PASS THE POPCORN

I'm a slacker film buff: I don't like long lines and I hate being penned up in a theatre lobby so I just saw Iron Man yesterday. It's a helluva popcorn movie. Before seeing it, I was marveling (pun intended) at the casting of Robert Downey Jr. in the lead but once I saw him as genius playboy Tony Stark, I got it. Downey and director John Favreau aren't the first names one thinks of when contemplating a superhero movie but that's why it works so damn well ala Burton and Keaton.  

I particularly liked the scenes where Downey creates the second Iron Man suit; talk about gee whiz technology. Downey brings a dry sense of humor to his role, Gwyneth Paltrow is adorable and Jeff Bridges is typically outstanding (albeit atypically hammy) as the villainous merchant of death, Obadiah Stane. Is it just me or did anyone else think Bridges resembled former Louisiana Governor Mike (Daddy Warbucks) Foster? Hmm, that makes Downey, PBJ; the poor bastard.

Anyway, Iron Man is a good time at the movies and probably deserves to make buckets of money. It's the most entertaining superhero movie since the first Spidey flick. Adrastos Grade: B+ 

Speaking of Iron Man, Pete Townshend released a concept album by that name in 1989. It was based, however, on a children's story by the poet Ted Hughes and had naught to do with Stan Lee. Here's a clip featuring a rather different Iron Man:

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