Iron Man, to be honest, has never been a franchise I cared too much about, even as a child. I knew of him, I barely read the comics, and didn’t really watch the cartoon. I’m not a hardcore fan even in the slightest sense. I enjoyed the first film a lot more then I did. I didn’t run out to see it, and when I finally did, I was a bit disappointed I hadn’t seen it sooner. It was as fun, extremely entertaining superhero film, and I absolutely love how much it is being tied into the forthcoming Avengers film.

We start Iron Man 2 with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) having already revealed to the world that he is Iron Man. We see how the world has been stabilized just by his presence. This makes the United States government extremely uncomfortable. Their national security is in the hands of an eccentric billionaire and CEO.

Stark, behind the scenes is slowly being poisoned by the very reactor in his chest that is keeping alive.

On the side, we are introduced to a murky character named Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) who is using old Stark blueprints to assembly his own Arc core, to bring punishment to Tony Stark, who belongs to what Vanko calls a family of “butchers.”

We are introduced to some new folks this time around, the angry US Senator Stern (Garry Shandling), and the d-bag CEO of Hammer Industries, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), Stark’s major rival both in industry, and clearly in life. Don Cheadle replaces Terrence Howard as Rhodey (Warmachine), and does an excellent job in that part.

Rockwell is amazing as Hammer, in fact, next to Downey, I dare say he almost steals the show. Score, music, sound effects were excellent. And I love the “world” that Tony Stark inhabits. Everything from the Iron Man suits HUD, to the “computers” in his workspace, I love the look of this film.

The story is good, and moves quite rapidly, however, the film is limited in its action sequences. Like the first film, Iron Man 2 suffers a bit due to its lack of a true “villain.” Though, the villains here are bad people, we never really feel like there’s a major struggle, and I do feel that the film falters in its final “battle.” I really wanted to see Iron Man kick ass, and he did, but just not as much as I’d hoped for.

The film continues to set up S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers film with more appearances by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson,) and I’m definitely excited for where its going. Is ‘Iron Man 2′ worth seeing? Of course, it was fun. Unfortunately though, a lot was lacking, and I hope it is all rectified by ‘The Avengers.’

The movie stars returning actors Robert Downey Jr and Gwenyth Paltrow and also co-stars Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle and Samuel L. Jackon.  It’s scheduled to open May 7th.

Also, director Jon Favreau is on Twitter, so you can follow his updates from set, if you so choose.  Here’s a picture of his chair that he posted yesterday:

“The film is almost entirely about character, and yet we still have twice as much action as we did last time, so it’s going to be nuts. Essentially Iron Man 2 is about looking behind the armor, or the armature, of a superhero. It’s one thing to say you’re Iron Man, it’s another thing to be fully ready to do that.”

He also added that they are saving the popular “Demon in a Bottle” storyline for a future film.  Shooting begins this morning.  Yaaaaaay.

Of course, as is the case with all rumors, this one is up in the air till someone confirms.

Favreau is currently gearing up to start ‘Iron Man 2,’ which will star Mickey Rourke, and of course, Robert Downey Jr.

So, you’ve got a blu-ray player, now what? With some help from some friends (and Sam who is also a friend), we’ve put together a list of essential, must own blu-ray titles. We tried to mix it up with old and new, so take a look, and feel free to chime in with your own recommendations:

Band of Brothers

To start off, this HBO mini-series is brilliant.  It’s a completely engrossing, fascinating and moving story, told over ten episodes.  And it’s all true.  It’s almost unbelieveable what the guys in Easy Company found themselves in during the final days of the war.  (And while you wait for ‘Saving Private Ryan’ to show up on Blu-Ray, you could do much worse than watching this, the OTHER Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks World War II project.)

The Godfather Trilogy

Parts I and II of this saga are staples in numerous ‘best of all time’ lists and it’s given a treatment deserving of such accolades.  Working on the transfer with cinematographer Gordon Willis, the dark colors and shadows on these discs are incredibly rich and quite easily, the best way ever to watch these classic films.  (Just give part three a pass… the story isn’t the greatest and the transfer won’t win any awards soon either.)

Batman Begins & Dark Knight

If you just got a Blu-Ray player over the holidays, you probably own a copy of ‘The Dark Knight.’  It seems everyone does.  And Christopher Nolan’s comic-book masterpiece looks wonderful in high-def.  It’s a dark, brooding film and a wonderful addition to your collection.

Iron Man

When I first heard about this project, I was a bit iffy, boy was I wrong. Robert Downey Jr. was excellent in this Favereu directed comic book adaptation. One of the biggest popcorn movies of 2008 deserves a place high on your shelf.

LA Confidential

This is one of my favorites.  Curtis Hanson’s adaptation of James Ellroy’s story of police and pimps in 1950s Los Angeles.  The movie that got Kim Basinger an Oscar.  (Stop for a moment to shake your head at that fun fact.)  This is also the breakout film for Russell Crowe and Guy Pierce.  Everything in this film is note perfect in the re-creation of an old-school noir detective story.  The colors, (why do I keep ranting and raving about colors) are amazing.  The sound is wonderful.  All that’s left for you to do is enjoy, my friends, enjoy.

WALL-E

Really, any of the Pixar films could be on this list.  ‘Wall-E’ is a touching, moving, and funny film.  The colors are rich and wonderful.  This one, (I’m also partial to ‘Ratatouille,’) are excellent discs to show off the possibilities of the Blu-Ray format.

Casino

They can’t all be summer blockbusters, Scorsese’s epic tale of a mob-controlled Las Vegas during the 70s is a great addition to your collection. The colors, the sound, the music, the detailed head in a vice. What more could you ask for?

There Will Be Blood

Following closely in Scorsese’s footsteps is P.T. Anderson, his films feature fascinating plots, and gorgeous cinematography. In one of the best shot and sounding films of 2007, this is a must have.

Here’s a few more if you’ve got some cash to spare: Shawshank Redemption, Blade Runner – Ultimate Collector’s Edition, Planet Earth, the Departed, Matrix Trilogy, Transformers.

The fortunate part about blu-ray players, most (if not all) are able to upconvert DVDs you already own. So don’t necessarily replace your movies, but if you want to, I’m sure the economy won’t mind….

Rumored to be on the short-list for the role is Scarlett Johansson and Eliza Dushku mentioned to Howard Stern that she wants the role really badly. With regards to Mickey Rourke, Faverau said that Rouke has not been offically cast, but that he is a fan.

If Rourke picks up the best actor award for his role in “The Wrestler,” Marvel will reportedly meet his asking price.  If Rourke goes home empty handed, he also may lose the role in “Iron Man 2.”

This has happened to Rourke before.  Sylvester Stallone wanted Rourke for his remake of “Get Carter.”  Warner Bros. didn’t.  Stallone stepped up and personally paid part of Rourke’s salary to guarantee he would be in the movie.  (Not that it helped the movie.)  Will that happen again?  Will Robert Downey Jr., Gwenyth Paltrow and Jon Favreau dig deep to land Rourke?  I guess we’ll have to wait until Sunday.

Robert Downey Jr. will be playing the part of Tony Stark/Iron Man, and Don Cheadle will be taking over the role of Jim Rhodes from Terence Howard.  Favreau will be exec. producing, but one can assume that he’s also being considered to direct.

The press release gives this idea as what the plot might be: ”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.’

‘Iron Man 2′ is scheduled to open May 11, 2010, while the ‘Avengers’ movie is planned for a summer 2011 release.

Howard told NPR that the news was the surprise of a lifetime, he read that it was about “money or something.” He told the public radio station that “Apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren’t worth the paper that they’re printed on, sometimes. Promises aren’t kept, and good faith negotiations aren’t always held up. Even friendships, people you support.”

When I first heard the news, I didn’t really think anything of it. I’d heard things here and there about Howard’s onset antics in the past, but nothing ridiculous. But, I wasn’t completely married to the character, I did think he did a good job, but, nothing life changing. If that is indeed how Paramount went about it though, I’m gonna have to side with Terrence on that one, that is just cold Paramount, just cold.