David Cameron you cheeky git!

‘Mend Broken Politics’ - words of a hypocrite.

Am I the only one who finds David Cameron utterly repulsive? The fact that the Tories have the ability to court younger generations of Politicians into their ranks is a scary thought by my book. The party is and always will harbour back to out-dated rhetoric and reactionary squabbling because the Conservative party is and always will be a bunch of moronic toffs jettisoning concern for others in light of “daddy’s” wishes.

But the resurgence of a yuppie culture, of younger politicians spouting the ideas of shabby old Oxford’ites is distressing, if anything because you can see it working. David Cameron is only one of many young Eton lads curbtailing it up the political ladder, as old hats fall off the chain and break down under allegation after allegation, but as leader of the second biggest party in Britain, and concerns over PM Brown’s last few months, it certainly isn’t nice to have him around.

Just the other day, he attacked New Labour’s “systematic culture of spin,” a “culture” he has not only acknowledged here, but fully endorsed. The man’s a walking PR portfolio in him self. Not only in the giving of soundbites (in which he is exemplary), but also in his “getting down with the kids” attitude that, while utterly failing, certainly shows he has some in his PR team who actually know what kids are. That in itself is suprising. Shocking even.

Speaking at a conference on Wales, he even pulled the perfect opportunity dig at Labour; “top-down, centralising control.” Well, way to breach new ground Mr. Cameron. I don’t think I have heard that claim for a good few weeks. Of course, as a relatively close relation to the Royal Family, you can expect a slight strut in his step, but someone should remind “my honourable Cavalier” that he does not own the place.

Again, my dear Mr. Cameron please, please, please leave the political spectrum alone for a while and go and do something worthwhile for a few good years of your life. You can re-enter the Tory charade when you are the expected age.

Robert Downey Jr. Irons out the creases!

While obviously not as well known in some circles as the Man of Steel, the Tin man and of course the Quartz Rotter himself aka David Cameron, Iron Man has had an interesting and illustrious as a Marvel superhero, yet overshadowed by such pop culture idols as Spiderman and Wolverine. Finally, Tony Stark gets his own slice of the summer action!

This blockbuster season, Iron Man opens in cinemas. It’s one of the recent spate of reasonably well measured superhero films, albeit those have come from Marvel’s rivals DC rather than Marvel themselves. The reignition of the Batman franchise and the solid but underwhelming box office success of Superman Returns have shown that the Superhero movie can get some decent credentials on its side and deliver. I can only hope that the efforts shaping up for a summer release begin a lasting trend, because let’s face it, everyone loves a Superhero movie from time to time.

Iron Man couldn’t have got off to a better start than by signing the eclectric Roberty Downey Jr. as main man Tony Stark, while Marvel’s “other” summer release, The Incredible Hulk, managed to snap up Edward Norton. While the basic premise of Iron Man may not refrain critics from sniggering a bit (Rich man lives a playboy lifestyle, rich man gets kidnapped, rich man builds a robotic suit in captivity, rich man exacts revenge) the newly released trailer offers probably the best and least cringeworthy look at the film so far.

While throwaway Metal music still exists in the trailer (which means critics shake their heads and the idiot demographic gets their tits on) the use of AC/DC and Audioslave (used brilliantly in Collateral my Michael Mann) does get a thumbs up from me. Robert Downey Jr. seems a natural fit in the role of Stark, given his heavy dose of charisma and charm, while obviously he is able to handle the more dramatic, plot driven scenes. It’s Robert Downey Jr. for christs sake.

It has been confirmed that the character’s descent into depression and alchoholism (Stark, not Downey Jr.) will not show its face in Starks virgining heroic exploits this time round. Hopefully if Iron Man delivers and warrants a sequel (or makes enough doe) then hopefully we will get to see some of the more human attributes of Tony Stark.

Indeed, his flaws and battles with self depreciation, alchoholism and loss are what makes the man behind the suit relatively more interesting than, to pick an example, The Fantastic Four. Spiderman hit a niche and then a mainstream appeal because of its melodramatic dealings with teenage life; Peter Parker was a normal teenager with normal teenage problems. Iron Man strikes a different cord in itself, wrapping itself in a nervous shell of a grown man with problems that Peter Parker could never dream of. Obviously, Downey Jr. would nail the the more intrinsic, tragic nature of a man trapped behind a suit, welling up inside with self abuse and alchoholism. That is if he signed on for sequels.

The marketing team seem to have come up with a bit of a curious dilemma with the Iron Man title ident though.

Blocky, dullen and square, the ident is not aesthetically pleasing. If this was the 80s/early 90s, I can see where they would be coming from, but the title neither has enough “rust” to make it interesting to the eye, nor shiny enough to evoke a more pleasing reaction. The choice of iron is hardly inspired, yet it could at least hold a greater hook than it does here. However, who am I to criticise an ident, especially if the film is generally good in the end. Let us hope it is.