He’s battled the Joker, the Penguin, and The Riddler, but there’s lately been one elusive villain Bruce Wayne hasn’t been able to fight; piracy.

Shortly afterThe Dark Knight, WB’s last installment of the Batman franchise, was released in 2008, the internet was swarming with hand-held cam versions of the movie. Now it looks like the long shadow of the Bat has fallen on one of those perpetrators.

Robert Harrison of Grandview, Missouri, has been sentenced to two years of prison for illegally coping the film while it was playing in theaters. In addition to the jailtime, there are close to $25,000 of related fines heading Mr. Harrison’s way. He will be serving the sentence in a Federal prison.

The ruling that resulted in his conviction states the following:

The Family Entertainment and Copyright Act enacted in 2005 made camcording in a theater a federal felony (camcording in theaters is also prohibited by many state statutes) and established new penalties for pirating works that have not yet been released commercially. First-time violators can be sentenced to three and five years, respectively, for these crimes and fined up to $250,000.”

Once again, a reminder to the criminal underbelly, you can’t escape the Batman. And to all you would-be pirates out there, it’s a steep penalty for sailing these theiving seas.

There are movies out there that rely heavily on the weight and power of it’s leads. The director only needs to do a serviceable job while the actor (or actress) powers the screen with her talent. As much as I love To Kill A Mockingbird, it’s a prime example of a film being completely carried by it’s lead (on a side note, Gregory Peck puts on an acting school in this film.) For a more recent example, some would argue the “cinematical revolutionary” film The Dark Knight wouldn’t be as powerful without Heath Ledger’s performance. We may as well throw The Soloist in this category as the film is completely dominated by both Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. and is anchored completely on the terrific performances they give.

Let’s start with Jamie Foxx who was last heard from in solid but meandering The Kingdom. He plays Nathaniel Ayers as sympathetic schizophrenic that is near impossible to root against. Remember Ray, where Jamie Foxx showed us all he’s one of the great acting talents of our generation? Here he proves that he can be a versatile actor by being the polar opposite of most of his other roles. Even in Ray, more reserved in Miami Vice and definitely in Stealth Foxx was the over-confident, loud, and angry type. Nathaniel Anthony Ayers isn’t that, and Foxx strokes the right notes for him like a true master. Every scene he’s in is pure beauty, and it could very well be a crime if he’s not nominated for another Oscar due to his masterwork here.

Complimenting him is Robert Downey Jr. who once again knocks it out of the park as reporter Steve Lopez. Many will say he appears cynical at first which is the easy way of putting it because so many of these pictures begin with a cynical asshole being changed by a gifted but handicapped individual. Lopez doesn’t come off like that at all instead as a man who has had a stroke of bad luck, after all he starts the film off being pummeled by the pavement in a bicycling accident. When he finds Nathaniel, it comes off like a ray of hope to him when he’s captivated by the music and he thinks he can help not just Nathaniel, but L.A.. Downey Jr. is gold in everything he does and elevate otherwise mediocre films to enjoyable fun pictures. The Soloist is by no means mediocre thanks in large part to Jamie Foxx, but Tony Stark is right on the spot to be a comforting friend to him even in their earliest scenes together.

Director Joe Wright does a good job of constructing this tale of failed opportunities and blooming friendships. The music, ironically, doesn’t come off heavy handed in the most dramatic of times and is handled more or less to build Nathaniel Ayers for the audience. There’s a scene midway through that has flashing lights at the screen and while reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey, does a great job of engulfing us into Nathaniel’s mind while he listens to the classical sounds of the symphony. Susannah Grant’s script is no slouch either as she builds both the leads as likable gentlemen and develops their relationship exceptionally well. In some senses it’s not so much about how they become friends but rather how they handle the disputes that arise and how they interact when they themselves go at each other.

Sadly, the writing also hurts the film. Catherine Keener does a great job like always yet her character (who I don’t think was given a name) comes off underdeveloped and utterly useless. In one scene she comes off as an over-bearing editor and the next she’s the comforting wife. All things considered you could cut her character from the flick and not lose an ounce of it’s impact. The movie also falls victim to flashback syndrome. Flashbacks can be used to further the story along (see: Citizen Kane, Double Indemnity) but they can also slow down and murder a film. The Soloist is in the second category and it’s a shame because the the first couple of flashbacks are expertly handled. It’s the ones that delve into Nathaniel’s psyche that slow the film down to a crawl. In addition, other scenes such as Lopez staying with Ayers in a homeless street for the night are dragged out and should end three minutes before they do.

It’s a shame, because these make The Soloist a good, not great, film. It is however worth seeing if only because Downey Jr. and Foxx have incredible chemistry and put on an acting school. Joe Wright also builds on the strong work he displayed in Atonement and the writing, while flawed, still gives us a good story and well rounded leads. All things considered, this deserves your attention and is one of the best films of 2009 at this stage in the game.

2008 may very well be remembered as “the year of the superhero”.  This is the year that gave us the immaculate “The Dark Knight”, the crowd-pleasing “Incredible Hulk” (although it did everything BUT please me), and of course the surprisingly strong “Iron Man” starring Robert Downey Jr.  The latter has just been released on DVD and Blu-Ray, with a 2-Disc “Ultimate” Edition that’s sure to satisfy the millions of fans the film garnered since its release this past May.

This hugely entertaining comic book adaptation about Tony Stark (Downey Jr.), a smarmy and sarcastic narcissist of a billionaire playboy who comes from a long line of weapons manufacturers who donates those weapons to the war effort.  But when Tony is captured and held captive in a terrorist camp for three months, he plans an escape by constructing a suit of iron equipped with some nifty devices and an assortment of weapons.  After being rescued, Tony returns home with a renewed set of morals and a fresh new purpose: he wants to protect the people he put in harm’s way by modifying his original suit design.  But Tony is soon swept up in a plot being orchestrated by his shady business partner Obidiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), who wants to use Tony’s suit design for more sinister purposes.

This 2-Disc DVD is jam-packed with bonus features, starting with a slew of deleted/extended scenes that are good to say the very least, but while watching them it’s obvious why they were cut.  Most of these scenes are extended versions of scenes in the final cut, such as more interaction between Tony and Rhodes (Terrence Howard) at Caesar’s Palace and on the plane ride to Afghanistan.  However, there are some entirely new scenes that are pretty nice, including more Iron Man action from the film’s finale and a scene in which Obidiah Stane chastises his workers for not building his own suit quick enough.

But the bulk of the bonus features are on the second disc.  Things really kick off with an elaborate 7-part making-of documentary entitled “I Am Iron Man”.  This documentary chronicles every single part of the process of bringing “Iron Man” to the big screen; it certainly takes a while to get through, but it’s still a worthy special feature.  Another one, “Wired: The Visual Effects of Iron Man”, gives us a gander into how the filmmakers created the impressive special effects of the movie, as the title would suggest.  “The Invincible Iron Man” is another multi-chaptered documentary, this one a 6-parter which details the history of the character Iron Man, from the initial conception to what he has now become.  Also included is Robert Downey Jr.’s Screen Test for the film, a short feature entitled “The Actor’s Process”, still galleries and more.  This Special Edition DVD is the type collectors dream off: full of quality features that showcase the hard work put into a really good film.

Of course, Paramount has also released a standard one-disc edition which includes only the film and the deleted/extended scenes, but this is the version more deserving of your money.

Movie Rating: 4 stars

DVD Rating:  4.5 stars

Have you seen Iron Man yet? If not what are you waiting for? Go out and see it this weekend.

Prior to the May 2nd debut there was talk all over the Internet that Hillary Swank would have a cameo part in the movie along with the now known Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury scene. However it is now being reported that this rumor was just that…a rumor and there was no truth at all to any of it.

Cinematical notes that former Marvel Studio head honcho Avi Arad had come out and said she was never part of the story, had never been cast, and was not in the movie at all. You can read more about it by clicking this link.

Who would Hillary have played? I think she was going to be the Black Widow who is an agent of S.H.E.I.L.D and works as Fury’s right-hand person.

Another rumor making the rounds is for the Incredible Hulk. There had been rumors for the past few weeks that Sam Jackson would turn up as Nick Fury in Hulk along with Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark AND someone as Captain America. It seems that Captain America will not be in the movie afterall no.

It seems that one day Leterrier says we the audience will “have to look hard and to see him” and the next Leterrier says that the scene was cut from the movie and may be on the DVD.  Click this link to read more.

All in all Iron Man and The Incredibule Hulk are making grounds for 2011 when the Avengers movie is out for all to see.

Well you wont get to be Tony Stark per se or even Robert Downey Jr but you will live like they would for a day.

The guys over at MTV and VH1 are throwing a sweepstakes that includes:

First class air transportation to Los Angeles, CA
3 nights stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel
A helicopter tour of LA
A $1000 shopping spree on Rodeo Drive
Dinner and Spa treatments

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All you have to do is sign up. Its that simple. So head on over to the Official contest pages at
http://ironman.mtv.com and http://ironman.vh1.com and get to signing!

Who wouldn’t want to be part of this? I already signed up!

MARVEL COMICS DOES IT AGAIN!!!…another comic book turned into a great motion picture and this year’s mega-blockbuster. Director John Favreau captured the essence that is the Iron Man comic book and brought it to life in a fun way that will have the whole family cheering. His choice of actors was superior as each person was able to capture the essence of their comic book counterpart.

Iron Man is the story of billionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey, JR). Betrayed, tortured, and left for dead, Tony battles back for life by dedicating his scientific and technological skills to stop the misuse of weapons bearing the Stark Industries name.
The “Iron Man” is a way to use the Stark Industries weapons as they were originally intended to be…protecting the innocent.

Robert Downey, JR does a magnificent job in his portrayal of Tony Stark. Call it typecasting but whom else could play a womanizing, self centered, drunken, billionaire? He pulls off this role as if he was born to play it.

Stark is joined in this quest by his sexy assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) who helps keep the day-to-day items running in the Stark world. She knows all of Tony’s secrets and will help him with everything. Sidekick James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Terrance Howard) is the moral compass that aids Tony with the technology research.

Iron Man has a believable group of adversaries that help keep this adventure grounded in the real world. The terrorist organization called The Ten Rings is the Al Qaeda of the Iron Man world. The Ten Rings want to use the ill-gotten weapons as a means to an end and won’t let anyone or thing get in their way. The organization is run by Raza (Faran Tahir) and long time Iron Man readers will notice that he resembles the Mandarin, an ancient warlord that longed to hold the ten mystical rings of power. Tony’s business partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), is a master of the corporate world and has his own plans for Stark Industries. He’ll stop at nothing to gain power via the arms sales to the US Government and any organization that can pay for his services.

Humor, action, and adventure, are all at hand making this movie suitable for a family outing this weekend. With a nice balance between action and story, Favreau was able to move the plot forward without compromising story elements for un-needed/thrown in, action sequences. Staying true to the source material was the number one priority and it shows.

I stayed to see if there were any additional scenes after the credits and in the screener copy I saw there were none. However, I have read that the version hitting theaters will have a bonus scene after the credits. Either way, I’m sure that it will be on the DVD when released. Here is a link to Slashfilm.com detailing the story.

Iron Man is rated PG-13, has a run time of two hours, is directed by John Favreau and distributed by Paramount Pictures. This is the way to start the summer of 2008.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ 

I was sitting in a theater awaiting a screening to start when I saw my first glimpse of “Tropic Thunder”. The trailer started up as any war movie would and then turned into a Ben Still marathon. Have I told you all how much I dislike Ben Stiller?

The audience was laughing their heads off as I sat there hoping for it to end. Will this movie be funny? Will you go see it and spend your hard earned 9 dollars to enjoy Robert Downey Jr as a black man?

Let me know what you all think about it. Will it be funny? Will it make money just because of the cast or is truly going ot be something that holds on in the box office ratings?

I have a feeling it will end up in the trash heap right next to “Semi-Pro”

Here are some photos to wet your appetite.

Ben Stiller‘s newest film Tropic Thunder has gotten a lost of press lately in part to Robert Downey Jr playing a black man. Yes you heard me correctly. The black guy in the photo above is RDjr!

While a stunt like this is meant to bring about publicity, its not at all surprising from the Stiller camp. He has pulled off stupid stunts like this before.

What do you think about Stiller’s antics? What about Robert Downey as a black guy?

You can find the newst trailer over at Yahoo.