Bite-Size Review: Iron Man 2

The first Iron Man movie was hailed as a rousing success as the first project coming out of Marvel's new film division, Marvel Studios. The movie was hailed for bringing the iron-clad (pun intended) hero to both the big screen and modern era, buoyed by the superb comeback performance of Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark. The movie not only launched Marvel Studios and resurrected Downey's career, but also set the stage for an unprecedented plan to introduce several of Marvel's other heroes in their own films to set up the big daddy of them all, The Avengers movie.

Iron Man 2 doesn't depart too much from what made its predecessor so good. The action is high-octane and well-choreographed, and there is a lot of eye candy all around (particularly when it comes to Scarlett Johansson's scenes as Black Widow). The rock-infused soundtrack compliments what's happening on-screen while the narrative does a pretty good job exploring the inner conflicts of Tony Stark. The acting once again stands out across the board, headlined by the stellar Robert Downey, Jr.--though literally every role is played to perfection. Even Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer (a rival of Tony Stark), who comes off as being the typical annoying corrupt archetype ends up doing a good job balancing a passive-aggressive demeanor that you'd expect from someone in his position.

Despite everything it does well, director Jon Favreau's sequel does have a few missteps. The middle section of the movie has been criticized for being too talky, which I didn't find to be so much the problem as the fact that the characters are trying to constantly talk over each other, which just gets annoying. The writers also skip over a lot of the details, never mentioning Whiplash or Black Widow by name, only muttering War Machine in passing, and completely jumping over a new element that Stark discovers, neither naming it nor explaining how Tony overcomes the supposed "impossibility" of its synthesization. Finally, despite Mickey Rourke's standout acting job as Whiplash, the character itself was poorly-written, had motivations that I flat out just didn't buy, and had pretty truncated fight sequences.

At the end of the day, Iron Man 2 does far more right than it gets wrong. Even with its shortcomings, its a very entertaining summer blockbuster that comes very close to the success of the original. The movie nails its role as a set for 2012's The Avengers and sets the stage for Thor and Captain America to fill in the rest of the gaps.

OVERALL GRADE: B+

Good Night, and Good Luck review

In Good Night, and Good Luck, actor George Clooney makes his first major foray into both writing and directing in a true story about esteemed journalist Edward R. Murrow and his feud with renegade Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin. Thought set in the historical 1950’s, the themes of the film—as explicitly stated by Murrow at an award banquet in his honor that bookends the main story—have a direct relevance to the modern world and the future of entertainment technologies.

        The story of the film focuses on Murrow’s weekly editorial show See It Now on CBS, on which Clooney’s character, Fred Friendly, is executive producer. While Murrow features many different topics on his show, he makes his reputation reporting on controversial subjects despite any confliction with corporate or sponsor interests of the network. The film centers specifically on Murrow’s stand against the Junior Senator from Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy, who at this time was leading a Senate Investigative Committee that was ruthlessly accusing people of being communists—even within the federal government—without due process of law or evidence publicly presented at the hearings.

Murrow attacks the Senator for his tactics cleverly cutting real images of the Senator during speeches and hearings to expose just how ridiculous his tirade had become. Once the Senator eventually fires back at Murrow, the television hosts rebuffs McCarthy’s charges and further supposes that “dissent is not disloyalty” and boldly claims that “we will not walk in fear of one another.” By the end of the film McCarthy was reaching his downfall and it is suggested that Murrow’s program was a chief component of the Senate’s turn against McCarthy.

            Clooney utilizes black-and-white throughout the entirety of the film to create congruence with the television programming of the 1950’s, which had yet to see a widespread availability of color. The grayscale also creates a very powerful sense of darkness that reflects the dichotomy of McCarthy’s accusations that you’re either on his side or you’re a communist. Clooney also utilizes expert framing, pans, and blurs in his cinematography that masterfully enunciate scenes with the prowess of a seasoned director. The film’s use of real-life archived footage of McCarthy only further emphasizes the gravity of his actions in American history, and the viewer is presented with exactly what the news crew was up against at that time. The strong writing, direction, and camera work is only further enhanced by the superb acting of the entire cast, led by David Strathairn as the strong-minded, outspoken Murrow and complimented by strong performances from every single supporting role.

            Indeed Clooney has produced, written, directed, and acted a timeless cinematic work that will be presented for decades to come. The numerous 2005 Oscar nominations—including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor—are all warranted for this truly phenomenal film.

Overall Grade: A