Rise of the Guardians

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

The story begins with the spirit of winter, Jack Frost being raised from a frozen lake, but he returns to the world unseen by people and it is learned that he cannot be seen because he is not believed in, and all of his memories from his former life are gone. Only his name, given to him by the Man in the Moon who raised him, is known to him.

300 years later, North receives a vision in his workshop of the boogeyman Pitch Black, and alerts the other Guardians; the head of the tooth fairies Tooth, the short tempered Australian-accented E. Aster Bunnymund and the gentle, non-speaking Sandy to the North Pole. Upon their arrival, they do not want to believe that Pitch poses a threat, but their guide the Man in the Moon suggests otherwise and instructs them to induct Jack Frost as a new Guardian to combat the threat. Meanwhile, Jack instills fun and laughter in children from his childish nature and inspires a snowball fight between a young believer named Jamie and the local children, but still they do not believe in him and he is still invisible. Jack is taken forcibly to the North Pole by North’s Yeti workshop workers, but declines joining the Guardians as his centuries-long isolation has left him bitter to the responsibility they hold dear to protect the children of the world. North tries to convince him otherwise, but they are alerted to an attack on Tooth’s palace. When they arrive, they discover Pitch’s nightmares taking all of the childrens’ teeth and the baby tooth fairies that work as Tooth’s assistants. Jack saves one before they are confronted by Pitch, who states he intends to stop the childrens’ belief in the Guardians so he instead is believed in, wielding a power like Sandy’s to turn his dreams into nightmares. Pitch escapes and the loss of belief in the tooth fairy seems to immediately effect Tooth. Jack volunteers to help when he discovers that the teeth provide the memories of the children they came from including his own and seeks to find his place among them. They manage to collect the teeth in one night and faith in Tooth is restored though they are caught by Jamie who can see them all with the exception of Jack. Jack and Sandy are attacked by Pitch’s nightmares and though Jack’s efforts are valiant, Sandy is overcome and seemingly destroyed by Pitch. With Easter a day away, the group agrees to help Bunny distribute his eggs. They find Jamie’s toddler sister Sophie at the Warren and manage to decorate eggs for distribution, Jack then takes Sophie home.

Lured by a familiar voice calling to him from under a bed in the forest, Jack and Baby Tooth discover Pitch’s hideout. Pitch offers Jack’s canister of memories in exchange for remaining a neutral party, but Jack refuses and in retaliation, Pitch destroys all the eggs before they make their way to the surface, destroying the childrens’ belief in the Easter Bunny. Being blamed for the failure, Jack leaves the Guardians and isolates himself in Antarctica where he encounters Pitch again who offers a partnership to spread fear to all the children. But Jack wants to be loved, not feared and rejects Pitch’s offer again. Pitch holds Baby Tooth hostage for Jack’s staff and then he sends Jack and Baby Tooth into a crevasse when Jack hands the staff over. Baby Tooth suggests Jack open his memories, where he discovers he was a teenage boy who had saved his sister from falling through thin ice by alleviating her fear with fun, in turn though he’d fallen in, but that sacrifice inspired the Man in the Moon to resurrect him as Jack Frost. Inspired by this, Jack returns to save the last light of belief on Earth; Jamie. Not only does Jack succeed in reaffirming Jamie’s faith in the Guardians, but he also instills a belief in him, allowing Jamie to see and hear him, much to Jack’s delight. The other woefully weakened Guardians join Jack to face off against Pitch, and Jamie has his own friends join in the seemingly impossible fight; but their faith is more than a match for Pitch’s nightmares and also causes Sandy’s resurrection, which sends Pitch running. No longer feared, Pitch cannot be seen or heard by the human children, and his fear turns his own nightmares against him, dragging him back under the bed.

Jack accepts his place with the Guardians and says goodbye to Jamie and his friends, their hope renewed and their belief strong Jack assures Jamie that they are now in his heart and as long as they believe the Guardians will always be there to protect them

REVIEW:

Let’s face it, there were a bunch of animated films that were released last year. Some have argued that there may have been too many. One of the films that many have overlooked, partially because of the massive shadow by Wreck-It Ralph and all the holiday films that were released around the same time, is Rise of the Guardians.

What is this about?

In this animated adventure, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman and Jack Frost come together to battle Pitch, a malicious spirit determined to take over the world and destroy the innocent beliefs and dreams of children.

What did I like?

Not what you know. Normally, I’m a purist. Give me what I know and I’ll be happy. No need to go around changing stuff for the sake of change. This film won’t change my stance on that, but I did appreciate the new versions of our well-known holiday icons. No longer is Santa a jolly old elf, but a Russian biker type, for instance.

Children. Children, and humans, in films like this seem to be nothing more than an annoyance. Thankfully, the children don’t really have much to do with most of the picture and the focus is on the guardians, which is what the audience came to see, after all. I’m sure there are those out there that feel they could have more of an impact on the proceedings, but I’m not one of those. The decision to not have some cheeky, disrespectful child mucking things up was brilliant.

Pitch. I really like the villainous Pitch Black, otherwise known as the Boogeyman. The look of him reminds me of a vampire and for a character than is all about the darkness, that works. Jude Law’s voice also really worked…better than I thought it would. With all that said, he still is no Oogie Boogie.

What didn’t I like?

Origin. We get Jack Frost’s origin and a little bit of Pitch Black’s, but the others, not so much. Reading a little background on this film, and it turns out that it is set 200 years after the book series, which gives each character their own story, apparently. I’m not saying the film should have went into great detail about each one, but maybe a scene where they are sitting around getting to know each other and we get a quick reference to what their past is would have been nice.

Sandman. I loved the little Sandman guy. He actually may have been my favorite, but two things bothered me. First, whose idea was it to have him be silent? If anything, that seems like something better suited for the Tooth Fairy. Second, why did they have to kill him? I can understand not killing off Santa or the Easter Bunny. Can you imagine the shock and horror on the kids’ faces?!? I just don’t feel it accomplished what the filmmakers were attempting. Now, if he would have just been kidnapped, that may have worked better.

Timing. So, this doesn’t take place around Christmas, but rather Easter. Does that make any sense? Not to me, it didn’t. Around one of the major holidays like that, when the guardians are at their strongest, might not have been the best time to launch an attack. Perhaps Pitch should have tried one of the lesser Patriotic holidays like Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day, etc.

When all is said and done, Rise of the Guardians should have risen to the top of the box office for weeks, but it didn’t, for whatever reason. Such a shame for such a grand film. The few qualms I have with this film are minute as it is a very well made and entertaining film. I highly recommend it, especially around the holidays (Easter or Christmas).

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Les Misérables

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

In 1815, convict Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) is released on parole by prison guard Javert (Russell Crowe) after serving a nineteen-year sentence. He is offered food and shelter by the Bishop of Digne (Colm Wilkinson), but later steals the Bishop’s silver during the night. He is caught by the authorities, but the Bishop says that the silver was given as a gift, and secures Valjean’s release. Ashamed by the Bishop’s generosity, Valjean breaks his parole and vows to start an honest life under a new identity. Javert swears he will bring the escaped convict to justice.

Eight years later, Valjean has become a factory owner and mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer. Fantine (Anne Hathaway), one of his workers, is discovered to be sending money to her illegitimate daughter, Cosette (Isabelle Allen), who lives with the unscrupulous Thénardiers (Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter) and their daughter Éponine (Natalya Angel Wallace), and is dismissed by the foreman (Michael Jibson). Left with no option, Fantine turns to prostitution. During an argument with an abusive customer, Javert, now a police inspector, arrests Fantine, but Valjean intercedes and takes her to a hospital.

Later, Valjean learns that a man believed to be him has been arrested. Unable to condemn an innocent man, Valjean reveals his identity to the court before departing for the hospital. There he promises a dying Fantine that he will look after her daughter. Valjean finds Cosette and pays the Thénardiers to allow him to take her, and promises to be like a father to her.

Nine years later, Jean Maximilien Lamarque, the only government official sympathetic toward the poor, is nearing death. Students Marius Pontmercy (Eddie Redmayne) and Enjolras (Aaron Tveit), together with street urchin Gavroche (Daniel Huttlestone), discuss fomenting revolution. Later Marius catches a glimpse of Cosette (Amanda Seyfried), now a young woman, and instantly falls in love with her. Meanwhile, despite Cosette’s questioning, Valjean refuses to tell her about his past or Fantine.

At a café, Enjolras organises a group of idealistic students as Lamarque’s death is announced. Meanwhile, Éponine (Samantha Barks), now Marius’s friend, leads him to Cosette, where the two profess their love for one another. Lamenting that her secret love for Marius will never be reciprocated, Éponine fatalistically decides to join the revolution. Later, an attempted robbery of Valjean’s house makes him mistakenly think that Javert has discovered him, and he flees with Cosette. As they leave, Enjolras rallies the Parisians to revolt, and Marius sends a farewell letter to Cosette.

The next day, the students interrupt Lamarque’s funeral procession and begin their assault. Javert, disguised as one of the rebels, spies among the revolutionaries, but is quickly exposed by Gavroche and captured. During the ensuing gunfight, Éponine saves Marius at the cost of her own life, professing her love to him before she dies. Valjean, intercepting the letter from Marius to Cosette, goes to the barricade to protect Marius. After saving Enjolras from snipers, he is allowed to execute Javert. When the two are alone, Valjean frees Javert and fires his gun to fake the execution. Initially disbelieving, Javert wonders at Valjean’s generosity.

With the Parisians not joining the revolution as the students expected, they resolve to fight to the death. Everyone is killed but Marius, who is saved when Valjean drags his unconscious body into the sewers. Thénardier, scavenging the dead bodies, steals Marius’s ring. Valjean recovers and escapes the sewers carrying Marius, but is confronted at the exit by Javert. Javert threatens to shoot Valjean if he doesn’t surrender, but Valjean ignores him. Unable to reconcile the conflict between his civil and moral duties, two things which he always considered the same, Javert commits suicide.

Later, Marius mourns for his friends but Cosette comforts him. Revealing his past to Marius, Valjean tells him he must leave because his presence endangers Cosette, and makes Marius promise never to tell her. Marius and Cosette marry; the Thénardiers crash the reception and testify that they saw Valjean carrying a murdered corpse in the sewers. Thénardier unwittingly shows Marius the ring that he stole from him as “proof.” Recognising the ring, Marius realises that it was Valjean who saved his life. Marius and Cosette rush to Valjean after being told his location by Thénardier.

As Valjean sits dying in a local convent, he perceives the spirit of Fantine appearing to take him to Heaven. Cosette and Marius rush in to bid farewell. Valjean hands Cosette his confession of his past life, and the spirits of Fantine and the Bishop guide him to paradise, where he joins the spirits of Enjolras, Éponine, Gavroche, and the other rebels at the barricade.

REVIEW:

My freshmen year of college, we opened our marching band show with the music from Les Miserables. It may come as a surprise to some, but up until a few minutes ago, I had no idea what the songs were that comprised that 2 1/2 minute medley. I just listened to it again, and found myself singing along, as if I knew the words as well as an Earth, Wind, & Fire song.

What is this about?

Based on the novel by Victor Hugo, ‘Les Miserables’ travels with prisoner-on-parole, 24601, Jean Valjeun, as he runs from the ruthless Inspector Javert on a journey beyond the barricades, at the center of the June Rebellion. Meanwhile, the life of a working class girl with a child is at turning point as she turns to prostitution to pay money to the evil innkeeper and his wife who look after her child, Cosette. Valjean promise to take care of the child, eventually leads to a love triangle between Cosette, Marius who is a student of the rebellion, and Eponine, a girl of the streets. The people sing of their anger and Enjolras leads the students to fight upon the barricades.

What did I like?

Stage to screen. In the Golden Age of Hollywood, musicals were all the rage. Some of them were real close to their Broadway counterparts, while others shared only the name. I cannot say for certain, but it seems as if this film didn’t try to do anything special with the sets, other than find and/or build real life version of what was used in the stage version. You have to give them credit for that, as audiences these days want bigger, better, more, as opposed to simplistic and authentic.

Better than the rest. Earlier this year, when the Grammys were on, someone asked me, “I wonder how it feels to be Adele and know that you are hands down the most talented singer in that entire room, and probably the world?” The same thing can be said for Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman. They are far and away the most talented members of this cast, though, I see some budding young musical talent in Samantha Parks and Aaron Tveit.

Casting. In the good old days, actors were actually trained, as opposed to being picked up off the street because they had “the look”. This is how we got people like Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Julie Andrews, Ginger Rogers, and their ilk. These talents were trained to not only act, but sing, and possibly dance. These days, that is such a rare occurrence, but Hugh Jackman has proven over the last few years, that it may be a good idea to go back to those days. This whole cast, with the exception of Russell Crowe, seems as if they were trained in musical theater. A couple of them, I know for sure, have been starring in London’s version of Broadway (I forgot what it is called, sorry). The one weak link is Russell Crowe. I’ll get to him shortly. Also, how perfect casting can you get than Anne Hathaway and Amanada Seyfreid. They both have those big “anime eyes” and could actually pass for mother and daughter because of some similar facial structure. Don’t forget young Cosette, who I think they did an exhaustive search to find someone who looks that much like Seyfreid. There is no way they could have been that lucky to have just come across her.

Dream. Susuan Boyle made us all sing “I Dreamed a Dream” all over the place a couple of years ago but, believe me when I say this, Anne Hathaway will blow you away with her rendition. Once you see the context in which that song is placed and watch Hathaway give, arguably, the performance of her career as she tears your heart out with each note, showing that she is more than a pretty face, but a true acting and singing talent.

What didn’t I like?

Length. I don’t believe they cut anything from the original stage version, so this is pretty much the same show you would see on Broadway, just on a grander scale, obviously. However, and this may because yesterday I sat through two nearly three hour movies and have a two more sitting in the living room waiting to be watched, but I felt that this was a scoche long. Having said that, I can’t really say where you could cut anything out.

Opera. Since there are very few lines not sung in this musical, some have called it an opera. I won’t go into a big spiel on the actual definition of an opera, but just because everyone is singing doesn’t make it an opera. Think about it like this, the Star Wars saga (that includes the prequels that people seem to hate so much) is often called a space opera, and other than that weird singing alien George Lucas added in to Jabba the Hutt’s palace, there is no singing, that I can recall, except the Ewok celebration after everything is over.

Opera mouth. Keeping on the subject of opera, I have to mention this because it sort of bugged me. Eddie Redmayne has some real chops, but he needs to do something about his facial movements when he sings. Watch a Broadway or opera singer perform, or you can watch Jessica Simpson sing, she does the same thing. You’ll notice that they move their mouth when they sing long notes, and so does Redmayne. It wouldn’t have been such a bother, except no one else does it!

Crowe. Russell Crowe impressed me with his singing skills. With this and his role in the upcoming Man of Steel, it looks like the guy is on his way to reviving his career. Here is the problem, though, his vocal chops don’t do him any good, especially against the likes of Jackman. He wasn’t as bad a Piece Brosnan in Mamma Mia!, but I still cannot help but think they should have gone with someone else. I’m sure Gerard Butler wouldn’t have minded dusting off his singing chops for this, or they could have gone with Paul Bettany, who was rumored to have originally been cast in the role.

Comic relief. I’m the last person to have issue with comic relief, especially in something that’s more on the serious side, as this film is. However, if you’re going to have comic relief, they cannot be a nuisance, but I found Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter’s characters to be nothing more than your typical lowlife vagrants. I’m not sure if that is how they are actually written in the book and/or musical, but I wasn’t a fan. Seems to me that they could have done something else, like be funny narrators, for instance.

Accents. This whole film is set in France, except maybe the opening scene, but I think that is just off the coast of France. At any rate, here we have these French people all speaking with British accents. I cannot be the only one that noticed this! I don’t get why they chose to give them all British accents. The little street urchin, Gavroche, has a cockney accent, as do the hookers and other peoples that mess chop off Fantine’s hair and send her to a life of, shall we say, less that wholesome living?

The few complaints that I have about Les Miserables are minor and can be considered nitpicky. I don’t intend to come off as if I didn’t enjoy the film, because I did. A few tweaks here and there and this very well could have been a stronger(er) contender for my top film of the year. I believe that the niche audience for this will not be disappointed and neither will the general public. This director was ale to find a way to please everyone. Maybe he should try his hand at a comic book movie! I highly recommend this, so go see it NOW!!!

5 out of 5 stars

Butter

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

Destiny (Shahidi) is a 10-year-old orphan girl in Iowa who gets placed with Ethan (Corddry) and Jill Emmet (Silverstone). While visiting the Iowa State Fair by herself, she wanders into the exhibit of the winning butter sculpture (a life sized Last Supper) and finishes a cup very skillfully, impressing the sculpture’s creator Bob Pickler (Burrell).

Bob has won the butter sculpture contest at the fair every time for the last 15 years. Because of his dominance, he gets barred from entering in the future to give others a chance to compete. Bob’s wife, Laura (Garner) is competitive and socially ambitious, causing them to fight when he breaks the news to her. While she goes to the home of the competition’s organizer to protest, Bob drives to a strip club. While there he meets a stripper, Brooke (Wilde) and he solicits her for sex in his van. However, they’re interrupted by Laura t-boning the van with her SUV.

Laura decides to enter the county’s preliminary sculpture competition herself because of the social status that comes with winning. Meanwhile, Destiny decides to enter as well. Carol-Ann Stevenson (a fan of Bob’s) and Brooke also enter. Brooke is simply entering to harass the Picklers because Bob still owes her $600. Despite practice, Laura comes in second to Destiny while Brooke and Carol-Ann come in third and fourth respectively.

Brooke shows up at the Pickler’s house looking for her money and is let in by their daughter Kaitlin (Greene). While talking in her room, Kaitlin challenges her to a game of truth or dare which escalates to them having sex. Kaitlin is drawn to Brooke’s alternative style and attitude, but Brooke is just doing it because Kaitlin says she can get her the money she wants (which she inflates to $1,200). At the same time, Laura hooks up with a used car salesman and old boyfriend from high school, Boyd Bolton (Jackman) to get him to falsely testify to county officials that he was paid by Ethan to help Destiny in the sculpture competition. Laura suggests a rematch at the state fair to the frustration of everyone but Destiny, who agrees.

Brooke gets her money from Kaitlin (who has fallen in love with her), meets Destiny after school, and takes her to the mall to buy her a $1,200 set of chef’s knives to help her in the rematch with Laura. Later when Destiny comes home, she finds out from a social worker that her biological mother has died.

At the state fair, Laura competes with Destiny in the rematch. Laura carves a replica of John F. Kennedy’s car immediately after his assassination complete with the president’s blown up skull and Jackie Kennedy and Clint Hill crawling on the trunk, while Destiny creates her biological mother holding her infant self in a rocking chair. That night before the judging, Boyd sneaks into the fair and defaces Destiny’s sculpture. Despite this, her sculpture wins.

Later, Destiny is officially adopted by the Emmets and Laura is running for Governor of Iowa, claiming she was visited by God in a vision telling her to run.

REVIEW:

I was watching an episode of Weeds the other day, and they had managed to stumble on some small town butter festival, complete with butter tasting, eating, and sculpting. The next day a buddy of mine recommended this film, Butter. At first, I was skeptical, especially with some of the negative reviews swirling around it. As it turns out, this wasn’t half bad.

What is this about?

When a gifted butter sculptor announces his retirement, his ambitious wife sees her hopes for future fame — and the presidency — melt away. She sets out to take up the mantle, but soon learns how cutthroat the world of pro butter sculpting can be.

What did I like?

Sculpture. Who would have thought that you could create such masterpieces from a few sticks of butter? Granted, I’m sure some of these may not have been actual creations, but I was highly impressed by them, especially the Last Supper one that is shown in the beginning.

Comedy. The black comedy that we have here is the exact kind of thing one can expect from an independent comedy, not exactly laugh out loud stuff, but still enough to keep a smile on your face throughout the whole flick. Even some of the “serious” stuff ended up being a bit funny, such as the little girl making her subtle racist comments.

Cast. The cast is great, with names like Jennifer Garner, Hugh Jackman, Ty Burrell, and Ashley Greene, but there are three that stood out to me. Frist off, is the resurgence of the always gorgeous and talented Alicia Silverstone. I found it a bit odd seeing her as a mom to the film’s young star, Yara Shahdi, or just as a mom, period. Next was her husband Rob Corddry. I can get over the fact that he somehow manged to marry a total babe like her, but if I’m not mistaken, this is the first time I’ve seen him as a good guy. He actually wasn’t playing a total scumbag for once. Finally, there is Olivia Wilde, playing a stripper, and very convincingly, I might add. Some have said she is the best thing about this movie, and when you see her, it isn’t very hard to see why.

What didn’t work?

Emmetts. Both Jennifer Garner and Ty Burrell were doing all they could with their roles, but for some reason they seemed a tad bit off. Burrell came off as very wooden, more so than he normally does, while Garner seemed like she was trying too hard to be a bitch instead of her normal goody two-shoes persona she is normally. I felt as if they could have done more with their characters, but failed to do so.

Race card. So, this little girl, who we first saw with Eddie Murphy in Imagine That, for those that were wondering, is a foster child who has never really met her parents. Because of this, for some inexplicable reason, she seems to have some racist ideas. Like most race humor, it is funny here and there when it is done in a non-offensive way, but eventually it wears thin and becomes out-of-place and annoying, especially since it comes from a little girl!

Lesbians. Look, I’m all for some girl on girl action, but having Olivia Wilde and Ashley Greene make out (it is implied that they are engaging in other “activities”, as well), just seemed to be stuck in there just because it could be. Greene’s character barely exists and makes you wonder why they even cast her, and Wilde’s has much bigger things to do than make out with a teenage daughter, no matter how hot she is.

Butter is something that isn’t quite for everyone, but it is sure is entertaining to watch. A feast for the eyes, when yo see the butter sculptures, a decent story/plot, and some nice comedic moments make this a flick that should at least be considered. I highly recommend it, despite the negative reviews. I actually liked this twisted, black comedy and, perhaps, some of you will, as well.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Real Steel

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

In 2020, human boxers have been replaced by robot boxers. Charlie Kenton is a former boxer who owns such a robot, Ambush, competing in unsanctioned matches and in exhibitions with it. At a rural fair, Ambush is destroyed by Black Thunder, a bull belonging to promoter Ricky. Having made a bet that Ambush would win, Charlie now owes Ricky $20,000, which he doesn’t pay before leaving.

Charlie is informed his ex-girlfriend has died, and that he must attend a hearing to decide the fate of his preteen son Max (Dakota Goyo). Max’s wealthy aunt Debra and uncle Marvin want full custody, which Charlie gives them in exchange for $100,000, half in advance, on the condition that Charlie take care of Max for three months while the couple are away on a second honeymoon.

Charlie and Max meet with Charlie’s childhood friend Bailey Tallet, who runs the boxing gym of her deceased father, Charlie’s old coach. There, Charlie buys a secondhand World Robot Boxing league (WRB) robot, the once-famous Noisy Boy, and arranges for it to fight the illegal circuit’s champion, Midas, at a venue belonging to his friend Finn. Partly due to both his inexperience with Noisy Boy’s combinations and his own overconfidence, Charlie ends up losing control of Noisy Boy and Midas destroys it.

Charlie breaks into a junkyard with Max to steal scraps that he can use to put a new robot together. There, Max falls over a ledge, where he is saved from doom by getting snagged on the arm of a buried robot. After Charlie pulls Max back up, Max digs out the entire robot, called Atom. On Max’s insistence, Charlie takes it back to Bailey’s gym, where they discover Atom is an obsolete Generation-2 sparring bot built in 2014. Atom has been designed to sustain massive damage, but is unable to deal much damage itself. Atom also has a “shadow function” for following human movement. Partly due to both Max’s insistence and Charlie needing money, the duo has Atom fight an unsanctioned outdoor match against a robot called Metro. Atom wins, earning back some of Charlie’s money.

Max later upgrades Atom to take vocal commands and to have harder-hitting fistcuffs, using parts from Charlie’s demolished robots, and convinces Charlie to train Atom. Atom’s string of subsequent wins attracts the attention of a promoter from the WRB, who offers Atom a professional fight against the robot Twin Cities. Charlie accepts, and Atom wins again, thanks to Charlie’s boxing experience allowing him to locate and take advantage of a small tell in Twin Cities’ punch. Reveling in their subsequent novelty attention, Max challenges WRB champion Zeus, designed by genius Tak Mashido and sponsored by wealthy Farra Lemcova, who before the match tries to buy the upstart Atom.

As Max and Charlie leave after the Twin Cities fight, Ricky and his men attack them, and steal their winnings. Feeling guilty, Charlie returns Max to his aunt and uncle, feeling Max will be safer with them and refusing the second half of the money he was promised. Bailey convinces him that he can be a better father. Debra allows Charlie to take Max out for one last night, to the Zeus-Atom match. Zeus severely damages Atom while also getting injured for the first time. Ricky, who had bet Finn $100,000 that Atom would not last the first round, tries to slip away, but is cornered by Finn and his colleagues. In the fourth round of the five-round match, Atom’s vocal receptors are damaged, and Atom must fight the last round in shadow-boxing mode, copying Charlie’s moves from the aisle. Zeus, now controlled manually by a furious Mashido, expends energy on trashing the defensive Atom, running low on power and turning sluggish as a result. The fight swings in Atom’s favor as he overwhelms the weakened Zeus, even knocking the seemingly invincible champion down once, but Atom is unable to win before the round ends. The judges declare Zeus the winner on points, but the near-defeat leaves the Zeus team humiliated. Atom is labeled the “People’s Champion” as Charlie and Max celebrate their success.

REVIEW:

Since, apparently, a lot of people didn’t care for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Hugh Jackman decided to go the family route with Real Steel. When the first trailer for this came out, I thought it was just some studio trying to take the old fighting robots toy and put them on the big screen. In a way, that is what they’ve done, but the only similarity to the toy is that these are fighting robots. If anything, this is more like those episodes of The Jetsons where George would go the fights and we’d see robots, instead of humans, fighting.

No, the whole film isn’t about fighting robots. There is also some drama involving Charlie, played by Hugh Jackman, and his son. It all starts when Charlie finds out the boy’s mother has died. Since he is the next of kin, the boy is legally his responsibility, but since he can barely take care of himself, the idea of supporting a kid is not exactly a top priority. After a court battle with, Charlie is given custody of the kid for the summer.

While not exactly fond of the decision, especially since his new guardians are loaded and off to Milan for the summer, it is quite obvious that he’s eventually gonna warm up to Charlie in the end.

The main draw for this film is the boxing, though. Let’s not kid ourselves by thinking anyone cared about the kid. Trust me, some of may think he’s cute, but he is hands down one of the most annoying kids ever!

Would someone please tell me why it is that kids today can’t show respect for their elders? Maybe I’m just from another generation, but the way this kid acts just irked me. The rebelliousness of being sold to his dad, is understandable, but some of the other things he does, such as grabbing the microphone and challenging the title holder after winning just one fight was just a bit much, if you ask me.

As bad and annoying as the kid is, Hugh Jackman’s character wasn’t exactly Mr. Lovable, either. However, Charlie does manage to grow as a person as the film progresses. Big surprise, right?

With two annoying leads, surely there has to be some kind of wholesome, nice person in this thing, right? Ironically enough, the warmest character is made of steel. That is the fighting robot they dig up in the junkyard, Atom, who can’t move on his own and is nothing more than an old sparring robot. However, there is one scene where he seems to be looking at himself that makes you wonder.

Now that I think about it, there is one piece of utter sweetness, played by Evangeline Lilly. Although she is a bit hardened given the money situation and whatnot. Oh, and she’s not bad looking, either. Sorry, I just had to sneak that in there.

These robots are not on the same level that we’ve grown accustomed to in theTransformerstrilogy, but they still are a sight to see. The machines are magnificent. Seeing them pull of the moves that a seasoned boxer can do was just breathtaking. Of course, I did find out later that Sugar Ray Leonard choreographed/trained these scenes.

The climactic final fight will have you cheering on the underdog, Atom, and when all the smoke clears you’ll be hoping for a sequel.

It can be said that the CG on these isn’t as great as it could have been, but keep in mind this is supposed to have been a family movie, even though it is a tad dark…at least for my taste.

All in all, I have to say that Real Steel was a real surprise. My initial thoughts about this flick, before I saw it, was that it was going to be some kind of cheap, overhyped, CG mess. Then, after it was released, I heard that it was heavy on the drama, which kept me from seeing it in the theater, not to mention is was released in, you guessed it…3D. After seeing it tonight, though, I’m glad I have seen this for myself and can make my own decision. I really believe this is a well crafted and thought out film that some have overlooked as one of the best films of 2011. You should definitely check it out soon.

4 3/4 out of 5 stars

The Prestige

PLOT:

Robert Angier and Alfred Borden are plants for Milton the Magician, with Cutter as his illusion engineer. Angier’s wife drowns while performing a predicament escape from a Chinese water torture cell, and Angier suspects that Borden bound her wrists with a new knot that he had suggested to Cutter before—one harder for her to undo than his customary one. At the funeral, Borden enrages Angier by saying he does not know which knot he tied.

The two men begin separate careers as magicians; Borden becomes “The Professor” and hires an engineer named Bernard Fallon, while Angier performs as “The Great Danton” with Cutter and Olivia as his assistants. During a parlor magic job, Borden meets Sarah; they marry and have a daughter, Jess. Sarah feels uneasy about Borden and his apparent fickleness; she claims to know when he loves her “more than the magic” and when he does not. During Borden’s performance of the bullet catch, a disguised Angier again demands to know which knot Borden used. Borden and Fallon quickly realize Angier is going to shoot at Borden with a loaded gun. At the last second, Fallon intervenes, and the bullet severs two of Borden’s fingers instead of killing him. A disguised Borden later sabotages Angier’s performance of the vanishing bird cage illusion, damaging Angier’s reputation.

Borden soon astonishes crowds with “The Transported Man”, in which he bounces a ball across the stage before stepping through a door and instantly reappearing from a second door on the opposite side of the stage to catch the ball. The new illusion amazes Angier and Olivia. Obsessed with beating Borden, Angier hires a double and steals Borden’s trick, with a slight variation, as “The New Transported Man”. The double enjoys the applause while Angier can only listen from below stage. Unhappy at missing the applause and obsessed with figuring out Borden’s version of the teleportation illusion, Angier sends Olivia to steal Borden’s secrets. Although Olivia provides Angier with Borden’s enciphered diary, she falls in love with Borden and double-crosses Angier, allowing Borden to sabotage Angier’s act, permanently crippling Angier’s left leg by removing a crash mat. In return, Angier and Cutter capture Fallon and bury him alive inside a coffin, revealing his location to Borden in exchange for the key to Borden’s illusion. Before rushing to dig out Fallon while he still has air, Borden gives Angier one word, “TESLA”, and suggests that it is not merely the key to the transposition cipher of Borden’s notebook (which Olivia had brought to Angier) but also the key to the illusion.

Angier travels to Colorado Springs to meet Nikola Tesla and learn the secret of Borden’s illusion. Tesla constructs a teleportation machine that resembles a Magnifying Transmitter, but the device initially fails to work. Angier learns from Borden’s notebook that he has been sent on a wild goose chase. Feeling he has been cheated, he returns to Tesla’s lab, but discovers that the machine creates a duplicate of any item placed in it, which appears some distance away. Tesla is forced to leave Colorado Springs after his rival, Thomas Edison, sends henchmen to torch Tesla’s lab, but he leaves Angier an improved version of the machine. In a letter, however, he warns Angier to destroy it.

Borden’s relationship with Olivia takes a heavy emotional toll on Sarah, driving her to drink. Borden’s erratic behavior and inconsistent affection, along with Sarah’s suspicion of an extramarital relationship between Borden and Olivia, leads Sarah to hang herself in Borden’s magic workshop. Angier returns to London to produce a final set of 100 performances of his new act, “The Real Transported Man”. He insists that Cutter remain front stage for these shows and that only blind stagehands help backstage. In the new illusion, Angier disappears under huge arcs of electricity and instantaneously “teleports” 50 yards from the stage to the balcony. Borden is baffled but spots a trap door. After a show one night, Fallon follows Angier’s stagehands. They move a large, concealed water tank across town to an abandoned building. Borden attends Angier’s performance again. He slips backstage and discovers a locked water tank with Angier drowning inside. Borden tries to save him, but Angier drowns. Cutter catches Borden, who is convicted of murder and sentenced to hang.

In prison, Borden reads Angier’s diary from Colorado which addresses him directly with hopes he will rot in prison for his murder. More troubling to him, his daughter Jess will become a ward of court, unless he accepts a mysterious offer. A man named Lord Caldlow sends his attorney to meet Borden in prison. An avid collector of illusionist paraphernalia, Caldlow asks for all of Borden’s secrets and devices, including the truth of “The Transported Man”. In exchange, he will adopt Jess, and raise her in a rich and comfortable lifestyle. Borden ultimately agrees to the arrangement, but refuses to reveal all unless he can see her before his execution. When Lord Caldlow visits Borden in person on the day of his hanging, with Jess in tow, Borden realizes that he is Angier. Beaten, Borden gives him a note containing the secret of the original Transported Man trick, but Angier tears it up without reading it. Cutter also meets the lord and realizes he is Angier and that Borden was innocent. Cutter then grasps the full grim cost of Angier’s obsession when he sees he has adopted Jess. Cutter is furious that he was the one who indirectly framed Borden, who is subsequently hanged.

Cutter accompanies Angier to the abandoned building where the water tanks are stored, and helps him store the teleportation machine. Cutter leaves in disgust, silently acknowledging the arrival of Borden, who shoots Angier. Borden reveals that he and “Fallon” were identical twins who lived as a single individual, alternating lives as needed. One twin (revealed in the original novel to be named Albert) was the husband of Sarah and father to daughter Jess. The other (named Frederick in the novel) was in love with Olivia, and it is he who dies in the gallows. For the original illusion, a twin acted as the double. They were so committed to the illusion that they amputated the other twin’s fingers to match his brother’s injury. Similarly, flashbacks recount Angier’s method: that each time he disappeared during his illusion, the machine would create a duplicate, with the first Angier falling through a trap door into a locked tank and drowning, and the duplicate teleporting to the balcony. Each tank stores a drowned duplicate of Angier for each time that he has performed the trick. Before leaving, Albert Borden looks back at the aisles of tanks containing the dead duplicates and then leaves the dead Angier as a fire begins to consume the building. Afterwards, Cutter reunites Borden with his daughter.

REVIEW:

A little disclaimer…I am no fan of Christopher Nolan’s films. For me, they are too dark and depressing. I also detest everything about Christian Bale, right down to his very essence!

It appears that The Prestige is based on a novel of the same name, which I had never heard of, but will have to give it a go soon.

The story revolves around two rival magicians and the obsession they share with trying to outdo the other and the quest for the ultimate trick. Nothing too fancy, right? Well, you throw in some deception, accidental murder, and a rather odd sci-fi element involving real life inventor Nikola Tesla.

As the film progresses, one would imagine that things would become clearer, but in fact they are the opposite, as they seem to get cloudier and cloudier. Perhaps that is what Nolan wanted this film to be, though.

Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale superbly play off each other in their rivalry, but Jackman is hands down the better actor…thatm ay have something to do with the way his character was written, but I stand by that statement!

If you’re going to do a period pice such as this, and you cast a (now formerly) busty actress such as Scarlett Johansson, then by all means man, stick her in a corset and let her show off those puppies. This is especially true since she’s a magician’s assistant, and they weren’t exactly known for being covered up. *SIGH* How I miss Scarlett’s luscious curves!

David Bowie surprises as Nikola Tesla. He is obviously best known as a flamboyant, larger than life personality, but you would never guess if this was you first impression of him. Tesla’s assistant, Mr. Alley, may look familiar and not familiar at the same time to many people. It is because he played Gollum in the Lord of the Rings franchise.

When I first decided to watch this film, I was thinking it was going to be something along the lines of a Houdini biopic or something. Unfortunately, that is not what I got. That point aside, I’m not going to lie to you and say that I was interested in this flick. My disdain for Bale and Nolan aside, I just found it to be not to my liking. Does that mean you shouldn’t watch it? No, we all have different tastes, and only you know what you will like or not like. I can only offer a few words to assuage you towards something more entertaining, but there are those of you out there that will like this. For you guys, I say enjoy!

3 out of 5 stars

Oklahoma!

PLOT:

Renaissance actor Hugh Jackman proves he’s more than just a pretty face (or a superhero, for that matter) in this impressive turn as Curly in the National Theatre’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” Jackman, accompanied by acclaimed thespians Maureen Lipman, Josefina Gabrielle and Shuler Hensley, sings the show’s best hits, including “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning,” “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top” and the title song.

REVIEW:

Oklahoma! is one of the most revered and respected musicals. There is even a classic film version, which I initially thought I was getting this week, but turns out that this was a stage production. I don’t have any issue with stage production, per se, but it’s just not the same watching one on a screen rather than in person, so I was bit dissuaded in my opinion of this film.

Hugh Jackman stars  in the production of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical. I’m not exactly sure about the timeline, but I think this was before he became Wolverine. It is obvious the guy has talent, as he, not necessarily carries the production, but is obviously the star.

The rest of the cast is not known to most people, but are well-known to Broadway audiences as they are stage veterans, which gives them instant credibility.

Unfortunately for this picture, at 3 hours, it drags on. I even fell asleep at more than one point. I don’t know if this is necessarily an indictment of the film, though, because I’ve sat through longer films and actual stage productions Having said that, though, it is a very fine interpretation of this work and definitely worth the viewing, although, having not seen the classic film version, I can’t say which would be better.

3 out of 5 stars

Flushed Away

PLOT:

Roddy St. James is a decidedly upper crust pet rat who makes his home in a posh Kensington flat. When a common sewer rat named Sid comes spewing out of the sink and decides to stay, especially as England are playing Germany in the FIFA World Cup final, Roddy schemes to get rid of Sid by luring him into the “jacuzzi”, which is actually the toilet bowl. Sid may be an ignorant slob, but being a sewer rat, he knows his plumbing. He plays along and instead pushes Roddy in and flushes him away into the sewer.

There, Roddy meets Rita Malone, an enterprising scavenger rat who works the drains in her faithful boat, the Jammy Dodger. Rita does not like Roddy initially, but ends up taking him along as The Toad sends his henchmen, Spike and Whitey, after her because she had stolen back her father’s prized jewel a long time ago. The Toad despises all rodents to the point of hateful obsession, blaming rats for his fall from grace (he was once Prince Charles’ pet). He decides to have them frozen with liquid nitrogen. However, The Toad’s plan fails. Worse, during their escape, Rita takes a unique electrical cable. The cable is required to control the Floodgates. The Toad’s evil plan is to open the gates during halftime of the World Cup, drowning the rats and their underground city in sewage. He can then use the depopulated city as a home for millions of his own tadpole offspring.

Roddy finds that the ruby is a fake and breaks it in front of Rita, enraging her, for she can now not get the money she needs for her large family. Roddy offers her a real ruby if she takes him back to Kensington. Accepting the offer, the pair first stop to visit her family before setting off. During Roddy’s stay, he overhears a conversation that causes him to think that Rita had double-crossed him, so he steals the Jammy Dodger. When Rita catches up to him, he is able to clear up the misunderstanding.

The pair evade Spike and Whitey pursuing in a remote-controlled toy boat, with Thimblenose Ted and others on eggbeater jet skis. During this scene, Roddy and Rita share a quick love moment. Incensed at his minions’ repeated failures, The Toad sends to France for his cousin; an infamous, if somewhat laid back, mercenary known as Le Frog. Le Frog and his subordinates intercept the duo and retrieve the cable, but Roddy and Rita use a plastic bag to lift themselves out of the sewer (snatching away the cable during the ascent) and get Roddy home, though the Jammy Dodger has to be sacrificed.

Back home, Roddy pays Rita the promised ruby and an emerald, then proceeds to show her around his house. She at first believes he has family in the home, but noticing his cage, she realizes he’s a pet. Roddy tries to pass Sid off as his brother, but Sid and Rita know each other. Rita tries to persuade Roddy to come with her, but he is too proud to admit that he is lonely. By now, they have fallen in love but have not told each other their feelings. She departs, both of them broken-hearted, but is soon captured by The Toad.

Talking to Sid about half-time, Roddy pieces together The Toad’s plan. He gives Sid his cushy position and has Sid flush him back to the sewers to find Rita and save the city. Together, they defeat The Toad and freeze the wave of sewage generated by the flushing of countless toilets during the FIFA World Cup half-time with liquid nitrogen before it drowns the entire rat population.

Rita and Roddy build the Jammy Dodger Mark Two and set off in her with Rita’s entire brood. A newspaper article reveals England had lost on penalties. Rita and Roddy become boyfriend and girlfriend. Later while the credits start, Roddy’s former owner comes back with a new pet (a cat), which frightens Sid.

REVIEW:

Flushed Away is Dreamworks’ attempt to keep a unique look to their films. Originally, this was supposed to be stop-motion plastic/wood character similar to Wallace & Grommit, but because of the use of water, they decided to go with CGI, but keep the look as best they could.  I’ve never watched Wallace & Grommit, but I have seen pictures and clips. From these, it looks as if they did a good job of keeping the look, which is to be commended, especially as it separates then from Pixar.

This is set in London, and the use of mostly British actors (Hugh Jackman is Australian), really brings a taste of authenticity to the film.

Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet are magic together at Rita and Roddy. I wonder if they recorded their lines together or seperate. Either way, their performances bring life to their characters and keep the film from drifting off into mediocrity.

Sir Ian McKellan has the voice of a villain, veen though he has been a hero on occasion. I’m not going to sit here and say he was perfect for The Toad, because an actor of his caliber could be doing bigger and better things (no offense to the film), but he does a bang up job voicing the film’s egomanical, eccentric villain.

In typical Dreamworks fasion, there are quite a few pop culture references in this film. Some seem to be placed in just for the parents, as they are pretty dated, but hilarious nonetheless. The animation is short of breathtaking. To sum everything up in a pretty package, this is a nice family film with something for everyone.

5 out of 5 stars

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

 

 

PLOT:

In 1845, Northwest Territories, Canada, young James Howlett sees his father John Howlett (Peter O’Brien) killed by Victor Creed’s father, Thomas Logan (Aaron Jeffery). In an act of vengeance, James kills the elder Logan using bone claws which protrude from his hands. With his dying breath, Logan tells James that he is also his son. James and Victor (Michael-James Olsen) then run away. In the following years, adult brothers James (Hugh Jackman) and Victor (Liev Schreiber) are seen fighting together throughout the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, and eventually the Vietnam War, their regenerative powers keep them from being killed in the battlefield. In Vietnam, Victor kills a superior officer after being stopped from raping a girl, and James and Victor are sentenced to death by firing squad, though their unique regenerative abilities keep them alive.

William Stryker (Danny Huston) approaches the two mutants and offers them membership in his elite group of mutants. The team consists of mutants Fred Dukes (Kevin Durand), who’s super-strong and invulnerable, John Wraith (will.i.am), who can teleport, Chris Bradley (Dominic Monaghan), who can control machines, and expert marksman Agent Zero (Daniel Henney) and martial artist Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds). The brothers join the group, and are sent to the team’s first mission: Invade a diamond traffic operation headquarters to retrieve a meteorite used by the leader of the dealers as a paperweight. After retrieving the meteorite, Stryker sends the team to Lagos, Nigeria to investigate if there are any other meteorites. Logan is disgusted by the murders committed by his teammates and abandons the group.

Six years afterward, James, now going by his last name, Logan; is a lumberjack living with his girlfriend Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins). Meanwhile, Victor hunts down and murders Bradley. Stryker locates Logan, and claims that someone is out to kill members of the now-disbanded team. Stryker asks Logan for help, but is refused. Shortly after, Silverfox is murdered by Victor. Wolverine hunts down his half-brother and is easily defeated. Stryker once again asks Logan for help, and he agrees. Stryker then has Logan’s skeletal system reinforced with adamantium, a virtually indestructible metal retrieved from the meteorite found by Team X. Before the procedure, Logan asks for his new dog tags to say “Wolverine”. After the procedure, Stryker orders Wolverine’s mind to be erased, but before this can happen Wolverine regains conciousness and flees. Stryker orders Agent Zero to capture him.

The elderly couple Travis (Max Cullen) and Heather Hudson (Julia Blake) find Wolverine in their barn and provide him a home until the next morning, only to be shot dead by Zero. Wolverine takes out Zero’s team and Zero himself, then goes to Las Vegas. Wolverine locates former associates John Wraith and Fred Dukes, seeking to learn the location of Creed and Stryker’s new laboratory. Meanwhile, Stryker captures Scott Summers. Wolverine learns the disbanded team had been capturing mutants for Stryker, and one of them, Remy LeBeau (Taylor Kitsch), aka Gambit, had escaped the island and knew the location.

Wolverine and Wraith locate Gambit and confront him in a New Orleans bar. Wolverine talks with Gambit while Wraith keeps watch outside. During their conversation, Gambit begins to think Wolverine was sent to take him back to the island. Gambit blasts Wolverine outside just as Victor shows up and kills Wraith. Wolverine fights Victor, only to be interrupted by Gambit. Victor escapes, and after a brief struggle, Gambit agrees to take Wolverine to the mutant prison on Three Mile Island. Once there, Wolverine confronts Stryker and learns Silverfox is still alive, having faked her death with hydrochlorothiazide. She was keeping track of the mutant to free her sister, Emma (Tahyna Tozzi), who is also in the prison. Wolverine departs, and Victor emerges. He tells Stryker to hold up his end of the bargain and make his skeleton indestructible like Wolverine’s. Stryker assures Victor that he won’t survive the procedure and in an act of rage, Victor tries to kill Silverfox. Wolverine hears Silverfox’s screams and attacks Victor. Finally having the chance to kill Victor, Wolverine chooses not to give in to his animal instincts and instead knocks him out. Silverfox shows Wolverine to the holding cells, and he frees the mutants there; among whom are Storm, Toad, Quicksilver, and Cyclops.

Angered, Stryker prematurely orders his newest creation, Weapon XI (Scott Adkins) (also known as Deadpool), a bald, pale skinned monstrosity, lacking a mouth and with patterns marking adamantium bone structure, to be activated. The rescue party approach an exit when it is blocked by Weapon XI under Stryker’s control, as Wolverine tells them to find a new exit two blades extend from Weapon XI’s arms, similar to Wolverine’s claws. At this moment Wolverine realizes that this monstrosity is actually Wade Wilson. Weapon XI has the abilities of several of the killed and captured mutants such as Cyclops’ optic blasts, Wraith’s teleportation, and Wolverine’s healing abiltity. During the escape, Silverfox is lethally injured. The other mutants escape through the facilities tunnels, guided by Cyclops who is unable to tell them how he knows the exit. Emerging from the tunnel, the party encounter a helicopter, emerging from the helicopter is a familiar figure, Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), who offers them a solution at his school.

Meanwhile, Wolverine and Victor, now working together, are able to decapitate Weapon XI, sending its head-still firing optic blasts- down into the reactor. The resulting damage causes the structure to beging to collaspe, which makes Wolverine stumble into only to be saved by Victor at the last minute, reminding him that brothers stick together. Wolverine coldly informs Victor that nothing has changed between them, somewhat hurt yet satisfied, Victor flees the island. Wolverine then jumps off the reactor but loses his footing at the bottom and the reactor nearly crushes him when Gambit returns, destryoing the falling reactor. Wolverine then Gambit to ensure the prisoners are safe, while he returns to find Silverfox, who had stayed behind. Wolverine is then shot in the head by Stryker, who has a gun loaded with adamantium bullets, which knock him unconscious.

Silverfox uses her powers of persuasion to order Stryker to walk away until his feet bleed, then dies from her injuries. Gambit returns to ensure Wolverine that the mutants are safe, but due to amnesia caused by the adamantium bullets Wolverine does not remember anything. Gambit tries to get Wolverine to come with him, but he declines. Gambit wishes Wolverine good luck before departing, and Wolverine flees the scene as the ambulances and police arrive.

REVIEW:

Let me preface this by saying that I’ve been a fan of Wolverine since the late 80s/early 90s and am pretty much a fanboy, so I’m going to be a little biased in the review. Having said that, I will try to be objective.

THIS…FILM…WAS…AWESOME!!!!

Hugh Jackman really beefed up to be a more savage Wolverine. His goal was to return to the gruff version of the character we got in the first X-Men film. I think he succeeded.

Liev Schriber is surprisingly convincing as Sabretooth. I think the decision to not bring back Tyler Mane was a good one. Although Mane resembled Sabretooth more (with the help of makeup), Schriber got the character down pat.

I don’t know much about Willian Stryker, so I can’t compare Danny Huston’s take on the character was spot on or a departure from the source material, but from a purely thespian standpoint, he did a pretty good job, and in my opinion, a far better job than Brian Cox did in X2: X-Men United.

With all the hype surrounding the other characters in the film, especially Deadpool and Gambit, I expected to see them in the film more, but for the most part each got maybe 5-10 min. Well, Gambit played a pretty major role at the end and Deadpool comes back, but they still didn’t get the screentime they should have. There is talk of spinoff films for both…it’s only talk…but given the small amount of time they, and Team X for that matter, received, I doubt it. Still, it was good to finally see Gambit on screen.

I will say that the source material is deviated from a little, but I think that Marvel Studios has learned not to get to far from what’s written. However, even with the slight changes this was still an awesome film. We get to see Wolverine’s early years on screen, including pre adamantium claws, and even get to see him get the adamantium bonded to his skeleton. Ladies I’m sure will enjoy seeing Hugh Jackman run around naked.

The special effects seem to be inconsistent. What I mean by that is, everyone except Wolverine seems to have received state of the art effects, while Logan’s claws (both metal and bone) look at times fake.

The fight scenes are spectacular, especially the introductory scenes of each characters (Gambit, Deadpool, and Agent Zero’s are especially impressive) and the scenes involving Wolverine and Sabertooth.

If I have one qualm with the story, other than its obvious departure from the source material its that they didn’t use Silverfox the way they could/should have. Silverfox is a major character in Wolverine’s past and not just some floozy he shacked up with. Having said that, Lynn Collins was a nice choice for her. If there are future films for Wolverine, maybe we’ll see more of her and what she can really do.

The reviews I’ve read have abut crucified this film. I really don’t understand why, excpet for the fct that they’re doing the same thing that they’ve done with every superhero movie that has recently come out…compare it to last summer’s big hits Iron Man and The Dark Knight. The comparisons should be an honor, but have been a burden as the bar was set so high that no film can live up to them. On top of that, there was the early leak of the film that many panned and the swine flu outbreak keeping fans from seeing it in Mexico. Above all that, though, it seems as though Wolverine will defy the odds. Fans, except the purists, will enjoy it, and the non fans will love it. Although the beginning, once you get past the flashback, is a bit slow, there is no unneeded drama throughout the film, but rather lots and lots of action.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

X-Men: The Last Stand

PLOT:

A pharmaceutical company called Worthington Labs announces that it has developed an inoculation to permanently suppress the X-gene that gives mutants their powers, offering the so-called “cure” to any mutant who wants it; the cure is derived from a mutant boy named Jimmy. While some mutants are interested in the cure, including the X-Men’s Rogue, many others are horrified by the announcement. In response to the news, the X-Men’s adversary Magneto raises an army, warning his followers that the cure will be forcefully used to exterminate the mutant race.

Cyclops, still heartbroken about the loss of Jean Grey, returns to Alkali Lake, where Jean sacrificed herself to save the X-Men. Jean appears to Cyclops, and as the two kiss, Jean changes and appears to kill Cyclops. Sensing trouble, Professor Charles Xavier sends Wolverine and Storm to investigate. When they arrive, the two X-Men encounter telekinetically floating rocks, Cyclops’ glasses, and an unconscious Jean. Meanwhile Magneto ambushes a military transport and frees Juggernaut, Mystique and Multiple Man, during which Mystique blocks a shot of the mutant cure aimed at Magneto, only to be left behind because she is not “one of them” anymore.

Xavier explains that the majority of Jean’s power is seated in her unconscious mind and that, as a result, her powers are largely fueled by instinct, and not under her complete control. In fact, when Jean was a little girl she was so powerful that he had to put telepathic blocks on her mind to help keep her powers under control. Her bottled up powers manifested themselves as an id-like alternate personality called the “Phoenix” — a purely instinctual creature, ruled only by its own violent desires. Wolverine is disgusted to learn that Xavier has kept Jean in check telepathically, but when Jean awakens, he realizes she is not the Jean Grey he knew. Wolverine asks about Cyclops, but she cannot remember and fears she killed him. Jean pleads with Wolverine to kill her before she harms anybody else, but when he refuses and offers to have Xavier help her, the Phoenix surfaces and telekinetically slams Wolverine into a wall. She then flees to her childhood home. Magneto, also aware that Jean’s powers are loose, meets Xavier at Jean’s house. The two men plead for Jean’s loyalty until the Phoenix resurfaces, unleashing her devastating power. Furious at being caged within Jean’s subconscious for twenty years, she destroys her family’s house and engages in a psychic battle with Xavier. She eventually overpowers and disintegrates Xavier then leaves with Magneto, temporarily weakened.

Following the losses of Xavier and Cyclops, and pained by her inability to get physically close to her boyfriend, Rogue decides to take the mutant cure. The X-Men regroup and confront Magneto’s army, which is attacking the pharmaceutical company’s laboratory on Alcatraz Island. The battle begins when Magneto moves the Golden Gate Bridge to land at Alcatraz Island, which is being guarded only by a company of soldiers. The Brotherhood’s first charge is ineffective as Magneto is unable to destroy the soldiers’ plastic weapons. The first group of mutants, which Magneto refers to as “pawns”, are hit with the cure cartridges and depowered. Arclight destroys the weapons with her shockwave, as the X-Men arrive. During the battle, Kitty Pryde leaves to save Jimmy and at the end of the battle, Iceman goes one-on-one with Pyro, where he transforms his entire body into ice and ends up defeating him, Beast injects Magneto with the cure, nullifying his mutant powers. After this, Wolverine nearly coaxes Jean back to sanity. However, soldiers arrive and fire upon Jean. The Phoenix quickly emerges and begins to disintegrate everything and everyone around her, vaporizing the soldiers. While the other X-Men flee to safety, Wolverine fights his way to Jean, relying upon his healing abilities to save him from her destructive power. Momentarily gaining control, Jean begs Wolverine to save her. Telling Jean he loves her, Wolverine reluctantly kills her with his claws.

Despite the X-Men’s losses, life goes on. The school will continue, even without Xavier. Rogue returns and tells Iceman she had to take the “cure.” The two reconcile and continue their relationship now able to touch each other. Magneto, now an ordinary man, sits at a chessboard and reaches out toward a metal chess piece that trembles slightly — indicating that the cure might not be as permanent as originally thought. Following the closing credits, Dr. Moira MacTaggert checks on a comatose patient who greets her with Xavier’s voice, implying that he has transferred his mind into this new body.

REVIEW:

This is a fitting end to the X-Men saga. The characters have come a long way on screen since the first film, and the ending leaves you wondering if there will be a fourth.

There are those that have bashed this film for its bastardizing of “The Dark Phoenix” saga. I could do that, but I’ll leave that to true fanboys. I will say that it could have been handled better and closer to the actual story rather than some writer who probably saw the comic cover or heard the story and decided to write a screenplay based on that.

It was good to see Beast and Angel. However, I was a little disappointed because they made a huge to do about Angel being in the film and he was barely in the film, and on top of that he wasn’t involved in any of the fight scenes. It is my opinion that if they were going to have him and the cure storylines, then go on a and turn him into Archangel while you’re at it.

I have to wonder why, if Cyclops is supposed to be the leader of the X-Men, that in the movies he’s treated as nothing more than a glorified extra. In this one, he gets killed and they only briefly mention it. WTF?!?

There is no weak link in the X-Men trilogy, but this one seems to try its hardest to earn that dishonor. While it is an excllent film, it strays the farthest from the source material, thus alienating its core fan base, the fanboys and ruining a perfectly good storyline that could very well have been the basis for this film on its own. Still, its worth watching.

4 out of 5 stars

X2: X-Men United

PLOT:

Nightcrawler, a teleporting mutant, attempts to assassinate the President in the White House, but he fails and escapes. Wolverine reappears after discovering nothing at Alkali Lake, while Storm and Jean find Nightcrawler with the help of Professor Xavier and Cerebro. Cyclops and Professor X visit Magneto in his plastic prison to see if he had any part in the attack on the President. Reading Magneto’s mind, Professor X discovers that a covert government operative, William Stryker, has been extracting information from Magneto. A trap is sprung and Cyclops and Professor X are captured by Stryker and his assistant Yuriko Oyama. A military raid of the X-Mansion begins, with the soldiers sedating every student they find, some escape, while Wolverine finds Stryker, but is unable to find anything about his past.

Impersonating Senator Robert Kelly and Yuriko, Mystique gains information about Magneto’s prison and provides a means for him to escape. Wolverine, along with Rogue, Iceman and Pyro, heads to Iceman’s home in Boston. After a 9-1-1 call by Bobby’s brother Ronnie, the police arrive just as the group is about to leave, ensuing into a dispute with Pyro. The X-Jet arrives to pick them all up, and the X-Men team with Magneto and Mystique. Magneto has learned Stryker orchestrated the attack on the President and has been experimenting on mutants, using a drug injected directly into the back of the neck to control them. Jean reads Nightcrawler’s mind and determines that Stryker’s base is located at Alkali Lake, inside the dam. He has also stolen enough equipment from Xavier’s own Cerebro unit to build a second Cerebro, with which he plans to kill all the world’s mutants.

Stryker gains control over Professor Xavier through his son, Jason Stryker, who is able to project powerful visions in the mind, blinding a person to reality. Professor X is instructed to use Cerebro to find and kill all existing mutants. Mystique infiltrates Stryker’s base using a number of disguises. As the X-Men enter Storm and Nightcrawler pair off, searching for kidnapped students. Jean, Magneto, and Mystique are attacked by a brainwashed Cyclops on their way to rescue Professor X, causing damage to the generators that keep the dam from collapsing. The force of Jean’s telekinetic blast awakens Cyclops from his brainwashing. Wolverine finds Stryker in an adamantium smelting room along with Lady Deathstrike. Wolverine and Deathstrike begin fighting, but it ends with Wolverine killing her. Wolverine finds Stryker on a landing pad, while Stryker attempts to bargain Wolverine with stories of his past. Wolverine leaves him for dead, stabbing him and chaining him to the helicopter wheel.

Mystique, disguised as Stryker, uses Jason to convince Professor X to kill all humans. Magneto and Mystique use Stryker’s helicopter to escape Alkali Lake, chaining Stryker to concrete rubble, and are also joined by Pyro. Meanwhile, Nightcrawler teleports Storm inside of Cerebro, where she frees the Professor from his telepathic illusion. A malfunction aboard the X-Jet prevents it from taking off, and the dam finally bursts. The flood gets stronger, drowning Stryker. Jean leaves the jet and creates a telekinetic wall in order to stop the wave, and at the same time raises the jet above the flood waters; all the while surrounded by a corona of fire. Jean activates the X-Jet’s primary engines, before releasing the torrent of water down on herself. The X-Men are able to supply the President with files from Stryker’s private offices, and Professor X warns him that humans and mutants must work together to build peace, or they will destroy each other through war. The film ends with a voiceover by Jean Grey on the process of evolution (a speech originally made by Professor Xavier in the introduction of the first film). The camera floats over Alkali Lake, showing a vague shape of a Phoenix in the lake.

REVIEW:

This is arguablythe best of the X-Men films. Most second films in a franchise trend to be the best, though.

One of the things that I like theb ets about this one, though, is that Magneto isn’t the major villain, as a matter of fact they bring his past work with Xavier more into the light by saying he helped him build Cerebro. I would have liked for them to have a full good guy turn for Magneto in this one, though, with a swerve back to his evil ways at the end, but that’s just me.

Cyclops is far from being my favorite X-Man, but here again, he gets limited screentime in favor of Wolverine. Now, Wolverine is my favorite and I’m not complaining, but Cyclops is the leader of the X-Men and rightfully should have more screentime. Having said that, he actually gets a good ammunt of fighting times in this one, even if it is against Jean while he’s under mind control.

Speaking of Wolverine, this is the second film where he’s had a big fight with a female. This is better than his altercation with Mystique in the first one, but unless you know the comic history, you wouldn’t know that they used to be lovers. A point that was never covered in the movie, but should have been.

Also, there is a lack of Storm. That may be just my affection for Halle Berry speaking, though.

Nightcrawler may be the highlight of the mutants. They truly capture the essence of the character. The only think that was missing was his red and black uniform. Similar to the Spider Man sequels, they seem to take away his sense of humor which really would have made him an even more likable character. It is a shame he didn’t return for the 3rd.

Having gone all fanboy in this review, I feel I needto say a few good things about this film. As I’ve said before, this may be the best of the trilogy. There’s lots of action, twists, turns, cameo appearances (look for Dr. Hank McCoy). There isn’t much wrong with this film, unless you’re a fan of the comics and can pick the mistkaes and changes out.

I highly recommend this movie to any and all. You will enjoy it and want to watch it again and again.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

X-Men

PLOT:

In Congress, Senator Robert Kelly attempts to pass a “Mutant Registration Act”, which would force mutants to publicly reveal their identities and abilities. Magneto begins his plans to level the playing field between mutants and humans. Meanwhile, a girl named Rogue runs away from her home in Meridian, Mississippi. She meets Wolverine in Canada. Suddenly, both of them are attacked by Sabretooth, a mutant and associate of Magneto. Cyclops and Storm arrive and save Wolverine and Rogue and bring them to the X-Mansion. Professor Charles Xavier runs the facility, and leader of a group of mutants who are trying to seek peace with the human race, educate young mutants in the responsible use of their powers, and stop Magneto from starting a war with humanity.

Senator Kelly is abducted by Mystique and Toad, and brought to Magneto, who tests a machine on Kelly that artificially induces mutation. Kelly manages to escape imprisonment with his new abilities. After an accident causes Rogue to use her powers on Wolverine, she is convinced by Mystique (disguised as Bobby Drake, a boy who Rogue begins to romance) that Xavier is angry with her and that she should leave the school. Xavier uses Cerebro to locate Rogue at a train station. Mystique infiltrates Cerebro and sabotages the machine. Wolverine convinces Rogue to stay with Xavier. A fight ensues with Wolverine, Cyclops and Storm against Magneto, Toad and Sabretooth. Rogue is taken by Magneto. Senator Kelly arrives at Xavier’s school, but dissolves into a puddle of water when his mutation becomes unstable.

Magneto intends to use Rogue’s ability to absorb other mutant’s abilities on himself so that Rogue can power his machine. Xavier attempts to use Cerebro to locate Rogue, but Mystique’s sabotage makes him fall into a coma. Jean fixes then uses Cerebro to find Magneto’s machine on Liberty Island; Magneto intends to mutate the world leaders who are meeting for a summit on nearby Ellis Island. A climax takes place at the Statue of Liberty. Just as the group arrives at the top of the statue, Magneto and Sabretooth incapacitate the group and continue with their plans. Magneto transfers his powers to Rogue who is forced to use them to start the machine. Wolverine breaks free and initiates a fight with Sabretooth; however, Wolverine is thrown over the side of the statue and Sabretooth redirects himself to the group to finish them off.

Wolverine returns, and Cyclops, with Jean’s help, blasts Sabretooth out of the statue. With Jean stabilizing him, Storm uses her abilities to send Wolverine to the top of Magneto’s machine. With time running out, Wolverine attempts to stop the machine and save Rogue, but Magneto, now having regained some of his strength, halts Wolverine’s claws. Cyclops manages to find a clean shot, wounding Magneto and allowing Wolverine to destroy the machine. Placing her hand to his face, Wolverine succeeds in transferring his regenerative abilities to a dying Rogue. Professor Xavier recovers from his coma, and the group learns that Mystique is still alive when they see her impersonating Senator Kelly on a news broadcast. Xavier visits Magneto in his plastic prison cell, and the two play chess. Magneto warns his friend that he will continue his fight, to which Xavier promises that he (and the X-Men) will always be there to stop him.

REVIEW:

I was first introduced to the X-Men in the ’80s cartoon, Spider Man and his Amzing Friends.After that brief introduction, I had all but forgotten about them when a childhood friend of mine reintroduced them to me through his comics collection. Once again, though, I somehow lost touch with the X-Men until the 90s cartoon. I kept interest this time until I stopped collecting comics. Then out of nowhere came this film.

X-Men is regarded as the film that really ignited the comic book genre. After watching it, there’s no doubt in my mind that’s exactly what it did.

While this is a great movie, it does stray from the source material a bit too much for my taste. All these departures from the material actually work if you either don’t know the original story or don’t think about them.

I rarely say a bad word about Halle Berry (unless we’re talking about Catwoman),but while she is perfectly cast as Storm, she doesn’t capture the essence of the character the way she should have. Anna Paquin as Rogue just makes no sense to me.

Having said that, James Marsden, while severely limited in his screen time as Cyclops does a pretty good job. Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart seem like the leaped out of the comic and into real life they are so perfect for their roles. Famke Jensen and Rebecca Romijin-Stamos are super sexy in their roles as Jean and Mystique respectively. I would have liked for them to have kept Mystique in her white dress rather than running around naked, but I guess they wanted to get the horny comic geeks something to look at. Hugh Jackman as Wolverine is excellent, but a bit tall for the character.

This is an excellent film, aside from going a bit too far from the source material. Is it any wonder they made it into a trilogy and have 2 or 3 spin offs in the works? No matter if you’re a fan of comic book movies or not, give this film a look see.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Van Helsing

PLOT:

The film begins in black and white, set in Transylvania, 1887. Doctor Victor Frankenstein brings to life the Frankenstein’s Monster but his triumph is cut short when an angry mob infiltrates the castle. Dr. Frankenstein has been aided in his experiments by his deformed assistant Igor, and Count Dracula. Dracula reveals that he helped Frankenstein so he could use the Monster for his own purposes, later revealed to be using the Monster to bring his undead children to life. Frankenstein refuses to help Dracula and tries to kill him, only to discover the Count is already dead. Dracula kills Frankenstein, but the Monster breaks free, knocks Dracula into a fireplace and escapes to a windmill with his “father’s” body. The mob pursue him and burn down the windmill. The Monster and Frankenstein fall into the ruins of the windmill and disappear. Dracula (who survived the fireplace) and his three brides, Verona, Marishka and Aleera, arrive at the remains, their plans seemingly lost. The film then changes to colour, introducing Van Helsing a monster hunter who works for the Knights of the Holy Order at Vatican City.

After unintentionally killing Mr. Hyde in Paris, Van Helsing returns to the Vatican where he is assigned his next mission by a priest. He is sent to Transylvania to help the last of the Valerius family, Anna, to destroy Dracula; otherwise many generations of the family will never go to Heaven. This is because one of Anna’s ancestors vowed that his family would never rest in peace until Dracula is dead. Van Helsing takes Carl with him, an intelligent but bumbling friar who doesn’t really mind blaspheming (as he swears several times and later sleeps with a Transylvanian woman). The two arrive in a town, where they meet Anna, who is the last Velarius after her brother Velkan fell into a river whilst fighting a werewolf. The three brides attack the town, but Van Helsing kills Marishka by firing arrows covered in holy water at her. Anna reluctantly accepts Van Helsing’s help and takes him to her castle home. That night, a werewolf shows up. He is revealed to be Velkan, bitten by the previous wolf. Velkan retreats to Frankenstein Castle with Van Helsing and Anna in pursuit, the werewolf killing a creepy gravedigger in the process. Velkan is strapped into a special device by Dracula, in order for Velkan to act as a conductor for electricity to bring Dracula’s children to life. The process works briefly, but the children begin to die shortly after birth. Anna releases Velkan but he becomes a werewolf again. Van Helsing meets Dracula, who addresses him as “Gabriel”. Van Helsing tries to stab him with a stake and burn him with a holy cross, but neither harm him.

Van Helsing and Anna escape but fall into an underground cavern, discovering the Monster hiding from Dracula. Anna suggests killing the Monster, but Van Helsing decides to take him to Rome to protect him from Dracula. Picking up Carl, the group (Van Helsing, Anna, Carl and the Monster) head off in horse-drawn carriages. However, the remaining brides and the Velkan werewolf chase after them. The carriage falls down a ravine, the brides pursuing it but discovering it is a decoy with a box of stakes inside. The carriage hits the ground and explodes, catapulting the stakes in all directions, some of which impale Verona and kill her. The real carriage containing the group nearly gets away, but the werewolf appears, setting the carriage on fire. Van Helsing fires his shotguns on the werewolf and kills him. Anna finds Velkan shortly before he dies; she also discovers Van Helsing was bitten in the process and will become a werewolf. Anna is then kidnapped by Aleera, who bargains with Anna for the Monster. Instead, Van Helsing knocks the Monster out and places him in a tomb to keep him from being stolen. Van Helsing and Carl sneak into Dracula’s summer palace where a ball is occuring. Van Helsing rescues Anna from being bitten, but discovers the Monster has been captured by the undead, who are then sent after Van Helsing and the others. The undead are destroyed by a weapon created by Carl that releases a bright exploding lightsource.

The trio returns to Anna’s castle and piece together that Dracula was killed in the 1400′s, made a deal with the Devil and became a vampire; Dracula is actually the son of Anna’s ancestor; and the only way to kill Dracula is by using a werewolf. The group then discover the door to Dracula’s lair: a large map owned by Anna’s deceased father. A missing piece is in the possession of Van Helsing, who received it from the Vatican priest. The three travel through the door and find an icy fortress: Dracula’s lair.

Inside, Van Helsing sees the Monster, who explains that Dracula has a werewolf cure. Anna and Carl force a captured Igor to take them to the cure, but are attacked by Aleera. Carl heads off with the cure to find Van Helsing, who must kill Dracula and receive the cure before the final stroke of midnight, or he will permanently become a werewolf. Carl is pursued by Igor, who attacks him with a tazer-like weapon. Van Helsing manages to free the Monster but not before Dracula’s children are brought to life. Dracula attacks Van Helsing, transforming into a demonic winged vampire. The Monster falls off a tower and is propelled through the air on a wire, which collides with Igor, sending him plummeting down a ravine to his demise. The Monster distracts Aleera, allowing Anna to escape. However, this distraction lasts for only so long when Aleera confronts Anna. Anna stabs Aleera with a concealed stake, killing her. Van Helsing, transformed into a werewolf, fights Dracula until the full moon is blocked out by clouds. Dracula takes this opportunity to reveal that Van Helsing is the Left Hand of God, another name for Gabriel, and it was he who killed him in the 1400s. Dracula attempts to get Van Helsing to be his partner. Van Helsing refuses, returns to werewolf form when the moon comes out again, and kills Dracula by biting his neck. Dracula and his children all die. Anna rushes in with the cure, after receiving it from Carl, and races to save Van Helsing, but he attacks and kills her in werewolf form. However, she has managed to inject him with the cure. Restored to humanity, he holds her body in his arms.

Van Helsing and Carl cremate Anna’s body by the ocean shore, honoring Anna’s unfulfilled desire to see the ocean. Van Helsing briefly sees a vision of Anna and her family in Heaven, before he and Carl head off back to Rome. The Monster, having survived, rows off on a raft to an unknown future.

REVIEW:

This is the film that let America know that Hugh Jackman could do more than just be Wolverine in the X-Men movies. While not the best performance acting wise, it does cement him as an A-list actor.

Kate Beckinsale, is a little underused. Her character is supposed to be the strong female type, but ends up getting utilized as a damsel in distress.

Carl is a good comic foil. Dracula is one of the better interpretations of the count on film, until he becomes a giant bat. Dracula’s brides don’t really have any purpose other than playing around with Kate Beckinsale. One review I read about them, said they were belly dancers with wings. In a way, that’s what they seemed like. Frankenstein’s monster, as in every other film adaptation, is a tragic character.

I found the scene with Mr. Hyde entertaining, yet unnecessary. I underdtand they put that in there to give a little bit of development for Van Helsing and all, but in the context of the rest of the film, it just seems thrown in there.

After saying all that, I really enjoyed this film and highly recommend it for anyone that’s into action/adventure flicks.

4 out of 5 stars

Swordfish

PLOT:

Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) is an elite hacker who infected the FBI’s Carnivore program with a potent computer virus, delaying its deployment by several years. For this, he was arrested by Agent Roberts (Don Cheadle), convicted of computer crimes and spent two years in Leavenworth. A condition of his parole is that he is forbidden from touching, much less using, a computer. His ex-wife, Melissa, has sole custody over their daughter Holly and some form of restraining order against Stanley from seeing Holly.

While Stanley is at home in rural Texas practicing his golf swing, a woman named Ginger Knowles (Halle Berry) shows up to solicit his hacking skills for her boss Gabriel Shear (John Travolta). For an initial $100,000 he agrees to meet with Gabriel. He and Ginger fly to Los Angeles, California and meet Gabriel in a night club. Gabriel pressures Stanley right-then-and-there to hack a government system in 60 seconds while at gun point. Although it was just a test (the gun was not loaded) Stanley succeeded in hacking the system, a feat that Gabriel had not anticipated.

At Gabriel’s house he convinces Stanley to write a worm for $10 million that steals money from a secret government slush fund on the order of $9.5 billion. Gabriel reveals to Stanley that he works for an organization called the Black Cell that was started by J. Edgar Hoover in the 1950s, which is responsible for retaliatory attacks against terrorists who have attacked Americans. It is currently headed by Senator Reisman. Reisman discovers that the FBI has caught onto Gabriel and attempts to pull the plug. After Gabriel refuses to terminate plans Reisman attempts to have Gabriel killed, which fails. Gabriel tracks the Senator down while he is fly fishing in Bend, Oregon and kills Reisman.

Gabriel proceeds with his plan and raids the local branch of the WORLDBANC. He takes hostages and deploys Stanley’s worm. After stealing the $9.5B he boards the hostages and his crew on a bus out of the bank. Gabriel demands a plane at the local airport (a hostage negotiation cliché) but it was a diversion. An S-64 Aircrane swoops down, lifts the bus, and releases it on the rooftop of a skyscraper. From the rooftop, Gabriel departs with his team in a helicopter which is shot down by Stanley with a rocket-propelled grenade. At the morgue, Stanley realizes it was more misdirection and Gabriel was not on the helicopter and “Gabriel Shear” is an alias.

The end of the film shows Ginger and “Gabriel” in Monte Carlo transferring that $9.5B into other accounts. The final scene shows a yacht being destroyed and a news anchor voice narrating that a suspected terrorist died on that yacht, althought the dvd does contain an alternate ending wherein Ginger is told in the bank that the account is already empty, alluding to the possibility that Stanley has played one final trick on them and taken the money himself.

REVIEW:

First of all, let me say that the reason I initially saw this was for the topless scene with Halle Berry. Of course, not long after this film came out Monster’s Ball was released and we got to see a lot more of her, so it kind of took away from the impact, but it’s still impressive, nonetheless.

Other than the aforementioned nude scene, this movie was was a pleasant surprise. Action packed, doesn’t make you think too much, has a twist ending, and even has a touching moment. The explosions are some of the best in cinema. If I’m not mistakes, the guys that did The Matrix had something to do with it.

I know I’ve gone on record as saying that I’m not a fan of long movies, but I feel this one could have been a bit longer, but I’m not sure what they could have expanded on, short of doing a bit of a back story on Jackman or Travolta’s characters or something.

This is an excellent movie with something for everyone. You should check it out!

5 out of 5 stars