Declare April 1-7 Robert Downey Jr.The Talented but Tortured Soul We Can't Help Adore Avatar Week

I really enjoyed it. Berta said that it was very good. She has liked him ever since he did Chaplin(she loves Charlie)
RDJr is still adorable/handsome now that he is aging a bit(aren’t we all)

Based on the autobiographical novel by Dito Montiel, the author wrote and directed this film based on his life and memories. The film jumps back and forth in time between the past and the present connecting the two and giving glimpses of the lives of the people around the author as he perceived them. At times dark and violent, you are dragged along as the author seeks to make peace with the trauma from his childhood.

Robert Downey Jr. portrays the author as an adult as he goes back home for the first time to face his dying father and the friends he abandoned after he left NY for California. His portrayal was straight-forward RDJr and you had to wonder if Montiel is really that way and chose Downey for the part, or if Downey just couldn’t let his own self go in portraying the character. Shia LaBeouf who plays the author as a teen did a much more believable job of transforming himself into a character unlike what we’ve seen in previous roles. Nice performances by Chazz Palminteri, Rosario Dawson, Dianne Wiest and Channing Tatum round out the main cast.

This isn’t a film that is designed to make you feel good or to give you any insight or answers. Instead it’s a look at a period of time, the memories of one man, and his struggle to reconcile his past with his present.

4 out of 5 stars

This film tells a fantastical story of the life of photographer Diane Arbus (played by Nicole Kidman). There’s a disclaimer at the start of the film that clarifies that this is not a biography, and that the characters and story are fabrications. It’s a brilliant fairy-tale of the creative muses that inspire a woman who sees things through eyes that capture images others never recognize.

Robert Downey Jr. plays a man who opens Kidman’s eyes to a new world of possibilities through his bizarre circle of friends. His performance was mainly through his eyes and vocal intonation since much of the film his face was masked.

4 out of 5 stars

What an amazing story. First off let me say that I love the rotoscoping technique that has been seen before in Waking Life as well as those financial commercials that are always on but sink in the name of the organization because I’m too focused on the animation. The cast is incredible whether they are a lead or just a supporting actor in this delve into the madness of addiction. Keanu Reeves delivers one of his strongest performances in this film, maybe because it’s up to the rotoscopers to show the emotion on his face. Robert Downey Jr. is suitably portrayed both in body and in spirit, and you get a great performance out of Woody Harrelson too.

I’m definitely buying this movie to watch over and over again.

5 out of 5 stars

Thanks for the inspiration… you’ll never be far from my heart!

xoxoxo

Until we meet again. xo

It’s been Real Fun, but I’m dying for some Marshmallow Peeps! Seeing how RDJr. is only 14 days older than me I know I will never Smoke or do Drugs cause it sure can age a person Real Fast! You hear that kids ” Just Say No” No really, I hope his new Super Hero movie does well and things keep looking up :) We have lost way too many talented people just in MY lifetime, be it drugs, alcohol, Aids, or suicide because of depression. I just don’t know, I don’t have the answers,I guess that is one of the things that draws me to 43T is wild scope of people helping each other…with things be them silly or serious.XO Dawn

I meant to post this yesterday, but I was already a day late then. Still, having a birthday on 4-4 is kind of cool (though it would’ve been cooler if he was born in 1964 instead of 1965, or better still 1944. Maybe he can die in 2044.)

Here’s some thoughts on some of his performances:

Weird Science (1985) 4 out of 5 stars
Mainly a small supporting role in this film, though he did deliver the classic line “Girls, shmirls!”

Soap Dish (1991) 4 out of 5 stars
Great performance in a stellar ensemble comedy cast about the backstabbing on a soap set.

Two Girls And A Guy (1998) 5 out of 5 stars
Confronted by the two women he’s been dating, RDJr delivers a great layered performance mixed with comedy and drama.

U.S. Marshalls (1998) 2 out of 5 stars
Nice action sequences, but predictable and one-layered performances throughout including RDJr’s.

In Dreams (1999) 4 out of 5 stars
RDJr as a psychotic child killer in a good performance, though his worked paled to his co-star Annette Bening’s tour-de-force

Gothika (2003) 4 out of 5 stars
Nice change of pace supporting role to Halle Berry’s character as she faces ghostly possession.

The Shaggy Dog (2006) 3 out of 5 stars
Nice comedy performance in an otherwise stupid remake.

I’m looking forward to his take on Tony Stark in the upcoming Iron Man movie. If he can keep from going over-the-top (like Nic Cage did as Johnny Blaze in Ghost Rider) then we might have a good comic book adaptation.

I love this picture.

I mean, most of us look more criminal in our driver’s license photos.

Makes me want to see him in a remake of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari…