Iron Man II

Okay, I'll get it over with. Paltrow is as nasal and flat and boring in this as she was in the first. Scarlet Johansson is almost as bad but she gets to run around in a cat suit, so that at least distracts you from her wooden acting. There, I'm done. The rest of the movie is great. If you liked the first one, you will like the second one. I found the film predictable except for the fact that the final battle scene (oh come on, you know there's one) seemed really SHORT- I kept waiting for Mickey Rourke to pop back up. Robert Downey Jr is really great- he's familiar with the material. Rourke is always going to play a perfect villain. The special effects are perfect. Aw- just go see it because there was not one curse word, no graphic sex (just some unfortunate, chemistry lacking kisses between Paltrow and Downey), and only one hanging. So, have fun!

Babies

This documentary follows a baby from Japan, the USA, Mongolia and Namibia from birth until they begin to walk. It is exactly as you would think. The baby in Namibia is raised by tribal women, wears no diapers ever, teeths on an old animal bone, is filthy except when his mom spits on him, and is treated like just another kid by the sibs. The baby in Mongolia is tied to a bed when the mother is outside, is allowed to run free with goats and cattle, and is brought home on a motocycle. The baby in Japan is doted upon (even though it is a girl) and is set up for academic work by the age of 1. The San Francico kid is smothered by a boring mother whose reaction is always a sense of ridiculous calm- and when hit in the face, pulls out a book called "no hitting", has her kid in a group where they sing about mother earth while the kid tries to escape (probably wishing she LIVED on the earth like the Mongolian kid), and of course, despite her hippie parents she is surrounded by plastic toys and expensive, unnecessary strollers. It is obvious which babies will grow up to be calm and happy (Namibia and especially Mongolia) and which baby will be pushed (Tokyo) and which will run away at 16 (san Fran). This would be a great film for a pregnant mom to see- it does show how babies are made to survive. And a little dirt doesn't kill them- well, not usually.