A Hero for Our Time

Tony Stark's an absolute bear if he doesn't have his soy mocha latte in the morningOne ginormous studio picture arrives surrounded by a few much smaller titles; yup, summer’s officially here. And yes, you can all go see “Iron Man 2” this weekend without worrying about getting stuck with a turkey. But let’s not overlook the other stuff, shall we?

“Babies”: Four babies — born and raised in America, Japan, Namibia and Mongolia — gurgle and coo for our amusement in Thomas Balmes’ globetrotting documentary. I missed the Hot Docs screenings, but Susan and Jason both liked it.

Exit Through the Gift Shop“: George Carlin once observed that if you nail two things together that have never been nailed together before, some schmuck will buy it. Banksy’s street-art documentary proves that maxim, among other things. You should check it out.

Iron Man 2“: Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark in this decent enough sequel to a movie that looks more and more like the greatest freak accident in the history of superhero movies. Yes, there’s something after the credits. No, it won’t kill you to miss it.

“Please Give”: Nicole Holofcener’s fourth movie is very much of a piece with her first three, “Walking and Talking,” “Lovely and Amazing” and “Friends with Money”. This is as it should be; now that Woody Allen’s sunk into naked self-parody, someone out there needs to be chronicling the contemporary upper-middle-class American experience with the same perceptiveness and wit. (Susan and Jason liked it, too.)

Nice, huh? A pleasantly light week. But things will get crowded again soon, just you wait and see …

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