Iron Man 3

2008 gave us Iron Man and The Dark Knight, the first in a line of really great superhero movies. They were game changers. So was last year's The Avengers, directed by the magnificent Joss Whedon. It was the first team superhero movie and, amazingly, it didn't feel like it was spread too thin. Iron Man 3 is another solid superhero movie, but it's not going to change the industry.

In Tony Stark's latest adventure, he fights a global terrorist from his past who possesses the technology to rewrite genetic code, giving people the ability to regenerate (and sometimes shoot fire from their mouths!).

The greatest part about this movie is that it contains the secret to all Marvel characters: a human flaw. Iron Man's weakness isn't a space rock or fire; it's anxiety attacks. How awesomely human is that? He's so worried about protecting his girlfriend that it causes him physical pain and often puts him in danger.

Robert Downey Jr. really was born to play this role. I can't imagine anyone else as Tony Stark.

I can promise you that Iron Man 3 has everything you want in an Iron Man movie. Freaking cool suits? Yes. Snappy one-liners? Yes. Epic villains? Way yes. If you like superhero movies at all, you'll probably like Iron Man 3, but don't expect it to change your life.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows

With the popularity of detective shows such as CSI and Law & Order, it's not surprising that there would be movies based on the most legendary mystery series ever. His name is literally synonymous with 'detective.' But the timelessness of the books does not necessarily insure the success of the films.

Do you remember that boxing scene in the first Sherlock Holmes movie? Where he plans out his moves in his head and the camera speed goes from really fast to really slow a couple times? If you're familiar with that clip, you've already seen half of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. The repeated use of this effect becomes a gimmick within the first thirty minutes of the movie. Every other scene is filled with dark, fast, and confusing clips.  I have to admit, the boxing scene in the first movie was pretty cool. I hadn't really seen anything like it before. But now it seems like they're only using it as an excuse to show every fight scene twice.

Trailers are very important and I'm not talking about those motor homes. A movie trailer has to make someone want to pay to see it without giving away all of the exciting parts. It's a very delicate thing that can make or break a movie. With this one, I felt like I already knew the secrets about every situation they were in. 'There's a guy in the rafters. It's Sherlock cross-dressing. Watson has to make the shot count. They're going to run through the woods.' The trailer gave away all of the little mysteries in a mystery movie.

Being based on a book series, the story was well-done. I must admit that I have not read all of the Sherlock stories by Arthur Conan Doyle so I cannot attest to the movie's faithfulness. But if the story was modified (which I'm sure it was) they did a fairly good job of making it compelling and interesting to the audience.

This storyline takes place in 1891. Why do they all have perfect teeth? White as a pearl and straight as a ruler. They're English for godsakes! He's not supposed to have Robert Downey Jr.'s celebrity teeth! It was very distracting.

In some cases, people say 'read the book before you see the movie.' In this situation, just read the book. Don't bother with the movie.