It is bittersweet that Iron Man 2 came out in early May.  It was the movie of 2010 that I was most looking forward to, but it’s sad to have that moment gone so early in the summer movie season.

Sequels are always a dicey proposition, but Marvel superheroes have had good luck in their sophomore run.  Both Spider-Man 2 and X-Men 2 were the best of their respective franchises.

Then again, this is Marvel’s first sequel as its own production company. Could Iron Man 2 possibly live up to the hype?  For the most part, Iron Man 2 is a great success.  It’s not as pristine as the first, but it will leave you satisfied.

Robert Downey Jr. is back as the heart and soul of the franchise.  His embodiment of Tony Stark is about as pitch perfect as one can imagine, and he doesn’t disappoint in the Iron Man 2.  The script called for a slightly darker tone at times, but Downey managed to keep it cohesive.

Downey Jr. is reunited with Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, and jarringly joined by Don Cheadle taking over as James Rhodes.  Cheadle does as serviceable of a job as Terrance Howard did, but the script didn’t really give him much to work with.  A clever line near the beginning playfully let’s the audience know that Don Cheadle is not Terrence Howard.

It’s really the cast that makes this movie shine.  Everyone does the best they can with the material and really throws themselves into their respective roles.  Mickey Rourke is in vogue lately for good reason.  He plays Ivan Vanko with menace, and manages to squeeze every last bit out of the character despite his relatively few lines.

Sam Rockwell comes in as Justin Hammer.  I don’t know much about Justin Hammer in the comics, but Rockwell plays him light here.  The character comes across as a caricature of Downey’s Tony Stark.  Sometimes this works to great effect, but at other times it feels almost over the top.

I’ve not been a fan of Scarlett Johansson in the past, so I was a bit concerned when I heard she was cast as Black Widow.  I would have loved to have seen Yvonne Strahovski in the role (though it would have required a dye job).  Johansson does pretty well, though.  Downey saves her from being bland in most of her scenes, and she fully kicks butt when the time comes.

The only real problems with Iron Man 2 stem from its extremely busy plot. Though I enjoy and appreciate the unprecedented attempt at bringing all of the Marvel movies together, the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. subplot slows down the movie for no discernible reason.  I suppose that when you ink Sam Jackon to an 11 picture deal, you have to use him.

Since the bulk of the picture focuses on Tony Stark’s journey to true manhood, some character development for Pepper and Rhodey is sacrificed.  It’s never quite clear why Rhodey so readily helps Hammer weaponize the Mark II into War Machine, and Pepper isn’t nearly as strong of a woman as she was in the first.  I guess Iron Man needed someone to save other than the world.

Those points are minor quibbles in the grand scheme, though, and Favreau keeps the plot moving fast enough that you won’t bother nitpicking as you watch.  Favreau has also grown as a director since Iron Man, and more ably delivers the action scenes this time around.  He’s especially good at framing iconic scenes that you wish you could make a poster of.

I don’t know if it’s a bigger budget or 2 years of new technology, but the Iron Man and War Machine suits are more impressive and real this time around.  Vanko’s Whiplash outfit is also appropriately cool looking, though I think I prefer the simpler one from the beginning of the film to the ‘uber’ version at the end.

Though I felt that Rhodey needed some more screen time, I really did like the dynamic that War Machine added to the mix.  His use in the film was probably the better use of a ’sidekick’ than I’ve seen in any superhero movie.  Yes, even Chris O’Donnell’s oh-so-memorable Robin.

Iron Man’s not new anymore, so I don’t have the same gushing feelings of awesomeness that I had the first time around but don’t let that make you think that Iron Man 2 doesn’t deliver.  It absolutely does, and I feel confident that it will be the best big-budget movie of the summer.

Verdict: B+ Tilt: A

As I sat in the theater on Saturday night awaiting the start of The Losers, I saw trailers for The Expendables, Takers, and The A-Team.  I’m not sure exactly what genre this is, but it seems to suddenly be popular.

With those four movies alone, you’ll see Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana (x2), Chris Evans, Idris Elba (x2), Hayden “Anakin” Christensen, Paul Walker, Matt Dillon, Jay Hernandez, Sly Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Stone-Cold Steve Austin, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brittany Murphy, Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, and Jessica Biel — and I’m sure I’ve missed a few.

Hollywood better hope that this military-like action group comedy genre works out because those actors could not have been cheap.  The upside is that at least one of the four will surely have a combination of actors that you dig.  If only we could mix and match.

But it was The Losers that I watched on Saturday night, so we’ll start with that.

The Losers is based on a DC comic.  I doubt most people know that because it wasn’t really hyped much during the advertisements for the film.  It’s an important fact, though, because the comic book format is embraced with the cinematography in this film.

A lot of movies have tried to give live action movies a comic book feel in various ways.  The Watchmen is noticeable for it’s tendency to linger on faithful reproductions of specific comic book panes.  But The Losers does an admirable job as well, and it’s almost a shame that such fun cinematography was showcased in this relatively small film rather than some of its bigger competitors.

The plot of The Losers is pretty bad.  There are a lot of holes and impossibilities in it, and I’m sure there are tons of factual errors with the weaponry and sketchy descriptions of the various US agencies.

But you won’t care.  The Losers has a cast that will convince you to ignore all of those inconsistencies.  Start to wonder about feasibility?  A slow motion shot of Zoe Saldana’s backside while she shoots guns at Jeffrey Dean Morgan.  Feeling like the Snuke is not a realistic weapon?  Chris Evans starts talking about his love for little kids’ soccer league.

I admire The Losers because it does something that a lot of movies don’t do these days; especially in this genre.  It relies on its cast and characters to get the job done.  There are no contrived twists or unexpected action sequences.  There are few character motivations and little angst.

The story is straight forward, predictable and unoriginal.  But the characters — the characters are a delight.  The cast that plays them are phenomenal.  And the explosions are kind of cool too.

The Losers didn’t bother dressing a lot up because they knew they didn’t have to.  They had already done 80% of their job when they cast the film.  Of particular note is Chris Evans, who outdoes himself in this film; almost making up for some of the cheesier Fantastic Four moments.

Zoe Saldana is also hot.  So far we’ve seen her as Uhura and a digital blue creature so it’s good to see her as a normal human being.  It’s not 100% clear why her and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s character hit it off, but it’s fun to watch them do so.

At the end of the day, for all of the technical and artistic reasons that should trap The Losers as a failure, it manages to put a smile on your face and really be a fun time.  It hearkens back to the day when films were simple, low on special effects, and primarily an excuse to sell buckets of popcorn.

You could do a lot worse than watch The Losers.  It is the romantic comedy of the action genre.  You know where it starts, you know where it ends, and you know exactly how it’s going to get there.  But you can’t help but smile when the plan comes together.

Verdict: B Tilt: A-

It seems almost sacrilegious to have watched Date Night at 2:30 in the afternoon, but that’s just how I roll.  The theaters are so much more pleasant during the day…

So what is there to say about Date Night really?  It was fun to watch.  I laughed some.  I’ve seen worse comedies.  I’ve seen better comedies.

And this is definitely a comedy.  Though it does involve a couple rediscovering their love for one another, don’t let that plot element fool you.  This does not qualify as romantic comedy.

Steve Carell and Tina Fey are funny people.  That cannot be denied, and this movie rests squarely on their shoulders.  They look at the camera and they do what they do.  And they do it well.

The outtakes from the credits make it clear that this movie was solely based on the improvisational abilities of its leading actors.  I’m grateful that they know what they’re doing, because premise alone would have left this movie out in the cold.

I know that all sounds harsh.  It sounds like I don’t like the movie.  But that’s not the case.  It just didn’t blow me away; or have me laughing with any sort of oomph.

There is a hilarious bit with James Franco and Mila Kunis, as well as a pretty fun time with Mark Wahlberg.  Faces that you recognize just seem to pop up all over this movie, making it fun even when it’s slow.

Olivia Munn even drops by for a very small cameo which left me wondering why she hasn’t managed to break into mainstream acting yet.  She’s one of the funnier females on television, and there just aren’t enough female comedians out there for us to watch.

I particularly liked the recurring joke of the disdain that people had for the couple upon finding out that they had stolen someone else’s reservation at a posh NYC restaurant.  From NYC cops to hardened criminals, it seems that everyone thinks it wrong to steal a reservation.

In keeping with Carell’s recent movies, there is a surprising amount of action with the comedy.  One fairly long sequence involving an audi sports car and a NYC taxi cab is pretty classic.  While watching the scenes I couldn’t help but wish that the same premise could be done in a real action movie.

If you’re the type of person who has a crush on Tina Fey, then you’ll certainly like her here.  She manages to be ‘geek sexy’ with ease in this movie, which allows us to readily believe that Carell and her would have really hooked up.  The chemistry between the two is pretty solid.

Overall, Date Night is a decent movie.  It is what I expected it would be.  No more, no less.

Verdict: B- Tilt: B-

I watched Clash of the Titans from the balcony of Washington DC’s historic Uptown Theater this weekend.  I’ve never watched a movie from a balcony before so that was a neat experience.

Sadly, the historic venue could not save Clash of the Titans for me.  Though I haven’t watched the original in many years, I have fond memories of daring swordfights, giant stop-motion enemies, and a generally exciting time.

I’m not sure where the excitement went, or how they managed to suck it out of this film but for the most part I was just bored for 3/4 of the movie.

It’s not really that Clash of the Titans is a bad movie; just a boring one.  Many people probably view those two as interchangeable, but it really is the best description I can think of for the movie.

It’s not that the movie is poorly made.  It’s not that Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson didn’t give it their all.  It’s not that the special effects weren’t beautiful and realistic.

Everything was well-done.  Each piece was carefully crafted; from costume to set design.  Each monster was appropriately terrifying, and each display of derring-do expertly rendered.

But somehow with all of those perfect parts, the movie managed to add up to something that equaled far less than the sum of its components.

When Perseus finally faces off against Medusa, the movie picks up and enthralls you from that point forward.  Sadly, the encounter with Medusa isn’t until the last quarter of the film.  By that time, you’ve already nodded off.

Perhaps the biggest problem is that the characters are poorly established.  With the exception of Perseus, Hades and Zeus, it’s hard to even tell the difference between the rest of the characters.  People would die and then seem to show up again in the next scene.

Of course, they didn’t really.  It was just another character that looked an awful lot like the previous and happened to fill the same character niche as the first.  It was literally as if Perseus had an infinite supply of Argosian Warlords behind him.

Add to that the very sad omission of the helm of invisibility and the lack of the otherwordly origins of Perseus’ shield, and you’re just left with a lot of well-done special effects with no heart.  Your heart is pumping, but you don’t end the movie feeling like you’ve gotten any exercise.

This movie could have been so much more.  It had everything a great movie should have, but it just couldn’t pull it together into a coherent script or render memorable characters.  Had I not known as much as I do about Greek Mythology, I think I would have just been lost.

Verdict: C- Tilt: D

It’s always good to start off my Summer Movie List by actually watching the first movie on my list.  Getting a healthy start can only help me to follow through and try to watch them all.

What’s even better than that, though, is starting my Summer Movie List with a success story.  With an insanely high 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, you shouldn’t need my endorsement to go watch How To Train Your Dragon, but I’m going to give it anyway.

How To Train Your Dragon is Dreamworks Animation’s newest entry, still desperately trying to catch the monolith that is Pixar.  They have historically been hit or miss, but Dragon shows that when they’re on their A-game, they can certainly compete.

The movie follows the somewhat predictable story of a young viking named Hiccup who’s not exactly ideal viking material.  Although a mechanical genius, he lacks the oomph of his people.

A longstanding war with the dragons frames his entire village — a village that is overseen by his father, Stoick.  Stopping dragons is the name of the game, and you’re just not a real viking if you haven’t killed at least one.  That’s bad news for Hiccup.

A desperate attempt for acceptance leads Hiccup to invent his own bola-firing contraption which he uses to bring down the most elusive of all dragons — a Nightfury.  The only problem, of course, is that no one sees him take the shot so he doesn’t get any credit.

Up until Hiccup finds the dragon that he downed (wounded in a canyon), the story is a bit slow.  When dealing with such tried and true tropes, it’s hardly necessary to devote as much time as was allotted to Hiccup’s plight with his people.

Once Hiccup finds the dragon, though, this movie hits full stride and doesn’t slow down.  With his inventive genius, Hiccup is able to gain the loyalty of this new dragon, nursing him back to health and learning a lot about the species along the way.

I watched this movie in 3D, and it was well-utilized.  Hiccup and Toothless (the dragon’s ill-fated name), soar through the skies with beauty.  The dragons’ wings and fire pop out of the screen in some fun and innovative ways, with a particular chase scene near the end really stealing the 3D show.

Although Jay Baruchel’s voice is a bit awkward even as a cartoon character, other voice talent is spot on.  Adult Vikings speak with a Scottish accent, but you’ll never question the validity since the main characters are voiced by native Scotsmen Craig Ferguson and Gerard Butler.

Dragons can’t speak, but the emoting is beautifully animated for Toothless making him a valid and central character to the story.  You believe the relationship that’s built between a boy and his dragon, which makes the story all the more compelling as you move along.

The general premise is certainly nothing new, but Dragon does tend to throw things at you from time to time that you didn’t quite expect.  Most impressively, it manages to do this without really painting either side as too much of a villain, which saves it from getting too preachy.

The final scenes see the Vikings setting sail for Dragon Island, and this leads to one of the most exciting last few minutes of a movie I’ve seen in a while.  You’ll get so attached to the characters, that you’ll ride the emotional coaster right along with them.

A special mention should go to the character of Stoick.  Perfectly voiced by Gerard Butler, the film manages to portray Stoick as an overbearing father that cares.  Even though he is often used in the villain role, you never really hate Stoick which pays dividends at the end.

With both Toy Story 3 and Shrek 4 coming out this summer, How To Train Your Dragon has set the bar high for animated films.  I’m sure Toy Story 3 will walk away with the most money, but Dragon may walk away with the highest ratings.  It’s just that good.

Verdict: A- Tilt: A+