"The Wolverine" Needs To Declaw

  Hugh Jackman stars as "The Wolverine" again. What a surprise [sarcasm]. He is a great actor and the Wolverine is probably the coolest X-Man, but I, for one, am growing tired of him being the main attraction in any X-Men movie. I liked "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" very much. Surprisingly, many people (approximately 50%) on the Internet did not like it and thought that "The Wolverine" was great. One guy that I argued with claimed that Wolverine/Logan being "mortalized" in "The Wolverine" made him more human-like and, therefore, connected with the audience better. I agree, but that did not make a difference in this "superhero" movie and, therefore, did not make the movie good. There were many reasons as to why it sucked. I should mention that I saw this movie with my dad and sister and they felt the same about it. Here's why:

1. At least half of the movie was boring and drawn out. The love interest between Logan/Wolverine and the Japanese woman that he protects is easily foreseen, but not played out very well.
2. Logan's constant fantasizing of his dead love interest from "X-Men 3: The Last Stand" (Jean Grey, played by Famke Janssen) was somewhat pointless. I understand that he was mourning, but it did not fit well into this storyline. Not to mention, she was always in a cleavage-showing pajama top, which made her appearances easier to watch, but had no real reason, just "eye candy".
3. Most everyone, including myself, is familiar with and enjoys Logan's witty, sarcastic comments, which are usually said when he is angry or fighting. But, this movie lacked those comments. I can only remember 1 or 2.
4. All good movies have a good, memorable villain, but this had 2 villains that were NOT good. The first one was the Viper; a blonde female genetic engineer, who barely appeared and died too quickly. The second was the Silver Samurai, which was pretty cool, but not a big thrill. Note: Wolverine says a witty comment when he throws the Silver Samurai over the cliff; "sayonara", which is "goodbye" in Japanese.
5. With so many Asians and Logan/Wolverine being pretty much the only white man, it was not easy to sort out who was who because they look similar. No offense to Asian people. However, I did like the red-haired Japanese woman that was Logan's "body guard" because she stood out, not having black hair.
6. The ninja fight scenes become boring after the first few, but you have to expect that when you are in Japan and the villains are "traditional".

I almost forgot to mention; the best part of the whole movie was the bullet train scene.
So, that's it. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. 7.5/10 stars. Below is a theatrical trailer.

'World War Z' Ends With A Hero

       World War Z is a must-see Brad Pitt action/drama/thriller movie in the way of mixing "28 Days Later" and "Contagion". I'm not really a zombie fan. I liked "Shaun Of The Dead" and "Zombieland", but those were comedies. Pitt plays the protagonist who is in search of a cure and (Spoiler Alert!) he does, in a serious and slightly comical way. The trailer did not attract me, but if you know anything about me, I will see almost any movie for $5. This gripping tale deserves 8.5/10 stars. Below is a trailer.

'This Is The End' Should Be The End, Maybe

     This Is The End = the apocalyptic, world-ending comedy spoof about actors playing themselves and making fun each other and their crappy movies. I was pleasantly surprised by this gathering of buffoons. It was a little boring at first, but once in awhile, I laughed at the jabs of Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, and whoever. Once the world started falling apart, things got funny...and scary. I give the writer-directors (Rogen and Evan Goldberg) credit for an original plot and scare tactics. (Tip for future horror movies: Don't use suspenseful music before a scary moment. It has lost it's effect over the years.) Some cameos were also a surprise and added to the fun. The ending featured one of the best music artists of the 1990s; The Backstreet Boys! Their cassette tape was my birthday gift at 7 or 8 years old. Total Score: 7/10 stars. Below is a trailer.

'Man Of Steel' Soars Through The Clouds

     Man Of Steel was fantastic!! It should be seen in IMAX 3D. The acting, visual effects, set & costume design, story, and direction were all superb. It had some flaws, though. At times, I did not like the slightly wobbly cinematography and the end fight scene lasted too long. I give it 9.8/10 stars. Below is a trailer.

'The Internship' Is For Hire

     The Internship starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson as two old guys who have to try to adjust to the Internet-savvy society at Google, Inc. It was funny. That's all that I can say. I don't care for either actor. 6/10 stars. Below is a theatrical trailer.

'White House Down' Blows Up (In A Good Way)

    White House Down was fantastic! It had great action, great characters, and a great plot. It reminded me a lot of Die Hard, but I cannot really compare the two because they are almost thirty years apart and deserve to stand alone. Many people would compare White House Down to Olympus Has Fallen, which came out earlier this year and starred Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart. Most people who saw Olympus refuse to see White House because it looks very similar and do not want to waste money on a "copy cat". But, in reality, it is a different movie and is their loss. Unfortunately, I have not seen Olympus yet, but I have heard from people who did and said that it was not great. In addition, it should be noted that White House Down was directed by Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, 2012, The Day After Tomorrow, Godzilla) and written by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Losers, The Rundown).
     Here's the lowdown: Channing Tatum (21 Jump Street, The Vow, Magic Mike) plays the main hero John Cale who has a job interview at the White House to be in the Secret Service. At that interview, he brings his 11-year-old daughter, Emily, who is a White House history expert, because they both have tickets for a tour of the White House. That is when the action begins. Paramilitary invaders, disguised as custodians, blow up the section with the dome top and all hell breaks loose. One by one, security guards are shot to make way for the terrorists to watch the hostages. Meanwhile, the head boss terrorist is actually an inside job and wants revenge for his dead son. Cale manages to blast his way out of the terrorists' hostage area to search for his daughter, who went to the bathroom before the action began. While he is searching, he stumbles upon President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx) being held captive by the head boss. Naturally, Cale rescues him and the rest of the movie is about the two of them fighting to take back control of the House and figure out who is responsible and why. With a little help from White House security personnel (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and lots of explosions (someone would think that the director was Michael Bay), Cale and Sawyer save the day. P.S. - Don't ever lay your hands on the President's valuable footwear.
     The whole time that I was watching it, I wanted to know if the White House was a completely built copy. If so, that had to be expensive. I would compare the awesomeness of this movie to the first Die Hard and would love to hear Guyz Nite Out perform a "White House Down Theme Song". If you've never heard the "Die Hard Theme Song", listen to it right now (Warning: explicit content). Get yourself some Jordans (Nike sneakers) and run for your life to see this movie. This "Down" deserves 9.5/10 stars up. Below is a trailer.

'21 Jump Street' Lives On Awesome Avenue

       21 Jump Street is an awesome movie! It was hilarious and definitely the best comedy of the year! I'm not really a fan of current comedies because they usually are not that funny, just stupid. But, it was way better than I expected. It helped that it had plenty of action. I don't care for Jonah Hill  (of Superbad fame) or Channing Tatum (of The Vow and Magic Mike) individually, but together in this movie, they rocked. If you are not familiar with it, it is based on the old TV series. Johnny Depp starred in the show for a few seasons and he became famous after that. He makes a cameo appearance near the end of this movie.
      This movie is about two guys who were on opposite sides of the "popularity pool" in high school. One was a jock (Tatum, obviously) and Hill was the nerd (or "not-so-slim Shady"). Both of them never went to Prom for different reasons, but five years later they reconnect at their local police academy. They become friends and partners. Unfortunately for them, after they graduate from the academy, they are assigned to park patrol duty instead of their dream; "bada$$ motherf***ing cops". After arresting a man and forgetting to read him his Miranda rights, they end up being demoted to operation "21 Jump Street", where they must pose as undercover cops in high school. Their task is to find a drug dealer and the supplier of a new synthetic drug that is killing teens when they overdose on it.
      The greatest scenes are; 1) a freeway chase involving a biker gang, a student driver car, and a chicken truck, 2) doped up Tatum and Hill hallucinating some pretty funny stuff. The rest you will have to see for yourself.
     I recommend seeing it. It's rated "R" for mostly language, so don't take your grandma. There are also teens drinking alcohol and using drugs. I give it 9.5/10 stars. Below is a trailer: