bourne's Movie Quips © Stephen Bourne. Moviequips.ca and moviequips.com are the property of Stephen Bourne. All content of this website is owned by Stephen Bourne, unless obviously not (such as possible reference links, movie synopsis and/or posters featured under the terms of fair use) or attributed otherwise. This website is based in Ottawa, Canada. |
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