QUICK REVIEW: Logan (NO SPOILERS)

Howdy ladies and gents how’s it going? So after months of waiting with really solid trailers and ominous black and white imagery, we’re here in March with the release of Logan, one of the most notable blockbusters of the year. I’ve been hyped for this film since the first trailer and with the early reviews I got really excited to see the end result, so after checking it out last night I’m ready to pass judgement.

The story can described as the following:

“In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hide out on the Mexican border. But Logan’s attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are up-ended when a young mutant arrives, being pursued by dark forces.”

What I appreciated about this film was how different it was. The best way to describe this film is that it is an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish, you’ll be laughing one minute and be super sad the next or be shocked one second and super tense later on, this film covers every emotional base. Tonally it’s not only different to the rest of the X-Men films, but also comic book films in general, the direction and approach to story, character and drama felt dark, mature, melancholy and surreal. If it weren’t for mentions of mutants, verbal and visual cues to previous films and the use of Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart, you probably wouldn’t guess this was an X-Men film at all, and that could be a good or bad thing depending on what kind of fan you are of this film series. The overall story is solid and unfolds in a lot unexpected ways, if I had anything I would nitpick about, and I mine the tiniest nitpicks would be that the film’s story unfolded differently than I expected and there’s a few questions the film presents that never get enough clarification, but otherwise I really enjoyed this story.

The cast as excellent and all did great in their roles. Firstly thee’s Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine and he kills it in this film. Jackman’s been fantastic in this role for the last 17 years and has only gotten better with each film, and he we get Logan at his lowest point, he’s troubled by his past, is in bad shape, not healing properly and his lifestyle is hardly ideal but he has no other choice. Jackman really channels the core elements of what makes Wolverine such an interesting and endearing character in the comics not through the physicality of his performance but also through dialogue and facial expressions. Patrick Stewart’s return as Charles Xavier/Professor X was incredible, while I’ve always liked what Stewart brought to this role, in this film because of Xavier’s old age, condition and certain story elements we get to see a totally different side to this character, one that is fun, strange and hard to watch at times and as usual Stewart puts his talents to good use here. Oh and of course we have to talk about Dafne Keen as Laura, good gravy, I dunno where Jame Mangold and the casting people found this girl but she was damn good! Laura is an interesting character not only because of her origins but also due to her interactions with other but in the conversational type and physical type, she’s quiet yet feisty and she doesn’t say much but says a lot though facial expressions and kicking ass and Keen is such a humourous little badass but also quite serious too. Boyd Holbrook was really good as Donald Pierce, Holbrook was always physically intimidating, charming and cool as the tenacious villain, Stephen Merchant was also very interesting as Caliban, he had a more substantial role than I expected and I liked his interactions with Logan too, and finally Richard E. Grant was also quite memorable in the film too.

When it comes to the presentation it was really solid. Visually the film was damn good, the cinematography was really good with some lovely landscape shots, good angles and tracking shots during the action scenes and a good use of colour too. But I seriously have to commend the filmmakers on the action, holy crap this film was gorgeous. This film puts that 15/R-rating to good use as people get cut and stabbed left right and center, there’s brutal gun fights and explosions, and it is handled with great style, violence and brutality. Wolverine and Laura go to work in this film with some of the best choreographed action scenes in the superhero genre, plus some of the kills are some of the best, most filthy and creative material I’ve seen for a while. And the film score from Marco Beltrami was pretty solid, at times it was really impressive, dramatic and had presence in the action sequences for sure, that being said some of the instrumentation felt a little too heavy or strange in parts.

In conclusion Logan was a pretty dramatic session with a lot of unexpected elements with the story and characters. Loved the action, violence and quiet character moments, it isn’t your conventional comic book film, but it’s definitely the Wolverine film fans have wanted for years and I would recommend it.

So are you going to watch Logan or if you’ve seen it what did you think of it? Be sure to drop me a comment below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀

 

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! 😀

 

SIMPLE REVIEW: Chappie

Howdy people of the internet, time for another SIMPLE REVIEW where I tell you my thoughts on a film in a more condensed manner then my standard reviews, and today I’ll be discussing Chappie. Now from the trailers I can’t say I was that excited for this, but in the weeks leading up to its release I started to get more intrigued. Then the reviews came out with the film being pretty much mixed to negative which didn’t give me much hope for the film, that being said I wanted to judge the film for myself, so I saw it and now I’m ready yo pass judgement.

I’m going to say this straight up, Chappie, it is a good watch, but it has problems. What the film does get right is its approach to artificial intelligence. AI is something we’ve seen in countless films before, but I will always welcome more if the story and character aspects are handled correctly and this film gets that aspect right. From the way Chappie comes into the world and tries to make sense of it, to the human fear and frustration that comes from a sentient robot, all of those elements come into play wonderfully with some very beautiful, sad, humourous and satisfying moments. With all that being said the story had issues like:

• Not introducing the main character until a fair way into the film
• The pacing was pretty slow at times
• The film’s length felt like it could have been cut
• The film echoed Neill Blomkamp’s previous work like District 9 and Elysium, but not in a good way
• I feel like the plot wasted a lot of potential with the characters and a change direction could have made it a lot better

But other than those issues the film was fine. The actors were pretty good, for the most part. Sharlto Copley as Chappie did a good job providing the voice and motion capture, since the role was primarily voiced-based, Copley did well to use his voice to get us to emotionally connect with his character. Dev Patel as Deon Wilson was also good, however  feel like his character could have been much stronger in personality and would have been better if he had a bigger part to play earlier on. Hugh Jackman did well as Vincent Moore, even though his character is an idiot and creates all forms of havoc just for the sake of revenge and a little attention. Oh and Sigourney Weaver and Jose Pablo Cantillo was fine as Michelle Bradley and Yankie. Now let’s talk about the other cast members. At first I didn’t recognize Ninja and Yolandi from Die Antwood, but when I did I knew I’d be in for a questionable experience and man they were terrible verging on cartoon levels of overacting, their appearance in this film was so unnecessary. The best part of the film was the visual presentation, the film looked great, the CGI was awesome and very realistic while the cinematography was handled nicely. And while the soundtrack by Hans Zimmer was good, the music selection was terrible with such terrible sounds from Die Antwood, yuck.

Chappie was a very different film from what I anticipated, while some elements unfolded the way I expected, at the same time there were things took me completely by surprise. It was certainly better than some of the critics suggested, however I can not help but feel like this film could have been more if the story had gone in a different direction. I hope Neill Blomkamp can change things up in his next film because there is a sense of repetition starting to emerge.

Rating: 7/10

So have you seen Chappie and if so what did you think of it? Also how do you feel about Neill Blomkamp as a director, do you feel like he’s still got or do you think he’s starting to lose his touch? Whatever your thoughts be sure to leave them below and I’ll see ya on the next film review, laters! 😀

 

Pan Trailer #1 Quick Review

Hello there people of the internet, time for another trailer review. With the Jurassic World trailer being less than stellar, I decided to have a look at the first trailer for Pan. Now I liked the old Disney animated film and have massive nostalgic love for Hook (regardless of what people say), so anytime there is a new adaptation I’m always cautious. This new film has sounded questionable from the outset and it seems like this trailer has confirmed my suspicions and more.

Check the trailer out below:

After seeing this trailer, my immediate reaction is, “What is this?”

In all honesty I am quite perplexed. I’m not sure what to make of what I just saw. Before this trailer, the only hope I had for this film was Hugh Jackman’s involvement, because Hugh Jackman is awesome. But this trailer, hmmmmmm, there’s just things that just don’t agree with me.I’m all for new versions of established stories like Peter Pan, however, that mainly applies for me when the old formula was either broken or done to dead, both of which do not apply to Peter Pan’s mythos in my opinion. But whatever, it’s happening now, I just have to shut up and deal with it haha.

So what’s in this trailer? Well, there’s Peter (played by Levi Miller), who was left by his mother at an orphanage that looks like something out of Oliver Twist, but he finds a letter from his mother telling him that he’s special and that they will meet again in this world or another. Then he and good few other boys get abducted from the orphanage on to a pirate ship heading to Neverland with an overly charismatic Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard. Then cue the obligatory uplifting song and montage! We see Peter exploring Neverland, Tiger Lily (played by Rooney Mara) and Hook or some person claiming to be Hook (played by Garrett Hedlund). Apparently according to this film, Peter has some ties to the tribe that Tiger Lily is part of and Peter makes some form of alliance with Hook and Blackbeard is the primary bad guy. The film certainly looks good, if I can give the film any props it’s for the presentation, the film is certainly colourful and large in scale. I think on of the biggest offenses to my eyes is the fact that Hook is so different not only in look, but persona and I UNDERSTAND that it an origin story and different adaptation from the source material, that being said, I feel like there is a certain level of familiarity that is required. Seeing this version of Hook just troubles me. I don’t like it. Not my cup of tea. Sorry, but I am attached to the past.

In conclusion the first teaser for Pan has just rubbed me the wrong way and I feel like this isn’t going to be a film I will want to watch. I think nostalgia is preventing me from accepting new interpretations of the Peter Pan mythos and I am having a hard time seeing anything that makes me think that this will be a good adaptation of the source material. I am open to change and if this film does end up being good I’ll take back my negative thoughts, but as it stands, no way not for me.

So what do you think of the first trailer for Pan? Does it make you excited or are you not interested? Also as a fan of previous Peter Pan adaptations does this film make you more or less interested in this film? Please leave your comments below and let me know. Laters! 😀

 

Chappie Trailer #1 Review

Hello again people of the internet, time for another trailer review and today I will be talking about Chappie, the next big film from Neil Blomkamp. Now before seeing this trailer, I would say that my interest in seeing this film was mild at best. While I still love District 9, Elysium wasn’t really my cup of tea last summer and he’s fallen off of my radar of people to pay attention to in recent times. So how does this new trailer fare? Well read on and find out.

Check out the trailer below:

After looking at this trailer, my immediate thoughts? “I’m interested.”

While I’m not so keen on sitting through another sci-fi related film that is very much earthbound with robots, this one does look a little more interesting. Sure the concept isn’t overly original and you can make various comparisons to films which have had artificial intelligence versus humans, but I’m curious to see how this film makes use of its protagonist who just happens to be a robot. So what’s the premise here? Well from what I can gather from the trailer, Dev Patel’s character creates a robot for the soul purpose of living and that robot’s name is Chappie and from the scenes in the trailer it looks like he goes from being completely afraid of the world to fully embracing all of the good and bad that comes with it. I can’t say that I’m not curious to see another film about how an AI being comes to adapt to human life and then find its place in the world. From what I can see he goes from being as scared and curious as a child, to being mature as an adult driving cars and what not. And it seems like we’ll make friends and enemies along the way. It also looks like we’ll potentially be taken to Earth somewhere in the future where things look post-apocalyptic, again. Again don’t get me wrong, I love these kinds of settings, but it has been done a lot in films over the last 5 or so years, it does start to get a bit samey.

But this film is not just about the robot, there are human characters as well, obviously you have Dev Patel who looks like the robot’s mentor/father figure who really strives for Chappie to learn, adapt and make the most of himself. The rest of the people in the trailer look interesting enough especially the blond girl, but I’m not familiar with who they are as actors from a visual standpoint. The person who really has me intrigued is Hugh Jackman, it looks like he is taking on the role of antagonist again like it Prisoners (but in a much lighter capacity hopefully) and I’m okay with that. Jackman’s character seems to have a problem with AI being dangerous and taking over (which he and everyone in the human race should rightfully be afraid of), and will probably be the main man trying to take out Chappie, I’m curious to see how that turns out.

So what do you think of the first trailer for Chappie? Are you down with what you see so far or is it not your kind of thing? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to leave them 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! 😀

 

X-Men: Days of Future Past Trailer #2 Review

Good day to you ladies and gentlemen of the world, its time for another trailer review and today I’m gonna be talking about the second trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past. Now the first trailer was pretty good, but since then it has sort of slipped away from my mind, weighed down by all the other trailer releases like Godzilla, Captain America 2 and Amazing Spider-Man 2. So how does the second trailer look? Read on and find out!

But first have a look at the trailer below:

So my first thoughts after seeing this trailer? Damn! I am pretty impressed yo.

Now the first trailer did well to establish the tone and feel for this new X-Men film giving us visions of the past and future and when the two intervene. But this trailer just takes it to a whole new level diving deeper into the drama, emotion and chaos that will take place.

Straight from the beginning you know shit is serious when you see this desolate, dark, post-apocalyptic city  with scenes of the past and future Professor X and Magneto and Storm looking like she’s about to get stabbed by a Future Sentinel? I looks mental. Along with this wonderful look at the future we get a off-screen monologue from Patrick Stewart’s Professor Xavier talking about how many battles have gone done but nothing like what him and the mutants are experiencing in the future. He questions whether the future is set or whether you can change it and I think that’ll be one of the main themes of the film; can the future be changed?

It seems like mistakes were made somewhere between the current point in the X-Men franchise and the future because the mutants are being hunted by what seems to be massive ships full of robot Sentinels flying all over the place like swarms of bees. So to rectify this old Professor X wants Wolverine to convince the younger version of himself to unite the mutants and save the world from the future, however he and Magneto know it won’t be an easy task as now in the 1970’s both men aren’t on the same page and are on totally different paths. I like how young Magneto is totally hands-on-deck and is proactive, whereas young Professor X is in a depressed, moody kind of place and Wolverine has to shift him into gear.

There is so much to take in that is easy to miss the subtle things. So here are a few of the things that stuck out for me:

1. Old Magneto’s Lament: It is interesting to see old Eric admit to Charles that fighting him for all those years was a wasted effort. Just to see him in a position of regret is surprising and quite beautiful.
2. Wolverine’s Lost People: Just hearing that Wolverine has lost people in the time where he’s from means that things must be real bad and the way he said felt really heartfelt. So I’m curious to know just who bites the bullet.
3. Young Charles and Eric Bickering: Charles says that Eric took everything from him, to which Eric says that he should have fought harder. That is a great moment for me and I think Charles may be referring to Raven among other things, but I like how Eric does give a fuck and is more serious.
4. Bolivar Trask Talks Mutants: Trask knows of the mutants existence and seems to have a weapon ready to take them on, the Sentinels.
5. Mystique Picks A Side: It seems like Raven aka Mystique is fighting against the humans and from her lines in the film it seems like we see where her more hateful side comes into play.

I love the montage towards the end of trailer with all this dramatic scenes of action and emotion. People shout, buildings fumble, Future Sentinels are running amuck and several mutants are running around doing mutant things, its kick ass yo. And while the visuals look a little questionable in clarity and sharpness, I assume they’ll be fixed up in the final film. But what they do have on display is awesome. I love the look of the Future Sentinels, the X-Jet looks sexy in the night sky, the effects used on some of the mutants especially Mystique and finally seeing Bobby Drake in full-Iceman mode, also a lot of additional special effects added to some of the scenes that were shown in the last trailer look so much nicer.

If I had one nitpick it would be near the end with the Future Sentinel head beam attack, I’m pretty sure it was ripped straight from the Destroyer Armour from Thor, it is almost exactly the same. But hey that’s just a tiny thing.

In conclusion X-Men: Days of Future Past looks pretty awesome and I can’t believe that I had sort of written this film off beforehand. Days of Future Past is back on my radar and I can’t wait to see it. All that being said, I’m still cautious of this film, it has the potential to be the best or worst X-Men film ever, but it all depends on the execution and whether Bryan Singer can make it work again. I pray that this film is as good as the trailers make it out to be.

So what do you lot think of the second Days of Future Past trailer, sound off your thoughts in the comments below and I’ll see ya later. 😛

 

My Thoughts on James Mangold & Hugh Jackman Doing Another Wolverine Film

Howdy people of the web, now I know this news story has been up for a little while and I’m kind of late to this party, but I could sit back and not share my opinion on this recent bit of comic book film news. The following info comes from superherohype:

“Deadline is reporting that 20th Century Fox has begun negotiations with The Wolverine director James Mangold to direct another solo “X-Men” film starring Hugh Jackman as Logan. Mangold is negotiating now to write the treatment for the film with Lauren Shuler Donner returning to produce. No word on what the storyline is, as Fox is keeping it under wraps for the time being.

To date, Mangold’s The Wolverine has grossed $413.6 million at the worldwide box office and is the second-highest grossing film in the “X-Men” franchise behind X-Men: The Last Stand‘s $459.4 million.

Including the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past, the film will mark Hugh Jackman’s eighth appearance as the character on the big screen.”

Well this was surprising to read about. When I first saw this I initially I thought it was a joke. I dunno why but I just didn’t think it was real. THEN I saw this news story being spread over several sites and realised that it wasn’t bull and it was actually legit. Okay. So how do I feel about this, well, I’m kind of half and half.

Personally I really liked The Wolverine, while it wasn’t perfect and definitely had problems that can’t be ignored, I thought it was the most accurate representation we’ve gotten of the character since the X-Men film series started and it was a HELL of a lot better than X-Men Origins: Wolverine. That being said I’m not sure I really want another Wolverine film so soon, if at all. Now I love Hugh Jackman in the role, I mean LOVE him in the role and he’s totally committed to the character. However he’s been doing the character for over 10 years and I think it’s about time 20th Century Fox at least gave the other X-Men characters a chance to shine. He’s already the center of Days of Future Past, if he jumps into another film I dunno if that’d be a good thing.

But when all is said and done Wolverine is the flagship character in the film series and 20th Century Fox are all about money and less about quality so I wouldn’t be surprised if this did go ahead. I wouldn’t mind it, I just wouldn’t be overly keen on it right now.

So what do you lot think of this new about there being another Wolverine film? Leave your thoughts below.

 

X-Men: Days of Future Past Trailer #1 Review

Hello ladies and gentlemen of the world, its time for another trailer review and this is one I have been interested in for a while now, the first trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past is online and we fans of the world finally get to see what kind of stuff is in store for the future of the X-Men film series. So how does it look? Read on and find out!

But first have a look at the trailer below:

My first impressions from the trailer is nice, I see that there’s a lot of cool and interesting things to look forward to. Firstly its nice to see Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen in costume and even though we don’t see much of them, it’s also cool to see the future X-Men team all older and looking all dramatic. Seems like that future is pretty desolate and crap, so Xavier sends Wolverine back to his younger self to try and worn the younger Xavier and company of the impending doom.

It seems like Xavier and Erik are in different places both physically and mentally and I think they’re gonna clash and that is always a welcome thing for me. Looks like everyone will get a slice of the action from young Xavier having to use Cerebro and his mind reading abilities, to Mystique running through the crowd morphing into different people, to beast getting all furry out in public, to Erik showing his levitation and magnetic skills on Mystique, it all looks pretty crazy and I’m hyped.

One thing that I have to question about the film is: how much of a balance will there be between the X-Men of the past and group from the future? This is after all a sequel to First Class but is also set after X-Men 3, so how to do you cut the mustard so that everyone gets a fair about of screen time? In truth I’m more interested in the past than the future because after X3 I can’t really see much interesting stuff going on in that future, but hey maybe the story will create something interesting for the older cast.

Like the recent Captain America: The Winter Soldier trailer there seems to be a lot of government and politics involved in the plot and that I think could lead to some interesting story elements in the thriller side of things and while politic thrillers aren’t always my cup of tea, when done right it can be a great smart piece of a film’s story. I can also see this politics stuff playing into how mutants will be treated in the future and where the segregation between humans and mutants began to become public. But I guess we’ll see how things play out.

I guess the only thing I’m kind of annoyed about is how Wolverine is still at the forefront of these X-Men films. I mean besides First Class, Wolverine is the central character, now that maybe due to the fact that he’s a fan favourite or that he’s the most relatable to the casual film audience, but in all honesty it is kind of annoying when some of the other cool characters are shoved to the side. I just hope this isn’t “The Wolverine Show with Friends” or some kind of shit like that.

In conclusion X-Men: Days of Future Past is looking pretty good and this trailer makes me feel hope for the future. While it is kind of hard to tell what kind of film it is in terms of the depth of the story, amount of action and the level of Sentinel carnage that will take place, otherwise I like it and I can see a lot of potential, I just hope that this is a good follow-up to First Class, that’s all I’m asking for. 🙂

So what do you lot think of the trailer, sound off your thoughts in the comments below and I’ll see ya later. 😛

 

The Wolverine Review

Alrighty then, the day has come to review the latest Wolverine film entitled The Wolverine. Now understandably after the disgusting atrocity that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine I was hesitant about watching another solo film involving the claw-wielding mutant. But the director James Mangold, seemed to have a better understanding of the source material and even Hugh Jackman said that this was the kind of Wolverine film he wanted to make. So with their good interviews and interesting trailers I started to feel hope. So now that I’ve actually seen the film does it rectify the mistakes of the past or do we get more of the same shit from before? Read on and find out.

So let’s start with the story. In this film Logan is a drifter, he’s rough, out of action and having nightmares in the form of memories of the past and illusions. At one point Logan is found by Yukio and told that her employer  Yashida, an old friend of Logan’s wants to see him, so they travel to Japan and it is here that Yashida offers Logan a chance to be rid of his immortality (his healing factor). Well let’s just say that one thing leads to another and eventually Logan looses his powers, vulnerable for the first time Logan must fight to the limits of his abilities while trying to protect those close to him.

I thought the story in this film was pretty cool. The film started out very strong and it had me captivated, you see Logan’s struggle, understand his suffering and the Japanese setting presents a whole new set of interesting aspects. Unfortunately the film looses steam getting a little convoluted, slow in pace and the final act is a bit lacking in originality and logic. That aside, it seems like the script writers have drawn inspiration from the comics and if you’re nerd like me you’ll notice the subtle references. The clear reference for this storyline is Chris Claremont and Frank Miller’s 1982 Wolverine, and those key elements are spread throughout this film with modifications made here and there. James Mangold’s direction is done nicely, but after watching this film I can’t help but think that Darren Aronofsky could have done a much better job with the adaptation of the source material. The film as it stands is good, but I could totally see moments where Aronofsky’s talent for torment and psychological stuff would have really elevated the drama, emotion and madness that this film is trying to convey.

Oh and for the love of Christ STAY FOR THE AFTER CREDITS SCENE! You’ll appreciate it, I freaked nerded out to the highest level yo, its super cool. 🙂

When it come to the characters the cast do a good job as bringing these people to live, though some stand out more than others. Firstly let’s start with Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine. Man, Hugh Jackman is still awesome in this role and his physique is something to be admired (yeah I said it, but it’s so true). I loved how his character was down and out, haunted by his past and how he handled pain for the first time. I also think he embodies the title character even better than ever before. It’s the subtle mannerisms, handling of his powers and fighting style that really feels like the character from the comics and Jackman excels so well, he is the key element that makes this film work so well. The other key person is Rila Fukushima as Yukio, she’s a very deadly and flexible fighter who not only has connects to Mariko but also Logan due to their current circumstances and I loved how cool and action-oriented Fukushima was.

Then there’s Haruhiko Yamanouchi as Yashida, he played his role pretty well in the film. Also Tao Okamoto is very pretty and lovely as Mariko Yashida and Hiroyuki Sanada as Shingen Yashida is a badass douche as Mariko’s father. Will Yun Lee as Harada is pretty interesting and cool, even though his character’s credibility goes down towards the latter part of the film. Brian Tee as Noburo Mori was also good and Svetlana Khodchenkova as Viper was intimidating and freaky, if somewhat generic and boring. And lastly I was happy with what Famke Janssen did in the film as she reprises her role as Jean Grey from previous films.

As for the presentation it’s pretty good. Visually the film is great, there is some nice cinematography, lovely fight choreography for Wolverine and Yukio, and the CGI while a bit questionable at times, works overall. I think my favourite elements of the film is seeing Wolverine kicking ass, cutting, stabbing and being a badass with his lovely claws! Also the soundtrack Marco Beltrami is nice, definitely adopting a very different and Japanese-esque sound, it is subtle, beautiful and dramatic, though it does lack impact and memorable songs.

In conclusion The Wolverine is VERY GOOD improvement over that garbage film from 2009. With a much better story, setting and wonderful action set pieces, this film is definitely an entertaining piece of work. While it’s not perfect by any means and does have a few problems here and there, The Wolverine does succeed in being a film that has more pros than cons. How much you enjoy it is down to you especially if you’re what kind of comic book fan. I know most fans and critics will hate on the film, but I say go watch it, I feel hope for this character again. 🙂

Rating: 8/10 (It’s an awesome step in the right direction for Wolverine)

So what did you think of The Wolverine, was it the film that rectified the mistakes of the past or was it another failure in the line of X-Men-based films? Whatever your thoughts, drop them below in the comments section yo! Until the next film review, laters! 😀