A couple of pieces on The Wolverine for MSN Movies, just in case you’re feeling bored this weekend.

First, here’s my interview with director James Mangold, who may be a maddeningly inconsistent filmmaker (**cough hack Knight and Day hack cough**) but absolutely, inarguably got this one right; it’s a terrific little picture with appropriately modest stakes, inventive action sequences and some very nice character work from that Hugh Jackman fella.

And then there’s a shorter, perhaps less meaty chat with Tao Okamoto and Rila Fukushima, who play Logan’s love interest and bodyguard, respectively. Nice people, good actors; I would not be averse to seeing them return in the next one.

Also, make sure you watch the extended version, not the theatrical cut. As Mangold puts it, when you’re making a movie about a guy with knives in his knuckles, you can’t really shy away from the violence that results.