The Wolverine
In 1945 Nagasaki, a Japanese soldier is ominously warned by Hugh Jackman's Wolverine that “you can't outrun what's coming.” Within seconds, the same Japanese soldier literally outruns a nuclear blast that in real life killed tens of thousands. If that doesn't offend your intelligence enough, there's also some Wolverine crucifixion imagery here, as well as the most inexplicable samurai robot imaginable. It's clear that at one point, The Wolverine had ambitions to be a character-driven superhero film, but all coherence and motivation were apparently bled out in preproduction. The result is a dull origin story (again!) that forces Wolverine to refrain from acting like Wolverine 90 percent of the time. Jackman shuffles along with zombie obligation, as though he can't believe how much money he's been paid to go through these motions.
This is writer-director Rama Burshtein's first feature, so it's no surprise that her intentions are hard to ascertain.
Published on 08.01.13
Writer-director Ryan Coogler's first feature is an auspicious debut, portraying the last day of Oscar Grant, the Hayward man who was shot dead in an altercation with Bay Area Rapid Transit officers on New Year's Day 2009.
Published on 08.01.13
Writer-director Maggie Carey indulges the dubious ambition of making a sex comedy for girls just as crude and dimwitted as the boy-themed comedies.
Published on 07.25.13
The neon-drenched style and impeccably composed ultraviolence are even more pointless here than in Drive, but Only God Forgives is the more hypnotic and challenging film.
Published on 07.25.13
Director Guillermo del Toro and his co-writer Travis Beacham indulge their inner child, the one who always wanted to dress up in a Godzilla costume and kick the bejesus out of an elaborate scale-model city.
Published on 07.25.13