"Wolverine": Damned if you do?

Even though Nicki Finke is claiming, at her as-often-wrong-as-right Hollywood Deadline Daily site, that "Chuck" has indeed been renewed for a third season, almost everyone else who claims to know anything about it is saying the decision will be delayed for a week or more, so let's talk about something else entirely instead.

Actually, one more note about that, and then I'll move on, I promise. How cool would it be if Zachary Levi were to drop in through the ceiling, superspy style, to announce "Chuck" was back during today's NBC "infronts"? It won't happen, but one can dream, right? The one good and sure thing I can tell you about TV this morning is that ABC will begin burning off the last three episodes of the too-brilliant-to-survive "Pushing Daisies" on May 30 for three weeks in a row.

But here today, it's all about "Wolverine," which given that it only got about 37 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes, could have turned out a whole lot worse in my book. Which isn't to say that Gavin Hood's mutant movie isn't without its faults.

In fact, the first half or so was just so boring that I'm fairly certain, judging from the rather sharp elbow to the ribs I got about a half hour in, that I actually fell asleep at least once. But to be fair I'm really not sure what he could have done any differently, since we're all by now terribly familiar with the saga of the origin of Wolverine.

Even so, I also can't imagine he could have made the opening half any more passionless or by-the-numbers. Though the brotherly banter of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine and Liev Schrieber's Victor Creed/Sabretooth is often clever, and Dominic Monaghan makes a touching turn as Chris Bradley/Bolt, there were two specific things about the beginning that just bugged me beyond all reason.

First, did we really need to be introduced to the cliched older couple who welcome Wolfie into their home despite the fact that he shows up naked, only to see them blown away five minutes later by Stryker's assassins (sorry if that's spoiling anything, but it's not much of a spoil anyway, and with "Wolverine" having already made north of $85 million I'd imagine just about anyone who wants to see this has done so by now already)? It was just as insulting as it was thoroughly unnecessary. And secondly, how many times did we really need to see a closeup of Wolverine unleashing his steel claws? The payoff in the dick joke with Scott Adkins' Weapon XI near the end is indeed pretty damn funny, but the claws just got old way before Hood seemed to realize.

All that said, however, something happens to "Wolverine" about halfway in or so that manages to turn it into at least a satisfyingly entertaining little popcorn flick, which before "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man" used to be about all we could honestly ask for from summer superhero flicks. Gavin Hood seemed to wake up at just about the same point I did.

And coincidentally or not, it happens with "Wolverine" thanks almost entirely to Taylor Kitsch's Gambit/Remy LeBeau, who arrives and stays all too briefly (couldn't they have given him some of Will I Am's thoroughly unnecessary time?) but still manages to liven things up just in time (though a big part of me wishes this were the last of the "Origins" movies, I have to say a Gambit movie starring Tim Riggins would be far from the worst thing imaginable; indeed, details are scant, but there is a listing at the IMDB for a 2011 "Gambit" movie.)

From Gambit's arrival on out, Hood manages to turn "Wolverine" into a still terribly familiar but equally thrilling tale, culminating with a three-way battle between Wolverine, Sabretooth and Weapon XI that takes place on top of a nuclear reactor on Three Mile Island. And the ending neatly sets up what I would really rather see than any more "Origins" flicks: The possible cast of a "X-Men: First Class" flick, which "Chuck" and "Gossip Girl" mastermind Josh Schwartz is supposedly cooking up right now.

If that doesn't happen, the wild success of "Wolverine" should at least set up a "Magneto" flick starring Sir Ian McKellen, to which - thanks to the presence of Sir Ian himself - I can only say bring it on. And here's what Taylor Kitsch had to say to MTV about the possibility of a "Gambit" movie:

"I want to go into the Thieves Guild part of his story [the union of thieves that Gambit was raised in]. How cool would it be to see him stealing things to survive because the stakes are so high? Come on, Fox, let's do it."

Amen, brother. So, the verdict? "Wolverine" is terribly slow to kick into gear, but once it does, it's probably worth at least a matinee for fans of the X-Men, which is a damn sight better than anything you could possibly say about "The Last Stand." And with that I'll leave you with this teaser for the new season of "True Blood," which returns to HBO June 14 and for which you can count me thoroughly jazzed. If I'm not mistaken, it contains the new Bob Dylan song "Beyond Here Lies Nothing," which just sounds great. Enjoy, say a prayer for "Chuck," and have a perfectly passable Monday. Peace out.

Simply crazy comic book news

Before you read too much into that title, please remember that in my rather twisted view of the world crazy is rarely not a compliment.

In the case of the "Wolverine" movie, what it apparently means is an instant injection of class. I have to say, of all the characters they could have spun off from the "X-Men" universe, Wolverine is the one I'm least excited about.

Now, don't get me wrong. On paper, Wolverine has a fascinating backstory which would make for a great summer action flick. But on screen, Hugh Jackman and those who write for him have turned him into simply a smirking one-liner machine, and certainly not the kind of character I'd like to see a movie built around.

With this good news, however, I'm gonna have to at least be cautiously optomistic. In an instant leap to the big leagues, "Tsotsi" director Gavin Hood has been tapped by Twentieth Century Fox to work with the script by David Benoiff.

If you haven't seen "Tsotsi," which managed to snag a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, I can't recommend it highly enough. It's a thoroughly touching tale of redemption set in South Africa and based on a novel by Athol Fugard. Before he gets to have fun with "Wolverine," Hood will be making the rounds with "Rendition," his new flick which is sure to catch a lot of buzz.

That flick, starring Meryl Streep, Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Alan Arkin and J.K. Simmons (huzzah!) is about the CIA's methods of interrogation of an Egyptian terrorism suspect, and his wife's mission to rescue him. I smell at least few Oscars cooking here.

And it's apparently his work on this movie, set to be released in the U.S. in October, that won Hood the right to play around with "Wolverine." To which I can now say bring it on.

Seth Rogen, super hero?

Just in case you can't tell in print, I'm more than a little skeptical about this one. Encouraged, mind you, being a rather portly gentleman myself, but skeptical nonetheless.

It seems that king freak Seth Rogen is finalizing a deal to write and most likely star in Columbia's big-screen adapatation of "Green Hornet." I'll pause to let you ingest that one for a sec. ...

Given Rogen's ability to make fun of himself, I could actually see this working pretty well, if it ever really happens. Rogen would play Brit Reid, the millionaire publisher-turned-masked crime fighter. "The Green Hornet" started as a radio serial before being turned into a comic book, film and TV series by the 1960s. The TV show was apparently notable for the presence of the late Bruce Lee as sidekick Kato, a kung fu expert with a killer car.

You can, of course, look for Mr. Rogen very soon in another movie he wrote, the upcoming "Superbad," which Variety says he originally intended to star in before it took a long time to get off the ground and he simply became too old to play a believable high school student (which hasn't stopped too many people from trying to do it anyway!)

Can he really make the leap to action hero? I have my doubts, but I'll definitely be cheering him on.

A "Bottle Shock" update

In my "fresh faces" plug for the great Freddy Rodriguez I noted that, as far as I can tell, he's set to star in the upcoming "Bottle Shock," a flick about the rise of the Napa Valley wine industry.

Well, not so fast, apparently. A report on the flick this morning listed pretty good cast additions: Chris Pine, Rachael Taylor, Eliza Dushku (today's gratuitous beautiful woman pic), Bill Pullman and Alan Rickman (huzzah!) Nowhere in the list, however, was Mr. Rodriguez.

Set in the 1970s, the film is based on the true story of the Montelena Winery, which won an international wine-tasting competition and put the California region on the vino map. Pine portrays the son of the vineyard owner who saves the winery and represents Napa in the French tasting, while Taylor plays a university student who interns at the winery.

Dushku acts as a local bartender, and Pullman is the owner of the run-down winery who clashes with his son. Rickman is an Englishman who runs L'Academie du Vin in Paris and is the chief architect of the blind-tasting challenge that results in an upset victory for the American vintages.

Whether Freddy's involved or not (and the IMDB still says he is), this is still shaping up to be an interesting flick worth keeping our eyes on.

Che flicks finally get rolling

The AP reported as news this morning that Benicio (not Guillermo, a mistake I somehow manage to make quite often) Del Toro is playing Che Guevara in director Steven Soderbergh's back-to-back flicks about the revolutionary leader. I thought that was pretty common knowledge, but maybe not.

The real news is that Soderbergh is gonna start serious filming on the flicks Wednesday across Spain. In honor of this good news, here's a pic of Benicio as Che cribbed directly from the actor's rather bizarre Web site. It's definitely worth a visit here.

"Darjeeling Limited" gets supercool poster

Until stumbling upon this rather nice poster for Wes Anderson's "The Darjeeling Limited," I was beginning to doubt the flick really existed. It's just been so long since Mr. Anderson has managed to complete a movie, but I can only say welcome back.

The flick stars Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman as three estranged brother who use a trip across India to reforge their bonds after the death of their father. It's set to be the opening night flick at the New York Film Festival Sept. 28 (and why not: There have been very few better valentines to the city of New York than Anderson's "Royal Tenenbaums.")

The poster has an odd, almost "Steve Zissou" kind of look to it, and only makes me want to see the flick right away, which I guess movie posters are meant to do. Anyways, I still have to work for a living, so I have to quit now and get ready. Peace out.