Off the Cuff: Iron Man
I did it. Something I was convinced I would never do. I finally went and saw Iron Man.
After several years worth of columns saying how horrible I thought this movie would be, it turned out to be one of the best comic book films I’ve ever seen.
Apparently admitting you’re wrong isn’t quite as hard as I thought it would be.
Before I get to the stuff I liked, let me talk about the one thing I didn’t – the pacing. There was something about the movie that made me keep looking at my watch. What’s strange is I can’t pinpoint what. It’s not like the movie wasted a lot scenes like the Transformers movie. And it’s not like there wasn’t a lot of action to keep my attention. The only thing I can figure is that since I knew the origins of Iron Man, I just wanted to get to the giant suit of armor!
Outside of this one object though, I really enjoyed Iron Man.
I thought Robert Downey Jr carried the movie. Now lets be honest – that’s not a sentence I ever expected to type. He was truly the perfect cast as Tony Stark: impulsive, playboy, technological genius, and a bit obsessive compulsive. He really did a great job.
As most fans of Iron Man will tell you, one of the secret joys of the character is “the montage” of technology. There’s something that appeals to fans in that sequence. It’s the same thing that makes us want to go and upgrade our own computers. And the movie perfectly captures this.
Think about it, the A-team had an entire TV series built around the montage. As did MacGyver and The Pretender. The montage is such an important part of this “culture” that Team America and South Park even wrote a song about it.
So what’s not to like about a movie where you get at least three extended montage sequences?!
I probably won’t watch Iron Man in theaters again for a second time (who can afford that with $10 tickets?) But I will watch it again in the future. Iron Man is one of the classics, and I look forward to a sequel.
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March 25, 2008
Off the Cuff: GI Joe Movie
I can’t even begin to stress how skeptical I am of this movie. The simple fact that the writers started their project by backing away from GI Joe tradition bothers me. But I’m not just being bitter. I see two fundamental problems with the change of GI Joe from an American Hero to an “international peace keeping force.” Especially in light of this being done to sell more tickets to foreign markets.
1. When you focus on marketing and pay models instead of the story, you’re asking for trouble. Just look at HellGate.
2. They are changing an icon, simply to sell more tickets. This will only anger fans of the original cartoon. Which will make up the bulk of initial customers.
I can’t see how either of these things are good. (Well, good for a fan of the original cartoon….)
I hope I’m wrong though.
Now before I go all doom and gloom, there is one thing that gives me that hope: check out the images of Snake Eyes from Ain’t It Cool News.
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December 20, 2007
A new Off the Cuff?
What’s this? Off the Cuff on the front page? Could it be a Christmas miracle? Well it’s probably a miracle Craig lets me post anywhere on this site, but that’s beside the point at the moment.
So what’s going to happen over the next few weeks? You’re guess is as good as mine, but I think we will begin to see an evolution of Off the Cuff. Perhaps it will even grow legs and begin to walk on legs. Or maybe it will evolve into something more pointless, but fun – like sporks.
Either way, I’m sure it will continue to be something. Probably.
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Nothing says “Christmas” quite like the Dark Knight. So I encourage everyone to check out this video clip of the upcoming Batman movie. I’ll admit I was a bit concerned about how Heath Ledger was going to play Joker. Not everyone can pull off Joker, but I really think Ledger has a shot.
This is the first time I’ve ever been “scared” by the Joker. Ledger really creeps me out. He’s certainly got the whole “killer clown” vibe.
The Joker is such a brilliant villain because he completely corrupts anything he comes into contact with. Harley Quinn used to be an innocent person, and now she’s as deranged as he is. All of his schemes involve toying (sometimes literally) with items from our childhood. Even dressing as a clown is corrupted. The Joker is the ultimate representation of all that is “not right” with the world.
I am more excited about the new Batman movie than any other super hero movie coming down the road. I can’t wait.
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