Movie Review: Iron Man - Fun Flick Marks Start of Summer Movie Season

by Tony Dayoub


Iron Man, based on the Marvel Comics superhero from the 1960s, opened Friday nationwide. Directed by Jon Favreau, it tells the story of Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), a less charitable Bill Gates-like (updated from Howard Hughes in the comic) multi-billionaire who makes most of his fortune from the lucrative weapons development division of his company. Injured when he is captured by rogue terrorists, he has a change of heart (literally and figuratively) about his role in the scheme of things, after seeing the terrorists using his weapons to subjugate the innocents of their country, and defeat American soldiers. Forced to make a missile for them in return for his release, he instead makes the first clunky version of the armor that will lead to his new endeavor as Iron Man.

The film is everything a fun summer flick should be. It's topical, updating the comic book origin to take place in Afghanistan rather than Vietnam. It's exciting, particularly whenever Stark takes exhilarating flight as he tests his armor. It has enough humor to let you know it doesn't take itself too seriously. One running gag involves a government agent frustratedly seeking a moment to debrief Stark after his escape from captivity. The gag is amusing on that level, but it's also a nod to the geeks (if they listen to what division he's from, they should get the joke right away). And it has a brilliant cast.

Downey is perfect for the party boy savant Stark, whose lifestyle parallels much of Downey's own brushes with addiction. Gwyneth Paltrow, as his assistant Pepper Potts, is clearly having fun with her role, but is integral to saving the day, a role rarely assigned to females in this genre. Terrence Howard as Rhodey is the everyman that must manage his friend, making sure he doesn't screw up his naive pursuit of justice, but secretly happy that his friend has the guts to go outside of the box in his crusade.

Jeff Bridges is a strong adversary. His Obadiah Stane is the real workhorse who's built Stark Enterprises to what it is today, and won't see it, or himself, flushed down with the refuse because the mercurial Stark has had a sudden notion to save the world. Bridges wisely plays the villain without twirling his mustache too much. Instead, he makes us understand the business obligations that drive Stane to do what he has to do, delineating the contrast between Stane's pragmatic persona with Stark's, until now, more flighty one.

By the way, if you're a fan of the comic books, stay till after the end credits for a special surprise that sets up future adventures. You will not be disappointed. Iron Man is a solid entertaining way to start the summer movie season, and I hope the rest of this season lives up to the benchmark established by this film.

Tribeca Film Festival 4/30 - Icons and Iconoclasts

by Tony Dayoub

Day 2 - 11:29 am - Made my way down to Union Square, and took in the sights and smells at the Farmer's Market, since I had a few minutes before the start of the next film, Chevolution.

12:45 pm - Chevolution, a documentary directed by, is a slickly produced piece focusing on the ubiquitous image of Che Guevara, known as Guerrillero Heroico, that has become so iconic, it is purported to be the most reproduced photographic image of all time (according to the V & A Museum in London). The doc strives to place the image in a historical, political, artistic and ethical context. Directed by Trisha Ziff and Luis Lopez, it is a film edited and shot for maximum aesthetic impact. Unfortunately, it is to the detriment of the film's thesis.

While the historical and artistic context are well described in the feature, short shrift is given to some of the realities of the politics involved. Much is made of the fact that Che was an idealistic revolutionary, and how the capitalism inherent in the use of his image on T-shirts would have been anathema to Guevara's socialist philosophy. But little voice is given to the opposing viewpoint that this idealistic revolutionary was also responsible for executions of many Cuban dissidents during his tenure as comandante of Fidel Castro's regime in Cuba in the early 1960s. True, the dissenting viewpoint appears in the film, but it is only after more than an hour of establishing Guevara's heroic mystique. And this viewpoint is spoken of way too briefly, and by too few interviewees, to give the argument any weight.

While I wouldn't go as far as calling the film propaganda, as many in the exile community in Miami probably will (if it ever sees the light of day there), I will say that the film feels slanted without the balance that viewpoint would provide.

5:33 pm - Dinner at Pazza Notte (1375 6th Ave, 212-765-6288) is a nice surprise, with prompt service, and serviceable if not stellar food. Started with the wonderful Beef Carpaccio for my antipasto. The main course was the Baccala con Succo di Zafferano, a roasted Chilean sea bass in saffron sauce with sauteed spinach and fingerling potatoes. The fish was perfect, flaking off easily with that melt-in-your-mouth texture. However, they went a little overboard on the saffron sauce, which masked, instead of enhanced, the taste of the sea bass. The sauteed spinach was crisp, but entirely too much garlic was used in its preparation, as it took me several minutes to extract it.


7:00 pm - At the Museum of Modern Art, Tribeca, in conjunction with Paramount Pictures and MoMA, presented its final restoration of a cinema classic, Once Upon a Time in the West. Directed by Sergio Leone (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly), starring Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, Charles Bronson, Gabriele Ferzetti, and Jason Robards, this is probably his most underrated western (although Duck, You Sucker is gaining a new status in that category). The film was introduced by Barry Allen of Paramount's film restoration department (who is so obviously happy with his rewarding career). He was beaming as he described the amount of work that went into restoring the film's color (difficult considering the film was shot in the now non-existent Techniscope format), and its now revelatory soundtrack.

Leone shot parts of this film in the red-earthy Monument Valley, an homage to John Ford's earlier westerns. He went to great lengths to match the red dust in scenes he shot in other locales, importing much of that earth to those locations. This restoration makes that effort worthwhile, as the brilliant reds are much more evident than in previous releases.

Leone was one of the pioneers when it came to designing the use of sound to manipulate his audience. The first scene of this movie is a perfect example of how he ratchets up the tension by minimizing the dialogue and moving the ambient sound to the fore. Three men wait to ambush the protagonist at a train station. The creak of the wooden floorboards as Woody Strode's bad man walks across the platform; henchman Jack Elam's blowing off the buzzing fly that keeps annoying him because he's too lazy to swat it; and the weather vane's unique high-pitched squeal as it turns in the wind are all memorable. The restored soundtrack is a revelation. We can hear even the background extras distinctly as they make small talk when Cardinale's Mrs. McBain is unloading her bags from the train.

I was ecstatic at the experience of sharing this film with an audience for the first time. The packed house was gleeful in all the same places that I've always been, and the film got a standing ovation. Hope to see this one released on DVD or Blu-ray soon.

11:05 pm - Acerbic cartoonist Bill Plympton presents his Idiots and Angels, after which he will answer questions. In his introduction, he says two key facts: it is his birthday, and he thinks this film is the first he's made that has the potential to break out. Though I have never seen one of his feature-length films, I am excited, since I have enjoyed many of his droll short films. This one's about a really malicious man who starts sprouting angel wings, symbolic of the last bit of good he has within him, and his efforts to get rid of them.

Two things: I never enjoy films I start after 11:00 pm, and I usually start nodding off (and possibly snoring) at about this time. So I'm good for the first twenty minutes before I feel like the film is starting to drag. The woman next to me, who professed to being the biggest Plympton fan in the city, has only chuckled twice. Plympton is waiting outside for the film to finish, so he can come in and do a Q & A. I don't know at what point I started to nod off, but I do know at what point I started feeling guilty about it. Just the night before, I was so pissed that some guy in front of me snored through Toby Dammit, and here I was ruining it for others. But what a dilemma... I didn't want to walk out of the theater and confront the obviously inspired Plympton. I didn't want him to think that his movie failed, when I myself wasn't sure. Besides, it should be over by 12:20 am. I could soldier on till then.

12:10 am - I walked out of the theater with only ten minutes left to go. I just couldn't bear the discomfort anymore, and decided to take my chances. After all, Plympton wouldn't be right outside the theater, right? Wrong. I almost tripped over his legs as he sat in the hallway just outside the door, and I tried not making eye contact.

So as far this film goes, I reserve judgement... for obvious reasons.

MoMA Presents: Once Upon a Time in the West continues its exhibition thru Monday, May 5th, at the Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd St, between 5th and 6th Ave, New York, NY 10019-5497, (212) 708-9400.

Tribeca Film Festival 4/29 - Dennis Hopper Makes Surprise Appearance at Premiere of Restored Night Tide

by Tony Dayoub

Day 1 - 1:17 pm - I arrived into LaGuardia half an hour late, picked up my bags at baggage claim, where a locust-like group of hustlers start trying to convince me why I should skip the taxi line and pay more to share their cab with another passenger. SCAMMERS!!! Welcome to New York... I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!!!

1:24 pm - My much cooler cab driver, Fariq, drove me into the city through scenic Spanish Harlem. I'm staying in the Upper East side, at lovely Amy Coward's apartment (thank you so much), with a nice view of Roosevelt Island. I order a Ham sandwich from Hot and Crusty (1201 Second Ave, 212-753-2614), which is delivered to my door (did I tell you how much I miss this place?), and off to work it is.

3:46 pm - Right about the time I finished sending a lot of you readers my promotional email, I realized I hadn't showered, and I was going to have to take the 4 train down to Tribeca to catch the first film, Curtis Harrington's restored Night Tide (1961), which starts at 5pm. Did I tell you how much I hate New York?

4:33 pm -Made it to the platform, just as the train arrived, so I hop in. I have a few minutes to relax and get my bearings, except... I'm on the wrong train, the W headed towards Whitehall.

4:56 pm - Jumped off at Canal St. and walked through Chinatown for 45 minutes (now I know what my wife must have felt like the first time she was in Little Havana) trying to find the small screening room at Pace University.

5:41 pm - Boy, am I late. Luckily, I only missed the short film preceding the feature (or unluckily, some would say, as this was Harrington's little seen early experimental film, Picnic). But what a wonderful surprise. Last minute arrangements were made to have a Q&A with Night Tide's lead actor, Dennis Hopper. 72 years old, and the man still emanates cool as he assuredly strolls down to the podium to speak.

Night Tide is about a young sailor (Hopper) on liberty in Venice Beach, California. He meets a young lady named Mora who works as an amusement park "mermaid," sitting in a tank that appears to be full of water, wearing a fish tail. But with two former boyfriends now dead, she may actually be a mythological siren, luring men to their demise with her beauty and feminine wiles. The surreal film is interesting in its collision of the film noir genre with a touch of the horror genre. Hopper's performance appears improvised, and demonstrates some of the ability to carry a movie that allowed him to go on to a legendary career. The Academy-restored print was bright and clean, and apparently had just been brought over from the lab.

As if the movie wasn't odd enough, someone had accidentally transposed the second and third reels, leading to some unintended surreal, and humorous, moments.

Some interesting points Hopper spoke of:

• This was Harrington's first feature film, and it was a non-union film, preventing it from being shown in theaters for close to 3 years.
• Hopper had been released from his contract with Warner Bros. where he had already been in movies such as Rebel Without a Cause, Giant, and Gunfight at the OK Corral.
• This was Dennis Hopper's first lead role.
• Hopper was and is a strong supporter of nascent filmmakers, having supported not only Harrington, but notable underground filmmakers Andy Warhol and Kenneth Anger.
• Luana Anders, who costars, was later cast by Hopper as Peter Fonda's girlfriend in his own directorial debut, Easy Rider. She also wrote some things for Francis Coppola and appeared in his first studio film, The Rain People.
• Among Hopper's performing influences were Marlon Brando and James Dean, but this performance was influenced greatly by Montgomery Clift's acting.

7:36 pm - Stopped by Nobu Tribeca (105 Hudson St, 212-219-0500) where I ate some of the best and freshest sushi I had in a long time (Atlanta being quite a ways inland, it is not really known for its fresh fish). I highly recommend the Tiraditos, delicate thinly-sliced whitefish with a pinhead-size drop of spicy red chile sauce and cilantro leaves. There is also the Yellowtail sashimi with a slice of jalapeño on top. If raw food is not your thing, try the miso-glazed black cod, or the beef tenderloin in teriyaki sauce, which was prepared perfectly at the medium temperature I asked for, and served with a variety of mushrooms on the side. The service was excellent too, as I was in a hurry to catch my next film, and made it out in less than an hour.

9:00 pm - Four short films, directed by Isabella Rossellini for the Sundance Channel, showing the mating habits of insects, are shown before the feature, Toby Dammit. The films, called Green Porno, were meant to be shown on cell phones, but I can't see how they'll be tossed away like that. They are educational, strange, and some of the funniest viral video out there. All 8 videos will be available at http://www.sundancechannel.com/greenporno?go=watch and on all Helio mobile devices on May 5th.

Toby Dammit is a short film that was originally part of a troika of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations released as Spirits of the Dead. This one, based on Poe's Never Bet the Devil Your Head, was directed by Federico Fellini, and stars Terence Stamp. It was just restored by the film's original cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno in conjunction with the Cineteca Nazionale de Italia for the Ornella Muti Network. Ornella Muti is an Italian actress best known stateside for playing Princess Aura in Flash Gordon (1980). But she is also one of the leading contributors to film restoration in Italy. What we saw last night was essentially a sneak preview, as Toby Dammit is actually the opening film of the 2008 Taormina Film Fest in Sicily.


The film was Rotunno's first with Fellini, but he went on to become the cinematographer on all of his subsequent films. It's easy to see why, with the restoration finished. The film's color and contrast is brilliant, and well-defined. This is one of my favorite movies, and I owned the original DVD by Image, which was atrocious, just because I liked it so much. When Janus Films (the people behind the Criterion Collection) released a much improved version, I quickly ran out to purchase it. But it looks like I may have to do it one more time (no plans for a DVD yet) because this restoration borders on the revelatory. And what a movie to choose to restore.

Terence Stamp, a powerful British actor in the 1960's (now know primarily for his campy General Zod in Superman and Superman II), plays an alcoholic actor on a downward spiral. He keeps encountering the devil as he declines further and further, personified as a strange white-haired little girl bouncing a ball. The movie captures an uncomfortable feeling of suspension in time that I've never seen done to such great effect as I have here. If you have the opportunity, seek this one out once it becomes available, or just rent the current version on Netflix.

DVD Review: The Great Debaters - Stirring Film Transcends the Usual Cliches of Uplifting Cinema

by Tony Dayoub

Inpired by a true story, The Great Debaters, Denzel Washington’s assured directorial follow-up to Antwone Fisher, is a fascinating look at a group of 1930s-era African-American college students, and how their professor, Melvin Tolson (Washington), shaped them into one of the strongest college debate teams in the U. S. while struggling to overcome the obstacles they faced in the Jim-Crow South.

Washington has successfully executed one of the first directives of a novice director, surround yourself with talented collaborators. The story is told through the eyes of young James Farmer, Jr. (Denzel Whitaker), a gifted 14-year-old who harbors a crush for one of his teammates. She is Samantha Booke (Jurnee Smollett), the first female to make it into Wiley College’s debate team. But she has a crush of her own, the haunted Henry Lowe (Nate Parker), whose escapes into seedy juke-joints dull the rage he feels at his inability to retaliate for the era’s injustices towards blacks. The young Whitaker communicates the odd contradiction of his character, both lacking maturity in his disdain for Samantha’s attraction to their teammate, yet wise beyond his years in the way he nurtures the couple, and therefore the team, through their highs and lows. Smollett is all fiery indignation when arguing a topic at the podium, but this belies her character’s kind and sensitive nature. Parker portrays Lowe with an eerie intensity reminiscent of director Washington’s own performances. Strong supporting players, including Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), John Heard (The Pelican Brief), Kimberly Elise (Diary of a Mad Black Woman), and Gina Ravera (The Closer), round out the cast.

Not limited to his cast, Washington’s top-notch crew also help to deliver a winning motion picture. Cinematographer Philippe Rousselot (Henry & June) captures the tangerine tones of hot Marshall, Texas without descending into the cliched, golden, nostalgia-drenched photography of other films of this type, like Dead Poets Society. All the better to contrast the optimistic world of Wiley College with the gritty harshness of the dark southern nightlife, a world replete with juke-joints, lynchings, and secretive labor union meetings. James Newton Howard and Peter Golub’s score is subtle for most of the movie, but appropriately rousing as the team heads toward prestige in the academic world.

Robert Eisele’s screenplay is smart in that its protagonists are allowed to be flawed individuals. It is only together as a team that they, and even their leader, Professor Tolson, succeed in achieving their ambitions. Great care is taken to demonstrate this as each time one of the members is not present, failure inevitably follows. The key example is midway through the film, when Lowe’s nighttime tryst with a woman he picks up, is observed by Samantha. Lowe was the first to walk out on the team to go rabble-rousing. Samantha, second, after her pride is hurt by his philandering. Farmer, preoccupied with the team’s crumbling dynamic, may be there physically, but loses focus as their upcoming debate with prestigious Howard University approaches. The lion’s share of the blame goes to Tolson, who is distracted by his attempts to organize a union for Southern sharecroppers – an extraneous subplot that ultimately leads nowhere - instead of keeping the team in line. Tolson has been oblivious to the love triangle within his own team, risking their chance to reach their ultimate goal, debating a white college.

Denzel Washington’s direction of his actors is bold, while maintaining restraint with the visuals. He does not try to impress with flashy angles until necessary. He wisely chooses to have his excellent actors carry the story. But the debates, which could easily have been the slowest parts of the film, are enlivened by Rousselot’s constantly moving camera, and the composers' judicious use of music.

The DVD has a great amount of interesting extras. If you get the single disc, you'll get deleted scenes, a documentary with the real-life debaters, and a couple of music videos. The two-disc includes all that and a couple of documentaries on the film's music, a couple of documentaries focusing on the young actors, the poetry of Melvin B. Tolson, and much more.

It is rare to find an uplifting movie that does not preach or devolve into a cliched "inspirational" tearjerker. This is an excellent one to watch, and I hope to see another of Washington's directorial efforts soon.

The Great Debaters will be available on single and two-disc standard DVD on 5/13.

Still provided courtesy of Genius Products and The Weinstein Company.