As far as Hollywood entertainment goes, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a pretty good film.
It sticks to the recipe very closely and has everything for everyone. Action, comedy, romance, drama, special effects, some coarse language, very pretty ladies and a shirtless Hugh Jackman throughout and no Big Blue Dong!
How can anyone ask for more?
I read some reviews before going in so I was expecting disappointment. However those reviewers did not represent the film very well, mostly focusing on one or two failures of the work and then destroying it based on those. No one lied here but they did exaggerate a bit.
Wolverine is a good summer film, nothing more.
I wouldn’t even say it’s that great for fans of the character because from what I remember of the comics and cartoons, many liberties were taken in order to make this origin story fit with the beginning of Brian Singer’s version of X-Men. The feel is there but many details were omitted or modified.
For example, in this version Logan has claws from birth, made of bone. He first uses them when he experiences a traumatic event in his young life. In the comics and cartoons, if I‘m not mistaken, the claws are a side-effect of the adamantium application and so is his loss of memory, which is of a different origin in the film and, for me, this aspect of Wolvy’s personality was very poorly implemented.
It felt rushed and tacked on, like the writers didn’t know how to do it and they included this element at the last minute.
The story has many twists and turns and although I usually welcome those in any film, here again it is done in a somewhat amateurish way. They are mostly predictable and most don’t really add to the story, with a few exceptions.
Many characters show up in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Blob, Wraith, Gambit, Silverfox, Emma Frost, Agent Zero, Stryker, Volt, Sabretooth, Deadpool and even one I won’t mention as it is a big spoiler :)
Sabretooth is nothing like the one we know from the first X-Men film and aside from him not dying at the end of Wolverine, there is no attempt at turning him form a very smart and clever assassin to the big dumb bodyguard who doesn’t remember Logan is his brother in X1.
Gambit is SEVERELY underused here. He attacks our anti-hero for no reason whatsoever, unless this is to cram more special effects into the movie.
He flies a plane for Logan and squints a lot. That’s it.
I found that for a movie with so many characters that so many people want to see more of (let’s face it, with their comic histories all these people could get their own movie in the future) X-Men Origins didn’t suffer from the same syndrome as X3 and Batman and Robin. Everyone gets just enough background for us to care, without taking the light away from Wolverine, with perhaps the exception of Deadpool.
I admit, I know next to nothing about Deadpool. He’s a product of the Weapon X program (explored in great detail in Wolverine) that helped him get rid of his cancer with a regenerative healing power at the expense of his face (he was disfigured in the process) and his sanity (he’s crazy). That’s all I know of him.
From this limited knowledge, I can say that the liberties taken with Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine are immense. I can’t go into it because it involves more spoilers but let’s just say that by the end of the film, I really wanted a Deadpool movie.
He’s VERY cool!
There is a lot of good entertainment in Wolverine. The acting is surprisingly good for this type of film, with Hugh Jackman taking the cake. Liev Shreiber is perfect as Sabretooth. I didn’t think he would be though because, as many others have said, we are used to seeing him in more “cerebral” roles. He definitely nails the part to our great enjoyment. He is all creepy, nasty and scary, not to mention a real threat for the main hero of this tale.
I think hardcore fans of X-Men will be disappointed in this movie but for the rest of us, it is a very good summer film, entertainment that should sell a lot of popcorn.
Until Star Trek beams in… next week!
7/10
Monday, May 4, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Watchmen - A Review
Let me start by admitting that the only thing I know about the Watchmen brand is that it is a graphic novel of some popularity and that seeing genitals on the screen outside of porn still freaks me out a bit.
I didn’t like Watchmen too much.
But I’m having a hard time figuring out why.
The movie is very well filmed and directed. The actors, most of them relatively unknown (I know who Carla Gugino is as well as that midget in the jail, although his name eludes my memory – He was Kramer’s pal on Seinfeld and I probably saw him in Willow) did a great job; the story is complex and interesting and the setting yields great ideas and potential for future instalments.
Perhaps it was the structure of the script? I feel there could’ve been more time allotted to Rorshachs’s (I know, SP?) investigation of The Comedian’s murder and less given to a pointless and predictable love triangle that only serves to fill time. Most of the love story could’ve been reserved for the DVD/Blu Ray in my opinion.
The pacing is also very, very slow. The last ten to twenty minutes of the film are pretty good action sequences but the rest of the film serves as introductions to the characters but aside from Rorschach’s (his had me almost in tears) the intros are simple bla bla bla affairs that seem there only to again fill time. Also, there are no villains.
The characters themselves are very interesting. The viewer doesn’t need intro stories to enjoy their darkness and heavily flawed personalities. These are more than the teen angst of Peter Parker or the “fear of bats because of his father’s death” of Bruce Wayne. The guys and gals of Watchmen are mostly psychopaths who believe that justice can only be served by the violent death of its detractors.
I enjoyed that part. Superman’s goody goody attitude always bugged me. I am a strong believer that in order to make an omelet, you gotta break some eggs.
Watchmen probably shows us what could happen if ordinary people, today, would become Superheroes. I feel we do need them but because of this story I understand why they don’t and probably will never exist. It’s a hard life that of the hero and our time with it is hard enough as it is. Why spend it in fights with the scum of humanity?
I give Watchmen 7/10.
Oh and to Dr. Manhattan: Materialize yourself some frakking pants please!
6/10
I didn’t like Watchmen too much.
But I’m having a hard time figuring out why.
The movie is very well filmed and directed. The actors, most of them relatively unknown (I know who Carla Gugino is as well as that midget in the jail, although his name eludes my memory – He was Kramer’s pal on Seinfeld and I probably saw him in Willow) did a great job; the story is complex and interesting and the setting yields great ideas and potential for future instalments.
Perhaps it was the structure of the script? I feel there could’ve been more time allotted to Rorshachs’s (I know, SP?) investigation of The Comedian’s murder and less given to a pointless and predictable love triangle that only serves to fill time. Most of the love story could’ve been reserved for the DVD/Blu Ray in my opinion.
The pacing is also very, very slow. The last ten to twenty minutes of the film are pretty good action sequences but the rest of the film serves as introductions to the characters but aside from Rorschach’s (his had me almost in tears) the intros are simple bla bla bla affairs that seem there only to again fill time. Also, there are no villains.
The characters themselves are very interesting. The viewer doesn’t need intro stories to enjoy their darkness and heavily flawed personalities. These are more than the teen angst of Peter Parker or the “fear of bats because of his father’s death” of Bruce Wayne. The guys and gals of Watchmen are mostly psychopaths who believe that justice can only be served by the violent death of its detractors.
I enjoyed that part. Superman’s goody goody attitude always bugged me. I am a strong believer that in order to make an omelet, you gotta break some eggs.
Watchmen probably shows us what could happen if ordinary people, today, would become Superheroes. I feel we do need them but because of this story I understand why they don’t and probably will never exist. It’s a hard life that of the hero and our time with it is hard enough as it is. Why spend it in fights with the scum of humanity?
I give Watchmen 7/10.
Oh and to Dr. Manhattan: Materialize yourself some frakking pants please!
6/10
Monday, March 9, 2009
Death Race – A Review
I don’t remember watching the original, Death Race 2000 and when I saw this remake in the theater I was pleasantly entertained by the gritty, violent images that flowed on the screen.
A cross between The Fugitive, Speed Racer and every prison movie ever made, Death Race is a real Guy Flick, with Jason Statham, hot babes, awesome cars and guns, guns, guns. Entertainment… for men.
It is violent, foully dialogged and loud, with a touching basic plot that serves only as motivation for the main character to do the most damage possible.
Jensen Aims, named after the car, has just received his last pay check from the closing steel mill he was working for. With his meager three hundred dollars he heads home to wife and daughter. That day isn’t over yet when he is attacked, his wife murdered and him in shackles, heading for Terminal Island, a prison where inmates are forced to participate in the Death Race, a competition where the winner is released and pardoned.
Jensen is blackmailed into secretly replacing Frank, a legendary hero of the race who gives hope to people and ratings for the warden (played by Joan Allen), who has died in the last race.
It’s all very predictable, not particularly clever but a lot of fun to watch nonetheless.
The death scenes are raw, bloody and numerous, Natalie Martinez is über-hot and Ian McShane serves as mentor to the hero. That can’t be wrong and it’s great entertainment.
Where things do go wrong, aside from the simplistic plot, is when we are presented with an especially nasty vehicle and how it serves to shorten the story and the race itself and the ease of which it is disposed of, the constant showing of Statham’s body, especially in the first half-hour, which borderlines on gay soft-porn (or is that my own sense of insecurity?) and the final ending, which feels tacked on and unnatural.
I can’t say Death Race was a good movie. But I can say it was good entertainment. The acting is ok and enjoyable, especially from McShane and Allen, the races are fast, intense with plenty of action and gore to satisfy genre fans and Natalie Martinez perfectly fills the role of movie babe of the day.
Rent it and watch with your buddies, with beer and chicken wings.
5.5/10
A cross between The Fugitive, Speed Racer and every prison movie ever made, Death Race is a real Guy Flick, with Jason Statham, hot babes, awesome cars and guns, guns, guns. Entertainment… for men.
It is violent, foully dialogged and loud, with a touching basic plot that serves only as motivation for the main character to do the most damage possible.
Jensen Aims, named after the car, has just received his last pay check from the closing steel mill he was working for. With his meager three hundred dollars he heads home to wife and daughter. That day isn’t over yet when he is attacked, his wife murdered and him in shackles, heading for Terminal Island, a prison where inmates are forced to participate in the Death Race, a competition where the winner is released and pardoned.
Jensen is blackmailed into secretly replacing Frank, a legendary hero of the race who gives hope to people and ratings for the warden (played by Joan Allen), who has died in the last race.
It’s all very predictable, not particularly clever but a lot of fun to watch nonetheless.
The death scenes are raw, bloody and numerous, Natalie Martinez is über-hot and Ian McShane serves as mentor to the hero. That can’t be wrong and it’s great entertainment.
Where things do go wrong, aside from the simplistic plot, is when we are presented with an especially nasty vehicle and how it serves to shorten the story and the race itself and the ease of which it is disposed of, the constant showing of Statham’s body, especially in the first half-hour, which borderlines on gay soft-porn (or is that my own sense of insecurity?) and the final ending, which feels tacked on and unnatural.
I can’t say Death Race was a good movie. But I can say it was good entertainment. The acting is ok and enjoyable, especially from McShane and Allen, the races are fast, intense with plenty of action and gore to satisfy genre fans and Natalie Martinez perfectly fills the role of movie babe of the day.
Rent it and watch with your buddies, with beer and chicken wings.
5.5/10
Thursday, February 26, 2009
World of Warcraft - Part 1
World of Warcraft (WoW) is probably the best game ever made.
It's very addictive, you can play with friends and you can waste a lot of time in it.
And it's a lot of fun too.
How can I have a blog about entertainment and not talk about WoW?
I started off with a free 14 days trial about a year an a half ago. This trial only allowed me to build a caracter up to level 10 and many features were locked.
I had made a Dwarf Hunter and he had a bear named Ben as his pet.
I remember sitting him up on top of a hill near Stormwind, looking down into a valley. I had made a fire and was cooking meat for me and Ben as the trial came to a close.
Soon after I bought the game and began a Night Elf Hunter named Queleborn.
He is now Level 35 with two pets and a mount, which was difficult to get because they are so darn expensive.
It's very addictive, you can play with friends and you can waste a lot of time in it.
And it's a lot of fun too.
How can I have a blog about entertainment and not talk about WoW?
I started off with a free 14 days trial about a year an a half ago. This trial only allowed me to build a caracter up to level 10 and many features were locked.
I had made a Dwarf Hunter and he had a bear named Ben as his pet.
I remember sitting him up on top of a hill near Stormwind, looking down into a valley. I had made a fire and was cooking meat for me and Ben as the trial came to a close.
Soon after I bought the game and began a Night Elf Hunter named Queleborn.
He is now Level 35 with two pets and a mount, which was difficult to get because they are so darn expensive.
Hunters are long range fighters, using bows, crossbows and guns to take down enemies. They can tame wild beasts to fight melee for them or to be used as bait to lure enemies while the hunter loots chests and the like.
Other classes in WoW include Warrior, Rogue, Mage, Warlock, Priest, Paladin and Shaman, with the Death Knight added with the lates expansion to the game.
Everytime I play WoW I get a bit excited so this is the first article. I will write more about it as my caracters grow.
Total Recall Being Rebooted???
This site is reporting that Total Recall, one of Arnold Schwarzennegger best entertainment efforts is currently being rebooted.
Sometimes I get drunk or high or I'm just tired and I feel like watching a movie.
I pop one in the DVD player and as the images flow on the screen I sometimes have a Keanu Reeves moment during which I go "Woah! This great piece of entertainment should be remade with today's tech... Wwoooah!"
What is so fantastic in the difference between me, the casual viewer and them, the producers, is that:
1- I don't do cocaïne
2- I don't have the money or the power to make my delusions a reality.
Seriously, Total Recall was an awesome film that does NOT need a reboot.
A sequel, perhaps. To bring back to us this great universe with Verhoeven at the helm again.
But not a reboot.
No.
Sometimes I get drunk or high or I'm just tired and I feel like watching a movie.
I pop one in the DVD player and as the images flow on the screen I sometimes have a Keanu Reeves moment during which I go "Woah! This great piece of entertainment should be remade with today's tech... Wwoooah!"
What is so fantastic in the difference between me, the casual viewer and them, the producers, is that:
1- I don't do cocaïne
2- I don't have the money or the power to make my delusions a reality.
Seriously, Total Recall was an awesome film that does NOT need a reboot.
A sequel, perhaps. To bring back to us this great universe with Verhoeven at the helm again.
But not a reboot.
No.
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