Product: Samsung LN52B630

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After spending way too much time researching and viewing these TVs at big box stores, I eventually bought this set from Amazon, and could not be happier.

I was in the plasma vs LCD debate for a while and decided that I needed/wanted the brightness of an LCD, didn’t want to worry about any burn in issues (I know they are almost non-existent today anyway). I wanted 1080p and most plasma sets with 1080p are close to this price point as well. I debated for about a month between last years ln52a630 and the ln52a750, and which one to buy. The matte screen on the 630 was its highlight for me, but there was a sacrifice in the contrast ratio and other miscellaneous little “bells and whistles”. The A750 being the more expensive model, the price point dropped so much, it was now pretty much an even swap. Hearing about the problems associated with the 750 including glare, halo and TOC flaking issues, I decided the 630 with its matte screen was the TV for me.

So, I price shopped the A630 for a few weeks until I stumbled across the new version of the set, the ln52b630. A little more money is WELL spent when upgrading to this TV. The contrast ratio is double 40,000:1 vs 80,000:1, and even dominates last years 50,000:1 A750’s contrast ratio. Again, this TV also has the MATTE SCREEN! Almost no glare issues in my very bright viewing room, that has multiple windows and a sliding glass door.

The TV’s picture quality is the best my friends and I have seen so far from an LCD. Deepest blacks and brightest brights are the comments I have been hearing when people see this TV in operation. The clarity in blu-ray 1080p with 120hz is breathtaking, you almost don’t want to take your eyes off the screen. I have it connected to Dish Network’s HD service and the PQ in 1080i is also superb, a slight loss in clarity and blur in fast moving sequences that is non-existent in 1080p. Standard def programing also looks great as well.

As far as audio, I have it setup through surround sound, so I cannot comment.

I have yet to connect an ethernet cable to use those features as well.

**UPDATE** I have attached the ethernet cable and the “infolink” features do work as advertised. It is a nice feature, news stories, temperature/weather, stocks all positioned in the corners of the screen. Will i ever use it, probably not. But, it works as advertised. I wish it was a way to update firmware for the TV rather than for these features.

The USB media port is another excellent feature. It allows you to play movies, music and pictures directly from the side of the TV with a USB flash drive or external hard drive. It will play almost any codec you throw at it, supposedly even x264(HD), have not been able to test this.

The remote is nicely designed and easy to use. Samsung eliminated the dreaded “click-wheel’ on this years new models.

Delivery: Pilot was my shipping service, and I cannot say anything bad about the service. The delivered early and made the necessary phone calls to arrange delivery. The box was in great shape, as well as the TV inside.

We were looking for a 55″ matte screen lcd tv, but there doesn’t seem to be any. I came across this 52″ & took a chance, I couldn’t find it in our local stores. I am very pleased with it, the picture is great. I am not an expert, so I can’t give a detailed review. I can say that my husband said it has a heck of a picture (the HD is great).

I also wanted to comment on the delivery. I have read reviews on other tvs that gave bad reviews to pilot service. When I first got the email saying it would be delivered by pilot, I expected the worst. There service was great, they set it up in the room I requested, attached the stand & checked for a blue screen & I verified no damage before I signed. They also took away the packaging.

Also, Kudos to Amazon. I ordered the TV on Wednesday & it was delivered Friday. I couldn’t ask for more. I am happy with the tv & Amazon’s service.

Background:

I have been researching and holding out for a new TV upgrade over the past 2 years. Samsung was one of the very few manufacturers that offered the matte non-glare screens, which is necessary in our sunlight-filled living room. But I was always waiting for the right price. So when I was about to get the LN52A630, I heard about the new B series being released in 2009. So I had to wait for it with 120Hz of refresh and an upgrade from a dynamic contrast ratio of 40,000:1 to 80,000:1. Plus the look and shape of the B series seemed so much nicer to me than the A series. So Amazon had offered a free Sony blu-ray player with the purchase of certain Samsung models (including the LN52B630), and that was my cue to finally place my order on 7/4/09.

Delivery:

When I placed our order I originally set the delivery date for 7/15/09. Once I got the CEVA tracking number from Amazon’s shipping notification email, I started to track our TV. It turns out one of their warehouses is located in PA and very close to NJ. Our TV was right in our vicinity on 7/7/09. So I gave CEVA a call about delivering early and they were more than happy to deliver the TV on 7/10/09. The delivery went well, and the communication I had with CEVA was great. The guys brought the TV up three flights of stairs, set up the TV on the stand, gently placed the TV on our console, plugged it in and then turned it on…

Product:

Picture – We started to switch channels to see how it looked. The picture is truly amazing. The default settings really do make movies look like a soap opera, which is really weird and fascinating at the same time. It does take some time to find the right settings for your environment and input type. It’s great that once the settings are adjusted for a certain input it keeps the settings. There are so many different settings as well, which allow for a lot of flexibility to adjust for a certain device input. For cable we have the TV set on natural and AMP on clear. HD cable is great and standard cable is pretty good on a huge LCD screen. XBOX is on game mode and looks wonderful. My husband was dying to try Call of Duty on it and was totally blown away by the colors and picture on the screen. When it was time to check out the blu-ray, we played Baraka (which I totally recommend to appreciate the 1080p experience). It was unreal! The picture was stunning and the detail was unbelievable. It was like we were there in person.

Sound – Even though we have our B630 hooked to our surround sound receiver, I tested the sound from the TV. It’s not bad and the volume is pretty decent, actually pretty loud even at half way.

Other – The B630 is a really attractive TV. Everyone has commented on the touch of red and thinks it’s really cool. The available inputs are quite sufficient. Swivel stand is terrific for when I’m in the kitchen cooking or to just swivel around dependent on my whereabouts. The swivel stand is also a plus when getting to the back of the TV to easily work on the cables and inputs. Viewing angles are pretty good. Matte non-glare screen is wonderful too; there is no need to shut the shades during the day any more. Tested out the USB input with an external hard drive on media play and found the response time pretty fast for a television. The media play mode is quite intuitive and easy to use. Photos look amazing as well. I did notice the auto dimming during credits of movies and black screens. This happens when the Energy Saving option is used. We set the option to off and now the dimming is non-existent. InfoLink via ethernet is a nice feature, but limiting. I hope that Samsung makes an update to allow more widgets and online viewing. BTW, the ethernet is great for getting available firmware updates from Samsung. Firmware v1009 was available for download and the update was quick and seamless. Since I didn’t have the TV long enough, I don’t know what the firmware update improved, but the TV is working just fine.

We love our Samsung LN52B630. I have to shamefully admit that I have fallen asleep in front of TV almost every night for the past 12 days. My husband would normally be jealous, but he also shares the same feelings I have for our new TV. We highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. The TV has surpassed all of our expectations. Amazon has allowed us to have it at a terrific price and offered free great white glove delivery service as well. It’s a winning combination and we couldn’t be happier.

Product: Garmin GPS Dashboard Mount for Second Vehicle for eMap and StreetPilot GPS Systems

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My StreetPilot III came with one of these, which I mounted in my main vehicle, and I then purchased a beanbag mount for my other vehicle and for rental cars. While the beanbag mount does work well, it is no substitute for the “precise thing.” This coast mount is a huge item that allows the unit to be rotated (360 degrees if you want) then easily locked into location. The permanent mounting disk is truly permanent, and the temp disk works broad to try it in a set for a while to construct definite it works well there.

This mount won’t work with the Streetpilot C340 – it’s really designed for the 2700 series types. wish I had known that before purchasing it.

Product: Kingston 4 GB SDHC Class 4 Flash Memory Card SD4/4GB

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The price of the SD4/4GB card jumps around a lot here. It is a great value at $22. Not so hot at $40. Wait a while and it may go down again. Note that only newer SD devices can use the 4GB SDHC cards. Older cameras, etc. can only use regular SD cards up to 2GB. If you’re not sure, check your owner’s manual or contact your manufacturer. Also, older SD card readers will not work with SDHC cards, but SDHC card readers are available for about $10 on amazon.com

I like our point and shoot camera to be low thought-low effort (big SD card, high capacity rechargeable battery, reliable point and shoot performance, etc.), and this 16 gig card coupled with our Canon SD770 has been a great combination. Almost 1000 pics on our vacation to Punta Cana, and the card wasn’t filled (I could do the math, but I don’t want to).

The card has been reliable, worked fine in a card reader, and I’d make the purchase again. I can’t believe this little card holds 1000’s of times more information than information storage from only a short time ago, and cost me ~$20. Amazing!

Product: Kingston 8 GB microSDHC Class 4 Flash Memory Card SDC4/8GB

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I didn’t see any reviews for this product, so I wanted to let you know that the 8GB (7.4GB usable) works on my BlackBerry 8310.

Interestingly, although the BB showed 8GB with the new card, I only saw 4GB (3.2 or 3.4GB usable) when I first connected to my laptop and the computer asked to format the card when I enabled Mass Storage Mode (I used this mode to drag and drop into the BB). I could only see 4GB on my work computer as well.

However, after standalone reformatting the card (to FAT32) on my friends Compaq both of my computers (and phone) now properly see it as an 8GB card. My computer and phone information is below.

laptop: Win XP Pro w/ 4.2.2.12 BB Desktop Manager

work computer: BB desktop manager 4.6.0.12 with win2k pro

phone: curve 8310 with firmware: v4.2.2.170 and AT&T as provider

I’m looking forward to using the expanded storage!

The Kingston 8 GB microSDHC Card works flawlessly with all my memory card readers: Kingston Mobilite, Kingston microSD Card Reader, and SD Card Reader. Windows (XP) has no trouble recognizing it as a removable drive.

- Device Compatibility

Using a microSDHC to MS PRO Duo Adapter, I am able to use the Kingston 8GB microSD in my Sony Cybershot DSC-W170 Camera — it works like a charm; the camera has no trouble capturing pictures and videos (at a frame frate of 30 fps and a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels). All of my devices, such as my Garmin nüvi 360 and my HP iPAQ 111, are able to recognize the full capacity of the SD card.

- microSDHC Format

microSD cards of 4GB or larger are known more specifically as microSDHC cards. This 8GB Kingston card is therefore a microSDHC card. Beware that some older devices are NOT compatible with the microSDHC format. Such devices will only work with microSD cards with capacities of 2GB (such as this Kingston 2GB microSD card) or less.

(The technical specification for the SDHC/microSDHC format supports capacities ranging from 4GB – 32 GB. microSDHC cards of 16GB, such as this Kingston 16GB microSDHC card, is the largest capacity available as of this writing.)

- Class 4 Speed

This SD card is rated class 4 (data transfer rate: 4 MByte/sec, or 32 mbps) – sufficiently fast for the majority of electronics. A decidedly small number of electronics, most notably some camcorders and high-end cameras, require a class 6 SD card (the fastest transfer rate). Transcend makes one that’s rated class 6.

- Frustration-Free Packaging

Amazon deserves top kudos for their Frustration-Free Packaging efforts in using only recyclable packaging materials and in keeping the amount of packaging used to a bare minimum. As a giant in the e-tailing industry, Amazon’s move will no doubt serve as an impetus for getting the rest of the e-tailers to follow suit!

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The Kingston memory card is compatible with devices that support the microSDHC format. It is a fast (class 4) memory card with plenty of storage. Definitely recommended if the specs meet your needs!

Product: Caselogic UP-2 Universal Pockets Medium (Black)

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The “Case Logic UP-2″ is a very well made soft pouch/case that perfectly fits my Flip Video Ultra Series Camcorder, 60-Minutes (White). This case has some great features:

* A silky smooth inside so it will not scratch my lens

* “Locking” draw string wrist strap to keep your camera snug and protected

* Metal ring clip (removable) to attach to a belt loop or shoulder strap

* Very low price for such a well made case

This is well padded enough to protect my camera, but still fits in my pants pocket without being too bulky.

Highly recommended!

Used this for a Flip MinoHD at work. Nice and cushy, good fabric. It only gets 4 stars because the caribiner clip is cheap and hard to use. I would swap it for a better one if I actually wanted to carry it on my belt-loop.

Download & Watch We Were Soldiers at Amazon.com. Click Here Now to Download & Watch We Were Soldiers Online Now!

Well it is Mel all right; he started getting gung ho with whit “Brave heart” hand has been gearing up ever since. The only problem I have with this movie is I can not figure out what he has to say even when he tells you. With the probable exception of “All Quiet on the Western front”, most war movies just use war as a back drop to their main purpose as in “Apocalypse Now” (an updated “Hart of Darkness”). This movie has the look and feel of an updated “Green Berets” Pluck out John Wayne and plug in Mel.

We know the base story is of the stand off of the NVA at Ia Drang November 1965 against overwhelming odds, with a little help of superior technology. The uniforms and equipment look pretty authentic. The terrain was well done also; it could be the real thing as much as California. Not all of Vietnam is swamp.

Even though there is a lot of action (more phosphorus than C4) this is not just a shootemup movie. They also focused on the wives back home, showing how they had to cope with the situation. There were also some cursory sub stories as a combat photographer getting more than he expected.

I have the same conundrum as others do that have not been there. The Vietnam I was in (67-68) had a few firefights; but most of the time it was our spies against their spies and there was no front. When we tangled both sides lost an even average of 15% but if you could find them and drop something on them you got your 15% from a safe distance. I was in the special reactionaries and trained for just the situation this movie depicts. I was the RTO and was supposed to fight out and retake the base to not let the NVA get a foot hold. However it never came.

One thing you can say about this movie is that you will get involved and almost forget that it is a movie.

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Meet Dave is absolutely incredible. The movie centers around a crew of minute humanoid aliens from planet Nil. They are logical, emotionless creatures who do not know about things like love. They send a special device to Earth to drain the oceans and harvest the salt – their main power source – to avoid a massive energy crisis on Nil. In their ship, shaped like a normal-sized human being, the crew (the main characters being the naive Captain, the by-the-book No.2, the pretty No. 3, and the seemingly butch security officer No. 4 who discovers a different side of himself; as well as No. 17 the repairman and the Head Engineer, No. 10) discover new things about Earth through a woman named Gina and her son, Josh, who has found the orb that they had sent. Emotions start to rub off on the crew from the Earthlings.

I think a lot of people didn’t see this movie because of Eddie Murphy. I’ve heard he is not a nice person in real life, so that might be why. To properly enjoy this movie, don’t see it as a ‘Eddie Murphy movie’.

Meet Dave is definitely an under-rated film, but the question is by just how much? Certainly Eddie Murphy has made some, well let’s just say ‘interesting’ decisions when it comes to choices of movies to do. He turned in Oscar calibre work in Dream Girls, but then took a serious dive by doing the relatively pathetic Norbert (which probably cost him the Oscar for Dream Girls). Besides Dream Girls though, just what serious, or better labeled ‘quality’ work would anyone really remember Murphy from over the last several years? You’d have to go back to the original 48 Hours, or Beverly Hills Cop movies to find material that would generate any sort of consensus as being ‘quality work’.

Murphy has turned out some family oriented, or at least youth oriented, films in the meantime including Daddy Day Care and the like, and the audience for that film seems to be the audience that is the target for Meet Dave.

The Dave that viewers will be meeting turns out to be a space ship filled with tiny humanoids that have come to retrieve a device that was sent to gather materials for providing power in the homeworld of the space travellers. The ship just happens to look like the captain who we see in the command chair, and of course the ship also resembles an Earthling which is supposed to make it easy for the space travellers to accomplish their mission while roving the planet. Nothing could be quite so simple though as the travellers have researched Earth culture from a few different sources, none of which provide a complete and detailed enough view of the world to really help them blend in. Along the way the inhabitants of Dave learn a lot about the Earth creatures and perhaps learn a lot about themselves as well.

The movie basically bombed in theatres, and seems to be flying below the radar on Blu-ray and DVD which is somewhat sad as it would be entertaining for most families. Take a chance and at least rent it and view it with an open mind and perhaps somewhat lowered expectations, you must might find it was worth the effort.

(Note that if half-stars were possible, I’d probably put this in the 3.5 range, more down in the 3 star range. I’ve rated it a little higher because it has been somewhat panned and under-rated, so I’m hoping the higher rating might balance out some of the non-love it may find along the way )

Dave is a silly bit of fluff staring Eddie Murphy as both the ship (a ship shaped like a man in a white suit) and as the captain), a tiny 1-inch tall man. The ship and crew arrive on earth to drain the salt from Earth’s oceans to save their homeworld. This is okay because earth is clearly a planet full of savages. However, as time passes and the crew of the ship becomes more attached to the ‘giants’ which surround them, they begin to reconsider their feelings on the matter.

I found this film kind of amusing. It isn’t rocket science, and there are times when bathroom humor prevails (such as when the giant ship must dispose of food it has ‘consumed’ to look human). But this is probably something kids will enjoy.

Overall, I was amused enough to watch this film from beginning to end, although, I kind of wish we could’ve seen what happened to #2 Murphy’s second in command, even if he did go a bit rambo at the end, he did have a bit of a point. Murphy’s acting was amusing, and he really did a decent job of portraying the wooden, jerky and weird ship.

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I saw this movie when I was in Britain last summer. Emma’s character wasn’t as wild as the title may suggest but there were a lot unexpected twists in this movie that made it more than your regular romcom. I highly recommend this movie and I will definitely buy this.

Download & Watch X-Men Origins: Wolverine at Amazon.com. Click Here Now to Download & Watch X-Men Origins: Wolverine Online Now!

I want to get this out first, I love the comics. I think none of these movies are anywhere close to represent the X-men as they are in the comics. That said, I think these movies exist in a different world that has nothing to do with the 616, except for the characters names and most their powers. I have no problems with these movies; X-men 1 and 2 were very entertaining action movies. But even those movies should have been called, “Wolverine ‘N Pals”, because they didn’t focus on the X-men, but on Wolverine’s interaction with the other characters. My expectations of this movie were not based on the comics themselves, but on the previous movie storylines. I knew in my heart that Hollywood would somehow find a way to rape the image of one of my favorite characters in the Marvel Universe, Deadpool. So when “Weapool 11″ popped up at the end I wasn’t even surprised they would do something that silly. I read an interview a long time ago that about X-men 1 that the producers had to fight to have Cyclops wear the visor because the director didn’t like it. So, I am not surprised nor bothered by the fact that these Hollywood interpretations don’t have a clue about how these characters should be handled. I did like the previous movies (except 3), and understand that this is merely a diferent interpretation of these characters.

Wolverine Origins or, “Wolverine ‘N Pals 4; how this mess began”, is a very entertaining movie. But it fails to deliver a comprehensible story line. A lot of the story doesn’t make any sense. The movie,( as you might be have been clued to know), is about Wolverines origins, its shows you where he came from and how his powers manifested, leading to spending a long part of his life with his half brother Sabertooth, whom we were introduced to in the 1st X-men. After many adventures and wars, the pair ends up joining a military group of people with superpowers led by Stryker. On one of the missions, Wolverine angered by Sabertooth’s actions leaves the group to pursue a nicer lifestyle. This is when he falls in love with Silverfox and the pair lives happily for a while. Many years later Sabertooth comes back in a killing rampage taking out some old members of Stryker’s group, and Wolverine’s love is killed during this. To get his revenge, Wolverine agrees to have done on him an experimental procedure that with give him metal plated bones.

Not bad right? Love, family, betrayal and revenge. All the stuff to make a great story. This is where it doesn’t add up. For those of you that don’t want “Spoilers” please don’t read, as I might give away some plot details.

-After wolverine finds Silverfox dead, Wolverine a veteran of many wars, doesn’t check to make sure she is in fact dead? Why did he leave her body there in the field? Couldnt’t his enhanced smell detect the fake blood? Was it her manipulation power that convinced him to just move on instead of taking her to a medic.

-If she can manipulate people by touch, how the hell didn’t she manipulate Stryker in letting her sister or any of the other kids go? She spends 7 years of her life with Wolvie and doesn’t manipulate him, and indestructible man, to kill Stryker? Was she having to much fun maybe?

-After Wolverine has adamantium put on his bones and escapes to visit the “Kents”, why on earth would Stryker send Maverick with a rifle to shoot a man that can’t die with metal bones? Was he going to shoot through an eyeball from a helicopter? He missed pretty badly by the way, twice. Superman gonna be angry when he goes home to visit.

-Its revealed that Silverfox wasn’t killed by Sabertooth yet after Sabertooth saves Wolverine from falling off the cooling tower, Wolverine tells him “this doesn’t change anything”. Why? She’s not dead. She fooled you. He saves you from falling and having your butt kicked but Weapon 11, why the hell are you still mad at him?

-Stryker failed to wipe Wolverine’s memories so the solution is to shoot a guy with metal on his skull on his head? How the hell does that work? How did he know it would work?

-Why did the most powerful telepath (Professor X) not control someone inside the 3 mile island release the kids? Why wait 7 years and then help. Why didn’t he do that stop time thing from the previous movies so he can save the kids? Where was Magneto? Doesnt he care about abused mutant kids? (One of the restrained kids looked like Quicksilver, who is Magnetos son in the comics)

-How come those kids couldn’t get away on their own? What was that chain link fence cage they were in made of? Adamantium?

-Why was Gambit hanging out in a casino, when he knew he was being looked for by Stryker? How was it that Stryker can’t find him in a long time and yet Wolverine finds him in a day? Maybe Stryker didn’t want him anymore. Maybe they couldn’t persuade the Blob to talk?

-Why add the scene in the end where Stryker is going to be arrested for his crimes, when we well know that he was a high ranking military official in X-men 2?

Well these are most of the plot points from the movie that just don’t make any sense. It’s ok for an action movie to be extremely silly and self referential in that way. For example in Transformers when they have the teen kid take the cube and the alien so they can hide in the populated city, one of the characters mentions how dumb that idea is. They make no excuses in this movie, and just because it’s “supposed” to be a dumb action movie, there is no justification for the producers of this movie to assume their viewers are idiots, and won’t care about a story plot that doesn’t make any sense. Which, apparently they are correct because this movie made a boatload of cash. I will not act like there is nothing wrong with this movie just because it’s flashy and has lost of explosions.

In my arrogant opinion, it’s a onetime watcher. This is not a boring movie by far, yes, it’s a lot of fun and tons of action and the movie’s cast was really great. But the story is convoluted and nonsensical, it seems to take the audience for granted. So, if you want to enjoy this mess, just ignore the entire story and watch the shiny stuff happening on screen.

Awesome movie, does most of wolverine’s history justice, only part that kinda stunk was…SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!….what they did with deadpool/ryan reynolds character, he could have been so much more in the movie, but it was a very enjoyable movie, watched it twice allready!!! blue ray is awesome!!!

Over the course of the “X-Men” trilogy there has been one constant story thread that has been touched upon, yet it’s never been fully explored. For those of you that have watched the series, then you most likely know exactly what I’m referring to… the origin of the most popular mutant of all, Logan/Wolverine. Finally, after three highly successful films chronicling the adventures of the X-Men team, 20th Century Fox has chosen to spin-off Wolverine into his own movie and potential franchise by providing his official origin story with “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”.

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” presents many key events in Wolverine’s (Hugh Jackman) life prior to his fateful arrival at the X-Mansion in the original “X-Men” film. Beginning with his initial discovery as a youth that he possessed the ability to unsheathe claws from beneath his skin, to his complicated friendship and eventual hatred of his former best friend Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber), his time spent working for the government as part of an elite team of mutant trackers, and all of this culminating in a senses-shattering showdown that will leave no one unscathed.

The mystery behind Wolverine’s origin has been a long-standing plotline, not just in the film trilogy, but in the various comic books in which the character has appeared. In 2001, Marvel Comics began a six-issue limited series aptly titled “Origin” that would establish the official backstory for the berserker mutant once and for all. Obviously, so long as interest in the onscreen version of the character remained alive, it would only be a matter of time before his origin, or at least some semblance of it, made it to the big screen as well.

Many times with spin-offs, the story tends to be weaker than those utilized for the main franchise; however, this film appears to be one of those very rare exceptions where the quality actually remains intact. Written by David Benioff (”Troy”) and Skip Woods (”Swordfish”), with some elements loosely based upon the mini-series “Origin”, the story focuses upon some of the various influences, circumstances, and powerful outside forces that shaped Logan into becoming one of the most dangerous mutants on the face of the Earth.

The story spends ample time showcasing the extremely visceral nature of the film’s two primary characters, Wolverine and Sabretooth, and how they deal with their inner beasts in drastically different ways. Along with this complicated relationship, the film delves into the almost constant, yet subtle, manipulation that eventually led to Logan’s decision to participate in the excruciatingly painful Weapon X program, which bonded liquid Adamantium to his bones. It’s during these moments of manipulation, mostly at the hands of William Stryker (Danny Huston), that the film’s story really shines.

Another strong aspect of the film is the sharply written, and often times witty, dialogue. The interactions between the characters felt believable and completely natural within the scenes. Some spin-offs suffer from an over-abundance of clichés or merely recycled lines and moments from the original franchise on which they are based; however, “Wolverine” easily side-steps these issues in every respect. In the hands of less capable writers that didn’t feel some responsibility to keep the quality of the franchise intact, the dialogue, and the rest of the story for that matter, could have potentially gone the way of so many other spin-offs and failed miserably, thus hurting the main franchise in the process. As a fan of the series, I am very pleased by the fact that even though this is the fourth film in the franchise, the creative minds behind the series continually try to surpass what has come before.

For all you action fans out there do not worry. This series hasn’t lost sight of one of its key elements. Throughout the film’s story the action scenes never take a backseat to the drama unfolding within the characters’ lives. The fights are much more violent and at times graphic in comparison to the previous three films of the “X-Men” franchise; not to mention, even more up close and personal due to fewer mutants with projectile-like abilities. The decision to make the fights even more brutal worked very well alongside the animalistic overtones of the story; although it may have resulted in some parents not wishing their children to see the film, despite the fact that they may have seen the other three in the series.

Of course, what would a comic book movie be without the use of visual effects? Well, obviously it would be quite boring, but that almost goes without saying. For the most part, the CGI-intensive sequences were well executed; however, there were some surprising scenes in which the effects looked a bit shoddy. Oddly, enough these scenes involved the use of Wolverine’s claws, which by this point should have been mastered and no longer a cause for concern. I’m not sure what caused the problem, if it was a lack of texture on the CGI claws or what, but something was definitely off about them during a couple of scenes. Please note, that these are not pivotal scenes and that the problem was not all that detrimental to the end result of the movie, it’s just something that I found frustrating and thought honestly shouldn’t have occurred within the film. Otherwise, like I said, the visual effects were very good, and at times numerous sequences were truly awesome to watch and easily overshadowed any of the weaker moments in this area.

Lastly, the acting for the film, just as it was in the original three movies, remains consistently high throughout. Despite having played the role of Wolverine three times already, Hugh Jackman is still able to bring a fresh new approach to the character that is crucial to the continued success of the series. No doubt the ability for Jackman to convey such enthusiasm for the role was assisted by the fact that he was so passionate about finally getting to tell the official origin for this beloved comic book icon. Another neat aspect of the character that was explored a little further in this film than in the previous movies was Wolverine’s famed “Berserker Rage” (comic book fans know what I’m talking about). Although, we don’t necessarily get to see an all-out fully realized rage, we are given a much closer look at what he would be like if he succumbed to his unbridled fury, and it was obvious that Hugh enjoyed this new side to the character being explored.

Supporting Hugh are some extremely talented actors beginning with Liev Schreiber (”The Sum of All Fears”). Liev takes a role that was relatively wordless in the original film, and was tasked with creating a character that was dramatically rich, incredibly feral, and ultimately could become the nemesis to Wolverine we saw in the first movie. Not necessarily an easy job, but Liev pulled it off perfectly. He delivered a multi-layered villain that was a prime example of what Wolverine could have become if given a couple of different choices along the way, and Liev is clearly relishing every evil moment he gets onscreen. Next is actor Danny Huston (”30 Days of Night”) taking over the role of William Stryker from Brian Cox (”X2: X-Men United”). Danny played Stryker with the perfect blend of subtle manipulation and malice. At times he would be fatherly, especially towards Logan (albeit only to further his own agenda), but then he would snap and show his true colors by unveiling an obviously twisted, sadistic, and potentially unstable man who wanted nothing more than unlimited power to quell the surging mutant problem.

Rounding out the supporting cast is actor Ryan Reynolds (”The Proposal”) and singer turned actor Will.i.am (”Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”). I’ve become a fan of Ryan’s work over the last few years, and I enjoy his unfettered sarcasm that he seems to imbue into almost every single character he portrays, but never in a way that feels unnatural or tired within in the role, mind you. In this film, Ryan isn’t given all that much screen time, but what he does get he definitely makes the most of by making his character of Wade Wilson (comic book fans know him as the Merc with the Mouth, Deadpool) an enjoyable addition to the group of rogues that Stryker has assembled. Sadly, his role was intended as an introduction to the character in hopes of getting an eventual spin-off for him as well, a tactic that most likely worked given the film’s success; however, I for one wish there could have been a little more of the character in this story, not to mention fewer major tweaks to the character’s origin that don’t line-up with the comic books. But, I digress. Last, but not least, is Will.i.am as John Wraith, a mutant teleporter. Will shows that he definitely has potential, displaying some good comedic timing in a few scenes, and a natural charisma that makes for a more interesting character than I believe he would have been if played by another actor.

Directed by Gavin Hood (”Rendition”), “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” is an incredibly fast-paced action film that delivers on all counts. Granted there are some gripes with the movie, but overall it’s a very solid addition to a terrific franchise. This is a must-see for fans of the original trilogy and a perfect jumping on point for newcomers to the series.

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” is rated PG-13 for violence, language, and brief nudity.

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Let’s face it. We’re not watching this sort of movie for great character development or intriquite plot twists. This sort of movie is all about women in bikinis, or less. This movie is an excellent piece of work, if judged with that in mind. The women are many and Hot, the situations are funny and provocative, and the outfits are skimpy, revealing and imaginative. There are few movies in this genre that can top this one. If you are a fan, Don’t hesitate to buy this flick!

this movie was good until the bob sagetish moral, meaning of life, message to the people or whatever u wanna call it came in the script.

it is like full house with nudity. if youre bored and wanna see some nudity, or girls from the early 90 in bikini. make your day.

Start with the first Bikini Summer movie. It’s the same movie only way better. You won’t have to put up with some boring subplot about helping a couple of homeless people. That could have been a nice Disney movie but doesn’t belong in Bikini Summer. And the first movie has more nudity – even a couple of full-frontal scenes. I think that gives an extra dimension to movies like this.