Confessions of a Liberal Puritan

I'm planning to (finally!) take in a showing of "Pacific Rim" this afternoon, and maybe a second show of some sort thereafter, but on Tuesday of this week I was able to see both "The Wolverine" and the latest Shah Rukh Khan screwball comedy film "Chennai Express", so I'm counting this a good week at the movies already.

"The Wolverine" may not have been as instantly addictive to me as Hugh Jackman's first appearances in that role in "X-Men" and "X-2" (and to a lesser extent "X-3"), but it's not because he's lost any of that oh-so-FINE physical presence or that trademark Logan/Wolverine intoxicating mixture of angst, nobility, and pure snarky grit. No, it's just that this film felt more like an 'interlude', a 'palate cleanser' course, giving Logan a chance to finally work through some of the trauma related to Jean Grey's death in "X-3" and the unresolved relationship issues pertaining thereto.

On its own, it's a good film, a watchable and involving film, but it feels like it's not and was never intended to be THE major turning point in Logan's life, and so the emotional stakes (while high enough, for many reasons) are naturally somewhat lower than they were for Logan in the "X-Men" films -- though still HIGHER stakes and greater interest than in the prequel film "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (I generally have a bit of trouble investing myself in prequel films, since we already know where the character ended up AFTER that, and so I can't watch most of them without a little, nagging "What's the point, again?" intruding in my thoughts -- and yes, that held true for Star Wars episodes I-III, as well as for films like "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom").

But as a link between "X-3" and the NEXT "X-Men" film (and yes, you really do want to stay through the relatively short run of closing credits to watch the extra scene at the end), I say it's a VERY good film, and well worth watching on the big screen.

And speaking of 'palate cleanser' movies, "Chennai Express" was a delightful sorbet of a film, complete with amazing, soul-satisfying and eye-pleasing colors in just about every scene, with 'in-joke' references to previous Shah Rukh Khan films at points that tickled me plenty, and lots of that frothy, Cary Grant-in-"Bringing-Up-Baby"-style comedic acting that I really adore from Khan.

DEFINIITELY worth seeing in the theater, if you get the chance!

I was glad I finally made the time to see "Pacific Rim" this afternoon, 'cause it was a very effective and affecting giant-monsters-from-the-deep-vs-family-piloted-giant-robots flick!

And that's something I NEVER expected to see myself write! :)

Seriously, if it's still playing inb your city, or is about to open in your local second-run budget theater, and if you've not yet seen it, DO make the effort to watch this on the big screen. It's got more emotional depth and character development than you'd expect, from the previews, and it's ALSO very funny and almost heart-stoppingly scary at times.

(Oh, and don't leave before you've seen the bit at the end of the closing credits. Ron Perlman rules!)

After sitting through the first showing of "Pacific Rim" this afternoon, there wasn't another film starting that I really wanted to see, so I contented myself with watching the last hour of "The Wolverine" all over again (it stands up well to repeated viewing, I must say!), and then caught the second and last showing of "Pacific Rim" all the way through again, in order to enjoy any bits I might have missed the first time through.

It was still fun and watchable the second time through on the same day, so I'm giving it two thumbs up!