Movie Review Madness - X-Men Apocalypse

X-Men: Apocalypse has had so-so  reviews from “real” critics. Me personally - I liked it.  For a Saturday cheap matinee, it was entertaining with good special effects, decent acting, and it moved along. I did not find myself looking at my watch or eager to edit this film down. Plenty of characters moved in and out of the story line and that kept my interest.

Synopsis

Worshiped as a god since the dawn of civilization, the immortal Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) becomes the first and most powerful mutant. Awakening after thousands of years, he recruits the disheartened Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and other mutants to create a new world order. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Professor X (James McAvoy) and Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) lead a team of young X-Men to stop their seemingly invincible nemesis from destroying mankind.

Starring

James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne, Olivia Munn, Evan Peters, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Lucas Till, Josh Helman, Lana Condor, Ben Hardy

It does seem appropriate to mention that this film is applicable to the concept today of “why can’t we all get along?”  Yes, mutants have different skills and might look unique, but for the most part, they just want to get along and make the world better. So root for Professor X, Raven/Mystique, and the “good” crew to destroy the evil Apocalypse. Enjoy the battles and marvel at our speed demon who can stop time – Evan Peters. That special effect is awesome.  

All in all, this is a very entertaining popcorn movie and keeps the X-Men franchise moving along. There’s humor, drama, and yes a quick Wolverine appearance – hooray for a Hugh Jackman sighting. 

C’mon, you know you should see this on the big screen.  Enjoy and reflect on what mutant skill you’d like to have.

Movie Review Madness: X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past is an excellent summer blockbuster movie. As bad as Godzilla was, this X-Men is that good and more. It has a smart story and ties in time travel with thought process. The world is bleak for mutants and humans and something has to be done. It’s determined that Wolverine/Logan (Hugh Jackman) needs to go back to the 1970s to bring Patrick Stewart’s Xavier (young James McAvoy) and Ian McKellen’s Magneto (young Michael Fassbender) together to stop Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from killing a professor. It sounds convoluted but it works.  

Very humorous when Logan wakes up on a waterbed and realizes the time travel worked. It’s smart and funny and it’s all in sync. The biggest kick to the movie is using Quicksilver (Evan Peters) to help stop time. There is an awesome kitchen scene where he rearranges some people and when the scene turns to action, the final shots and escape are brilliant.  

As per EW’s review, “just because a movie is huge doesn’t mean  you have to ham it up – that it’s possible to make a superhero flick feel as intimate as a piece of theater.” Thanks to superb acting, clever filmmaking, and a real story, X-Men: Days of Future Past is satisfying and entertaining. It’s fresh and resonates in our own world where folks are different and yet seeking the same truths in life.  We are all mutants in our own way. We are all human. Can’t we just get along?

 

Movie Madness: 12 Years a Slave

Solomon Northup wrote his book "12 Years a Slave" in 1853. Wow. Here was a black man in Saratoga, NY - free, educated, cultured (violinist), and happy with a wife and two kids. Life was great until he was lured by two men to go on tour with his violin and he ended up in Washington DC (south of the Mason Dixon line). Oops. After a night of wining and dining, he awakened shackled, alone, and without papers.

The film "12 Years a Slave" chronicles Northup's journey to hell and back. Chiwetel Eijofor needs to work on his Oscar speech now. His performance is spot on and often without dialogue. Just the puzzlement and despair on his face, and then his determination to survive is breathtaking. His first enslavement is with a "kind" plantation owner played by Benedict Cumberbatch. However, the overseer (Paul Dano) is petty, mean, and evil. Northup and Dano come to blows and the result is not pretty. Ultimately, the owner sells Northup to another. Then he's moved to another and here's where the going gets tough. Michael Fassbender's plantation owner is nutso evil. He flaunts his affair with a slave girl, Patsy, in front of his wife. She, in turn, manipulates Northup.

Mid-1800s was not a pretty episode in American history, and this film does not approach it lightly. The beatings, degradation, and slave life is depicted brutally honestly. It's not an easy film to watch, and yet it is absolutely intensely well done. Eijofor is one of those actors you've seen in lots of things - television and movies. Now he has leaped into the forefront of Oscar watch with this role of a lifetime. Brad Pitt, who is a producer on this film, is a hero also. As a white man who abhors slavery, he's Northup's connection to friends up North and his final passage to freedom. I'm not giving away a huge plot line - the man lived to write his book, but the twelve years he lost to happiness is horrific. This is not a popcorn movie. It is just great filmmaking and storytelling.