andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Don Cheadle is suiting up as Jim Rhodes, a.k.a. budding armor-clad hero War Machine, for “Iron Man 2.”

Cheadle will replace Terrence Howard, who played the best friend of Tony Stark/Iron Man in this summer’s first film installment based on the Marvel Comics character.

Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that negotiations with Howard fell through due to financial differences, among other reasons, and Marvel Studios had wanted to work with Cheadle.

According to THR, the sequel is rumoured to feature more than high-tech villains and a larger part for Rhodes.

Jon Favreau will return as director, while the screenplay is being penned by “Tropic Thunder” scribe Justin Theroux.

The sequel, which will also see the return of Robert Downey Jr. in the title role, is slated for release in May 2010.

Cheadle is currently shooting the action drama “Brooklyn’s Finest” opposite Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke, and will next appear in DreamWorks “Hotel for Dogs.” The Oscar nominee most recently starred in the thriller “Traitor.”

We always crave to hear the truth but not enough people have the guts to “tell it like it is.”

Talk to me, directed by Kasi Lemmons, is based on the true life story of a radio personality Ralph Waldo “Petey” Greene Jr. who was able to say the things people are afraid to say.

An ex-convict or “miscreant,” Petey Greene, played by Don Cheadle, gets out of prison to pursue the only thing he can do that is not illegal. Greene persuades Dewey Hughes, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, to get him “his” job at the WOL radio station in Washington, D.C.

Petey Greene is brutally honest and speaks from the heart. He’s as real as he can get and people loved that about him. His outspoken take on race issues back in the 1960s is an instant hit. His popularity quickly surpasses that of other popular DJs like “Nighthawk,” played by Cedric the Entertainer.

We get a kick out of watching the interaction between Petey Greene and his wild yet lovable girlfriend Vernell, played by Taraji Henson, as they force their way into the radio station.

The movie focuses on Petey’s struggle with his new found fame that he never wished for, which eventually leads to the termination of his relationship with his manager Dewey Hughes. The movie chooses to leave out some details of his career and even the famous episode of his television show where he eats watermelons (This episode is all over Youtube.).

The movie, however, stays away from making this a simple convict-turns-radio-star story. Rather, we get a better sense of Petey Greene as a complex character.

This film has strong characters, strong acting, some funny moments and great music. What really stood out was Don Cheadle’s performance. He is as gifted as an actor, as Petey Greene was as a DJ.