Film Review: Iron Man 3

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The latest superhero film to be released by Marvel Studios and directed by Shane Black, Iron Man 3 is the seventh instalment in the Marvel Cinematic. Sequel to both the Iron Man films and the recent Avengers Assemble, the film picks up after the events of Loki’s invasion with a haunted Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) who, struggling to sleep, is having problems with his girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and is forced to sit back and watch his friend Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) take on the responsibilities of America’s iron-suited hero. When two old scientist associates, Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) and Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall), come back into his life, however, his personal world is destroyed as a threat from the terrorist The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) means that Tony must embark on a harrowing quest to find those responsible, leading him to answer the question that has secretly consumed him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

Iron Man 3 Extras Get Flung Through The Air…

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

A whole sequence of photos have leaked from the set of Shane Black‘s Iron Man 3 this week, showing a number of people being pulled up in to the air, suspended from cables connected to a crane high up in the air.

The photos were taken as work on the Iron Man 3 production continued along the Cape Fear River in downtown Wilmington during the filming of a stunt on Monday 16th July.

Film Review: Contagion

(Read this in my publication In Retrospect – Issue 3 and in my student newspaper, Flex)

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Linking to my previous review for British thriller Retreat, starring Cillian Murphy, Thandie Newton and Jamie Bell which you can read here, Contagion is the second film to be released this month that explores the widespread of a killer virus. As an American take on the genre, Contagion tackles the situation in a completely different way, concluding in a seemingly more optimistic outcome and looking at the effects of a virus globally.

Contagion, directed by Steven Soderbergh, follows the rapid spread of a lethal virus caught through indirect contact. As the fast-moving pandemic grows, we see how a variety of people deal with the situation, including worldwide medical team members, Dr Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard), Dr Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne) and Dr Erin Mears (Kate Winslet), journalist Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law), and parents Mitch (Matt Damon) and Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow). With a race to find a cure and to control the panic as the world turns to mayhem, we see the lengths these people go to in order to save the world whilst having to maintain their own reputations at the same time.

Film Review: Iron Man 2

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Directed by Jon Favreau, Iron Man 2 follows on from its predecessor as billionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) announces his dual life as the armoured superhero, Iron Man, to the rest of the world. As news bulletins repeat in the background of family homes, the setting focuses in on the dull streets of Russia as a powerful enemy, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), watches with an evil glare, adding the final touches to his own weaponed suit. Meanwhile, Tony Stark is facing pressure from the government to share his technology with the military. Lt. Col. James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) and assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) are growing tired of Tony’s unwillingness to cooperate, leaving Tony isolated with his own problems.

Film Review: Iron Man

The first instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and directed by Jon Favreau, Iron Man follows billionaire industrialist and genius inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, Tony builds a high-tech suit of armour and escapes captivity. When he uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armour and vows to protect the world as Iron Man.

Film Review: The Royal Tenenbaums

Directed by Wes Anderson, The Royal Tenenbaums follows an estranged family of former child prodigies – Chas (Ben Stiller), Richie (Luke Wilson), and Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) – who reunite with their parents (Gene Hackman and Anjelica Huston) when one of their members announces that he has a terminal illness.