Bottomline: Great movie to kick-off the Summer!
Pros: All Wolverine all the time. Hugh Jackman (clothed and unclothed). Liev Schreiber.
Cons: Extremely violent. Bad Language (a lot). Some of the CGI is weak.
Important Note: Stay in the theater throughout the entire movie credit sequence -- all the way to the end.
QMR Opinion: Forget the reviews that mock this movie and mock the people who would even think about going to this movie. Here's the deal. . .if you are a fan of X-Men or Wolverine or just a fan of high voltage summer entertainment, then this movie is for you. This movie doesn't pretend to be anything but what it is -- a blockbuster summer movie with plenty of action. One of the criticisms of the first X-Men movie by X-Men fans (including me) was that Wolverine was not the Wolverine we had come to know -- a man prone to beserker rages who kicked butt and asked questions later. This problem was solved in X-Men 2 when Logan plays the world's most dangerous baby-sitter. This movie goes all out -- it gives the Wolverine fan everything they could hope for. Beserker rages. Brooding depression. The cockiness that comes with being practically indestructible. Honestly, a surprise for me here was Liev Shreiber as Sabretooth. He was terrific. Hugh Jackman here is. . .well. . .Hugh Jackman and is great as Wolverine. There are other mutants but they play second fiddle to Wolverine and Sabretooth. This movie is PG-13 but let me offer some caveats: It is extremely violent. There is no blood spray but the fighting is intense and people die. The language is rough -- nothing to trigger the "R" rating but they get right up to it. One thought offered by my 11-year-old daughter -- it was sadder than she expected.
Bottomline: Disappointing Documentary
See Instead: Best Boy (1979), Crazy Love (2007)
Pros: Big Edie Beale and Little Edie Beale are two the most fascinating people you will ever see on film.
Cons: This documentary starts off strong and then gets incredibly tedious and boring.
QMR Opinion: In the early '70s, the Beales, who lived in a fancy house in the East Hamptons, were being threatened with eviction because their home had become a disgusting dump. Trash was everywhere. Feces was on the floor. Ceilings were falling in. Walls were crumbling. You get the idea. Now, about 98% of the time, no one would give a care. However, these are the cousins of none other than Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. The story hit the papers, and it was a big brouhaha. Jackie O came and helped clean things up. Not too long afterward, two documentary filmmakers showed up and wanted to film life at Grey Gardens. That's exactly what they did. What you get to see is the incredibly unusualy yet touching relationship between Big Edie and Little Edie. They are an odd pair stuck firmly in the past. For the first hour or so this documentary is absolutely fascinating. However, it devolves into prurient interest driven by an awkward desire to see "rich" folks being eccentric.
Grey Gardens: The HBO Movie (2009)
Bottomline: Good movie and worth your time.
Pros: Jessica Lange. Fills in the gaps around the documentary.
Cons: Gets a little melodramatic. Can only be seen on HBO for the time being.
QMR Opinion: Everyone loves the documentary. Few reviewers liked this movie. I'm exactly the opposite. I found the documentary to be tedious and boring but found the movie to be fascinating. I'll be honest here and say that I would probably pay to watch Jessica Lange read the phone book. She does not disappoint in this movie as she plays Big Edie Beale. The pleasant surprise is Drew Barrymore as Little Edie Beale. Her performance is strong and she seems to be almost channeling Little Edie in all of her glorious eccentricity.
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