The Soloist and Wolverine

The Soloist - The main problem with The Soloist is a very bad screenplay. The intentions all around are good but the pay off is never really there. It's hard to relate to a script or a film when you have no idea what the basics are. Is it a movie about the main characters evolution into a good man? Is it a movie about the other protagonists slip into mental illness? Is it just a simple social commentary about homelessness in Los Angeles? I have no idea. I also have no idea who to relate to. It seems like it's the story of journalist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) but then there are these randomly misplaced flashbacks involving Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx). They aren't necessary, serve little purpose and are badly placed throughout the movie. So, basically, the script is awful. The direction, surprisngly, isn't much better. Once in a while, director Joe Wright stumbles upon a brilliant image although they never really seem to fit. More often than not the direction is boring sliding into cheesy territory (the awful Fantasia scene and the even worse flying pigeon scene). At this point, I expect so much more from Joe "I directed the single greatest cinematic moment of 2007" Wright. He disappointed me. The good news? The acting is superb. However, you shouldn't expect less from Robert Downey Jr. who is just excellent and Catherine Keener who is one of my faves and who does so much with so little. Foxx is a little rockier. There was something about the performance that I just didn't buy - it was the poor man's Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. Still, he gets an A for effort. Downey Jr. easily outshines him. Again, the intentions of this movie were good, the performances made it worth it, but it all is just average for me.
Grade: C



X-Men Origins: Wolverine - I will say this for the prequel to the X-Men trilogy: the action sequences are pretty amazing. From the motorcycle scene that ends with Wolverine practically flying through the air to attack a helicopter, to the more intimate fight scenes between characters to the epic fight scene at the end, the action is spectacular. Everything else... a little boring. Maybe it's just preference but I've never really been an X-Men fan, or a Wolverine fan, or a Hugh Jackman fan. Going into the film, I was hoping for more of an ensemble. I wanted less Jackman and more Liev Schrieber (who is so, so good as Sabretooth), Ryan Reynolds (who is funny and charming as mercenary Wade Wilson who becomes Deadpool), Dominic Monaghan (who is barely in the movie), Danny Huston (who is good at being manipulative) and, especially, Taylor Kitsch as Gambit (who is a total bad ass and is so damn good looking it almost physically hurts me). They've been promoting all of these characters and they've mostly been reduced to glorified cameos. I could have done without all the "RAWRRRRRR I'm Wolverine" moments, as well. Also, and again I know very little about the actual comic book stories, but it seems to me that Wolverine is one of the characters that don't really need a back story. Isn't half of the appeal in his character that he's so damn mysterious? It was all just too focused on one thing when I think it could have been a much better story had they included different, more interesting characters in a bigger way. After all, what's the point of hiring fine young actors if you aren't going to use them?
Grade: C-