QUICK REVIEW: X-Men: Days of Future Past – Rogue Cut

Good day to you ladies and gentlemen of the world, its time for another film review and today I’m gonna be talking about X-Men: Days of Future Past – Rogue. Now I loved Days of Future Past last year, it was a wonderful experience in the cinema and when I heard about the extended cut that was going to be released with Rogue included, I was hyped! So I eventually got it on Blu-ray recently and now I’m ready to pass judgement! Oh and before I do this review, I won’t repeat myself by talking about the same aspects of the film, instead I’ll talk mainly about the differences. Minor spoilers to follow for people who haven’t seen Days of Future Past…

So the story goes something like this:

In the future the machines known as Sentinels have taken over the Earth and enslaved mutants and humans alike, and many have lost their lives fighting for justice. Now Professor X, Magneto and group of other mutants are the only survivors and the only way for them to save the future is to change the past. So Wolverine is sent back in time to the 1970’s to get the younger versions of Professor X and Magneto to band together and stop the Sentinel programme from coming into existence.

The plot for the film is essentially the same as the theatrical release, with one major change; the inclusion of Rogue. Now Rogue was absent from theatrical version of this film besides a quick cameo, but here in the future she has a more significant presence as her whereabouts are disclosed and she actually gets to contribute to the main mission. It was definitely nice to see Anna Paquin again as Rogue, however, I don’t feel like she added much to the film, more like her appearance offered an alternative take on some of the future timeline. What I did appreciate was the additional scenes in the future, while they were mainly scenes of additional dialogue, it really added to the plot, developed some of the characters a little more and felt like a positive inclusion. I loved the additional scenes with older Professor X and Magneto, the small yet important scenes with Bobby and Kitty and the extra scenes for the new mutants like Bishop, Sunspot, Blink and Warpath. In the past, the plot doesn’t change, rather there are a few variations on certain scenes or some additional scenes added, but these don’t really add anything to the plot and feel unnecessary. Even one additional scene with Beast and Mystique/Raven, as good as it is, again doesn’t really feel entirely needed.

Beyond the changes, everything that you liked about the original version of the film is intact and awesome. I still love the action, drama and the performances from the cast involved. And on Blu-ray everything looks very sharp, clean and pretty. Some of my issues with the film haven’t been ironed out like the use of the 70’s Sentinels and the lack of really badass screen time for Storm still bothers me.

In conclusion X-Men: Days of Future Past is a great alternative to the theatrical version and if it is your first experience of the film then it should be a good time regardless. That being said I believe that some of the changes and additions to this extended cut aren’t necessary or superior to the original and some of the additional scenes actually ruin the pacing of the film too. It really depends on how much you love the X-Men film universe and whether the new stuff adds or detracts for you personally, I’d say its good version, but not a better one.

Rating: 8/10

So what do you lot think of the X-Men: Days of Future Past? Have you seen it and if so which version do you prefer, the Rogue Cut or the theatrical version? Leave your thoughts in the comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review. Laters! 😀

 

X-Men: Days of Future Past Review

Good day to you ladies and gentlemen of the world, its time for another film review and today I’m gonna be talking about the next big film of the summer in the form of X-Men: Days of Future Past. Now the X-Men film series has had a bit of a rocky road but for the most part it has been good and in recent years it has been getting a bit of a resurgence and now we have Days of Future Past, a film that intends to bridge the gap between the X-Men films new and old. So has it succeed? Well read on and find out!

So the story goes something like this:

In the future the world is pretty much in pieces, the machines known as Sentinels have taken over the Earth and enslaved mutants and humans alike, there is no happiness or hope, only pain, suffering and death. Many have lost their lives fighting for justice and now Professor X, Magneto and group of other mutants are the only survivors and the only way for them to save themselves is to change the past. So Wolverine is sent back in time to the 1970’s to get the younger versions of Professor X and Magneto to band together and stop the Sentinel programme from coming into existence.

The story in this film is very good, smart and entertaining throughout, sure there’s the occasional plot hole and some head-scratching elements that’ll leave you with some unanswered questions, but overall this film has its heart in the right place. The themes of changing fate, rewriting history, bonds of friendship and having hope in the face of adversity are on display in a wonderful and powerful way and I loved how things in the past were relevant to the future and vice versa. This film also doesn’t hope back on the level of loss and devastation caused by the Sentinels in the future, there is a lot of drama and emotion and you buy that this is not a world anyone wants to live in and I love how the stories of the past are just as interesting with characters being so different and having all of the politics involved with mutants and the dawn of the Sentinels through Trask Industries. But the best thing about this film is that it feels right, this film pretty much rectified a lot of the mistakes of this franchise and gives you something that feels good, fresh, fun and by the end of the film you feel like you’re in a happy place with yourself, well I know I did.

As for the cast they are all on top form with some giving us some of their best performances to date. So let’s start with the young cast first. James McAvoy is still great as Charles Xavier, like in First Class you’re still seeing sides of him that you never knew existed and it only makes his character more layered and easier to relate to. In this film Xavier in the 70’s is a mess and for good reason, but it is seeing him deal with his pain and then journey back the place where he needs to be which is so rewarding. Michael Fassbender is still killing it as Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto, if you thought this guy was cool in the last film then wait til you see this one. This Magneto definitely has more of the McKellen side of the character in him in the way in which he acts, speaks and uses his powers and just like Xavier he’s in a very different place than his older self and seeing the emotions with him and choices he makes only makes him more badass. Jennifer Lawrence returns as Raven/Mystique and she too have never been better. This is more in line with the character we knew from the old films, but still with the emotional conflict and beauty we got from her in First Class. I liked how agile, cool and acrobatic she was, but more so than that, I liked how much of a central role she had in the film, it made me smile so much. I also really liked Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy/Beast, he was funny and whenever he was in blue mode he was awesome, but I also liked how he’s still there for Xavier and is really smart.

Now let’s talk about the veterans. Firstly there’s Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine and do I really have to say how good he is in this film? Come on its Hugh Jackman, he’s automatically awesome. Again this film gives us fans what we love with all the smug, cool and humourous elements of the character, but rather than making the only character that matters, others are given screen time to develop, grow and have action moments in the spotlight, sure this guy is at the center of things a lot, but not as much as he has been before. Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart are still fantastic as old Professor X and Magneto, both of them have a screen presence and gravitas about their acting that is impossible to not enjoy, but beyond that you believe in their connection and there are some really emotional moments between them. Ellen Page gives her best performance as Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat as she is much smarter and serious in terms of her personality and use of her powers, she has a central role to this film and the way she is handled was carefully done. Seeing Shawn Ashmore as Iceman again brought joy to my heart as this was the Iceman I’ve wanted to see for so many years, he was cool and had some lovely moments. I was also glad to see my man Daniel Cudmore back as Peter Rasputin/Colossus, he was a joy to watch and it was nice to see him get some screen time even if he didn’t say much, and Halle Berry returns as Storm and while she doesn’t really do much beyond what we’ve seen in previous films, she is still has her moments to shine.

Now let’s talk about the new people. Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Trask is very good, he is a man who is anticipating the future and wishes to keep the world save and in his mind he is the good guy for doing what he’s doing and creating the Sentinel programme. He’s smart, determined and kind of smug when it comes to his research and technology and Dinklage is just awesome. Evan Peters as Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver was actually one of the best parts of the film, while the costume still looks a bit off, his performance and use of his character was very effective. Omar Sy as Bishop was really cool, I don’t really know anything about this character from the comics but he had a cool and badass screen presence and liked a lot of his action scenes. And finally Fan Bingbing stars as Clarice Ferguson/Blink and Booboo Stewart stars as James Proudstar/Warpath were lovely additions to this film universe, while there was a lot going on with other cast members I was happy that the got a decent amount of screen time too.

When it comes to the presentation it is very, very good. Visually the film is impressive, firstly you can also tell that this is a Bryan Singer film, the look, style of camera work and the use of visual effects is just like the stuff he did with the first two X-Men films, and I can tell you this guy knows his stuff. The action sequences are beautifully shot and framed, there are sequences both in the past and future that are worth talking about and they all look lovely. As for the soundtrack John Ottman returns to score the film and I can say it is nice to have him back, he gives this film the trademark film theme back which was a welcome return for me, however his soundtrack was just alright and doesn’t reach the epic and emotional heights of Henry Jackman’s work on First Class.

In conclusion X-Men: Days of Future Past is a great comic book film, it takes the source material, adapts into a film format that bridges to worlds of X-Men films while also setting up for future X-Men films. While not everything works and some people cold have used more screen time, it is hard for me to criticise a film that gave me everything I could have wanted and then some. I left the cinema thinking to myself “I feel good about that film and I can’t wait for the sequel.” I highly recommend this film as it is X-Men in probably its finest hour. P.S. All I can say is thank god Bryan Singer didn’t mess this up, Mr. Singer you are alright again. 🙂

Rating: 8.5/10

So what do you lot think of the X-Men: Days of Future Past? Have you seen it or are you gonna watch it? Also if you’re a fan of the series did it meet your expectations or were left disappointed. Leave your thoughts in the comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review. Laters! 😀

 

The East Review

Okay time to review The East, a film looked very intriguing from the trailers and had me very interested for a good few weeks now. So I finally got around to watching it yesterday and I feel like I am ready to pass judgement on it so let’s go.

So the story of The East can be summed up in the following premise below:

“A successful operative for an elite private intelligence firm is tasked with infiltrating an anarchist group known for executing covert attacks upon major corporations. However, she finds her priorities changing as she befriends the members and begins to develop romantic feelings for its charismatic leader.”

So while this film is very much about this group of young adult running around and punishing big companies for their effects on the environment and the animals and people that have suffered because of it, it is also about the operative Sarah Moss as she goes undercover and infiltrates the group for information. I thought that the premise for the film sounded great and for the most part the film delivers some great,complex and disturbing moments involving the big companies who have gotten away scott-free with their business’ without properly looking into the problems they’ve created. While the East group are corrupt and immoral in their approach to certain things, you can’t help but root for them sometimes, you can see where they’re coming from and you want them to succeed. But as the story develops complications arise, opinions change and people get hurt which throws everything out of balance. And it is at that point where some of those complications change the story from being really cool to being a little generic and silly. Some what happens in this film was just not what I was expecting and by the end of the film I feel like something more satisfying should have come out of all this.

When it comes the cast most of them do a good job at bringing the drama and emotion to the characters involved. Brit Marling as Sarah Moss was good, she played her role well being sneaky, unsuspecting and diligent and I liked seen the change in her character though she was a bit annoying and naive at times. Alexander Skarsgård as Benji was pretty good, his character was complicated, distant and strange, but I liked that about him, until he got involved with Sarah. Ellen Page as Izzy for me is probably my favourite character, she was the outspoken one, the person who always wanted to take action and was fairly perceptive of a bit aggressive and irritating. Page was great though and I thought her character stood out the most. Toby Kebbell as Doc was one of my other favourite people, his back story was deep and dark and I liked how it was revealed as Shiloh Fernandez as Luca was great, I thought his character was nice, funny and unexpected and Fernandez was a hell of a lot better here than he was in that shitty Evil Dead remake. And then were was good performances from Julia Ormond as Paige Williams, Patricia Clarkson as Sharon and Jason Ritter as Tim.

Presentation-wise the film looks nice and there’s not many problems in the way of cinematography or editing and the soundtrack by Halli Cauthery with themes by Harry Gregson-Williams is pretty nice too.

In conclusion The East was a pretty good film with some nice performances from Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgård and Ellen Page and an interesting story. Though I feel like the film could have been better and the story panned out a lot differently than I expected and in the end I wasn’t totally satisfied with the ending too. However I would recommend this film to those looking for something a little different in the thriller genre, there is quality to be found here.

Rating: 7.5/10 (A few unexpected plot elements keep this film from being amazing for me)

So have you seen The East and if so what do you make of it? Whatever your thoughts drop them below and I’ll see ya on the next film review yo!

 

Super Review

Howdy people, time for me to review another film that’s not currently showing at the cinema and today’s review will be on Super. Now this was a film I was initially interested in seeing back in 2010 because it looked alright from the trailers, but after the reviews came out I sort of discarded it. But since Mark Kermode on his recent Kermode Uncut video said he liked the film, I thought I’d give it a watch.

So when it comes to the story in this film follows Frank Darbo, a normal guy who has a good life with his wife, Sarah. However after his wife falls under the influence of a drug dealer by the name of Jacques,Frank transforms himself into the Crimson Bolt, a superhero with the best intentions, though he lacks for heroic skills. Along the way he meets a girl called Libby who becomes his sidekick Boltie and together to fight crime together and go off on a mission to save Frank’s wife from the forces of evil.

The story in this film is pretty simple but plays out in a very over-the-top, strange and quite unnatural fashion. You basically follow Frank over the course of his adventure to get his wife back and how his actions both as a superhero and as himself affect the people around him. There are funny, awesome, strange and fucked up stuff that goes down in this film. Annoyingly there are some really cool or hilarious moments within this story, but a lot of it is offset but some weird, vulgar and unnatural elements that make the film not nearly as enjoyable as it could have been. The film also had problems with trying to find the balance between humor and scenes of seriousness too.

Then there are the characters of Super who are a mixture of cool, weird and just plain old assholes. Let’s start with Rainn Wilson as Frank Darbo / The Crimson Bolt. Wilson made for a good, if not stupid and lovable protagonist. Frank is a bit of a fucked up individual, he has some strange habits and ideas of what justice is, but that’s what makes him so funny and some his actions as Crimson Bolt was nothing short incredible. Then there’s

Ellen Page as Libby / Boltie, now this is only my second Ellen Page film but I honestly liked her in this film. As Libby Page gave a great performance as this comic book girl who eventually comes to work with Frank and help his cause and satisfy her need to do crime fighting too. As Boltie she is a violent nutcase but that is something that also makes her funny and awesome, plus in her costume Page did look pretty hot too. Wilson and Page had pretty good chemistry for the most part although there were some weird moments from time to time.

Kevin Bacon as Jacques was great. Bacon played this hilarious was a right asshole who had a way with words and was pretty funny throughout. Also Nathan Fillion as The Holy Avenger was hilarious. His character was a fictional person from a comic book series and TV show and I loved him, he was one of the best aspects of this film. You could tell that Fillion was having fun with this role but I couldn’t help but see him as Mal from Firefly under the mask. Michael Rooker as Abe was also pretty funny, having not a lot to say but when he was on-screen he was doing something funny and lastly Liv Tyler as Sarah Helgeland was nice though her character didn’t do nearly as much as the others mentioned before.

As for the presentation it’s good but also pretty weird. Basically this film has an animated sequence which is accompanied by music and it is nice, colourful and amusing and there are also moments in the film where it has little animated moments similar to the old Batman TV series when people get hit or shot. Also this film is pretty violent, now I’m all for violence, in some cases I love it, but in this film its sometimes painful to watch and some of the visual stuff that goes down in general is just plain awkward yo.

In conclusion Super is an interesting film and definitely was entertaining, that being said it one of the strangest superhero/comedy films I have come across. The best way to describe Super is like calling it the twisted and slightly fucked up little brother of Kick-Ass. The film was a lot better that I expected it to be but it was also very unnatural and unlike anything that I’ve seen before, by the time the film was over I felt both entertained and partially disturbed haha.

Rating: 7/10 (It’s good but really freaky yo)

So have you seen Super and if so what are your thoughts on the film? Whatever it is drop it in the comments section below and I’ll see ya on the next review yo. 😀

 

Anna Paquin, Ellen Page and Shawn Ashmore Returning for X-Men: Days of Future Past

Ever since Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen were confirmed to come back in X-Men: Days of Future Past, fans have speculated about who else would be returning from the previous X-Men films. Soon after Hugh Jackman was said to be coming back as Wolverine, but to be honest everyone knew that was coming. However since then there hasn’t been anyone else announced and it has made some wonder if anyone else would be coming back at all, but now it seems we are getting even more familiar faces as this article from superherohype explains:

“Since the announcement of X-Men: Days of Future Past, the cast has continued to grow as actors from both the original X-Men and X-Men: First Class are set to appear in the film. Now even more alumni from the original films have been confirmed for the sequel. Director Bryan Singer tweeted this afternoon that Anna Paquin (Rogue), Ellen Page (Kitty Pryde), and Shawn Ashmore (Iceman) will all be back for the film. He then thanked X-Men: The Last Stand director Brett Ratner for having their characters survive.

What role these characters play in the plot is yet to be determined, but the return of Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde is a potential good omen as her character was a focal point of the original comic book storyline.

Other cast members confirmed to return for the movie include Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, and Hugh Jackman.

Scheduled for release on July 18, 2014, X-Men: Days of Future Past features a script by Simon Kinberg and is said to be inspired Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s comic book storyline that ran in “Uncanny X-Men” #141 and 142 back in 1981. “Days of Future Past” introduced the idea of an alternate future for Marvel’s mutants that grew out of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants killing an important senator, leading to a future where all mutants are hunted by Sentinels.”

Well this both a surprise but at the same time to be expected. While I’m not too fussed about the return of Rogue (purely because in the films she wasn’t nearly as cool or interesting as she was in comics or 90s cartoon), but seeing the return of Iceman makes me smile (because he’s one of my favourite X-Men) and Kitty while I wasn’t too keen on her portrayal in the films I do like her comic book counterpart. Rouge and Iceman were good in X-Men 2 and I did like what they got to do in that film. However X-Men 3 made both of them along with Kitty characters I no longer respected which was mainly down to how their characters were handled and their lack of likeability. But what really bugged me was how much more there was to these characters in terms of personality and powers which were ignored completely.

Though I am happy that they’re back purely because comic book films have changed a lot since 2006, they’re treated more seriously with better stories, dialogue and action and just seeing how these characters could be upgraded on-screen makes my imagination all crazy. This could also be an occasion to apply some of their comic book elements and put them into the film. Well that’s highly doubtful that it’ll happen, but one can always live in hope.