tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post9160705974898393459..comments2024-03-27T00:27:04.726-04:00Comments on Net-flixation: Iron Man 3 Review: Freaking WeirdThaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-41065896515292737212013-05-09T13:42:03.381-04:002013-05-09T13:42:03.381-04:00Thank you so much! And welcome back, you badass mo...Thank you so much! And welcome back, you badass mofo, I missed you!<br /><br />Guy Pearce is simply great - I'm embarrassed for the typo of his name in my review, damn autocorrect - and I hope his star rises asap. Seriously, if you haven't seen Lockout, you should check it out as soon as possible. You'll love it!Thaddeushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-35365166986834284012013-05-09T13:05:08.252-04:002013-05-09T13:05:08.252-04:00First: happy 500! Excellent landmark. Secondly, I ...First: happy 500! Excellent landmark. Secondly, I haven't actually seen this one yet, so I can't comment on the content. However, I will add that I'm seeing it more or less purely for Guy Pearce. I've got a major soft-spot for the guy and I'm excited to see what he does alongside Iron Man. M. Hufstaderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08710221415534490058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-73937563214712796322013-05-04T15:47:09.014-04:002013-05-04T15:47:09.014-04:00Hahaha, nice backfire! Yeah, the difference in rel...Hahaha, nice backfire! Yeah, the difference in release dates is super-confusing for me at times. I regularly listen to Mark Kermode's film reviews, and occasionally the UK gets a movie about 3 months after it came out in the States. Oddly, some blockbusters do tend to come out a week or so before they're released over here.<br /><br />That's a great point about the episodic feel of this work. There is definitely something to that - I think it might partly be to the expanded use of support players like Paltrow and Cheadle (nee T. Howard), but the other part (might be, I could be overreaching) is that it seems so certain that there is more to come. And, yes, Fringe and Farscape would be looked at with totally different standards and whatnot; I just hope this works out well! Avengers 2 can't get here fast enough.Thaddeushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-60534412438650818612013-05-04T09:24:15.359-04:002013-05-04T09:24:15.359-04:00Yeah, you might (hell, probably) be right about th...Yeah, you might (hell, probably) be right about the nature of the Stark/Rhodes bickering, but I must insist that for it to have felt appropriate and to have had the intended effect, it should've come *during* the climactic fight, not right before it.<br /><br />Agreed about the problems with the last fight, although, yes, that airplane sequence was great.<br /><br />We should talk more about the curious career of Guy Pierce after you've seen Lockout.Thaddeushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-81063588479830777392013-05-03T19:55:37.944-04:002013-05-03T19:55:37.944-04:00I think I'm going to end up watching it again ...I think I'm going to end up watching it again just so I can discuss it with all my friends in the states who are only now just seeing it. (Oh, how quickly my gloating over seeing it early because I was in London ended when I realized that seeing it early meant not getting to talk to anyone about it.) But I'm also hoping that maybe it will make more sense with a second viewing- there was so many things going on, so much background info delivered in half-second lines, and also, seriously, what was with the ending. The funny thing is that I'm not sure I'd be saying that if the series- well, and the whole MCU- hadn't started to feel like a television show. Or maybe the better way to say it is "if I hadn't started approaching it as as I would a serialized TV series." I think a lot of what I'm reacting to is because I'm far more invested in the characters and their long-term development than I am in the actual experience of the movie as a whole or its specific plot. I don't think I'd have been as weirded out by the odd tonal stuff or the occasional odd character contradiction or a glossed over "it's cool, every thing's fixed now" with Random Action Movie X or even Random Fixed Trilogy Y. I'm reacting/engaging to/with this thing like it's an episode Fringe or Farscape - albeit maybe something pivotal like a season or mid-season finale. I'm not sure how to make sense of that in a movie context. It's a different set of critical tools. <br />Dr Livingstonenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-54260366701598230122013-05-03T14:55:03.231-04:002013-05-03T14:55:03.231-04:00I don't think of it as Stark becoming useless ...I don't think of it as Stark becoming useless so much as Stark briefly straying into Rhodey's area of competence. I think it's endearing that he can kick ass with his computerized-targeting armor or improvised weapons, but no, he can't actually fire a gun as well as a trained soldier. Also, given how long that final action sequence is, the humor's a useful tension break. The real problem is that the final sequence is sometimes thrilling but it's also confusing and too long. It has the problem of lots of big action climaxes where there's so much action that you never really know where the characters are in relation to one another, except for whoever's in the shot. <br /><br />It's a shame, too, because previous set pieces, like the attack on Tony's house and the airplane scene, did a great job of establishing where everyone was.<br /><br />Of course, the culprit in that climax scene could just be the 3D's darkening effect--the thing the successful set pieces have in common is they were set in daylight. When I saw The Dark Knight in the theater, the image was so dark I had no idea what was going on in the construction site scene and I actually disliked that part of the movie. Later, watching the movie at home on FX or TNT in HD, I could actually see and understand what was happening at every moment, and it was pretty damn cool. Maybe IM3's climax will be more satisfying in 2D (or 2D IMAX).DJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10901649394069002585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-41555256648913843992013-05-03T12:12:46.592-04:002013-05-03T12:12:46.592-04:00Hey, thanks - I'm flattered! I try not to link...Hey, thanks - I'm flattered! I try not to link to this site over there much, as I don't wanna be cheap about it.<br /><br />I decided last night that I should watch it again, but in 2D. I still think that some of the kid/Tony dialogue and the weird passive-aggressive Stark/Rhodes stuff at the end won't play well... and the last action scene will probably feel over-long, too...<br /><br />But I will have an opportunity to enjoy the special effects more, and that might improve my overall opinion of the movie. Yeah, the problem with all these tentpole films is that the fanbase is going to be very polarized; that simplified way of thinking seems to make the opinions simplified too. Thaddeushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-11207896667752438682013-05-03T10:24:06.013-04:002013-05-03T10:24:06.013-04:00Hey, so I am just a random person who totally foll...Hey, so I am just a random person who totally followed you here from the AVclub because you mentioned writing a review in the comments over there and I am nothing if not nosy. That said, great review and thanks for writing it. <br /><br />I had a good time at the movie, but I walked away with much of that same sense of frustration and weirdness and trying to make sense of what it'd been trying to do and why it'd made the choices it did and what it was all meant to imply and it just....didn't really ever gel, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. But I think you've really nailed a lot of the oddities that had me feeling off about the whole thing (doubly so if it's supposed to serve as an end to the series, as many people are saying). I kept looking for reviews and discussion, and it all seemed to be coming from either the "rarrgh, it's a movie about super heroes and exposions BAD BAD BAD and you should feel bad for watching it" or you know, "holy shit, BEST MOVIE EVER". <br /><br />- Dr Livingstone (at least @ the avclub)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-50703395802742231392013-05-02T18:18:47.763-04:002013-05-02T18:18:47.763-04:00I tell ya, I think that maybe I need to rewatch th...I tell ya, I think that maybe I need to rewatch this in 2D and see if the action successfully pulls my brain away from the problems that I was having.<br /><br />While I think it's funny (and a Shane Black staple) to have Rhodes and Stark arguing, it's really breaks tone and tension for me. And it's damn odd because Tony goes from urban ninja to "incompetent" and useless in the span of 20 minutes while the stakes are getting higher the whole time.<br /><br />I semi-agree about Favreau - it's not that he should be in the movie more so much as he shouldn't be the emotional kickstart to the protagonist's involvement with the main plot - or if he has to be, then give him more time.<br /><br />My mind is still all confused in its feelings about this pic.Thaddeushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-13860708725530140852013-05-02T04:50:10.598-04:002013-05-02T04:50:10.598-04:00Great review. A couple of notes:
1) I had fewer p...Great review. A couple of notes:<br /><br />1) I had fewer problems with the film than you did. Specifically, I had absolutely no problem with a very limited amount of Happy Hogan--the first film, where he was basically a cameo role for Favreau, was plenty, and I thought the bickering between Stark and Rhodes early in the final action sequence was fun. (Also, when the world's greatest weapons manufacturer asks you for an ammunition clip, you give it to him, instead of arguing about the caliber of bullets!)<br /><br />2) Anyone curious about Iron Man: Extremis can see the six-issue series as a motion comic on Netflix Streaming or by using Amazon's Instant Video service (free if you have a Prime membership).DJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10901649394069002585noreply@blogger.com