(film review) - X-Men: Apocalypse

I was never really interested in this film.  Why I hear you ask.  Well, I am a child of the 80's and the 90's X-Men cartoon was at the time THE BEST CARTOON from a comic book out there.  Spider-Man was also great as well, but this was cartoon/comic book gold.  My understanding of the X-Men and everything I learned from the X-Men came from here.  I knew about Apocalypse and that, he could not be defeated by the X-Men.  He was more powerful than all the other mutants as he was r claims he was the first mutant and even with all the X-Men and their powers combined, he just wouldn't die.  He has an entwining story with Cable and the cartoon made Apocalypse an monologging egotistical megalomaniac villain who was just great.  The only way you could defeat him would be to trick him into going back to sleep.  Considering we are starting X-Men from the beginning with First Class, Days of Future Past and now Apocalypse, I really felt that an Apocalypse film NOW was the wrong move, a misstep, as there are greater, but smaller villains out there like Mister Sinister for example. Anyway...

The film kicks off in Egypt where Apocalypse (Oscar Issac) has his four horsemen (War, Pestilence, Famine and Death) and is preparing to go to sleep.  He then wakes up several years later and decides that the earth requires cleansing.  He goes out in search for his four Horsemen to carry out his wishes, but is opposed by Professor Xavier (James McAvoy) and the X-Men who rally together to stop him from destroying the earth and all humanity.

Pretty Simple.  Very short and sweet.  Nothing too extravagant and it sounds good on paper, right? However, where they went wrong for me, was with EVERYTHING.  There was too much liberties taken with Apocalypse and his horsemen.  I felt that the story alone, just was not strong enough to carry the movie.  There were some nice moments in the film and some brilliant scenes starring two separate people at two separate times, but it felt like Batman V Superman, more style over substance.  There were a few funny moments here and there and Apocalypse did feel like a threat, but he didn't seem overpowering to me.  I felt like they had to justify his powers too much.  He didn't seem like a Megalomaniac at all, just someone who wants to destroy the earth.  Almost a Moustache twirling Bond villain.  The film was gorgeous as the special effects were great and certain characters, you understood their motivations.  With others, it wasn't even a wink and/or nod, it was just mashed together for us to just accept it.  Even worst that these characters didn't get much dialogue.  Trying not to go into spoilers.
I never got why Mystique had to be soo pally pally with Xavier and she should not be leading the X-Men.  You see this in the trailers and it makes no sense to me.  A lot of things for this movie made no sense and although it worked in the film and I'm not trying to be pedantic about the comics and movies etc, but Bryan has been fudging up this universe from the very beginning and seems to be very unapologetic about it.  For the most part, this film works, just like all the others and I did enjoy it, but it felt like it was lacking and not in one particular area, but everywhere.  It needed more.  I have to say that Bryan is a smart guy and there is a moment in this film which ties a particular character among the other films which came before it (Although now erased).  Although I never liked it, this made it make sense and I accepted it.  Just like the final fight was lack-luster and the ultimate weapon that took down Apocalypse felt forced, but I got why they forced it in.

This film is much more graphic than previous films and although there isn't an abundance of blood (If it was directed by Tarantino, then we would need to wipe the lens in one particularly awesome part), a particular section in this film looked like it was ripped straight from the comic.  Which is an excellent thing.
McAvoy and Fassbender are great as usual.  I really did like Hoult (Beast), Shipp (Storm), Sheridan (Cyclops), Turner (Jean Grey) & Smit-McPhee (Nightcrawler) in their roles.  Some of the chemistry worked between Turner and Sheridan, but for me, I felt Shipp wasn't given enough, but she did well with what she had. Peters (Quicksilver), is dynamite as usual (when you compared to Days of Future Past) and Mystique was ok.

The way forward, is to build on Cyclops and Jean and their love for one another.  They need to build up the team and bring in more characters in the team and a better team dynamic tis time around. No, major leading characters unless it is to do with the main leaders of the X-Men, Cyclops and or Storm as she is second in command after Cyclops.

Have a good time with it, it is decent.  I just felt that Days of Future Past for Fox, has a very high and raised bar they need to match and/or beat.  This film didn't do it for me and I felt it could have been better.

(film review) - X-Men: Days Of Future Past

For me, Bryan Singer destroyed X-Men from the very beginning. From when Wolverine was made center of attention, for me, the X-Men film/franchise was just nonsense. I mean EVERYBODY knows Cyclops IS the leader of the X-Men and although this didn't change in the film, having everything center around Wolverine just didn't sit well with me. This is not to say I didn't enjoy the X-Men films, X-Men and X2, but I made do with what Bryan Singer did with the franchise. With that said, X-Men: The Last Stand could not have been any more of a useless mass of mess and Brett Ratner needs to redeem himself with the new Hercules film with Dwayne Johnson. With X-Men: First Class directed by Matthew Vaughn sliding into the X-Men franchise and somewhat saving it, Bryan Singer had a lot to clear up from the mess he started with (although we dealt with it and accepted it), the diabolical nonsense Brett Ratner did and also tidy up a little of First Class. And just before I start the review, I would like to conclude and reassure you with great news. Bryan Singer DID THE JOB.

Although the characters are all over the place, lets just roll with it.

We are currently in a dystopian future where Sentinel's are targeting and killing Mutants (what they are designed to do) but are also targeting humans. With both humans and mutants being imprisoned if not killed, there are only a few mutants in the world left who are trying to build up a resistance. Professor Xavier (Sir Patrick Stewart) & Magneto (Sir Ian Mckellen) have finally joined forces and work together to try and bring an end to the onslaught of sentinels to try and save mankind.
Accompanied with Storm (Halle Berry) & Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) they come across a bunch of X-Men, Bobby Drake aka Iceman (Shawn Ashmore), Peter Rasputin aka Colossus (Daniel Cudmore), Warparth, Sunspot, Bishop, Blink & Kitty Pryde who then devise a plan to send Wolverine back to the past to try and stop the creator of the Sentinels, Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), from ever creating to Sentinels in the first place so they can rewrite history and save their future.

As for storylines, nothing out of the ordinary. As for the direction and execution of the film, brilliant. With something being as flawed but acceptable as it was, then to have other people dabble in the franchise and basically mess it up, Bryan Singer did a very good job with trying to tie ALL the loose ends within the franchise and his best at bringing together a story that made actual sense.

When the film was announced with all these Mutants, people along with myself were thinking, "There are too many characters, they won't have enough screen time. Bryan Singer is going to mess this one up too" And rightfully so, we should feel like this, but to add that their were 4 villains in this film and yet, the charcaters served the story well and these characters were used effectively, you'd complete miss the fact that not only Bolivar Trask and the Sentinels are the bad guys here, you'd miss the other two bad guys.

As seen in the trailer, there are some totally great moments. If you had seen the opening battle, with Blink, Colossus, Iceman and 'em, this plays out MUCH better when you watch the film. Brilliantly crafted and excellently executed. Teamwork in tandem. If you have seen the Quicksilver picture of him running on the wall, an excellent if not the actual best scene within the movie. It's like watching the beginning of X2. Bryan Singer DID THE JOB.

If you are used to the sentinels in the comics and cartoons and was put off with the sentinels in this film, trust me, it all makes sense when you watch the film.

Funny in places, serious at times and tension building up as the film climaxes and during certain moments of the film, I can only say, this film is brilliant. If you stay to after the credits at the very end, there is an EXCELLENT clue to the following film's story plot, but with such a neatly crafted and interweaving storyline and very well acted scenes from McAvoy and Fassbender, this film is a definate MUST SEE.

If you ever felt like an X-Men film just didn't cut it or the last couple of X-Men films weren't great and the Wolverine films were also a little sub-parr, than you will definitely enjoy this film. Try not to scrutinise this film too much as there are still a bunch of holes in the script and with a few of the characters, but to still arrive out on top with a very good viewing, you can only congratulate Bryan on his work and hopefully, in the next film X-Men: Apolocypse (so it has been called), hopefully he will do things right this time around...or at least try to and clear up some of the other nonsense plot holes. Maybe, just maybe he could bring in cloning into the storyline. But if that is the case, he would need to bring in Mr. Sinister. How great would that be?

(film review) - 12 Years A Slave

It is kind of weird that I am able to write about this film, but I cannot write about Django Unchained. I mean I have no real issues with the film and I have seen both of these films and where this film had basically brought me to tears, you would have thought the Quentin Tarantino one would have done the same, no? Well, I believe I know the reason for this.

Quentin Tarintino's film was advertised as a slavery film when it was merely a film with a love and Slavery was a sub theme. With 12 years a slave, this IS in actual fact, a slavery film. You might ask what the difference is, but it is not hard to understand or comprehend that although both men where trying to get back to their beloved partner/wife, Django's story centred more around his wife and his "struggle" in trying to locate her, save her and be back with her. This film on the other hand is centred around the character himself and his struggle in reclaiming his own identity so he can go back to his wife. I'll explain.

As the film starts, we see Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejifor) in the fields working in the blazing heat among other slaves while white slave owners relax in the sun watching the slaves work. The film then flashes back and tells the story until we meet up again at that point in the beginning of the film in the fields. Solomon is a prestigious black man in a town where everyone or most people know and respect him. He plays the fiddle, is a skilled carpenter, has a wife and two children. But without going into it too much, one day he wakes up in a dark room where he is chained to the floor and beaten badly. Shipped, sold, disrespected, beaten, abused and renamed, Solomon goes through a great deal with his slave owners throughout the film. However, just when you think he is having a hard time, Patsey's (Lapita Nyong'o) story is the one which drew tears to my eyes.

This film, while a lot of people may argue the events in the film were too harsh or too much to handle, I can only say, I am pretty sure these events were watered down. I do compare the brutality of Django infused with this film would possibly give you the closest we would get to an on screen display of how events were for slaves, but until that happens, 12 Years does a fine job and Steve McQueen should get all the respect and props he deserves. Random hanging, slaves being stabbed, shot or keeling over from heatstroke, it's all there. The film is very engrossing, entertaining and visually stunning. There are moments in the film where the visuals are captivating. At times, I thought to myself, "this is a beautiful film", with all it's colours, shades and imagery. Very artistic. The screenplay, acting and camera angles were all top notch. High performances from everyone involved in the film. Cumberbatch, relatively new to me but I'm starting to like what he turns out and Fassbender, forever growing with greater performances in almost every movie. Even Rhino (Spider-Man joke) Paul Giamatti, did pretty well and possibly, I might start to like him more as an actor, but the best acting throughout the entirety of this film goes out to Chiwetel Ejiofor. A very underrated actor with extraordinary talent which I hope does not go overlooked.

I've said before, if you don't feel some kind of way after watching Django, then you must feel some sort of way after watching 12 years, or something is terribly wrong. Also, if you feel Django Unchained was a mockery of a film which was advertised as a film about slavery, then you need to see this film. This film is an amazing film where the director had a great vision in his head and was able to bring it across in the film and made you enjoy the film for numerous reasons, if it wasn't just for one thing, it was for another. Bring your towel/tissue and be prepared to be sadden, shed a tear or even cry. I think, what hurts more regarding this film, is the time in which all of this has happened in our history. 1841, although seems like it was a lifetime away, it really wasn't. This film was a great film and very much worth the watch.

(film review) - Prometheus

I'm sure, for the longest time, Director Ridley Scott said that this new film called Prometheus had nothing to do with Alien and it was merely set in the same Alien Universe. With that said and upon hearing reviews, from many people telling me this film is around about 1 out of 10 and a direct prequel to Alien. Although I needed to see this film, I definately needed to see this film now.

The film starts with this ultra ripped funny toned alien humanoid guy who is soo ripped, he could cut bread with his edges. He is by this waterfall and seemingly as if he has been left purposely, he opens this small thing which has black liquid in and drinks it, then dies. His body disintegrates leaving his DNA "seeding" the Earth. For some people, the film should have just stopped there.

So, as the film goes on, the story revolves around archaeologist couple Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) discover a star map among several unconnected ancient cultures who interpret this as an invitation from humanity's "Engineers". These "Engineers" created Humans and is believed to have invented other species of life.

Peter Weyland, the elder founder of Weyland corporation funds a trip to an unknown distant planet's moon LV-223 to seek out the existence of these "engineers". Once on th planet, everything goes to shit.

So, without going into anything and spoiling the film, the film plays out like an old script already done. There are a lot of unexplained events and questions in which Ridley Scott has explained (noted on wiki) he will address in the sequel, if they are lucky enough to make one, but with that said...a lot of people think this is a direct prequel to Alien although Ridley said this is a stand alone film. He has also said that the film will appear more as a stand alone film in the possible sequel.

The cinematography is excellent and most of the acting was very good. I really enjoyed David (Michael Fassbender)'s character because his mannerisms and character, I found entertaining. He reminded me of a little child, always touching things, but was also very intelligent. He often found things very facinating. Other characters such as Janek (Idris Elba) and Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron) were pretty much standard charaters but offered more character than the other actors. This is possibly due to the whole story thus far and how it wasn't great and kind of left you feeling like...OK, Ummm, But if you have seen any of the other Alien films (excluding Alien vs Predator), the film kind of leaves you off, like Meh! Entertaining but not ground breaking at all. Nowhere close to an all-rounder. Maybe, if a Trilogy is done, as a Trilogy could be deemed as a great story

(film review) - X-Men: First Class

Does anyone know the story of the X-Men? Like, the REAL story? The originating story? And NO, NO and NO once again, I do NOT and repeat, DO NOT mean 2000's Film of the X-Men which somehow had Wolverine as a main character. I mean that garbage was watchable and at times, corny and yes, at the time it came out, 11 years ago, was actually 'the hotness', but now? And compared to First Class? Do me a favour, tell me that, THAT film is better than First Class and you can, DO ONE!!! I'm not saying that this film is excellent and such a masterful piece of work that the X-Men debut in 2000 doesn't come close at all, but...I'm going to be really honest...ummm, it actually doesn't. I'll explain.

Whether or not this film follows closely to the roots of the Real Story of the first ever X-Men is somewhat irrelevant. I watched the fabulous cartoon, back in the day. Die Hard fans will be fuming. Some will may even demand their money back. But then in saying that, they knew who the characters were before they went to see it so they could only just chill and except that the film was a brilliant watch from start to finish. Whether this is to do with a better director, better screen play or possibly 10 years of enhanced special effects, this film comes out on top out of ALL the X-Men movies. And along with my opinion, stands side by side Wolverine: Origins. No Matter how you feel about Wade Wilson.

Anyway. My knowledge of the first ever X-Men may not be the same as everyone else's, but I know that, Beast, Cyclops, Angel, Jean Grey & Iceman ARE the First class. So, what is this? Well to be fair, this film isn't really about the 'X-Men' you see on screen. I mean, really? Think about it. Yes it's called First Class but to call it 'Charles and Erik' is not a very good idea. So with that said, this film is about, Charles and Erik. Two friends who can't see eye to eye for their own 'political' or 'non-political' reasons.

The film starts off with small Erik Lensherr being separated from his parents at the Nazi German concentration camp and expressing his anguish and pain, Erik is seen bending metal with his mind by scientist Dr. Schmidt. Elsewhere Charles Xavier, a telepath, meets homeless Raven a shape-shifter and after being soo delighted he found someone like him, he invited her to stay with him and his family. Things really start getting heated when Dr. Schmidt does something soo unspeakable that leads to a crushed office room and two killed guards and then a very hell bent older Erik (Magneto)(Michael Fassbender) on a personal vendetta to track down and find Dr. Schmidt. At some point, he crosses paths with Charles and then after a struggle they eventually become friends while they both teach each other about their powers and the responsibilities as "evolved" humans.

Without going into too much detail because, it isn't really necessary, all you need to know is, the First Class kids get slapped up. They learn how to harness and use their powers to their advantage. Magneto becomes the "bad Guy" he is known to be in the Marvel Universe.

You need to watch this if you are or aren't a X-Men fan.