Finally, the word on "Iron Man," and revving up for "Speed Racer"

My apologies for not getting to this before Jon Favreau's movie managed to take in $201 million worldwide, for the the 10th-best opening of all time, but as a volunteer for Barack Obama (something that as a newspaper employee I should probably just keep to myself, and mostly do) it was obviously a crucial and very busy weekend.

And, before I get into it, a brief bit of news about "Heroes" (remember shat show?) It is indeed, of course, coming back to NBC sometime this fall for a third volume, and Michael Ausiello of TV Guide reports that Brea Grant - who played Landry's rebound girl on "Friday Night Lights" - will be joining the cast as a speedster named Joy. I'm surely much too old to call a woman of her age "adorable," but Ms. Grant certainly is, and she should make a fun addition to "Heroes."

But back to "Iron Man," and finally for the record, like most of the world I mostly loved what Jon Favreau did with entrepreneur/genius-turned-reluctant-superhero Tony Stark. If there's one overall reason, I'd use a word no one really ever should in decent conversation - vibe. The whole thing, even at its most intense, feels like it's approaching the superhero genre with a big - although never condescending - wink.

At the outset, and perhaps with Jon Favreau's name on this it's too facile an analogy, it has a real "Swingers" feel about it as we're introduced to billionaire playboy Tony Stark, played of course by Robert Downey Jr. Being a far-too-white fan of the Wu Tang Clan, my favorite moment in this rather breezy intro was easily the Ghostface Killah track that's playing as Stark, James Rhodes (Terrence Howard) and the stewardesses/go-go dancers drink champagne on his plane. It would have been nice to see the "Iron Man"-obsessed rapper actually get a part in the movie (he apparently did, but it's on the cutting room floor), but a nice touch all the same.

And forgive me if this review is a bit episodic, but I'm just gonna assume just about anyone who bothers to read this has seen the movie by now (but not offer any major spoilers either just in case.) The flick stays on sure footing as we see Stark taken captive in Afghanistan with Yin Sen. The Afghani warlord and his soldiers are clearly evil, but never the kind of cartoony evil you might be fearing, just really bad dudes (and besides, never having been to Afghanistan, it is my understanding that there are indeed roving bands of armed dudes who do not-terribly-nice things, so I can't imagine too many people would be offended by their presence in what, after all, is a comic-book movie.)

And I have to say it was much more entertaining to watch Tony and Yin Sen (Shaun Toub, who does a lot with his little screen time) assemble and use the primitive Iron Man costume than it was as Tony fine-tuned it into a real fighting machine.

That was, in fact, the first point at which "Iron Man" started to lose me a little bit. Not being much of a gadget guy at all (no, I still don't have a cell phone), I took little joy in watching Tony manipulate those ridiculous computers, even if the robot was pretty funny. The only thing that keeps this middle segment from falling apart completely is Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts, who's as charmingly loyal as she is simply stunning in that rather backless evening dress. She really does need to work more often.

It's the first payoff from all this high-tech tinkering around that delivered the best scene from "Iron Man" as he tests the suit out for the first time and exacts a bit of revenge. It worked both as a very funny poke at the military (which, this being a comic-book movie after all, seems to have Howard's Rhodes serving in every branch around the world) and the kind of gee-whiz levity I sorely needed as the clock hit about 11:45 p.m. (well past my usual bedtime on a school night.)

The final chapter, with its inevitable showdown, was easily the weakest of the three, but brief enough so as not to annoy too much in its anti-climacticness. Jeff Bridges does indeed make a very bad Obadiah Stane, even if it was rather obvious that when you shave The Dude's head he's gonna indeed be nothing but evil. The very ending, however, (which you won't hear about from me, as promised), is just the perfect cliffhanger, and left me, at least, definitely wanting more.

So, why no real mention of Robert Downey Jr.? Well, watching "Iron Man" it's clear that Favreau steered clear of most the baggage that Tony Stark carries, which would given Downey a lot more chance to shine. He's good here, but you get the definite feeling he's gonna be truly great when Tony Stark's shortcomings inevitably come to play in "Iron Man 2."

And overall, despite my previously mentioned quibbles, "Iron Man" was just the perfect way to kick off the summer, and after some initial reservations I'm now convinced that "Speed Racer" this week will also just be a treat. From the first three minutes, which you can watch below, and other clips I have seen it does indeed seem like the Wachowski's have managed to preserve much of the anime feel and keep this what it should be - a movie for kids of all ages. And yes, to make one more mention of "Friday Night Lights," I believe that is indeed "FNL" vet Scott Porter in the race car cockpit with young Speed. Enjoy, and have a perfectly bearable Monday. Peace out.

Paramount's 2008 lineup: The winners and stinkers

Even though I'm cautiously optimistic that "The Golden Compass" will live up to my lofty expectations, I'd rather not talk much about that until I get to see it in a couple hours.

Instead I'd love to dish on what's coming next year, which, judging from Paramount's slate, looks like mostly a lot of fun. Here's a look at what the studio has coming up next year:

January 18: Cloverfield
Even in the capable hands of scribe Drew Goddard, this one just has "Snakes on a Plane"-like box office potential as far as I can tell. At the very least, I was happy to hear this won't be a "Blair Witch" affair: We do indeed get to see the giant monster that attacks NYC.

February 1: Strange Wilderness
Steve Zahn and Jonah Hill are very funny guys, so I'm hoping this is a lot less "Daddy Day Camp"-esque than it looks on the surface. In the crude comedy, Zahn and sidekick Allen Covert host a wildlife TV show that's in ratings decline. What can save it? Bigfoot, of course.

February 15: The Spiderwick Chronicles
I went from mildly interested in this fantasy offering to truly psyched when I found out the screenplay was written by John Sayles, who created one of my favorite "children's" movies in "The Secret of Roan Inish." In the story, two brothers and a sister investigate the strange happenings that unfold after the family moves into a secluded old house owned by their great, great uncle Arthur Spiderwick. Seth Rogen somehow figures into this, though I would have to assume not as one of the young siblings.

March 21: Drillbit Taylor
Getting revenge on bullies has to be one of the oldest (and, frankly, most tired) gambits in the movies, but I still can't help hoping this one is going to be genuinely funny. When you've got Owen Wilson as a former soldier of fortune hired to be the schoolyard enforcer, something funny just has to happen, right?

March 28: Stop-Loss
I'm still waiting for a movie about the Iraq War that delivers as much entertainment value as it does politicking, and just maybe this one will be it. You're heading in the right direction when you cast three of my favorite actors in Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ciaran Hinds and Timothy Oliphant ("Deadwood"'s sheriff Seth Bullock.) In director Kimberly Pierce's flick, a decorated Iraq war hero (Ryan Philippe, I believe) returns home to Texas and tries to rebuild his civilian life, only to find he's called back to active duty much sooner than expected.

April 4: Shine a Light
Though Martin Scorsese has made some truly remarkable music documentaries, I just can't get too excited about this one focusing on two concerts by the Rolling Stones. Why? Well, they were already very old when I was in college, and since that was a good while ago, they're obviously just geriatric now, and very hard for me to watch without cringing.

April 11: The Ruins
What is it about flicks where Americans get into trouble just by leaving the country? Is it really all that dangerous to travel these days? In this latest one, a group of friends on holiday in Mexico accompany a fellow tourist on a remote archaeological dig in the jungle, where something evil (of course) lives among the ruins.

May 2: Iron Man
With these next two flicks, I think Paramount might just have the strongest summer slate, Dark Knight be damned. Robert Downey Jr. should make a great Tony Stark, and the supporting cast with Terrence Howard (man, does this guy like to work), Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges ain't too shabby either.

May 22: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Count this as the single summer flick I'm most excited about. Though a visitor to this site (and forgive me please that I can't remember just who) warned me that George Lucas had commandeered the screenwriting reins for this one, which would be simply craptastic, two dudes named David Koepp and Jeff Nathanson are still listed as the scribes, so maybe there's hope. All plot details for this are under tight wraps.

June 6: Kung Fu Panda
I have to admit that, as silly as this animated flick sounds, those little critters doing kung fu were pretty infectious in the trailer. Jack Black is the voice of Po, a rather lazy and rotund panda who's called on to save the day after he is, of course, christened as the chosen one. Black should at least be very funny in this.

June 20: The Love Guru
Mike Myers usually seems to pick his comedies carefully, but I just don't see how this can turn out to be anything but awful. Myers is the titular guru who's called in to repair the estranged marriage of professional hockey player (Romany Malco) so he can get back into top form on the ice. Verne Troyer is apparently in this one, so at the very least we can expect more than a few more midget jokes, if that's your thing.

July 11: Tropic Thunder
If you believe the tabloids (and they do occasionally get things right), it was on the set of this Ben Stiller comedy that things started to go wrong for Owen Wilson, as he started partying too much with funnyman and co-star Steve Coogan. Whether that's true or not, Wilson had to drop out, but still leaves a pretty impressive cast in his wake, including director Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Coogan, Bill Hader and Jay Baruchel of "Knocked Up" fame. In the flick, a group of actors find themselves somehow thrown into a "real, warlike situation." It's possible that this scenario was funny when it starred Larry the Cable Guy, but I have to say I didn't bother to find out.

August 8: Eagle Eye
I just immediately have to be skeptical about any flick in which Shia LaBoeuf somehow gets framed as a terrorist (along with either Michelle Monaghan or, even better, Rosario Dawson, so maybe there's hope.) D.J. Caruso directs this one.

August 22: Case 39
Well, we made it this far (I think) without a Renee Zellweger sighting, but I guess it had to happen eventually. In this flick she plays a social worker who saves an abused 10-year-old girl (Jodelle Ferland) from her parents only to discover that the girl is not as innocent as she thinks. At least the great Ian McShane factors into this one somehow.

September 26: Nowhereland
An Eddie Murphy comedy that's actually funny? Not likely, but we can still dream, right? In this one he plays a financial executive who's invited into his daughter's imaginary world, where he just might find solutions to halt the downward spiral of his career (the executive's or Murphy's? You decide.)

Fall 2008: Ghost Town
Judging from the title of this one I would have assumed it was just one of those bad "horror" flicks that studios dump out at the end of summer, but it's actually a comedy starring Ricky Gervais. In the directorial debut of "Indy 4" screenwriter David Koepp, Gervais plays a dentist who has a near-death experience during routine surgery and gains the ability to see dead people who ask him for help in contacting the living.

Nov. 7: Madagascar: The Crate Escape
Even it did spawn way too many domestic-animals-in-the-wild flicks (and rip the idea off from a few predecessors too), I thought the first Madagascar movie was a hoot, especially those silly penguins, so this should be fun.

Nov. 26: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Even more than "Indy 4," you can count this as the Paramount movie I'm most psyched for next year. David Fincher (resounding huzzah!) takes on the F. Scott Fitzgerald tale about a man (Brad Pitt) who is born in his eighties in 1918 and ages in reverse through the 20th century. Taraji P. Henson of "Hustle & Flow," one of my favorite young actresses, figures into this one somehow too.

Dec. 19: Revolutionary Road
For as long as I've been hearing about this one I just assumed it was coming out at the end of this year rather than next. Sam Mendes directs this tale of a young couple (Leo DiCaprio and Mendes' clearly better half, Kate Winslet) living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s who struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children.

Dec. 25: Star Trek
I have to confess that the whole Star Trek thing is just a tremendous chink in whatever geek armor I still possess. I just never got into it, in any variation, but I'd never knock anyone who does (and there are clearly more than a few of you out there.) All I really know about this is that it's apparently the rather amazing 11th Star Trek flick, it's being directed by J.J. Abrams, and that Zachary Quinto (Sylar on "Heroes") does make a very convincing Spock.

TBA: A Tale of Two Sisters
OK, last one (finally!) and it sounds really odd. In a remake of a Korean horror flick, the rather alluring Elizabeth Banks (who will be making a "porno" with Seth Rogen for director Kevin Smith too) is the cruel stepmother of two sisters who return home from a mental institution. Sounds pretty darn far from my cup of tea.

And there you have it. Feel free to tell me which Paramount (and non-Paramount) flicks you're most excited about for 2008. I'll leave you with this fairly freakin cool pic from "Speed Racer." I'm still more than a little skeptical that this Wachowski brothers flick will be anything but crap, but judging from this pic it should at least look pretty astounding. Peace out.