Articles tagged "robert downey jr."

News

Movie version of reporter’s story twists the facts, but in this case, he’s OK with it

by Steven Rea [The Philadelphia Inquirer (MCT)]

[27.Apr.09] :. So there’s Jamie Foxx, in ragtag yellow and magenta, standing on a Los Angeles sidewalk, talking to Robert Downey Jr. The scene cuts up and away from the actors to a glimpse of blue, to a...

PopWire

Film Review

The Soloist

by Cynthia Fuchs

[24.Apr.09] :. The Soloist illustrates Nathaniel's internal life -- his music and his madness -- in reductive, sensational imagery.

Recent Film reviews

Short Ends and Leader

‘Soloist’ Suffers from a Lack of Honesty

by Bill Gibron

[24.Apr.09] :. Not every true story makes for good cinema. Sometimes, an intriguing idea is just that - a decent concept that can’t take the transition from fact to big screen “fiction”. From the...

Short Ends and Leader

News

Jamie Foxx goes for gold every time

by Roger Moore [The Orlando Sentinel (MCT)]

[24.Apr.09] :. Is there a figure in show business today with more breathtaking ambition than Jamie Foxx? A chart-topping pop star at 41, a “brand name” comedy talent with his own Sirius Satellite Radio...

PopWire

News

‘Soloist’ star Robert Downey Jr. is a shape-shifting chameleon

by Colin Covert [Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (MCT)]

[22.Apr.09] :. In the past year, Robert Downey Jr. earned a reputation as one of Hollywood’s most versatile stars, playing alcoholic, egocentric superhero Tony Stark in “Iron Man” and half-mad...

PopWire

Film Feature

Superheroes Versus Comics

by shathley Q

[27.Jan.09] :. There can be no doubt that the summer of 2008 stands as a high-water mark for superheroes. But in the wake of a superhero renaissance and the growing cultural legitimacy of the genre, the question must be posed: Has the superhero genre evolved beyond the comics medium?

Recent features

The New Classics - The 30 Best Films of 2008

by PopMatters Staff

[16.Jan.09] :. Unlike previous years, where classics came crawling out of the celluloid woodwork with regular reckless abandon, 2008 was more calm… and considered. That's not to say that choosing 30 top titles was hard. The difficulty in placing them in some manner of rank order suggests the actual depth of quality involved.

OMG - The 20 Worst Films of 2008

by PopMatters Staff

[15.Jan.09] :. There's bad, and then there's 2008 level bad. You know this list is looking down into a deep dark bottomless pit of cinematic despair when Mike Myers' shameful Love Guru didn't even make the Top 20!

Iconic - The Top 20 Male Performances of 2008

by PopMatters Staff

[14.Jan.09] :. Like the gladiators of old, 2008 resembles a battle of formidable acting gods, especially when looking over the 20 choices presented below. Indeed, if anything, choosing a winner requires more of a leap of faith than any amount of critical skill - they all were that good.

Off the Radar - The Top 30 DVDs of 2008

by PopMatters Staff

[13.Jan.09] :. Oddly enough, while the major studios continue scratching their heads over how to sell yet another new format (Blu-ray) to disinterested consumers, several outside distributors made sure that this would be a digital year to remember.

Tropic Thunder: Unrated Director’s Cut

by Evan Sawdey

[14.Dec.08] :. A fun, occasionally brilliant satire of these Hollywood tropes that actually retains its comic punch after multiple viewings.

Chaplin: 15th Anniversary Edition

by Bill Gibron

[22.Oct.08] :. Robert Downey Jr. is a significant reason why this 1993 effort is worth revisiting.

Chaplin: 15th Anniversary Edition

by Bill Gibron

[17.Oct.08] :. Some legends are impossible to capture on film. When an icon inexplicably becomes something to everyone, no matter the era, that personal pliability and universal appeal is as elusive to illustrate...

Iron Man (Two-Disc Special Collector’s Edition)

by Evan Sawdey

[6.Oct.08] :. Every explosion and punch-line lives and dies by Downey's performance, but he proves more than up to the task, making the ride all the more enjoyable.

Stan Lee’s ‘Iron Man’ leads way for latest Blu-ray titles

by Doug Nye [McClatchy-Tribune News Service (MCT)]

[29.Sep.08] :. Ten years ago, Stan Lee was frustrated about the inability to get impressive versions of Marvel Comics super heroes to the movie screen. “It seemed as if so many of them were tied up with...

Talk, Talk, Talk: November 2008

by Bill Gibron

[11.Sep.08] :. Like the sainted sigh of relief that comes after another shriek-filled All Hallow's Eve, November usually means the start of the 'nominate me' process for the proposed prestige pictures of 2008.

Tropic Thunder

by Cynthia Fuchs

[13.Aug.08] :. Tropic Thunder tells you that race and masculinity and class identity issues make men in this business mean and juvenile. And then it tells you again.

Pop 20: Super hero formula evolving

by Aaron Sagers [(MCT)]

[30.Jul.08] :. In only 10 days, the Batman defeated the Joker, delivered a one-two punch to Harvey Dent and amassed more than $300 million at the box office. But despite the enormous success of “The Dark...

Charlie Bartlett

by Christian Toto

[27.Jun.08] :. A teen comedy without many laughs, a social satire that cuts so deep it leaves viewers squirming.

Dear Marvel Comics

by Bill Gibron

[16.Jun.08] :. Dear Marvel Comics: Get ready. If rumors are true, and you are indeed lowballing Jon Favreau out of participation in Iron Man 2 (a story now supported by both Ain’t It Cool News and...

Jon Favreau’s preparation pays off in ‘Iron Man’

by Roger Moore [The Orlando Sentinel (MCT)]

[2.May.08] :. Jon Favreau heard the whispers, the murmurs of “What the hey?” when he was selected by Marvel Studios to turn the comic-book empire’s Iron Man into a movie. He heard them again when...

Iron Man

by Cynthia Fuchs

[1.May.08] :. For all Tony's new understanding of "peace," the fact that Iron Man is in fact a weapon allows the film to do what summer movies must do: clanking and bashing, zooming, shooting, and exploding.

It’s Super Year for once-troubled actor Robert Downey Jr., starting with ‘Iron Man’

by Steven Rea [The Philadelphia Inquirer (MCT)]

[30.Apr.08] :. The Summer of Downey? On Friday, “Iron Man”—easily one of the smartest, most satisfying comic-book superhero movies since Tim Burton’s first “Batman”—opens...

The Return of the Popcorn Circus: May 2008

by Bill Gibron

[28.Apr.08] :. In the first act of this four-part production, Tinsel Town decides to do some unbelievable front loading. Will there be room for independent offerings, or former HBO carnal comedy divas? Who knows? Without a doubt, it's an interesting way to start the season.

Charlie Bartlett

by Cynthia Fuchs

[22.Feb.08] :. As Charlie learns his own limits and the value of "being himself," his movie turns increasingly humdrum.

A Gallery of Good Works: The Best Films of 2007

by PopMatters Staff

[11.Jan.08] :. From Julian Schnabel's artsy The Diving Bell and the Butterfly to the legendary Coen Brothers splendid adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men, PopMatters counts down the 30 best films of 2007.

Zodiac-The Director’s Cut

by Brian Holcomb

[8.Jan.08] :. Even though Zodiac attempts to achieve a sort of documentary-like reality, there is an underlying surrealism, a poetic and nightmarish vibe that hangs over the whole film.

Lucky You (2006)

by Brett Parker

[9.May.07] :. A good movie about poker, but only good enough to appeal to those who enjoy watching card games on TV.

Lucky You (2006)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[4.May.07] :. The cuts are obvious, the rhythms sluggish, and the dialogue redundant, as if the movie's afraid you've missed it the first time.

Monkey Business (Part 1: May)

by Bill Gibron

[1.May.07] :. Talk about frontloading your approach. Each week in this first full month of patented popcorn movies finds another famous franchise icon making a major blockbuster bow. Only truly disastrous results from these guaranteed crowd-pleasers will keep the coffers from clogging with cash.

‘Zodiac’ filmmaker David Fincher recalls wave of panic

by Rene Rodriguez [McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)]

[3.Mar.07] :. The phrase “From the director of `Seven’” conjures up a certain expectation, especially when it’s plastered on the posters for “Zodiac,” a movie about the...

David Fincher talks ‘Zodiac’

by Terry Lawson [Detroit Free Press (MCT)]

[2.Mar.07] :. “So, which side are you on? ” asks director David Fincher, beginning the interview with a question. “Which side of what?” “The length of the movie. Are you on the `too...

The PopMatters ‘Short Ends & Leader’ Spring Film Preview

by Bill Gibron

[2.Mar.07] :. In order to separate the worthy from the worthless, PopMatters' "Short Ends & Leader" editor is highlighting 10 new films he's looking forward to this spring.

The Pay Off: The Best Film of 2006

by PopMatters Staff

[11.Jan.07] :. For many of the movies on PopMatters' 2006 list of the year's best films, it is clear that a heavy personal and professional stake was riding on the final product.

Time Encapsulating: The Best DVDs of 2006

by PopMatters Staff

[10.Jan.07] :. From solid single issues to amazingly complete film and television compilations, the works highlighted here argue for DVD's continued importance.

A Scanner Darkly (2006)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[6.Jul.06] :. Simultaneously strange and familiar, not himself, Bob lives inside an ooky, unsolvable world that mirrors our own ongoing fears, of surveillance, loss, and forgetting.

Good Night, and Good Luck (2005)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[16.Mar.06] :. Lamenting the loss of 'people who are uncompromising,' Clooney says, 'For us, this movie is a success if some kid in Austin, Texas sees it, who is studying journalism, and says, 'That's the guy I want to be like.' Then we win.'"

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005)

by Jesse Hassenger

[2.Dec.05] :. It's a surprise that Shane Black's Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang works as well as it does.

Good Night, and Good Luck (2005)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[9.Oct.05] :. Shot in exquisite black and white, George Clooney's portrait of Edward R. Murrow is partly reverential, partly probing.

Eros (2004)

by Zach Hines

[28.May.05] :. Wong Kar-Wai's section follows Miss Hua (Gong Li in some of the most gorgeous dresses ever photographed), a sultry but also wistful Hong Kong call girl.

Short Cuts (1993)

by Daniel Mudie Cunningham

[14.Apr.05] :. Death, or that state 'beyond natural color', is Short Cuts' common denominator.

Gothika (2003)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[20.Nov.03] :. Chloe reminds her of the implacably smug logic of the sane, as they judge the insane: 'If you're here, it must mean that you belong.'"

Black and White (2000)

by Cynthia Fuchs

'I'm a kid in America, I can do whatever I want.' Jutting her chin at the camera, New York City high schooler Charlie (Bijou Phillips) mouths off to her stuffy-suit dad, who's been pestering her about where she goes after school.