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Iron Man 2, a review by Danae Cassandra

Iron Man 2
Year of Release: 2010
Directed By: Jon Favreau
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke
Genre: Action, Science-Fiction

Overview:
Get the ultimate Iron Man 2My Thoughts:
A sequel as good as its predecessor is a rare item.  We have it here, however.  Yes, compared to the original, there are definite flaws to this film.  But there are also points where it is stronger, so I think they come out even.  This is an equally fun, entertaining ride anchored by Robert Downey Jr.'s strong performance as Tony Stark.

One definite improvement over the first film is in the villain.  Mickey Roarke's Whiplash is a much more menacing, more more developed and nuanced character than Obidiah Stane.  Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer was equally much more believable in his motivation.  I'm not fond of the recast of Rhodey, but I can live with it.  I guess they wanted a bigger name for War Machine.

If fighting Whiplash, or the government doesn't seem to take up enough time in the movie and leaves the movie floundering in the middle with no goal, as some reviewers seem to think, what they're missing is that Stark is always his own worst enemy.  Yes, he is trying to discover a non-lethal power source, yes he does fight the government, yes he does have a villain to fight.  But that's not what he has to overcome.  Ultimately Stark has to face down himself, his own inner demons, and his own hedonistic tendencies to become a better person.  That's Stark's goal, even if he doesn't understand it himself.

Overall a great film, lots of fun, enough action to keep the explosion crowd entertained, easy recommendation you liked the first film.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 4/5

(From Iron Man mini-marathon on January 26th, 2014)

Little Shop of Horrors, a review by Tom

Little Shop of Horrors (1986/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Warner Home Video (Germany) Director: Frank Oz Writing: Howard Ashman (Original Material By), Howard Ashman (Screenwriter), Charles Griffith (Original Material By) Length: 90 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 1, Music Only: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: Croatian, English, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Slovenian, Turkish

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Stars:
Levi Stubbs as The Voice of "Audrey II" (voice)
Rick Moranis as Seymour Krelborn
Ellen Greene as Audrey
Vincent Gardenia as Mushnik
Steve Martin as Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.

Plot:
A nerdish florist finds his chance for success and romance with the help of a giant man-eating plant who demands to be fed.

Awards:
Won:

Saturn (1986)

Best Music (Alan Menken)

Nominated:

Academy Award (1986)		Best Music, Song (Alan Menken (Music), Howard Ashman (Lyrics))
Academy Award (1986)		Best Visual Effects (Lyle Conway, Bran Ferren, Martin Gutteridge)
AFI (1986)		100 Years... 100 Songs (2004) (Somewhere That's Green)
BAFTA (1987)		Achievement In Special Effects (Bran Ferren, Martin Gutteridge, Lyle Conway, Richard Conway)
Casting Society of America Awards (1987)
Golden Globe (1986)		Original Score (Miles Goodman)
Golden Globe (1986)		Picture - Musical or Comedy (David Geffen)
Hugo Award (1987)		Dramatic Presentation
Writers Guild of America Awards (1987)		Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Howard Ashman)

Extras:

• Commentary
• Featurettes
• Outtakes
• Scene Access
• Trailers

A great movie. The puppetry of "Audrey II" is amazing. And some amazing supporting cast. Like Steve Martin as the sadistic dentist and Bill Murray as his patient.

Rating:

(From Tom's Horror Marathon 2012 on October 21st, 2012)

"Due South" marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

Pizzas And Promises

Another really good episode. This time around I liked the entire storyline. Though I couldn't get over how ugly the outfit that Ray's sister was wearing in this episode. I also think it would have been better if they followed through on the storyline of the pizza delivery kid a little more. Like how he found out that his car was repainted and up for sale again or if he had to face the other kid waiting for him back in jail. Though they really didn't have time for it.

Rating:

(From "Due South" marathon on June 29th, 2009)