Pre Summer Movies - A Dash of Hit and Miss

The summer blockbusters (pre summer, actually) have been trickling into theatres over the past two weeks, and I managed to catch three so far that were somewhat worth checking out. No spoilers though, I promise.

First on my list (which had been for a while) was Robin Hood. I expected some sort of redux of the bandit of Sherwood Forest, but this has a bit of a twist to it. Initially I didn't care for the storyline, but as I mull it over several weeks later I do have to give the creators some credit for taking Hood from the proverbial point A (a Knight of the Crusades) to point B (Robin of the Hood) via a different path. My only nitpick with the movie would be character Guy of Godfrey. I appreciate the actor Mark Strong, and he brings with him a great versatility in skill and looks, but felt for this movie he used neither to stand out. Although one could argue, was his character supposed to, or was he supposed to blend in to the background a little, so other adversaries could shine?

The second movie I caught was Prince of Persia. I was a little hesitant to see this, as it was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (of Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, soon to be quadrogy). But I gave it a go and was pleasantly surprised. Of the three movies seen recently, I feel this had the most cohesive and interesting storyline. There was much action and adventure, and although the CGI effects were obvious, what they were meant to show the audience was pretty amazing. Was it magic? Great power of the Gods? You find out. ;-)

Rounding out the trio of movies was Iron Man II. I had been looking forward to it, but after seeing a few trailers and commercials, I wondered if I had seen the majority of the action and plot. I think I did, though one part towards the end (a revelation of sorts by a main character) I did not see coming. As much as I wanted to enjoy this movie, even the slower exposition scenes, I did not. The characters tried too hard to be snarky, whiny, badass, sexy. Don't try, just be.

Apart from the movies, not much else to bring up. The spring season comes to a close in a few weeks, yet already we (in Florida) are slipping into our typical month of torrential showers which usually starts in June. They tend to shut down one's outdoor plans for an afternoon, or sometimes the rest of the day. The best bet for anyone traveling to Florida during this time is to schedule errands and outdoor activities for the morning up until lunchtime, and aim for the indoors (movies, museums, hanging out) during the rain. Otherwise, your drive will be white knuckled, and your clothes may be soaked (even with an umbrella, you may be wet from the thighs down).