TAGGED AS: Certified Fresh
This week at the movies, we’ve got only one new wide release in theaters, but it’s a biggie: the hotly-anticipated Iron Man 3, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow. What do the critics have to say?
They say that clothes make the man, but what’s made the Iron Man franchise consistently rewarding is the man inside the suit; Robert Downey, Jr. is Tony Stark, perhaps the wittiest and coolest superhero alter-ego in contemporary cinema. The critics say Downey is in fine form in Iron Man 3, and director Shane Black (mostly) maintains the series’ tricky balance between spectacle and light comedy while serving up a few intriguing tweaks to the formula. Tony Stark is still recovering from the events of The Avengers, while leaving the management of Stark International to Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). Pepper is approached by an old colleague of Tony’s about a new organic technology, but will it be a blessing or a curse — and how will Iron Man respond to threats from a ruthless terrorist? The pundits say the Certified Fresh Iron Man 3 is a sharp, entertaining adventure and a strong addition to the Marvel canon. (Check out this week’s Total Recall for a countdown of Downey’s best-reviewed movies and 24 Frames for a gallery of notable part IIIs.)
You Will Be My Son, a psychological drama about an aging vineyard owner who wants to bequeath the property to a man who is not his son, is at 100 percent.
Dead Man’s Burden, a Western about a Civil War vet who returns to his family’s homestead to investigate the death of his father, is at 100 percent.
What Maisie Knew, starring Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan in a drama about the effects of divorce on a seven-year-old girl, is at 81 percent.
Olivier Assayas‘ Something in the Air, a semi-autobiographical period drama about a young man’s coming of age during a period of political unrest in France, is at 80 percent.
Susanne Bier‘s Love Is All You Need, starring Pierce Brosnan in a romantic comedy about a pair of lovelorn souls who meet at a wedding in Italy, is at 76 percent.
Caroline And Jackie, a drama about two sisters whose shared past comes to light while on a birthday excursion, is at 71 percent.
The Iceman, starring Michael Shannon and Winona Ryder in a drama about the double life of a family man who’s also a contract killer, is at 69 percent.
Scatter My Ashes At Bergdorf’s, a documentary about the behind-the-scenes workings of the famous department store, is at 67 percent.
Kiss Of The Damned, about a lonely vampire whose budding love affair is interrupted by the arrival of her wild sister, is at 56 percent.
Greetings From Tim Buckley, starring Penn Badgley in a biopic of Jeff Buckley that also alludes to the life of his singer/songwriter father, is at 55 percent.
Post Tenebras Lux, an impressionistic drama about a wealthy Mexican family’s internal dysfunction and class tension with its poorer neighbors, is at 45 percent.
1st Night, starring Richard E. Grant and Sarah Brightman in a period comedy about a wealthy industrialist staging an opera at his mansion, is at 13 percent.
Generation Um…, starring Keanu Reeves as a man who films his travels with a pair of escorts around New York City, is at zero percent.
