The movie trailer for The Avengers has debuted. We don’t know why you wouldn’t have seen it yet (you know who you are), so we’ll do you a favor and make sure you see it now!

“He says that they’re payin’ homage to me,” Williamson is quoted as saying. “How can you pay homage to me in a comedy? I don’t do comedy…. My thing is to be the hero, to win the fight, to get the girl at the end of the movie… OK. You go to see a Freddy Williamson movie. Ain’t no singin’, ain’t no dancin’ because I don’t sing. I don’t dance, in public anyway. So my kind of film, call it what you want. I have no idea what the hell ‘black exploitation’ means, but if you want to call it that, fine. But I don’t do comedy and you can’t pay homage to me by doing comedy.”

And then after further discounting Michael Jai White:

“The guy who paid homage to me was a white guy in ‘Tropic Thunder,’” he says. “Robert Downey Jr. He did it in blackface with sideburns, looked just like the Hammer. When they reviewed the film in New York and all other venues they said he did a great interpretation of Fred Williamson. Now, I respect that. That means he knows who I am. He saw me. He respects the way that I talk. He respects the way that I project myself and that’s what he was doing. He was in a comedy, but he wasn’t comic. He was doing the Hammer.”

Hit EURweb for the complete interview

Film: B
One minute everything can go right in life, and the next could be the beginning of nothing but pain and sorrow. Life is fragile. Nearly 80,000 homeless roam Los Angeles like nomads, the most of any American city, and much less separates them from us than you think. Plenty of them came from good foundations, and stable lives, but suddenly life came crashing down on them hard. They are ignored by their families and ignored by society itself. After LA Times journalist, Steve Lopez crashed on his bicycle, he paid attention to one homeless man who played the sad strings of society.

The Soloist is a serious drama based on a true story of Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) discovering a musical prodigy laying next to waste on the streets of Los Angeles. After some fact checking, the famed New York City art school, Juilliard accepted one Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx) in the 1970s as a promising cello player with a fervor for Beethoven. Ayers never finished his schooling, however, because he was tormented by voices in his head. Decades later, a broken and disheveled man, Ayers wanders the streets of Los Angeles with his life collected in a shopping cart uttering madness to himself all day and sprawling out on the cement jungle each night.

Lopez uses Ayers at first, to keep his job alive during the crumbling newspaper industry. In his column, he writes about Ayers wondering how someone of his talent could find himself struggling to stay alive on the streets. Without any kind of education or training, Lopez befriends Ayers and tries to bring him back to society by making Ayers passion for music more accessible to him. But Ayers is filled with demons that won’t allow for an easy transition. Tested to uncomfortable limits, Lopez remains persistent in getting Ayers to a better place, and in return Lopez sees what he’s been missing in his life. Changes occur in the self-absorbed writer, who at the beginning of the movie was concerned with one person.

The painful reality of the landscape of The Soloist is that there are not enough people like Steve Lopez to care about any of the thousands that wander from overpass to street grate. Most people would rather avoid Skid Row (the streets of downtown LA where the homeless reside) like the plague and understandably so. It’s the humanity of two men that will humble those who watch the Soloist. Two men who find a friendship together, and test it to great measures because each thinks that being alone will make them happier. It’s easier. It’s simpler. Maybe, but the consequences of being a true “soloist” can take its toll to where there’s not much that separates a homeless man and a well-to-do writer.

Apparently, many people avoided this film as well at the box office back in April when most movie goers were ramping up for the summer blockbuster. After seeing the film I can see why it wasn’t a bigger hit. It’s not because of the acting (god no) or the script, or even anything the crew could have done. Okay, it is an achingly slow film, but the general public doesn’t want anything to do with the hardships of others, especially when so many are experiencing tough times of their own. And if escaping from that reality is what movies are all about, then The Soloist is not for you. But for those who want to see two fine performances and more importantly, get exposed to real life, do so, you owe it to your fellow man.

Video: A
The Soloist is fitted with a splendid 1080p AVC-encoded transfer framed in 2.39:1. Detail is not a problem as seen in the scenes inside the LA Times offices. Stacks of paper and mayhem are ubiquitous at every turn. The scenes of Skid Row are filled with orchestrated motion and depth and as complex as those scenes are, there is not a loss of detail whatsoever. The scene where Nathaniel sees the LA Philharmonic rehearsal with Steve at Disney Hall he closes his eyes and a firework display of color goes off that’s just the tip of the iceberg of how well colors are reproduced. Fleshtones, equally striking and accurate revealing every wrinkle, stress line, and blemish of the homeless unapologetically.

Audio: A-
A dialogue-driven 5.1 Dolby True-HD audio track steers the Soloist to place where all of the details stand out. There are panning effects and directional noise that accurately places you in the center of the more active scenes but the ones that stand out are when conversation is going on in the foreground and in the background. Skid Row is particularly filled with life during the day or night. And when the music plays, that’s when you sit back and enjoy it how Nathaniel would and let it take over your mind. The room fills with warmth, perfectly pitched and balanced. Bigger bass is reserved for some of the few action sequences we are privy to, but isn’t overpowering. Also available on the disc are French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks, and subtitles in English, English SDH, French and Spanish.

Extras: B+
Anytime you watch a film about real people, you want to see and get to know the actual people who the film portrays. The extras provided satisfy that curiosity as the real Steve Lopez, Nathaniel Ayers and his sister, Jennifer talk (and perform) in front of the camera and are gracious enough to share their story first hand. I only wished there was a full performance by Ayers instead of the minute or two we do get but here’s what is included. All of the featurettes are in HD with the exception of the deleted scenes.

Audio Commentary with Director Joe Wright picks his spots to interject technical aspects of scenes, information about schizophrenics, themes and particular moments that he felt he could have done better, like downplaying the cello as a character. It a bit of dry track, not talkative enough, but that’s better than being overly annoying.

An Unlikely Friendship: Making the Soloist HD (19:37) shows behind-the-scenes footage of the integral parts of the film such as courting Lopez to adapt his story and articles to film, Jamie Foxx learning how to play the cello and violin, and getting the people on skid row to be extras in the film and add authenticity to the Soloist.

Kindness, Courtesy and Respect: Mr. Ayers + Mr. Lopez HD (4:48) shows the real Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers (and his sister) talking about their friendship as well as Ayers playing the cello. This is the most we get to see of Ayers and despite the new found fame, he is still living in the LAMP apartment and walks the streets of Los Angeles.

One Size Does Not Fit All: Addressing the Homelessness in Los Angeles HD (9:45) speaks of the rapidly growing homeless rate in Los Angeles in skid row. There are more homeless in Los Angeles than San Francisco, Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, Portand, and Houston combined. Social services like Midnight Mission and LAMP talk about their programs and their causes in hopes of publicizing the problem and ask for whatever help can be donated.

There were five Deleted Scenes SD (9:49) that show Lopez with the flirty lab technician (Jena Malone), Lopez and Nathaniel listening to Beethoven in the car, Nathaniel’s childhood antagonists, playing the cello for his sister at LAMP, and an extensive scene where the voices in his head are “dealt” with.

Juilliard: The Education of Nathaniel Ayers HD (4:08) Producer Gary Foster discusses Ayers acceptance into Juilliard and what a prestige achievement it was for him to play there. Foster also has a story to tell about Ayers and fellow classmate, Yo-Yo Ma.

Beth’s Story HD (2:02) – an animated short or public service announcement about how easy it can be to be homeless.

The Theatrical Trailer HD (2:33) makes the film seem like a more powerful and magical movie.

An Orchestrated Drag – Overall Shock Value: B+
There’s nothing inherently wrong with The Soloist, as it retells the very real and surprising bond between two men who would probably have never met, set against the landscape of the troublesome homeless problem in Los Angeles. The acting of Downey Jr. and Foxx is exceptional and the story has the right amount of depth and weight to it. I found the story overall depressing and dragged down by the reality of the LA homelessness–which is the point–but it’s not the type of film I could bring myself to enjoy again and again; not because of the social issue at hand, but because the pacing just drags to a snail’s pace at times. I still admire the work behind The Soloist and do think it’s worthy of a strong and confident rental. With the fine extras that should be explored and a solid technical treatment, The Soloist blu-ray preserves the story of Nathaniel Ayers and Steve Lopez in highest of regards.

As part of his four picture deal with Marvel Studios, Robert Downey Jr. is appearing as Tony Stark in THE AVENGERS motion picture, as well as reprising his starring role as the larger-than-life leading character in IRON MAN 2. Jon Favreau will return to direct the sequel to the blockbuster IRON MAN, which to date has grossed over $578 million worldwide, as well as executive produce THE AVENGERS.

Academy Award® nominee Downey was most recently seen in the summer comedy blockbuster TROPIC THUNDER starring opposite Ben Stiller and Jack Black. Before Iron Man, he was best known for his film roles in KISS KISS BANG BANG, WONDER BOYS and CHAPLIN, the film for which he was nominated for an Oscar®.

In addition to directing the first IRON MAN, Favreau has previously directed ELF, ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE and MADE. He is also well known for writing and starring in SWINGERS. He will next be seen acting in FOUR CHRISTMASES, I LOVE YOU MAN and COUPLES RETREAT.

DON CHEADLE WILL STAR AS RHODEY IN IRON MAN 2

Marvel Studios is pleased today to confirm that an agreement has been finalized with award-winning actor Don Cheadle to take on the role of Colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes in Marvel’s IRON MAN 2 due in theaters on May 7, 2010. In casting Cheadle, Marvel replaces Terrence Howard who appeared in the role of Rhodey in IRON MAN.

Cheadle is also signed on to perform the same role in THE AVENGERS and subsequent installments of the IRON MAN franchise.

“We are very excited about working with the extraordinarily talented Don Cheadle as we expand the role of Rhodey in Iron Man 2. It has already become apparent as we prep the movie for production, that the dynamic between Robert and Don will take Iron Man 2 to new heights,” said Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios.

Cheadle is best known for his Oscar® nominated lead performance in HOTEL RWANDA as well as his role as Basher Tarr in the OCEAN’S franchise, CRASH and SWORDFISH.

Based on Marvel’s iconic Super Hero, IRON MAN 2 continues the story of this summer’s box office blockbuster IRON MAN, the first feature film produced independently by Marvel Studios. IRON MAN 2 will be produced by Marvel Studios’ President, Kevin Feige, and executive produced by Louis D’Esposito, Jon Favreau, Stan Lee, David Maisel and Denis Stewart.

In a movie event, THE AVENGERS will bring together the super hero team of Marvel Comics characters for the first time ever, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk and more, as they are forced to band together to battle the biggest foe they’ve ever faced.

The highly anticipated sequel to IRON MAN will be released in theatres on May 7, 2010 and THE AVENGERS will be released July 15, 2011. Both films will be distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Cheadle is represented by UTA. Downey and Favreau are represented by CAA.

FEATURE:

Forgive me to open an old sore but remember when Tom Cruise wanted to make an Iron Man film, and star as Tony Stark? Hot off of his terrible yet somehow profitable Mission: Impossible franchise and New Line Cinema aggressively trying to make it happen. Think about that for a second… with his obligatory running scene, lots of deep inhaling and sighing…indeed… what an awful film that could have been! Instead, patient Iron Man comic fans were rewarded with Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwenyth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, and Director Jon Favreau. Up to that point, Iron Man was a just a rocking Black Sabbath song to the rest of the country. Keyword: Was.

For those still in the minority, Stark, a billionaire industrialist and arms dealer to the US government, is wounded by shrapnel and captured by terrorists. He is forced to create them a powerful weapon but instead builds a battle suit of armor for himself and escapes. Ridden with guilt when he sees the weapons he created fall into the hands of his captors, Stark gets inspired to engineer new armors modifying them and testing them becoming a hero to rid the world of his warfare and thwart those trying to steal his tech. Though not your typical hero, Stark balances his shrewd businessman tactics with smooth playboy moves as a public persona, but when alone is a technological genius.

With such a heroic arc, Downey was an inspirational casting. With so many clouds that hovered over career, he had turned it around with memorable roles in Scanner Darkly (2006), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) and Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), but the one thing that escaped him was a blockbuster role that everyone could reach the masses. Here he’s the center of attention delivering the brash and cocky side to Stark while channeling the brilliant engineer. We experience his discovery while he tests the suits and dream for a bit. He’s not perfect and that’s how we’re sold on Tony Stark. In the pending sequels Downey will face Stark’s bout with alcoholism and battling demons from within something he brings to the table from personal experience.

Paltrow ravished as Stark’s strawberry blonde assistant, Pepper Potts, Howard’s Col. James Rhodes complimented Stark and Bridges’ played up a villainous Obadiah Stane. The cast chemistry was there and with a script devoted to please the comic fans with the timing of computer effects advancement, Iron Man laid it all out.

Favreau gets Co-MVP (Swingers, Elf), by breaking out of the small film world and tapping into those sensibilities with the blockbuster tools. When he created a Myspace page devoted to Iron Man brainstorming sessions with longtime readers, it showed this guy cared about creating a faithful, yet modern adaptation of Iron Man. The result is a slick composite of stories spanning the 70′s and 80′s Armor Wars with Obadiah Stane to the Extremis re-launch and even the under the helmet experience of the 90′s comics. Though asked to compress all of Stark’s story elements, Favreau wisely chose to save some of those (alcoholism, Rhodey in War Machine) for the eventual sequels. The ability to do that without the nagging pressure of the usual big studio heads (See Spider-Man 3) and the confidence in Favreau’s plan paid off!

For the big screen, Iron Man was made contemporary taking it out of the Korean War origin and applying the Middle Eastern angle showing the timelessness as well as its relevance in the modern world. Because of that it struck a nerve with longtime readers of the comics and those introduced in the theater. More importantly Marvel Studios had a successful launch and could develop many more quality films if they take a similar approach to their vault of characters and ideas.

Presentation:
A slipcase holds the usual Blu-Ray disc holder. At Comic-Con, Marvel was giving out lenticular slipcases for the DVD release but sadly none for Blu-Ray. Menu design is simple, having a slick animation sequence with video feeds and the Jarvis HUD (Heads-Up Display) spiraling Iron Man. There are a total of 15 chapters although you can add bookmarks while watching the film. Subtitles are available in English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese. DIsc one also has preview trailers of Star Trek, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Incredible Hulk as well as a commercial for the Iron Man animated series.

Video:
The feature is in 1080P, AVC encoded and sparkles in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Blacks are deep, and colors pop like in the Santa Monica pier or the Mark III armor. All of the reflective metal surfaces and battle worn textures the video show nicely. There’s still some film grain and softness to the image which, personally I enjoy because it recreates the theater experience rather than mucking up the picture with edge enhancement. There are only a few scenes, like when Tony is either lifting off or landing, where you truly know the armor is done by CGI.

Audio:
There are three soundtracks: 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. There will be a bit of disappointment with the lack of a English Dolby Digital track for those who may not be fitted with a receiver that can read the HD Audio tracks, it simply defaults to a DD 2.0 mix. The Dolby True HD track though is a lively track, with lots of punch when Stark is testing out the repulsors and the big battle at the end. Dialogue is clear whether Jeff Bridges is shouting or Downey Jr. is whispering something to Paltrow’s Pepper. The heaviness of all of armor and metal comes booming through with resounding explosions, thuds, and clanks that will have your neighbors covering their ears. You’ll have fun replaying the opening scene and chapter 11 (the jet scene) as demo material. With all the flying and gun shooting there’s plenty for your surrounds to create an encompassing aural environment making this a definite reference disc in home theater rooms across the country. The upgrade to HD audio is worth every single penny.

Extras:

DISC ONE

Starting with Stan Lee, Gerry Conway, and Gene Colan to the characters’ renaissance in the Bob Layton, David Micheline and John Romita Jr. era, THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN (47:04) is a very comprehensive documentary on the men behind the comics of Iron Man. Warren Ellis and Adi Granov were rightly spotlighted for their modern-day reboot of the character (Iron Man: Extremis) that would later become the template for the film. Others who participated were editors, Joe Quesada, Tom Brevoort, writers Joe Casey, Dan and Charlie Knauf and artist Patrick Zircher. Every major landmark is covered even Ultimate Iron Man except the current Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca run on Invincible Iron Man. This feature was probably produced well before those comics were planned but it is one of the best superhero comics today. This feature can be seen in one sitting or in six separate chapters.

In the 11 EXTENDED/DELETED SCENES (23:56) two smaller arcs are taken out of the film: Stark’s very tight friendship with Rhodey and in Dubai, how Pepper stumbles on Tony’s secret adventures. Both arcs also revealed more of Stark’s playboy lifestyle which to some of the tame may have been too unlikable. There’s also an alternate ending showing a more emotional parting of Obadiah and Tony. When you go back to how smooth the film runs, these cuts were better left on the floor but deleted scenes always show the importance of the editing process, where if you decide to cut out one thing, everything related to that scene must go as well.

Of the Blu-Ray exclusives the HALL OF ARMOR takes users on an interactive tour of the Mark I, II, III, and Iron Monger suits with 360 degree views and close-ups on specific parts and their functionality. BD-LIVE features include being able to fly around in the different suits, 3-D schematics of the weapons and a IQ Trivia quiz.

DISC TWO

The beef is in the 109-minute behind-the-scenes, I AM IRON MAN featurette which can be viewed into seven parts separately or all altogether covering principle photography, the acting underneath the armors, contributions from Stan Winston Studio (molding and body casting) and Kyle Cooper’s Prologue Films (the cool end credits and HUD), and the incredible mass of post-production work orchestrated by Favreau. See him bounce from different parts of Skywalker Sound and you’ll see how he lost so much weight over the course of Iron Man. Comic book fans will get a kick out of Marvel’s top brass editorial and writing staff that included Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Millar, Axel Alonso, and Joe Quesada touring the studio and giving their input on how Stark is portrayed in the comics. These types of meetings should be mandatory for all comic book film adaptations because of their closeness and familiarity with these characters. It was also a surprise to see former
comic artist, Stephen Platt show up as one of the conceptual artists.

Favreau attempted to use special effects only where it was needed and when viewing WIRED: THE VISUAL EFFECTS OF IRON MAN (27:00) the development and contributions of Industrial Light and Magic (Mark II, III, Iron Monger), The Orphanage (HUD Interface), and the Embassy (Mark I) are explained and it’s amazing to see just how seamless their work was in the film.

After watching the ROBERT DOWNEY JR. SCREEN TEST (6:03) you’ll understand why he’s one of the best actors today performing three scenes, in addition to THE ACTOR’S PROCESS (4:13), which shows a rehearsal of Bridges and Downey Jr.’s pivotal scene guided by Favreau. THE ONION WILDLY POPULAR IRON MAN TRAILER TO BE ADAPTED INTO FULL-LENGTH FILM (2:38) is a comedy short done by the popular media spoof, The Onion, that works especially well if you or someone you know overreacts to movie trailers, subsequently expressing defamation on the internet. There’s an extensive GALLERY of conceptual art and production stills. Comic book fans familiar with Adi Granov’s art will enjoy looking at alternate armor designs and how much the art direction was based off his stunning work. Rounding out the second disc are four Theatrical TRAILERS in DD 5.1. The two domestic trailers show you the goods throughout while the international trailers do a better job of concealing the
Mark III armor until the end.

All of the featurettes are in high definition, widescreen (except the Onion short) and in Dolby Digital 2.0. It is however lacking a commentary track, which is disappointing, only because Jon Favreau and crew really devoted themselves to making a great film and would have provided an entertaining track. A very minor gripe, and greedy but there’s still plenty to pique the interest Iron Man whether it’s casual and diehard.

The Round-Up

Marvel Studios took a second tier character and made him a house-hold name. Concerns of what Marvel has to offer after Spider-Man and the X-Men have been squashed because not only have they established a new franchise in Iron Man, but they’ve laid the foundation to open the rest of their universe if you wait to watch after the credits. There was no doubt in my mind how much fun Iron Man was this summer; if Spider-Man was a home run, then this left the ballpark! It’s with my biggest recommendation that if you want to recreate that experience at home that this blu-ray release is the best way to do that.

As much as fans will get a kick out of the insider references — like War Machine, Jarvis, the Ten Rings, the requisite Stan Lee (my favorite yet lol) — the bigger picture is that anybody can get into this movie. Whether you’ve seen Adi Granov’s CG work before or not, you’ve got to love the look of the Mark III armor; as great as it looked on Granov’s covers, it’s pretty spectacular seeing it in motion. Additionally, Iron Man’s character here is free of the complexities he’s taken on in the comics — which isn’t to say I don’t enjoy those complexities, just that they rightly don’t belong in his coming out party. And speaking of intros, the origin has been nicely updated to fit post-9/11, without becoming overly political.

Honestly I can’t even think of what I didn’t like about this movie… no Ghostface cameo? Any negatives are just nitpicking. Bottom line: this movie has everything you could really ask for in a summer blockbuster — high-speed action, great effects, and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. And who doesn’t love big kickass robots?

This was such a fun flick I’ll probably pay to go see it again this weekend, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s going to see this movie multiple times. Look for Iron Man to make Marvel a ton of well-earned money. Congrats on the studio’s first solo outing.