How Many Shows Is Too Many?

I haven't really blogged about television so far. I've been unsure how to tackle it - review entire seasons or just talk about the show in general. Basically, I don't want to spoil anything for anyone that is perhaps not watching it, but wants to, or if you're just not up to the seasons/episodes I am. So, what I'll start off with is a list of all the shows I have on my slate at the moment. 

Below is a list of everything I am either currently in-season on, or between seasons:

Archer, Arrow, Banshee, Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, Burn Notice, Dexter, Firefly, Game of Thrones, Hart of Dixie (I watch this on and off with the miss), Homeland, In Treatment, Justified, Luther, New Girl, Nikita, Person of Interest, Revenge, Revolution, Spartacus, Strike Back, Supernatural, Teen Wolf, The Following, The Killing, The Mentalist, The Vampire Diaries, The Walking Dead, The Wire, True Blood and White Collar. 

I may have missed some, but I think that pretty much shows I have quite a few on the go. Some shows I am way behind on, but I am mostly up to date. 

A few more I want to add to the list include: Alias (never watched it, but really want to), The Transporter (yes, there is a tv series based on the films) and Hannibal.

At the moment, I seem to be doing ok with getting through them. How many do you watch? What else do you recommend?

Iron Man 3

Most reactions to the Iron Man films have been - great first film, and so so second outing. Well, I have to give equal merit to the first two, and this entry probably sits on par with those. Admittedly, I found the change of director and script style to be a little difficult to settle in on - i suppose watching both Iron Man and Iron Man 2 again just before watching part 3 had set me up for a certain feel of the films - and this third entry feels very different. 

Writer/Director Shane Black, known for his action scripts from the late 80's to mid 90's, has definitely brought his trade mark witty dialogue in this film, and shows an excellent deft at directing action. I'm tempted to describe this film as an action comedy, but that's just not quite right. It has some serious emotion flowing through it, as Tony Stark is struggling to come to terms with the events in New York in 'The Avengers' - a sort of Post Traumatic Stress I suppose. However, the comic remarks that have been ever present in the first two films seem amplified in this one. This reminded me of watching 'The Last Boyscout', which is a classic action film of the early 90's that Shane Black wrote. It's full of one liners and witty comebacks, while being laced with some classic action.

What I've really enjoyed about these films is the tech toys and limitless potential Tony Stark has in creating them. He's essentially Marvel's version of Bruce Wayne right? A human with billions of dollars at his disposal that seeks the means to fight injustice? well, maybe not, but they're both rich dudes that are superheroes. The tech just keeps getting better with each film - and man, I so want Jarvis as my home computer.

Robert Downey Jr is Tony Stark, and is great to watch in this role - it's impossible to picture anyone else playing it. On his 4th outing as Tony Stark/Iron Man, he is not ever boring, with plenty of character development taking place in this installment. I love Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts. She's got a bit more to do in this film, including flexing her fit-ass body in some actions scenes - yeah, I like Gwyneth. 

Some reviews I've read about Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin are that he will be remembered for this role - and they're not wrong there. Nothing more to say on that. Go watch and you'll see why. 

Overall, even though I felt the change of style a bit jarring to start off with, I really enjoyed the film. Marvel have kept the quality coming (The Avengers being the pinnacle), and it's definitely worthy of big screen viewing. It's these kinds of films you go to the cinemas for - lots of action, great special effects, humour, emotional depth.

Rating:

4 out of 5.