Logan

                                                                                               March 17, 2017

Logan is a good movie for what it is not, cartoonish. There are no men in tights, women with bullet bras or German accented villains wearing metal helmets. Logan and Professor Xavier live in a abandoned encampment in the desert. Logan and Professor X, like all of us, are subject to the ravages of time. This vulnerability is more relatable to an adult crowd. Xavier is fighting senility, which is ironic for a mutant who could control minds. Logan’s once buffed body is etched with scares and raked with pain. Fighting and winning have taken their toll.

This said there are stock and trade Wolverine battles. He uses his talons like a five-star chef skewers kabab. Professor X’s senior moment is befuddlement but still cataclysmic, an echo of his vast power.  

There is a new crop of pre-teen mutants who were fabricated in the lab. One special mutant is an eleven-year-old named Dafne Keen, who has a special bond with Logan. The relationship is tenuous but grows warmly over time. There is a lethal element to her precociousness. Logan is the reluctant father figure reining in the wild child. They do not have a cuddly relationship and Logan’s clueless parenting skills make for funny situations.  

There are a few lulls in the movie, but these small breaks give space for reflection.  There is plenty of action for all but when you need to take your medicine before going in to battle that is a reality check. Medicare has a high deductible for decapitation.

The movie has seeds of sequels. Those cute pre-teens mutants will surely appear in forthcoming movies as strapping teens in tights and bullet bra’s. Keeping the franchise alive is imperative (all x-men films to date-$4.8b box office).

X Men Apocalypse

 X Men Apocalypse

This probably is the worst written superhero film to date. Four writers are credited for this mess implying there were several rewrites and they still didn’t get it right. The divergent subplots did not coalesce. The overall plot is simple, world domination (it took four guys to figure this out!). Getting there was overly complicated. The disappointment is this film follows the last film” X Men First Class” which was a critical and financial success.

The cast is voluminous, with major and minor characters. The stalwarts are:

James McEvoy as professor Charles Xavier

Michael Fassbinder as Magneto

Jennifer Lawrence as Mystic

Nicholas Hoult as Beast

Having so many characters strains the cohesiveness of the film and sometimes is a distraction. Utilizing these characters was a challenge the director and writers failed. Some performances are brief and lacked impact. Remembering their names and powers is challenging for anyone over 60. Please refer to Wikipedia. 

Jennifer Lawrence is out of costume and looked especially fetching with blond tendrils falling on her shoulder. But when duty calls she releases her inner Smurf and transforms into Mystic blue and nude. Wolverine makes a cameo appearance. He is a human Cuisinart shredding soldiers with his talons. McEvoy and Fassbinder rekindle their love hate relationship. As the bad boy Fassbinder does little talking but much damage. McEvoy reprises his savoir of mankind role. There acting was a snooze,

The villain En Sabah Nur, the “First Mutant” (I thought that was Keith Richards?), is played by Oscar Isaac. With makeup and prosthesis, he is nearly unrecognizable, which for the sake of his career is a good thing. His star trajectory is on the rise (Star Wars, Ex Machina) so this role hopefully will just be a bump in his career

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For the most part the film was dower. Repartee was serious and not light hearted.  This movie is another downward spiral for the superhero genera. What hold the presses, to date the movie has made $402m (production cost $178m). Forget what I said!

X Men-Days of Future Past

I do not understand what “Days of Future Past” means; I barely understand what “Back to the Future” means. This film stretches the mind. There are elements of H.G. Wells, Fatalisms, Determinism and I am certain some of Einstein’s theories were violated but I have no clue which ones. As dense as all this sounds the plot is not difficult to follow and holds the film together. Someone from the future goes to the past to change the future. Please hold off your spoiler e-mails, there is much more to the plot than this one line.

The film takes place during the Nixon administration in the 70’s. The clothing and absence of modern day gadgets frames the movie’s tone. The 70’s alone would be a good excuse enough to escape to the future.

There are some new mutants and some old ones. The main protagonists in this film are: James McAvoy (as the young Charles Xavier), Michael Fassbender (as a young Magnito), Jennifer Lawrence as Mystic, Nicolaus Hoult as Beast and Hugh Jackman as the ageless Wolverine. These characters are still fresh. The action is not recycled and holds your attention with good pacing. The film is not heavy on “buddyism”, there are a few grudges to settle, even if with one’s self. There are some well-placed jokes you should look out for. The Nixon actor would have been funny if he was not so close to the mark with his tubular nose and shifty eyes.

Jennifer Lawrence has a big role in this sequel. Her dialogue is minimal but her body language speaks volumes. I really hope she does her own killer yoga moves. Michael Fassbender plays Magnito with dispassionate purpose destroying anything and anyone threatening his vision. His Germanic warmth is pervasive. I cannot talk about McAvoy since his condition would give away too much of the plot. As for Beast he is now in command of his blue fur and with better temperament (although he was funnier in earlier films). Jackman wears his patented scowl and takes copious rounds of bullets.  The ensemble of actors’ works well. The main characters give enough room to each other so no one is pushed out by the other one.

The arch villain is played by Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Trask.  This is the little guy from “Game of Thorns”. If they wanted someone evil they picked the right guy. He is a combination of a mad scientist with a touch of Joseph Menegle.

CG was good, but was it $200m good? The old standbys of building levitation and twisted steel were expected. Some of the newer creations were just a bit cheesy. Too many mega block buster films have made us jaded.

My favorite X Men movie is” X Men First Class”. This movie is right behind it. With a production budget of $200m (double that for marketing), this movie better do well and I think it will; I recommend it. There will probably be a sequel. Whatever conundrums make up the next title, my good friend Felix will explain them to me.

Les Miserables - Two Beefs

I do not particularly like movie musicals. There are exceptions of course like West Side Story (Once your a Jet,your always a Jet, snap,snap). Les Miserables does not have any snap, rather it is quite  bleak. The main force of the movie is redemption. Hugh Jackman's character rose from a prisoner to a factory owner of rosary beads who pledged his life to the salvation of an orphan girl whose dead mother worked in his factory. 

Anne Hathaway is one of the big stars in the movie. I have two beefs with her. She is only in the movie for about 25 minutes. The movie is about  three hours. Ads imply she is in the movie for the entire time. The other  thing is her signing. "Dream the Dream" is the soaring anthem of  Les Miserables (remember Susan Boyle). Anne Hathaway's rendition never left the tarmac.In this movie there were more actors singing than singers acting. Almost all the dialogue was sung, which was very boring.

The one bright exception was Hugh Jackman. As a song and dance man and he sang his numbers with power and passion. His entire performance was outstanding. He deserves any nominations he gets. Then there is Russel Crowe. He plays the meanie (what a stretch). His acting arch is from sour to dour. Russel sings in his own band... so much for resumes.

Sasha Baron Cohen mercifully adds some desperately needed humor to this epic. He play's a Fagin like character who owns a tavern where he lifts  valuables from his customers. It is not so much what he says that is funny it is more how he looks. I do not recall if he sings, thank God.

One thing  bothered me. There was this kid who was a member of the French Revolutionary cell. His East London accent was as thick as Stilton cheese. What gives? They couldn't find some little frog to play the role? One positive thing he was the only actor with bad teeth in the movie. With all the grim and filth heaped on  Anne Hathaway, her perfect white bright teeth glowed.   

I think you should still see the movie and make up your own mind. Oh, yeah there is no dancing ( I want to be in America, I want to be in America, snap, snap).

joe