A few More Scratches

It took me long enough to see the movie “Wolverine.”

There were enough people telling me how awful the film was. And that I shouldn’t see it. But I did. It’s not bad. Not bad at all.

I probably like it more than most people have who are revered fans of the comics and the self-appointed critics of the whole comic genre. So I can’t blame them for being slightly disappointed in it. But it’s not as bad as it is made out to be. Though no movie is worth $8.50 a pop to see. It feels like the prices get higher every time I go see a movie at the local theater. I might consider just going to the second run theaters from now on. Saves a little on the spare coins.

The film begins with the flashbacks of the younger Wolverine, before the dawning of his powers, in the middle of his family conflict. And he still has the bones protruding from his hands to resemble sharpened claws. Much of the first part of the storyline looks into the sibling rivalry between the Wolverine character and the other brother Victor. Also known as Sabertooth.

He'll get his metal claws later in the film.

It’s interesting to see how Wolverine is shaped and molded throughout the entire film… little details that may not matter to some. It is the small details that seems to make me leap with, “So that’s how he got that jacket.” There are tiny things that paints a nice picture. Wolverine developed his heavy smoking habits from hanging around a bunch of lumberjacks. You get to see how he received his adamantium claws. And you get to see how he became a reluctant member of an elite government group working from the inside.

But Wolverine also develops a very keen moral side. This splits him from the rest of the group, the government and his own brother as well.

There are a lot of good points for the film. First and foremost is the always dependable performance made by Hugh Jackman. It’s tailor-made for him. The role that he’s the most identified with. And it’s nice to see, despite having received plenty of notoriety for the part, he doesn’t simply walk away from the role he's known for. Jackman embraces the role. You can tell he loves the part. And he gets into it.

His performance is one of the best things about the film. I really do like him a lot in the role.
There are a lot of nice cameos that seem to work well into the film. Not just cameos for the sake of appeasing the fans. Not just little bits of characters thrown into the recipe just for added taste.


The appearance of a younger Cyclops is great and he’s treated much better here in the film than he was in the third (and awful) X-Men 3. Fact is, I don’t even acknowledge the third X-Men film.

Another nice cameo is the character of the card-throwing and lady chasing Gambit who helps Wolverine find the Island where William Stryker performs his military operations on missing mutants to create a powerful weapon against his most hated kind, the mutants. Gambit as portrayed by Taylor Kitsch makes him a formidable supporting character. Not just a throwaway character.

I’ve always been fascinated with the William Stryker character. Though it’s very unfortunate that the same actor could not be used here. Brian Cox was not cast again in the part. This may have been a mishap for the film. So the film feels like it’s missing an excellent actor here. Danny Huston tries his best and does a commendable job. But Brian Cox projects far more evil under the thin layer of humanity in his part… and they could have used Cox once more in the film to help bring a more serviceable evildoer wearing a sharp military suit.

There’s a great funny bit with Wolverine boxing it out with the Fred J. Dukes aka the Blob (well played by Kevin Durand) and it gives an added fun to the film.

I believe the film simply needs to establish the Wolverine character before it could focus on a more solid storyline such as the one in Japan where he will have to fend himself against a ninja organization called the Hand. Wolverine against ninjas? That I would like to see. Jackman did say in an interview that he loved the Japan storyline and is willing to portray it on film. I think it’s a very good idea as it gives a picturesque view into the Eastern world while using one of the most well known comic characters.

It’s not a bad movie. That might not be saying much. But it’s off to a good start and might be very strong introduction to the character. Perhaps, with even less character cameos, it might be a good battlefield for Wolverine to wrestle with his savage side in the lurid heights of the Tokyo skyscraper outline. It’s leaning that way. And it’s always the beast that lives inside a man, yet has a sensitive side. Perhaps it will take the beauty of an eastern princess to tame his soul.

Cartoon Splendor of Star Wars

Actually I do like the Star Wars cartoon series so far being presented on the cartoon network.

They have brought out a first series of this on a DVD treatment with just an introduction to four episodes. But it’s a pretty good lineup with a taste of things to come.

It can be seen right away. A sort of sidelines storyline with the running of several storylines getting a hectic pulse of action and a nice glimpse of the major characters finding their feet on the ground with a rather good story.

More than that. You get a pretty good first episode to sink your teeth into. Though the animation still needs a little getting used to with their faces still getting the “flattened” look to them. The way you see the Easter Island statues. It can be a little distracting at times.

But the story is there. And there’s a very excellent three part story on here with the battleship Malevolence that brings a furnishable story arc from a beginning to a self-contained closure. It’s deftly handled and gives a feeling that there is still much more to the Clone Wars epic motion that is still peeling away from the momentous battles witnessed at the height of the galactic wars.

I really like the Malevolence ship that spells certain impossible costs for the Republic led by the good Jedi council and the soldiers fighting for the democracy. With the Malevolence ship getting underway, commanded by the metallic Grievous, the lone stark figure of powerful Sith training, he is ordered by the higher ups to destroy medical ships and smaller command posts just on the outskirts of the war.

There are some nice details. You can see the robotic general still has his hacking cough, a layover from the damages caused by the Jedi Mace Windu when they crossed each other’s paths. You can see this in one of the Clone War cartoons shows that was first presented on Cartoon Network. It’s a nice touch of the story that is kept.

Strangely enough, I could almost see there are two definite crews of animators and writers: one for the film that came out in the previous summer and another for started this particular cartoon series. I didn’t mind the theatrical film version that introduce Anakin Skywalker’s padawan Ahsoka Tano and a very good storyline involving the Hutts. It was okay.

But the cartoon series following thereafter? It’s much better. The scripts are better. The writing is much more controlled. As with the basic complexity of the story arc seen in the Malevolence thread. The characters are better handled. It’s almost as if there’s an entirely different crew of writers and animators doing the work now. I’m not sure what it is. Could it be that they have greater freedom of writing more dense stories.

The dialogue is much better.

There’s one nice touch of the story when Master Plo Kloon must hide himself from the searching Separatist weapon Malevolence until help arrives. So they must fight to struggle, their lives at a stark end. One of the soldiers felt that they would not get any help at all, “We’re just soldiers. We’re expendable.” But Master Plo Kloon disagrees with this statement. And he reassures the solider that everyone has their role in the greater scheme of the story design. That he’s more important than just window dressing.

It’s a nice touch. And there is plenty of humor throughout the story that holds the story together making it far more interesting and imaginative. I liked the Malevolence storyline and hope there would be more story arcs like this one.

Almost as if the crew of the theatrical film version has gotten their act together and polished off all the flaws that has hampered the introductory big screen effort. I might not even bother going back to see it. I’ll stick with this cartoon series.

Anything else I like in this cartoon? No Jar Jar. Mesa mesa glads he’s gone.

There’s also the impending gloom that settles over the entire run of episodes so far. Let’s see if they can capitalize on that atmosphere to bring a more impounding notion of dread that can be reminiscent of “Empire Strikes Back” and “Revenge of the Sith,” both films I do like very much.
There’s a nice developed them of Grievous trying to prove his worth to his higher up authority figure Count Dooku. It would great to see them working their way with this into the storyline.

Um, anything else?

Well, please give Obi Wan Kenobi more to do. I do realize that the story revolves the pain-in-the-butt Anakin Skywalker and it seems that he’s doing all the work and getting by just fine. While Kenobi just stands around most of the time and just barks orders. I do like the fact that his features resembles very much of Ewan McGregor. But he’s Obi-Wan f******* Kenobi. He’s one of the few surviving Jedi who didn’t get tainted, in any way, by the Jedi purge. So he’s a very good character. Utilize him more often. Instead of giving all the good action pieces to Anakin Skywalker who simply is a whiny little twit.

Kenobi is better than that. And there should be plenty of opportunities to show in the stories why he is so beloved in the Star Wars canon. James Arnold Taylor provides the voice who does come close to the original source. Use him more often. There’s no doubt that he’s still one of the most popular, if not the most, characters in the entire franchise. The story should be able to break off to give him some good focus. And give him a chance to shine.

I’ll have to made a small detour in the conversation to give notice to the tenth anniversary of Star Wars: the Phantom Menace. Has it been ten years already? I remember hating it like it was yesterday. I remember the long years of anticipation turned into bitter disappointment with seeing what a piece of crap the Phantom Menace was. I wish that thing was never made. And I would feel all the better for it if it was entirely disposed from my thoughts. But I still have memories of it. And they were unhappy ones.

I wish I could get my eight dollars back from Lucas who destroyed by loved memory of the Star Wars myths by giving us a polished turd that was the Phantom Menace. Malice couldn’t even describe by hatred for the thing. But it’s ten years later now. And I don’t think he would be giving back my money now.

A Star Trek Countdown List

The run down of the Star Trek shows and my initial thoughts on them:

1. Star Trek: A ground breaking series at its time in the 1960s. The start of something big. And the first Vulcan nerve pinch!

2. Star Trek The Next Generation: Patrick Stewart remains one of the finest actors of any century. The series was lucky to have him.

3. Deep Space Nine: A big fat ripoff of Babylon 5.

4. Star Trek Voyager: Maybe I just don't like this particular woman captain. Any other woman would be fine. Just not Kate Mulgrew.

5. Star Trek Enterprise: I like the dog.

Star Trekking

So I've boldly gone where everyone has gone before. The local theater.

Ah, yes, I couldn't resist that particular line. But it's still a pretty good idea to venture, no explore, the possibility of seeing Star Trek on the big screen.

Having thought that perhaps other summer films coming out such as Wolverine and even the second Transformers would be the biggest blockbuster of the summer, it has turned out that Star Trek may actually beat all the odds to become the season favorite of the year. It has turned against all expectations to become a sleeper hit.

Once thought as a dead duck in space, a weight of disappointment hanging over it like a crushing blow, audiences can find that Star Trek has much to offer. The film has plenty of action to pass for a summer movie, but the story develops characters, a sense of humor that eases us, and a formidable return of cultural icon favorites.

This has turned out to be a hell out of a movie.

Why is that? What makes this one any different from the last few Star Trek films that hit the screens? The last few featured the lackluster attempts of the Next Generation crew to attempt into breaking the difficult mold of the box office. It seems, however, that the old crew was the one with the box office appeal that accepts them into popular culture. It was probably during the fourth film, the one with the whales, that the old Star Trek crew hit the height of their popularity with a story that can be easily accessible to the audiences.

It's done it again. Star Trek has reclaimed its once lost stardom using a very good storyline that isn't too terribly complicated. It makes for an easy thrill ride with plenty of energy that spills over the cinematic experiences. But it is the performance of the core actors, from Kirk to Spock to the others, that holds the film intact with their remarkable interpretations of the old. They have brought us everything we have known and loved about the old Star Trek shows.

Kudos to the main lead of Chris Pine who must take the difficult challenge of replacing an actor who has played Kirk for more than thirty years. But he does so without mimicking, playing any parody that could easily be careless stutter of dramatic pauses, “I... we... must communicate with... you!”

Pine does make the part his own with qualities of arrogance, recklessness and striving determination that makes the Kirk character his own. He's picked out the most recognizable symptoms that would evolve into the Kirk character and yet playing it with remarkable struggle.

It makes sense now why Kirk does the things he does, why he is headstrong in any situation. He has been asked Captain Pike in a bar scene, “Your father was a starship captain for twelve minutes. I dare you to do better.”

Now we understand the Kirk character.

It reflects the amazing challenge that faces the newfound actors as they must find the middle ground of what made the old characters work and finding something refreshing in their personalities, expounding on their qualities.

My own favorite character is Spock in the Star Trek mythos who remain the dignified center and the cool facade of the crew... his bold and striking figure, so alien, is wonderfully managed by Zachary Quinto is so sharp, calculating that it is a perfect reflection to the original character. A beautiful homage that does not make us forget the old, but welcomes the wonderful memories of the ground breaking 1960s series.

Karl Urban hits it right on the nail with the character of “Bones” McCoy along with Simon Pegg bringing a great sense of comedy that was a perfect deriviation in the film. Zoe Saldana is very sweet and perfect balance of beauty in the character of communications officers Uhura. Every one of the characters get a nice spotlight that gives perfect weight of feminine charm. John Cho who plays Sulu has a great bit in their extracts from the original character as a very unbeatable swordsman, nothing to be missed here.

I liked the one scene where the captain of the Enterprise asked for anyone who has hand to hand combat and Sulu raised his hands to volunteer alongside with Kirk. When Kirk asks him what his combat training was, the Japanese crew member said quietly, “Fencing.”

But let's just say it is Sulu that kicks some Romulan ass in this film.

Lastly, it's nice to see one of the favorite actors of Star Trek to come back in the role of the original Spock, his recognizable features remain one of the most popular traits of the myth of Star Trek. Here, the actor Leonard Nimoy makes more than just a cameo to the film, but plays an intricate part of the story that makes him a prime mover of events. There are just a few scenes with him, but he is a force to be reckoned with. With his character having caused a ripple through time and space, he may have well been responsible for finding this parallel universe which will be slightly different than the original cast... yet finding similarities as well.

If there are any flaws in the movie, it can be found in the character Nero who is the Romulan commander who controls the planet destroyer from the future... his character is a little dull and nothing is developed... we know he's upset about the death of his wife. But why would that instantly make him want to destroy the universe with his craziness? There should have been a better realization for his character and making him more sympathetic to the audience if his character would work. But it's a minor discrepancy.

Yeah, he's the bad guy. But why? Why? There isn't enough weight to carry his anger into destroying the universe. It should have been more explained.

The science is crap in the story. With plot holes that the U.S.S. Enterprise could fly right through at warp speed.

But one science flaw example in the film... there's the one bit with Capt. Pike and his crew are onboard the shuttlecraft and they are ready slip down into the planet in their atmosphere suits. Pike said "good luck" and sends Kirk, Sulu and the other guy down there. He pulls down the lever and it opens up to space. The only thing that is separating him from the rest of that shuttle are a bunch of plastic curtains. Hardly enought to keep Pike from suffocating to death in space when exposed to it. All the oxygen would have been sucked out.

Vulcan would have to be at least three times the the size of the sun to become a black hole. Maybe not. I don't think even Jupiter would be able to turn into a black hole... not big enough. Not even our sun. It's not big enough. That wasn't explained in the film either. I'm not sure if the planetary size when squeezed down would cause enough pressure to rupture space and time continuum.

But it is the human story that makes it big this time. We have come to understand the dynamics between the characters and understand how the characters got their in the first place. The rebooting from the cast of director J.J. Abrams and the writers knew how to fine tune the film and make it a pretty good ride, an exceptional one, which makes this one the number one summer movie.

It had been a good idea to restart the franchise just as they have done with the James Bond and Batman movie series. Give it a right kick to the engines to get it working again.

There might have been no lines like “Beam us up, Scotty!” But it comes pretty close. And we can come away feeling that this film is a good addition to the science fiction genre, but also a dramatic one with its human touches. And that is what Star Trek explores at best, the emotional side. The side that makes all of us human one way or the other. And Star Trek gives us a side of the story we have never known. Star Trek is back in the game with a lot of heart. And touching humor.