At the movies

Well, I went to see Iron Man on Saturday. Here's what I walked away with:

• Man, I want to see the new Indiana Jones movie. Oh, sure, there's Harrison Ford, lookin' like a house on fire. Aging well, if I do say so. And there look to be some excellent action sequences as well. But what really caught me in the trailer is the almost autonomic reaction I have when I hear Indy's theme music - du-du-du-DU-du-du-DU - And whammo! My hypothalmus twitches. It's like I've been wired to know those sounds mean fun. Hand me my bullwhip. I'm ready to roll.
• Also looks like a good year for SNL alums. The trailers for the new Adam Sandler and Mike Meyers movies looked funny. Possibly too funny. They could be loaded with all the laughs in the trailers, and you wonder why you paid $9 to see the full movie. Doesn't that aggravate the hell out of you? Of course, I thought that might be the case when I saw the Austin Powers trailer. And damned if the movie didn't have even funnier stuff. So, I'm guardedly optimistic on this front.
• As to the main attraction itself, I gotta say, when it comes to sci-fi action, Jon Favreau may be the guy to beat these days. He seems to be able to combine the visceral action sequence with the go for the gut storytelling. That is a rare commodity in Hollywood. I think maybe they could have trimmed about 15 minutes out of the movie, but I'd still put it in the A category. And, on a side note, kudos to him for dropping some weight. He's not down to his Swingers fighting weight. But he's stepped back from the looking like a parade float edge.
• Robert Downey Jr. Hmm. I think I may have discovered why his career is so odd. He's a leading man. No question. He's got the looks. He's got the chops - both serious and comic. He's got big screen presence. But he's never been quite as big as his qualifications would indicate. I think I may have figgered it out. His eyes are really, really dark. So dark that, in close-up, he's really hard to read. There's something about those big dark eyes on the big screen that makes him virtually unreadable. Oh, I think he's worth the extra effort. I can just see how he would have special challenges for a director. Well, special challenges other than his giant trolley full of baggage.
• And speaking of Mr. Downey's baggage. Boy did it bring him some major creditibility in this roll. When you're talking about hard partying history, you really get a sense that he's a guy who knows whereof he speaks. And also there's an added sense that he knows what redemption is about. Lord knows, redemption is one of my favorite themes. And this boy can act the hell out of it. And likewise, kudos to him for taking care of himself. Very nice.