Now with more iron. And a rail gun.

So, obviously the big news at the box office is Iron Man 2, which brought in a cool $133.6 million over the weekend, more or less kicking off the official summer blockbuster season. Unless you count Clash of the Titans as doing that. Or unless you believe it can’t start until Memorial Day. Either way, there are some big names right around the corner: Gladiator 2 Robin Hood May 14, MacGuyver MacGruber and the new Shrek May 21, Sex and the City (2, ostensibly) May 27, and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time May 28. And that’s just this month.

Both golden rocks, but not the same.

Meanwhile this has been a hot week for local film news as well. Of course, there was the announcement of the lineup for the Fourth Annual Little Rock Film Festival last night at the Clinton School of Public Service. Looks like things kick off with Winter’s Bone, directed by Debra Granik. Along with the slate of narrative features, documentaries and shorts, there’s a new competition this year for a $10,000 cash prize, The Best Southern Film Award given by Little Rock’s very own Southern literary and culture magazine, the Oxford American.

Order before July 13.

Also kicking off this week were a couple of movie series worth checking out. Over at Market Street Cinema, in conjunction with The Dave Elswick Show on KARN News Radio 102.9FM /920AM, they’re presenting a series of classic films (some more so than others). First up was Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. The remaining schedule looks like this:
June 8: North by Northwest
July 13: Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (!)
Aug 10: Shane
Sept 14: Top Gun
Oct 12: Friday the 13th
Nov 9: The Godfather
Dec 14: White Christmas

Not coincidentally, all those dates are the second Tuesday of every month. Showtime is 7 p.m.; tickets are $5 each. Children under 12 are admitted for free.

Like this. Except integrated.

For the retro experience, consider heading over to the Arkansas Flag and Banner building on the second and fourth Saturday of each month now through July to check out the Dreamland Drive-In. Complete with cartoon shorts, news reels and a feature-length movie, the experience is designed to take you back. Or, if you’re like me, to see how people lived way back when, before the cineplex. Schedule looks like this:
May 22- Reefer Madness/Sex Madness
June 12- Night of the Living Dead
June 26- The Outlaw
June 10- The Little Princess (family night)
July 24- The Fast and The Furious
Gates open at 7:30pm and the movies will start at sunset. Concessions of beer, soft drinks, hot dogs, and more will be available for purchase. Admission is $20 a car (pile in to save) or $5 person for walk ups. Proceeds go toward the Dreamland Ballroom renovation project, which is an effort to restore and preserve the historic Ninth Street venue.

The hair is somewhere in the middle.

Lastly, in Netflix news, I gotta say I’ve been slacking. I got Frost/Nixon and Pandorum and have sat on the forever. Besides Avatar and Sherlock Holmes, I hadn’t updated my queue in ages. But for this week I’m thinking Daybreakers and Legion, two flicks I never made it to the theater to see. I know, it’s very angels and demons… and I don’t mean the Dan Brown adaptation where Tom Hanks has that atrocious hair. What I can’t wait for: The Road, which releases May 25.