About Time: Review of X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Director: Bryan Singer

By Alex Watson

 

The X-Men series has so far been one of the finer points of Marvel’s successful on screen saga, and these movies have been among the most entertaining comic book adaptations that we have seen so far this century. But the last two efforts have provided a bit of a misstep with Brett Ratner’s underwhelming ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ and Matt Vaughn’s interesting, but ultimately incomplete re-boot ‘X-Men: First Class’ Last year however, fans got a major surprise when it was announced that original director Bryan Singer was reuniting both new and old class members for one hell of a reunion. So finally everyone, we bring you X-Men: Days of Future Past!  Will this be the definitive version of this series? Or will too many cooks spoil the broth?

In 2023, the world is in a state of total destruction and a mutants are hunted by a series of killer robots called Sentinals. To help prevent this onslaught, Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) decide to send back their old friend Wolverine (Hugh Jackson) back to 1973 where weapons maker Boliver Trask (Peter Dinklage) is on the verge on landing a big deal with President Nixon to see mutants wiped out. Also Wolverine will have to convince a depressed younger Xavier (James McAvoy) to get over his regrets over losing his surrogate sister Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and aid them in rescuing the younger Magneto (Michael Fassbender) from a very complex prison.

X-Men: Days of Future Past is certainly the most fun and entertaining movie of this series in quite some time, and it is wonderful to see the original cast together in this, but also linking them with their newer cast also works. The playful feel to the early movies has returned and it adds to the joy of the movie- particularly during the thrilling and impressive sequence where the X-Men aid by new (and very cool) new recruit Quicksilver (Evan Peters) bust Magneto out of his Pentagon Prison. If you thought the Nightcrawler sequence in X-2 was stunning, prepare to be amazed here! But one of the more clever elements to Singers movie is the challenges that the characters now face in the past. Wolverine no longer has adamantium claws and the young Charles is a wounded animal who refuses to accept the future and dopes himself up on a special serum that is blocking his mind! Plus there is the added pressure of whether or not to trust old pal Magneto and throughout we are keep guessing his true motives.

The past setting is a good choice for Singer and he follows the lead of previous director Matthew Vaughn and there are many cute in jokes to that period, such as Wolverine waking up to seeing a Lava Lamp glow nearby and the connection to Vietnam and the loss of several Xavier students, which has contributed to his depression. One sequence through default introduces a certain Major William Stryker whose presence although minimal, has the desired effect on Wolverine! There is also a thrilling final sequence set against the shadow the Whitehouse and our heroes to battle to prevent each other from changing the future- which leads an unexpected result for all. Also worth watching sheerly for the part when Magneto raises the entire RFK Stadium in Washington.

But although X-Men: Days of Future Past looks splendid and is for the most part good viewing, the alternation between the two different universes does weigh heavily on the story and at times events feel a little confusing. Although it is nice to see old members Storm (Halle Berry), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) and Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) they don’t feel like neccessary inclusions, and after a point, it just feels like Singer is trying to cram as many old faces in as he can. The story to its credit, does tie up a lot of loose ends, but it is also highly underdeveloped, we never learn enough about villian Trask and his reasons for wanting to destroy mutants and this lack of knowledge lessens the impact of the character to the point where he feels irrelevant.

Hugh Jackman again takes centre stage in his most iconic role as Wolverine and once more, he has the presence to keep us entertained and his character has lost none of his impact, but a more sympathetic side has grown to him and watching him trying to reason with young Charles brings about some poignant moments. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are both equally impressive as the youthful Magneto and Xavier and they carry across their inner conflicts well from their previous time on first class. But while younger ones get their time to shine- Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart are criminally underused when the movie demands more or their presence!

After his fine work on HBO’s Game of Thrones, Peter Dinklage is not given a meaty enough character to sink his teeth into and although he is tries his hardest as Boliver Trask, he is not able to conjure up any kind of real threat. But real prize of the movie goes Evan Peters who a blast as super fast kid Quicksilver and through complete accident becomes the coolest thing in the movie- just watch his effortless ability to take out several guards while still having time to move bullets out the way, this kid is far too cool for school!

X:Men- Days of Future Past is a welcome return to form for this franchise and aside from a few bumps in the road, is a very entertaining movie. The reputation of the film may have been slighty affected by the rumours of Bryan Singer’s arrest for Sexual Assault, but the end result is one that is pretty decent. Any mistakes can easily be corrected for the highly anticipated, X-Men: Apocalypse. Good to have you back again fellas, it has been a while!

 

Five Sporting Events That Would Make Good Movies

1972 Summit Series

This Ice Hockey series between Canada and the Soviet Union is quite simply, one of the most important events in the history of the game. Played over 8 games at the height of the Cold War, there was a high anount of tension in the air, Canada were overwhelming favourites, but the Soviet pushed them all the way and stunned the world with their impressive play. This could make for an entertaining against the odds picture like Miracle did before it and with Team Canada under immense pressure and being booed by their own fans after game 5, the uplifting speech by Phil Esposito which rallied the team together could make for a great sports film moment. Also would be a showcase for how important close and intense each game was- but in the end each team came away with immense respect for each other and it paved the way for East Europe to enter North American Hockey!

1988 Olympics 100M Final

The story of how Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson cheated his way to winning Gold at Seoul in 1988 is one of legends, purely for the fact that within days he went from being a nations hero, to being dropped on the scrap heap immediately the discovery. This shocking revelation and the build up to it in the coming months to the games (watch ESPN doc 9.79 for research) would make for great on screen viewing as we see a man finally getting one over his rival Carl Lewis, only for everything he has worked for to be stripped of his dignity. Also the controversy surrounding Lewis previously testing positive but the results allegedly being ignored would also give a more human aspect to this and also highlight how unfair life in sport can be sometimes.

John McEnroe v Bjorn Borg

At Wimbledon, there has never been a Tennis rivalry to match Borg v McEnroe and their two final appearences in 1980-81 were absolutely electric. Their constrasting personalities were also a key factor in the excitement, when they first played Borg was the cool and calculated ‘ice man’ figure who was gunning for a fifth title, where as McEnroe was the hot headed and controversial American ‘Super Brat’, but together they were an important feature for the game. This clash of personalities deserves a big screen outing, especially for the excitement and closely fought 1980 final and the equally tense follow up in 1981. This could be the Tennis version of Rush and this is one rivalry that deserves to be seen, if only to hear McEnroe’s famous “YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!” line.

1936 Olympic Games

These Olympic provided one of the most iconic moments of the games as African-American sprinter Jesse Owens won an astounding four gold medals in the face of the Nazi-Germany dominated 1936. Hitler assumed that his blonde haired/blue eye German athletes would make mincemeat of Owens, but it was Jesse who had the last laugh. But this wouldnt be a movie simply about Owens taking on the Nazi’s, it would also be captivating for the discrimination that he faced back home, President Roosevelt didn’t acknowledge the man’s triumphs or invite him to the White House and the US Olympic Team treated with him little respect. Jesse Owens will always rank as a great track and field athlete and his dominance in the shadow of adversity would be an excellent story.

Sugar Ray Leonard v Roberto Duran II- No Mas!

Everyone alive wants a proper answer of just what made Roberto Duran say “NO MAS!” in his title defense againt Sugar Ray Leonard in New Orleans, 1980. The first bout was a true boxing classic as Duran well and truly beat the previously unstoppable Leonard to become a national hero in Panama and was renowned for his brutal ‘Hands of Stone’ style, but just what happened that night? There has been some half hearted explanations, but none of which add up! The sheer drama of this bout would make for an amazing story as both parties go in opposite directions in their career, but Leonard never gives up wanting an explanation- but finds when he gets one, it is not what he expects to hear! With the forever delayed Roberto Duran film, this could make a tense film to fill the time and give a fitting tribute one of the great boxing rivalries.

It Came From Down Below: Review of Godzilla

Godzilla

Director: Gareth Edwards

By Alex Watson

 

Ever since Roland Emmerich’s disasterous (albeit financially rewarding) take on Godzilla back in 1998, Hollywood has been waiting for someone to step forward and correct this error. Finally it appears the man for the job has appeared in the shape of British director, Gareth Edwards whose last feature ‘Monsters’ was one came a pleasant surprise to many and demonstrated his great visual eye. But Godzilla is no easy monster to bring the big screen, so will Edwards succeed in his difficult task or will we leave the cinema cursing under our breath again? All questions will answered in this new Godzilla reboot!

In 1999 a seemingly massive earthquake shatters the lives of scientist Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) and Ford (Aaron Taylor- Johnson) whilst stationed in Janjira, Japan. Fifteen years after the incident, Brody is now serving in the US Navy and Joe is still convinced that the event was no accident and has set out to prove there is something out there causing it! As father and son team up, they begin to discover a threat that could devastate the world and it comes in shape of a monster, awakenened beneath the sea many moons ago- Godzilla! His arrival along with the equally dangerous creature MUTO will shake the earth to the core and will leave both scientists and the military clueless on how to stop it.

After a magnificent trailer campaign, Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla reboot is an entertaining affair, but sadly is not a definitive version of this monster tale. It’s main problem lies in the increasely slow pace of the movie, which begins very sharply with the destruction of the nuclear plant where Joe works and the gut wrentching loss of his wife Sandra (Juliette Binoche), but from there the pace lessens and the build up before the great beast arrives is far too long. There are brief moments which do impress and thrill us such, such as a submarine stuck in a tree and the image of the damaged Statue of Liberty on the New York, New York casino in Nevada. Also although it tries mighty hard to shred its B-Movie origins, Edwards just cannot shift things to the required level and aside from the magnificent effects, the result rings distinctly hollow.

The characters on display we never get a chance to really care for, purely because there is not much to their personality to draw us to them. Brody is a committed soldier, but there are not nearly enough scenes of him with his wife Elle (Elizabeth Olsen) for us to root for him to get home safely, likewise crackpot scientist Joe whose has spent more of his life looking a wavy lines on a computer than looking after his son. Also there are a variety of one note characters who fail to add things to proceedings such as Admiral Stenz (David Strathairn) who is required to do nothing more than look serious and Japanese scientist Serizawa who seems to just spout conspiracy theories. The script by David Callaham also confuses the logic of the movie as well, such as why transport a key nuclear missile by rail when they are massive beasts lurking? And as impressive as the noted Halo Jump sequence is, why is neccessary to the army?

But one sequence Godzilla does redeem itself on, is in the presentation of the notorious creature, when he strides onto screen, the long wait is very much worth it and his iconic roar pierces right through us! Also he is singled handly responsible for a hair-raising finale as Godzilla does battle with the MUTO and descends San Francisco into rubble! But bizarrely in the midst of all the terror and fear he creates, Edwards makes him into an unlikely hero at the films end. Criminally though, he feels severely underused in his own movie and never feel like see enough of this character when he has such potential to thrill us.

Performances in this movie are fine, but nothing groundbreaking, Aaron Taylor-Johnson makes for a decent hero but this isnt a role that requires anything great from him which is a shame as he has proven a good leading man in movies such as Kick Ass. Bryan Cranston is again short changed in the movie world as Joe and we are still waiting for someone to give a role that demonstrates just what he is capable of bringing to the big screen. A great supporting cast including Elizabeth Olsen, Sally Hawkins and the always consistent David Strathairn are also given stringy parts, to waste a cast of this calibre is very disappointing. Though do play a game of counting the number of Ken Watanable’s facial expressions- you will be pleasantly surprised!

Although Godzilla is not the movie that we hoped it would be, it is still a very way to spend two hours and asides from the hoaxy premise, the movie is still damn good fun and this is the closest we have had so far to properly nailing this famous Monster. Edwards is a director with a big future before him and his visuals in this piece could set him on his way- though sadly he did not hire Jamiroquai for the soundtrack- at least Emmerich got that part right!

Love’s a Loaded Gun: Review of Blue Ruin

Blue Ruin

Director: Jeremy Saulnier

By Alex Watson

 

Avenging your family is always a dangerous and draining task, but the movies about this subject are forever entertaining. Shane Meadows’ ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ brought us a gritty but emotionally overwhelming thriller where a brother shed blood to bring himself peace, whereas the Michael Caine revenge movie ‘Harry Brown’ was about a man tired of the young punk populated society that had driven to him to despair and wanted to make his estate a trouble free place. This week, American writer/director Jeremy Saulnier has brought us the first possibly great retribution story of 2014 in his movie, Blue Ruin. Funded entirely by Kickstarter, this movie took home the FIPRESCI prize at Cannes last year and it appears we could have a major new talent on our hands.

Dwight Evans (Macon Blair) is a down and out homeless man who lives in the wreck of his old blue Pontaic car. But his life changes when he learns that Wade Cleland Jr – the man who brutally murdered his parents, is being released from jail. Dwight returns home to his former home state, Virginia where in revenge he kills Wade Jr! But in carrying out this act, an age family feud with the Cleland family is re-ignited and Dwight has now placed both his and his sister Sam (Amy Hargreaves) lives in extreme danger!

Jeremy Saulnier’s Blue Ruin is one of this year’s finest so far, and from the very get-go it is one of unbearable tension, things starts perfectly calmly as we see Dwight going about his daily business of collecting cans, rummaging for food in dumpsters and breaking in other families houses to bathe himself. But when he is informed by a kindly police officer that the man who wrecked his life is being allowed to walk- his following actions shift the tone considerably and from there he shaves off his lengthy beard and sets off to finish what he started. The bumps along the road do provide moments of unexpected humour, such Dwight’s attempt to illegally obtain a hand gun and when he finally steals one- it has a trigger lock that is too tough to break off or his attempts at beefing up his sisters home security as the Cleland gang close down on him.

As a protagonist, Dwight is a strange one as he is a very aloof character who is seemingly undergoing a major emotional reawakening, his early scenes alongside his sister are very strained as the pair try to find solace in each other, but each of them know that it is not possible. But the most endearing part to his character, is how when each of his actions in either vengence or self defense cause more trouble, his anguish grows more. But despite this man being treated with a wide variety of hostilities from his enemies, Dwight remains a near wordless hero and the pain filled look on his face tells the story magnificently. Saulnier succeeds in giving his audience a protrayal of an innocent being dragged into world he doesn’t want to see, but has no choice and the end result is one that has us on edge until the final reel.

But its Saulnier who emerges as the real star of Blue Ruin and his excellent script gives the movie a beating heart that is raw but also invigorating and side steps any need to provide any big or impassioned speeches, keeping words to a minimum allows this well paced thriller to spread its wings and it soars highly as a result. But his film making is more mesmerising in the movie’s quieter moments and thanks to his direction the fear and tautness bubbles furiously in the background as Dwight hides the shadows from his enemies.

Macon Blair makes for an oddly enthralling leading man but nonetheless less proves to be a revelation! From the very beginning when he hacks off his mass beard, he emerges looking like a man who on the verge of something unforgivable but is determined to see it through. In an excellent performance, Blair is powerfully stirring and gives Saulnier’s film a very moving core. Also look out for a quite funny and talkative appearence from Home Alone star Devin Rattray as Dwight’s old friend Ben- this man knows his rifles well!

Blue Ruin is one of those movies that is worth discovering because it will no doubt blow you out of the water and will have you holding your breath throughout as our hero seek justice for his families demise. Jeremy Saulnier is a director who could be going places and this is one place I recommend beginning.

 

 

Five Beano/Dandy Characters Who Deserve Their Own Movies

Who didn’t love reading The Beano, The Dandy or any of our beloved favourite childhood comics? They made our afternoons after school much more entertaining (well TV also helped as well) and their adventures or sometimes misadventures, always had us waiting in anticipation for next weeks copy to hit the shelves. But with the recent announcement of a Bananaman movie really got me thinking, which of our other heroes deserves a shot at glory?

Dennis the Menace 

Along with his faithful hound Gnasher, this spiky haired troublemaker was one of the key reasons why the Beano still runs to this day. Yes there has been a film adaptation before, but that was the US version of Dennis, and British fans are still crying out for a film adaptation of the fine series that came to our screen in 1997. His methods of finding trouble were always very unique and at times he could be a character who bordered on selfish and in some ways, was almost a villian! But no matter what, we always routed for him and I feel that an outing on the big screen would be nostalgic delight.

The Bash Street Kids

The students of Bash Street school frequently drove their Teacher to the point of nervous breakdown, but compared to some the classes you might see today, they were a lot more likeable! The gang led by fan favourites, Plug, Smithy, Fatty and Danny were always rank amoung our favourites. But they always had a good nemesis (and occasional ally) in Teacher who was supported by class swot Cuthburt and their methods of getting even or above the other were always jovial. They might be dated by today’s standards, but a revamp of this class may remind us exactly what we loved about them.

Desperate Dan

Easily the most identifiable character of the long running comic (which sadly ceased production last year) and his exploits living in the town of Cactusville made us want to read more. Out of all the characters here, he probably the closest to a hero character that we might have and is by far the most masculine- his tough hairy chin certainly proves that. But he was a character was a quinessential lovable rogue as he was always on either side of the law and always had to get himself out of trouble. This comic has become sadly become rather forgotten in the modern day and a movie based on this character will serve as a good memorial to its long run. All Dan would ask in return is one his infamous cow pies.

Korky the Cat

Another long running Dandy character, Korky the Cat was a feline who was bizzarely accepted by humans as one of their own- with no questions asked! With the emergence of this black and white who loved nothing more than attempting to catch big fish in Dandytown’s water ways (and dodging the game keeper) along with trying a variety of occupations (lord knows what he was paid with?) Korky rightfully ranked among the Dandy’s favourite characters. His popularity may have faded in later years, but I still feel he deserves a chance to shine.

Billy Whizz

The World’s Fastest Boy was a one who caused chaos no matter where he went as his sheer running speed proved. But he would normally come good for the people loved closest and you couldn’t help but admire his talents- if a boy like existed, then Britain would Usain Bolt some serious headache on the track. An olympic story line would serve this character very well and link this with a conspiracy plot then I think we would have a winner! Billy still stands firm in Beanotown today and this could make for a good old daft comic book story.