Manic Monday: Disappointment in Pepper Potts

"Baby, you're in a relationship with me. 

Nothing is ever going to be alright."

-Tony Stark, Iron Man 3

 

On Thursday I spent the day in an AMC theater rewatching the first two Iron Man films, The Avengers, and then Iron Man 3 for the first time. 

One of the things I was looking forward to in seeing this movie was Pepper Potts becoming a BA. She was in a way in the previous films, but I was looking forward to her kicking some ass. But she didn't. She was a victim, and a damsel in distress. Honestly, she was kind of mean to Tony who was clearly having trouble dealing with ALMOST DYING. AGAIN. 

But Pepper has only ever gotten her "powers" from men. Even just being CEO of the company was something that Tony almost nonchalantly gave her. The extremis virus and the Iron Man suit were the same. She was given something (by men) that could make her powerful and she struggled with it. She doesn't know how to use to her new powers and then feels guilty about using them. She's no Black Widow. And the Marvel films need more women like Black Widow. 

Overall, I loved the movie. I really enjoyed it despite mixed reviews I've heard. I never read the comics so I didn't have much to go off of in comparison. I would give the film a 3. The Avengers was the best, and I have no idea how anyone will beat it. 

Last question to the writers of Iron Man 3, WHY DESTROY ALL THE SUITS?

Trash Talk Tuesday: More than a love story

"You gotta pay attention to signs. 

When life reaches out with a moment like this,

it's a sin if you don't reach back..." 

- The Silver Linings Playbook, Matthew Quick

 I was sold when the trailer for the movie version of this book featured Bradley Cooper throwing A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway out of a window. He was so upset by the outcome of the novel, that I laughed even though the ending to that same book made me cry hysterically. 

The movie version of the book was great, and after reading the novel almost all of my internal writing critic questions and judgements of the film were resolved. Being an avid lover of both film and novels I always pay attention to the differences and likenesses made in the process of adapting a book into a film. In general, the biggest change for The Silver Linings Playbook is that the novel is not a love story. It is a man overcoming and facing his mental illness and what led him into a mental breakdown. His breakdown has to do with love, and his ability to "move-on" from the breakdown has to do with love but it is not Tiffany (played by Jennifer Lawerence in the film) who solves the problem. It is not falling in love that saves Pat Peoples. In the movie, the problems of his past relationship is basically healed with a new one. But that's not the case in the novel, and I really appreciated that change. There is something that annoys me about that mindset, its like giving yourself an injury to distract yourself from an injury. 

My rating of Quick's The Silver Linings Playbooks would be a 3.5. I don't believe an English teacher would want to teach a class on the novel but overall I'm not embarrassed to mention my having read the novel to a professor. Feel free to argue my rating if you have read the book yourself. My reviews are completely my opinion, and I do not see myself as "all-knowing" in the realm of rating books, movies, or television. 

If you haven't read the book but you enjoyed the movie, then READ THE BOOK. 

Currently reading: Watchmen and Philosophy: A Rorschach Test edited by Mark D. White
and Watchmen by Alan Moore