His Dark Materials (2019-22)

I found His Dark Materials very difficult to follow.  I know the books were written for children but for some reason I just couldn't understand what was happening. Even after 3 seasons, I'm still not sure what the heck dust is. I'm still not sure if Mrs Coulter and Lord Asriel are evil. I don't know why Lyra is so obsessed with Roger when she's got this hunk Will. I chalk it off to the writing. And I found the child actors Dafne Keen and Amir Wilson are very ok. I honestly found them to be kind of annoying. I thought there would be more Lin Manuel Miranda, but he's a pretty minor character. Ruth Wilson is probably the highlight. The subtext of the plot though is fascinating reading about it afterwards. The critique of the Catholic Church is spot on. And I thought the final episode was a stand out. The denouement following the climax of the penultimate episode is quite beautiful. It kind of comes out of left field, but it's a great tie up. The second season was super boring. I nearly stopped watching. And I'm not sure if it was worth finishing but here we are.

Logan (2017)

We lucked out at Berlinale, catching the premiere of Logan. Gianna waited in the standby line and with a little bit of luck, got us 3 tickets to the 10pm screening. We thought the cast was the 7 o'clock, but they were at our screening. We saw Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart and the rest of the cast and crew. I actually sat 8 rows behind them in the orchestra. It was very cool.

But now the movie...this is the final film in the Wolverine trilogy, and allegedly Hugh Jackman's swan song in the iconic role, after almost two decades. The ageless Wolverine has aged. The immortal Wolverine is...mortal?  Yes, he's still the same hot tempered, badmouthed bad ass. But after 8 films, Jackman has matured his character. In a series largely about evolution, the character of Wolverine has evolved emotionally. What really sets this film apart from the previous X-Men movies is that it's a film, in the words of Hugh Jackman post-credits from the stage (that's why it's premiering at Berlin). It stands on its own. If you know nothing about X-Men, you can still appreciate this film for what it is.  It is a character driven movie that doesn't rely on the super-ness of the characters. It's not a superhero movie. It doesn't rely on the fight scenes, though they are plentiful (perhaps too gritty and plentiful)--it certainly earns its R rating in terms of blood). The movie has an R-level tone of seriousness.

What I like most about X-Men is the political overtones. This film doesn't really use it. And I am ok with that. This film is something different. It plays out like a Western, driving across the Great Plains. It scoffs at the comic book origins of Wolverine, and paves its own way. It will be a landmark in the Marvel canon, hopefully having changed the superhero genre for good because I, for one, have gotten tired of the Avengers.