I loved Iron Man 2; I've already seen it twice. Wasn't at all disappointed. It's funny, smart, and still wears its heart on its sleeve. RDJ and Gwyneth Paltrow are the two best things about it, IMO. Sure, it's a bit more muddled than the first, but I didn't think the ball was dropped on any of the plot threads. If anything, I wanted it to be longer - I love the characters and could watch them tripping over each other's dialogue all day. This is easily one of the best and freshest superhero franchises to come along in awhile.

I loved Tony's and Pepper's scenes together. They're too such fun characters and Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow played them perfectly.

I loved Tony's and Pepper's scenes together. They're too such fun characters and Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow played them perfectly.

Yes! They're hilarious, and endearing. Normally I don't care much for romantic subplots in movies like these, but to my surprise I was actually rooting for them as a couple.

Also: very nice Black Widow av. I approve!

My best friend and I and saw Letter to Juliet yesterday. We loved it! While a bit predictable,
I.E.
it was very memorable and quotable, my friend and I have been randomly saying "Oh fantastic." and "I'm family so I don't feel bad saying this, you're an idiot." "Way to sugar coat it Gran." all day!
It was also, clean, sweet and completely perfect for a "girls day out" movie and shopping day.
The main guy was a perfect gentleman and to boot he had a lovely British accent!

I give it two thumbs up!

I just saw Letters to Juliet the other day with my friend too and we loved it! It was predicable of course but I don't think the point of the movie was to have an UNpredictable outcome. I mean, I kind of figured everyone would end up with their true loves in the end!
It was definitely a chick flick and it was such a sweet film! The aspect I didn't like about it was that she traveled to Italy on a Pre-Honeymoon with her fiance. Kind of weird. But anyway, it was a very cute and enjoyable movie!

oh, and the quotes!
"I'm sorry! I didn't know true love had an expiration date."
Love it!

I'm glad to hear all the positive reviews of 'Letters to Juliet'. I saw a poster for it on the way in to 'How to Train Your Dragon' and was intrigued by the title (what's in a name?) -I've yet to see a trailer though! (and yes, I do live under a rock).

With regard to 'How to Train Your Dragon' I loved it! It was very well done, I wasn't expecting it to be so complete. It had me in tears; especially the part where

Spoiler

the main kid comes back from battle with half a leg. So sad! But very well done; sometimes a bit of realism goes a long way and is far less cheesy than the expected Disney-fied endings. And anyway now he really compliments his dragon cat pet -giving me a strange affinity for mechanical limbs! .

p.s. mods, sorry if this is not considered a present movie anymore; but I only saw it a couple weeks ago so am not sure.

Downey Jr. and Paltrow are the two things I most enjoyed about Iron Man, and they're the main reasons I'm interested in seeing the sequel sequel. Still, I think I'll wait for the dollar theater on this one ... movies are so expensive nowadays, and unlike the first one I'm worried that the new movie will be one big action scene after another, which in general isn't my idea of a high time. Still, I look forward to it.

Robin Hood, on the other hand, I don't think I can wait for. Will probably end up paying full price for this one.

With regard to 'How to Train Your Dragon' I loved it! It was very well done, I wasn't expecting it to be so complete. It had me in tears; especially the part where

Spoiler

the main kid comes back from battle with half a leg. So sad! But very well done; sometimes a bit of realism goes a long way and is far less cheesy than the expected Disney-fied endings. And anyway now he really compliments his dragon cat pet -giving me a strange affinity for mechanical limbs! .

Yes! How to Train Your Dragon surprised everyone, I think. Wonderful movie that absolutely deserves the success it's enjoying right now. The scene you mention really sealed my affinity for it. It's so different from what we've been conditioned to expect from most animated films. (American ones, that is.)

Downey Jr. and Paltrow are the two things I most enjoyed about Iron Man, and they're the main reasons I'm interested in seeing the sequel sequel. Still, I think I'll wait for the dollar theater on this one ... movies are so expensive nowadays, and unlike the first one I'm worried that the new movie will be one big action scene after another, which in general isn't my idea of a high time. Still, I look forward to it.

Yeah, I was also worried this one would devolve into an action-fest. However, there are only two action set-pieces in the whole thing. Seriously. I counted. The rest of the movie relies on character interaction, plot development, and a good dose of comedy to carry it along.

Lys, there's a minor battle between Tony and one of the villains and then an extended fight with pretty much all the characters at the end, but that's it. And yet the lack of action doesn't make it boring like FF2's lack of action did. The villains are much improved as well. None of that "Mwahahahaha! I'm so EVUL!" nonsense like they strayed into last movie.

Just saw Shrek Forever After.
I liked it! I think I liked it as much as the first one (the second one is my favorite).
Anyways I thought it had a good story and had a few laughs.
Puss in Boots is my favorite character in the Shrek movies!
Whenever he uses his Big Cat Eyes, it makes me laugh out loud!

I just got back from watching Prince of Persia, and I Loved it! I think they really captured the look of the game very well!
I never played the original POP Trilogy so I can’t say how close it is to the game, but I myself enjoyed the story.
I think the amount of action and story balanced well.
It was a very fun and entertaining movie, in my opinion!

I just got back from Prince of Persia, I too really enjoyed it. Fun action, interesting story. I never played the game though. I look forward to sequels.

Disney clearly are trying for another POTC-like franchise.
If I had to compare this, I'd say it was definitely better than AWE, and just slightly better than DMC but under CotBP.

Thanks for the info, Booky. I want to see Iron Man 2 but unless I'm invited by friends, I think I'll wait for the dollar theater. Ditto for Prince of Persia.

I finally was able to go see Robin Hood today, and despite all the poor reviews and viewer response, I must say that I really enjoyed it. It's a much lighter and more humorous film than the previews make it look, although it's still much grittier and more action-oriented than previous films based off of the legend. The cast is just incredible: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Mark Strong, William Hurt, Max von Syndow, Oscar Isaac, Daniel Huston, Eileen Atkins, Matthew MacFadyen, Kevin Durand - they all give great performances. The direction, script, and cinematography are all solid; Scott certainly knows how to do these medieval warfare movies. I will say that the movie bogged down a bit in the last 30 minutes. I missed the fun of the first three-quarters, and there were two big mistakes made: first, trying to tie the Magna Carta in, and secondly, sending Marian into battle. Otherwise, I recommend it - as long as you go in with the right frame of mind. In its way, I think it's as good as Gladiator - maybe better.

Oh dear, I think I'm about to disagree with everything Lys said above.

I went and saw Robin Hood last night with a friend. I went in without having seen any previews (bad idea) and so wasn't entirely prepared for the mash up of stories I ended up watching. And as for my friend, she had gotten Hood mixed up with Peter Pan; I volunteered this was perhaps because of their similar choice of pants; so she wasn't terribly prepared either.

The Good:
I really liked Russel Crowe's portrayal of Robin. He was just the right amount of chivalry, action, gentleness, character, feeling and pain. This surprised me a little because I was kind of waiting for him to go off making emboldened speeches about the worthiness of their cause, etc etc (but he only made one, which was quite good!). I also found his relationship with Lady Marian very believable and I thought Cate Blanchett was, for the most part, brilliant (but, as Lys mentioned above, thought could have done without having her in the battle. It just seemed like a rip off of some other movie; although I understand

I enjoyed seeing Friar Tuck

Spoiler

as a moonshine making priest. I think it says a lot for the politics of the Catholic Church back in the day. I also enjoyed his lines poking fun at the authorities more than any other humour in the film.

My favourite character was probably Sir Walter; he was so sweet and I think I lost interest in the movie

The Bad:
The script let me down! There was not enough character development, I could feel myself groaning at some of the attempts at humour the characters had to make; and the only light-hearted moments were mostly crude or full of crass -the movie lacked that English wit that is so synonymous with an English legend! Even Marian's early opposition to Robin was half-hearted and kind of teenager-outburst-ish. (Although, I must say that seeing Matthew MacFadyen on screen in his role as sheriff made me giggle because all that was running through my head was 'this is Mr. Darcy having a nervous breakdown'. I just couldn't take the guy seriously).

Another let down was that there was nothing more to Robin's faithful band of archers than one-dimensional sidekicks; they were sadly neglected by the script because no humans are that prop-like.

I think this film also suffered from the overuse of antagonists. As in, there were too many to feel anger at all the time, so it was kind of a half-hearted anger spread across too many enemies from me. I think this is the result of bringing in the

The Ugly:
The honesty with which they dealt with King Richard's crusades was different, it was pretty ignoble but in a very good way. Not post-modern for the sake of it, but actually genuinely believable, if that makes sense. Prince John I have qualms with; he was too young and hot-headed; there was not enough backstory I think for me to really believe he was so jealous and insecure all the time.

The theatre itself was quite empty for a Sunday night; I think that says a lot about this movie. Personally, I found the gory-factor too high, that's because I'm a wuss, but unlike other movies where I find the action-level works (i.e. Braveheart) in this movie I thought it was overdone and in rather sporadic outbursts. Why couldn't they just build up to a final battle and not show someone dying every other minute? This puzzles me, but maybe that's just me.

I don't know if I'll bother watching the sequel, this one wasn't inspiring enough -in fact it was quite depressing. However I did enjoy it simply for the classic Robin-Hood factor; a character I feel very close to growing up with many of his adventures -so perhaps I can handle another?

And my friend, she had for some reason gotten Hood mixed up with Peter Pan; I volunteered this was perhaps because of their similar choice of pants, but so she wasn't terribly prepared either.

I find this very humorous. Perhaps it is also because they both were Disney movies and wore very similar little green caps with red feathers?