Ten reasons I loved the Lone Ranger:

1) It was really funny. I love a good action movie, but an action movie that makes me laugh I love twice as much. This movie was so funny that even the horse made the audience laugh.

2) The characters were justified in their actions. I hate it when people do things out of character or for no good reason. I may not like what a character does but I should understand why he did it. The bad guy should have been killed long before he was, but I understood why the Lone Ranger couldn’t do it. I wished he would, but I would have been disappointed if he had.

3) The women were strong characters. Okay, I am female, so I notice female characters, but I hate it when any character is there for no good reason. The women in this movie (and there weren’t many) were important to plot and held their own when the going got tough. They didn’t need a man to save them, but they were glad there were men around.

4) The horse was a strong character. Everyone knows the Lone Ranger has a horse named Silver. So what? Well, in this movie Silver was not just a pretty horse. He was important to the story and even got a few gags in. Oh, okay, he was also a really good-looking horse.

5) The bird was important to the movie. One of the reasons I was reluctant to see this movie was because Tonto had a dead bird on his head. That seemed really weird and hard to look at. I was thrilled when the bird not only enhanced Tonto’s character, but was important to the plot in more ways than one.

6) Tonto was not Jack Sparrow with face paint. I know Johnny Depp can act. I have seen lots of his movies. But sometimes I feel that when he puts on lots of makeup he becomes Jack Sparrow even if he isn’t acting in a pirates movie. So I was worried that I would be watching the Lone Ranger but thinking pirates. That would have really ticked me off. And it didn’t happen. Tonto was a great character and I never thought he was Jack Sparrow or Johnny Depp. He was just Tonto.

7) The bad guys were really bad. Bad guys should be bad or else why do we need good guys. Nothing ruins a movie like weak bad guys. No problem with the Lone Ranger. These bad guys were really bad, yet they were interesting and their motives were understandable. You hate them but you believe them.

8) There were ethical dilemmas. When a character sticks to their guns, even when it doesn’t make sense, it makes for a strong movie. When a good character changes their mind to save their reputation, even if it means joining the bad guys, it makes for a strong movie. Many of the characters had to reexamine what they believed and I liked that.

9) The girl knew what was going on. A common theme in superhero movies is keeping the identity of the hero from the girl he loves. I hate that. Why does the girl need to be kept in the dark? I liked the fact that Rebecca learned the truth and learned how to deal with it. She was a resilient woman and I liked her character very much.

10) The storytelling style made an ordinary movie something really special. I’m trying to not give spoilers so I won’t tell you what the storytelling style was, but I was surprised and impressed with how they decided to tell this story. I think if they had just showed us a movie it would have been ho-hum. Instead I am still thinking about the movie and wondering if they were able to get away with inconsistencies because of the way they decided to tell the story. If you wonder what I am talking about go see the movie. I may talk about this in another post since I was so impressed.

Now, maybe you don’t need or want any of these things in your movies. Maybe you need your movies to be deep, and moody, and full of long conversations. That is fine. That is why lots of different movies are made. But if you want a fun movie that is really funny, really adventurous, and filled with characters you can root for (even the horse) I recommend the Lone Ranger. It gives lawyers a good name. Happiness squared.

Goofy Tip: Are you visiting Walt Disney World when a fun movie is hitting the big screen? Make some great movie memories and head over to Downtown Disney. You can combine dinner and a movie at AMC‘s Fork and Screen Dine-In special. Your food is brought to you in the theater and you can even place orders during the movie. If dinner and a movie is fun try out dinner during a movie.

I never see movies on opening night, but I bought my tickets early for Iron Man 3. That being said my review will be honest and unbiased and I will keep the gushing to a minimum (unless it truly deserves it.) Okay, on with the review.

Well, I think I am so numb that I won’t be gushing a lot. Maybe after I have thought about it for a month. This movie was…I think I am speechless. I am trying to describe this movie without spoiling it and I find I don’t know what to say.

I guess the first question would be, “Is it worth watching?” Oh yeah. It is a roller coaster of a movie, but well worth seeing in the theater. I am so glad I made the effort to see it opening night. That was cool. Iron Man 3 is a great action film full of twists and turns. Some of the smaller characters have bigger roles which is great and the overall story keeps you on the edge of your seat. I spent a lot of time with my hand over my mouth to keep from crying out in surprise or shock. (I even cried for a moment.)

It would seem I do know what to say. This is a great movie. If I could describe the unease I feel I would say that it lacked that comic book feel. It was one more “fight the terrorist” film. My husband said he loved that part of it. I always feel that superhero action films should be a chance to escape from everyday evil. Give me aliens, bad gods, or mad scientists gone wrong.

Now I know that most people are going to disagree with me. That’s cool. I still think this is an awesome movie and I recommend watching it. I just personally would have liked the bad guy to have had different motivation behind his actions. It left me feeling numb when I would have preferred to leave the theater feeling uplifted. Happiness squared.

Goofy Tip: Disney and other film companies have been doing this for so long that I thought all movie goers knew about it, but a few people still left as soon as the movie ended so I want to let everyone in on the secret. Don’t rush out of the theater at the beginning of the credits. Stay until the very end and you will be rewarded with an extra bit of film. I won’t tell you what happens after the credits in Iron Man 3, all I can say is it is well worth it. Stay calm and watch on.