REVIEW: The Wolverine (2013) Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto. Dir. James Mangold

James Mangold's The Wolverine marks the sixth time out as the clawed bad boy mutant for Hugh Jackman, and is something of a welcome return to form after the disaster that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine back in 2009. This one works as an isolated, self -contained story, or to put it another way, it could have also been called Wolverine's Adventures in Japan.

Based on an early 1980's comic book storyline from Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, this is not a prequel to the X-Men films like the last solo Wolverine movie, but appears to take place sometime after X-Men 3: The Last Stand. Logan remains haunted by dreams of a recurring Jean Grey (once again Famke Janssen), his lost love, who pleads with him to join her in the afterlife. Jackman again plays Logan as a brooding lost soul, but with the same gruffness and occasionally humorous twinkle we've grown so used to over the past 13 years.

In this "episode" as it were, we see that Logan once saved a man named Ichiro Yashida's life in Japan right after the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. In present day, Yashida is now dying and sends his adopted daughter Yukio (Rila Fukushima) to find his savior and bring him to him before he dies. While in Japan, Logan gets caught up in a plot by the Japanese mob and the mutant Viper to kidnap Yashida's granddaughter Mariko (Tao Okamoto) and he must step in to help out, falling for Mariko (who is his great love in the comics) in the process.

Theirs is something of a melancholy affair, and the film itself is refreshing in that it's mostly a character driven exploration of Logan's haunted soul. The Japanese setting and cast of characters gives this adventure an exotic feel, setting it apart from other X-Men movies and action films this summer. There are some good action scenes involving a horde of Japanese ninjas and a thrilling fight atop a speeding bullet train that leaves you with the bang for your buck, and the three key female performances in the film are all meaty and effective; from Yukio, who's also a mutant with psychic powers, to Mariko, vulnerable and appealing as the possible antidote to Logan's damaged psyche, and Viper, a villain with a toxic tongue, played with great scenery chewing heft by Russian actress Svetlana Khodochenkova.

After the terrible X3 and Origins films, the franchise took a big step in the right direction with First Class a couple years ago, and it continues that way here, with a satisfying, low key and character driven film, that only devolves into the typical action movie climax in the last 15 minutes or so. It's a far worthier solo outing for the Wolverine this time around, and be sure to stay tuned for the credits, which include a stinger that brings back some old favorites and sets up the much anticipated Days of Future Past next May- which promises to be the colossal and epic X-Men film featuring past and present ensembles that fans have been awaiting for a long, long time. To be continued..

* * 1/2

Trailer: 

TRAILER: "Romeo & Juliet"

There's a new Romeo & Juliet coming out this year, starring True Grit's Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth in the title roles. It's written by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes and looks to be a pretty straight adaptation, although for me you can never beat Zefirelli's 1968 version on that score. The movie is out Oct 11th.

REVIEW: 42 (2013) Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford. Dir. Brian Helgeland

Sometimes the story is so powerful that it's all you need. That's most definitely the case with 42, the film that came out earlier this year and was a sleeper hit at the box office. Written and directed by Brian Helgeland, it's a traditional, old-fashioned Hollywood biopic that tells the story of the Brooklyn Dodgers 1947 season, the year that saw Jackie Robinson become the first African-American to don a Major League uniform.

Everyone knows the the tale by now (or they should), but watching it play out in this new film is no less moving and satisfying than in 1950's The Jackie Robinson Story, where the legend played himself on screen. In this movie, newcomer Chadwick Boseman plays Robinson, and turns in a good performance as the stoic, sturdy, tough as nails ball player who endured the taunts, threats, hatred and insults tossed his way as he stepped up to make history at the plate. We know it was his job to not react, to ignore all confrontation and fight back by playing the game, but that doesn't make it any less hard to watch him go through the motions, even now. Harrison Ford is a bit hammy but memorable as Dodgers owner Branch Rickey, who was determined to put a black player on the team, and he appears to be actively not phoning it in here, which is always welcome to see. We follow Jackie through his first season on the franchise farm team in Montreal, and then as he steps onto the Dodgers field wearing the retired "42" it's hard not to feel yourself swelling up.

To Helgeland's credit, he doesn't play it off as too sentimental and it never comes across as overly dwelling on the heroic moments. In fact, it's a very straightforward rendition, with no directorial flourishes or deep probing into who Jackie Robinson was as a man- so you might think what about this version makes it worth telling, if we're not getting anything new out of it? I would argue that the value is in making sure that the story is not forgotten, given the fact that so much time has passed. I mean, how many people now have ever even seen the 1950 movie? I'd wager not many, and given the reaction to this film starring an unknown when it was released just a few months ago, there is still a desire out there to see the triumph of one of the great American heroes, whose story is still so inspirational that it deserves to be preserved and celebrated all over again.  Sure, it could have gone in for the darker recesses of the man himself, given us something new to discover, but that's for another film that could still be made. This one did exactly what it set out to do- bring the nearly 70 year old legend of Jackie Robinson back to the big screen for a new generation, and that's a worthy enough goal by me.

* * *

CLIP: Gravity- "I've Got You"

Wow. As intense as these clips have been, I'm now starting to think they might be giving too much away. The film is only 88 minutes long, after all, and I feel like we've already seen about 10. But anyway, here's the third. 

Raves for Blanchett in Blue Jasmine

Coming out this week in limited release is Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine, and it looks like we have our first lock for a Best Actress nomination in Cate Blanchett. The critics are raving about her for the most part, if not as much for the film itself (though the movie is looking decent too, at 85% on Rotten Tomatoes so far). A sample of some of the praise: 

"Want to see great acting, from comic to tragic, and every electrifying stop in between? See Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine." - Rolling Stone

"Sooner or later, a major filmmaker has to give us someone we will never forget. Jasmine is that someone." - The New Republic

"The way Blanchett anchors this superb dramedy is a thing of beauty." - New York Daily News

"Cate Blanchett, who played Blanche on Broadway only a few years ago, give the most complicated and demanding performance of her movie career." - The New Yorker

"Blanchett, her eyes shining, makes Jasmine at once ardent, touching, off-putting and cracked in her grand delusions. It's an awesome mood ring of a performance..." - Entertainment Weekly

And here's Cate on Letterman for the movie, where Dave raves about her as well:

TRAILER: "August: Osage County"

Since this will be premiering at Toronto it seems fitting to post the trailer here. I'm not too sure about this one, though. It's based on a play by Tracy Letts and directed by John Wells- so it's sure to be an acting showcase for Meryl Streep, as almost all her movies are. It just seems like it could easily underwhelm. It's coming out on Christmas Day though, so they must have some confidence in it.

CLIP: Gravity- "Drifting"

And another one! Sandra's all alone, drifting out in space.  

CLIP: Gravity- "Detached"

The trailers for Gravity look to be going a different route, opting to release one major, intense scene at a time. Looks pretty great though. Out Oct. 4th

TRAILER: "Lee Daniels' The Butler"

What was once called simply The Butler has had its name changed due to a legal dispute from WB, claiming the title from a silent film they had released in 1916. The Weinsteins fought this of course, and reached a compromise to put the director's name in front of the title. So, we now have Lee Daniels' The Butler, based on the memoir by Eugene Allen, who served as a White House butler for eight presidencies during the 20th century. The film comes out Aug 16th.

TRAILER: "Blackfish"

An early contender for Best Documentary, this is a film that's already gotten stunning reviews. From Gabriela Cowperthwaite, it begins with the shocking death of the SeaWorld trainer in 2010 and uses that to expose the horrors of an industry that's captured and exploited orcas for decades, for commercial purposes.

Toronto International Film Festival Lineup

TIFF is widely considered to launch the Oscar race when it kicks off in the fall- there's always a movie that gets its breakthrough there, last year it was Silver Linings Playbook, which of course went on to win Best Actress and become one of the major nominees of the year. Here are the expected 2013 Oscar contenders set to debut here in 2013:

Opening Night Film:The Fifth Estate (Dir. Bill Condon, starring Benedict Cumberbatch; about WIkiLeaks founder Julian Assange)

Closing Night Film:Life of Crime (Dir. Daniel Schechter, starring Jennifer Aniston, John Hawkes, and Tim Robbins; a thriller based on Elmore Leonard's 1970's novel "The Switch") 

Other Contenders:

Gravity (Dir. Alfonso Cuaron, starring Sandra Bullock) 

Labor Day (Dir. Jason Reitman, starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin) 

August: Osage County (Dir. John Wells, starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts) 

12 Years a Slave (Dir. Steve McQueen, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender) 

The Past (Dir. Asghar Farhadi, starring Berenice Bejo; from France; premiered at Cannes and won the Best Actress Award)

Rush (Dir. Ron Howard, starring Chris Hemsworth) 

Dallas Buyer's Club (Dir. Jean-Marc Vallee, starring Matthew McConaughey) 

Blue is the Warmest Color (Dir. Abdelletif Kechiche, starring Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux; from France; won the Palme d'Or at Cannes) 

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (Dir. Justin Chadwick, starring Idris Elba) 

It's looking to be quite a year for Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch, who not only has The Fifth Estate, but shows up in August: Osage County and 12 Years a Slave as well. 

FIRST LOOK: "X-Men: Days of Future Past" Posters

EW.com has the first images. Pretty cool- although some may say this only serves to highlight how little these two sets of actors resemble their older/younger selves. What do you think?