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On March 6 audiences will experience Watchmen, the most political comic book movie yet made. The film, based off of the acclaimed graphic novel, considers superheroes in the “real world,” and imagines a 1980s Cold War world in which the presence of superheroes has given the United States an edge over the Soviet Union. The film is not the first to consider the superhero in a political context. As the genre developed especially since when Watchmen was first published in the mid ’80s stories and characters have gone well beyond simple escapism. And as superhero films started being adapted more...

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The most recent Indiana Jones film more than recouped its big budget with an estimated $311 million in global box office sales through the long weekend, according to studio estimates Monday. Families went in droves to catch "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," a PG-13 adventure starring Harrison Ford as the whip-cracking archaeologist who took 19 years to return to the big screen. Paramount Pictures estimated the action sequel made $151.1 million in the U.S. and Canada from Thursday to the holiday Monday and $160 million overseas. It marked the second biggest Memorial Day weekend opening ever,...

New York, May 8 : British retailers Selfridges and Harvey Nichols have reported a surge in the sale of heels ever since Gwyneth Paltrow strutted down the red carpet in the highest of heels for her whirlwind ‘Iron Man’ publicity tour. Both the stores have reported a rush of customer interest in the six-inch black Alexander McQueen stilettos that the actress wore to the film's London premiere. Selfridges said that its sales have gone up to 35 percent in the last week, and heels are outselling flats there at a rate of five to one. "Not for the faint hearted,...

"Iron Man” kicks butt. The enemies of the United States of America and its allies are not – for once -- presented as saintly victims of evil American power or tragic casualties of a cruel, uncaring capitalism. They are power-hungry murderous savages and torturers who slaughter the innocent left, right and center just as they are in real life. And Iron Man makes sure they get what's coming. That's why the mega-hit movie “Iron Man” is a celebration of what's great about American capitalism -- and audiences around the world love it. "Iron Man" made $100 million at U.S. domestic...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Buoyed by the blockbuster success of "Iron Man" over the weekend, Marvel Studios on Monday announced plans for a string of superhero properties, including an "Iron Man" sequel set for April 2010. "Iron Man 2" will be followed in June 2010 by the big-screen adaptation of another of Marvel's popular comic book characters, "Thor," the mighty, hammer-wielding hero based on the Nordic god of the same name, the company said. "Captain America" and "The Avengers" are next in line for the summer of 2011. The nearly $99 million opening weekend of "Iron Man," Marvel's first fully...

"Iron Man" was pure gold at the box office. The Marvel Comics adaptation, starring Robert Downey Jr. as the guy in the metal suit, hauled in $100.7 million over opening weekend and $104.2 million since debuting Thursday night, the second-best premiere ever for a non-sequel, according to studio estimates Sunday. The film also scored overseas with $96.7 million in 57 countries where it began opening Wednesday, putting its worldwide total at $201 million. Distributed by Paramount, "Iron Man" was the first release by Marvel Studios, which has begun financing its own productions after such studio-backed hits as the "Spider-Man,""X-Men" and...

PORTLAND, Ore. — The much-ballyhooed movie, "Iron Man," opens in theaters worldwide today (May 2), but the real "iron man" is already under construction at Raytheon Company (Salt Lake City, Utah). Raytheon's Exoskeleton project is the brainchild of project leader Stephen Jacobsen and is being funded by the U.S. Army. The project, according to the company, permits soldiers to don an Exoskeleton suit that amplifies their strength--enabling them to lift 200-pound payloads without tiring. The "Iron Man" exoskeleton being worked on by Robert Downey Jr. in the movie (left) is eerily similar to the real Exoskeleton (right) being developed at...

At first sight, Iron Man, which hits theatres today, appears to be just another superhero movie. His gimmick? He's a modern day Sir Lancelot in high-tech armour that brings him enormous powers, ideal for slaying the villainous dragons of the comic-book universe. But there's much more depth to the Iron Man character than first meets the eye. In fact, he may be the superhero best fitted for the post 9/11 era -- a politically contentious hero for politically contentious times. In a new book, Iron Man: Beneath the Armor, by Andy Mangels, comic artist Jorge Lucas is quoted describing Iron...

OK Freepers, Iron Man is now out, and is getting great reviews in the press. BUT- Iron Man has always been a political beast. And the reviews mention things like "social commentary" and infer that "Tony Stark changes his opinion on being an arms dealer". Those things tend to be red flags for a FReeper FRiendly Movie. SO- Can anyone who's actually seen Iron Man give a good spoiler-free review, including any political hack work done in the flick?

Is 'Iron Man' an anti-war film? Castmember Terrence Howard sure seems to think so, describing “Iron Man” as “a modern-day comparison to what took place in 1973 when this Tony Stark character was invented.” The star of “The Hunting Party” also claims that for the sequel, the crew will be “a little more free … non-responsive to anyone,” particularly the Defense Department. Watch him dish out in the video below.

Just a simple vanity of something I thought funny and ironic and wanted to share. From time to time, I go to the Marvel website and check out new stuff. They have a feature where you can read old and new comics online. I opened up an old Strange Tales featuring the Human Torch of the Fantastic Four. He is fighting some costumed character with the name of Destroyer - not the Destroyer that would later fight Thor. Anyway, the plot has the villian working for the coummunists (this story is from the early 60's). At the end when the...

PENTICTON, B.C. (CNS) -- In August in British Columbia, Sister Madonna Buder became the first 75-year-old woman in the world to finish an Ironman distance race. In October in Hawaii, the nun from Spokane, Wash., will compete in the Ironman World Championships. A member of the Sisters for Christian Community, she completed her first triathlon 20 years ago at age 51. In Penticton, Sister Buder finished the Aug. 28 Ironman Canada race with a time of 16:46:30. Participants must swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles. Sister Buder's feat earned her a five-minute standing ovation at the...

Hate to label it "vanity" because it appears anything but. http://www.jeffiscool.com/films12/TeamHoyt.wmv I wanted to share this with FReepers. I figure that if you don't cry from it's inspiration it's because you've seen the video before. The film is of Lt Col (Ret) Dick Hoyt, Air National Guard and his son, Rick.

Buoyed by a strong bike leg, German Normann Stadler won the Ironman Triathlon World Championships Saturday in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Stadler, 33, of Mannheim, Germany, won his first men's title in 8 hours, 33 minutes and 29 seconds. His splits were 54:27 for the 2.4-mile ocean swim, 4:37:58 for the 112-mile bike race and 2:57:53 for the 26.2-mile run in windy conditions. "They all told me before the race that a cyclist can't win the race," Stadler said to the crowd. "Well, I won." Three Germans finished among the top five men. The other top finishers: Peter Reid, 35, Victoria, British...

Days after confounding fans with a so-called "special announcement" that fell short of expectations, organizers have confirmed that Black Sabbath will headline Ozzfest 2004. The timing of the announcement comes as more of a surprise than the news it contained, since, for weeks, assumptions were high that the legendary metal quartet was on board for the trek. Last week, Ozzfest.com promised a big announcement on Friday, though visitors to the site were met with a message about an unsigned-band contest instead of the news that Ozzy Osbourne himself first hinted at in a radio interview in early April (see "It's...

<p>A 20-year-old man, naked and bleeding from a gunshot wound to the back, showed up Thanksgiving evening at the home of retired Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, claiming he had been kidnapped and pleading for help, police said.</p> <p>The man, Brian Robins, 20, of Baltimore, was found outside Ripken's home north of Baltimore shortly after 9 p.m. ET Thursday and was taken by helicopter to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, police said.</p>

ARAD'S MEGA MARVEL MOVIE, TV UPDATE Marvel Enterprises today held their inaugural Analyst Day Webcast during which Marvel Studios CEO Avi Arad delivered his previously promised updates on Marvel's upcoming slate of movie and television projects. Arad began his segment of the proceedings by crediting Marvel's recent movie successes to a new generation of filmmakers who grew up reading Marvel Comics. "There is a whole generation of people that grew up on sci-fi {and} comic books, specifically Marvel," he said. "These people earned their stripes over the years, professionally, to get to the point that they can take their favorite...

IS OZZY TO BE PITIED OR SCORNED? J. Grant Swank, Jr., POB 1984, Windham ME 04062 Pastor, New Hope Church, Windham ME Ozzy’s English boyhood was poor—father worked nights in a steel plant, mother worked days at a car plant. No money, no auto, meager food. He claims as a child he had one pair of shoes, no underpants, trousers and one jacket. At the base of his bed was a bucket for urinating in. There were no clean sheets on his bed, overcoats used as sheets when all else failed. Dad beat on Ozzy, chiefly for the boy’s attempts...