TOPAZ HORIZON

I absolutely loved Iron Man. Watched it today with Vince at Power Plant. He wanted to watch it because it was "one huge gadget fest." Being editor in chief of T3 Philippines, he must have thought that's it's a job requirement. I figured, since I'm an entertainment magazine editor myself, I should start watching movies while they're hot and not wait till there's a DVD out (I go to the bathroom often so I hate going to the movie theater--you can't push the pause button. True enough, I missed a few minutes of the movie because I had to run out and pee!).

Now before anyone thinks I thought that would be torture, let me assure you that I adore movies like that. I absolutely am a fan of X-Men, Batman, Spider-Man, Superman, and the like. I love fantasy films, too, like the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars 5-6 trilogies, and the Harry Potter series. And I just watched Indiana Jones for the nth time, so I can be ready for the fourth one this month. I also like murder thrillers. I can passionately recite the dialog of Red Dragon and sing the Silence of the Lambs-inspired "It Rubs the Lotion on its Skin" in the shower-- to Vince's alarmed amusement. Meanwhile, you'll have to drag me to watch romantic comedies and any movie that addresses the inane issues of love (though I find that I like My Best Friend's Wedding and Love Actually very much). So, because I'm a big nerd and I married an even bigger nerd, today's movie date was happily anticipated.

I loved everything about Iron Man. I loved the action sequences. I loved the bass-heavy music. I loved the gadgets (yep, it was one huge gadget fest and a big commercial for Audi). I loved Robert Downey Jr! He really owned the role of Tony Stark. He made it believable, his performance was so naturally done. The actors were all very good, except I thought that Gwyneth Paltrow's role was a little too small for her stature. Pepper Potts is something for an up-and-comer to relish, although I must admit it was refreshing to see Gwyneth on the big screen again.

While I enjoyed the movie a lot, I was surprised at its message. The movie was obviously saying that weapons of mass destruction are evil. But I found myself startled when I teared up a bit at the scenes where the terrorists were killing villagers, bombing their homes, dragging women and children from each other, destroying lives. As a rule, I don't watch the news; selfish little me gets too disturbed. So to be suddenly confronted with images of war in a movie that I expected to be just fun, I was a bit overwhelmed. And I'm now thinking a lot about these refugees and what I can do to help them... Something Angelina Jolie and George Clooney failed to make me care about, a comic-book hero in an action movie did.

That's the magic of movies for you.

P.S. If you watched Silence of the Lambs, you really really ought to view the music video of "It Rubs the Lotion on Its Skin." So freakily fabulous! Sing with me now, "It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again!"