Monthly Archives: August 2013
The Wolverine (2013)
The Wolverine (2013)
Recently I watched X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) for the first time and this made me more enthusiastic about seeing The Wolverine. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine has won my vote for best X-Men character.
In The Wolverine, Wolverine (Jackman) is summoned to Japan by an aging, old friend whom he saved during the war. The old man has become very rich and powerful and he wants to repay Wolverine for saving his life so long ago. However, he may have ulterior motives. When he reaches Japan, Wolverine becomes caught up in a war between his old friend’s empire and the Yakuza. Wolverine becomes weakened and for the first time faces mortality.
The film was directed by James Mangold and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Hal Yamanouchi, Ken Yamamura, Rila Fukushima, Tao Okamoto, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Hiroyuki Sanada, Brian Tee, Will Yun Lee, and Famke Janssen.
Some of what I especially liked about X-Men Origins: Wolverine is also what I liked about The Wolverine. The film was concentrated mostly on the life of just one X-Men character and therefore it was more enjoyable. You are able to feel more for Wolverine because you get to see his whole story. There is much more character development than the first 4 X-Men films and this allows the viewer to become more attached to the characters and the problems that they face. Also, not every single character in the movie was a mutant and that made the ones that were mutants more unique and therefore more likable.
In comparison to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I felt that The Wolverine was a slight step down. It was a little bit longer than it needed to be and it lacked the star power. The supporting cast does do a quality job, but there is not another actor in the film that can compete with Jackman. X-Men Origins: Wolverine had Liev Schreiber and Danny Huston. The bad guys in The Wolverine were not bad enough. They did not have as much of a screen presence. Jackman dealing with his own mortality was almost more intense than the enemies that he faced. Don’t get me wrong. The film was still very fun to watch, but bigger stars could have helped make it more powerful like X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Hugh Jackman kept reminding me of a young Clint Eastwood at times throughout the film. He was a fierce cold-blooded loaner ready to do whatever he felt was right and not caring who got in his way. Jackman is 2 inches shorter than Eastwood, who is 6’4’’, but maybe it was Jackman’s haircut, facial hair, and attitude that was reminiscent of a middle-aged Eastwood. The slight resemblance contributed in making Wolverine a helluva bad-ass to be reckoned with.
In my opinion, The Wolverine is the second best X-Men movie to date. X-Men and action movie fans alike should approve of the quality of the film. The special effects are sharp, the action is extreme, the characters are entertaining, and the movie as a whole is a blast.
I rate this movie an 8 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Buy.
Click on the link below to see a picture and read about the time when my wife and I and some friends got into a fight with Wolverine and Iron Man.
We Got Into a Fight with Wolverine and Iron Man
If you liked The Wolverine, then you should certainly enjoy X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009).
Movie Picture of the Day 8/11/13
Brad Renfro and Joseph Mazzello set out to find a cure for AIDS in the touching drama, The Cure (1995).
Movie Picture of the Day 8/10/13
Matt Dillon tries to get Stephen Dorff and Norman Reedus to shake hands in one of my all-time favorite films, Deuces Wild (2002).
Now In Theatres Movie Reviews August 9th – 15th
Now In Theatres Movie Reviews August 9th – 15th
Click here for Now In Theatres Movie Reviews August 30th – September 5th
I have not seen all of the movies that are currently in theatres right now, but I have seen and reviewed 26 of them. Some of the films have been in theatres for a while now and others are newer releases. If you are having trouble deciding what movie to see in theatres, I hope that you will consult my list for help. Movie ticket prices are pretty expensive these days, and I might be able to help save you some of your hard earned cash. My ratings will help you decide what are the best movies currently in theatres and what are the worst movies currently in theatres. Also, at the bottom of the list I have provided you with previews of movies that are out that I have not seen yet.
Click on each title below for a trailer, poster artwork, and my full review of that movie:
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Oz The Great and Powerful (2013)
The Place Beyond the Pines (2013)
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013)
Click on each title below for a preview and poster artwork of that movie along with my opinion of whether or not I think that film will be any good:
I hope that you find my reviews helpful. I will continue to update this list when I have seen more movies, so feel free to check back regularly. Also, I plan on making a new list each week as more films are released. Happy movie watching from www.brockingmovies.com
Elysium (2013)
Elysium (2013)
The Definition of Elysium is a place or condition of ideal happiness. The sci-fi film takes place in the year 2154. The earth is way overpopulated and very rundown. The poor people live on earth while the rich live on an enormous space station. The space station is a world in itself and it is rightfully named Elysium. Elysium is a man-made utopia. Life on Elysium is basically perfect. The air is better quality, and they have machines that cure most diseases and injuries. The poor people on earth desperately want to live on Elysium and the rich want to keep everyone else out. The Elysium government kills or captures intruders on site.
Max (Matt Damon) has wanted to go to Elysium his whole life. After a tragic turn of events, Max gets sick and has only a short amount of time left to live. With nothing left to lose, he decides to do everything in his power to get to Elysium and get healed or die trying.
The movie is written and directed by Neill Blomkamp and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Diego Luna, William Fichtner, Wagner Moura, Josh Blacker, Jose Pablo Cantillo, and Faran Tahir.
I hoped for more from this film. The special effects and futuristic technology in the film were outstanding, but the movie’s premise was a little shaky. The story was very predictable and I felt that not enough of it was spent on Elysium.
The film was more about trying to get to Elysium than actually taking place on Elysium and that was a little disappointing.
Foster was probably as chilling as she has ever been. She played her part almost too well.
Damon was as good as he usually is.
Copley was a fun weirdo.
Movies that are set way in the future normally show either amazing advancement in technology or the earth on the verge of destruction. This film showed both.
Overall, Elysium is an exciting, action thrill-ride complete with cool ideas and some quality acting, but a flawed story riddled with predictability. It’s a popcorn film. Sit back, relax, and you’ll probably still have a good time.
I rate this movie a 7.5 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Rent.
Movie Picture of the Day 8/9/13
Natalie Portman and Timothy Hutton have a slightly awkward friendship in the dysfunctional dramedy Beautiful Girls (1996).
Movie Picture of the Day 8/8/13
Gary Oldman‘s character is one of the best bad guys ever filmed in the movie Leon: The Professional (1994).
Rest in Peace Logan Winspear, My Brother
Rest in Peace Logan Winspear
My brother died 14 years ago today. He was only 19 years old. He had his whole life ahead of him.
His death has left a gaping hole in my life. My entire family shattered. I know that all of our lives would be completely different if he were still alive today.
He was too young to realize what he was doing when he took his own life.
Even 14 years later, it’s still just as hard without him in my life. I was 13 years old when he passed away and now he has been gone for longer than I knew him. It was another lifetime ago. That’s a very sad thought.
I miss my brother.
You are gone, but I will never forget you. You will always be a part of me. You are always in my thoughts, my dreams, my memories, and my heart.
Thank you for being who you were. I love you.
A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)
A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)
I had not heard any good things about this film prior to watching it. However, I started watching the movie without any high expectations. I heard people say that it was the fakest movie in the whole series. I heard people say that it was the worst Die Hard yet. My question that I have for those people is what did you expect? This is the fifth Die Hard movie. It’s the fifth one! To put that into perspective, the original Die Hard (1988) was 25 years ago. I was 2 years old when that came out and Ronald Reagan was the President. It was 2 years until they made the second film. The next film was 5 years later, then 12, and now 6 years after that. Willis has played the same character for 25 years and you wonder why A Good Day to Die Hard was not as good as the others?
In this fifth installment of the Die Hard Series, John McClane (Willis) travels to Russia to confront his troubled son Jack, (Jai Courtney) whom he doesn’t know is an undercover CIA agent on a mission. John unknowingly ruins Jack’s mission and the two are forced to work together to try to repair the damage done.
The film was directed by John Moore, and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Yuliya Snigir, Rasha Bukvic, Cole Hauser, and Amaury Nolasco.
Over the last 25 years, Die Hard movies have become an American tradition. They are filled with action so far-out, intense, and convenient that it’s unbelievable. However, the beautiful destruction, explosions, slow-motion debris dodging, and endless one-liners from Willis is enough to keep us entertained.
A Good Day to Die Hard follows in the footsteps of its ancestors, sort of. The action is just as incredible, but far more convenient and therefore way less realistic. The destruction is pretty, but not as glorious. There are still explosions and tons of debris and Willis still has the best one-liners.
Besides Willis, the film lacks credible big name stars. It felt like the movie was made just to make another Die Hard film. Everyone just kind of went through the motions and parts of the movie felt like a satire of itself. The McClane family kept referring to how they do this stuff all of the time. The film made fun of itself and all that succeeded in doing was to help bring the movie down a notch.
With the addition of Courtney, the film is a father and son shoot-em-up adventure that is still worth the rental, if only to carry on the Die Hard tradition. It’s good for a few chuckles. Besides self-destruction, the movie still has some entertaining gun fights and plenty of stuff blows up.
I rate this movie a 6 on scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Rent.
If you liked A Good Day to Die Hard, then you will probably enjoy:
Movie Picture of the Day 8/7/13
Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette enjoying a movie in one of director Tony Scott’s best films, True Romance (1993). The film was written by Quentin Tarantino.
It’s amazing how many films have scenes where people are in a movie theatre watching a movie. You are watching a movie about someone watching a movie. I don’t mind, but it’s a funny thought.
Sad fact: Tony Scott and 3 big names from this film (Dennis Hopper, James Gandolfini, and Chris Penn) all passed away within the last 7 years. Hopper was the only one that wasn’t taken before his time.
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