SKILLEDVILLAGER

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Review

Sigh… While not a “bad” movie - if you look at it in the light of X3... The soul of the story was M.I.A… If you are not familiar with the old Marvel Comics- you very may well like the movie; but what director Gavin Hood did was take all the reason that I have for liking the character and dull it down or completely do away with it… Let me break it down:

1. The Acting:
Let just say some of it was really… HORRIFIC! Hugh Jackman has seemed to take the character as far as he can… Don’t expect anything new… Liev Schreiber, keeps your attention and does seem to embody the Sabertooth spirit pretty well; but don’t even get me started on Danny Huston’s portrayal of Stryker… A wax figure of Corey Feldman could have been a more convincing actor! Gambit, looks cool and does several card tricks – but his best trick was having Cajun accent for about 2.5 seconds - then it disappears! I guess that is what they mean by “Movie Magic!”

2. The Story:
Here is my real beef… The story of the Wolverine is one of brutality, passion, confusion and ultimately redemption. The Man vs. the Animal within! Way too much for one movie – but they tried to cover it all anyway! The movie should have been titled: Weapon X and been a cross between Saving Private Ryan and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre… (Read Marc Cerasini's Wolverine: Weapon X! The scene in the book with Logan and the wolves… That was the epitome of Logan vs. Wolverine… Still gives me chills!)

I can hear it now, the mother’s crying, “That would be too gory and wouldn’t be appropriate for my children!” Well tell me this, what is so kid friendly about human torture, human experimentation, war and brutal murder? That is what the story is about! (Sounds a whole lot like the nightly news to me, anyway…) While the movie never gets realistic about it’s portrayal of these events – they still happen. People are sliced and diced in an abundant fashion… Tell me what is more dangerous – marketing a movie to kids where they see that there is NO consequences for your actions? “You wanna hack someone up, Jr.? It’s ok – it is nice, clean, fun and cool!” Or marketing the movie more towards adults and at least somewhat realistically portraying the brutality of the characters actions? Don’t tell me you won’t make more money – The Watchmen was HORRIBLE and in no way watchable but the flick made a little money – they would have made a TON if the movie would have been even remotely good…Wolverine is not Spider Man or Iron Man! Marvel made a conscious decision to have a ruff, edgy, more down to earth character - Come on PEOPLE! The character is a man with KNIVES that protrude out of his bleeding, bloody hands! I don’t think Wolvie’s claws are made for easier food processing! Marvel used Wolverine to bring a nastier, more dangerous character into their somewhat light universe…

3. The conclusion:
Wolverine was a killer, a mercenary, an animal - But he was also a man in constant search for redemption. This character is no where to be found in Hood’s movie. Logan is little more than a pretty boy trapped in an unbelievable world, where it felt more like the actors, producers and director were just off screen pushing little buttons on a Playstation controller…

"I'm the best at what I do . . . and what I do ain't pretty." Well, this time it was Mr. Wolverine… This time it was…

I give it 3 out of 6 very shiney, unblemished Adamantium Claws through your computer screen and all my old comics! Man...
 

Rachel’s “GROG” a Healthy and EASY Tuna recipe!

A great tasting and healthy Tuna recipe! If you are looking to add more lean muscle and help fuel your workouts or just looking for a quick and easy source of Omega-3 fatty acids add “grog” to your nutrition mix!

“Grog” takes little time and effort; there is no measuring, takes only four ingredients, and is ready in about 10 to 15 minutes - all without leaving a mess in the kitchen!

You will need:
Macaroni noodles
Can of Cream of Celery
2   5oz cans of chunk tuna, drained
Cheddar cheese

Bring the water to a boil and pour in your noodles.
As the noodles boil, begin to mix cream of celery and tuna in skillet.
Mix in the cheese.
The mixture is ready when the cheese has melted fully.
Drain the noodles.
Once you’ve put the noodles in your plate and topped with tuna mixture, you have Grog.

Enjoy!

Let me know how yours turns out!

Easy way to cook AMAZING - Healthy Salmon!

 

Rachel Ray's Kitchen!

Even if you are slightly challenged in the kitchen area you can make a great “gourmet” meal… All you really need to know is how to boil water!

1. Take your fish fillets – Salmon, Halibut, etc. and place them in a skillet - they can even be frozen – you will just need to boil them slightly longer.

2. Fill the skillet with enough water to cover half of the Fish Fillets – this will not be a lot of H2O : )

3. Bring them to a boil.

4. Add some black pepper.

5. After around 5 minutes has passed flip all of your Fish Fillets.

6. Add a little Garlic Powder and Parsley and let them cook another 4 – 7 minutes.

7. Take a fresh Lemon, cut it in half and squeeze a nice amount of Lemon juice onto your Salmon Fillets.

8. Remove the Salmon from the water and serve – I usually squeeze more Lemon onto the Fillets after I put them on the serving plate.

This is a SUPER easy way to cook GREAT tasting Salmon! Cook up some rice and the vegetables of your choice and you are ready to go! And if you are feeling really romantic throw some candle light and roses somewhere in the mix!

Have fun with it! Let me know how you cook yours!