DVD Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Justin Ellis - Portland Press Herald

Love the Rageaholic Or No, This 'X-Men' Was, at Best, So-so

This week's new DVD releases allow Videoport Jones and me to hit right from our wheelhouse: Comic book movies, blaxploitation revival, blacklisted screenwriters and terrible (and terribly funny) comedy. Fortunately he is a trained doctor and expert in such matters. I'm just along for the ride.

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine"

Videoport Jones: "OK everybody, strap yourselves in: This one's gonna get nerdy. Although a DC Comics fanboy by trade, I've always had a soft spot for the X-Men; maybe it's the whole 'mutants being persecuted as racism metaphor' that got to me in my impressionable years, or maybe it was just Wolverine, the scrappy, feral, rageaholic Canadian scrapper with the metal skeleton and the healing factor (meaning he could have the crap kicked out of him without reservation before his claws put an end to the nonsense).

"That being said, and the first two X-Men movies being respectably-essayed by much more powerful fanboy Brian Singer, the onscreen Wolverine has never really done much for me. It's not really Hugh Jackman's fault - I like the big lug, and think the more strapping Aussies with a sense of humor and some musical theater chops we have kicking around, the better the world is, generally. It's just that Hugh is, well, a big, amiable lug, and no amount of hair gel or cigar-chomping he does is gonna satisfy the comics nerd within who longed to see filmmakers realize the books' Wolvie - a sawed-off little runt (he's about 5'3") with a bad attitude and a mysterious past.

"And this new spinoff, which plucks the Canuck out of his super team (after the truly wretched, Brett Ratner-despoiled third film) and, essentially, explains the character's convoluted backstory en route to making him another happy, well-adjusted super-dude, doesn't make my inner dork squeal with delight, I can tell you. A year after the superhero movie bar was set so high by the likes of 'The Dark Knight' and 'Iron Man,' this one is, well, slightly above average."

Justin: "I'm going to have to differ with you, take an alternate path, and arrive at the same conclusion. I heart Hugh Jackman, and I think as Wolverine, he's been something of a success. I like the fact that he was a relatively unknown actor and we didn't have to get around the whole 'that's X-actor pretending to be Wolverine.' He does all the things we want Wolvie to do, be snarky, show angst and be filled with endless berserker rage.

"This movie, however, was a joke. I cannot believe how many characters and Easter eggs they tried to shoehorn into this movie. Every other minute is like a Marvel sight gag. Oh look! Emma Frost! Oh look! Scott Summers! Oh look, a little black girl with white hair! Come ON, Marvel, really? You know what that tells me? It says they had a weak script, little time to tinker and said 'screw it, we're going Noah's Ark on this thing' and proceeded to jam it up with anyone remotely related to the X-Men universe.

"That said, I have to say Taylor Kitsch (of 'Friday Night Lights') was pretty cool as Gambit, but again, wasted. (Though I did keep saying after the film, 'Holy crap! Tim Riggins is a Mutie!'). The action makes this one serviceable, as well as the always reliable Schreiber. Also, funny performances from Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth, or Deadpool. Which, of course is being spun off ... annnnnd now my brain hurts again ..."

"Next Day Air"

VPJ: "I find it hard to express how little I wanted to see this movie; it had a distinctly 'Soul Plane' / 'Who's Your Caddy?' vibe emanating from it, and my only real emotion was anger at seeing that the talented Wood Harris (Avon Barksdale from 'The Wire') was going to be debased, perhaps by being forced to hang out with some Wayanses. Well, I'm a (semi-) pro, so I plunked myself down in front of this one and I gotta say - actually kind of a pleasant surprise.

"While marketed as an 'urban' (read: 'black') stoner comedy (think 'Half Baked,' 'How High,' etc.), 'Next Day Air' reminded me of nothing so much as a '70s blaxploitation movie, which I mean as a compliment. Like a blaxploitation flick, this movie's criminal milieu is populated by some very talented 'minority' actors (someone had to point out to me that there is not one speaking role for a white person in the entire film) who take the opportunity afforded them to create some surprising shadings to their seemingly stereotypical characters. Those bringing more to the table than you might think include: the aforementioned Harris (somehow lending gravitas to a character as dangerous as, but about a third as smart as, Avon Barksdale), Mos Def (charismatic and funny as ever in a small role), Cisco Reyes (as a drug dealer with too-scared eyes) and Donald Faison (a favorite of both my and Justin's families (and pets) from 'Scrubs' who's touchingly helpless as the hapless pothead delivery guy who starts the whole mess).

"Sure, they're playing all variety of screw-ups and lowlifes but, as in those blaxploitation movies of yore, they take the roles the marketplace gives them and make something sort of impressive out of them. Add in some nicely assured direction and a surprisingly tight script that gets darker and more intense as things go on, and, well, I'm sort of impressed."

JE: "Jonesy, I am impressed, my man! Oh, I'm sorry, I mean, my MAIN man! Ahem. You took your misgiving, the warning signals and your healthy skepticism and set them aside and had a little fun. Since we're on the subject of blaxploitation, let me say that some of my favorite all-time movies include the legendary Bill Cosby/ Sidney Portier team-ups of the '70s that include 'Uptown Saturday Night,' 'Let's Do it Again,' and 'A Piece of the Action.' Those movies not only had these two heavyweights hamming it up and having a blast, but featured talent like Ruby Dee, Ozzie Davis, John Amos and James Earl Jones. What made these movies great was that aside from the cast and the plots, they were a laughing commentary on parts of life in the black community.

"While I'm not going to say 'How High' or anything starring Bill Bellamy is on par with that, some of the current 'urban' cinema continues to carry that flag today. At the end of the day these are not scathing social commentaries, but light-hearted flicks. Plus, anytime you can throw Donald Faison, Mos Def and Avon Harris together, it's worth a viewing. Heck, anything with Faison is worth a watch in my book."

"Stella: Live in Boston"

VPJ: "Michael Showalter, David Wain and Michael Ian Black are three erstwhile members of the brilliant sketch comedy troupe 'The State,' and 'Stella' is the stage name for their loony, absurdist stage show. Dressed in identical suits, the three here, as in their short-lived "Comedy Central" series and legendary Internet shorts, seem to the uninitiated to just be screwing around onstage. Once properly initiated, viewers still think they're basically just screwing around on stage, but just sit back and enjoy it. David and the Michaels are a postmodern Marx Brothers, deconstructing stand- up comedy with absurdist wordplay, dadaist digression and anti- comic hipness to create completely winning, weird and hilarious goofball entertainment. Sure, what I just said sounds like a big mouthful o' nothin', but you try to explain what it is they do - it ain't easy. But it is decidedly funny."

JE: "Let me pose a question: Are the gang from 'The State' comedy snobs? I was listening to a podcast the other day and someone said they thought Showalter, Black and that crew were decidedly aloof and above other comedians. At first I thought the comment was ridiculous and showed a failure to 'get' what they do. But on second pass, I can see where the comment comes from. There is nothing typical about what they do. You'd be hard-pressed to find a punchline in a lot of what they do. In particular 'Stella' and 'Wainy Days' are not typical comedy, and, to take one point of view, can seem kind of mean. And now, as you roll off a thesaurus-worth of Scrabble words to describe Stella, I wonder if the criticism is right. And then I remember that these guys make me laugh, so the haters can take a flying leap."

"Trumbo"

VPJ: "Nifty little documentary about the legendarily shafted novelist and screenwriter Dalton Trumbo ('Johnny Got His Gun,' 'Spartacus,' 'A Guy Named Joe,' about 50 others) who, along with the rest of the so-called 'Hollywood Ten' (and hundreds of others) was blacklisted by right-wing jerks trying to use fear to force Americans to abandon their civil rights in the name of 'security' (sound familiar?). Trumbo was a garrulous, cranky wit, and 'Trumbo' benefits from that, especially since it employs current stars/ admirers (all in fine voice) to recite selections from the man's scripts and letters including Brian Dennehy, Nathan Lane, Paul Giamatti, Joan Allen, David Strathairn and others. If you are not frozen in rapt attention after Donald Sutherland finishes his climactic reading from 'Johnny Got His Gun,' well, then, I just don't wanna know you."

JE: "Little known fact: Trumbo's daughter dated Steve Martin. I only know this because I recently re-listened to Martin's autobiography. True fact. ANYHOO, if you are not particularly interested in Trumbo's work, you should be interested in his story. I don't know how anyone can't be interested in the history of the so- called 'Red Scare' and the communist hunt by the House Un-American Activities Committee. We're talking about the U.S. government essentially plucking people out, accusing them of something they cannot prove or disprove and destroying lives. The phrase 'Are you now or have you ever been a member of the communist party?' should be chilling even today. The thing about Trumbo is he didn't disappear, and in fact, continued to rage on. Like a little history? Like classic movies? You should rent this. Now."

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Season 4"

VPJ: "Boy, did it take me a while to warm up to this show. Recommended ad nauseum to me by various people whose taste, upon viewing the first few episodes, I seriously began to doubt, I found this sitcom, about four friends (and, later, one father) who run a seedy bar in the City of Brotherly Love and Pelting Santa With Snowballs, pretty repellent. And it remains that. But, once I clued into the fact that these were intended to be the five worst human beings in a televisual world of unremitting cruelty and awfulness, well, that's when the fun began. There's a surprising amount of wit and comic invention underlying the misanthropic goings-on, and the performers, especially Charlie Day as the group's resident punching bag, and, hilariously, Danny DeVito as the world's worst dad, are energetic and funny. You'll hate yourself, but you'll laugh. A lot."

JE: "That pretty much sums it up perfectly. They need that as a tagline. 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: You'll hate yourself, but you'll laugh. A lot.' You are right about the fact that these are despicable, loathsome people. You are supposed to hate them in the way you are supposed to hate people like Tony Soprano. Of course they don't make a habit of killing people. Well, not intentionally. No, instead they pretend to be handicapped, scam welfare, provide alcohol to minors and trade in misogyny. And it's terrible. And terribly funny. The way I always see it is these people are the final extension, the peak, of what Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer were on 'Seinfeld.' Instead of the soup nazi or the close talker, we get things that are far, far worse. And inexplicable things like Green Man. I know it's wrong, and I shudder to think what it says about me, but I love this show. Should I be seeking counseling?"

Each week, Staff Writer Justin Ellis and Videoport Jones, resident expert on all things cinematic and cynical, offer their take on the week's new releases on DVD.

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