[8] Writer/director James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line) returns to the X-Men franchise after 2013’s The Wolverine and serves up a highly satisfying conclusion for its centerpiece hero. Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart return as Logan/Wolverine and Charles/Professor X, respectively. They are joined by young Dafne Keen, playing a child mutant in a 2029 future where mutants have gone nearly extinct. But military-scientist …
[6] So, fifteen minutes into The Fountain, you get a bald man sitting in a snow globe talking to a tree while drifting through space. At that point, you either go with writer/director Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream), or you shut the movie off to make the pain go away. Fortunately, that initial leap of faith is the hardest. I started to dig …
[7] Chappie starts out rough, juggling multiple storylines and shifting our character identification many times throughout the first 30 minutes, but once the title character is ‘born,’ the film gets more and more thematically compelling. Chappie is a robot designed to be a police officer (shades of RoboCop permeate in more ways than one), but just as he’s damaged and marked for destruction, his inventor (Slumdog …
[4] Wolverine is one of my least favorite X-Men characters, so maybe this movie just isn’t for me. That said, Hugh Jackman and most of the cast do pretty good jobs with what little they have to work with. The movie zooms along at break-neck speed, stopping for only the slightest moments of introspection or character development. Some movies work just fine with a modicum …
[6] This is certainly the most action-packed of the X-Men movies, but it’s also the most disrespectful and emotionally hollow. There are some great set pieces, including the free-for-all at Jean Grey’s childhood home, the Golden Gate bridge raising, and the visually stunning climax at Alcatraz, where Dark Phoenix (Famke Janssen) unleashes an effects-filled can of whoop-ass upon the world. There’s potential in that sequence …
[7] It’s amazing how good a superhero movie can be when you treat it with the seriousness it deserves. Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects) was the perfect choice to direct this movie, and he chose a brilliant ensemble cast. Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, and Rebecca Romijn shine in their roles. Unfortunately, Halle Berry and James Marsden have the thankless tasks of …
[8] X2: X-Men United maintains the first film’s emphasis on drama and character, but adds the sizzle a bigger budget can provide. This is, quite simply, a summer movie that delivers the goods. I love the raid on Xavier’s school, Magneto’s escape from his plastic prison, Nightcrawler’s attack at the White House, Pyro’s assault on the police, and the entire third act at the dam. …
Copyright © 2024 | Theme by MH Themes