Staff Reporter Lalita Chemello gives the “POW!” and “WHAMMY!” comic book-related hits for the weekend.

Movies

“Iron Man”: (2008)

Character Tony Stark faces a life-threatening situation that stems to the building of an armored suit to fight evil.

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard

Genre: Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi/Thriller

Coming to theaters May 2. There is a ton of buzz about the movie and the previews have yet to disappoint any comic book fans. Robert Downey Jr. loves the “Iron Man” comics so much he said he would be willing to do 15 additional sequels for the movie.

Rentals

“Batman Returns”: (1992)

Businessman Max Schreck and the mayor of Gotham City work together to expose Batman’s identity. Meanwhile, Schreck’s secretary is thrown from a building and is transformed into the mysterious Catwoman.

Starring: Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken

Genre: Action

One of the best Batman movies you can watch if you have yet to see a Batman movie. Director Tim Burton’s style of dark movies gives the dark and mysterious character justice.

“Sin City”: (2005)

Four intertwined tales of revenge and redemption set in crime-ridden Basin City. Murder, rape, crooked-cops and suicide; who are the good guys and who are the bad in trying to make Basin City for better or worse.

Starring: Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke, Alexis Bledel, Brittany Murphy and Elijah Wood

Genre: Action

The black and white film with dabs of color and dim lighting added to shots give the movie a real-life comic feel. The film also uses comic book frames (think white space between pictures) to transition to new scenes throughout the movie.

“300″: (2006)

King Leonidas, the Grecian king leads 300 of his best Spartan soldiers to battle against the Persian invaders.

Starring: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey and Dominic West

Genre: Action

Another graphic novel written by Frank Miller , writer of “Sin City.” The movie implements many similar effects also used in the making of “Sin City.”

TV

“Heroes”: (2006)

“Save the cheerleader. Save the world.” Follow the lives of several extraordinary people trying to live and ordinary life and save the world.

Starring: Milo Ventimiligia, Hayden Panettiere, Jack Coleman, Masi Oka and Ali Larter

Genre: Adventure/Drama

Writer Tim Kring focused on writing the series so the characters were like everyday people. Artist Tim Sale does the elaborate comic-book art for the series which plays a significant role in the storyline. Ironically, Sale is color-blind.

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