Okay, the weekend is nearly here and I know some of you are probably making plans. Good idea. And even if you haven’t, I have already done your weekend entertainment itinerary. I know, I know, how kind of me. You’ll thank me even more once you’ve gone and seen:

Ironman.

Believe you me, if I can find a way to go see it again, you’ll find my backside planted in a multiplex with a bucket of popcorn and my eyes all over me some Robert Downey Jr. Now, first off, I am HUGE action film, superhero sucker of a movie goer. But I never get choked up over an action film. You won’t catch me getting a bit misty eyed over Spiderman or feeling the need to give Arnold a hug. But damn, if RD Jr doesn’t have your heart beating and make you feel his pain. He’s always been a great actor, but he’s hit his stride with this role.

And even for all the big bangs and crashes, it is at its heart just a really, really good movie, great acting and some wonderful comedy. An afternoon with Ironman is an afternoon well spent.

But then you might be feeling, well, in need of a little culture. You know, what my husband calls “those old ladies in bonnets” movies. Well, get your bonnet out and settle down for Cranford on Masterpiece Theater. Even if you missed the first installment this past Sunday, there is a good chance your local PBS station will be repeating the first episode before this Sunday’s next installment. Find the time, grab the remote and settle in for a beautiful story of small town England in 1842 and on the verge of finding itself in, horrors of all horrors, the “modern age.” Add to that, some gracious and sublime acting. Even the skeptic in the house, who was dismayed that I was calling dibs on the TV during the sacred 10:00 o’clock news, was riveted after the first hour. And make sure you have a hankie or two nearby by the end. Even my husband was crying. You can use the one you nearly need when you watch RDJr.