Blu-Ray Review: HD ‘X-Men Trilogy’ Primes Fans For First Big Summer Movie

From: Hollywoodchicago.com
Written by: Brian Tallerico

With ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ opening this Friday, fans can catch up on where Hugh Jackman’s legendary character earned a following big enough to warrant a summer tentpole release date in the Blu-Ray release of the “X-Men Trilogy” including the two films by Bryan Singer (“X-Men” and “X2: X-Men United”) and the three-quel by Brett Ratner (“X-Men: The Last Stand”). With nine discs, HD video/audio transfers, and dozens of special features, this is the Blu-Ray release of the season for the comic movie nut in your circle of friends and family.

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0

Very few franchises have been robust enough to support four films in the new millennium. With “X-Men,” “X2: X-Men United,” “X-Men: The Last Stand,” and this week’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” this has been easily one of the most successful franchises of the ’00s (only Harry Potter, “Saw,” and “Fast & Furious” have had as many theatrical releases.) The three films in this set have made over $1.1 billion worldwide.

Knowing the rabid fan base of the franchise, Twentieth Century Fox has released a very complete set. Want special features? There are hours of them. Digital copies? There’s one for each film. And each film is presented in HD for the first time (the first and third film are presented in 2.40:1 with the middle film in 2.35:1). All three films are accompanied by 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio English tracks and 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks in Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

Sadly, Fox continues to underwhelm in the technical departments. “X-Men” looks older than it should with the picture often coming across much flatter than an average Blu-Ray. The picture simply doesn’t pop like it should, something I’ve noted far-too-often with recent Fox releases (although, to be fair, not all of them). Ultimately, “X-Men Trilogy” should look amazing and it looks (and sounds) merely average.

What is amazing is the collection of special features for all three films. They’re as informative and exhaustive as a fan could possibly ask for. There’s clearly no more material left on the cutting room floor and until the cast and crew gets together in decades for an anniversary edition, there are no more interviews or behind-the-scenes details to provide.

The first disc of special features on “X-Men” - Commentary by Bryan Singer and Brian Peck, Behind-the-Scenes Footage, Deleted/Extended Scenes with Optional Commentary by Bryan Singer and Brian Peck, Fox Special: “The Mutant Watch,” Bryan Singer Interview, Animatics, Art Gallery, Three TV Spots, Music Promo, BD-Live: Wolverine Exclusive, and HD Marvel
Universe Trailers.

The second disc of special features on “X-Men” - Disc Intro by Bryan Singer, The Uncanny Suspects, X-Factor: The Look of the X-Men, Image Gallery, Production Documentary Scrapbook, The Special Effects of the X-Men, Reflection of the X-Men, Marketing the X-Men, TV Spots, and Internet Interstitials.

The first disc of special features on “X2: X-Men United” - Commentary by Bryan Singer and Tom Sigel, Commentary by Lauren Shuler Donner, Ralph Winter, Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris and David Hayter, Generation X: Comic Book History, BD-Live: Wolverine Exclusive, and HD Marvel Universe Trailers.

The second disc of special features on “X2: X-Men United” - History of the X-Men, Pre-Production, Production, Post-Production, Deleted Scenes, Galleries, Locations and Sets, On-Camera Graphics, The Unseen X2, and Three HD Trailers.

The first disc of special features on “X-Men: The Last Stand” - Director and Writer Commentary by Brett Ratner, Zack Penn and Simon Kinberg, Producer Commentary by Avi Arad, Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter, HD Deleted Scenes (Optional Director and Writer Commentary by Brett Ratner, Zack Penn and Simon Kinberg), HD Easter Eggs, BD-Live: Wolverine Exclusive, and HD Marvel Universe Trailers.

The second disc of special features fon “X-Men: The Last Stand” - Brett Ratner’s Production Diary, X-Men: Evolution of a Trilogy, X-Men Up Close - Interactive gallery with stills and video, Generation X: Comic Book History, Fox Movie Channel
Presents: Life After Film School, Fox Movie Channel Presents: Casting Session, X3: The Excitement Continues in HD, Anatomy of a Scene: Golden Gate Bridge in HD, HD Vignettes, HD Blogs, Previz Animatics, Galleries, Easter Egg, and Three HD Trailers.

‘X-Men Trilogy’ is released by Twentieth Century Fox and stars Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Halle Berry, James Marsden, Alan Cumming, Famke Janssen, Rebecca Romijn, Bruce Davison, Brian Cox, Kelsey Grammer, and Vinnie Jones. “X-Men” was written by David Hayter and directed by Bryan Singer. “X2: X-Men United” was written by Zak Penn and Hayter & Singer and directed by Singer. “X-Men: The Last Stand” was written by Simon Kinberg & Penn and directed by Brett Ratner. “X-Men Trilogy” was released on April 21st, 2009. All three films are rated PG-13.

Jackman Considered Quitting X-men

From: imdb.com

Australian actor Hugh Jackman contemplated walking away from the X-men franchise after the third movie - because he feared his character Wolverine had gone too "soft".

Jackman reprises his role as the superhero in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the fourth movie of the cult series.

But the film almost didn't happen, because after Jackman had completed 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand he considered stepping down from the role amid concerns over his character's development.

He says, "One thing I never felt we got with Wolverine that I really wanted to get is that berserker rage which is talked about in the comic books.

"It felt like Wolverine had got a little soft by X-Men 3 and I wanted to take it back to that bad a** quality. He's tough, he's gruff, he's not politically correct - he doesn't say the right things.

"There has to be complexity to this character. He's very tough but there's a lot of pain, history to his life that you find out about. It's not pretty. He's a flawed character. That's what I like about it, that's why I'm doing it for the fourth time or else I wouldn't."

John Scalzi - Box Office Predictions for Wolverine, Trek and a Summer of SciFi

From: amctv.com

The summer movie season used to start on Memorial Day, but even in a recession there's money to be made, and the studios are planning to make it. So now we kick off the first weekend in May with X-Men Origins: Wolverine. How will it do? And how will scifi movies do this summer? Well, clearly I'm here to tell you.

Disclosure: I haven't seen any of these yet. These predictions here are based on previews, gossip, and my own mystical skills developed over nearly two decades as a film critic and commentator. Got it? Excellent.

May 1: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
On the one hand it's focused on the most popular X-Man out there and Hugh Jackman looks suitably badass. On the other hand, the last X-Men movie was both goofy and disappointing, and I suspect this one's going to have to be really excellent to make up for it. The fact that the movie leaked on the Internet, oddly enough, might help combat that.
Box Office Prediction: Hit -- but only a medium-sized one.

[MORE]

X-Men to Become Vampires

X-Men stars Daniel Cudmore (X2 and X3) and Cameron Bright (X3) have signed on play Vampires in Twilight sequel New Moon.
Daniel Cudmore, who is best known for playing Colossus in the X-Men films will take the role of Felix one of the guards of the Volturi.
Cameron Bright, who played Leech in X-Men: The Last Stand, will be playing Alec. Alec is the brother of Dakota Fanning's character Jane, a high ranking and powerful Volturi member.

New Moon is sheduled for release in November 2009.

Fan-Art: X3 icons

Part1:
( Rogue / Marie D'Ancanto )
( Phoenix / Jean Grey )
( Pyro/John )
( Arch Angel/Warren Worthington )

Part 2:
( Beast/Hank McCoy )
( Callisto, Psylocke & Arclight )
( Juggernaut/Cain Marko )
( Cyclops/Scott Summers )
( Colossus/Piotr Rasputin )
( Storm/Ororo Munroe )

Part 3:
( Iceman/Bobby Drake )
( Wolverine/Logan/James Howlett )
( Professor Xavier/Charles Xavier )
( Multiple Man/Jamie Maddorx )

Part 4:
( Mixed )
( Magneto/Eric Lensherr )
( Shadowcat/Kitty Pryde )
( Mystique/Raven Darkholme )

IMDB poll

X-Men 3: The Last Stand is featured in today's IMDB poll.

What is your favorite film featuring Alcatraz? (vote)

Is Fox Head Tom Rothman Dulling the Claws of 'Wolverine'?

From: Defamer.com

If there's one important lesson that can be drawn from the blockbuster performance of Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight, it's that audiences aren't afraid of a comic-book movie that takes a walk on the dark, grim side. However, the same can't necessarily be said for Fox topper Tom Rothman (the bane of AICN) who greenlit two Fantastic Four movies, hired Brett Ratner to direct X3, and now is allegedly mucking with the X-Men spinoff Wolverine. Despite the fact that the gritty, Hugh Jackman-topped film was met with a giddy response at this year's Comic-Con, Jeff Wells says that Rothman is pressuring director Gavin Hood to make the movie more kid-friendly — and when Hood won't cave, Rothman is taking matters into his own hands:

There was/is a huge Wolverine set being recently used. I'm not even sure which lot it was built on, but the look or mood of the set is, according to a source who was told Hood's view of things, supposed to be on the dark, dinghy and somber side. I only know what I was told, but the basics are that Hood was away from the set for whatever reason (shooting something else, taking a day or two off), and when he returned to the big somber set he was shocked to find that it had been repainted top to bottom on Rothman's orders. The murky-scuzzy vibe was gone, and a brighter and less downish look had taken its place.

Perhaps Rothman has taken his fan letter from Steven Spielberg too much to heart, but a child-friendly Wolverine feels less "X" and more "Y?" Does this mean his bristly greeting of "Bub" will be redubbed "Buddy," or his iconic cigar will be replaced with a pixie stick? C'mon, Tom: Wolvie isn't meant for buoyant musical numbers — or don't you remember what happened last time?

Fury of the Phoenix: Famke Janssen blasts X-Men: The Last Stand

From:
By David Bentley

ACTRESS Famke Janssen has spoken out and says her character Phoenix received poor treatment in the 2006 superhero movie X-Men: The Last Stand.

The 42-year-old former supermodel said she fought with the film-makers to give the character more development but they didn't do the story the way she wanted.

In the X-Men movies, Famke played Jean Grey, a mutant telepath/telekinetic who sacrificed herself to save her team-mates at the end of the second film.

But Jean had not died - she returned in the third movie where it was revealed that her powers had previously been restricted to moderate levels by her mentor Professor Xavier, using mind-blocks which had now broken down. A second personality had developed behind the mental blocks, simmering with resentment at being caged - it took over and she became the super-powerful, unstable and destructive Phoenix. At the end of the movie, she allowed Wolverine to kill her before she destroyed everything.

The story is one of Marvel's most classic comicbook tales - a tale of corruption by absolute power and of ultimate sacrifice. But it was told differently in the films (notably with the death and absence of Cyclops) and, in the third movie, it shared the screen with two other stories - the cure for mutation, and Magneto's villainous activities escalating to public terrorism and war.

Many fans online were unhappy - first the material was changed from the comics and then, to make matters worse, that altered storyline had to compete with other plots within a film that was just 1hr 44minutes long. If it had been better developed, the changes from the comicbooks would no doubt have been more forgivable.

Now, two years after X-Men: The Last Stand was released, Netherlands-born Famke Janssen (it's pronounced fam-kuh yan-sin), has said she was not happy with the Phoenix treatment either.

Famke, who was also in medical drama Nip/Tuck and was the deadly Xenia in Bond movie GoldenEye, told Indianapolis Entertainment's website: "I know how important the Phoenix Saga is to the fans, and I don't think it was addressed properly. It's such a great storyline."

She spoke about the issue in more depth at The Film Experience website. She said: "When I did the first one [X-Men film] people kept saying 'Jean Grey turns into the Phoenix!' So I looked into the story and thought 'Oh wow, I hope one day they're doing it.' They didn't do it the way I would've liked to have them do it. "

Agreeing that there were too many subplots, she explained: "The way it works is that some people get paid a lot of money on those movies and I'm not one of them. And they need to give them as much screentime as possible. That's really how it works.

"And I kept fighting it, too. I said 'Look, you set up the character like that in the beginning of the film. You have her kill Patrick Stewart's character. You have her kill her own fiancé in the film. And then where do you take it? You've got to follow it through. You can't just leave it dangling there.' But they did."

"People I know who really like the X-Men comic books really love that [Phoenix] story arc. It felt to me like a missed opportunity. People ask 'Are they going to come back and do it and I say, no that's now done. It was done in that way."

She had told Radio Free Entertainment during the build-up to the film's release: "I think that Phoenix is not just purely evil. She was in the comicbooks at some point, but the way the writers created her and how we all sort of talked about her was that she was torn with her powers taking over and trying to control them at the same time, so it was a little bit more schizophrenic in that.

"You want to make sure that you stay true to what the comic lovers are expecting of you...In this one, because we take a lot of liberties, and my character changes a lot, we go out on a limb and we hope that this is something that the fans will still like and look forward to.

"I talked to the writers a lot about the ending of the film, wanting to make sure that it was clear that [Jean] wasn't taking a side between Magneto or the X-Men, and that it was a constant struggle in her head. But you know, if this had been a movie just about the Phoenix, we would have had a lot more time to explore all the different avenues that you can explore for that. But given the fact that there are so many characters in the X-Men, and we have to do justice to every single one of their storylines, we have to use broader strokes in that case, and you have to hope that it's clear."

Her comments came as the website of film artist Adrien van Viersen revealed dramatically epic storyboards (see top picture) for her character which were never filmed. These show the power of Phoenix destroying San Francisco in a grand climax. Other Phoenix scenes were filmed but cut and can be seen in a large section of deleted material on the DVD release for the film.

X-Men fans such as myself are hoping for an extended edition of the film to reinstate some of this deleted material and create a more powerful and satisfying movie. Perhaps Fox will release one when the trilogy comes out on Blu-ray, which will probably be timed to coincide with the release of the Wolverine prequel.

After all, Daredevil got an improved Director's Cut, Fantastic Four got an improved Extended Edition, longer versions of the 80s Supergirl movie have been released, Oliver Stone re-released historical epic Alexander as a Director's Cut and then again as a Final Cut, the Definitive Edition of Kingdom of Heaven included another 45 minutes not in the original release, and there are five versions of Ridley Scott's sci-fi classic BladeRunner (now all brought together in an Ultimate Collector's box). However, neither Elektra nor Ghost Rider were improved by extended editions.

Beast Suffers Heart Attack

From:

Dr. Frasier Crane in real-life medical emergency.
by IGN Stars

June 2, 2008 - Yahoo! reports that actor Kelsey Grammer, best known to audiences as Dr. Frasier Crane, suffered a heart attack over the weekend, according to his publicist.

According to Yahoo!'s article, Grammer, 53, experienced chest pains on Saturday morning while paddle-boarding with his wife, Camille, off the Kona coast of Hawaii's Big Island, where they have a second home, spokesman Stan Rosenfield told Reuters.

The actor was immediately taken to an area hospital, where "it was determined that he had a mild heart attack," Rosenfield added. As of press time, the actor is resting and expects to be released from the hospital later in the week.

The medical emergency comes just three weeks after his FOX sitcom, Back to You, was cancelled. The actor, most recently seen on the big screen as "Beast" in X3, will return to the small screen once again, playing the patriarch of a wealthy family in ABC's new comedy pilot, "Roman's Empire."

Vinnie Jones slams 'fickle' Hollywood

From: DigitalSpy.
By Beth Hilton

Vinnie Jones has hit out at Hollywood movie bosses for being 'fickle'.

The ex-footballer, who has appeared in movies including Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and X-Men: The Last Stand, said studios are only interested in stars when they are bringing in cash.

The Daily Express quotes him as saying: "They (film bosses) don't give a f**k about you. While you are earning money for them you are family.

"But as soon as the gig is over and they've got their money in the bank, it's basically like, 'Who are you?'"

It was recently announced that the actor will front new show Vinnie Jones' Toughest Cops for ITV4.

Wolverine in French Magazine

The French Magazine Climax has Wolverine on the cover of their April 2008 issue. The picture is a promo from The Last Stand, but it's all about X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

You can preview the Wolverine parts in the publication here, here and here, it's all in French though.

Unseen X3 concept art hits the web.

As if the treat from Guy Hendrix Dyas wasn't enough, previously unseen pictures from X3 have also hit the web. Check it out.

While we wait.

It's been nearly two years since X-Men: The Last Stand was released, and it's a little over a year till X-Men Origins: Wolverine, it's time to kill some time while remembering the old. A quiz of your knowledge about X-Men: The Last Stand.

Zak Penn Exclusive Video Interview – THE GRAND

From: Collider.

I've just taken the parts regarding X-Men:

While many people reading this know exactly who Zak is, allow me to offer a very fast recap. Zak is very famous in the comic book world as he’s the one who wrote “X2,” “Electra,” “Fantastic Four,” “X-Men: The Last Stand,” and “The Incredible Hulk.” (Apparently Edward Norton did a “polish” on it….) So when you get the opportunity to talk with Zak…of course you’re going to ask about comic book things.

Anyway, during my very long interview with Zak (hence why it’s divided up) we talked about everything. What you’ll notice during the second part is I asked a bunch of questions in almost a bullet style. Watch…I think you’ll like it.

For the videos, go HERE.

The Hottest 100 People In Hollywood Right Now!

From:

57 HUGH JACKMAN - ACTOR: The abracadabra yin/yang twinning of The Prestige and The Fountain showcased Jackman as more than just that bloke with the claws... though of course we’re still pretty excited about his stint in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

What’s next? Wooing Nicole Kidman in Australia, destroying Ewan McGregor in The List...

35 BRYAN SINGER - DIRECTOR: Too long the geek champion, Singer managed to bring a meticulous intelligence and storytelling panache to his X-Men and Superman comic-book blockbusters. But none of them have managed to top his noir masterpiece The Usual Suspects. Which is fine, because...

What’s next? ...Singer has reteamed with The Usual Suspects scripter Chris McQuarrie on a couple of projects. First up is Tom- Cruise-as-good-Nazi thriller Valkyrie, closely followed by gay rights biopic The Mayor Of Castro Street. Superman 2 is also due in 2009, with Singer still (just about) attached.

28 ELLEN PAGE - ACTRESS: Sensational and chilling as the 14-year-old avenging angel in paedogeddon revenge-fantasy Hard Candy, Page wasted no time elbowing her way into X-Men: The Last Stand. Clever girl? No kidding. Her turn in adoption indie Juno rubber-stamped that fact: ultra-smart, ultra-smart-mouthed and totally buzzing with star wattage. And she’s only 20 years old. Precocious would be the watch word for this little miss.

What’s next? Oh, the usual. A rom-com (Smart People); a strong female drama (The Stone Angel) – and, umm, a lesbian werewolf horror. Oh yes, we’ll be keeping you posted on Jack And Diane…

X3 icons for your blog.

Part1:
( Rogue ) ( Phoenix / Jean Grey ) ( Pyro/John ) ( Arch Angel/Warren Worthington )

Part 2:
( Beast/Hank McCoy ) ( Callisto, Psylocke & Arclight ) ( Juggernaut/Cain Marko ) ( Cyclops/Scott Summers ) ( Colossus/Piotr Rasputin ) ( Storm/Ororo Munroe )

Part 3:
( Iceman/Bobby Drake ) ( Wolverine/Logan/James Howlett ) ( Professor Xavier/Charles Xavier ) ( Multiple Man/Jamie Maddorx )

Part 4:
( Mixed ) ( Magneto/Eric Lensherr ) ( Shadowcat/Kitty Pryde ) ( Mystique/Raven Darkholme )