DVD OF THE WEEK

IRON MAN (****)
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Jeff Bridges, Terence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow
Dir: Jon Favreau

The comic-book deluge of movies shows no sign of diminishing, especially when this marks the first entry of comic book creators Marvel into the world of filmmaking. And a damn fine job they've done too.
Taking a leaf from the X-Men book, Iron Man has some seriously heavyweight acting talent on board and, again, it makes a real difference. Robert Downey could have been born to play Tony Stark the millionaire genius/playboy happily swigging drinks while testing his latest design for ultra-destructive weapons. Bridges and Howard are serviceable as villain and best friend respectively, while Paltrow lifts what could have been a bland role as the assistant secretly in love with her boss into one that has genuine frisson in her exchanges with Downey.
But Iron Man is notable for more than its fine cast. It is, of course, an origin story – the creation of Iron Man! – but one more than normally grounded in real world politics. The film opens with Stark being blown up by one of his own weapons during an abortive test. He is then kidnapped by (Afghani?) terrorists and the creation of the iron man suit is his means of escape. The conflict that follows hinges on his attempts to then control or shut down his company, the world's biggest weapons manufacturer.
So, big themes, and a setting that is definitely more 'real world” than the imagined universe of many comic book franchises. But, for all that, the tone remains light, thanks in no small part to the direction of Jon Favreau who understands the fine line between the need for a superhero movie to be taken seriously and for it to just be escapist fun. The X-Men Movies and the first couple of Spider-man flicks did that perfectly. Add Iron Man to that list.

Poker, against all expectations, has – in the past couple of years – become a popular television sport. Blackjack can't be far behind if 21 (***) is anything to go by. Based on a true story this tells of a group of MIT students who, under the tutelage of a somewhat sleazy professor (Kevin Spacey – always a pleasure to watch), learn a system which includes card counting and subtle gestures and proceed to win a pile of money in Vegas. Central is young Ben (Jim Sturgess) who just wants the money for his college tuition. He may win a lot but will it make him happy, and can he remain the sweet young guy he was at the start of the film? Greed and materialism are on trial – no prizes for guessing the verdict.

The Onion Movie (***) takes one back to the good old days of sketch comedy as seen in films such as Kentucky Fried Movie and Amazon Women on the Moon. The setting is a TV news channel, but that is just an excuse for 90 minutes of generally TV-related sketches, many of which are very funny. Among the best running gags are repeated trailers for a new Steven Segal movie (Cockpuncher!) and a sweet Britney Spears type who pops up singing hilariously suggestive songs while insisting they are all totally innocent. A bit hit or miss but a thousand times funnier than the recent dire likes of Superhero Movie.

Serious drama is on display in The Tiger's Tail (**), wherein Brendan Gleeson plays an Irish developer caught in the crossfire of many business deals and suddenly starting to see his double in the street. Gleeson is his regular excellent self and the plot moves in interesting ways but, despite direction by John Boorman, this seems more like a good Sunday Night TV drama that a big screen outing.