Robert Downey Jr. (43) was practicing with his martial arts instructor in his driveway on Wednesday. It may have been just a photo op, but who cares, Downey’s new movie Iron Man is a box office mega hit. It’s so nice to see Downey back on top after going through such hard times.

After the workout, Downey had lunch with his son and a friend. His son must be super stoked that his dad is a super hero … in the movies.

Iron Man turned out to be the blockbuster I predicted. The film is the first independent movie for Marvel Studios. Iron Man made $104.3 million domestically, and another $96.7 million in 57 other countries, for a total weekend gross of $201 million.

Iron Man’s gross earnings was the second best premiere for a non-sequel film in history. The film that barely beat Iron Man was Spider Man which brought in $114.8 million.

The man who made this movie work was Robert Downey Jr., who fell into drug addiction, and rose back to the top of the Hollywood industry. Above is a backstage pass interview with Downey.

The top 10 movies this weekend were.

• Iron Man, $104.3 million
• Made of Honor, $15.5 million
• Baby Mama, $10.3 million
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall, $6.1 million
• Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, $6 million
• The Forbidden Kingdom, $4.2 million
• Nim’s Island, $2.8 million
• Prom Night, $2.5 million
• 21, $2.1 million
• 88 Minutes, $1.6 million

Last evening I went to see two movies, Iron Man with Robert Downey Jr., and Made of Honor with Patrick Dempsey.

I gave Made of Honor a C+. Dempsey seemed a bit awkward, and there was no real chemistry between Dempsey and his love interest. The story line was completely predictable, and finally became interesting two thirds into the movie. The only saving grace was the positive ending.

Iron Man on the other hand is blockbuster quality movie material. The story was tight, and believable. The technology and special effects were very cool, and eye popping. There was a lot of action, which kept the audience attention the entire movie. Downey did a magnificent job making his character totally believable, even when he played opposite Gwyneth Paltrow’s lackluster and boring performance, Downey made those scenes work. This movie has put Downey back on top in Hollywood.

If you want to see a good movie this weekend, Iron Man is the one to see.

Robert Downey Jr. portrays a white man Kirk Lazarus, who is an Oscar-winning actor who dyes his skin black in order to play a black character in the most expensive Vietnam War film ever made. Tropic Thunder is the movie, and Ben Stiller wrote, and directed the movie.

Stiller says that he and Downey always stayed focused on the fact that they were skewering insufferable actors, not African-Americans. ”I was trying to push it as far as you can within reality,” Stiller explains. ”I had no idea how people would respond to it.” He recently screened a rough cut of the film and it scored high with African-Americans. He was relieved at the reaction. ”It seems people really embrace it,” he says.

Also appearing in the movie are Jack Black, Nick Nolte, Tom Cruise (in a fat suit), Matthew McConaughey, and Tobey Maguire. Owen Wilson was supposed to appear, but that was right about the time he tried to commit suicide.

Seeing a white guy trying to act black might be as funny as seeing Dave Chapel in white face trying to act white. The difference is, Dave is a comedian, and Robert isn’t, so …

Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark, who is the super hero Iron Man, plus he’s a genius. This movie looks like a sure fire hit, and it will finally put Downey back on top.