FINAL HUGH JACKMAN WOLVERINE GOES BY JUST PLAIN LOGAN

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyoBEwwQw9qiLKzidKVMdGO6ID6gO3WegTDe62O6ufbgrxCMMWmajtLGhBGXoBsW6F-dgOi-v9M7cjZDUIpLo6rS5YXvv7KGsQZWZNZNw19z1q56kGIygihWPJAHkHO5zP50mCsurvVMR5/s1600/tindall_logan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="700" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyoBEwwQw9qiLKzidKVMdGO6ID6gO3WegTDe62O6ufbgrxCMMWmajtLGhBGXoBsW6F-dgOi-v9M7cjZDUIpLo6rS5YXvv7KGsQZWZNZNw19z1q56kGIygihWPJAHkHO5zP50mCsurvVMR5/s400/tindall_logan.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Neat Walking Dead Style LOGAN poster YEAR: 2017</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Somewhere online, the third and final WOLVERINE is said to have been influenced by films ranging from SHANE... playing on a motel TV... to PAPER MOON: One involving a hired gun protecting farmers and the other a father and daughter traveling across country: But what LOGAN really seems like is an X-MEN reboot of NEBRASKA: an dark comedy where a put-upon son takes his aging, ailing father across Middle America...<br> <br> Whatever the connections, deliberate or otherwise, LOGAN seems to be critic-proof, and has gained over 8.0 on IMDb. And while the first venture, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, was an entertaining Neo-Noir adventure and the followup, THE WOLVERINE, rolled like a Japanese Graphic Novel brought to life with washed-out colors, tons of action and what seemed to be an intentionally simplistic plot-line, LOGAN is an extremely vague Road Movie that, like the last couple X-MEN entries, introduces another young mutant (to carry on): Logan's daughter, a rescued "orphan" with a one-note expression — born to kill — and starting out with the grungy, non-dialect scowl of Newt from ALIENS that, once the levee breaks, you'll pray for a muzzle (almost as annoying as her rambling caretaker "mother"... who thankfully doesn't last long). Actually, the kid's alright, and not an overly-trained child actor type, but she simply takes away from what Logan could have done alone and with a lot more suspense.<br>

2017, action, comic, franchise, hugh jackman, marvel, new, patrick stewart, road movie

FINAL HUGH JACKMAN WOLVERINE GOES BY JUST PLAIN LOGAN

Neat Walking Dead Style LOGAN poster YEAR: 2017 Somewhere online, the third and final WOLVERINE is said to have been influenced by films...

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE FEATURING HUGH JACKMAN

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6CJVFzUB_yveC5jmzBASJCdPkMvExefYQWbddcmL3GidGfLzwkCtpsOEydxfNpzQV4qGgXZwjNaqhtDjcCsSTU04DcfVt4kFg-NHcQTp62SnhNZJO5QG1PV4iyUIf31POEWjzl85dlqo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-07-15+at+4.20.44+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6CJVFzUB_yveC5jmzBASJCdPkMvExefYQWbddcmL3GidGfLzwkCtpsOEydxfNpzQV4qGgXZwjNaqhtDjcCsSTU04DcfVt4kFg-NHcQTp62SnhNZJO5QG1PV4iyUIf31POEWjzl85dlqo/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-07-15+at+4.20.44+PM.png" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>THE X-MEN MUPPET BABY FILMS SUSTAIN BREEZILY Year: 2016</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> The vessel has gone full circle. Not only do we begin with a mutant in a public display of fighting, like Wolverine in the first movie, but there's another great music montage scene liken to the last film, where Evan Peters, as Quicksilver, does his thing, befitting the particular era: last <i>time</i> it was Jim Croce in the 70's and "now", set in the techno 80's, The Eurythmics SWEET DREAMS plays as he <i>quickly</i> rescues a bunch of student mutants about to... Spoil the movie, although the title of this latest venture says plenty in what's become the FIRST CLASS cast as the X-MEN are more X-KIDS, not only before they become adults but, like the STAR TREK reboot, in an alternate timeline: the past is in the past and the future is, for the characters we once knew, started over again i.e. recycling.<br>

2016, franchise, hugh jackman, jennifer lawrence

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE FEATURING HUGH JACKMAN

THE X-MEN MUPPET BABY FILMS SUSTAIN BREEZILY Year: 2016 The vessel has gone full circle. Not only do we begin with a mutant in a public ...

REVIEW OF EDDIE THE EAGLE

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLowDUhwu8YzAXA1vN7sGOzKY7fbka75popStTQWDts245QE-rjfm1Rc8xkINsZn3qg2zcMQwEKpp6bDP5hSE6rz6S15KERcQpxIzL5ugxAT6-khotWtLeQ_1_HNNr5U32P_X3v1vSNcE/s1600/1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLowDUhwu8YzAXA1vN7sGOzKY7fbka75popStTQWDts245QE-rjfm1Rc8xkINsZn3qg2zcMQwEKpp6bDP5hSE6rz6S15KERcQpxIzL5ugxAT6-khotWtLeQ_1_HNNr5U32P_X3v1vSNcE/s1600/1.jpg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>A somewhat belated review of a movie to take the family and kids to... or wait a few weeks to stream on your television.</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Everyone knows what a genre is. Science-Fiction. Suspense. Action. Adventure. Drama. Comedy. Feel-Good. And in the latter, RUDY probably comes to mind... at least in the sports department. And here we have a RUDY for a new generation, and continent, although he "reigned" around the same time, decades ago... in this particular case, during the 1988 Olympics: <i>He</i> being a short British kid with all the confidence in the world, and then some, named Eddie Edwards. And with a working class father who sees his son's future not in Plastics, but Plaster, a headstrong Eddie, since a very young age shown in a rushed growing-up montage throughout the opening credits, wants to be... something, anything... having to do with the Olympics. And that's that.<br>

christopher walken, feel-good, hugh jackman, sport

REVIEW OF EDDIE THE EAGLE

A somewhat belated review of a movie to take the family and kids to... or wait a few weeks to stream on your television. Everyone knows ...

A BELATED REVIEW OF PAN

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjw47iYpFsD1NkauaTUGKdy4UgpFHcL5RIkZpMIfcbBV1mJVDHaJ_wZLlTCgfIJIGz3tanhKewrLbk0Ni4TXNWJzKA6W-tM3kbJ2YVaZSVXGR-6ndgHg7vArvBZWg6gLQmyR5OCCDBWjs/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjw47iYpFsD1NkauaTUGKdy4UgpFHcL5RIkZpMIfcbBV1mJVDHaJ_wZLlTCgfIJIGz3tanhKewrLbk0Ni4TXNWJzKA6W-tM3kbJ2YVaZSVXGR-6ndgHg7vArvBZWg6gLQmyR5OCCDBWjs/s320/11.jpg" width="170" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015</td></tr> </tbody></table> A sort of PETER POTTER AND THE NEFARIOUS ORPHANAGE, with an impressive big budget fantastical aesthetic and evil nuns who run the place like hell as we're taken back to dark, ominous air raid England during World War II with our main character, a young urchin named Peter who, starting out, is normal as can be... just more curious than the other kids, all basically prisoners.<br /> <br /> During the buildup at the orphanage, there's a mysterious fleshing-out of character and location, followed with a gust of special effects catapulted by a flying pirate ship, which looks pretty darn cool. Then something happens that epitomizes "Jumping the Shark"... <br /> <br /> But first off, let's note that Hugh Jackman, the heartthrob actor hired to fill theater seats, is almost unrecognizable, resembling a cross between Max von Sydow's FLASH GORDON heavy Ming the Merciless and the legendary vampire Nosferatu. Any "shallow" Hugh fans will be more into Garrett Hedlund's dashing Hook, who helps set Peter free within this immense exterior purgatory called, you got it, Neverland.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPUvj_5EIw-LdKskorZBqzMDOMd2h0m37uPKP8WOo5mQSSF1aYiQ84IQQpQZgLrx8XNZe_FSsYYVo6_KjzBWTG4qJ5lHz0dqyMnALzIYChu4W7j5dCeFOPIgOckPXqy32lriDzsQEC1IA/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPUvj_5EIw-LdKskorZBqzMDOMd2h0m37uPKP8WOo5mQSSF1aYiQ84IQQpQZgLrx8XNZe_FSsYYVo6_KjzBWTG4qJ5lHz0dqyMnALzIYChu4W7j5dCeFOPIgOckPXqy32lriDzsQEC1IA/s1600/12.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good song in a "stupid and contagious" scene</td></tr> </tbody></table> Now back to what almost ruins the entire picture: occurring as soon as Jackman's Blackbeard first shows himself to the mass of followers aboard and below his ship while all singing the lyrics to Nirvana's grunge anthem "Smells Like Teen Spirit"... no joke, this really happens... killing the legitimacy of the previous scene's 1940's vibe while thwarting any notion we're now in a far away place with rules and culture all its own (The Ramones are also included on the bizarre set-list). <br /> <br /> If you can survive modern rock lyrics replacing a deeper monologue that would/could have cemented Blackbeard as a more worthy antagonistic presence, the movie <i>does</i> improve as Peter, aided by the young handsome Hook along with Rooney Mara's lovely ingenue Tiger Lily and comic relief Smiegel, realizes he, as a possibly legitimate Pan, has the (initially clumsy) gift of flight: and might be the "chosen one" to defeat our villain, who's simply not around enough to matter.<br /> <br /> Just like the innocent little boy turned gallantly romantic if slightly bratty teenage Anikan Skywalker from the STAR WARS prequels didn't work to logically morph a present hero into a future tyrant, the cool, suave and helpful Han Solo style Hook is much too likable for his inevitably wicked (unseen) turnout: Making the entire PAN experience rely on merely starting a franchise ball rolling that, as a vehicle on its own, gathers more moss than potential for any sort of continuation. But still, the movie does flow, exceeding Steven Spielberg's HOOK by leaps and bounds: In fact, Dustin Hoffman singing, say, a GUNS N' ROSES tune, might have actually helped that turkey.<br /> <br /> RATING: **1/2

2015, fantasy, garrett hedlund, hugh jackman, prequel, remake, rooney mara

A BELATED REVIEW OF PAN

year: 2015 A sort of PETER POTTER AND THE NEFARIOUS ORPHANAGE, with an impressive big budget fantastical aesthetic and evil nuns who run...

DEV PATEL AND HUGH JACKMAN IN CHAPPIE

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUATJ-szDJsl4yT9UQGtul5_7YbTUbiETdbfI7QEJbakcND8_NDt1TK9sVlRqZY0EzyWnkzrxtSRq81qzLkZcjttQwAETen7YcXnN53CFa36SboNyk1P_RgdZ57EOEvFTyTEfGusOinM/s1600/chappie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUATJ-szDJsl4yT9UQGtul5_7YbTUbiETdbfI7QEJbakcND8_NDt1TK9sVlRqZY0EzyWnkzrxtSRq81qzLkZcjttQwAETen7YcXnN53CFa36SboNyk1P_RgdZ57EOEvFTyTEfGusOinM/s200/chappie.jpg" width="142" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> A busy weekend for energetic actor Dev Patel… He trumps the elderly with far more screen time in the limp BEST EXOTIC HOTEL sequel, and kind of stars in CHAPPIE, a future-Earth Science-fiction tale about... does ROBOCOP ring a bell? That story involved a human police officer turned into a law enforcing robot, who eventually discovers he’s still a person deep down… Here the cops are already 'bots and one in particular, still in developmental stages and bearing the film’s corny title, is more skittish than an abused child.  <br /> <br /> The scientist/creator, Deon Wilson, played by Patel, works for an uptight boss who wants to cut costs – yet the biggest obstacle is a bullying alpha male, Vincent... Hugh Jackman in an “anyone could have played this part” role... who is, like one ROBOCOP corporate goon, in charge of a monstrous banned mechanism so similar to the ED-209, CHAPPIE could have easily been a second (and better) RC remake. Hell, it's even bookended with pseudo documentary newsreels providing glimpses into a dystopian society (but in South Africa). <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhryKGkDuwgjsc98cYfRjRD294qhkAXF31r7VYRS0B6HxaVCSzp9iqthb5FLeWiJ7ROWyS57pNNQ8HS2kEPWZAFNvpNwqLBOOkLAP3T9WfvBAl8f4gqxK5jXHwPcf5n_tBzuQt1BLebKcQ/s1600/Chappie_poster+23-38-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhryKGkDuwgjsc98cYfRjRD294qhkAXF31r7VYRS0B6HxaVCSzp9iqthb5FLeWiJ7ROWyS57pNNQ8HS2kEPWZAFNvpNwqLBOOkLAP3T9WfvBAl8f4gqxK5jXHwPcf5n_tBzuQt1BLebKcQ/s200/Chappie_poster+23-38-17.jpg" width="139" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poster Artwork</td></tr> </tbody></table> Most of the film takes place in literal ruins where a small band of renegades... including a 1990's Cyberpunk and two bizarre gang-bangers... teach Chappie the ropes when his master’s not around. We’re skipping past much of the plot: sought-after by a MAD MAX style biker gang, the trio plan a lucrative heist while Chappie, turning from a cowardly machine into a shrugging thief, becomes something his creator doesn’t recognize: baby's now a teenager! Which means little since Patel eventually fades out, almost entirely.<br /> <br /> After a long two-hours, suffering though particular characters limited in depth and intelligence, the realization that CHAPPIE is more of a contained fable than a rip-roaring action flick could let some people down. Others might be relieved that there's something surprisingly original about a vehicle that's anything but. <b>OVERALL RANK: Jedi, Rebel, <u>Droid</u>, Sith. </b>

2015, dev patel, hugh jackman, science-fiction, sigourney weaver

DEV PATEL AND HUGH JACKMAN IN CHAPPIE

2015 rating: **1/2 A busy weekend for energetic actor Dev Patel… He trumps the elderly with far more screen time in the limp BEST EXOTIC...

REVIEW OF X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitSvPyFx57dlPnBBmW0VHiTdy9YFaa21YpoheltF1c1C1jnp_mUzPbkiovY7EYGHjXXR-hi0Y5oPmVNJ1VfX87ZdiehfaiczM71jH_BI7ZR_FYrxdiITGXYgfcMUNMIOnpKMFULkygrPA/s1600/x_men__days_of_future_past___2014____retro_poster_by_camw1n-d7ahfne.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitSvPyFx57dlPnBBmW0VHiTdy9YFaa21YpoheltF1c1C1jnp_mUzPbkiovY7EYGHjXXR-hi0Y5oPmVNJ1VfX87ZdiehfaiczM71jH_BI7ZR_FYrxdiITGXYgfcMUNMIOnpKMFULkygrPA/s320/x_men__days_of_future_past___2014____retro_poster_by_camw1n-d7ahfne.png" width="217" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">year: 2014 rating; **</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;">Following CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, Marvel continues with the Political Thriller template, and in X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST, none other than Richard Nixon is in cahoots with a greedy entrepreneur who plans to exterminate mutants by using robotic war machines…  </span><br /> <br /> That’s President Richard Milhouse Nixon, the <i>current</i> Commander-in-Chief as it’s 1973 since Wolverine was sent back to the past so that Mystique, also known as Raven, doesn’t get captured by authorities which would result in… well let’s just say there's no more X-MEN if he doesn’t set things straight...<br /> <br /> And of course Logan's not alone, providing the last entry, FIRST CLASS, to coincide with the original lineup – although FUTURE PAST is more of that movie’s sequel with Hugh Jackman serving as special guest star. Meanwhile the likes of veteran members Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and Halley Berry are wasted on a subplot dealing with some kind of purgatory dimension resembling the THOR universe: The best scenes are also the funniest, mostly having to do with Wolverine's '70s culture shock and slacker mutant Peter aka Quicksilver and his penchant for not only speeding past everyone else, but perceiving them in the same wry, sarcastic manner Wolverine did in the original film, also directed by Bryan Singer which, to give due credit, started the Marvel monopoly in the first place. And those were indeed the great old days...<br /> <br /> For <i>now</i>, in the midst of an otherwise promising time travel espionage, one excruciatingly overlong sequence involving Xavier in his virtual reality brain-machine, trying to coax Raven from assassinating a mutant-hating businessman (the only real villain on board), deletes potential as the characters waste so much verbal energy explaining and/or pontificating past and future events, nothing very suspenseful occurs in the meantime. 

2014, action, hugh jackman, marvel

REVIEW OF X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

year: 2014 rating; ** Following CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, Marvel continues with the Political Thriller template, and in X-MEN...

PRISONERS

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiclk0svElJHM3_aEulKWZ1RfzHMxY-FVCeXYwLoW0I8oM6GIkvn_pjAeyApu7kRsPQ2T62eR-8rEDHdONlZRvZElwc-gQwQWrHZKG58M__VDBSZ67vEf1YVltPF0UqpPeikMh86d2f5v5R/s1600/Prisoners.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiclk0svElJHM3_aEulKWZ1RfzHMxY-FVCeXYwLoW0I8oM6GIkvn_pjAeyApu7kRsPQ2T62eR-8rEDHdONlZRvZElwc-gQwQWrHZKG58M__VDBSZ67vEf1YVltPF0UqpPeikMh86d2f5v5R/s640/Prisoners.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 cast: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Paul Dano rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> Within the first half of PRISONERS it’s obvious the title fits just about every character, and not all in the literal sense…<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5jXPu9SRIX60NbIR9N9tsBXD9KS9LghClcQdtcgI14QNxiHXseXmYBl5K2QJq9NeOkYoWBZwukxYeuyU6AIAiTr32z7gTlBBNIlfSATw5lJzcw3SQGp1mm-KwRwpvMIXDpBVepMwWBwQ/s1600/Prisoners-film-still-008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5jXPu9SRIX60NbIR9N9tsBXD9KS9LghClcQdtcgI14QNxiHXseXmYBl5K2QJq9NeOkYoWBZwukxYeuyU6AIAiTr32z7gTlBBNIlfSATw5lJzcw3SQGp1mm-KwRwpvMIXDpBVepMwWBwQ/s1600/Prisoners-film-still-008.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hugh Jackman</td></tr> </tbody></table> Hugh Jackman’s Keller Dover is an extreme, narrow-minded carpenter, father of a son and daughter: the latter abducted (along with her friend) in mysterious circumstances, throwing several people into emotional and mental chaos...<br /> <br /> Emotional for the Dover family and mental for the officer in charge of the case, a tattooed, rapidly blinking Jake Gyllenhaal as Detective Loki, who spends more time following Keller – who has his mind made up – than the few possible leads.<br /> <br /> All the characters are flawed, troubled. This makes Loki’s treadmill search more interesting within the film's contained, claustrophobic atmosphere forcing our withered hero to feel as captivated, or rather, captured as Paul Dano’s Alex Jones, a simple-minded young man that Keller holds hostage, resulting in bouts of grueling torture to get answers for his daughter’s vanishing.<br /> <br /> While there are an abundance of red-herrings to distract Loki (and the audience) from the real culprit, prolonging a two-and-a-half hour melodrama that could have fit in a more fashionable two, and many of the side-characters eventually become peripheral and insignificant, the intensely sparse performances of Jackman and Gyllenhaal exceed the villain-revealing/monologue-spouting climax, resulting in yet another (semi) ambiguous ending: only this time it doesn’t seem artsy or pretentious.   <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B002CMV1N4&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B0002IQLHQ&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00EAW7T1W&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>

2013, drama, hugh jackman, jake gyllenhaal, neo noir, paul dano

PRISONERS

year: 2013 cast: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Paul Dano rating: *** Within the first half of PRISONERS i...

THE WOLVERINE

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTOm5RqMp7Nnk2V3KDBidcyzCVgPRTKmOQt0g_dopboSvfUO61Hbc5K8kuOyxb5sv5DFvgy3Tqs6mgBKHU5BHixU0rjfJ5WR7KDjUVncz7co9S5VLrp63eoqZIvCtj5gwUbjHaqfK8dE/s1600/wolverine.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTOm5RqMp7Nnk2V3KDBidcyzCVgPRTKmOQt0g_dopboSvfUO61Hbc5K8kuOyxb5sv5DFvgy3Tqs6mgBKHU5BHixU0rjfJ5WR7KDjUVncz7co9S5VLrp63eoqZIvCtj5gwUbjHaqfK8dE/s1600/wolverine.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 cast: Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Famke Janssen rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table>  By the time Viper, a beautiful blonde vixen with unearthly powers, unleashes a forked tongue, spitting colorful venom on her targets, the entire purpose of having THE WOLVERINE take place in the super-slick modern day Tokyo, resembling a Noirish Ninja thriller, is somewhat diminished – everything seemed so ultra-real beforehand. <br /> <br /> And yet, because of her input alone, our hero's having a more difficult time than usual: feeling vulnerable and human in the process. He’s even suffering bad dreams about former lover Jean Gray, obviously meant to tie the other X-MEN films together but seeming like unnecessary (and corny) intrusions.<br /> <br /> The plot is very basic: Wolverine is hired to protect the granddaughter of a dying man he saved during the Second World War. She’s targeted by the Asian mob i.e. The Yukuza, leading to fast-paced action scenes, like one atop a speeding bullet train, which, although fun and involving, are wedged between prolonged bouts of filler dialogue and a superfluous romance.<br /> <br /> The handsome cinematography resembles a stylistic graphic novel, especially as we journey from the crowded city to a pale moonlight fortress, but the turnout, ultimately revealing the main villain in a fist-pounding finale, is downright anticlimactic: by the end you’ll realize there wasn’t much behind even the most memorable sequences.

2013, action, comic book, franchise, hugh jackman, marvel, sequel

THE WOLVERINE

year: 2013 cast: Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Famke Janssen rating: **  By the time Viper, a beautiful blonde vixen with u...

REAL STEEL

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTax56dk1nrzERf2yGVBVOmlRMtlUVsr0h3FiQP7t0ZAt3SW2BwAcHYdQVFZ2Jobgo6mdqUtc2k8Z4G9SUDWm0ZLuK-8jLhnLZ9wflX935gDpP-TfVo3LvfY2tQQMUZkFky0fnsQtHe3mR/s1600/t.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660993963989034658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTax56dk1nrzERf2yGVBVOmlRMtlUVsr0h3FiQP7t0ZAt3SW2BwAcHYdQVFZ2Jobgo6mdqUtc2k8Z4G9SUDWm0ZLuK-8jLhnLZ9wflX935gDpP-TfVo3LvfY2tQQMUZkFky0fnsQtHe3mR/s200/t.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 168px; height: 200px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title: </span>REAL STEEL<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">year:</span> 2011<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">cast:</span> Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, James Rebhorn<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> **<br /><br />Upon seeing the trailer, people old enough instantly thought of the classic game ROCK ‘EM SOCK ‘EM ROBOTS, but this film, inspired by a Richard Matheson penned TWILIGHT ZONE, is more like THE TRANSFORMERS meets OVER THE TOP. Hugh Jackman plays an ex boxer who, in a near-distant future, trains robots to fight. He’s a loser and a scoundrel and, after being saddled with his son for three months, they discover the remains of a sparring bot that becomes their diamond in the rough, and a possible way to make money. But only the kid sees the potential in "Atom" who, resembling THE IRON GIANT and with a human quality of fear, has a few successful bouts leading to the big event with the formidable, corporate-backed ZEUS. On paper, this sounds like an exciting flick with a lotta punch, but the action takes a back seat to overlong scenes involving Jackman and his kid traveling around misunderstanding each other. But it’s when our grizzled human hero switches the steely palooka from remote control to<span style="font-style: italic;"> shadow mode</span>… thus using his own skills as a boxer to try winning the big fight… that the audience has reason to cheer. Mirroring ROCKY's underdog overcoming the odds template, this lacks the training and passion that goes into turning a pile of scrap into a champion. For the most part, the climb to the top seems much too easy.

action, boxing, hugh jackman, tens

REAL STEEL

title: REAL STEEL year: 2011 cast: Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, James Rebhorn rating: ** Upon seeing the trailer, people ...

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirqjlY_qKMJwWLyXSwMKS0E3tEReZSxwaD88aS8yAv4EafiSEo8zZjMCNMqtfjS1f-tnN7fjz0fjZB0TMyQlfsr53MSaddXZ8e17QcqmpRZ5qCGJqCmKjhkqetHJ8gZ3bC3g2X2eZoBx_5/s1600/wolverine-x-men-origins-ps3-game.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639304425526136130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirqjlY_qKMJwWLyXSwMKS0E3tEReZSxwaD88aS8yAv4EafiSEo8zZjMCNMqtfjS1f-tnN7fjz0fjZB0TMyQlfsr53MSaddXZ8e17QcqmpRZ5qCGJqCmKjhkqetHJ8gZ3bC3g2X2eZoBx_5/s200/wolverine-x-men-origins-ps3-game.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 230px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 146px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title:</span> X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">year: </span>2011 <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">cast: </span>Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Ryan Reynolds <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> ***1/2 <br /> <br /> Wolverine, the tough maverick from the X-MEN comics and films, gets his own flick, beginning with a darkly-lit prologue leading to an opening credit sequence where we see our hero, Logan, and his older brother Victor fighting in every American war: leading up to Vietnam where the real story begins, as the boys join a group of special-op mutants, led by the mysterious Stryker. As Logan aka Wolverine parts company with the troop, not wanting to partake in a pointless murder, he ventures alone to Canada, working as a lumberjack. Here’s where the best action resides as Wolverine dodges death by a quicker, more lethal adversary… who’s also his brother – and eventually gets the surgery to make him into the steely-gutted character we all know... thus his real troubles (and some terrific chase scenes) begin. Then, the third act is purely revenge-driven: as Wolverine seeks Stryker with the aid of the surviving members of his former troop. But Victor, played with venomous gusto by Liev Schreiber, wants his own closure, making him a great secondary villain, more action-based than the big boss played with haunting precision by Danny Huston, turning tricks up his sleeve and a plot to rid the world of mutants. Playing out like a fast-paced, gritty Western combined with a Steve McQueen-era war adventure, here's a lean rogue thriller that continuously delivers. And even when it basks in self-absorbed melodrama, it always returns to the kind of stuff comic book fans, or anyone who loves non-stop action, paid to see.

action, comic book, danny huston, hugh jackman, marvel comics, ryan reynolds, tens, thriller

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE

title: X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE year: 2011 cast: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Ryan Reynolds rating: ***1/2 Wolverine, ...