Is this movie good action entertainment? Yes, sure! Is it a great movie as well? No, definitely not!

To be frank, this movie never lives up to expectations. That of course doesn't mean that the movie is a bad one as well but it nevertheless was disappointing to see how little this movie actually did that was new, or differs from any of the previous Iron Man movies and superhero movies in general.

This movie promised to be a somewhat darker and more serious in tone Iron Man movie, in which Tony Stark gets truly tested, falls and has to rise up again as Iron Man. But really, all of the villains and situations Stark gets himself involved in this movie aren't necessarily all that different and more threatening or dangerous than any of the situations and characters Iron Man had to face before, in any of the previous Iron Man movies and lets count in "The Avengers" as well. As a matter of fact, the movie pretty much has the same tone as the other previous Iron Man movies and isn't really that much darker or less silly, both story-wise and comedy-wise.

I have to say that in some regards this even is a somewhat poor movie. Especially story-wise it's lacking. The pacing is off and the story feels somewhat messy for the first half of the movie and also please don't watch this movie expecting to get any depth or decent enough background to anything. It's shallow, big, action entertainment, that constantly pushes its characters to the background and rather wants to focus on- and show you the next big action set-piece.

This definitely goes at the expense of the whole Tony Stark and Pepper Potts relationship but also at the expense of the Stark and James Rhodes friendship. It's hard to detect any emotions or heartfelt moments in this movie and it's therefore also hard to truly feel involved with the story and characters at times.

The whole villainous plot is also somewhat disappointing. It's just too simple really. They are terrorist and they are evil and that's it really. There is no big plan to conquer to world, get rich, or anything along those lines. It's also 'annoying' how little screen time the main hero and main villain of this movie get to share on the screen. I never like it when a movie its villain and hero basically are miles away from each other and hardly have any form of interaction.

It shows you how lazy and simplistic the writing can get at times for this movie. But this actually also goes for its action moments. I lost count the moments that Tony Stark got saved, at the very last moment, by his suit. Tony Stark falls off something? Don't worry, his suit will save him! Somebody throws/fires something at Tony Stark or holds him hostage? Don't worry, his suit will fly in again to save him! It just isn't very creative and too easy really. Especially of course when the movie starts repeating the same patterns over and over again.

But oh well, this movie still remains pretty much up to par with the other Iron Man movies, as weird as that may sound after all my criticism. This is not any better but also most definitely not any worse than any of the previous two Iron Man movies. It just never does anything new or special with its concept or characters, which is the reason why this third movie mostly feels like a disappointing one. Some more creativity and originality would have been nice!

But Robert Downey Jr. is still in great form and all of the right action and special effects are still there, to turn this movie into an enjoyable, silly, overblown, action spectacle. Action-wise this movie doesn't disappoint and it's the main thing that keeps this movie going and entertaining to watch.

So it's all still good and fun to watch! Just don't expect the ultimate Iron Man movie or one that does things completely different from any of the other Iron Man movies.

7/10

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Tony Stark uses his ingenuity to fight those who destroyed his private world and soon goes up against his most powerful enemy yet: the Mandarin. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Shane Black

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow and others

Current release date: May 3, 2013

Marvel's "Iron Man 3" pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds (Mandarin). When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man? From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Shane Black

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow and others

Current release date: May 3, 2013

People often keep saying it's impossible for movies to do something original or have an original story to it and simply accept that movies keep 'borrowing' stuff from other movies and television shows. Personally I never agreed with any of this. There still is plenty of original stuff you could do with movies and there are plenty of untold stories yet to tell. "Flight" is yet another example of an original movie story- and storytelling.

Having said that; I won't call this movie the movie of the year as well. After all it's not perfect but it sure is one fine and perfectly watchable movie.

Besides featuring an original concept and main story it also features an interesting main character, that's a far from heroic and perfect one. He's heavily flawed as an human being, as are most people in real life. It gives the movie a sense of realism to it as well and I liked that the Denzel Washington kept doing unexpected and the 'wrong' things all throughout the movie. It kept the movie interesting, original and surprising and besides helped to make the ending an even better satisfying and strong one. And even while he does some despicable things throughout the movie, it's never like you are condemning him for it as well, or stop caring for the character or the outcome of the story. You can thank the script and director Robert Zemeckis for that but of course also Denzel Washington, who yet again can add a great performance to his résumé.

Still the story has some issues to it as well. It doesn't always feels focused enough and at times throws too many distractions at you, that in the end don't add an awful lot to the movie or its story. Some characters could had even so easily been left out but still I understand why the movie did all of this. It was supposed to keep things going and to make it about more than just it's main plot line but some better writing, that would had connected things a bit more tight and interestingly, was required for it to let it fully work out all.

This really was the one main thing that prevented me from loving this movie. Of course that doesn't mean the movie is a failure or not worth watching. It remains a good movie to watch all throughout, despite of its lesser moments and the choices it makes at times.

The movie is a human drama, without any of the false and forced sentiments and with plenty of interesting developments to it, that never feel far fetched. It besides is not an heavy movie to watch at all and it times even has a light tone to it. This all feels consistent with Robert Zemeckis' earlier and similar works, such as "Cast Away" for example. This movie also marks the return of Zemeckis to real life filmmaking again, after his, not all too successful, continues attempts at making motion capture movies. I think we can also all agree on it that this is were Zemeckis belongs and needs to continue doing, though he's currently already working on a new motion capture movie. Oh well, as long as he keeps doing movies like "Flight" as well, every now and then, it's fine with me!

Definitely one fine and original fresh movie to watch!

7/10

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The plot is unknown at this time. Rumor has it Tony Stark/Iron Man will head to China to face his toughest opponent, Mandarin. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Shane Black

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow and others

Current release date: May 3, 2013

An airline pilot saves a flight from crashing, but an investigation into the malfunctions reveals something troubling. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Robert Zemeckis

Starring: Denzel Washington, James Badge Dale, John Goodman and others

Current release date: November 2, 2012

(Review originally written at 23 December 2007)

Basically this movie is a great, fun, quality way to spend 2 hours.

The whole script and 'criminal plan' in it is not as cleverly or solid constructed as in the first movie, so fans of the first, don't expect another "Ocean's Eleven". The movie doesn't really have a clear main plot, since you as a viewer also don't know exactly how the plan is going to work out. It isn't really the sort of a movie with a clear beginning, middle and end. It's more the sort of movie with a story that just 'happens', in which events just happens as they come along. It also adds to the unpredictability of the movie, which is of course on the other hand a good thing.

It's again a greatly directed movie, with some great and unique classy style of its own, that shall remind you the most of movie's from the old days. The movie is good looking and fast paced, which makes the 2 hours go by without really realizing it.

It was great to see Al Pacino in a role such as this. He hadn't played a real villain for far too long! In this movie he can basically let himself go, but without ever really doing so, in order to not totally outclass the rest of the cast, that are after all the real heart of the series and are what the movies are all about. All of the other 'eleven' actors also appear in this movie again. It's obvious they still have just as much fun playing together as they did when they first started in 2001. That is the foremost reason why it's not unthinkable that more sequels will follow in the future, which will most likely also be directed again by Steven Soderbergh, who also seems to get along with the cast just fine. It's the fun and the fun that the actors obviously had playing together in this movie. that makes "Ocean's Thirteen" also such a fun movie to watch. Especially George Clooney and Brad Pitt seem to have really found each other.

No, nothing too impressive or memorable but as long as your expectations for it aren't too high and you're not expecting another "Ocean's Eleven", you'll simply have a fine and fun time watching this and therefor this is a real recommendable movie.

7/10

(Review originally written at 4 August 2007)

There are some movies I would had never heard of, if they weren't composed by a well know composers. Soundtracks are often a reason for me wanting to watch a movie. It's a lovely little soundtrack from maestro John Williams. It really helps to tell the story and enhances things.

The movie is a dramatic laden one that is powerful in parts but also filled with some big sappy sentiments. Such as the way the black-community gets portrayed. It's made to look like one big happy, perfect, peaceful, innocent community. It feels a bit too sappy and cheap and on top of that this introduction lasts a tad too long. does tend to make the movie melodramatic but luckily the movie doesn't ever really cross this line. Luckily the movie does get better as things start to go from bad till worse in the story. It becomes a more of an emotional engaging and powerful movie that provides the movie with a couple of effective moments, though the movie at the end also makes the mistake by becoming more of an action-movie. The actual ending itself also goes on for too long, which also causes it to be overly sappy.

It's a well directed movie that shows that John Singleton obviously has talent. Once thing gets started things flow very well and the movie becomes an effective one. It's of course an all the more shocking movie since its based on true events. But nevertheless the movie, because of its sentiments, feels more like a based on a true story made for TV movie, than a shocking, moving Hollywood-hit, worthy of Oscar-nominations. The movie also doesn't feel like its trying to send out a message or tell an important story.

The movie is also good looking with some nice cinematography and also the sets and costumes help to create the right atmosphere for the time period the movie is set in.

The movie has an impressive cast but not everybody seems happily cast. Such as Ving Rhames. He just isn't good enough for this serious and more carrying sort of roles. His character also feels totally unrealistic. No wonder, since his, unlike the other characters in the movie, are fictionalized ones. I don't know why but Don Cheadle and Jon Voight also feel quite out of place. I guess it's because their characters aren't really ever deepened out good and interestingly enough in the movie. But Don Cheadle is of course also always better in smaller supporting roles. This movie could had been a real good and powerful movie if it relied on its characters and became a real character movie but the movie its storytelling, that is more focused on the sensational and racial aspects of the movie, doesn't allow this. Michael Rooker does play a good role and so does Bruce McGill, who is about one of the most underrated actors in the business. Robert Patrick is also in the movie but his role is unfortunately far too small, though not insignificant.

A good, though certainly not perfect dramatic telling of some horrible true events.

7/10

(Review originally written at 13 August 2006)

I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie at first. I expected this movie to be a fun and non-serious one. After all the movie its premise and concept seems at first sight like fun comedy material rather than heavy dramatic stuff. Overall the movie did had a fun and non-serious feeling and atmosphere all over it but the movie is not without good and powerful dramatic moments as well. The movie and its story even take epic proportions at times, especially in the movie its second halve. You can say that this movie really surprised me in a positive about how good it was and it surely surpassed all my expectations.

Basically this movie is a great example of good storytelling. It takes its time to set out the lines. Lots of characters are introduced and the movie takes its time to develop every one of them. The first halve of the movie sets up things and it does this in a pretty lighthearted and fun way, with lots of crazy over-the-top, stereotypical characters. Once the second halve kicks in the movie becomes more dramatic and serious. It all works surprisingly powerful and effective. Surprising, since it's obviously in contrast with the first halve of the movie. "Boogie Nights" is a well balanced movie that gets heavy and serious but never without its overall fun lighthearted atmosphere. The characters and situations force you to not take this movie serious, no matter how heavy and dramatic it gets. In this case that is not a bad thing, since it all is so extremely well balanced. It's like the one thing helps to make the other better in this movie, instead of working distracting from- or making it not credible.

The movie also does a very good job at recreating the feeling, look and atmosphere of the '70's. It does this of course with its clothes, sets and facial hair but also with more subtle things such as its dialog. It all helps to make "Boogie Nights" a very style-full looking movie with a creative feeling and atmosphere of its own.

It does a good and creative job at keeping the nudity and sex sequences to a minimum, although it of course is impossible to keep out all the nudity and controversy. That is simply impossible, since the movie is about a controversial subject. The movie provides a good refreshing and I think also realistic(?) look into the world of porn in the '70's and '80's, when the video's and cinematic adult movies were new and popular. It however does this in a respectful way without making really any fun of it. It's highly tempting to turn a movie set in the '70's into a satirical comedy of that era. It does make fun of several things, such as the typical '70's television series but the movie never turns into a full satire.

The movie is filled with some wonderful and well known actors, who all give a very good performance. Many big names are involved and that says something about the quality of the Oscar nominated script, that obviously inspired and impressed the fine actors involved. Mark Wahlberg shows that he can handle a big and heavy carrying role. He shows his qualities and skills in this movie. Also really great were Burt Reynolds and Julianne Moore, who both were nominated for an Oscar as well. Other fine roles are being portrayed by good and well known actors such as Heather Graham, John C. Reilly, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Don Cheadle, Thomas Jane, Luis Guzmán and Alfred Molina. Yes, it certainly is true that there are many and perhaps too many characters in the movie. It tries too follow one or two too many plot lines with as a result that not everything and everyone works out quite well enough. This perhaps is the only flaw in this otherwise great, wonderful, compelling and powerful movie.

A fun to watch but yet also wonderful compelling and powerful movie about the rise and fall of a porn star in the '70's/'80's. A movie that takes surprising epic proportions! Certainly among the very best movies of the '90's.

9/10

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