KPF Exclusive: Ty Simpkins, the Kid Star of IRON MAN 3

At 11 years old, Ty Simpkins already has quite a few credits on his resume. Simpkins has been in movies since he was barely 3 months old, and has roles in flicks such as Insidious, The Next Three Days, and Little Children. Maybe even more interesting is how many times he's been cast in films with his real life sister Ryan Simpkins - they play siblings in Revolutionary Road, Pride and Glory and Arcadia, among others.

But for Iron Man 3, Ty's first action movie, he goes it alone. Ty plays Harley Keener, an intelligent kid who has a run-in with Iron Man and actually helps him save the day.

Ty's favorite part of working on Iron Man 3 was being able to spend time with its star Robert Downey Jr. "Robert's really fun to work with. He's a really nice guy."

Like many kids his age, Ty is a huge Iron Man fan. "My favorite superhero is Iron Man and I'm not just saying that because I worked on the Iron Man movie. It actually is Iron Man," he says very emphatically. Ty started reading the comics after the first movie and is still enjoying them.

In Ty's opinion, Iron Man is definitely way better than Batman. "[Tony Stark] is a billionaire and he's nothing like Bruce Wayne. He has a suit, he builds suits. He owns a company, but he still builds for his company."

So maybe we'll see Ty Simpkins play Iron Man himself one day? "I would love to play that role," Simpkins said, seemingly awestruck by the thought of it.

Iron Man 3 is in theaters now.

Bill Hader Leaves SNL and Becomes LAWLESS

We're so sad that "Stefon" won't be making us laugh anymore on "SNL," but we'll get to see the clubgoer's creator Bill Hader on the big screen. Hader, who is Flint Lockwood in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, is in talks to star in the indie comedy Lawless. Written and directed by the guys who wrote Jim Carrey's Yes Man,  Jarrod Paul and Andrew Mogul, the movie is about a high school reunion committee from a town in the Midwesst who are trying to get the big shot from their class to attend. That guy, the most popular kid in school, is now a commercials actor so the committee chairman, who was NOT the cool kid in school, travels to Los Angeles and tries to navigate the world of celebrity to lure him back home to attend the event. Mike White, who wrote and co-starred with Jack Black in School of Rock, will produce through his RipCord Productions.

Hader has acted in many movies, but Lawless marks his first outing in the lead role. He'll next be heard in this summer's animated movie Turbo. 

Movie Star Movie Critics Movie Review: THE GREAT GATSBY 3D

High school just got a little easier. Required reading "The Great Gatsby" is now a glossy movie with modern music, making the '20s a little more tangible. Joel Courtney and Katherine McNamara, stars of the upcoming summer movie Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, are KidsPickFlicks' Movie Star Movie Critics and they rate The Great Gatsby 3D a 5-star PICK:

"Glamour, glitter, girls - Gatsby. The film version of this classic novel truly lives up to the grandeur of its setting in the midst of the roaring 20's in New York. The film shows all the aspects of this era, the good, the bad, the ugly, and all the people that made it so. The production and costume design on this piece was truly phenomenal. It was grandiose enough to make the wide shots spectacular, and at the same time detailed enough to bring every shot to its fullest potential and create the perfect setting for the characters and the story. The 3D in the film was so strong that it took a bit of getting used to. However, I did love the soundtrack for the film. The mix of 20's style score and songs by modern artists including Jay-Z, Beyonce, and Lana Del Rey, brought an interesting layer to the film that makes it more relatable to some audiences. As would be expected, Leonardo DiCaprio delivered an epic performance as the title character and the rest of the all star cast met his standard of excellence. 5 stars."

After you see The Great Gatsby, join Kat and Joel in reviewing it by scrolling down to USER REVIEWS on the The Great Gatsby 3D review page. 

On Twitter, follow @Kat_McNamara @Joel_Courtney and, of course @KidsPickFlicks !

Better Than Cliff Notes: 5 Films To Get You Through This Summer's Required Reading

With summer fast approaching and schools across the nation about to let out, many kids and teens look forward to freedom. However, some schools won't let anyone enjoy there summer and assign dreaded reading lists. So in celebration of The Great Gatsby*, here are the five best movies to give you an assist in getting through this summer's required reading.

William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet
Gatsby director Baz Luhrmann and star Leonardo Dicaprio are no strangers to adapting old literature and plays. Case in point, their modern retelling of the play "Romeo and Juliet." Sure, you could watch the 40's or 70's version for "historical accuracy," but who wants that? Instead go with Romeo + Juliet. Is it good? No. Is entertainingly insane? YES. In the reports though, you might want to avoid mentioning the "gang wars."

A River Runs Through It
Probably the most boring book (technically a novella) I ever had to read for a class. Pages upon pages of fishing, so thankfully, there's a movie and it's pretty good. It even stars a young Brad Pitt and spares you the ridiculously dull portions of the book.

Lord of the Flies
Runner-up for most boring book I read for class, a tribe ruled by boys sounds like a good idea on paper. Yet, the book takes way too long to get to the good parts and is congested with ham-fisted symbolism. Instead, jump for the 50's (rather than the '90s) version of the book.It's only about two hours and remains incredibly faithful to the book. Not to mention, the drama and visuals are pretty well done.

To Kill a Mockingbird
There's no escaping Harper Lee's classic, it will be assigned at some point. Get ahead of the curb and watch Gregory Peck act his pants off. The movie version is considered one of the few films to be equal to its source material. Combined with cliff-notes and you've got yourself enough competent information to write a report.

Anna Karenina
For the really advanced readers out there, the Tolstoy classic takes up hundreds of pages. Who has time for that? You'll have plenty of versions to choose, but I recommend the old 30's version with Greta Garbo. Great acting and you'll learn where the term "drinking under the table" comes from.

*And one more thing about Gatsby:  beware that the line "rich girls never marry rich boys" is not in the novel, but it's in BOTH the '70s film and the new one -- teachers put this on the test to make sure you read it.