MOVIE REVIEW: Iron man & Hulk

I saw a couple of movies (within a few weeks of each other) that are slowly being linked together- I'll get to that later. (see "TOGETHER" below) But first: (don't worry, no spoilers)...

IRON MAN

Awesome. Go see it. Seriously, it captures the essence of the character (some liberties were taken with back story, of course, but as in the case of the X-Men movies, I didn't mind so much!), while delivering a great movie to people who don't know Iron Man as well.

At first, I was like- Robert Downey Jr? As Tony Stark? Really? Are they kidding??? But you know what- he did an EXCELLENT job! The acting was superb, the effects were not too over the top, (altho I had a few flashbacks to 'The Rocketeer' movie LOL), and it kept your interest the whole time. Good to take the kids to- most all of the violence was aimed at men in Iron Suits.

For all you die-hard fans, Keep an eye out for the silver Iron Man suit in a quick and funny scene.

HULK (2008)

Oh thank you! Hulk has been saved! After that awful 2003 Ang Lee version, I had my doubts that the Hulk would ever make another screen appearance. But, lo! And Like the current incarnation of Batman, it's a darker, grittier Hulk than the Saturday morning cartoons. Again, I was like- Ed Norton? the Hulk? Really? Seriously??? But as before, I have been humbled by the performance and fit that the actor brings to the Hulk. Even though they took small licences with the origins of the Hulk, they stayed true to the original character, and even payed homage to the TV show and comics: In one scene, Bruce's girlfriend buys him giant purple stretch pants to wear so he wont rip up his clothes. in another scene- Lou Farigno makes a brief appearance as a security guard. There are other bits and pieces thru the whole movie too.

But don't let the tongue-in-cheek bits fool you. If you are wary of too-violent movies, better think twice before taking the kids to this one. While no "gore" is shown, people DO get killed, both by the Hulk and his nemesis "The Abomination". Lots of collateral damage, explosions, and things getting punched and smashed make this a true-to-form Hulk movie, but something parents might want to avoid if they don't want their 5 year old emulating the big green guy.

TOGETHER:

Ok- without saying too much about the actual scenes- there are 2 scenes that LINK the Hulk movie with the IRON MAN one (and methinks other MARVEL movies coming out soon will have some linking scenes too!). The scenes are just BEFORE the credits in the Hulk, but you have to wait until AFTER the credits in Iron Man. I cant say much more and not spoil the scenes, but I will let you know what i think they are alluding to... (a NON-animated version of course)....so here's a hint in picture form:

The Summer of Heros!

I am all pumped up for this summer's round of 'hero' movies. Here's a list of the upcoming ones...with links!! Not all are traditional "superhero" movies... but hey- they still look awesome!

Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull- YAAAY!! It's about time! Altho undoubtedly the last Indy film with Harrison Ford, I still have been waiting for this one for quite a while! The previews look awesome...AND...we get to meet Indy's SON!

Forbidden Kingdom- I went and saw this one last weekend. I highly recommend it for fans of wire-style Kung-Fu films, as well as anyone who knows the legend of the "Monkey King". Good action, effects, and the lead boy character wasn't annoying!

Iron Man- Every preview I see of this makes me want to see it more. I wasn't sure about Robert Downy Jr. as the lead, but it seems as if he did a bang-up job...we'll see...


Wanted- I never heard about this one till I saw a preview for it- and it looks awesome! (ok a liiiittle far-fetched, but hey, what action movie now a days ISN'T?). It kina looks like a secret assassin group with superhuman "powers". Just watch the preview (trailer) on the site- you'll be hooked. OH YEAH..and ANGELINA JOLIE. what else needs to be said? LOL

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army- Sweet! loved the first one, probably gonna love this one!!!

Speed Racer- Liked the cartoon, hopefully will like the movie. Kim wants to go see this one in IMAX.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince- Need I say more? Harry Potter, Man!!!

Chronicles of Narnia 2: Prince Caspian- Looking forward to this one too- loved the first movie. (I've read the ENTIRE series- hope they make them all!)

Star Trek (XI)- ??? looks like a "prequel", or maybe 'how Kirk got the Enterprise'..or something... *sigh* after the horrible "enterprise" series I'm kinda wary...

Batman: The Dark Knight- If it's as good as Batman Begins, I'll be a happy camper! Altho it is also sad, knowing this is Heath Ledger's last appearance.

James Bond 22: Quantum of Solace- WTF is up with the title? there's no "live, die, day" or any of the other normal words in it! LOL I'm seeing it anyways.

Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D- It uses the same 3D filming technique as 'Beowulf 3D' did...so I'm definitely going to go see it just for THAT.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine- YESSSSSS!! Finally, a stand-alone Wolverine Movie! SOO going to this one!

Hulk- Good! Glad to see they aren't leaving the crappy Hulk movie alone- they're giving Hulk a makeover! Ed Norton is Bruce Banner!

And here's a list of other movies in the works and being filmed right now! Sorry, none have "official" sites yet, but I added some info links if you're interested in them.

G.I. Joe LIVE ACTION!
Terminator 4: Salvation
The Hobbit (prequel to Lord of the Rings)
The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Angels & Demons (prequel to Da Vinci Code)

Are there any coming out that YOU are excited to see? Let me know!

BLOG HASH: Scenes from a video-store...

Original Post Date: Wednesday February 15, 2006

I used to be a manager of a local Blockbuster Video store. I was reminiscing today about old jobs and dealing with the general public (thank the gods I currently do NOT work in a customer service job anymore). Here are some TRUE stories of "Eric: Manager from Hell"...

__________________________________________

Set up: Blizzard conditions. I was the ONLY employee/manager who lived close enough who could make it in. One of the busiest renting days- between Christmas & New years. I was ALONE on shift for 6 hours, a customer line to the back wall of the store, and a HUGE pile of returns I hadn't gotten to yet...

Man: ..."the late-fees are just unacceptable. I want to talk to the manager!"

Me: "Not a problem, sir." *spins around slowly 360 degrees* "Can I help you? I'm the manager."

Man: *obviously peeved* "That's it. I'm taking my money somewhere else!"

Me: "I don't think the multimillion dollar corporation will miss your $3.25 today, sir."

Man: "Well, I'm never coming back here AGAIN!"

Me: "That's OK sir, the worst possible thing you could do to me WOULD be to come back again. Have a nice day."

...for about an hour after that incident- every customer in line was pleasant and paid thier late fees without question....and dont ask me how 400 customers that day could make it in to the store, but not another single employee couldn't....

_____________________________________________________

Set up: A mother and her 15 year old daughter walks up to the counter. The mother is in her early 40's, the daughter is very physically developed...

Woman: "My daughter is having a sleep-over tonight. Why is this rated 'R'? Does this movie have any nudity in it? *hands me the movie BLADE (Westley Snipes)*

Me: "No, but there are some decapitations, extreme violence, and people getting covered in blood."

Woman: "Oh...but no nudity, right?"

Me: *looking dumbfounded* "No...but you'd have your daugher and her friends watch someone being gutted, rather than see something they look at in the shower every day?"

Woman: *serious, matter-of-fact tone* "Exactly, they don't need to see that yet."

Me: *even more confused, quietly rents out BLADE to them*

___________________________________________

Set Up: Woman hurridly brings up her 3 yr old son to the counter...

Woman: "My son just threw up on your children's section, I'm sorry. He was extremely ill today, so I wanted to take him out to get a movie."

Me: *perterbed for not leaving a SICK CHILD at home* "That's ok- hang on a sec-" *reaches under counter and holds out a roll of paper towels to woman*

Woman: "I'm NOT going to clean up my son's vomit!"

Me: *now confused AND perterbed* "Then I'm not going to rent you that movie."

...woman storms out. I wish she HAD cleaned it up- evidentally it was projectile vomit down the WALL, behind a ton of movies sitting on the shelves. Luckily I'M the manager- and I had other employees to 'delegate' things to that day...

________________________________________

Set Up: Late one night. the store had just closed at midnight. luckily there were no other customers in the store milling about, so I locked the doors exactly on 12:am. ...ten minutes later...

Man: *bangs rudely on window to get my attention, yells thru glass* "Sir?"

Me: *walks over to glass near drop-box* "Yes?"

Man: *puts video in drop box* "Check that in now, so it's not late."

Me: *WAS going to check it in for him, but he was rude and bossy* "I'm sorry, it's 10 past midnight."

Man: "You're telling me that since it's only 10 minutes late, you'll charge a fee?"

Me: "Yes, I'm sorry, but all videos are due by Midnight."

Man: "There should be some leeway for people who drop it off close to the due time!"

Me: *being sarcastic* "Like a cut-off time for when it's actually late?"

Man: "Yes, like a final deadline"

Me: *amused now* "OH, i forgot- there IS a cut-off time!"

Man: *hopeful* "Really? what is it so i know for next time?"

Me: "Midnight"

Man: *confused* "But...."

Me: *lying my ass off* "The tapes are ACTUALLY due at 11:50 pm, we just don't tell anyone- we give everyone 10 minutes leeway, so the cutoff time is Midnight."

Man: *pissed that he missed even the leeway* "Well, that's just stupid" *starts walking to car*

Me: "I think this is stupid, too, sir."

...I ended up checking it in for him and waving the late fees anyways- he amused me.

_______________________

Employees loved me, customers hated me, other managers wanted to be me (and get away with saying what they WANTED to). I worked for good Ol' Blockbuster for 6 years, and accumulated many funny tales. I am also one of the only managers to be blacklisted for re-employment. ...But thats a story for ANOTHER day...

MOVIE REVIEW: I Am Legend

I rented the newest Will Smith Movie over Easter weekend. Yes, I know it wasn't much of a "holiday themed" movie, but I wanted to see it, and missed it in the theatres.

All-in-all, I give it a fairly good rating. It seems to be a remake of Omega Man (starring good 'ol Chuck Heston). The general premise of this new version is that a scientist engineers a virus to cure cancer in 2009, and by 2012, 90% of the population of the WORLD dies while the remaining 10% have turned into bloodthirsty zombie-like creatures (altho WAY faster than Romero's kind). Only a handful (well, maybe a couple million, but that's a drop in the bucket when looking at the world-wide population) of people are immune to the virus and remain normal. Will Smith's character just happens to be the lead scientist looking for a cure to the virus when the plague started in 2009, and one of the lucky immune people. He also happens to be the last normal person left alive in New York, and as far as he knows, the world.

A few of my friends saw the movie and were disappointed, because the previews showed a lot of action, but the first half of the movie was basically how he survived day-to-day. Hunting, fortifying his house, researching the cure to the virus in his lab, and just dealing with the psychological pressures of being alone for 3+ years. (in one scene, he goes into a video store to get new movies to watch, and has apparently set up mannequins behind the counter and "browsing" in the store- and talks to them as if they were living people, just to not feel alone) I think the social and personal mental aspect statements were lost on my buddies watching the movie- they were looking forward to a shoot-em-up zombie flick. Some of that happens, but mostly in the last half of the movie.

I won't give away any spoilers, but I will say that if you've seen Omega Man, this movie parallels it quite a bit, including the ending.

I highly recommend this movie if you like post-apocalyptic dramas like Omega Man, Last Man on Earth, and a Boy and his Dog. If you are looking for a Resident-Evil gorefest, you might want to skip this one- this movie is more about the emotions of loneliness, fear, and loss than it is about anything else.