PoochyB’s Flick Reviews

Summer 2008 starts off with a “Bang!” Blockbusters are always interesting. There’s the anticipation. All the hype. The crowded theaters. The box office make-or-break report.

It was a bit different for me…

I happened upon Iron Man on a Saturday night. Me, and nine other people in the entire theater. No, it wasn’t opening weekend. But it was the weekend following.

Robert Downey Jr.’s getting it together. And I’m happy for him. I’ve been a fan since his Ally McBeal days. Actually, before that, since U.S. Marshals (The Fugitive sequel). He was hit-or-miss for a while with Wonder Boys and Bowfinger. But a couple of his latest ones, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Good Night, and Good Luck, and Zodiac have been surprisingly enjoyable. I guess he and director Jon Favreau work well together.

Downey’s the slick-talking head of a major U.S. weapons manufacturer. Gwyneth Paltrow (swoon!) plays his assistant. He gets kidnapped by terrorists and has an epiphanic eye-opening. Instead of making weapons that end up in the hands of terrorists, he’ll combat terrorism head-on in his Iron Man suit. Terrence Howard (of Crash) is kind of a military liaison. And Jeff Bridges (who’s been in more movies than I care to recount, but more notably Blown Away, The Big Lebowski, and Seabiscuit) is the bad guy.

If you’re a Marvel fan and have followed the comics since you were a kid, you know the story.

Leslie Bibb (from The Skulls, and TV’s Popular) has a small part as a reporter.

This is the first Jon Favreau-directed film I’ve seen, and I’m looking forward to more. Though his status will forever be placed on a pedastal for producing Swingers.

Al Pacino! What’s gotten into you?!?

I consider Al The Godfather of acting. The 7-time Oscar-nominated, and 1-time Oscar-winning, actor is at the top of my “Favorite Actors” list. So it completely befuddles me why he would star in a movie like this. Perhaps it’s because his name is already etched in the Acting Hall of Fame stone. Or it’s because he knows that no matter what he does, his legacy will remain. But why???

Al’s a womanizing university professor of forensic psychiatry in Seattle. Alicia Witt (from TV’s Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Ally McBeal), Leelee Sobieski (of Deep Impact, Joan of Arc, and Here on Earth), and Benjamin McKenzie (The OC) are a few of his students. The bad guy is played by Neal McDonough (also the bad guy from Walking Tall).

I’m not going to get into the meat of it because it’s not worth my time. 88 Minutes is a cat and mouse thriller with bad acting, bad directing, and bad writing. I did not, for a moment, sit on the edge of my seat or anything like that.

Director Jon Avnet is losing his touch. I loved his work in the TV series Conviction, Red Corner, and Up Close & Personal.