The fanfare has begun once again, as many patrons go out to fill the theaters, to see the metal man who brings a cocky-like finesse to his rivals. This time around, it seemed to fall flat for the first thirty or so minutes, however the story picks up as we meet his new nemesis Whiplash (Ivan Vanko) who was played by Mickey Rourke. He is an electrifying dazzler of a character lashing with his whips at Iron Man thrashing around everywhere leaving a trail of destruction behind him.
The back-story of the group S.H.I.E.L.D. is explained somewhat further, as we see several appearances of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. (I actually met Samuel in real life many years ago, he is a nice guy) Director Jon Favreau returns as (Happy) Hogan in this, and appears a few times throughout the film. Justin Theroux was responsible for the screenplay, which was based upon the comic book series by legends Stan Lee, Don Heck, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby. Keep your eyes open for Stan Lee as he makes a very brief appearance in the film towards the beginning.
Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark aka Iron Man. He really seemed to connect to this character again; I think everyone who was in this film did a nice job. I was hesitant about Don Cheadle replacing Lt. Col. James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes aka War Machine. The role was originally played by Terrence Howard. Don did well bringing his own knack to the role I thought.
Gwyneth Paltrow returns as Pepper Potts and like her previous performance seemed to add a certain romantic dynamic between Stark and herself. Scarlett Johansson appears in this as Natalie Rushman aka Natasha Romanoff and we later get a chance to see her kick some butt. She is pretty tame until then.
Leslie Bibb returns as Christine Everhart, Kate Mara makes a brief appearance as a U.S. Marshal. Clark Gregg plays Agent Coulson, John Slattery plays Howard Stark. If the robot Jarvis sounded a bit familiar then you may recognize British actor Paul Bettany’s voice as he did the voice in the previous film as well.
The real standouts in this film were Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko with a very convincing Russian accent and Sam Rockwell playing Justin Hammer a cowardly puppet master trying to control Ivan using his menacing talents. Both of them helped keep things interesting throughout the film.
The film is loaded with special effects and a big Hollywood production budget; it was pretty well put together. However, we thought the final showdown between Ivan (Whiplash) was way too short, you will have to see for yourself, but more could have been added. It was almost like they were rushing it to wrap up the runtime. It also had a few light comedic moments in it. Be sure to stick around throughout the credits for a short scene that may help further tease fans to the origins of the franchise.
Thought I would give this movie a try, it turned out to be pretty funny. The leading actor in this completely carries the movie. His name is Ryan Pinkston and he plays a character named Sam Leonard. It is a drama/comedy type film with more comedy than drama in it. I think most people would find this to be rather enjoyable as it has enough gags and witty remarks throughout the movie to keep you interested. Christian Charles directed this, and the screenplay was written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. The initial storyline concept was a team effort made by: Yoni Berkovits, Tony Dreannan, Tom Gammill, and Max Pross who all seemed to tap into something with their efforts.
The story is basically about what happens when you wish for things and try to impress people by telling lies. In this movie, they actually somehow come true. From his actions, Sam Leonard (Ryan Pinkston) now faces the consequences and has to step up to the responsibilities. He is not alone in his crisis as he has a shoulder to lean on from his new found friend Annie Dray played by the lovely redheaded Kate Mara. In this movie, she is quite opinionated and tries to help Sam somehow fit in the teenage social scene at school.
Teri Polo also appears in this as a teacher named Mrs. Moran; you might know her from some of her earlier work including Mystery Date (1991) starring opposite of Ethan Hawke. I was surprised to see Craig Kilborn appear in this as Mike Hanbo a high school guidance counselor. John Carroll Lynch also shows up in this as Sam’s father Mr. Leonard. You might know him best from the television series The Drew Carey Show as Steve Carey. Cynthia Stevenson plays Mrs. Leonard and has an extensive movie resume. Surely you have seen her in something. Sam’s parents are truly old fashion in every sense of the word. You will see what happens later on as the film moves along.
More of the cast includes: Amanda Walsh playing Vicki Sanders, Derek McGrath plays Principal Hayes, Joshua Close plays Kyle Plunkett, and Matt Gordon plays Coach Henderson. Also, Carmen Electra model/actress appears in this as herself.
I think you will find this to be worthwhile of your time, and it had enough humorous moments to drive the scenes along. I would recommend this to put on your list for a rental or possibly buying it.
It has been a while since I’ve seen a movie this good. I really liked it and I will explain why. The outlined story is about an American couple who have previously volunteered abroad in China. They elect to travel back to the states while taking the internationally Trans-Siberia Express railway train ride, which reaches across from east to west through Russia. The ride is a long journey, and along the way they find more than they expected. This was directed by Brad Anderson who also helped write the story with Will Conroy. I thought it was similar in some respects to an Alfred Hitchcock film. It seemed to have some of the elements that are an ongoing subtle presence in his films.
Woody Harrelson plays a man named Roy who is married to Jessie played by British actress Emily Mortimer. This movie really let her showcase her talents, and she shines through in the role of Jessie. Another couple shares their compartment aboard the train with them and changes everything. Kate Mara plays a young American woman named Abby and Eduardo Noriega plays her boyfriend named Carlos. Ben Kingsley later appears as Grinko and German actor Thomas Kretschmann plays Kolzak. There are more appearances by Etienne Chicot as the Frenchman, Mac McDonald plays the Minister, Colin Stinton is the Embassy Official, Perlis Vaisieta Manager Hotel Pushkin, Mindaugas Papinigis was the Young Detective, Mindaugas Capas was the Military Officer, Visockaite Sonata was Female Train Attendant #1, Larisa Kalpokaite was Female Train Attendant #2, and Valentinas Krulikovskis was the Young Waiter.
The character Roy enjoys trains and even collects them, later on it will pay off for him within the story. He is a typical nice average everyday guy and he loves his wife Jessie who he met by accident. Jessie has past issues dealing from many things from sex to drugs that seemingly put a strain on their marriage. I think you will find this film to be very enjoyable and suspenseful in not predicting where the story will go next. I highly recommend this one and think it was done very well.
