Movie Review: "Iron Man 3"

Friday, May 17, 2013

Rating: PG-13 (intense sci-fi action and violence throughout, brief suggestive content)

Length: 130 minutes

Release Date: May 3, 2013

Directed by: Shane Black

Genre: Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi

Stars: 4 out of 5

When the superheroes of "The Avengers" finally saved the world from Loki and his army, they all split up and went their separate ways. "Iron Man 3" (read more about the characters here) picks up after the battle in New York City, with Tony Stark (Robert Downy, Jr.) back in his hilltop mansion, tinkering with his Iron Man suit. On the surface, things might seem fine to some, but Stark is definitely not fine. He has long, frequent lapses in concentration that are driving his girlfriend and business partner Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) crazy. He is clearly traumatized by what happened, but he has no real outlet to try and get it all out.

Unfortunately, he won't have time to really recover because forces are already in place to make his life miserable. The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) has plotted to kidnap and murder the President (William Sadler) among other nefarious plans. Meanwhile, Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), who works for offshoot AIM, plans to use a new program he helped develop called Extremis to heal amputees. The only problem is that if the patient's body rejects the Extremis treatments, they end up exploding as a human firebomb. Killian doesn't seem to care about the deaths, instead forging ahead with plans to use Extremis in a way that could threaten a lot more than just a few unwitting test subjects.

When Tony publically takes a stand against the Mandarin and calls him out, his mansion gets destroyed and he nearly drowns in the ocean. Taking advantage of his presumed-dead status, he lays low in a rural Tennessee town to get his bearings. What follows is a series of rescue missions that are a complete thrill to watch.

Ten Likely Blockbusters Slated For Summer 2013 Releases

As schools let out and temperatures rise, families and friends make plans to hit the cool, dark interiors of local movie theaters. Summer is the time when studios put it all on the line, casting nets of high-budget cinema in the hopes of drawing blockbuster crowds. Starting in early May, a number of anticipated films will make first-weekend runs, and there's a little something for every viewer's pleasure. The summer of 2013 is likely to be the summer of the superhero, the antihero, and the villain, with a few bits of extreme comedy, car racing, and apocalypse thrown in to keep things interesting.

Three of the movies slated to appear between May and August feature favorite characters from comic books who are no strangers to the big screen. First up is "Iron Man 3," which hit theaters May 3. After three movies, the charmingly cocky Tony Stark is on top of the world. He's even added a bit of depth to his character and won his dream girl; when epic comic-book villain the Mandarin makes an appearance, Stark's world is torn apart in a few minutes of screen time. Viewers are likely to flock to theaters in the presummer season to find out if Iron Man can rise from the metallic shreds and put right all the wrong the Mandarin is doing in the world.

How can writers make the gruff, well-explored character of Wolverine interesting to viewers for yet another X-Men inspired flick? The answer provided by "The Wolverine," which hits theaters on July 26, is to send him to Japan. As Hugh Jackman's portrayal of Wolverine has been a fan favorite since his first appearance, huge crowds are expected for this film. The Wolverine doesn't have a monopoly on fan love, though. Superman will make an appearance in "Man of Steel" on June 14. Although the superhero is always a crowd pleaser, this version of Superman is likely to be bolstered by Henry Cavill; women everywhere are already planning to see the movie based on the sexy Brit's role as Clark Kent/Superman.

Movie Review: At Any Price

Rating: R (language, sexual content including a strong graphic image)

Length: 105 minutes

Release Date: April 24, 2013

Directed by: Ramin Bahrani

Genre: Drama/Thriller

Henry Whipple (Dennis Quaid) is an aging man who is beginning to wonder what exactly his legacy will be before he retires. He grew up in a sleepy Iowa town as a third-generation farmer and salesman for Whipple Seeds, which sells genetically-modified seeds to area farmers. He wanted the same for his sons Grant (Patrick Stevens) and Dean (Zac Efron), but neither of the boys seems interested in following in their father's footsteps in "At Any Price."

Grant went off to college and decided he wanted to see more of the world, so he dropped out to go climb mountains in Argentina. Dean stayed a little closer to home, competing in local stock car races in the hopes of one day getting into the NASCAR circuit. Henry doesn't understand his boys and has a rather contentious relationship with Dean, who doesn't seem to like his dad very much. Henry puts on a brave face and tries to act like a devoted and secure family man, even as he cheats on wife Irene (Kim Dickens) with the younger Meredith (Heather Graham). His fake smile is also hiding the fact that he is in danger of losing ground in the seed selling business to a rival, which makes him just desperate enough to make a few shady deals that could land him in hot water with the law.