Shrek Forever After

In 2001, a new kind of fairy-tale film was brought to the world. A film where all of the fairy tale creatures like the Gingerbread man, Pinocchio, the Three Little Pigs, and many more came together in a heart-warming story about an ogre named Shrek. For almost ten years the world has been captured by the adventures of Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey. The films have spread into theme parks, video games, and even it's own musical production, making it a large part of the animated genre. Sadly, all good things must come to an end eventually and there is one more adventure for Shrek to embark on before the story-book closes. Will true love prevail once more? You'll have to find out in this final chapter that is "Shrek Forever After."
As most of the "Shrek" films begin, we start with a story book reading of a recap of the story of Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz). This time however, we are told a new story about something that happened before Shrek rescued the princess from her tower. The king and queen of Far Far Away (Fiona's parents) worry that Fiona will never be rescued so they go to make a deal with Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn) to try to break her curse. Rumple will help only if he gets the kingdom for himself. Right before the king signs the deal, a messenger comes in and tell the king the Fiona has been rescued. For this reason, Rumple hates Shrek (Mike Myers) for foiling his plans.
Back at the swamp, Shrek and his family are living a happy life with their children and their friends Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas). However, Shrek is starting to miss his old "Ogre" life when he could lay in mud-pits and scare away nearby villagers. Shrek says he would give anything for one day of his old life and who would answer this call than the devious Rumpelstiltskin. Rumple tells Shrek that he can have a day of his "old life" back if Shrek gives him a day of his childhood. Shrek signs the contract but is immediately thrown into a land where no one knows him, he family is gone, and Rumple is king of Far Far Away. Why did this happen? Rumple deviously told Shrek that he required one day of his childhood and so the day that was taken was the day that Shrek was born. Now, with no one at his side, Shrek must embark on another quest to break this curse that was put on him and the land.
First let me give a sort of timeline of the "Shrek" franchise. The first "Shrek" was considered the best as first installments usually are. The second was almost on par with the first "Shrek" in my opinion and introduced several new characters like the King and Queen of Far Far Away, Prince Charming, and most importantly, our favorite scene stealer, Puss in Boots. The third film, titled "Shrek the Third," is where things started to go downhill. Since the film kept the same setting (Far Far Away) and antagonist, many aspects of the film were unoriginal. The humor was not as abundant as the previous two films and while I still enjoyed the film, it was nowhere near as impressive as the first two. Now we have "Shrek Forever After." Many would think that this film is just a movie for making extra money, but I thought of it more as a chance of redemption. Going into this film I only had one requirement...this film needs to be better than the third one and end the series on a good note. Fortunately for me, my quota was met. If you were disappointed with the third, this one is a good improvement.
The "Shrek" series is one of my favorite in the animated genre (in fact the first film is to this day the only film to beat out Pixar for the best animated picture award at the Oscars). Why do I, along with so many others, love the story? I believe the biggest factor is the way it combines all the characters we read about in those bed-time stories. Little Red Riding Hood, the Fairy Godmother, the Pied Piper, the Gingerbread man (one of my favorite characters), and so many more have been introduced to us throughout the series. Also present are the many concepts of several fairy tales like the "after midnight" dilemma and the most fundamental thing of the Shrek story, true love's kiss. These concepts and characters are what makes the series so unique. The third "Shrek" seemed to lack these things and above all, it lacked the magic that we were used to. Thankfully, "Shrek Forever After" has brought the magic back.
Some important things that the Shrek series has boasted before are a well written script and a simply beautiful score (one that I believe surpasses any animated film). The score is once again marvelous in "Shrek 4" and the script is even an improvement in some areas. In terms of the message, it is a step up from the traditional "true love prevails" plot shown before. This "Shrek" demonstrates the importance of family and the value of life. It shows how much one persons life can bless and affect so many other people's lives even when they think their life doesn't matter. It is much like the "It's a Wonderful Life" story line.
The problem with "Shrek Forever After?" If you've seen the other films, this one may seem slightly repetitive and very fast paced. After three films, it just seems like I already know the characters and in a way, I felt like I was watching a long TV show. My attitude at the beginning of the film was this: "Ok, I know these characters and the film is starting and feeling the same way as all the others." There's only so much you can do with a set of characters until it gets old and repetitive and this is how I felt with the movie.
"Shrek Forever After" is an improvement from it's predecessor and that was enough for me to enjoy it. The saga as a whole has done great things for the world of fairy tale creatures and while I have enjoyed all of them, I do agree that the studio needs to stick with the films other name, "Shrek: The FINAL Chapter." The film has presented a fun-filled adventure that serves as a entertaining end to the big green ogre's tale. 2 and a half stars out of 4
"Shrek Forever After" has a running time of 93 minutes and is rated PG for mild action, some rude humor and brief language.

Iron Man 2

In 2008, director Jon Favreou introduced us to a new kind of super-hero film. He showed us a comic book movie with comedy, action, drama, and most of all, a movie with a larger sense of reality. With the help of Robert Downey Jr.'s superb acting, "Iron Man" was born. Today in 2010, the same people who brought us the iron masterpiece have returned in this action packed sequel, "Iron Man 2".

We are first introduced to Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) whose father is on his deathbed. Ivan and his father believe that Tony Stark's father stole his idea for the technology that eventually led to the creation of the Iron Man suit. Shortly after the death of his father, Ivan begins to construct a weapon/suit much like Iron Man's suit and starts his quest for revenge. Meanwhile, in the U.S., billionaire-icon-super-hero Tony Stark (Downey) is having the time of his life. Now known as Iron Man by all, Tony uses his heroic side to promote his company which results in the return of the Stark Expo, a convention where state-of-the-art inventions are exhibited. During this uprise in the company's popularity, Tony appoints his longtime assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) as the new CEO, a new assistant named Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson) is appointed (which sparks an interest in Stark's personal side), and the billionaire also develops a rather large ego.

Ivan Vanko soon attacks Tony at a racetrack in Moscow and gains the attention of a rival of Tony Stark, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). These two men form a plot to take down Stark's enterprise and finally get a spot on top. However, Ivan has some plans of his own.

In the newest Marvel comic films, the goal is to start to connect the characters in each film to each other. For example, at the end of the credits of the first "Iron Man," we see Sam L. Jackson portray the famous Nick Fury who heads an organization known as S.H.E.I.L.D. (for the non-comic book readers, S.H.E.I.L.D. is like the super-hero C.I.A and police). The purpose of these tie-ins? Well, in 2012, Marvel plans to release "The Avengers" which is a super-hero team made up of Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor, and Captain America. So if you thought the movie wasted actors like Sam L. Jackson and Scarlett Johhansson, relax...they are serving a bigger purpose.

Speaking of new characters, like in most sequels, "Iron Man 2" introduces us to several new characters. The most important new characters, are the S.H.E.I.L.D. agents. They consist of Nick Fury(Jackson), Stark's new assistant Natalie, A.K.A The Black Widow, and Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) who was seen in the first film. These three watch over Tony and provide him with important tools to aid him throughout the film. Terrence Howard, who played Stark's best friend James Rhodes in the first film, has been replaced with Don Cheadle. Rhodes' character in this movie also introduces us to a new suit of Tony Stark's armor known as War Machine, which Rhodes dawns to eventually become Starke's sidekick.

"Iron Man 2" boasts an extraordinary cast who all give great performances. When it comes to Robert Downey Jr., it seems like he was born to play Tony Stark. His facial expressions, the way he delivers his lines, and everything else comes together to form the best Starke that simply cannot be recreated by any other actor. The film's antagonist, Ivan, is played by Mickey Rourke who did a great job as well. Rourke didn't have many lines, but his performance came out in his body language. While watching him, I could feel the emotions (mostly anger) that his character was feeling which made him all the more menacing. All the other actors and actresses show that the film has an A list cast which not only refers to their recent popularity, but their excellent acting.

In the first "Iron Man", the film had to focus on introducing the characters and getting to know them more than showing tons of action, which was what made the first film great. However, now we know the characters and the action can come out.. and oh boy it did. "Iron Man 2" was loaded with high octane, explosive action. I mean come on, what could be better than Iron Man jumping out of a plane, flying through the firework lit sky to AC/DC's "Shoot to Thrill?" Whether it was Iron Man fighting Ivan, Iron Man fighting War Machine, or Natalie fighting Ivan's henchman ( which had probably the best fighting choreography in the entire movie), many of the characters got their action time on screen and it was fun. I won't give details but one of the action scenes in this film was so insane that the entire theater I was in started to cheer, yell, and applaud. Another good thing about the action was that even though there was tons of it, it didn't push away the plot line and character development which is what most sequels do. In "Iron Man 2" we continue to see into Tony Stark's character and the many issues, both good and bad, he has to deal with. This particular element is what makes these films so good.

Now what makes the "Iron Man" films stand out in popularity from other comic-book films? Well, somehow the makers of the film manage to find the perfect combination of comedy, action, drama, creative story, and character development into the films. As I stated before, what makes "Iron Man" a great franchise is that it cares about its characters and wants the viewers to get to know them and care about them as well. Also, I think a big factor pertaining to the the success of the first "Iron Man" is that the film contains a larger sense of reality than previous comic book films. These films don't have the perfect super-hero who never gets drunk, or never does anything wrong. Tony Stark faces problems that many people face like drinking and social pressure, thus it is easier to relate to him and enjoy his character. The films show that super-heroes can't be perfect.

"Iron Man 2" is a near-perfect super hero film that shows us all the action, laughs, and superb acting that anyone could ask for. When comparing it to its predecessor, I find it hard to say which one is better because they are pretty different in several ways and that both are just great films. "Iron Man 2" can take its place among my favorite films of the genre. By the way, especially if you are a comic book fan, stay after the credits for an overwhelmingly suspenseful cliffhanger. I give the film three stars out of four.

"Iron Man 2" has a running time of two hours and five minutes and is rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some language.