Iron Man 3 gets a photoshop poster spectacular!

I was holding off on posting those lovely character posters for Iron Man 3 because I wanted to put them all in one post, with the presumption that Rebecca Hall would get her own poster as well.  Alas, Hall is a no-go both for her own poster as well as even getting billing on the main IMAX poster.  That is a bit odd as her character in "Extremis" is basically a co-lead while Guy Pearce's scientist um... it's a small part in the original comic book arc.  I'll let others discuss the usual gender boilerplate here (expanding the guy's role while seemingly minimizing the female character's role, keeping the women on the poster to no more than one, etc.), and merely point out that this is basically a giant mash-up of several prior character posters smushed into one image, which may remind fans of the Batman Forever poster campaign from 1995 (with the five character posters copied and pasted into the theatrical one-sheet).  At least no one is unleashing exploding farts like the last time around...  Anyway, since they are apparently done for now, I'm including the rest of the solid Iron Man 3 posters after the jump, including the general theatrical one-sheet.  Iron Man 3 opens overseas on April 25th and April 26th but not until May 3rd in America.  As always, we'll see.

Scott Mendelson

Review: Flight (2012) is generic and conventional would-be character study that never takes off.

Flight

2012
140 minutes
rated R

by Scott Mendelson

That Robert Zemeckis's Flight does not resemble the film that is being advertised (trailer) it not in itself a crime.  Marketing is often a game of misdirection and, considering Zemeckis's reputation for spoiler-filled trailers, it's a little ironic that his return to live-action film making is advertised is such a bait-and-switch fashion.  But while I'll honestly admit that I would have preferred the film being advertised versus the film that was delivered, the core flaw of this well-acted Denzel Washington vehicle is that it's not a very compelling version of what it is.  In short it's *not* a character-driven mystery involving a plane crash and how exactly it went down and who or what was responsible.  It is simply a character study of a functioning alcoholic.  What grounds Flight is the fact that it's simple not a very good film about a functioning alcoholic, as several major narrative choices work to lessen our interest and emotional investment.

Watch/Discuss: Iron Man 3 gets a solid, but rather similar-looking teaser, as Tony must save himself yet again.

That I'm not a fan of the new armor's color scheme is a minor point.  I'm still bitter that they switched Mario's color scheme in Super Mario Bros. 2 almost 25 years ago.  But while the footage looks good and the stakes seem higher this time around, I can't help feeling a sense of deja vu.  Is this not the second sequel where a diabolical villain decides to teach Tony a lesson in humility by tearing his world apart, just as Tony himself is going through a mental/emotional crisis?  Or more to a point, is this not the third Iron Man  film where Tony basically has to use his toys and his brains to basically save himself and/or his company from destruction?  We see a quick flash of Guy Pearce, reminding us that we're basically seeing The Mandarin (played by non-Asian actor Ben Kingsley) tossed into the "Extremis" story arc.  The most interesting moment is what is apparently a possibly mortally wounded Happy Hogan, as he's certainly a likely candidate for a major death who's absence won't screw up the franchise too much.  Since Favreau arguably doesn't want to stick around forever watching other people take on his franchise, it's a good bet he doesn't survive this chapter.  Anyway, Shane Black's Iron Man 3 opens in the US on May 3rd, 2013. As always, we'll see.  Now it's your turn.  What is the chance that Iron Man 3 can become the first truly *good* part 3 in comic book film history?   

Scott Mendelson

Iron Man 3 gets a teaser poster and a synopsis.

The trailer drops tonight at midnight, so I'll try to have it posted tomorrow morning.  Anyway, here is the first teaser poster, with the synopsis after the jump.

Scott Mendelson

Robert Zemeckis's return to live-action, the Denzel Washington drama Flight, gets a great (spoiler-filled?) trailer.

This may be my wife's most anticipated film of 2012.  She hasn't seen the trailer, but I know her well enough to presume as much.  It's ironic that this picture marks Robert Zemeckis's return to live-action twelve years after the double-wammy of What Lies Beneath and Cast Away, as this Denzel Washington vehicle is arguably just the kind of film that they've mostly stopped making over the last decade.  Yes the film seems like an unofficial remake of Piché: entre ciel et terre and yes it appears that Robert Zemeckis is once again spoiling the living hell out of his movies via the trailers.  But those quibbles aside, this looks like a terrific piece of old-school character-driven entertainment.  It's heartening to see that Washington isn't the only actor of color onscreen, as we also have Don Cheadle, Nadine Velazquez, and Tamara Tunie among others playing seemingly major characters.  And the last time Denzel Washington and John Goodman appeared onscreen together, we got Fallen, one of the best supernatural thrillers of the last fifteen years.  So watch this if you can handle the possible spoilers contained therein.  But otherwise know that Flight debuts on November 2nd, and it frankly looks terrific.

Scott Mendelson

Worth Watching: Don Cheadle as Captain Planet...

Don Cheadle is Captain Planet from Don Cheadle      

This is a 'Funny or Die' sketch basically showing us an excerpt from what could be the best thing Don Cheadle has done since Hotel Rwanda, if not Devil With a Blue Dress.  Anyway, enjoy...

Scott Mendelson