Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

 

 

Movie Name/Year: Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Superhero, Sci-Fi

Length: 2h 8min

Rating: R

Director: Shawn Levy

Writers: Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, Shawn Levy, Rob Liefeld, Fabian Nicieza

Actors: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Matthew Macfadyen, Dafne Keen, Jon Favreau, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Jennifer Garner, Wesley Snipes, Channing Tatum, Chris Evans, Henry Cavill, Wunmi Mosaku, Aaron Stanford, Tyler Mane, Karan Soni, Brianna Hildebrand, Shioli Kutsuna, Stefan Kapicic, Randal Reeder, Lewis Tan, Nicholas Pauley, Aaron W Reed, Ray Park, Blake Lively, Inez Reynolds, Nathan Fillion, Matthew McConaughey, Olin Reynolds, Paul Mullin, Peggy the Dog, Alex Kyshkovych

 

IMDb Blurb: Deadpool is offered a place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by the Time Variance Authority, but instead recruits a variant of Wolverine to save his universe from extinction.

 

 

Cat’s Point of View:

I have been craving another cinematic Deadpool fix ever since the credits rolled on Deadpool 2 (2018). The next movie just couldn't get here fast enough. Then out of the blue, Ryan Reynolds (Free Guy, Red Notice, The Adam Project) released the teaser ad where he nonchalantly asked Hugh Jackman (Real Steel, Rise of the Guardians, The Greatest Showman) if he would come back to play Wolverine one more time and I've been fairly bouncing in my seat with anticipation ever since. Marvel could churn out an endless number of Deadpool movies and I wouldn't care if they were just cash-grabs; as long as Reynolds was involved with the creative direction and continuing taking on the role of the titular snarky, quick-witted, irreverent character.

 

Then there's Wolverine. He's one of my top 3 favorite X-Men of all time. He shares the top spots for my fangirling with Rogue and Gambit. I've been a fan of Wolvie longer, though. I have core memories of getting into my dad's comic stash when I was little (we're talking 1^st or 2^nd grade here) and they were primarily X-Men issues. I think I actually cried when I saw an issue where Wolverine was in a hospital bed for some reason. (Don't ask me what issue or the rest of the plot as to WHY, but I think that Storm and Lady Deathstrike were also in that issue? I haven't tried to look that one up in forever and that was over 30 years ago so...) I digress.

 

 

In any case, when you get the team-up of the century, it warrants a cinematic experience. We went to the theater for Deadpool & Wolverine as a family, as part of my daughter's 21^st birthday celebrations. We all loved it. Give us more. Of course, it was also mid-August at this point and I had already been spoiled on the majority of the “secret” cameos, too but I didn't care.

 

Speaking of which, we here at Trust the Dice do our best to offer you spoiler-free reviews. There are some occasions where spoilers are very hard to avoid, however. Deadpool & Wolverine hit screens on July 26^th and we were in theater seats on August 14^th, and I had been thoroughly spoiled on quite a bit without even trying. In fact, I had done almost my best to avoid any and all spoilers because I wanted to be surprised regarding the cameos, etc. Unfortunately, even with dodging social media posts and avoiding TikTok and the like, I still ran into them. I said “almost” because I was eagerly partaking of the media whirlwind that Jackman and Reynolds went on to promote the movie. I watched so many interviews and their promo-spots appearing on things like Hot Ones (2015-) because that duo is just heartwarmingly hilarious with their playful rivalry and friendship. At one point, the spoiling became inevitable because “it had been out [in theaters] long enough.”

 

 

That being said, I'm going to offer a summary of my experience here, spoiler free before I delve into the spoilers, so you can skip the spoily section if you have managed thus far to avoid them (and if you have, bless you, your patience, and I'm jealous of your luck).

 

The action was vicious, bloody, and glorious – as expected for this R-rated superhero mashup. The characters of Deadpool and Wolverine both are very violent and by nature pull no punches, verbally or otherwise. This was the time that everything came together to set both of them off of the leash that the earlier X-Men movies had required for rating purposes.

 

I loved the story, as well. It was fun to see this dynamic duo explore the multiverse courtesy the Time Variance Authority, or TVA. If you aren't a fan of spoilers, though, and haven't watched the Loki (2021-2023) series yet, you'll want to do that before you delve into Deadpool & Wolverine. Some of the elements of this story will definitely spoil some of that series if you haven't already watched it. Further, it's not a must to have seen it to understand Deadpool & Wolverine, but it helps explain some of the fine nuances in the film that there wasn't explanatory exposition about. It generally helps to be up-to-date with MCU stuff because they do love to weave in little nuggets that underscore how everything is connected between all the various individual superheroes and stories. It's not mandatory in order to enjoy this movie, however. Further, you'll also want to be caught up-to-date on the Deadpool movies in general, as there are events touched on in Deadpool & Wolverine that call back to events from Deadpool 2.

 

 

Deadpool & Wolverine was also very respectful to the narrative that had come before for the cinematic version of Wolverine – particularly in regards to the events in Logan (2017). Hell, this movie was just flat-out respectful to the character of Wolverine in general. Can we talk about the classic yellow & blue suit? Verbal jabs from the banter in the early X-Men movies aside, I've been hoping they would eventually bring that out of the proverbial mothballs. It was worth the wait.

 

I was also intrigued by Deadpool & Wolverine's villain, Casasndra Nova, played by Emma Corrin (The Crown, A Murder at the End of the World, Good Grief). The way she used her powers occasionally just made me want to squirm in my seat from 'the ick.' It was a powerful performance... not to pun.

 

 

Also, as usual, this latest Deadpool movie remains true to the character's prolific use of 4th-wall breaking. It wouldn't be Deadpool if it didn't happen, to be honest. Between all of the squee-inducing moments of cameo-induced bliss (and they're some heavy duty cameos, let me tell you) and the multiverse laden plot, Deadpool & Wolverine is a wild, raunchy, and action-packed ride. I'd say most audiences would agree, considering the high ratings across multiple sites that track such things and the over 1.2 billion dollar box office (as of September 1^st, 2024).

 

The magical duo of Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, Free Guy, Stranger Things) and Ryan Reynolds has resulted in some of my favorite movies out of the last few years. I want...no, need more.

 

With all that out of the way – here comes the spoiler section.

 

If you don't want to see them, scroll real fast down to the bottom.

 

 

Here we go.

 

The cameos were a huge part of what made Deadpool & Wolverine amazing for me. Some of them were just fun, like seeing Ray Park (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Accident Man) reprise his role as Toad just for a few seconds or the original Sabretooth, Tyler Mane (Halloween II, Jupiter's Legacy, Doom Patrol) – both from the OG X-Men (2000) movie.

 

Others were more integral to the story, such as B-17, the time agent from Loki played by Wunmi Mosaku (Lovecraft Country, Loki, Scavengers Reign). It was also a real treat to get to see Jennifer Garner (Peppermint, Yes Day, The Adam Project) reprise Elektra without any of the baggage from the mixed reviews from Daredevil (2003) or Elektra (2005). Here, she was just able to be a badass. I'm also a fan of the new guy that has stepped into the modern version of the character Blade, but Wesley Snipes (The Player, Dolemite Is My Name, True Story) is my Blade dating back to the Blade (1998) trilogy. His movies were what started it all for the MCU. Before that, DC had really been the one that had reigned at the box office. I was giddy – yes, giddy – I tell you when I learned he would be joining this cast to reprise his iconic role.. and I was not disappointed at all.

 

 

But the whole reason why I couldn't hold my spoilers in was Channing Tatum (The Lost City, Fly Me to the Moon, Blink Twice) as Gambit. Tatum, and really the whole world, was cheated when Fox was acquired by Disney and shelved his Gambit movie. I'd been waiting for that for years. His outstanding performance in Deadpool & Wolverine as the card-tossing and staff-wielding ragin' Cajun is proof positive that he absolutely 100% can pull off that character and make a stand-alone movie bankable. I certainly hope that the mouse house has woken up and decides to dust cobwebs off of that movie and resurrect it from production hell so we can see it in all its glory. Further, they should tap Levy to help Tatum bring it to the screen. Seriously. He even got the accent right. Yes, right. I'm from Louisiana and I've got family in the southern part of the state that talks just like Gambit does. I can spot a fake “Cajun” accent a mile away, and he nailed it.

 

 

I like Taylor Kitsch (Only the Brave, 21 Bridges, The Terminal List) as an actor just fine. They did him – and the character of Gambit – dirty in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). That was not the Gambit we needed. Channing Tatum's Gambit was. (The only other one I've seen come close was a 20 minute short called Gambit: Playing for Keeps (2020), featuring world champion martial artist Nick Bateman (Hobo With a Shotgun, The Perception, Airplane Mode) and Eric Roberts (Heroes, The Dark Knight, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood). (As an aside, Bateman had also worked on a previous Gambit short of only 4 minutes in length and the 20 minute one seems to be its sequel, given the reprised roles of both Gambit and Rogue.)

 

Without going too far down that rabbit hole, my point is that I love that character. I want to see justice done for that character, and Channing Tatum's version of that character was the closest I've seen outside of the original animated X-Men (1992-1997) voiced by Chris Potter (Kung-Fu: The Legend Continues, The Pacifier, Heartland) and the admirable job in X-Men '97 (2024-) by A.J. LoCascio (The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, Gremlins: Secrets oft he Mogwai, The Croods: Family Tree). Channing Tatum is the live-action Gambit we need. Period. Let's make it happen already. With the set-up already in place with the mutliverse, there's zero reason why it shouldn't.

 

 

So there we have it.

 

Spoilers are over as of here. Don't read above this line if you want to keep yourself in the dark on all the glorious cameos I mentioned. (I also left out some big ones, but I don't want to touch them because they are more glorious in the moment and you're just going to have to see them for yourself!)

 

I would watch Deadpool & Wolverine again in a heartbeat, and am somewhat impatiently biding my time for it to reach streaming platforms so I can do that very thing.. a few times... at least. If you're even slightly a fan of the MCU or these characters, Deadpool & Wolverine is a must-see.

 

 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 79%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score –95%

Metascore – 56%

Metacritic User Score – 7.7/10

IMDB Score – 8.0/10

 

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 5/5

 

P.S. - There is a post-credits scene, as well as a closing montage.

 

Movie Trailer:

Die Hart (2023)

 

Streaming Service: Amazon Prime

Movie Name/Year: Die Hart (2023)

Genre: Action, Comedy

Length: 1h 24min

Rating: TV-MA

Director: Eric Appel

Writers: Tripper Clancy, Derek Kolstad

Actors: Kevin Hart, John Travolta, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jean Reno, Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Trujillo, Eric Mainade, Joshua Lamboy, Brandon Quinn, Milana Vayntrub, Stephan Jones, Jason Jones

 

IMDb Blurb: Kevin Hart - playing a version of himself - is on a death-defying quest to become an action star. And with a little help from John Travolta, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Josh Hartnett - he just might pull it off.

 

 

Cat’s Point of View:

I will say, right out of the gate, that I am a huge fan of Kevin Hart (DC League of Super Pets, The Man from Toronto, Lift). My whole family is. His comedic timing feels effortless and I also appreciate his more serious side – which this whole movie underscores (to the degree that satire allows). I will, generally, watch anything he's featured in. Selina and I often express this sentiment by saying we'd watch our favorite actors read the phone-book. Hart would find a way to make even that mundane task hilarious.

 

I now have an image of that in my head that's making me giggle. It's not too far of a digression, however, because the thought leaves me with the feeling that concept would have been a more successful series for the Quibi platform than the story for the Die Hart movie – the focus of this review.

 

 

Why Quibi? What is Quibi? If it doesn't ring too many bells or only feels like a vaguely familiar term, don't feel too out-of-touch. Quibi was an extremely short-lived subscription streaming platform that lasted roughly 6 months in 2020 from launch to shutting down. It offered “Quick Bites” of content in segments of 10 minutes or less. Die Hart (2020) was originally a series on the Quibi platform. Following Quibi's shuttering, Roku aquired the failed streamer's content and Prime worked out a deal to turn a condensed version of the Die Hart show's run into a movie. So here we are, offering the proverbial “2 cents” on that end-product.

 

Now that we're all caught up to speed, let me first say that I enjoyed my experience watching the action-comedy Die Hart. It wasn't the best movie or even general comedic work by Kevin Hart, but I think that was supposed to be the point. I'm not sure. Director, Eric Appel (Son of Zorn, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Afterparty), was at the helm of Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022), as well. I feel like this caricature of Hart was probably supposed to be over-the-top in a similar way.

 

 

The concept was interesting and slightly meta – the whole “movie within a movie” angle helped give a little grounding to the entirely bonkers events. The key to enjoying this movie was just to lean in and roll with it. Die Hart wasn't entirely as nutty as some comedic parodies and satirical romps of the past such as Top Secret! (1984) or Airplane! (1980). I think this might have left Die Hart somewhere in the middle where audiences were expecting a more typical action-comedy. This film, while full of familiar tropes, definitely wasn't typical.

 

 

Die Hart had some excellent casting going on. Jean Reno (Da 5 Bloods, The Doorman, Lift) was an excellent choice for an eccentric filmmaker. John Travolta (The Poison Rose, Mob Land, Cash Out) was also a great fit for the seemingly psycho action-star training camp guru. He's had plenty of experience playing both unhinged characters and over-the-top movies. I loved seeing Nathalie Emmanuel (The Invitation, Fast X, Arthur the King) in the more action-oriented scenes here, too. I've seen her in a lot of more dramatic roles where she hasn't had much opportunity to show off those skills. I was also excited to see Josh Hartnett (Wrath of Man, Ida Red, Oppenheimer). More often than not, he's in such serious roles. I love to see him in the occasional project where he can just cut loose, such as Die Hart or Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023). In fact, I'd go so far as to say that there's an interesting similarity to Kevin Hart's character here and Hartnett's character in Operation Fortune – on a strictly coincidental surface level.

 

While I “get” where Die Hart was coming from, and I had fun watching it, the movie just didn't have the zing that I had hoped for. If you're a fan of Kevin Hart, or even any of the other cast members, I'd encourage you to give this one a watch and see for yourself how you feel about it.

 

 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 43%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score –28%

Metascore – None

Metacritic User Score – None

IMDB Score – 5.2/10

 

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3.5/5

 

P.S. - When Roku obtained the Quibi programming, a second season was created on the new platform. This “sequel” series was also given the condensed cinematic treatment and released via Amazon Prime as Die Hart 2: Die Harter (2024), and is available to watch now.

 

Movie Trailer:

The Menu (2022)

 

Streaming Service: HBO Max
Movie Name/Year: The Menu (2022)
Genre: Horror, Comedy, Thriller
Length:  1h 46min
Rating: R
Production/Distribution: Alienworx Productions, Hyperobject Industries, Searchlight Pictures, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, HBO Max
Director: Mark Mylod
Writers: Seth Reiss, Will Tracy
Actors: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Fiennes, John Leguizamo, Nicholas Hoult, Judith Light, Aimee Carrero, Arturo Castro, Christina Brucato, Hong Chau, Janet McTeer, Paul Adelstein, Rob Yang
 
IMDb Blurb: A young couple travels to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.

 
Selina’s Point of View:
I’ve been hearing a lot about The Menu lately. It came out in November of 2022, and I had it as my #5. Despite that, it’s really only in the past couple of weeks that I’ve been seeing clips pop up. I thought we should open the year with it as our first review.
 
I’m glad I did.
 
I was no where near prepared for The Menu. It was a screaming statement on class warfare, a whole new way to perceive the saying: ‘eat the rich.’
 
This was not a jump-scare-riddled horror movie. This was the kind of terrifying visual statement that had me saying, out loud, “what the fuck” pretty often. At no point did I ever have any idea what was going to occur, and still the horrific moments seemed to play out in slow motion as if I was in the room when they happened.

 
Not only that, but The Menu takes a hard look at what it means for people to insist that everything in the whole world must be elevated and perfect, without ever returning to something simple and fun. Perhaps the critics who think there’s no room for popcorn movies can take a lesson from this elevated horror.
 
It’s almost amusing to read some of the reviews for The Menu from critics who missed the point entirely.
 
Ralph Fiennes (The King’s Man, No Time to Die, The Forgiven) and Anya Taylor-Joy (The Northman, Last Night in Soho, The New Mutants) did phenomenal work, but they weren’t alone. Nicholas Hoult (Tolkien, Those Who Wish Me Dead, The Banker) gave off the impression from the beginning that there was something off with his character, but never ruined the surprise. Hong Chau (The Whale, Showing Up, American Woman) remained stoic, carrying the creepiest aura while on screen. I could say something about every actor playing a patron, but it would take days to write.
 
I cannot recommend The Menu enough. It was an amazing watch. 

 
Cat’s Point of View:
I can’t say that I’ve really become a die-hard foodie in the last umpteen years, but I really enjoy watching cooking shows – generally the competitions. I have learned a lot about different ingredients and how to prepare them that way. The judges on these shows tend to use culinary jargon left and right – and some of it does just sound silly if you think about it.
 
I do love cooking, I just rarely have the energy for anything complicated. These days, complicated is anything that requires me to stand for more than a few minutes at a time or linger in the kitchen after it has hit a certain heat threshold. I recently accepted a Hello Fresh offer and excitedly went to prepare the 2 meals I’d ordered… and was exhausted afterward. They turned out great, though! I digress…
 
I guess what I’m trying to get at is that The Menu was a glorious mashup of things I enjoy – movies, dark comedy, horror, and food. I was sorely tempted to add ‘taking pretentious people down a peg or two’ to that list, though, I can't say that I've ever participated in or witnessed a 'take-down' quite the way it is presented in The Menu. The element of ‘sticking it to the man’ and revenge was clear within the story and I was all in for it.

 
The Menu might not be to everyone’s taste, but horror lovers should be able to find at least something to identify with among the meticulously planned thrilling dishes served within the film. Seriously, though, what’s up with the restaurants that charge the equivalent of a mortgage payment to serve you a few bites of fancy-plated food? 
 
The Menu absolutely pokes at the establishments like that, as well as pretentious food critics and food bloggers that delay the enjoyment of their meals while they snap a zillion pics for “the ‘gram” first. I loved Anya Taylor-Joy’s (The New Mutants, Last Night in Soho, Peaky Blinders) character Margot’s reaction to the ticket price for a meal at the exclusive island restaurant: "What are we eating, a Rolex?"
 
I could ramble about the cast further, as they were a large draw to The Menu for me, though I already did that in my #14 entry on November 2022’s Top 20 article. All of them met and exceeded my expectations. In hindsight, I’m wishing I’d placed this movie in a better position on that countdown. It should have rated the Top 10 at the very least. My 19-year-old watched it with me as well, and while she found the movie strange in some ways, she enjoyed it in spite of her general aversion to the horror genre.
 
I do love a good Motörhead song now and again, as well; and as the final credits rolled, I thought to myself that it was a seriously missed opportunity not including "Eat the Rich" in The Menu’s soundtrack. Even with that said, I was intrigued and entertained by The Menu and would gladly watch it again. 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 89%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 76%
Metascore – 71%
Metacritic User Score – 7.0/10
IMDB Score – 7.3/10
 
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4.5/5
 
Movie Trailer: