Logan's Rated R surprises superhero fans

Movie Title:   Logan

Grade:  B

Rating:   R, 135 minutes

In a Nutshell:  This is NOT your typical Marvel superhero movie.  For starters, it’s Rated R with tons of bloody violence, trampy girls, and an aging Wolverine wearing reading glasses.

It's the first Rated R movie to feature Wolverine and is a very dark, brutal movie.  It has some thoughtful reflection peppered in between the explosive action sequences.

One of the best things about seeing Logan in theaters is the Deadpool short right before the movie starts.  Hilarious.

Uplifting theme: 

•  Love, friendship, loyalty
•  Don't judge people. 

Things I liked:

• I love love love Hugh Jackman.  He can truly do it all.  I hated seeing him drunk and lost though.
• Patrick Stewart is awesome too.  I didn't like seeing him old and helpless though.
• Boyd Holbrook does a great job as the bad guy.
• I always get a kick out of Stephen Merchant, but the character he plays in this movie is nothing like you've ever seen him play before.  Kudos to him for having two movies in theaters right now!  (He plays his typical nerdy self in Table 19.)  
• It was funny to watch Wolverine read comics about himself.
•  Some of the characters watch the movie Shane.  It's one of my dad's favorite movies, so I noticed it!
• Logan's license plate said "wer112".  ha ha

Things I didn’t like:

·        Some Spanish without subtitles.

·       I didn’t like seeing Charles Xavier as a helpless old coot.

·       There’s lots of shaking and loud noises that make the mutants 
         go crazy, which is super annoying to sit through.

·       I didn’t enjoy watching a little girl be super violent.  Dafne 

         Keen did a great job though.

·       It's sad to see Wolverine tired, old, cranky, and mean.

*        I'm not an X-Men comic book junkie by any means, but there

          is a character that's not in the comic books.  It looks like the

          screenwriters just made it up.

Interesting lines:

• From the song in the movie: “I hurt myself today to see if I could still feel.  I focused on the pain, the only thing that’s real.”
• “You know, Logan, this is what life looks like: a home with people who love each other.  You should take a moment to feel it.” – Dr. Xavier
• "I always know who you are.  It's just sometimes I don't recognize you." - Dr. Xavier
• 
  
• Tips for parents: 

• Tons of profanity, including LOTS of F-bombs.
• TONS of bloody, gory, violent fighting.
• You might not want your children to see this gritty version of Wolverine.
• The theater near my house posted this warning to parents:  

@trinaboice 

Christmas Eve is sometimes merry and bright

Movie Title:   Christmas Eve

Grade: C+

 

Rating: PG, 1 hour 35 minutes

In a Nutshell:  This Christmas comedy features people trapped in various elevators on Christmas Eve in Manhattan and the insights they discover during their cramped, reflective moments.  It tries pretty hard to be profound and has a few shining moments. 

 If I had to be trapped in one of those elevators, I’d probably pick the one with the musicians, because at least they could pass the time with beautiful music.  Which one would you choose?

 Uplifting theme: 

• Christmas Eve is the moment of hope, the night before the world changed.  Hope is a powerful thing.   You can change your world by changing yourself.
• “There’s no such thing as a question without an answer.  You might not know it now, but it’s out there, waiting to be found, wanting to be found.  It’s almost always simple, so simple it’s almost silly and when you find it, well, there’s no feeling like it in the world.”  - Nick  (Taylor James)

Things I liked:

• The cast includes a few famous people you’ve heard of: Patrick Stewart, Jon Heder, Cheryl Hines, Gary Cole, James Roday and Julianna Guill.  It’s also full of a lot of unknown actors who share the screen with equal time.  Good on them.
• I got a kick out of seeing James Roday.  I haven’t seen him in anything since his hit TV crime comedy “Psych”.
• Jenny Oaks Baker, who plays the violin player Mandy, is an accomplished violinist in real life!  She sent me a quote for one of my books and is a wonderful person!  I loved watching her play "Silent Night."
• The script was realistic enough to show that at least one of the people stuck in the elevator for hours had to pee.
• There is a group of medical providers stuck in one of the elevators who have a science vs. religion discussion, which makes the movie feel like a Christian film.  While a lot of Christian movies usually have a high “cheese” factor, I appreciated this element in a movie about Christmas.
• I thought the “art tour” that Glen (Steve John Shepherd) took his trapped companions on was very sweet.  He revealed some important life lessons and elevated the movie during that one scene.
• I like how the people’s lives were intertwined.
• Keep watching during the rolling credits for two more little bits.  I wish B had said something like “Living” or “Photographing people who are alive” or something better than what he did.

Things I didn’t like:

•  It would have been more fun to watch with more celebrities in the bit parts.
• There are quite a bit of stereotypes and overacting that plays like farce, rather than clever comedy.
• Patrick Stewart nailed it in A Christmas Carol several years ago, but in this film his Scrooge-like character monologues his change-of heart-crisis alone in his elevator, usually while yelling.

Did you know?

• Surprisingly, the entire movie was filmed in Sofia, Bulgaria!
• This is CNN talk-show host Larry King’s first time at producing a feature film.  His wife (the 7^th one!) plays Nurse Byrnes who discusses religion with Dr. Roberts and encourages him to believe in “things unseen.”  Her name is Shawn Southwick King and she is a Mormon.  Jon Heder and Jenny Oaks Baker are two other Mormons in the film.
• Mitch Davis also directed the Mormon-based film “The Other Side of Heaven”, which starred Anne Hathaway.  He must like that look for an actress, because every time I saw Margaret Clunie in this film, I thought of Anne.

Funny lines:

• “I don’t live here.  I pop in.  I make a difference.  I pop out.”– B (James Roday)
• “Do you play Fantasy Football yourself?” –  Randy (Max Casella)

           “No.  I’m not a loser.” – James (Jon Heder)

• “Well, I’m Molly and I’ve been sober for 45 minutes.” – Molly (Roxanne Cook)
• “We’re headed to a Salsa bar to dance with illegals. It’s our little Christmas charity.” – Molly
• “I just want to say. I’m not afraid to eat you, if that’s what it comes down to.” – Walt

          “I think I figured out why you’re still single, Walt.” - Mandy

 

Interesting lines:

• “Look, let’s be honest…God, white beard, angels.  Isn’t that the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard?” – Dr. Roberts (Gary Cole)
• “Is there anything about our existence that isn’t ridiculous?” – Nurse Byrnes
• “The mind controls the body.  The body serves the mind.” –  Glen  (Nate Fallows)
• The French art critic Andre Gide famously stated that art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does, the better.” – Glen
• “No one even knew we were here.” – Molly

         “But we did.” –  Sherry

• “Everything that has ever occurred, everything that ever will occur is subject to laws that are knowable and with enough of that knowledge, you could literally understand everything. And to live in recognition of that goal, between what is knowable which is everything and what is what we do know, which is nothing, well that’s more than sad; it’s the ultimate human tragedy.” – Nick

Tips for parents:   

• An adult farts and another one throws up, but you don’t see it.
• Some fighting and gun shots.
• Very little profanity.
• Children will probably be bored, as this is not a traditional Christmas movie with Santa Clause and lots of jingle-bell action. 

Is "Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return" worth the wait?

Movie Title:   Legends of Oz

PG, 1 hour 28 minutes

Grade:    C

In a Nutshell:   

The talented Lea Michele from Glee brings to life a Dorothy who has returned to Oz to fight another colorful villain and save the day.  The cast of legendary voices includes Martin Short, Patrick Stewart, Bernadette Peters, Dan Aykroyd, Oliver Platt, Jim Belushi, Kelsey Grammer, and Megan Hilty.  Unfortunately, the story doesn’t measure up to their tremendous talent, but offers a diversion for young children who want to see what’s on the other side of the marketing rainbow.

The sequel was written by the original author’s grandson.  I wonder what L. Frank Baum would have thought of it.  It had a Cirque du Soleil: The Mystery of Mystere feel to it, introducing new characters and throwing a spin on the old ones.  In a nutshell: harmless, but charmless.

Uplifting theme: 

• Loyalty, service to others, fighting evil, friendship
• Dorothy said “There will always be a rainbow when you need one most.”

Things I liked:

• I liked the visual details of the grass in between the yellow bricks.
• I got a kick out of the tree with pinecone earrings and the other one with the Reggae dreadlocks.
• Fireflies ARE magical.
• Nice design on Tugg’s sail.
• I LOVE details in animation.  China Princess had the most delicate little lips that quivered with emotion.
• There were some 3D gags which little ones will enjoy.

Things I didn’t like:

•  The songs aren’t catchy enough to convince young girls to stop singing the soundtrack from Frozen a million times a day.
• It doesn’t have the heart of the original The Wizard of Oz .
• It lacks clever wit and magical charm.
• The China Princess is not an endearing character that little girls should emulate.  Glenda, on the other hand, will do well in merchandising because she was so cute and sweet.
• I didn’t understand the airbrush checkered shirt on Wiser the Owl.  Why?
• Dorothy’s face looked too old, but I loved her cowboy boots!
• It was a strange mixture of cartoony animation and more sophisticated drawings.
• The rolling credits at the end included a gigantic list of names the film was dedicated to.  Doesn't that kind of water down the sentiment?

Funny lines:

• “You can’t make a person do that against his will.  Dancing is very personal.”  - Tin Man

Tips for parents:

• It’s a fairly harmless story with a villain who is more mean than scary.
• Keep watching during the credits to see the rest of the story unfold.