The Wolverine

My rating: 2 out of 5

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima and Svetlana Khodchenkova

After killing Dr. Jean, Logan has become a recluse. He is tracked down by Yukio (Rila Fukushima) on the request of someone who's life Logan saved during nuclear attack on Nagasaki. There he is caught in the battle for power. He is forced to face his demons while being vulnerable to physical pain for the first time. But he has the support of his self- appointed bodyguard Yukio.

This movie has the ingredients of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Iron Man, Kill Bill, with a sprinkling of Wolverine. There was a lot of talk about Japanese culture which did not have any bearing on the concept of the movie. There were many holes in the story like the purpose of the character of Viper played by Sveltana Khodchenkova. There was a lot of talk about Japanese tradition which were not needed and only succeeded in making the movie longer. I wished there were more mutants and more muscle power than the lithe samurai fighting. Frankly, if I wanted to see martial arts, I's watch a Bruce Lee movie.

Recommendation: Miss it if you wish.

Marvel's Avengers

My rating: 5 stars out of 5.

Starring: Roberty Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johanssen, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L Jackson

The world is facing a threat from the demigod, Loki, who is determined to take over earth and rule it. He has the access to Tesseract, a source of unfathomable energy. S.H.I.E.L.D., headed by agent Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson), has resurrected the Avengers Initiative, gathering the superheroes to fight the villain.

The story is the everyday good-guy-fights-bad-guy cliched thing but oh my! do they fight! the essence of the movie is the cleverness with which the heroes are strung together with each other and with the story line, the very witty dialogues and DIRECTION!!! It is a pity that this movie has not received a single nomination at the Academy Awards. I am sure it would have bagged some. The direction during the last half of the movie was sheer talent. That kind cannot be repeated or emulated with ease. I recommend to watch this movie on a big screen always!