Iron and Nine and Cinco de Mayo

While watching Iron Man last night during a late show, I was struck by the similarities between that already-blockbuster film and our own little corner of the entertainment world, Life from the Inside. I thought it might perhaps be useful to share some of these strikings with you, our gentle viewers, to help you appreciate the value of entertainment you are receiving while watching our show.

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, all topic numbers will be presented in Spanish.

One-o: Just as Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark ends up doing his best work while trapped in a suit of his own creation, so is our main character, Mason Evan Harris, equally talented while trapped in a lifestyle of his own creation.

Two-o: Hummers figure prominently into the fabric of both Iron Man and LFTI's episode 6, "*some restrictions may apply."

Three-o: A bold and dramatic chiaroscuro brings the vision of Iron Man to vivid, hyper-real life. A bold and dramatic application of ceiling-hung 100-watt light bulbs erases any hint of the vivid or the hyper-real from the apartment setting of Life from the Inside.

Four-o: 85 filters were used extensively in both Iron Man and Life from the Inside. (Both used cameras, too.)

Cinc-o: Iron Man's winding plot of pulse-pounding action and international intrigue echo LFTI episode 2, "*store in a cool dry place." Replace L.A. with Mason's apartment, Afghanistan with homeless man alley, and Stark's arc reactor with Guy's swirling lollipop, and the plots are nearly identical.

Six-o: Iron Man's daring yet entertaining criticism of the American industrial–military complex mirrors LFTI's very own daringly entertaining critical commentary of the average American's reliance on pharmaceuticals and philters to gain acceptance and love.

Siet-o: Iron Man relies heavily on complicated sequences of computer-generated imagery to tell its story. Life from the Inside relies heavily on complicated sequences of computer-generated dialogue to tell its story.

Huit-o: John Favreau, the director of Iron Man, was in the movie Open Season with Jack McGee. Jack McGee was in The Paper with Geoffrey Owens, who directed LFTI episode 5, "*side effects may include night terrors."

Nueve-o: Taking into consideration the cost of a movie ticket in these modern days and the monthly cost of a high-speed Internet connection, it costs about the same to watch two hours of Iron Man as it does to watch two hours of Life from the Inside on Revver. Er, so much for value, I guess.