“Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots” get their day on the big screen in Real Steel, a movie that transcends the one-joke premise and is instead a heartwarming, fist-pumping mechanized fairy tale of a father and son coming together amid some of the baddest technology you’ll ever wish was really available.  Not to bad for a few plastic robots from the 60s.

Okay, so Real Steel isn’t based on the old game you played with and trashed back when you were a kid, it’s actually based on the story “Steel” by the amazing and incredible Richard Matheson (I Am Legend, Hell House, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet).  But the storyline sure quacks like a toy robot: it’s sometime in the not-too-distant future, a time where boxing has ditched humans and amped up the amazeballs factor by using robots.  Big, powerful, amazing robots, that are controlled/worked by human handlers and treated like superstars.  Robotics engineers are the new cool kids on the block, and as with all types of fighting there’s the legal big-leagues, and the shady underground scene.  Cue Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman, looking scruffy but gorgeous; does the man ever look bad?), a poor schmuck whose every decision seems like the wrong one.  After hurting himself in human boxing, he’s a robot boxing promoter, but he’s been reduced to staying one step ahead of the law and his myriad of creditors.  When Charlie finds out that he’s the father of 11-year-old Max, his son from a girlfriend he only barely remembers, having to take care of a kid puts a cramp in his style.  So he makes a deal with his dead girlfriend’s sister Debra; Charlie will watch Max over the summer so Aunt Debra and Uncle Marvin can go away to Europe, then Deb and Marv will take Max off Charlie’s hands for good.  But when Max, a kid who’s already a huge robot boxing fan, gets his first taste of competition, he decides to try his hand at the sport himself, along with a robot he finds in a spare-parts dump.  If you think Charlie and Max don’t bond over this, you obviously don’t get out much.

Jackman is in rare form here, and that’s saying something.  The man could literally act his way out of a paper bag and onto the Globe Stage if he wanted to, thanks to his ability to handle just about any role, from musical lead to a certain sideburned superhero.  He can even make a craptastic movie…well, palatable from time to time.  (I’m looking at you, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.  Kate and Leopold.)  Evangeline Lily has a small but important role as Bailey Tallet, Charlie’s engineer and former love interest.  She’s not given much to do beyond solder parts and tell Charlie he’s a screwup, but as with Lost, Lily adds an openness and sincerity to her character.  The truly breathtaking performance comes from Dakota Goyo as Max, who holds his own with the A-List  actors he’s working with.  The three leads manage to rise above the Sci-Fi trappings and turn what could have easily been a quick cash-in (*coughTransformerscough*) into a film with real heart underneath all that metal.  It’s the answer to every prayer sent out by someone who has a significant other who won’t go to touchy-feely films.  It’s two treats in one; a feel-good movie with plenty of ass-kicking action.  I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes the date night of the season.

Ahh action.  It’s here, and in spades.  Director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, Date Night) knows how to mix his genres without sacrificing one for the other.  Film editor Dean Zimmerman keeps the pace quick when it needs to be, but slows things down in just the right places.  Legacy Effects handles the robot action, blending special effects with live action so well I couldn’t see an edge or warp anywhere.  Though to be honest the movie’s action sequences are so well done viewers won’t be doing much more than staring at the screen, transfixed.  I’ve gotta say that when I first heard about this movie I had my doubts.  Big, strong, fighting robots-sized doubts.  But Real Steel put those doubts to rest.  Real Steel is the movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon wishes it could have been.  That’s because Real Steel takes the time to deliver a touching father-son story along with it’s whizbang effects.  The result is a movie well worth your hard earned rivets.

Today, we have got the first images from Dreamworks upcoming fall sci-fi drama, Real Steel for you. From the looks of things, everyone’s favorite X-man, Hugh Jackman is playing Mickey to a giant battling bot’s Rocky. The pics showcase some of the sets and the look of the robots that will appear in the film.

The plot? It really is an underdog story with a basic character arc that we have seen before (and the kind that John G. Avidsen was more than happy to give us back in the 70’s/80’s); the retired athlete who gets his chance to reconnect with his family and his former life when he bets his cards on a darkhorse up-and-comer.

The big switch here is that the ex-boxer’s meal ticket is a giant battling robot, a discarded model that Jackman’s Charlie will rebuild and train with his estranged son (Dakota Goyo) in a future world where mechanical fighters have replaced human one’s in the boxing ring.  

Eerily reminiscent of an old Twilight Zone episode with Lee Marvin (incidentally titled ‘Steel’) and more than a little evocative of the old table-top game, Rock’em, Sock’em, Robots’, Real Steel has ‘Date Night’ director Shawn Levy in the driver’s seat, and joining Jackman is a cast that will include Evangeline Lily, Kevin Durand, Hope Davis, Anthony Mackie and James Rebhorn.

Will it work? Hard to say. The pics give us a little of the flavor of the film, including Jackman giving instructions to his bot, ‘Noisy Boy’, who is apparently about to go up against ‘backroom brawler’ Midas. Not sure where this falls within the film’s structure, but I imagine it’s one of those early fights that establishes the underdog nature of this team-up. The second pic shows Levy and Jackman discussing a scene on the same set, which is ‘Crash Palace’, an underground robot fight club that is probably the equivalent of seedy street fights in more human-themed fighting films.

Jackman has an erratic history when it comes to sci-fi/fantasy films. He’s done some really interesting and odd pictures like The Prestige and The Fountain, and then he’s also cashed paychecks with the likes of Van Helsing and the last two X-Men movies. Which will Real Steel be?

Sci-fans eager to find out will just have to wait until November 18^th, 2010 when Real Steel releases nation wide. Stay tuned to Atomic Popcorn for the first trailer of the film later this year.

When was the last time that we were given a really good sketch-comedy film, packed with big names and famous faces each taking just a few minutes to put us in hysterics and then pass the screen to the next wacky cameo? Remember The Kentucky Fried Movie, the 1977 masterpiece of tastelessness that shocked audiences all the way into risque comedy history? What about Monty Python’s The Meaning Of Life? Even Weird Al Yankovic’s brilliantly absurd UHF is considered a classic in its own right these days. So why the significant lack of sketch films in the modern age? They seem like such a perfect vehicle for studios to load with stars and rake in the returns. You’d think more people in Hollywood would be jumping at the chance to revive the genre.

Luckily, there’s a whole slew of names to the sketch-comedy rescue!

Relativity Media has gathered an impressive array of talent for a new sketch movie that’s set to hit production by May. So far, we know that different segments will be directed by Brett Ratner, Peter Farrelly, Bob Odenkirk, Griffin Dunne, and even Zach and Miri Make A Porno actress Elizabeth Banks making her debut behind the camera.

The list of actors signed on for the as-yet-untitled laugh-fest is even more noteworthy. Gerard Butler, Kieran Culkin, Hugh Jackman, Johnny Knoxville, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Moretz, Liev Schreiber, Sean William Scott, Tony Shalhoub, Emma Stone, Matt Walsh, Patrick Warburton, Naomi Watts, and Kate Winslet are all expected to make appearances, most of them probably pretty brief.

So in honor of this news, Atomic Popcorn wants to know: What’s your favorite sketch-comedy movie?

Hollywood is where I’ve had most of my werewolf encounters but enough about Robin Williams. Let’s explore this particular pack of Tinseltown werewolf as I wanna hear your pick for the alpha male to lead the pack.

Benicio Del Toro has his The Wolfman set for a very romantic Valentine’s Day weekend theatrical release (February 12, 2010) while you’ll have to wait a little longer to see Taylor Lautner’s abs and werewolf if you didn’t see the Twilight Saga’s New Moon in theater as the DVD and Blu-ray are due out late this March.

If you’re really hurtin’ for some lycanthrope cinema I’m sure you can find one of the Underworld films on cable television (if you’re an HBO subscriber then you’re probably watching Michael J. Fox in Teen Wolf as I type) or Hugh Jackman’s Van Helsing in Walmart’s $5 DVD bin. John Landis the very same director of such classic comedies as Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Spies Like Us and ¡Three Amigos! also had a soft spot for the hairy and scary when he first gave us An American Werewolf in London followed by An American Werewolf in Paris (flag his passport already!).

Maybe the most famous actor to howl at the moon was Jack Nicholson in 1994′s Wolf but it was Lon Chaney Jr. that introduced most of us to the werewolf in 1941′s The Wolf Man. Now I know I haven’t mentioned every barking big screen portrayal and personally I’m more of a Cat People type of guy myself (I carry a dog whistle for protection) but who is your favorite big screen werewolf?

Some news just fails to make any sense to me. The immensely talented Hugh Jackman is currently in discussions with Shawn Levy, studio-led director behind Night at the Museum, The Pink Panther and Cheaper by the Dozen, to star in Real Steel.

Variety discusses the concept behind the film as:

“A Rocky-esque tale of a fighter who has to reinvent himself when human boxing becomes obsolete, replaced by 2000 pound human-like robots. Jackman is negotiating to play the ex-fighter, who becomes a Robot Boxing promoter, but whose chances of success are hampered by his access to sub-standard robot parts.”

This sounds like super-hokey family science fiction, with a strange marriage of genres. The original concept was engineered by genre writer Richard Matheson, creator of I Am Legend. In any director’s hands, I’d be expecting at least a creative hodgepodge of ideas, but with Levy helming the film, we’re almost guaranteed something bland. Real Steel is being co-written by John Gatins, the brilliant mind behind Meet Dave, Norbit and … Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings!?

The film will be executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis. Details on Real Steel here on AtomicPopcorn as the project develops.

Hey, everyone.  After a long freshman year at college, I’m back full-time to review summer movies.  Let’s start with X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Many people’s hatred for this fourth film set in the X-Men universe has been made abundantly clear by now.  However, I for one found this summer kick-off which focuses primarily on Wolverine to be an entertaining ride.  Basically, if you’re more of a movie buff than a comic one and couldn’t care less about how characters like Deadpool are portrayed, for example, or if you just enjoy Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of the tough-as-nails antihero with indestructible talons of steel, you should like this movie.

It tells the story of James Howlett, a.k.a Wolverine, who grew up confused and unsure of himself.  You can’t blame him either, since sharp bones grow out of the skin between his knuckles whenever he becomes angry.  One fateful night, James’ father dies and this event sends him off into the world alongside his half-brother Victor (played by Liev Schrieber in his later years).  Over the course of many years and many wars, James and Victor develop a close bond; the pretty nifty opening credits track their movements through the Civil War, WWII, the Vietnam War and so on and so forth.  Curiously, James and Victor stop aging once they look like Hugh Jackman and Liev Schrieber, but we’re not supposed to question things like that in a movie like this.

It’s not until after all these endless wars when James and Victor are approached by mysterious military man William Stryker (Danny Huston), who wants them to join a top-secret program that brings together various mutants.  Their task: to search the globe for a certain meteorite Stryker wants to get his hands on.  But the violence this mission entails eventually unnerves James, who believes innocents should be given a second chance.  As you can expect, he leaves the team.  But six years later, after James, or let’s just call him Logan now, the temperamental Victor, or Sabertooth, is hunting down the former team members for some unknown reason.  And after tragedy befalls Logan after Victor comes for him, he temporarily joins forces with Stryker once more so that he can become Wolverine and put a stop to his rogue half-brother once and for all.

It’s a given that films like Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” have re-shaped the mold for today’s comic book adaptations, and “Wolverine” recognizes this and promptly structures itself to fall perfectly within that outline.  This is perhaps my 2nd favorite of all the films in the “X-Men” franchise because for the first time, it deals with what makes a hero like Wolverine tick.  The script delves into his personal life before he became the amnesiac wandering the snow-covered streets in some distant place he was when we first met him in Bryan Singer’s “X-Men”.  Sure, there are some inconsistencies in the timeline leading up to that film, but not once did I let that detract from my entertainment.  The same thing goes for a brief 2-second shot where there’s a plasma TV screen in the background when the story is set sometime in the 80′s.  What I did care about, and what took center stage thanks to director Gavin Hood, was Wolverine’s inner turmoil and how it shaped him into the person we know from the “X-Men” trilogy.  Oh, and of course the entertaining action as well.

As expected, Hugh Jackman is at his snarling best as the mutant with claws of destruction.  If there’s a type of character Jackman is adept at playing, it’s the badass loner of an action hero who, in his words, comes for blood with “no law or code of conduct”.  Whenever he goes into his destructive mode, it’s relatively easy for us to buy it.  But I think I should also discuss the supporting actors, who are relatively good as well.  Liev Schreiber makes for one teeth-gnashingly despicable bad guy.  His power is extending those yellow nails of his into lethal weapons that would make anyone wanting to give him a manicure instantly shut up.  But if those nails weren’t enough to help sell him to you as the villain, he’s always clad in a black ovetrcoat that screams “nefarious”.  Danny Huston is also pretty decent as Stryker, who’s the real bad guy and is secretly developing a weapon that fans of the “X-Men” universe will no doubt recognize.  The rest of the cast is delegated to much smaller roles, each of which probably totals up to under 30 minutes of screentime.  but the ones worth mentioning are Taylor Kitsch as the card-wielding Gambit and Ryan Reynolds as Deapool.  Reynolds’ role is so small, in fact, that it would seem fair to say that if you blink, you may miss it.

The director, Gavin Hood, is treading unfamiliar waters here.  Until now, he has helmed more character driven pieces such as “Rendition”, but he surprisingly pulls off the big action sequences quite well.  Of course, this may partly be attributed to one of the film’s executive producers, Richard Donner, who it is said lended a helping hand to the visualization of these huge set pieces.  If you like big explosions and some neat hand-to-hand mutant combats, you shouldn’t be disappointed by the action here.  But nevertheless, Hood’s ability to capture human emotion remains intact.  “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” clearly isn’t in the same league as films like “The Dark Knight” or “Spider-Man 2″, but the ruminations it does make about the thin line between heroism and cold-blooded murder  do carry some weight.

At the end of the day, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” does its job.  It entertains, first and foremost, but it also paints an interesting portrait of a tortured antihero who just wants some piece and quiet.  And if that means cutting down a few bad guys and decimating a few buildings in the process, then so be it.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Main Feature

I really wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this film. On one hand I’m a fan of Baz Luhrmann’s previous work especially Strictly Ballroom which I found so refreshing all those years ago and still do. On the other hand I’m not a fan of Nicole Kidman’s acting and from early interviews I couldn’t avoid feeling that Luhrmann was trying too hard to create an epic and to me this spelled disaster.

The mixed expectations I had were further confused by the fact that I wasn’t sure what kind of film it would be and so didn’t know how to approach it. I am certain some of you may dislike the idea of genres and the rules and boundaries which come as part of the deal but they can provide a helpful route into a film. I was pretty sure there’d be no Sci-Fi elements although part of me did hope that Hugh Jackman would be running around putting wrongs to right with the help of some Adamantium claws. As it turns out this is very much a film in the Western genre complete with elements of action, adventure, romance, and occasional comedy, all wrapped up in a World War II setting. Simple.

It struck me that I’ve seen Kidman in a carbon copy of this role many years ago. An upper class woman sets off on a huge adventure, finds herself in an unusual environment which she must come to terms with, and predictably falls for the rough and ready man she thought she had nothing in common with. That film is Ron Howard’s Far and Away. I have been critical of Kidman’s acting style for many years as I often find that she over-plays her lines in an Oscar-friendly fashion but I might have to re-evaluate her previous roles as she really impressed me in this film. Perhaps Kidman requires a great Director to get the most out of her because for me her two previous best performances are in To Die For and Eyes Wide Shut directed by Van Sant and Kubrick respectively.

Hugh Jackman’s performance in this film also surprised me because I now realise he has proper leading man credentials in an old fashioned Hollywood sense. I’d be surprised if his character wasn’t intentionally modelled on the lone hero archetype made famous by Clint Eastwood and he certainly shares a similar on-screen presence to the great man. Brandon Walters, who plays the “half-caste” Nullah, put in a great performance I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in future.

Something I found interesting in this film is that while it has an important message, relating to the problems the Aborigines had to face, about treating everyone as equals, that was largely pushed to one side in favour of the romantic element. I certainly don’t think the director and writers intentionally ignored that part of the story, as the treatment of the Aborigines is shown to be abhorrent, but it wasn’t the “Baz Luhrmann’s Gandhi” I half expected to see. References to ‘The Wizard of Oz’ aren’t exactly hidden as one scene involves Nullah actually watching the film and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” is heavily featured throughout. Some may dislike the overuse of such references but I prefer to see this as Luhrmann’s way of telling the audience that the film is supposed to be over-the-top and fantastical.

Extras

There are just two small deleted scenes which is surprising as anyone with experience in the editing room will know that, no matter the length of the final cut, the clips left on the cutting room floor will always be substantial. It’s understandable that both these scenes were omitted as “what about the drove?” repeats the ‘I am as capable as any man’ statement found elsewhere and “angry staff serve dinner” is out of touch with the rest of the film.

“Australia: The people, the history, the location” is a short documentary in which Luhrmann touches on the amount of research he conducted and describes the importance of using story-telling techniques whilst maintaining historical accuracy.

“Behind the Scenes” is is a documentary broken into different sections, photography, production design, costume design, locations, cinematography, sound, editing, music, and visual effects. I found myself frustrated at needless fluff from Luhrmann and his wife and the fact that neither seem able to display modesty when the camera is on them. This puts Luhrmann in direct contrast to a Director such as Sam Raimi who takes pleasure in disclosing how he manages to create something magical from something basic. I enjoyed this more in the later stages, especially the sections on editing, music, and visual effects, and it’s certainly a good watch if you’re interested in how the film was made.

No Director’s Commentary. This is a huge surprise but having listened to the Director in “behind the scenes” I’m almost thankful to avoid sitting through 165 minutes of Lurhmann telling the world how incredible every one of his thoughts are.

Summary

There are some great performances in this film and Luhrmann and his crew did a fantastic job in recreating this turbulent period in Australian history. Despite the lightweight extras, and the bizarre lack of commentary, Australia’s rich landscape is certainly worthy of appearing on the Blu-ray format. Having said this I can’t help thinking that some extras and the commentary have been held back for the future release of a “super special ultimate edition” and that idea bothers me. I think anyone who approaches this film with an open mind will be pleasantly surprised but they may, just as I did, expect more from this Blu-ray release.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Hugh Jackman's riding the wave of success, how tubular

Hugh Jackman, basically one of the most popular actors at the moment due to the first summer hit X-Men Origins: Wolverine is ready for some more. That’s right, 20th Century Fox and Seed Productions are already planning the next adventure for the hairy beer guzzling X-man, dipping right into development right off of the heels of the first weekend the film opened. Sources so far state that the film will revolve around the samurai story line that appears within the comics. Nobody has been picked to pen the script yet, but obviously Jackman would be crazy not to embark on yet another X-Men fueled adventure on the big screen.

Along with that new burst of news, 20th Century Fox keep Jackman under close watch as he locks in a role for the upcoming film, Personal Security. Jackman will play a tough Gotham police detective forced into bodyguard duty for a spoiled teen heiress who is receiving kidnapping threats. Busying himself up even more, Hugh Jackman will also be starring in Drive, set for a 2009 release date, centers on a Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a wheelman discovers that a contract has been put on him. Throwing even more up for the Australian actor to do, he’ll be hopefully making his return on Broadway in the title role in Houdini with music composed by Danny Elfman and directed by Jack O’Brien (Hairspray). More power to Hugh Jackman being such hot commodity and completely taking advantage of it in the best ways possible, we’ll all definitely be showing our support (including myself) by checking his latest movies up on the big screen.