Movie Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

What can I say about one of the more anticipated movies of this summer season? I was disappointed.

Wolverine is a movie with several things going for it, but it just doesn't seem to take hold of any of them. Fans of the comic books will have various issues on top of those presented by the movie. Regular fans of the X-Men will feel short-changed. It's like the bonus scenes at the end of the movie, neither is worth the time you spend waiting to see them.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is indeed a well produced movie. There is CGI and explosions to fulfill the testosterone needs, and more than enough scenes of Hugh Jackman without a shirt off to pass the time of most who enjoy that. Jackman has worked out a lot for the film. The explosions happen almost every 15 minutes with fights mixed in between to keep everyone busy. There is even a loose bit of plot woven into the whole thing to keep your mind stimulated, a little.

But it just doesn't work. Here is a problem, we start the film proper with Logan and Creed part of a secret superhuman squad of assassins. This is after an introduction explaining that they had been part of every conflict and battle America had since the Civil War (Interesting to note that both Creed and Logan were in Blue). We are introduced to every member of the group as they do their thing against some ambiguous African warlord with a stash of diamonds. Then they are all gone, essentially.

Zero, has one scene where we get to see he is really fast and accurate at firing a gun, and about 45 seconds throughout the rest of the film. Blob gets the scene against the tank, and another in the boxing ring. Then he is gone. Wraith gets about 10 minutes, of which only 1/3 has him talking. But he does get to be in 3 locations before he is gone. And Wade Wilson - well other than his opening scene, nada. Hey Ryan Reynolds got paid a likely $200,000 plus for 5 minutes of screen time. I don't hold that against him. It's a great job and life if you can get it.

Suffice to say, everything in this movie is just thrown at you, then tossed away. You barely get enough time to understand who a character is and what they might be able to do, before they are gone. So you never really get to care. Except for Wolverine and Sabertooth. Which you either like or not from early on in the film.

Plus you are left with a lot of why in this movie. Why are some mutants killed, others held captive, and yet others frozen in block of ice. Why don't certain people, besides Wolverine, remember what happened in the subsequent movies this is a prequel of. Why does Wolverine lose his memory even though he heals from all injuries perfectly. Why doesn't Sabertooth use any of the past on Wolverine in the X-Men movies?

And on and on.

You don't get a lot of time to ponder any of these questions. The movie keeps the pace high enough that you never get enough time to consider these questions. But you are left with the feeling that nothing is resolved. And once the film ends it just hits you like a brick.

As much as I was looking forward to the film, it just never got to a point where I was satisfied. Especially my interest in the Wade Wilson/Deadpool character. As a fan of that comic book character I was left with a Tim Burton Batman movie introduction and end to the character.

Bottom line, Don't see this in the theater. It will be a nice DVD, especially if there is extra scenes that expand on the characters and what they can do and/or give more details about them.

Let's hope that the ret of this years crop of summer movies just get better from this point on.

The collectibles in the attic

Everyone knows that stamps and coins are collectibles. Every so often any one of us has looked up an odd coin that we found in a pocket while doing laundry or stuffed in the sofa. Some may go through old letters of a family member when moving from one house to another and thought about looking up this or that stamp. It’s obvious and known that these are potentially valuable items. Baseball cards are perhaps the best know must check items. But there are so many more.

The world has changed in many ways over the last 4 decades alone. Technology has improved and the culture has changed. Thus many items are now considered valuable that once were worthless (or at least to a mom cleaning up a cluttered house). I know that firsthand even way back in the 1980’s when I lost my first comic book collection to my mother’s spring cleaning effort. I won’t even say how much that collection was worth, simply that it included a couple hundred of the earliest Spiderman, X-Men (including #4), Hulk and other issues.

But for the sake of younger more modern collectors I took a look at video games, books, cell phones and the like.

In looking at video games most are older than the current youth generation. In fact I’m sure most kids under 20 probably have never seen the game consoles that play these games. Still I’m sure that in more than a few closets or attics there lies these gems waiting to hit eBay. The best item to find is quite rare, in fact only 26 exist but they are out there. It’s the Nintendo World Championships: Gold Edition, worth at least $10,000 each. This game for the NES console is 18 years old, and in terms of gaming the equal of dinosaurs. But if your mom runs across a gold colored cartridge game, check it out before she throws it out.

Going even further back in time, the equivalent to maybe the first amoebas or protozoa’s, is the Atari 2600. I doubt that most under 30 even have heard of this game console, let alone played on one. But if you are an old gamer like myself, and a bit of a packrat, you may find a dusty copy of Air Raid. Now if you are so lucky as to find this, you may expect to get about $3,500. And this is not the game Air Raider’s, also for the Atari 2600 but nowhere near as rare or valuable. If you have a blue Atari cartridge game, that plays similar to Space Invaders if you have a TV that can play it, then I suggest you investigate it a bit.

Going into a different direction is something I never consider would be worth anything. Children’s picture books. We’ve all had them, we’ve all read them. More than a few of us may have even chewed on them. And if in your family these books have survived from child to child, you may have a windfall. If you can part with them.

There are several dozen books of some value. And it’s understood that many of these books will not be in pristine condition as they are for children (though values for an original in very good or better condition can double its base price). I’ll just mention 3 of my favorites, which I recall reading as a child some 35+ years ago. (My mother must have had excellent taste since each of these is in the top 15, two in the top 10.

The Story of Babar. A great book, first made in 1933. Current value $2,200 to $3,800.

The next 2 are in the top 10 and are favorites of mine. I very distinctly recall reading, and re-reading, the first of the 2:

The 500 Hats Of Bartholomew Cubbins. Made by the genius of children’s books, and memorable – at least to me. Dr. Seuss made an indelible mark on generations, and still counting. That mark is reflected in the value of this book. $3,800 to $6,200.

And my most favored book of childhood (and among my top books as an adult). I can still recite 75% of the entire book, word for word. Sounds odd I suppose, but if you are feeling depressed or stressed try reciting it. You may be surprised by how much you recall and how you feel afterwards. Written by the great Dr. Seuss in 1960. Green Eggs And Ham, $2,800 to $4,800.

Now there are numerous other items that are collectible today. I can’t possible cover them all. From collectible card games, cell phones, DVD’s, miniature figurines (ie. Warhammer 40,000), printers, pocket watches, ties and on.

Suffice to say, the next time you want to throw out that ancient doodad in the attic, check it out first. You may be surprised at what you have.

Everquest the movie

**this can also be seen at Video Gaming Blog, where I am a contributing author.

Age has its benefits. Besides the wisdom, experience, and more than a few grey hairs there is the chance of plans working out. This is true in life and apparently in virtual life as well. When I say virtual life I mean MMO (massively multiplayer online), and in this case in particular I mean the granddaddy of the modern gaming systems, Everquest.

Now I’m sure that most any casual gamer has heard of Everquest. The first to create a stable, visual MMO which spawned a whole genre in video gaming. There were issues of course, dial-up was horrendous, you had to cue to kill virtually anything, trains were plentiful and devastating. Not to mention the occasional crash. But there was nothing else like it and millions had to play this new wonder.

Of course the genre matured, technology improved, and new themes were introduced. Books, comic books, and movies have all lead to newer MMO’s and several are planned for the near future. The leadership has changed from the original to the latest big thing, WoW (World of Warcraft). And a huge amount of respect has been garnered with this growth in interest and viability.

One of the benefits of this maturity is that other entertainment formats are now available. Rather than movies inspiring MMO’s the process is now going towards MMO’s inspiring a movie. And of course if there is going to be a movie, which game would be better to feature than… Everquest. Yep, not WoW but the granddaddy.

Sony seems to finally be looking seriously at developing an Everquest movie, targeting a 2009 or 2010 release date. They even have, reportedly, Avi Arad to produce. That would be a great sign since he was the man behind the recent transition from comic books to movies for several of the better Marvel comic book series. Add to that the fact that the writer from 300, Michael Gordon, may also be attached to this story and you can have a good movie.

The inherent problems are the lack of interest since Everquest stopped being the leader years ago, and the story as well. If this is done badly you can expect another version of Dungeons & Dragons the movie. Awful is to kind and glamorous a term for that dren.

But if it’s done right, like maybe the first X-Men movie or, if we were really lucky, the Lord of the Rings then we can see several other films and really get to enjoy the alternate lives in a grand scale. Now tell me that wouldn’t be of interest?

Expect to hear more soon. This isn’t over by a longshot.

Watchmen, Wil Wheaton, Comic-Con - 8.2.2007.1

Well I have to give it to Mr. Wil Wheaton. He definitely knows how to get a point across on a blog. In a featured post Mr. Wheaton spared no emotions in denouncing the corporate execs that went to the recent Comic-Con. Minus the expletives, he hit the nail on the head.

Mr. Wheaton is upset at all the crappy ‘revisioning’ and ‘updating’ of great stories and movies that is the recent craze in Hollywood. I’ve constantly mentioned my distaste for virtually anything ‘revisioned’, actually I don’t recall any movie that modified or updated a great old concept with new, hip, modern ideas [Batman Begins may count, but it’s not quite right as it deals with the origin of Batman and not the Mr. Michael Keaton/Mr. Tim Burton version, nor the Dark Knight graphic novel they were somewhat based on]. That goes for every genre and has no connection to where the source material comes from.

Madonna’s American Pie sucked the life out of the original. The Hitcher, Psycho, The Honeymooners, Mortal Kombat, Flash Gordon, Dukes of Hazzard, and Starsky and Hutch are all great examples of screw-ups created with the ‘revisioned’ concept in mind. And that’s not the worst of it. Hollywood executives are so without ideas that they are not only making a movie of EVERY comic book character ever made (it seems) they are completely ignoring the storylines that made them popular. And for those movie studios without a comic book deal (yes there is one or 2) they are re-making movies for the 3rd time or more.

I know someone is saying 3rd versions? You have got to be kidding. Nope. An upcoming example is the new Invasion movie starring Ms. Nicole Kidman. Original movie – Invasion of the Body Snatchers – first remake was in the 80’s (as I recall) which was redone to create a heroine, and a back-story that were neither needed nor added to the story. The “new” movie tries to trick everyone with a shorter title (like we are all too dumb to figure it out) another twist to the back-story, another heroine that is now motivated by maternal desires and I predict will utterly fail as they miss the point of the whole damn original concept that made it worth being remade.

All of this is not lost on Mr. Wheaton. His comments on the ruined storylines for Daredevil, Electra, Fantastic Four, Captain America (done at least 2x on television), The Hulk (I can accept the television series, but the movie failed both the comic book and the series), Ghost Rider, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and many others rings pinpoint true. Hollywood exec generally have no clue what the draw is for these films and substitute their own ideas of what might pull an audience, and fail miserably.

The increasingly rare exceptions continue to be where an actual fan is involved. The Spiderman series, the first 2 X-Men movies, The Fly remake, The Lord of the Rings dutiful transition, are all part of a handful of fans dedicated to getting it right.

Which brings up the Watchmen movie. If you have read the graphic novels you probably get what it’s about. It’s intense, powerful and direct without having to hit you over the head. The fact that it is planned for a movie is fantastic. My expectation for Hollywood to get it right is low. I hope they get it right. But I can’t see an exec understanding the joke that is the Joker, or the paranoia of Rorschach. I can hope, and if the director is a fan we might just get lucky. We shall see.

This is what I think, what do you think?

A few odd bits - 3.5.2007.1

Just a couple of silly things I noticed in the last couple of days. One thing that may be of interest is a new dating site. I’m sure it will take of for the PETA crowd, though I’m not sure who else it may interest. The site, originally from the Dutch but since copied in the U.S. and other nations, is unique because of who it targets – single pet owners. Yes if you have been sitting at home with your 4 cats and 2 dogs wondering where is the love of your life, that loves your pets as much as you, this is the site you need. And guys take note, most of the initial respondents to this site are women.

I’m not one for sharing time at a zoo, though I do like most dogs and have owned a few over the years, but I’m sure someone must enjoy it. If you’ve been searching for that person who spends more on their pets than their own household bills go for it. Don’t get me wrong, I love dogs and to a lesser degree other pets (except pitbulls, Rotwiellers and Dobermans – long story) but I have limits. Yet the internet is fantastic for finding that fringe group you’ve always wanted to be part of. And a bonus is the site is Dutch.

I mention it’s a bonus that the site is Dutch because they officially are the happiest people in Europe. 97% of people in Denmark feel they are happy, better than all the rest of Europe. But it doesn’t end there, they also aren’t worried about the pensions. Life is pretty good out there.

But reality does hit Europe like it does here in America. About 66% or Europeans thing the future generations will have a harder life than now. There is also a consensus of thought that most do not trust their politicians or governments or political parties. Well I can’t really blame them on that one.

Still for all the joy out there in Europe they still don’t get to have the simple pleasures here in America. Simple if you can afford it, like the 2.3 million dollars spent on a Honus Wagner baseball card. Yes someone spent more than $2 million on a card. I don’t get it. I can only imagine it as a waste of money. Wine you can drink, or at least cook with. Real estate you can live on. Investments can make you more money, but a baseball card?

Yes it’s a rare card, and as a former comic book collector I can understand the desire to own a rare item. But I’d never buy the X-Men #4 for $250,000 as an example. It just makes no sense and I like that series. Even thirty thousand dollars seems a lot for it and it has several pages and tells a story. The baseball card is just an image and some stats, that if you don’t know the full history means nothing. I just don’t get it. Obviously someone else does though. And it proves that there is nothing like this homegrown game in the world.

Ok, more later.

This is what I think, what do you think?