HUGH JACKMAN

Hugh Jackman, the Wolverine, dropped by the Gardens by the Bay and went into the Flower Dome to catch a glimpse of the floral display. Attached are photos taken by staff and not by me.

THE WOLVERINE

Since "X2: X-Men United" in 2003 when Jean Grey disappeared, a few other X-Men movies were made with Wolverine gaining more onscreen presence. "The Wolverine" made a decade later, is sort of a spin-off movie due to Hugh Jackman's excellent portrayal of the character.

After what appeared to be Jean's death, Wolverine went into hiding out of guilt. His recurring nightmares of Jean beside him, night after night, turned him into a recluse. That was when he was brought to Japan and met Mariko, his love-interest in the comics. I didn't quite like the storyline though, with the Yakuzas and ninjas and the Viper.

For me, the best part of the movie was the easter egg segment, where Magneto and Prof Xavier appeared, and hinted of a huge storm brewing ahead of them, thus uniting both forces together to fight what was coming up.

REAL STEEL

Today's weather - sunny

I wasn't keen to watch this movie actually. Set in 2020, it stars the Australian actor Hugh Jackman aka Wolverine of the X-Men movies and Evageline Lilly, best remembered for her role in the TV series 'Lost'.


In the future, human boxers were replaced by robot boxers. Charlie, Hugh's character, a former boxing champion whose life was in shambles tried to reclaim his former glory through participating his robot boxer in illegal matches etc. After being united for the first time with his preteen son Max left behind by his recently deceased former girlfriend, he slowly learnt to pick up his life through his son and childhood girl friend Bailey, Evangelline's character.


There were a lot of people in the cinema and most were thrilled by the high energy of the boxing matches. I, for one, couldn't stand the noise level whenever the boxing matches were on, which is in fact so frequent. This was made worse by a pair of talking kids, seated behind me. They were so annoying and kept talking throughout the movie. After a few loud "sssshhs' and glaring sessions, the older kid stopped for a while but eventually they went back to it. I swear I almost felt like boxing them unconscious. Why are there still such inconsiderate people around, who yakked constantly throughout movies without any regard for others? This reminded me of a movie I watched previously where a pair of aunties talking incessantly throughout the show despite my numerous attempts to get them to shut up. This is what I hate most about going to movies with a big crowd. Inevitably, someone somewhere would be talking loudly and disrupting my enjoyment of the entire movie.


The best part of the movie was the fantastic acting by the adorable and precocious child actor Dakota Goyo. Come to think of it, why are kids so precocious these days and they behave so mature and seemed to know everything? Anyway, to me the most touching scene has to be the part in the final boxing matches between the robots where Charlie was so deeply engrossed in the simulation fighting, that unbeknownst to him, the two persons Bailey and Max who love him immensely turned to look at each other with tears brimming in their eyes as the sound of the cheering audience drowned away to reveal their joy and pride for him in finally achieving his dreams.


All in all, this movie is not for me because I never know how to really enjoy watching boxing, not even if it is played by credible, sexy actors and actresses.