As with my other previous summer movie reviews I have to continuously remind myself that these movies are exactly that...summer movies. Plots, character exposition, snappy dialogue and advancing established storylines take a back seat to explosive special effects and dynamic action sequences.
Also as with my other previous summer movie reviews, STAR TREK and X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, I issued the caveat before my review that I was very personally invested in those two franchises...as is the case with myself and the TRANSFORMERS franchise and it's latest big screen installment, REVENGE OF THE FALLEN.
Those of us old enough to remember not only the original line of Hasbro toys (consisting of sleek, die-cast metal cars, trucks, airplanes and other vehicles that transformed into menacing looking robot action figures) but the cartoon TV series that introduced a generation of young fans to the friendly Autobots and the vile Decepticons, we can be forgiven if we look at the Transformers film franchise with a bit of a jaded eye.
One of the things that made that TV series so endearing, at least in my mind, was the unique personalities inherent in many of the most popular characters. From Starscream's constant attempts to subvert the role of leadership of the Decepticons away from the mighty Megatron (and subsequent revelation of his true cowardice time and again in each failed attempt) to Ironhide's consistently crusty, yet noble attitude (ultimately revealed in the original animated big screen adaptation TRANSFORMERS - THE MOVIE as he meets an heroic demise at the hands of Megatron...still makes me cringe everytime I see it), these were characters who despite their extra-terrestrial origins (and their stereotypical campy 1980's packaging) possessed some of the most uniquely human characteristics and personality traits I have ever seen explored in a TV series...animated or otherwise.
I loved those characters. I had a real affinity for Brawn and Wheeljack and Mirage. I hated Shockwave and Astrotrain, and I am not afraid to admit I cried my eyes out when Optimus Prime died in the original animated movie.
The robots humanity (or lack thereof in certain cases) made the show something I will always treasure in my heart and that is something that is clearly lacking in Michael Bay's takes on The Transformers concept.
Despite utilizing some of the original vocal talents from the cartoon (including an inspired job of casting in bringing the legendary Peter Cullen back to voice Optimus Prime) and updating the looks of key players such as Bumblebee, Optimus, Jazz, Starscream and Megatron, these film versions of the Autobots and Decepticons are truly not more than meets the eye.
Now in the 2007 film, Bay did a competent job in attempting to fill in the backstory behind the Cybertronian wars while not losing forward momentum in extensive flashbacks or unnecessary exposition. He also effectively selected his initial cast of characters on both sides so as not to overload the viewer with too many bots to identify and follow.
In REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, Bay fails miserably on both counts. There are at least two key sequences in the movie (won't spoil it for you) that spend an awkwardly excessive amount of time in flashbacks or exposition that drag the movie to a screeching halt.
We are also introduced to at least two dozen new characters, both Autobot and Decepticon alike. The difficulty is I couldn't tell you the names of more than a handful of them either because they were not identified by name, I couldn't translate their 2009 look to their 1980s look, or they just flashed on the screen too quickly before exploding into spare parts.
Yes, the fight scenes are fantastic and Bay's penchant for combining reality-based special effects (real explosions, car crashes, gunfire, stunts, etc.) with just the right amount of CGI is once again prevalent in this body of work. It's just not nearly enough to captivate me.
As for the humanity I spoke of earlier, there is none evident in this movie and I'm not just referring to the robots either.
One of the scenes I really liked in the first movie was a sequence towards the end of the film in which Bumblebee suffers a catastrophic injury to his legs and Sam Witwicky (played by Shia LeBeouf), amid all the jarring conflict and turmoil surrounding him in the war-torn streets, vows not to leave his fallen friend and protector. That moment provided a very human emotional context to the film that the cartoon was famous for.
ROTF offers nothing of the sort. The robots truly are empty characters. Even noble Optimus and evil Megatron seem more cartoonish by their actions and dialogue on screen than their original animated counterparts. And the one group of characters that should provide a human context to the movie, namely the humans, becomes charicatures of themselves or comedic fodder set against the backdrop of The Transformers story.
Even the on-going love saga between Sam and Mikaela (portrayed by Megan Fox...and yes, despite where my review is heading, she alone IS worth the price of at least matinee admission) seemed to lose it's direction throughout but then miraculously found it's way back on the road each time until spiraling out of control in the inevitable and predictable lovelorn climax.
The movie does not take itself seriously...really ever...and when the opportunity to inject humor into the script does avail itself, it almost seems forced and inappropriate. Jar-Jar Binks haters can put down their "boobas" and refocus their hatred on not just one, but two Binks-esque characters in Mud Flaps and his goofy twin whose name escapes me at the moment (I think it might be Curb Feelers or Fuzzy Dice or something like that). Their antics throughout the film are a total distraction.
I would have rather seen the half-hour or so of wasted screen time on those two cretins, the Jetfire sequence, the story of the Primes, Sam's idiot roommate at college, and the time spent in Transformers heaven (can't take credit for that one...thanks Matty) on more action, or better yet... interaction, with the Autobots and Decepticons.
I realize that you can't blindly recreate the cartoon with real-life settings and actors, and I also understand that a movie further exploring the personalities of these robots would probably make for extremely boring theater.
I just know that for a summer movie, REVENGE OF THE FALLEN passes the eyes and ears test, but as a Transformers fan, this franchise needs a complete overhaul.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
You Know You're Getting Old When...
June 2, 2009
There are three constants in the world: every new episode of The Simpsons will blow puppy chow, there will always be one really dreadful singer cut from the first audition episode who actually thinks they really were good enough to be the next American Idol, and we all get old.
And it's not just the physical things like hair loss, weight gain, arteries hardening, and stools softening that mark the passage of time. It's the experiences and memories you absorb over your lifetime...or more importantly, who you share those memories with and why they have no idea what you're talking about.
Case in point, last year at a pageant I told a young college-aged woman I knew that her sheer pink and red lace outfit reminded me of "I Dream of Jeanie" to which I got from her the old Scooby Doo, "RRUHHH?" (And if you do not know who Scooby Doo is then I've further illustrated my point.)
Do you realize that if I had kids right now (well, first I'd want to put my head in an oven but secondly...) that they would be born into a world where the vinyl record has been replaced by an ITune, the record player replaced by an IPod, the TV replaced by You Tube, and the VCR replaced by the Blu Ray? Would they even know how to operate a phone with a dial? No, but I guarantee they could pop out of the womb with the ability to send text messages (and finally show me how to turn my cell phone on vibrate).
Growing up I actually used to have a pen pal in Utah that I would trade letters with once a month. Now I have Facebook friends all over the world within arms length and I don't even think I know half of them! What the hell is tweeting? What happened to newspapers? Even the pager is outmoded now! I remember when Blackberrys used to be something to put in pies...he said, hiking his grandpa pants up to his man boobs.
I'm only 36 and do consider myself a technically adroit person. I listen to modern music! Sure it's from 2001 but that was only...holy crap that was almost ten years ago! Oh man, the movie Forrest Gump is 15 years old now...I just saw that in the theater, didn't I? Return of the Jedi is now 26 years old...and I was old enough at the time to pay my own way into the theater to see that!
Some younger people I talk to have never heard of Atari, the Noid, the Super Bowl Shuffle, Press Your Luck, Axel F, or Donkey Kong! And things that used to be popular in my childhood, like the Transformers or the powder blue Toronto Blue Jays jerseys, are now coming back because "retro" is cool. Things in my life are now retro? Oh, gag me with a spoon!
I guess I can be grateful that I'm not completely over the hill yet. There are still players older than me that I followed when I was younger still playing professional sports like Chris Chelios and John Smoltz...boy, is that it? Well at least bands like the Rolling Stones and the Eagles are still going strong...right? Right?
If you're reading this, and you're young and can help me...please, I'm begging you. I need a crash course in modern life. Tweet me, blog me, text me. You can even call me, that is if you kids still do that.
Please, I don't want to start eating dinner at 4pm and complaining about the government...lousy crooks. Oh no, it's happening...
There are three constants in the world: every new episode of The Simpsons will blow puppy chow, there will always be one really dreadful singer cut from the first audition episode who actually thinks they really were good enough to be the next American Idol, and we all get old.
And it's not just the physical things like hair loss, weight gain, arteries hardening, and stools softening that mark the passage of time. It's the experiences and memories you absorb over your lifetime...or more importantly, who you share those memories with and why they have no idea what you're talking about.
Case in point, last year at a pageant I told a young college-aged woman I knew that her sheer pink and red lace outfit reminded me of "I Dream of Jeanie" to which I got from her the old Scooby Doo, "RRUHHH?" (And if you do not know who Scooby Doo is then I've further illustrated my point.)
Do you realize that if I had kids right now (well, first I'd want to put my head in an oven but secondly...) that they would be born into a world where the vinyl record has been replaced by an ITune, the record player replaced by an IPod, the TV replaced by You Tube, and the VCR replaced by the Blu Ray? Would they even know how to operate a phone with a dial? No, but I guarantee they could pop out of the womb with the ability to send text messages (and finally show me how to turn my cell phone on vibrate).
Growing up I actually used to have a pen pal in Utah that I would trade letters with once a month. Now I have Facebook friends all over the world within arms length and I don't even think I know half of them! What the hell is tweeting? What happened to newspapers? Even the pager is outmoded now! I remember when Blackberrys used to be something to put in pies...he said, hiking his grandpa pants up to his man boobs.
I'm only 36 and do consider myself a technically adroit person. I listen to modern music! Sure it's from 2001 but that was only...holy crap that was almost ten years ago! Oh man, the movie Forrest Gump is 15 years old now...I just saw that in the theater, didn't I? Return of the Jedi is now 26 years old...and I was old enough at the time to pay my own way into the theater to see that!
Some younger people I talk to have never heard of Atari, the Noid, the Super Bowl Shuffle, Press Your Luck, Axel F, or Donkey Kong! And things that used to be popular in my childhood, like the Transformers or the powder blue Toronto Blue Jays jerseys, are now coming back because "retro" is cool. Things in my life are now retro? Oh, gag me with a spoon!
I guess I can be grateful that I'm not completely over the hill yet. There are still players older than me that I followed when I was younger still playing professional sports like Chris Chelios and John Smoltz...boy, is that it? Well at least bands like the Rolling Stones and the Eagles are still going strong...right? Right?
If you're reading this, and you're young and can help me...please, I'm begging you. I need a crash course in modern life. Tweet me, blog me, text me. You can even call me, that is if you kids still do that.
Please, I don't want to start eating dinner at 4pm and complaining about the government...lousy crooks. Oh no, it's happening...
Summer Movie Review - STAR TREK
May 18, 2009
When last we left you, our hero Jason left his legions of blog-o-philes on a cliffhanger teasing a summer movie review of STAR TREK. Lets pick up the action now:
So...yeah. Here it is.
Now I will say that I cannot be an impartial reviewer of this movie or really anything having to do with Star Trek. For all my 36 years I have been a Star Trek nut! Granted Star Wars is my passion but Star Trek has always been the "steady girlfriend" who is always there for you. Maybe it's because Star Trek never goes away for 15 years at a time, Mr. George "I-Want-to-Spend-Time-With-My-Kids-So-I-Don't-Have-Time-to-Make-New-Star-Wars-Movies-But-I-Do-Have-Time-to-Make-Howard-The-Duck" Lucas. (I'm not bitter or anything.)
No, it's just that until very recently Star Trek really has never left the collective consciousness of my generation. I grew up with the reruns of the original TV series. Then we watched creator Gene Roddenberry successfully move the original franchise to the silver screen (albeit disjointedly with an ever-changing clown college of directors including both William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy...yikes). The popularity of the first four Star Trek films spawned the need for a Star Trek franchise for The Next Generation, so enter Jean-Luc Picard onto the deck of a new USS Enterprise. After time ravaged the original cast in the next two films and with the ST: TNG franchise going where no man had gone before, Rick Berman took the late Roddenberry's brainchild to theaters again for four more films. Other TV spin-offs ensued including Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise until the latter went dark a couple of years ago.
The most recent three small screen serials aside, Trekkies (wonderful bunch of people, if you can stand to be seen with them in any public setting for more than five minutes) will debate you tooth and nail on the relative merits of which of the Big Two TV franchises is superior: Kirk's crew or The Next Generation. While I feel there are arguments to be made for and against on both sides (sure you could see the strings holding up the Klingon ships in the 1960's show but come on...it's James T. Kirk!) there can be no doubting the universal love and admiration for Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov and Uhura...not to mention all those poor "red shirts" who time and again met their untimely demise on all those away missions simply by making poor wardrobe choices.
I will admit I am no fan of J.J. Abrams overly stylistic method of storytelling. As much as I liked the original season of Lost, that series needed to crash land a long time ago; so to say I was confident in his ability to add something new to this treasured entity in prequel form would be like a Ferengi donating the profits of a deal to United Way (just trust me, it's funny.)
I WAS WRONG!
This may have been one of the best commercial ventures ever to bear the STAR TREK name! Not only did this movie have more heart-pounding, phaser blasting action than all ten of the previous films combined, it completely delivered on character exposition and advancing the story. In fact it over-delivered...and that was so great!
My concern for Abrams not treating the original storyline with reverence in favor of his typical uber-stylization was quickly put to rest mere minutes into the movie because he masterfully space-walked a very fine line between both and it worked!
Brilliant job of casting. The ensemble cast of mostly unknowns works on so many levels. One character does not overshadow another because of their que-rating which is often the case when a big name actor is brought in. All of these actors pay amazing homage to their predecessors with their performances while not attempting to precisely mimic every little nuance. Although I must say that Karl Urban, who portrays Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in this movie, does an outstanding DeForest Kelley (the original Bones).
I know this is supposed to be a review but I really don't want to give too much away! The special effects are top notch! The story is grounded in Star Trek lore but does not take itself so seriously that it can't be a fun ride!
If I do have one criticism, it would be that some of the die-hard Trekkies (and I mean the Spock ear wearing, convention regulars who are encyclopedias of Star Trek knowledge and trivia) might feel as though they're being given the middle finger for all of their patronage over the years after the film's conclusion. It's not a blatant slap in the face...it's very subtle. Again, I don't want to spoil too much here but embrace the concept that the ultimate conclusion to this movie now enables Trekkies to enjoy an entirely new set of adventures with the original crew without the constraints of the show's well established but limiting history.
GO!!! NOW!!! See this movie! If you're not a Star Trek fan, go see this movie! If you're not even a sci-fi fan...go see this movie! And if you are a fan, go see it and then go see it again!
Trekkies rejoice - it's now cool to love Star Trek! Just keep the fake ears and Klingon masks at home. Cool has it's limits. :)
When last we left you, our hero Jason left his legions of blog-o-philes on a cliffhanger teasing a summer movie review of STAR TREK. Lets pick up the action now:
So...yeah. Here it is.
Now I will say that I cannot be an impartial reviewer of this movie or really anything having to do with Star Trek. For all my 36 years I have been a Star Trek nut! Granted Star Wars is my passion but Star Trek has always been the "steady girlfriend" who is always there for you. Maybe it's because Star Trek never goes away for 15 years at a time, Mr. George "I-Want-to-Spend-Time-With-My-Kids-So-I-Don't-Have-Time-to-Make-New-Star-Wars-Movies-But-I-Do-Have-Time-to-Make-Howard-The-Duck" Lucas. (I'm not bitter or anything.)
No, it's just that until very recently Star Trek really has never left the collective consciousness of my generation. I grew up with the reruns of the original TV series. Then we watched creator Gene Roddenberry successfully move the original franchise to the silver screen (albeit disjointedly with an ever-changing clown college of directors including both William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy...yikes). The popularity of the first four Star Trek films spawned the need for a Star Trek franchise for The Next Generation, so enter Jean-Luc Picard onto the deck of a new USS Enterprise. After time ravaged the original cast in the next two films and with the ST: TNG franchise going where no man had gone before, Rick Berman took the late Roddenberry's brainchild to theaters again for four more films. Other TV spin-offs ensued including Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise until the latter went dark a couple of years ago.
The most recent three small screen serials aside, Trekkies (wonderful bunch of people, if you can stand to be seen with them in any public setting for more than five minutes) will debate you tooth and nail on the relative merits of which of the Big Two TV franchises is superior: Kirk's crew or The Next Generation. While I feel there are arguments to be made for and against on both sides (sure you could see the strings holding up the Klingon ships in the 1960's show but come on...it's James T. Kirk!) there can be no doubting the universal love and admiration for Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov and Uhura...not to mention all those poor "red shirts" who time and again met their untimely demise on all those away missions simply by making poor wardrobe choices.
I will admit I am no fan of J.J. Abrams overly stylistic method of storytelling. As much as I liked the original season of Lost, that series needed to crash land a long time ago; so to say I was confident in his ability to add something new to this treasured entity in prequel form would be like a Ferengi donating the profits of a deal to United Way (just trust me, it's funny.)
I WAS WRONG!
This may have been one of the best commercial ventures ever to bear the STAR TREK name! Not only did this movie have more heart-pounding, phaser blasting action than all ten of the previous films combined, it completely delivered on character exposition and advancing the story. In fact it over-delivered...and that was so great!
My concern for Abrams not treating the original storyline with reverence in favor of his typical uber-stylization was quickly put to rest mere minutes into the movie because he masterfully space-walked a very fine line between both and it worked!
Brilliant job of casting. The ensemble cast of mostly unknowns works on so many levels. One character does not overshadow another because of their que-rating which is often the case when a big name actor is brought in. All of these actors pay amazing homage to their predecessors with their performances while not attempting to precisely mimic every little nuance. Although I must say that Karl Urban, who portrays Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in this movie, does an outstanding DeForest Kelley (the original Bones).
I know this is supposed to be a review but I really don't want to give too much away! The special effects are top notch! The story is grounded in Star Trek lore but does not take itself so seriously that it can't be a fun ride!
If I do have one criticism, it would be that some of the die-hard Trekkies (and I mean the Spock ear wearing, convention regulars who are encyclopedias of Star Trek knowledge and trivia) might feel as though they're being given the middle finger for all of their patronage over the years after the film's conclusion. It's not a blatant slap in the face...it's very subtle. Again, I don't want to spoil too much here but embrace the concept that the ultimate conclusion to this movie now enables Trekkies to enjoy an entirely new set of adventures with the original crew without the constraints of the show's well established but limiting history.
GO!!! NOW!!! See this movie! If you're not a Star Trek fan, go see this movie! If you're not even a sci-fi fan...go see this movie! And if you are a fan, go see it and then go see it again!
Trekkies rejoice - it's now cool to love Star Trek! Just keep the fake ears and Klingon masks at home. Cool has it's limits. :)
Summer Movie Review - X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE
May 10, 2009
While I may not have the biting witicism of a Roger Ebert or the perfectly quaffed mustache and hair-do matched set of Gene Shalit, I do know what I like when it comes to summer movies.
Granted were not talking about Oscar-caliber, plot-intensive, exposition pieces fit for your typical book discussion group over Earl Gray tea and finger sandwiches. These are SUMMER movies people! It's check your brain at the door and mainline the entertainment factor. Surprisingly though the two flicks I have seen thus far not only deliver on the wow and the pow but they also do a marvelous job of telling and really advancing their storylines.
Lets begin with X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE. I will be the first to admit I love Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Even though the previous three installments of the X-Men movies collectively left me a bit wanting, I definitely felt Jackman's portrayal of the animalistic, ascerbic and yet closet-compassionate Logan carried those films. Having grown up with that comic book I always imagined Wolverine's voice, mannerisms and attitude on-screen would have a certain edge to it without being borderline psychopathic. Jackman definitely is the incarnation of the Chris Claremont, John Byrne or Frank Miller character come to life!
I loved seeing the early story of Logan from his childhood days when he first discovers his mutant abilities (that of quick healing powers and a set of bone claws protruding from each of his hands). Secrets revealing his actual age and family history (particularly his relationship with arch-nemesis Sabretooth) are definite treats for the "die-hards". I'm also pleased with the manner in which the director portrays Logan's not-so-distant past by using the opening credits as a vehicle to stylistically reveal a long and jaded history of serving country and cause in combat in a series of wars from Revolutionary times to Vietnam.
Much like Batman Begins, seeing the process of how Logan was transformed into Weapon X (his Canadian Special Ops surname), including the brutal method in which his skeleton was bonded with the indestructable metal adamantium, was extremely cool to see.
It finishes strong with a couple of nice "easter eggs" for the die-hards including an unexpected cameo by an old friend from the original three movies as well as some nice foreshadowing to the content of a potential sequel (rejoice fans of the Frank Miller Wolverine four-book mini-series); that is, if you're patient enough to stay through all the credits.
Like it's featured hero, this movie is not perfect. The combat sequences throughout the film, though exhilirating, for the most part really seemed far too fantastic to believe. Granted were talking about a super hero movie here but I just felt some of the action seemed a bit too cartoonish or even laughable. Movies like The Dark Knight and the original Spiderman have amazing action sequences but are grounded in a certain air of realism as well. I think this movie misses the mark with that.
With the exception of Sabretooth, the other mutant characters in this movie are fairly shallow players in advancing the story significantly. Reme Lebeau (aka Gambit) and the Blob are really the only two notables from the original books. I was hoping for a stroll down memory lane with Logan's old pal Jimmy Hudson as Guardian, the original leader of the Canadian based Alpha Flight that Wolverine had ties to in the comic series. (Or maybe I just wanted to see how that skin-tight Canadian flag body suit would look on the big screen.)
Also, if I can put my "Comic Book Guy" from The Simpsons hat on here, I thought the CGI on Wolverine's claws was weak. (Worst CGI ever!) Could they not find someone to try and find some metal swatches to photo-realistically match the computer generated claws to? I know that's picky but they did it in the other three movies.
Two things I'm not big on in my summer action movies...kids (see also: Indiana Jones' Short-Round and Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace's Anakin Skywalker) and love stories. While the kid factor was fairly absent from this movie (with the exception of a younger Scott Summers revealing the origin of another X-Men alum, Cyclops) the love story was very prevalent and very misplaced. I understand the need to foreshadow the origin of some of Logan's animal rage but it definitely seemed very manufactured; and in typical Hollywood style they managed to play the old soap opera-esque "shell game" with your mind on that one too (i.e. Tony Almeida's amazing recovery from death in this past season of 24). You'll see what I mean when you go to see it.
I don't assign stars or thumbs or anything in my movie reviews but I definitely do encourage you to see this movie! You'll certainly appreciate it more if you're already a veteran fan of the movies or the comic but even newbies I think can enjoy X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE for what it is - a blow you out the back of the theater summer action movie.
STAR TREK review next time...that's what we call a tease.
While I may not have the biting witicism of a Roger Ebert or the perfectly quaffed mustache and hair-do matched set of Gene Shalit, I do know what I like when it comes to summer movies.
Granted were not talking about Oscar-caliber, plot-intensive, exposition pieces fit for your typical book discussion group over Earl Gray tea and finger sandwiches. These are SUMMER movies people! It's check your brain at the door and mainline the entertainment factor. Surprisingly though the two flicks I have seen thus far not only deliver on the wow and the pow but they also do a marvelous job of telling and really advancing their storylines.
Lets begin with X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE. I will be the first to admit I love Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Even though the previous three installments of the X-Men movies collectively left me a bit wanting, I definitely felt Jackman's portrayal of the animalistic, ascerbic and yet closet-compassionate Logan carried those films. Having grown up with that comic book I always imagined Wolverine's voice, mannerisms and attitude on-screen would have a certain edge to it without being borderline psychopathic. Jackman definitely is the incarnation of the Chris Claremont, John Byrne or Frank Miller character come to life!
I loved seeing the early story of Logan from his childhood days when he first discovers his mutant abilities (that of quick healing powers and a set of bone claws protruding from each of his hands). Secrets revealing his actual age and family history (particularly his relationship with arch-nemesis Sabretooth) are definite treats for the "die-hards". I'm also pleased with the manner in which the director portrays Logan's not-so-distant past by using the opening credits as a vehicle to stylistically reveal a long and jaded history of serving country and cause in combat in a series of wars from Revolutionary times to Vietnam.
Much like Batman Begins, seeing the process of how Logan was transformed into Weapon X (his Canadian Special Ops surname), including the brutal method in which his skeleton was bonded with the indestructable metal adamantium, was extremely cool to see.
It finishes strong with a couple of nice "easter eggs" for the die-hards including an unexpected cameo by an old friend from the original three movies as well as some nice foreshadowing to the content of a potential sequel (rejoice fans of the Frank Miller Wolverine four-book mini-series); that is, if you're patient enough to stay through all the credits.
Like it's featured hero, this movie is not perfect. The combat sequences throughout the film, though exhilirating, for the most part really seemed far too fantastic to believe. Granted were talking about a super hero movie here but I just felt some of the action seemed a bit too cartoonish or even laughable. Movies like The Dark Knight and the original Spiderman have amazing action sequences but are grounded in a certain air of realism as well. I think this movie misses the mark with that.
With the exception of Sabretooth, the other mutant characters in this movie are fairly shallow players in advancing the story significantly. Reme Lebeau (aka Gambit) and the Blob are really the only two notables from the original books. I was hoping for a stroll down memory lane with Logan's old pal Jimmy Hudson as Guardian, the original leader of the Canadian based Alpha Flight that Wolverine had ties to in the comic series. (Or maybe I just wanted to see how that skin-tight Canadian flag body suit would look on the big screen.)
Also, if I can put my "Comic Book Guy" from The Simpsons hat on here, I thought the CGI on Wolverine's claws was weak. (Worst CGI ever!) Could they not find someone to try and find some metal swatches to photo-realistically match the computer generated claws to? I know that's picky but they did it in the other three movies.
Two things I'm not big on in my summer action movies...kids (see also: Indiana Jones' Short-Round and Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace's Anakin Skywalker) and love stories. While the kid factor was fairly absent from this movie (with the exception of a younger Scott Summers revealing the origin of another X-Men alum, Cyclops) the love story was very prevalent and very misplaced. I understand the need to foreshadow the origin of some of Logan's animal rage but it definitely seemed very manufactured; and in typical Hollywood style they managed to play the old soap opera-esque "shell game" with your mind on that one too (i.e. Tony Almeida's amazing recovery from death in this past season of 24). You'll see what I mean when you go to see it.
I don't assign stars or thumbs or anything in my movie reviews but I definitely do encourage you to see this movie! You'll certainly appreciate it more if you're already a veteran fan of the movies or the comic but even newbies I think can enjoy X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE for what it is - a blow you out the back of the theater summer action movie.
STAR TREK review next time...that's what we call a tease.
Piling On
April 22, 2009
Welcome to "Attempted Blog" #36 or so - meaning that this is at least the 36th time in my life that I have made an effort to organize the exceedingly dwindling number of cogent thoughts bouncing around my head into blog form. Of course back in the day, during my initial few attempts at this kind of venture, when Zoobas were all the rave, cell phones (then known as mobile phones and were the size of TV remotes) were used just to make phone calls and En Vogue was still...well, en vogue, we called blogs "journals" and blogspots consisted of college ruled notebook paper, this magical instrument called a pen and the ability to covertly deliver this thrice folded sheet of paper to your snickering classmates sitting behind you.
And while I have no doubt that technology's helping hand will probably facilitate a streak of personal blogs lasting longer than two, I think I've also hit a juncture where not only am I comfortable sharing the various little "piles" in my life (hence the name - more on that in a moment) with other people but I also, for the first time in a long time, feel like I have something meaningful to share. Whether it's a rant about some burning geo-political issue threatening to tear the world asunder or just trying to figure out if the cashier at the grocery store is a she-male, it's important to me to get my thoughts out of my head and into my blog.
As a writer with a track record of past success professionally (by "success" I mean I earned a paycheck for my writing and by "track record" I mean I earned more than one) I can attest to the veracity of how the writing process can be very cathartic for the mind and liberating for the spirit. I have also heard from multiple sources that journaling (blogging, whatever) can be very therapeutic for oneself as well (I just wish my therapist would have been one of those sources especially before I racked up a huge tab with him). So I'm going to embrace those concepts once again and give this blog thing another shot.
As for the origins behind the name of the blog, I'm not deeply philosophic about a lot of things especially when it comes to life. I try not to look for complex metaphors for life nor do I seek out that warm, fuzzy tripe that fuels what's left of the flailing bumper sticker business ("Life's a beach, dude"...oh, bite my ass.) I have recently come to the conclusion that if you spend too much time trying to understand life or figure out life or define life then that process ends up defining you.
So for me, the best way I can define life (and then move on with it) is...life is a bunch of piles of stuff.
We all have piles of stuff, don't we? Everyone - young and old, rich and poor, smart and stupid - they all have their piles. Even the most obsessive-compulsive, organized person in the world has a pile somewhere. Whether it's piles of material things...piles of clothes...piles of paperwork...piles of bills...piles of personal experiences...piles of knowledge...piles of obligations...piles of issues...piles of feelings...piles of angst...piles of love...we all have our piles. Everyday we add and subtract from those piles and we're always trying to find things in those piles to help us live our lives better.
Some of the piles we have control over and some we don't. We can certainly whittle down some and get rid of some all together. We can shove the big piles in closets and desk drawers or sweep them under the rug. We can dress the uglier piles up and make them look pretty for others to see. With a little effort, we can even make our piles disappear completely, if for only a few scant moments.
But there will always be piles of stuff in our life and ultimately it is our piles that define who we are and you can't hide from them. Embrace them with a big bear hug! They are what makes you uniquely you!
The great thing is, since everyone in the world has piles, you are not alone in your struggle to manage them. Most of us have friends or family that can help manage our piles and often times contribute to their distinctiveness. And if you're lucky, eventually during the process of managing these piles you will stumble across that one special person who no matter how dissheveled you feel your piles may be will want to combine their piles with your's into one big pile and share that with you forever.
So that's why I'm here. To share my piles with the world...or at least anyone who gives a crap. The great thing about the Internet is if you don't like what you see, there's a back button with your name on it waiting to be pushed. My piles are not perfect. In fact, far from it. I have some piles that would put Gomer, Goober and even Denver to shame (apologies for the bad dated TV references). But what's mine is your's so if you like what you see, come back and sift through some of my other piles of stuff. There's got to be something you like.
My hope for everyone reading this is that my piles of stuff contribute positively to your life's piles and my wish for everyone is that you all find that special person (whether it be wife/husband, girlfriend/boyfriend, dog/cat, or just good friend) to share your pile with.
Now where did I put my ENTER key...oh yeah, here it is. Enjoy!
Welcome to "Attempted Blog" #36 or so - meaning that this is at least the 36th time in my life that I have made an effort to organize the exceedingly dwindling number of cogent thoughts bouncing around my head into blog form. Of course back in the day, during my initial few attempts at this kind of venture, when Zoobas were all the rave, cell phones (then known as mobile phones and were the size of TV remotes) were used just to make phone calls and En Vogue was still...well, en vogue, we called blogs "journals" and blogspots consisted of college ruled notebook paper, this magical instrument called a pen and the ability to covertly deliver this thrice folded sheet of paper to your snickering classmates sitting behind you.
And while I have no doubt that technology's helping hand will probably facilitate a streak of personal blogs lasting longer than two, I think I've also hit a juncture where not only am I comfortable sharing the various little "piles" in my life (hence the name - more on that in a moment) with other people but I also, for the first time in a long time, feel like I have something meaningful to share. Whether it's a rant about some burning geo-political issue threatening to tear the world asunder or just trying to figure out if the cashier at the grocery store is a she-male, it's important to me to get my thoughts out of my head and into my blog.
As a writer with a track record of past success professionally (by "success" I mean I earned a paycheck for my writing and by "track record" I mean I earned more than one) I can attest to the veracity of how the writing process can be very cathartic for the mind and liberating for the spirit. I have also heard from multiple sources that journaling (blogging, whatever) can be very therapeutic for oneself as well (I just wish my therapist would have been one of those sources especially before I racked up a huge tab with him). So I'm going to embrace those concepts once again and give this blog thing another shot.
As for the origins behind the name of the blog, I'm not deeply philosophic about a lot of things especially when it comes to life. I try not to look for complex metaphors for life nor do I seek out that warm, fuzzy tripe that fuels what's left of the flailing bumper sticker business ("Life's a beach, dude"...oh, bite my ass.) I have recently come to the conclusion that if you spend too much time trying to understand life or figure out life or define life then that process ends up defining you.
So for me, the best way I can define life (and then move on with it) is...life is a bunch of piles of stuff.
We all have piles of stuff, don't we? Everyone - young and old, rich and poor, smart and stupid - they all have their piles. Even the most obsessive-compulsive, organized person in the world has a pile somewhere. Whether it's piles of material things...piles of clothes...piles of paperwork...piles of bills...piles of personal experiences...piles of knowledge...piles of obligations...piles of issues...piles of feelings...piles of angst...piles of love...we all have our piles. Everyday we add and subtract from those piles and we're always trying to find things in those piles to help us live our lives better.
Some of the piles we have control over and some we don't. We can certainly whittle down some and get rid of some all together. We can shove the big piles in closets and desk drawers or sweep them under the rug. We can dress the uglier piles up and make them look pretty for others to see. With a little effort, we can even make our piles disappear completely, if for only a few scant moments.
But there will always be piles of stuff in our life and ultimately it is our piles that define who we are and you can't hide from them. Embrace them with a big bear hug! They are what makes you uniquely you!
The great thing is, since everyone in the world has piles, you are not alone in your struggle to manage them. Most of us have friends or family that can help manage our piles and often times contribute to their distinctiveness. And if you're lucky, eventually during the process of managing these piles you will stumble across that one special person who no matter how dissheveled you feel your piles may be will want to combine their piles with your's into one big pile and share that with you forever.
So that's why I'm here. To share my piles with the world...or at least anyone who gives a crap. The great thing about the Internet is if you don't like what you see, there's a back button with your name on it waiting to be pushed. My piles are not perfect. In fact, far from it. I have some piles that would put Gomer, Goober and even Denver to shame (apologies for the bad dated TV references). But what's mine is your's so if you like what you see, come back and sift through some of my other piles of stuff. There's got to be something you like.
My hope for everyone reading this is that my piles of stuff contribute positively to your life's piles and my wish for everyone is that you all find that special person (whether it be wife/husband, girlfriend/boyfriend, dog/cat, or just good friend) to share your pile with.
Now where did I put my ENTER key...oh yeah, here it is. Enjoy!
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