Posts Tagged ‘Gwyneth Paltrow’

Short Take: A fun ride that makes up for the atrocious Iron Man 2, yet doesn’t live up to all its potential

Director: Shane Black

Screenwriters: Drew Pearce, Shane Black

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Guy Pearce, Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Kingsley, Rebecca Hall, William Sadler

Length: 2h 10m

The world is facing a grave new terrorist threat, and it goes by the name of The Mandarin (Kingsley). The precocious Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man (Downey Jr.), is at a loss in figuring out how the maniac has left no evidence of how his efforts have caused so much destruction. And after Tony is forced to take one attack personally, he invites The Mandarin to make him his next target – which he does.

In reeling from an explosive ambush at his home, Tony discovers that Aldrich Killian (Pearce) – a genius he once ignored – is in cahoots with The Mandarin, turning humans into living bombs. With the help of Col. James Rhodes, a.k.a. Iron Patriot (Cheadle), Tony must uncover The Mandarin’s master plan and thwart it, all the while dealing with unsettling anxieties left over from his adventure with The Avengers. Will Tony redeem himself for underestimating the evil potential of Aldrich Killian, and spare the world of any more terror from The Mandarin? There’s only one way to find out.

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Writer/Director M. Night Shyamalan

The Hollywood Reporter has announced that writer/director M. Night Shyamalan has been shopping a new script around Hollywood, and that there might already be a cast for it.

Bruce Willis, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Bradley Cooper‘s names have been “loosely tied” to the project. If Willis officially signs on, it will be the third time he and the director will have worked together (The Sixth Sense – 1999, Unbreakable – 2000). No details about the story are yet known, as it is being kept secret from anyone outside executive offices.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Quick Opinion: Shyamalan’s previous three films (The Village, Lady in the Water, The Happening) each endured their share of critical beat downs – particularly Lady in the Water and The Happening - and so the once-acclaimed director is certainly hoping that this summer’s The Last Airbender (July 1st) will bring him out of his slump. If nothing else, he surely hopes that the film proves commercially successful so that he can use that momentum to get this newest project green-lighted. If he can prove to studios that he’s still capable of putting butts in the seats it would go a long way towards salvaging his career – or at least his career as a director. Even with his worst films he has proven that he can come up with original and interesting concepts, so if he’s ever relegated to being just a writer then whatever he writes can be possibly improved upon through collaboration with other directors and writers. And if this were to happen Shyamalan should count his blessings because there are far worse fates in the movie industry.

Jon Favreau (center) gives direction to Robert Downey Jr. (left) and Don Cheadle (right). *IGN images

For those of you itching to see Iron Man 2, which opens this Friday, we suggest you take a look at a video available at movies.IGN.com that shows multiple snippets from interviews taken with the film’s various stars. Director Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlet Johansson, and Don Cheadle each share interesting nuggets of information about the film and the direction its story decided to take. For those trying to avoid spoilers, have no fear. No major plot points are given. Instead you learn things like Favreau’s intentions, such as that he tried his hardest to avoid what he called “villainitus,” which he claims is the overabundance of bad guys. After Spider-Man 3 received heavy criticism for this, it’s nice to see that Favreau and Paramount can learn from the past.

In other news…

A release date for the next Batman movie has been announced, which will reportedly be July 20th, 2012. The working title is simply Batman 3, which is expected to change once production begins. Chris Nolan is reportedly not officially signed on to direct the project, but is currently working on writing the film’s script with the help of his brother Jonah and writer David Goyer. Stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Gary Oldman are expected to return.

Source: IGN.com