Along with Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Iron Man 3” is one of the rare superhero threequels that doesn’t disappoint. While Jon Favreau remains an executive producer and co-star, he passes on the directorial duties to Shane Black of “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.” Black maintains all the action, humor, and character development that made Faverau’s first two films so enjoyable, while also incorporating his own unique signature. His film continues to raise the stakes and pushes its characters to their critical limits. In addition, “Iron Man 3” makes some hilarious commentary on the media’s role in terrorism with several inspired twist. The result is the darkest of the “Iron Man” trilogy and, ironically, the funniest.

J’ontar Coleman wanted what he felt was rightfully his all along.

Bandit is a male terrier mix about 30 pounds and 3 years old. He was rescued from the Yuma Humane Society along with four other dogs he lived with. Their owner died and the remaining family was unable to care for them. When Bandit came to Friends for Life Animal Rescue his fur was in horrible shape. His adoptive family should keep in mind that to keep him adorable looking he’ll need to be regularly groomed. It is believed Bandit is housetrained since he was living in a home, but this has not yet been confirmed as he resides at the shelter vs. in a foster home.

Summit School of Ahwatukee middle school teachers, Andrea Yocum, Christy Menard and Amy Lecky, are recipients of this year’s Xavier College Preparatory Golden Gator Award for Excellence in Teaching. Xavier High School recognizes junior high teachers who have been inspirational to Xavier freshmen students. This is the third Golden Gator for Lecky, who teaches middle school language arts and literature, and the second for both science teacher Andrea Yocum, and math teacher Christy Menard. In previous years Summit teacher Melissa France has also received this award.

The same local dance company that takes audiences deep into vampire territory each autumn with its acclaimed "A Vampire Tale" is going into uncharted waters.

"Blood-drenched" barely begins to describe Fede Alvarez's remake of "Evil Dead," a gore-for-broke affair that strips the flesh off Sam Raimi's cult-beloved comic-horror franchise and exposes the demons at its core. The presence of Raimi, original collaborator Rob Tapert, and star Bruce Campbell as producers should give the faithful permission to attend what would otherwise smell like a shameless exploitation of the 1981 film, but the high production values and nonstop action offered here should also please younger genre fans who've never bothered to rent it.

Although it’s not much, “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” really deserves credit where credit’s due. Its 2009 predecessor was one of the dumbest action movies of the past 10 years. In this sequel, director Jon M. Chu of those “Step Up” movies makes an attempt to incorporate some humor, creative action sequences, and impressive visuals. That doesn’t mean “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” is a good movie, but at least it’s an improvement. The film could have gone down the route of the “Transformers” series, which only got worse with every entry.

Club SPAWN, a 13U club baseball team based out of Ahwatukee and managed by Todd McFarlane, won the 13U AAA title in the 2013 USSSA Spring Championships Super NIT at Victory Lane Sports Park in Glendale last weekend.

What should be a hilarious, long-overdue pairing of two hugely likable, superstar comedians ends up being a major disappointment with "Admission."

Club SPAWN, a competitive club baseball team based in Ahwatukee, went 6-0 and won the USSSA President’s Day NIT Championship in the 13UAAA division on Feb. 18 at Victory Lane Sports Park in Glendale.

February is the month we glorify “love” and “The Fault In Our Stars,” by John Green, is a glorious love story. A love story not just between a boy and a girl, but with life itself. You’ll find this book in the Young Adult section, but don’t let that keep you from reading it; its message is universal to all ages because it is about living each day to the fullest, as if your days were limited.

It's supposed to be a parody of itself, right?

Look! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s … well, you know the rest.

It seems ironic that the title of the movie is "Identity Thief" when its co-stars have such a firm grasp on their well-established screen personae.

"Warm Bodies," the latest permutation of the zombie screen phenomenon, places heart over horror and romantic teen angst over sharp social commentary.

Like the amped up comeback tour of two rockers who had their heyday sometime in the mid-'80s, Sylvester Stallone and director Walter Hill ("48 HRS.," ''The Warriors") join forces for a hard-hitting exercise in beefy, brainless fun with the New Orleans-set actioner "Bullet to the Head."

In Netflix’s bid for a flagship original drama of its own — a “Sopranos” to its HBO — the subscription streaming service is presenting a high-class adaptation of a British political thriller offered up all at once, with its first season immediately ready for TV-viewing gluttony.

Phoenix has Stand Up Live Comedy Theater. Jester’Z is in Scottsdale. And Mesa’s home to the National Comedy Theater.

Dustin Hoffman’s directing bow at 75 finds a perfect match in the well-heeled subject of “Quartet,” a charming tale of aging musicians whose passion for life continues undiminished in a stately English manor filled with humor, caring and of course great music. This optimistic fairy tale about aging and the continuing possibilities it offers for emotional satisfaction should strike the fancy of older audiences who turned the British indie “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” into a breakout hit released around the world. Leading a cast of real-life musical veterans, Maggie Smith and Tom Courtenay put the stamp of quality on a lush-looking production, albeit one that adheres to genre rules with an iron grip.

In what’s been an otherwise tremendous year for movies, 2012 still brought us quite a few stinkers nevertheless. One general question film critics are asked is how they feel when ripping a movie apart. It may sound mean-spirited and arrogant to criticize a movie that a lot of people invested their time and money into. Anybody that has endured the 10 movies listed below however can understand that such criticisms are justified.

Just turned 50, Tom Cruise is eligible for membership in the American Association of Retired Persons. Just split from third wife Katie Holmes, Cruise is the object of told-you-so cynics who simply knew that romance wouldn’t last. Just finished with his stab at something really different as a heavy-metal rock god in “Rock of Ages,” Cruise is coming off one of the lowest-grossing movies in his career.

Judging part one of Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” prelude “The Hobbit” is a bit like reviewing a film after seeing only the first act.

With cacti and strip malls obstructing the views at times, visitors could easily write Phoenix off as a place where water and culture are scarce. But this metropolis — which includes upscale Scottsdale and college town Tempe — is a nature lover’s oasis with pristine peaks and the vast Sonoran desert.