film review | Geekscape

In the mood for something strange and different? Polish film maker Agnieszka Smoczynska’s “The Lure” played at Sundance last week to a mixed (but mostly positive) crowd.

The story is definitely a doozie. Two young mermaids decide to take a land vacation and end up in Warsaw, Poland where they join a night club band as singers. It’s set in the 80’s so the costumes, music, and set stylings reflect that era.

Golden and Silver are looking for fun and when one of them finds love for a human and the other for human flesh, two worlds collide. Even a visit from Triton (as a heavy metal reveler) warning them of the consequences of their folly isn’t enough to put the brakes on these two mermaids.

There are a few challenges in watching the film. First off, it’s a musical and the Polish to English translation of the lyrics doesn’t always seem to make lyrical sense, so there’s that. There’s also some confusion going on for me as to the character motivations. I’m not sure if it was the language barrier, scenes being deleted for this cut, or not fully flushed out characters – but there were numerous times where dream sequences, cut scenes, and side stories did more to confuse than move the story forward. That uneven flow made the film less enjoyable despite some wonderful performances from the cast.

“The Lure” has a certain attraction. As a first time director, Smoczynska does a intriguing job with essentially a unique story, set in a place not often seen in modern movies, and using music as a medium to tell the tale, it certainly falls into the spectrum of weird but good.

However, due to poorly executed character development (and translation issues) the film barely rises to above average. The film screens great as a Midnighter and will certainly find its audience.

2.5 out of 5

https://youtu.be/vxhi_3hDUPE

Warning: The following review contains spoilers!

Marvel Knights’ new release, Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk, based on the comic series of the same name, is a highly entertaining variation of the storyline. Writer Damon Lindelof (Lost, Star Trek: Into Darkness) brings the plot to film with the help of artist Leinil Francis Yu (Secret Invasion) and colorist Dave McCaig.

The story is simple. The Hulk was sentenced to death for murdering over 600 people, 60+ of them being children, so Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. killed him with a nuclear bomb. The problem is, it turns out that’s not enough to kill Hulk. Fury then enlists Wolverine to find Bruce Banner and kill him.

The catch? There’s a little bit more going on behind the scenes, as usual with S.H.I.E.L.D. The Hulk’s ex, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, just might still be in love with him, and her coworker may have just solved the problem with Banner’s Hulk Formula.

http://youtu.be/CThLutcEr-M

As Wolverine tries to track him down, the storyline jumps from him to Fury to Hulk/Banner’s points of view, which at times can begin to get a little frustrating. And the episode that focuses on Banner’s travels and struggles with anger is a bit slow-moving. Other than that, the film is fun. The addition of humor to the storyline really helped, with small quips and jokes that are reminiscent of The Avengers. If for no other reason, it’s worth watching just to find out the answer to the age-old joke, “What does Wolverine do to get through the metal detectors at the airport?”

And if that’s not enough, no matter how badass you thought Wolverine was in the past, the opening of this film will prove you wrong when he is torn in half by Hulk and crawls four miles to the top of a mountain to get back his legs. Intense!

Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine incorporates a few other fan-favorites, such as Tony Stark, Captain America and a certain female who is large an green as well. The references to pop culture and films (Star Wars, for example) add some fun to the storyline.

This is part of a series of comic adaptations Shout! Factory and Marvel Knights has released. The only other one I’ve personally seen was Astonishing X-Men: Unstoppable, which was decent. It definitely does take some time to get used to the limited movement in the artwork, especially when compared to everyday cartoons and animated films.

Marvel Knights: Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk, is available September 10th and can be preordered on Amazon. Or, you could always enter to win a copy!

Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine scores a worthy 4/5.

Tag: film review

Sundance Film Review: ‘The Lure’

Geekscape Movie Reviews: ‘Marvel Knights: Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk’