X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Directed by Gavin Hood
Starring Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Ryan Reynolds
Rated PG-13
Release date: May 1, 2009

When X-Men Origins: Wolverine was leaked onto the internet and the flood of angry fanboys littered the interwebs forums with negative reactions, I was one of the many fanboys that were hesitant to go see the film in the theater. But mulling it over, I realized that many of the comic book films that I actually like are ones no fanboy will admit to liking (e.g., Watchmen, Daredevil, Fantastic Four), so I decided to jump feet first into the movie.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine explains the film in a nutshell. The movie tells the tale of how the mutant James Logan (Hugh Jackman) became Wolverine, the Adamantium-laced killing machine we all know and love. Want to see Wolvie as a small child with bone claws? Fall in love with a Canadian hottie? Fight in various World Wars and battle his brother turned nemesis Sabertooth (Liev Schreiber)? It is all here in the movie filled with action, surprises, and a tale of a man who has loved, lost, and killed along the way.

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
Directed by Robert B. Weide
Starring Kirsten Dunst, Simon Pegg, Jeff Bridges, Danny Huston, Gillian Anderson
Rated R
Release date: October 3, 2008

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People reminds me of a dog I had when I was a kid. It was this huge Great Dane that would lumber around and trip all over himself and destroy anything in the process. Anyone who saw him for the first time would be scared to death of him, but he was dumb as a bag of hammers and just a harmless. That’s pretty much where the comparison stops because I loved that dog and still have fond memories of him. On the other hand, I saw the movie late last night and can barely remember it enough to write this review.

Sidney Young (Simon Pegg) runs a British celebrity rag and makes a living pissing people off; crashing celebrity parties to get close to people more famous than him and patting himself on the back when he is successful at doing so. In his pocket he proudly keeps a laminated photo of himself in the wrong end of a Clint Eastwood headlock. He’s that guy.