The Wolverine

http://www.thewolverinemovie.com/

My original plan was to see this on my Birthday but after a long day at work, followed by Monsters University and dinner, my friends and I were a little too tired to dedicate more than 2 hours to Hugh Jackman and his claws. So we saved The Wolverine for another day.

I must admit that my initial response to there being yet another Wolverine movie was not one of excitement. I hadn't particularly enjoyed X-Men Origins: Wolverine and I didn't really see the need for there to be another Wolverine movie. But I started to hear rumblings from people who'd seen it, about an amazing post credits scene. So naturally I was curious. Having now sat through 2+ hours of the film, I can tell you that for me, the post credits scene was not worth it. It's not that the film is bad. It's just overlong, and the story's not all that interesting. 

The film is basically yet another tale of Logan (Hugh Jackman) trying to redeem himself from his past demons. This time around he travels to Japan to visit a man - Yashida (Haruhiko Yamanouchi), whom he saved from an atomic bomb blast during WWII. Yashida would like to repay Logan for saving his life all those years ago by taking away Logan's mutation that allows him to heal. As it is this mutation which makes Logan immortal, Yashida thinks that to give Logan the ability to die, rather than continue to see those he loves die, would be a blessing. Of course he could just want the ability for himself, which would allow him to be cured of the cancer that is killing him.

Throughout the movie we not only have flashbacks to Logan's past in Japan in 1945 but we also see his visions of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), whom he killed in X-Men: The Last Stand. It's a very tangled web that's being woven, and as it's trying to incorporate elements from the X-Men films, as well as keeping in line with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, it's not always that easy to follow. The fight scenes, especially the one on the roof of the train are impressive, but the storyline stringing the fight scenes together is a little less so. Ultimately I just didn't really feel as though I gained anything from seeing this movie and I don't think it really added anything to the X-Men series, or was necessary in the run up to the release of the next X-Men film. Which is what is hinted at in the post credits scene.

I would recommend this to hardcore fans of the X-Men series, or those who like their Hugh Jackman to be sans shirt and with claws. 6 out of 10. 

Viewing Date - 4th August 2013

UK Release Date - 26th July 2013

Cast Overview:

Logan ~ Hugh Jackman

Mariko ~ Tao Okamoto

Yukio ~ Rila Fukushima

Shingen ~ Hiroyuki Sanada

Viper ~ Svetlana Khodchenkova

Yashida ~ Haruhiko Yamanouchi

Young Yashida ~ Ken Yamamura

Jean Grey ~ Famke Janssen

Director ~ James Mangold

Writer(s) ~ Mark Bomback (Screenplay) and Scott Frank (Screenplay)

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

http://www.hanselandgretelmovie.com/

I would be lying if I said I hadn't been looking forward to this movie for quite some time. But that is mostly down to the constant delays it experienced on it's way to being released (bearing in mind that it was filmed prior to The Avengers!) rather than because I'm a fan of the fairy tale. 

The film opens on the famous tale of two children in the woods who come across a candy house and can't resist having a snack. Inside the house they discover a witch who tries to fatten up poor Hansel in order to eat him. The kids escape and burn the witch. The End. Or so those Grimm brothers would have you believe. Queue a nice animated sequence to help fill us in on what has become of the brother and sister since their encounter. Well, they become Witch Hunters of course! What else are they going to do with no form of therapy to work out their demons? They get hired by the Mayor of a small town with a witch problem and the ass-kicking ensues. But the witches are more than just an unwanted nuisance for the town and have snatched several children. What are they up to? And will Hansel and Gretel be able to figure it out in time to put an end to their schemes?

This movie has received a lot of stick but I found it to be a lot of fun. If you went in there expecting a serious movie, tacking all kinds of issues then I'd forgive you for being disappointed. What I was expecting was a somewhat cheesy premise, some laughs, lots of bad-assery and the occassional F-bomb and that's exactly what I got. 

Jeremy Renner's Hansel was actually a lot sweeter and accident prone than I was expecting. Having seen the trailer and knowing his penchant for action movies I expected him to be the brawn, and Gemma Arterton to be the brains. But I was pleasantly surprised to see her step out of her damsel in distress role and actually kick some butt. She was great as Gretel and never for one minute seemed like she couldn't handle herself. They had good chemistry and it was nice to see a brother/sister dynamic on screen in this type of film.

The witch make up was also impressive, as were the sets, as the filmmakers opted for realism, using prosthetics rather than CGI for the witches and filming in real forests in Germany rather than using green screens. When you're making a fairy tale I guess you want to ground it in reality as much as possible and I felt that it worked really well here. 

Overall, a lot of gore but also a lot of fun. Which has been sorely absent from our screens in a while. The Oscar season of serious films is over, go let your hair down for a night. 7 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 27th February 2013

UK Release Date - 27th February 2013

Cast Overview:

Jeremy Renner ~ Hansel

Gemma Arterton ~ Gretel

Famke Janssen ~ Muriel

Pihla Viitala ~ Mina

Derek Mears ~ Edward

Thomas Mann ~ Ben

Peter Stormare ~ Sheriff Berringer

Director/Writer ~ Tommy Wirkola

Taken 2 - Guest Review

http://www.taken2movie.co.uk/

Unlike my Guest Review for Ruby Sparks I have absolutely no intention of seeing Taken 2. Not this, or any other weekend. I wasn't a fan of the original (it left me distinctly underwhelmed) and as this one looked to follow a similar, if somewhat milder path (Taken was a 18 certificate while Taken 2 is a 12A), I knew it wouldn't be for me.

But as my previous guest reviewer - my friend Faye - has seen Taken 2, I thought I'd call on her again for another one line review: "Just saw Taken 2... Not so good!!"

So now you know Taken 2 is one to avoid! :0(

Cast Overview:

Liam Neeson ~ Bryan Mills

Maggie Grace ~ Kim

Famke Janssen ~ Lenore

Director ~ Oliver Megaton

Writer(s) ~ Luc Besson (Screenplay) and Robert Mark Kamen (Screenplay)