X-Men: Days of Future Past Review

In every comic book series, there are constant plot's and story arcs that deal with future worlds and the ramifications of certain actions taking place in the past affecting the future of the characters. One such story is "Days of Future Past", which placed the remains of Marvel's X-Men in a dark future dominated by the mutant hunting Sentinels. The movie which adapts that story arc, not only bridges the gap between the original X-Men movie franchise, but also establishes a new world for the team.

Directed by Bryan Singer, the films brings together many of the stalwarts of the original movie trilogy (Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Ian McKellen as Magneto etc.) and pairs them up in a dark Sentinel dominated future with some familiar faces including Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore), and Storm (Halle Berry), and new faces including Bishop (Omar Sy), Blink (Fan Bingbing), Sunspot (Adan Canto), Colossus (Daniel Cudmore) and Warpath (Booboo Stewart). Plus everyone's favorite claw popping badass Wolverine (Hugh Jackman).

Other returning familiar faces are from the cast of X-Men: First Class including: James McAvoy (Professor X), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique) and Nicholas Hoult (Beast). Two newcomers are Evan Peters (Quicksilver) and Peter Dinklage (Bolivar Trask).

SPOILER AHEAD



If you are still reading, it means you don't mind some plot spoiler, so good for you. Moving on:

The film takes place both in the future and the past (the 1970's to be exact) and has Wolverine have his soul be transported back into his younger body by Kitty Pryde in order to find a young Professor X and convince him to reform the X-Men and stop Bolivar Trask from convincing the United States government to adopt the Sentinel program in order to hunt down and contain mutants.

But there is more to the plot then just having Wolverine run around in the 70's in order to change the future. The film also examines the troubled younger Professor X and the internal struggle he has with trying to bring about a world where mutants and ordinary people co-exist, along with his addiction to a drug that allows him the use of his legs while stunting his mutant abilities. There is also the rift between Xavier and Magneto, and their tentative alliance in order to stop Trask and preserve the future for mutant-kind.

END SPOILER

The movie does an amazing job of meshing scenes in the future and the past, with overlap that is neither confusing nor does it take away from the pacing of the story. Coupled with an amazing cast (and a big one at that) plus excellent special effects and a killer soundtrack, this movie is a worthy sequel to First Class and a great return to the screen for many of the original X-Men franchise actors and actress's. X-Men: Days of Future Past gets five out five stars for exceeding my expectations for a sequel and setting thee stage for any future X-Men films to come. 

'Godzilla' Review

Several hours ago, I had the good fortune to catch a early day showing of the new Godzilla film, and wow, it was beyond amazing. The story, the special effects and the acting, ah, they were so glorious!

Right off the bat, audiences are shown that this isn't just going to be the usual Godzilla-brand movie of giant monsters fighting each other in a major metropolitan center. Yes, there are amazing fight scenes, but there is more then that. There is an actual story being told here, the story of what would happen in our world, if these giant ancient monsters existed, and how would mankind react to them? Take that script, sprinkle in the fight sequences between the various armed forces (primarily US) and Godzilla taking on this new monster that is set out to sweep aside mankind for its own survival, and then there is one heck of a movie in front of audiences.

The special effects were beyond amazing. The CGI for Godzilla and the MUTO (the antagonist monster of the film) was utterly fantastic. It is both believable, and terrifying to behold. If there are ever to be sequel movies made, this is the style of special effects crafting that needs to be utilized for making these movie monsters so real.

As for the acting, well honestly, it was a bit of hit and miss. Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe and Aaron Taylor-Johnson all did amazing jobs with their performances, but Elizabeth Olsen's was a bit out of place. Her role is that of the loving wife to Taylor-Johnson's soldier husband, and she does her part well, but it felt out of place in all these action sequences and scenes within military zones planning the next moves against the creatures. But in the end, all did deliver and helped make the movie all the better for their acting.

'Godzilla' gets four out of four stars for breathing fresh life into the monster movie franchise, and for doing it in a way that pays homage to the films that came before it, while presenting a fresh new take on the genre that can hopefully delight and thrill audiences should further movies be made.

'Amazing Spider-Man 2' Review

One word, can be used to describe the new Spider-Man film ladies and gentlenerds (cliche as it may be), and that word is amazing. This second installment delivers so much to the screen, it stands apart from its predecessor and has laid the foundation for even more great Spider-Man films.

To start off, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone once again do a spectacular job as Peter and Gwen. There are obvious changes to the characters, the passage of time aging them, their relationship now taking a new turn as they leave high school and go off into the world of college. Andrew has upped things in his performance of Spidey, really putting the 'friendly' back into Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. He cracks funny jokes, deliver's great one-liners and carries the character physically in a way that is entirely believable and helps sell the performance. And Emma, oh there was never a doubt in my mind as to her performance. Here is her character, at this crossroads of life, and she has to make tough decisions about her future, and whether or not the man she loves (plus his side career as New York's favorite web-slinging superhero) are going to be a part of it. Once again, she is bold, she is sassy, she will break your heart and then help you pick up the pieces again, only to break it once more.

There are two new-comers to the film, Jaime Foxx as Max Dillon/Electro and Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn. Jamie has set himself up in a huge way as Electro, starting out as meek, pushover Max, who goes through this very Jekyll and Hyde like transformation when he becomes Electro, and gets overwhelmed by this power. By the time the film ends, he has become so intimidating and scary, with these small bolts of electricity crackling from his fingers, that I was genuinely in awe and afraid. As for Dane DeHaan, who is brand new to the franchise in the role of Peter's best friend Harry Osborn, he presents a young man, who was pushed aside by his father and shunted out of his life, all in the name of business. Now he has come back into Peter's life a changed person, and these changes affect their friendship, down to the very core. What comes from these changes, are events that will rock their lives, and the lives of all who close to them.

Special effects, oh what glorious special effects! The CGI for Electro starts out a bit cartoonish, but as the film progresses, it is better and better, until the very end, during the nice, splashy fight sequence, it is utterly unbelievable. Spidey's web slinging across the great canyon's of New York City skyscrapers is wonderful, at times you'd think he was going to websling out of the screen and into the theatre.

Overall, the whole movie was again (a cliche word to use) amazing. Acting, special effects, plot, pacing, all of these things contribute to put together a film that is going to be very memorable for all who see it. Face front true believers, Amazing Spider-Man 2 is worth the ticket money, and I'm giving it five out of five stars. Nuff said.