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!

Captain America-Civil War

This is my 100^th review

Captain America-Civil War

One of the best things about this movie was absence of Batman. Contrasting Civil War (CW) with Batman vs Superman frames what makes CW a financial and critical success. The plot is understandable, with a few twits, as opposed to the fog of B v S. The actors have good chemistry even when they fight each other. Relations in B v S turned toxic. Robert Downy Jr.’s sarcastic repartee and sharp comments from other actors lightened up the drama. Humor was sorely absent from B v S, making it grim. CW has an unfair advantage using two directors, Antony and Joe Russo. Given the mess B v S, even with a lifeline from a second director, the movie would still have drowned. One thing both have in common is former allies battling each other; hey just like the Republican Party.

Captain America is the leader of the rebellious faction, opposed by Ironman and his team. There are guest appearances by non-Avenger super heroes making solid contributions to the movie. Chadwick Boseman (a.k.a. James Brown, the perfect preparation for his role), stars as Panther the first black Marvel super hero.  He is in neither camp, but mainly fights Captain America with his steel claws. The return of the Winter Solider, Sabastian Stan, provides a pivotal role. He is the childhood best friend of Captain America and is cast as villain. Captain America’s conflicted loyalties create the underlying tension of the movie.

 CG is the back bone of the film and done well. The stunt work was impressive and garnered positive responses from the audience.  The unrelenting explosions and pyrotechnics hastened the movie’s two and half hour run time (much appreciated by the elderly and their bladder).

A big part of the movie is the battle royal; some scenes were quite intense.  The steam of insults and witticisms hurled by the actors provided comic counter point to the mayhem.  Scarlett Johansson is skilled at deflating male egos. Robert Downy Jr.’s motor mouth runs on.

The film’s production cost is $250m ($500m with advertising). Internationally the movie made $291m, and prospects for domestic box office are huge. This means Hollywood will be churning out more superhero movies.  “Nothing succeeds like success”.

At the end of the movie the audience applauded as did I; the producers were delighted.

p.s.- Make sure to check out the credit ending.

Hardcore Henry

Hardcore Henry

Do not see this movie. It is a kinetic orgy of ultra-violence. The movie’s shtick is filming using a GoPro Hero 3 camera strapped to Henry’s forehead. What we see are Henry’s arm and legs flaying around. This unique cinematic technique is good for about two minutes, then it gets boring (the extreme sports crowd does GoPro better). Without this gimmick this film would just be another splatter film.

Henry is a cyborg, part human part machine. The movie is nonstop battle between Henry and a telekinetic mercenary leader and his army. The whole movie rotates on the different ways of killing and maiming people. One interesting aspect of the movie is it is shot in Moscow and you see its grand old buildings and in contrast the filthy underbelly of urban decay littered with drugs and graffiti. There are scant subtitles translating Russian.

There are two actors of note. The South African actor Sharlto Copley (he was in District 9 and Elysium) who plays Jimmy a cyborg who helps Henry. There are many copies of Jimmy and when as one gets killed another pops up. The other actor is Tim Roth. Roth’s screen time is brief I think out of embarrassment.

At the theater they gave out Hardcore Henry comic books. I left mine in the bathroom, which is an apt metaphor for this film.

Midnight Special

Midnight Special

This film is a modest sci-fi movie with a small cast of actors. The story is about a boy with mysterious powers who is abducted   by his father and driven to a secret location.  Bits of the boy’s powers are revealed during the journey and with every new revelation suspense grows. The trip to the final destination is littered with peril because the federal government wants to integrate him and members from an apocalyptic church, from which he escaped, are hunting him and believe he is a spiritual compass.

Michael Shannon is the father. This is a different role for Shannon. Blessed with a face of a stone cold killer he usually plays bad guy. He was General Zod in Man of Steel and played a vicious hit man in the Iceman who actually froze his victims. Here he plays a loving father willing to risk his life for his son. His affection was genuine.

Joel Edgerton joins Shannon on the journey. Edgerton is usually in leading roles so this supporting turn is a bit unusual. The role is not demanding. Kristin Dunst plays the mother. She comes in half way through the movie. She gives her usual sleepy laid back performance.

The boy is played by Jaeden Leiberher (Oliver in St. Vincent). He is very good in this role keeping a level of composure during the high risk journey. For the most part he controls of his powers but things do get out of hand on the road.

Adam Driver is not a big box office draw yet but he gives yeoman’s work in this film. From his appearance in Girls to Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens his resume is growing impressively. Here he is an NAS agent trying to decipher information from the boy.

Computer Graphics do not play a big role in the film which is unusual for a sci-fi movie, except for the end which is fantastic. This movie has a definite feel of Close Encounter of the Third Kind . The ending is spectacular and tender. A good movie for the whole family.

Batman vs Superman Dawn of Justice

Batman vs Superman Dawn of Justice

This movie is confusing. The plot lines are like pick up sticks strewn about. Scenes appear to be helter skelter and transitioning is not obvious (no I did not fall asleep…I think). There is mayhem galore and a bit too violent for PG-13; I think the PG-13 was a push for the sake box office. Most of the movie is dark and violent. Except for two funny lines (which are in the trailer) the movie is basically humorless.

Henry Cavill reprises his Superman persona from the Man of Steel film. Good hearted as always and Clark Kent is still a nerd (but better dressed). Lois Lane as played by Amy Adams has a relationship with Superman.  My hope soared when there was a potent hot seen between Superman and Lois, but they kept their clothes on.

Ben Affleck’s Batman is grim. His battles with Superman and others were brutal. Batman wears bulky armor that resembles the Lego Batman. The biggest miscasting is Jeremy Irons as Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred. Irons is devoid of humility and if you want a cup of coffee you better get it yourself.

Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luther was extremely annoying with his twitchy dialogue and piercing unnerving glares. His interpretation of the character is off the mark. Also Lex Luther with a mop of hair is anathema.

Wonder Woman is played by Gal Gadot, a former Miss Israel and super model. She played the sexy Brazilian cop in the Fast and the Furious movie. I have a problem, TV’s Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter (with her boom boom hips), is imprinted on my brain as the WW archetype.  Gadot makes a great model but is too thin to be a super hero; she has a credibility problem. A Subway sandwich has more meat on it than she does.

This movie is not terrible, just bad in places. The film is bullet proof, it has already broken box office records. It needs to clear $800m before it is in the black, which it will probably get. The challenge for the studios is selling the other lesser DC hero movies (including WW) which are coming soon. If you are part of the Fan base you will be forgiving of the movie’s short comings. Otherwise Downton Abbey is on demand.

Eye in the Sky

Eye in the Sky

This film had lofty ideas but it fell flat on its face. The movie focuses on the politicization of a drone attack targeting high level terrorists and conflicting with the military agenda. The politicians and the military are at odds on how to proceed with the drone strike. The politicians are incapable of making a decision and play political hot potato deferring to their superiors. This goes on for a while and instead of creating an atmosphere of suspense it becomes tedious.

Helen Mirren is the Colonel impatiently waiting for the go ahead.  Alan Rickman is the liaison Lt. General dealing with the politicians. Arron Paul is the drone pilot. Barkhad Abdi plays Jama Farah, a Kenyan undercover agent (he was a pirate in the Captain Philips movie). There really is not much acting going on in the war room. As this may be his last film it is sad to see Rickman sitting in the war room trying to get bickering officials to reach agreement.  If this feckless bunch were hunting Osama Bin Laden he would still be in Pakistan collecting a pension.

There is more action during the drone strike. The deployment of the missile is delayed because of collateral damage; in this case one person. This caused another round of indecision and procrastination. Targeting the safe house had to be recalculated to Helen Mirren’s consternation.  

How they handled collateral damage is the movie’s moral lynch pin. Not to be too callus, collateral damage depends on what end of the attack you are on. To prevent another terrorist attack would you accept the cost of collateral damage?

10 Cloverfield Lane

10 Cloverfield Lane

In 2008 the movie Cloverfield was released. I assumed 10 Cloverfield Lane was either a prequel or a sequel. No, this is a “spiritual successor”. I told my son I never heard of this expression and he said it is because I am old. For those of you too embarrassed to ask, here is the definition:

A Spiritual Successor is a type of sequel that is not part of the same world or story as its predecessor, but is nonetheless considered to be a successor because it's made by the same creators; shares common themes, styles, or elements; or, most likely, both. In other words, it's a sequel "in spirit.

This is a doomsday/sci-fi movie. There are three principles: John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Gallagher Jr. The small ensemble sustains the movie’s tension and focus. Goodman plays Harold the farmer turned doomsday fanatic who constructs a bunker. Winstead plays Michelle, who is rescued by Howard after an auto accident and taken to his bunker. Gallagher plays Emmett who is a farm worker who stows away in the bunker.

The essence of the movie is you are not sure what is real. Is Goodman really a survivalist or is he totally unbalanced. Is the atmosphere toxic or this is what Goodman wants you to believe? Is he benevolent or does he want to keep Michelle and Emmett captive? Conflicting clues support both positions.

Goodman usually plays the happy fat guy. He is terrific in this role as the doomsday fanatic.  He does not over play the role. I am not familiar with Winstead’s work but she played her role well showing vulnerability and grit. The movie has an atmosphere of suspense. Unexpected things happen making you jump. The film holds your attention completely.

 My one critique is the set up took a little bit too long. If Alfred Hitchcock did a sci-fi/end of the world thriller it would resemble this film. For fear of life and limb I will not say more about the plot (there is lots more). Hint, during the last half hour do not go to the bathroom.