Movie Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

* Yoda warns, here might movie spoilers be, yes.

"Wow. Koo-koo-ka-choo got screwed," Logan smirked teasingly.

"Kuekuatsheu," the lovely brunette corrected. "Means the Wolverine."

From the brief glance I got as I was scanning the Web for that particular line from the movie, I gathered that many were unsatisfied with the latest movie, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Well, personally, I thought it was just nice, not too much, not too little.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="249" caption="Wolverine's new claws (from wearemoviegeeks.com)"][/caption]

Being around X-Men fans in my earlier days, I do know most of the storylines for the main characters but I never did read about the beginning of Wolverine, so I thought the filmmakers did quite well in explaining and compiling what made Logan turn into Wolverine. I left the cinema content in having all my questions answered. 1) Why is Wolverine so suspicious of people? - Answered. 2) How come Wolverine can't remember anything from his earlier life? - Answered. 3) How did William Stryker cross path with Wolverine? - Answered. 4) How did Logan come up with the name Wolverine? - Answered. If I were to list every single question I had on Wolverine, my post would just be a major Q&A. 8-)

But...I do realize that I'm not exactly gushing over the movie like I did with the movie Australia. Perhaps it is a movie that is nice to watch but not exactly memorable.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="This is how Gambit is supposed to look like (from comicmix.com)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1461" align="alignright" width="182" caption="But this is the Gambit that I got instead"][/caption]

There was one thing I was looking forward to but got extremely disappointed; Gambit a.k.a Remy LeBeau. Gambit is my all-time favourite among the X-Men. It's not just his playboy and cocky behaviour, it's the way he looks, the way he carries himself about, the way he talks with that slang of his. Well, you can kind of guess that I expected ALOT from whoever is playing Gambit, and sad to say, Taylor Kitsch is getting the short end of my stick. Taylor simply wasn't...Gambit enough. I felt he did the role half-heartedly, like he didn't study how Gambit moves and talks in the comics and in the cartoon version. In short, he was maybe, mmmm, 35% Gambit-like, not enough for a hardcore fan like me. And the first scene he appeared in, that hair of his combined with that silky purple shirt reminded me of Johnny Depp in Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. Not exactly the first impression I wanted from my hero. :-(

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="164" caption="Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth (from daemonsmovies.com)"][/caption]

Back to the main character. You cannot deny that Hugh Jackman took the role of Wolverine to heart. Bad-tempered, foul-mouthed and always gearing for a fight, it is hard to imagine anyone else playing that role. He brought every emotion to life, from pure rage to sad acceptance, but still maintained that toughness that is uniquely Wolverine. Oooh, of course, who can forget the second-best actor in the movie, Liev Schreiber who played Sabretooth. I know most people expected a huge monster-like man but I think Liev carried the role quite splendidly.

You'll see some other X-Men villains and heroes in this movie, but if you don't know who they are, well, prepared to be flabbergasted with thoughts of "Who's that? Who's this?" The Blob, Bolt, Deadpool, Silver Fox, Emma Frost and even a young Scott Summers a.k.a Cyclops all made an appearance along with many others who we just can't recognize because their screen time was too short. Keep an eye out too for Professor Xavier. ;-)

Perhaps because the movie is new, or maybe the filmmakers did too good a job, there are not that many goofs. However, there is a goof in a scene where Wolverine was battling Agent Zero and a few army vehicles. When his adamantium claws come out, you can only see the bottom half of it, where else the sharpened part are totally gone, as though the motion graphic department and the script people weren't in sync with each other.

Another goof is the long-anticipated fight between Logan and Sabretooth. Just as the fight was getting good, Gambit came flying into the scene with his ever-ready long stick, creating quite a blast. The thing is...Gambit was punched out of commission by Logan before the fight and he was slumped in the same alley where the fight was. So how come Gambit came flying into the fight from the top of a nearby roof? ?:-)

So, is it a movie worth watching? Yes, definitely, go watch it in the cinema, even if it's just to satisfy your curiosity about one of the most popular X-Men characters. Maybe because I'm not one of those hardcore X-Men comic fans, I find the movie acceptable and within the high standards set by the first 3 X-Men movies,  but my brother and cousin, the extreme X-Men maniacs, might disagree.

William Stryker: You were sentenced to death for decapitating a Senior Officer. Your sentence was carried out by a firing squad at ten hundred hours. How'd that go?
Logan: It tickled.

Review: Australia

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oy, oy, oy!!

It's been a while since my university days in Perth, Australia, so listening to the slang in Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman's latest movie, 'Australia', brought back some nostalgic memories. A word of advice before you go off to watch 'Australia'; it is really long, about 2 and a half hours. If you are the type who, like me, is unable to tolerate noisy and fidgety movie audience, it's better if you watch it in GSC's Gold Class.

Now, I must warn you that those with strong racial feelings and heavily connected to Australia (such as an Australian, an Aboriginal or a Torres Strait Islander) are not recommended to watch this film. Like most historical movies, there are some scenes and dialogues that certain people might find sensitive or offensive. Example: For Malaysians, when we did the Tunku musical (a theater show of our first prime minister), the scene with the racial fights between the Chinese and Malays as well as the raping of our women brought back many unhappy memories to those who had lived through that tumultuous time. In 'Australia', be prepared for racism, indications of rape, some nature of magic and war scenes. If you can handle all these then by all means, watch it. You will definitely enjoy it. And no, it's not one of those serious historical drama. I thought it was, too, when I first saw the trailer. How wrong I was.

The movie starts off with a brief history of the 'stolen generation' and you'll hear the voice of a half-Aboriginal half-white child, Nullah (played by Brandon  Walters), narrating the story. Although it begins on a serious note, 10 minutes later, you'll start laughing at Nicole Kidman's character, an English aristocrat by the name of Lady Sarah Ashley, as she meet up with the rough cattle driver, Drover (Hugh Jackman). From the start, you can see the chemistry between Lady Ashley and Drover, not unlike the couple you often read in romance novels. You'll get caught up with their relationship throughout the movie as their emotions move from despising each other to mutual respect to finally, love.

You simply must keep an eye on Nullah, the boy who often refers to himself as 'creamy', one who is not black or white but somewhere in between. Although the attention is focused on Lady Ashley and Drover (perhaps because of the actors representing the characters), I believe that the true star of the movie is this young boy. His story is one that will make you feel sympathy, fear and love for him, and at the end of the movie, you'll understand why Lady Ashley tries so hard to keep him as her own child. By the way, being raised by his Aboriginal grandfather, King George, Nullah has learned the traits and customs of his ancestors, and you'll see him perform certain rituals and songs of the Aborigines. He has a lovely singing voice. :) He also has an interesting use of words, with sentences that will make you laugh such as, "We gotta get those fat cheeky bulls into that big bloody metal ship!" I don't remember whether the Aboriginals I met in Australia talked like that. :D

As with every film, there's always a villain, and the problem with 'Australia' is I keep getting the villain (Neil Fletcher, played by David Wenham) mixed up with the helpful army soldier, Captain Dutton (Ben Mendelsohn). The face expression that they make is quite similar, especially with the squinty eyes and the downward frown. But don't worry, you'll find many reasons to truly depise the cunning Neil Fletcher as he goes out of his way to make Lady Ashley's life miserable in the land down under, since he was deprived of taking over the ranch her late husband left when he was murdered.

I love 'Australia' immensely, not just because of the tremendously convincing acting, but how well everything (the plot, the historical events) merged together. Though long, every scene effortlessly flows into the next, and time becomes irrelevant as you get caught up in the story, the history, the romance, and the action. It is truly one movie to watch before you end the year of 2008.

As usual (I love doing this), check out the goofs from 'Australia' after you come back from the film. Though the film is directed by Baz Luhrmann, even the best of the best make mistakes. :D