The Final Cut In Movies (05/09/08): Ironman

On this week’s show, I'll be discussing Iron Man, rules to follow if you ever find yourself caught in a science fiction or fantasy movie, the question of whether making weapons is a good idea, why you need to pay careful attention to every Marvel Comics movie coming out, and other science fiction & fantasy news.

 

Segment A: Iron Man Storyline & Positives

Storyline

Positives

• Great Character development—especially Tony Stark
• Have to have character development for the story to work by nature of Tony Clark’s turnaround and decision to build Ironman.
• The method they used to create the lines was perfect considering the actors.
• Gwyneth Paltrow
• The humor
• The Toys!
• Watching him try to fly.
• The Suit was Sweet

Segment B: Box Office Report & News

Box Office Report:

• #1, $100.75 million: Ironman. Spring has its first blockbuster! Ironman has grossed more than Transformers did on it's opening night! And it was good, so you know it will do well next week. The second place movie? Made of Honor at $15.5 million. (Do you see why Science Fiction & Fantasy rocks???)
• #6, $4.2 million, The Forbidden Kingdom. The Forbidden Kingdom is better than the $45 million it has grossed so far. I think it's biggest mistake was coming out only two weeks before the May blockbusters. If it had been released earlier, its target audience wouldn't be watching Ironman and preparing for Speed Racer, Narnia's Prince Caspian, and Indiana Jones.
• #7, $2.75 million, Nim's Island.
• #11, $1.35 million, Horton Hears a Who.

News:

• Chris Wedge will direct the live-action adaptation of Brian Selznick's children's novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. My Take: Haven't heard of this one, but now that Harry Potter's last book has come out, I wonder what children's novel will take it's place.
• The rapper, Common, has signed on to co-star in Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. My Take: I still don't like the movie title...
• Universal Pictures is creating The Knights Templar. My Take: No it's not a story about Mary Magdalene. It's a story about the Knights Templar trying to keep vampires from destroying the Holy Grail.
• Ironman grossed $201 million world wide. (My Box Office Report shows only domestic sales.) My Take: Duh! It's an action-adventure-sci-fi movie that's family friendly (for the most part) with great character development, hilarious lines, and an audience waiting for it to come out. Why is the rest of the world shocked?
• Negotiations between DreamWorks and Jonah Hill (who was supposed to play Shia Pet's sidekick in Transformers 2) have broken down. My Take: I'm going to keep my mouth shut on this or I will say something mean. 
• Graphic novelist, Frank Miller, (300, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns) will try his hand at directing with the movie, The Spirit, an adaptation of Will Eisner's comic strip. The Spirit is now set for release on December 25, 2009. My Take: I just read 300 this weekend. Frank Miller has this intangible quality of being amazing that I can't put my finger on. I would love to see him adapt some of his own work.
• Fox, New Regency and Davis Entertainment will produce Little Big War, a comedy about a family that must fight action figures that come to life attack. My Take: Cute. With the right actors and a release date that doesn't coincide with something big, like Ironman 2.
• Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) will star in an adaptation of Italian comic book, Dylan Dog, called Dead of Night. My Take: Not much going on in the sci-fi/fantasy movie department today, eh?

Segment C: Negatives, Etc.

Negatives

• Didn’t understand the whole heart needs a battery thing.
• The suit
• How heavy? Need, like, hydraulic action or something to move it
• There will come a point where he needs Oxygen…. And a Parachute.
• Wile E. Coyote Physics. A couple times, he should have died—Like when he fell from the sky into the desert sand. But hey, all comic book adapted movies are supposed to use Road Runner Physics.
• End was a bit “Transformers-y” with the bad lines.

The Final Cut’s Rules for Surviving a Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie:

1. If a monster is chasing you, run out the door. Do not run down to the basement or up on the roof--unless you are either 1) Jackie Chan or 2) a comic book superhero with the ability to fly. Always try to give yourself a "means of egress."
2. If one of the bad guys decides to show you all the nitty-gritty details of his operation, run. Immediately.
3. If you discover that you are in a movie adapted from a Stephen King novel, find the nearest crazy person with whom you are trapped and tape his/her mouth shut! You might also consider taping his/her wrists and ankles. You may also want to bring some Prozac...
4. Never insult a Klingon. No matter how tempting...
5. If you are a good guy actively fighting bad guys and you have a girlfriend or a wife, get her out of the country. Suggestion: she might really enjoy some spa time in the Caribbean.
6. And after watching Iron Man, I just added a new one: If your arch-enemy is unconscious, make sure he's dead. This could save the director millions of dollars on extra stuntmen, more CG creation time, explosions, etc.

Regarding Comic Book Movies coming out: Pay Attention!

Segment D: Lessons from Iron Man

Iron Man raises the whole question: is building weapons good?

• Here’s the deal: Bad guys are going to create weapons and attack the good guys who don’t have weapons.
• It’s the essence of comic books, action adventure, and life.
• So the key to keeping the world safe is to give the good guys better weapons than the bad guys.
• Accountability is necessary.

Motivations—Tony Stark didn’t change his view on weapons. He changed his motivation from making money to helping to “protect the men we put in harm’s way.”

Ironman gives us hope that we can overcome our weaknesses.

Segment E: Wrap

Upcoming Movies:

• Speed Racer, Action. Wachowski brothers’ first writing/directing collaboration since The Matrix.
• Can view all upcoming science fiction & fantasy movies at www.finalcutinmovies.com on the Upcoming Movies page.

Box Office Predictions:

1. Iron Man
2. Speed Racer
3. What Happens in Vegas
4. Made of Honor
5. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Don’t forget to check out www.elysianchronicles.com. Something is brewing, but I can’t tell you what.

 

The Final Cut in Movies is an internet radio talk show that puts science fiction and fantasy center stage. The show airs on AdAstraRadio.com from 2:00am to 3:00am and 2:00pm to 3:00om. If you can't be next to your computer at those times, download the show here!

M. B. Weston is the host of The Final Cut in Movies, an internet radio talk show about science fiction and fantasy films on Ad Astra Radio, which can also be heard as a podcast at M. B. Weston's Podcast site. She is also the author of The Elysian Chronicles, a fantasy series about guardian angel warfare and treason. For more information on M. B. Weston, visit her website, www.mbweston.com, and her personal blog, www.mbwestonblog.com. Find out more about The Elysian Chronicles at www.elysianchronicles.com.