Iron Man 2

Considering the fact that I've been highly anticipating this movie, even before the credits rolled on its predecessor, it had very big shoes to fill (Shaquille O'Neal sized ones really) But, knowing how difficult it is to follow up on successful movie with a sequel, especially in the film adapted comic book genre, I sort of expected to be disappointed in some way or other by Iron Man 2. After watching the first ten minutes though and getting a small glimpse of what was to come, I immediately realized that there was no way that this movie couldn't/shouldn't be better than the first. Essentially everything from the first movie is back, plus new additions like Mickey Rourke, Don Cheadle, Samuel Jackson, and Scarlet Johansson.

I could really go on and on about what I liked from this movie, but I'd rather keep it sweet and short. Iron Man 2 is better than the first, the on screen chemistry between Downey Jr. and Paltrow is there, the writing is more on point, it has incredible special effects and explosions, and its once again the definitive summer blockbuster so early in the season. So, by all means see it.. (Over Robin Hood and Shrek Forever After in the coming weeks)

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

With a tagline like, "The only criminal that he can't catch is himself", I pretty seriously question the creativity and marketing capabilities of the team behind this movie. Not only does this line have very little to do with what transpires in the film, but I can think of several that would've been better, but I wont get into them now.

Anyways, I saw the movie after a "Nicolas Cage fan" friend of mine suggested I see it after ripping his appearance in "Kick Ass". It didn't take very long for me to understand why my friend enjoyed Cage's performance in it. He plays a hot shot, crooked police officer with enough swagger to make rapper T.I. uncomfortable, but his role and subsequent performance isn't what was wrong with this movie. If I had to say something was wrong with it, it would be it's lack of "fluidity", by that, I felt like the movie didn't progress from scene to scene convincingly enough. Also, when scenes ended and certain information was inferred to the audience, this bordered on the side of confusing too closely for me. I would've liked to have some more screen time for Eva Mendes as well, not because she's beautiful, but because she excels at roles like this one.

The Losers

I went into seeing this movie with little expectations, I'd seen the trailer a couple times, but it didn't stick out to me like it'd be anything special. There weren't any actors in it that I cared for that much, except for maybe Zoe Saldana.

I want to be short and sweet about this because I don't feel the movie deserves my over analysis, but, The Losers, was entertaining. It was pretty good, not memorable or anything like that, but it did have it's moments. I can see Saldana becoming more of a go to "sexual icon" actress after watching her in films like this one, although I wasn't really believing the chemistry between her and co-star, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, she looked fantastic in every scene she was in. The rest of the cast was pretty well chosen for this movie in my opinion, with Chris Evans, Columbus Short, and Jason Patric really impressing with their performances.

IMDB reports that the estimated budget for the movie was $25 million, which seemed like a pretty solid budget to me. Granted it says that they filmed in Puerto Rico(for Bolivia, and maybe Dubai and Mumbai), the explosions, weaponry, and other toys seemed real. But, with that relatively small of a budget and the movie being released to almost 3,000 theaters its pretty disappointing that it only reached about $9 million it's opening weekend. I don't know anywhere near all of the details necessary to break this down, but I think with the movie being adapted from a comic book (Having a substantial already established fan base) and the general lull at the box office last weekend, The Losers, should have made at least $15-20 million. That's just my opinion though.