Movie Review: Wolverine

Ok, so I will admit - I love X-Men movies - they are fun and always have a great sense of humor. And I've been looking forward to seeing Wolverine for about a year now. So, the negative reviews that were inundating Google news all this week did little to dampen my enthusiasm for the movie. And I am happy to report - now that I've seen X-Men Origins: Wolverine- my enthusiasm remains undiminished. As the woman said in the bathroom after the movie - it was like a chick flick only with fight scenes.

In the opening of the movie we are introduced to sickly Jimmy Logan, his loving father, and his glowering brother Victor Creed. Things don't start to well for the family and soon we are racing through American history with highlights of the two brothers fighting in every major American War. It soon become clear that Victor has a major personality disorder and enjoyed the fighting, killing and ravaging of women a bit too much and the brothers end up imprisoned, only to be recruited by an evil Army Colonel Stryker. And things go on from there.

So why do we call this a chick movie. Well it's amazing just how frequently Logan has to shed his shirt, and in several scenes that thrilled all the women in the audience all his clothes - though careful to retain the PG-13 rating for the movie. And Hugh Jackman finally has a love interest that does not try to kill him (see the last X-Men movie and his encounter with the Phoenix).

And the other mutants that are added, and in some cases dispatched, during the movie are also quite entertaining. Liev Shrieber as Logan's brother Victor (Sabretooth) is quite riveting. My friend and I were quite entranced with the character of Gambit and are prepared to campaign for an Origins movie for that character, and Ryan Reynolds did a great job as Wade, later to be known as Deadpool (though in the credits Deadpool is played by a different actor so there was a bit of confusion on exactly what took place there.

So if you want a fun summer movie with great action, humor and thrills - go see Wolverine. Two tips - stay through all the credits. After the first set of credits there is a clip. And many people thought that was the piece they were staying for and left. We stayed to the bitter end and were rewarded in the very last moment with a fabulous segment that you must see.

Movie Review: Duplicity

I took a mental health day yesterday. I was, quite frankly, wiped out from our Savvy Geek Chix event on Tuesday night. The event was great but doing the Resume Clinic and moderating the panel, all after working a full day - well suffice it to say I was tuckered out. So after lunch with one friend, a little shopping at Michaels for crafty goodies, I headed to the movies with Marina to see Duplicity.

I'm not sure I can even do a summary of the movie and do it any kind of justice without giving away all the intricate plotting. From the commercials you know Julia Roberts and Clive Owen are former spies plotting against (or perhaps with) each other and working for rival companies (or is it the same company)? Suffice it to say that the twists and turns of this movie are what make it really entertaining and engrossing. I will confess that at one key point Marina and I turned to each other simultaneously and said at the exact same time - "I'm confused". Then we both laughed and kept on going. And yes at that moment all I could think is "What????" But if you stick it out all is made clear at the end. And along the way you get an incredibly well acted and entertaining movie. Julia Roberts was good - still the movie star with the mile wide smile though I couldn't help but wonder if she'd somehow had her lips done - they looked a little over inflated and less well defined than they used to. And since they did A LOT of closeups of her you did spend a lot of time seeing her mouth.

Clive Owen on the other hand was a revelation. I've had a passion for all things Clive ever since he first appeared on the screen in Godsford Park. He's a lovely lovely man who only gets better with age. He looked equally good in impeccable suits or jeans or a towel. And he's funny, charming, and gorgeous throughout. People Magazine's review nailed it in one line - Clive Owen is sex on a stick.

So I give this movie a big definitely go see it. And yes, take your significant other - they'll like it too.

Oscar Sunday

It's always interesting to read about the strategies around promoting an Oscar nominee. Will anyone forget the year that Shakespeare in Love beat Saving Private Ryan? Or that one of the biggest movies of all time, The Dark Knight, didn't get nominated for Best Picture; while the Reader - which no one saw did? But none of that matters to me on Oscar night.

I love movies and the Oscars is my Superbowl. I hunker down and hardly move my eyes throughout - feasting on the sight of all the celebrities trying not to look upset when they lose and wondering if anyone is going to just pop right out of their dress (yes you Sarah Jessica Parker).

This year I found myself in an odd position. I had hardly seen any of the nominated movies. Slumdog Millionaire I'd skipped because everyone who would see it had seen it without me and many people weren't that interested. I assumed I'd catch it on Netflix - never thinking that such a tiny underdog of a movie with no celebrities and mostly in Hindi would win. I was wrong. The Reader I skipped because I'd read the book and I'd figured out the secret in the first 20 pages. I spent most of the book wondering how stupid all the characters were for not figuring it out sooner. The Wrestler I was warned off of by my boyfriend since he knows I do not like movies that involve anything sharp coming into contact with people's faces - no staplers, no razors - Ick. And Frost/Nixon just didn't capture my attention - I'd seen the real interviews so seeing them re-enacted was not of interest. I did see Milk and the Curious Case of Benjamin Button - and I rooted for Curious the whole evening.

The overall broadcast was quite fun - though the medley of songs in the middle was just a mess. I'd rather hear a whole song than lots of tiny bits of ones. And while I love John Legend, I would much rather have heard Peter Gabriel sing his nominated song than just hear bits of it mixed in with the other two Best Song nominees. The best part of the broadcast were the actor and actress awards when past winners came out - each to honor one of the nominees. The looks on each nominees face as they were praised were priceless. The look on Anne Hathaways face, Meryl Streep's glow, Robert DeNiro's joke - were all priceless. In this one instance it was just enough to be a nominee.

So I give Hugh Jackman a big thumbs up and I appreciate the Oscars for honoring the whole year in movies - from the highlights of various film genres throughout the evening to the great opening number with Anne Hathaway. And it was nice that for once it was only 3 1/2 hours long as opposed to 5 hours. However my number one question of the evening went unanswered - did Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie ever encounter each other in the ladies room and did Jennifer finally clock Angelina?

Movie Marketing: All The Award Shows

Unless you are completely oblivious to the media you know that we are in that crazy time of the year, award show season. Now is the time as we huddle for warmth in our homes (because we've turned down the heat to conserve energy and our dollars) that we settle in and watch all the beautiful people walk the red carpet and receive their awards.

Of course, it's all about marketing. The stars turn out so they can promote their movie which is either in the theatres now or about to come out on DVD. It's all about making money.

Last night's SAG awards was entertaining since it acknowledged not the films themselves (though people did talk about them) but their casts. Mike and I missed the first hour but thoroughly enjoyed watching the second hour. As huge fans of Mad Men we were thrilled to see it win best cast for a TV series - and we totally agree. Of course after the speech we went into a discussion of exactly how long it was until the next season of Mad Men started and would it be adversely impacted if the show creator left and exactly how old are Elizabeth Moss and Fred Armisen and how could they possibly be engaged? In fact I think we missed the next award because I had to go check IMDB for their birthdates.

So do Award Shows work? Do they get us to go to a movie or watch a TV show, or order a DVD? I'll confess - the results are mixed. Mike still can't figure out how Slumdog Millionaire is doing so well (he's seen it and didn't love it) and I'm thinking since it keeps winning perhaps I do need to go see it so I can be prepared for Oscar night. However, I'm still outraged that Gran Torino and Clint Eastwood have been overlooked - so I'm discounting somewhat the award shows intelligence. Sean Penn winning for Milk was understandable since I had seen it - but since Mike remembers it all vividly, since he lived in the Bay Area at the time, he's not as inclined to see it. I will confess - I'm going to have to add that John Adams Series to my Netflix list - with as many wins as it's had it is probably worth my time.

Christmas Movies - A Marketer falls for the hype

Ok I admit it, I'm a movie junkie. I have been since I was a kid and saw my first movie - Mary Poppins. Then two years went by and I got to see Dr. Dolittle. Remember this was the 60's when there weren't new movies opening every week - at least not for kids. As the years have passed I've seen more and more movies - though these days I'm more likely to watch them on Netflix.

But every time I get together with my friend Kathy our first activity is to review all the movies in the newspaper and make our list. What are we going to see? Which movie will make the cut and which one will be left behind, so long The Punisher 2, hello Benjamin Button.

This year we found ourselves stymied - not that many movies we wanted to see. We were not impressed by the overabundance of Nazi/Holocaust movies that came out. I was not impressed by the Valkyrie preview in which I barely kept from yelling at the screen - hey all you Nazi's he's an American, he doesn't have a british accent; I'd read The Reader and knowing the twist (which is apparent to me from about page 20 of the book but takes the author years to figure out) it was not of interest. And while Kathy was enthusiastic about the Boy in the Striped Pajamas - it was only showing at 9:45 p.m. for two days then disappeared altogether - I could not quite bear to spoil the holidays sobbing about a child in a concentration camp.

So after much debate we settled on 4 movies - The Day the Earth Stood Still, Milk, 7 Pounds, and the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I was influenced by all the media hype, the stars and in the case of the Day the Earth Stood Still - great fondness for the original. Here are my reviews:

The Day the Earth Stood Still - Special effects were pretty cool, Keanu Reeves was not good (did he not see the original in which the fabulous Michael Rennie played an alien with charm and charisma?) and I'm sorry but in what universe in Jennifer Connelly qualified to be a scientist. Overall the movie was not good, had plot holes you could drive a truck through and we were very glad we had paid matinee prices. And being a New Jerseyan it was somewhat fun to see New Jersey get destroyed by Aliens as opposed to the long suffering LA, San Francisco and New York. My review - skip it and rent the original.

Milk - was a great movie. Not knowing anything about Harvey Milk I found the movie engrossing. And Sean Penn and James Brolin both did great jobs. I did have to wonder about Harvey's mental processes - you had James Franco and you let him go and ended up with some little crazy person? Not a good move. I have been asked by many why I didn't know about Milk. Having grown up in New Jersey and being a high school student at the time I was fairly sheltered from the happenings on the west coast. My review - see it.

Seven Pounds - ok Kathy was convinced to see it because it was Will Smith and he usually does good movies. He does great action in the summer and in the winter he does his Oscar movies and usually he does a pretty good job. Not this time. What a dreadful movie. You aren't given any context or knowledge of the characters' motivations until the end of the movie, you never really know what 7 pounds is about and I'm sorry but you can't convince me that (MAJOR SPOILER ALERT) killing yourself with a jellyfish isn't going to render your internal organs somewhat useless for transplant. It was maudlin and beyond manipulative - you could tell that in the script conference Will Smith was saying they'll be crying here. Well I didn't cry - instead I want our money back. And the 2 hours of my life I spent watching it. My review - Skip it and make sure none of your friends see it either.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - best movie of the year. If it doesn't win the Oscar for Makeup there is no justice. I loved every minute of it - well except for the fact that it was set against the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina and an old woman in a hospital narrating. Did the makers not know what happened to some of those old people - I found myself worrying in the scenes with the old woman that she was about to be euthanized. But the movie was so good I didn't fret during the scenes with Brad Pitt. I am dying to know how they got 40 something Brad Pitt to look like 16 something Brad Pitt. In this case the special effects were beyond good. I need those special effects myself. My review - I strongly recommend it.

So where does that leave us? You'd think given that two of the movies bombed and two were great that I'd be less influenced by hype - but no - I'm waiting for Clint Eastwood and Gran Torino this weekend.