Cintron's Movie Review: Memorial Day Weekend Edition: Iron Man 3/Waiting/La Casa De Mi Padre

I've read enough movie reviews to know that critics are either going to completely praise, or completely bash a film. I'd like to think of myself as an "easy" critic; someone who will sit through most movies (albeit for better or worse) and can, for the most part, at least try to appreciate what the intent of the film was.
That being said, I intend on making my reviews fairly basic and understandable for those of us who do not have a thesaurus handy. So if you're looking for a review that highlights a painstaking recollection of a particular scene, focal point, or nuance, then look elsewhere. I'm just a quirky movie lover who wants to tell other quirky movie lovers if I liked a film or not. No critic's opinion should ever serve as doctrine. Take my reviews for what they are. But in the end, be your own critic.


I did see Iron Man 3 this weekend. Bottom line, if you've seen the first two films, and you've seen the Avengers, it's a foregone conclusion that you're going to see this one. Enjoy it for what it is: A well performed, big-budgeted, Summer action movie where the good guys win. I am a Robert Downey Jr. fan, and I've said from the get that he makes a perfect Tony Stark: confident (cocky?), sarcastic, witty, flawed, and enduring. Him, combined with a star-studded (wow, am I really using this overused term?) lineup of returning actors Gwyneth "Chris Martin is a blessed man" Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pierce, and a hilariously performed Ben Kingsley, make for an all-around good (not great) follow-up to Iron Man 2 & The Avengers (which I still haven't seen yet. Crap). Oh! & by the way. The now expected "post credit teaser to the next Marvel film" is nothing more than a quick exchange between Starks and a certain temper-challenged friend of his. It's not focal to the inevitable second Avengers film by any means, but it is a cute little nugget to the film nonetheless.

Iron Man 3 Trailer

Speaking of nuggets, you'll find some pretty...interesting nuggets on Netflix if you do enough searching around. I remember seeing the trailer for this film sometime last year, but had completely forgotten about it till I ran across it again last night. I won't lie: I pretty much loved this movie. If you consider yourself a fan of any of the following:
-Will Ferrell
-Napolean Dynamite/Nacho Libre
-Tarantino Films
-Oddball films
-Desperado/El Mariachi
-Movies That Don't Take Themselves Too Seriously
-Telenovelas
then you will most definitely enjoy this one as much as I did.
The story is essentially a spoof of a retro Spanish action flick, complete with a main villain, a damsel in distress, an unlikely hero, and a classic "revenge" storyline. Something that I must point out is that this, for all intents and purposes, is a Spanish film. As in, 99% of the dialogue is in Spanish. With subtitles provided. This includes Will Ferrell (Armando Alvarez), who is the film's protagonist. If subtitles aren't your thing, or you won't be able to get over the fact that Will Ferrell's enunciation of the Spanish language is better than most of your Hispanic friends or relatives, then do yourself a favor and avoid the film at all costs. For those of you who can overcome the aforementioned, you're in for a hilarious, odd, sexy, purposely cheesy, at times purposely low-budget, yet somehow ridiculously well produced, performed, & visually appealing experience.

Between these two films, I watched "Waiting", which is apparently a modern cult classic that's essentially "Office Space" but in a Friday's-esque restaurant. There aren't many films that are so unbearable that I can't make it through them, but I have to hand it to whomever decided that it would be a good idea to take the talents of performers like Justin Long, Ryan Reynolds, Luis Guzman, and Dane Cook, and completely make you forget why you even found them entertaining to begin with. Hopefully the payday was good enough to justify their agreeing to be a part of such a steaming pile of hot garbage. There are ways of making humor out of genitalia, hooking up with a co-worker, and getting back at an irate customer. This movie almost seems to intentionally avoid those ways. It's unfortunate really, seeing as how the trailer makes it look like so much fun.

Waiting Trailer



Bottom Line:
Iron Man 3 - See it
La Casa De Mi Padre - See It
Waiting - Skip It