Dude, they're doing an NCIS spinoff! And it's going to star Chris O'Donnell!!!

Thanks to Dano taking a lengthy afternoon nap, I just watched the two latest eps of NCIS on cbs.com, which provide backstory for the characters in the new show. Ultra cool. I can't wait to watch this new show! And how cool that NCIS, itself a spinoff from JAG, is jumpstarting shows now.

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (2009) -- Initial Thoughts

Halfway through Wolverine this afternoon, I hugged my popcorn bag to me, overwhelmed with sorrow and pity for the tragic hero before me. I actually wanted to hug Wolvie, of course, but the popcorn bag was the best I could do. I didn't relinquish my hold on it until the final credits started rolling.

I was really worried about this movie. I've loved this character since I was in high school, before the movies ever came out, and I've read quite a few comics revolving around him, and if they'd screwed this movie up, I would have been bitterly disappointed. Angry, even. And there were a lot of ways they could have screwed it up.

But they didn't. In fact, I thought they did a remarkably good job of taking Wolverine's long, convoluted, sometimes contradictory, always somewhat ambiguous backstory and making it into a cohesive and comprehensible movie. That's not to say I loved everything about it, but my objections are small, nitpicky, and not worth mentioning. And far outweighed by my approval.

As usual, Hugh Jackman brings just the right blend of ferocity, rage, and vulnerability to the role, nailing Wolvie's swagger and sneer as well as his underlying dignity and honor. Wolverine is the best there is at what he does, and what he does isn't very nice; Jackman is the best I can imagine at playing Wolvie, and what he does is very nice indeed.

Most of the other casting is also superb. Liev Schrieber as Sabertooth stands toe-to-toe with Woverine very convincingly. Taylor Kitsch makes a delightful Gambit. Lynn Collins has the right blend of earthy and ethereal beauty to bring Silver Fox to life. And while I prefer Brian Cox's smirking portrayal of Stryker in X2: X-men United, Danny Huston's is adequate (but he lacks his grandfather Walter's fire, I'm afraid.)

The following musings are spoilage-heavy, so read them only is you want to be spoiled.

One of the things I liked best about Wolverine was the way they tied in so many things from the previous three movies as well as from the comics, even some comics that didn't involve Wolvie. For instance, The Blob was first encountered in a very early volume of the original Uncanny X-men back in the 60s. And we see here how Wolvie gets that leather jacket he's wearing years later when he meets Rogue in the first X-Men movie (though he leaves it in Gambit's plane, so we'll see if they have Gambit give it back to him in a sequel or something). Those are my two favorite examples, but there are obviously so many more. And I loved loved loved Professor Xavier making an appearance! Total surprise to me, and it rocked my world. Also, Cyke wasn't very annoying, and that was pleasant :-D

Anyway, if you haven't seen this yet, Stay Through All The Credits.

I'd give this one Warhead, though I actually ate part of a bag of popcorn instead because I was there with a friend and we splurged on treats. Which was a good thing, cuz hugging an empty Warhead wrapper through half the movie wouldn't have had the same comforting effect.

How do I love Wolvie? Let me count the ways.
I love Wolvie to the depth and breadth his
Claws can slash. My love for Wolverine is
More than some swift-passing adolescent craze.
I love Wolvie when his steely, sidelong gaze
Says more than any quip. Yet, when he says,
"Them's fightin' words, Bub," that too is pure bliss.
I love Wolvie, who, with a cigar always
Clamped between his teeth, will sneer and snarl and growl.
I love Wolvie as he wades into a fight,
I love the way he swaggers. I love his howl,
His berserker rage, even his lack of height.
What can I say? The Wolverine can prowl
My territory any day or night.

Want to win one of my groovy collaged journals absolutely free? Zip over to the Ozark Scents blog and read their feature of me. There's a fun little interview, plus pics of a bunch of my items, and the rules for how to enter the drawing for my "Off the Beaten Track" journal. They even have ways for you to get entered in the drawing multiple times by doing things like following my Huggermugger blog or their blog, etc -- check out that post for the official rules.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

"East Side, West Side" (1949) -- Initial Thoughts

I just finished watching East Side, West Side (1949) for the first time. It stars Barbara Stanwyck, James Mason, Van Heflin, Ava Gardner, and Cyd Charisse. Yeah, quite a lineup, huh?

I picked it up at the library, where they'd stashed it in the Mystery section, which is about par for their decidedly odd genrefication system there. Because while a murder does occur, it's not until an hour and fifteen minutes into the movie, and it's not really the point of the movie. The point of the movie is, should the steadfast wife (Barbara Stanwyck) believe her philandering husband (James Mason) when he repeatedly promises to reform and stop seeing his old girlfriend (Ava Gardner). Or should that steadfast wife say enough is enough and start her life anew, possibly with the upright, charming cop/reporter/agent (Van Heflin) who's just wandered into her life? The murder is just a side issue, really, but the library decided that meant it should classify this as a Mystery. Which is actually a good thing, because if this movie had been lost in the vast Drama section, I probably wouldn't have seen it, borrowed it, and um, well, er, uh, heh heh... gotten a crush on Van Heflin.

Yeah.

Sigh. Smile. Grin. Bounce. Sigh again.

This is a funny kind of crush, I've gotta say. Because I've seen Van Heflin in several movies, like 3:10 to Yuma and Shane and Battle Cry and The Three Musketeers and Grand Central Murder, and I always thought he was a good actor and okay to look at, but nothing to make me dust off my swooning couch. But boy howdy, was he just cute as a button in this! All sweet, non-home-wrecking, gosh-I-wish-I'd-met-you-before-you-married-that-jerk, upstanding, cute... and you should see him playing someone who'se pretending to be drunk! Hot diggety dog! Hamlette's having another spring fling, folks. The boy next door turned out to be a lot more interesting than she'd thought. I think I'll try to watch this one again before I take it back to the library.

Sad news -- Andy Hallett, who played Lorne on Angel, just died of congestive heart disease :-( Here's him singing "Lady Marmalade" from the season 4 ep "The House Always Wins."

Man, are there ever a lot of great Silly Songs with Larry that I've never seen! I think this is my favorite of the new ones: