X-MEN: APOCALYPSE
FOX
2016 COLOR
142 MINS.
ACTION/THRILLER
MICHAEL FASSBENDER, JENNIFER LAWRENCE, JAMES MCAVOY, LUCAS TIL, HUGH JACKMAN, OSCAR ISSAC, NICHOLAS HOULT, BEN HARDY, ROSE BYRNE, OLIVIA MUNN, EVAN PETERS, TYE SHERIDAN, KODI SMIT-MCPHEE, JOSH HELMAN, SOPHIE TURNER, ALEXANDRE SHIP AND ALLY SHEEDY STAR.
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY BRYAN SINGER
RATED PG-13 FOR LANGUAGE, VIOLENCE AND GORE.
It's important when walking into this sequel that you lower your expectations. Although the visuals on display are expectedly impressive the film lacks the verve and depth of all the other entries that made them so immersive, that being said it's still better than Last Stand. The film begins with an ominous scene in Egypt BC as we see how Apocalypse came to be. The scene is unintentionally funny racking up the cheese quotient to an extreme. Flash forward to the 80's and where we pick up with the central 3, Magneto, Professor X and Mystique. The film jumps through their stories back and forth giving none of them the emotional investment they deserve. Apocalypse is of course resurrected and begins to stalk out mutants for his insane villain posse, so they can dominate the world. I won't spoil what unfolds. I will only say it is way less involved than you would hope. The film approaches every new character with little to no effort giving them hardly any background making their short journeys mildly effective at best. This film possesses some of the biggest revelations and events of any of the films but handles them so inadequately that neither of them seem to have the emotional punch they should. Although I will say the film does feature strong performances from most of it's cast, most notably the sexy Fassbender who chews up each of his scenes , making the most of his role. he is followed by solid turns from Byrne, Mcavoy, Hoult, Jackman in a short but kick ass cameo and the gorgeous Evan Peters who once again steals the show. And also Ben Hardy adds some sexiness to it all as Angel. It all culminates to a clichéd showdown which unravels by the numbers.
That being said the special effects and 3D are spectacularly impressive. In the end the film is second to the worst of the franchise, not to say it's a bad movie. But it offers enough under development, unintentional laughs and incoherent storytelling to push away any memorable effect it could have had. Olivia Munn especially doesn't help in her camptastic, hokey, over sexualized turn as Psyhlocke whose costume just reeks of silliness. Singer focuses more on the action setpieces and special effects than he does on the film's plotting which is surprising given his history with the franchise. All in all it's fun and entertaining with some truly impressive sequences but sadly forgettable. Also the scene with Wolverine is so spectacularly gruesome and works as an exciting pre cursor to the R rated Wolverine film on the way. ***.5/5
GREEN ROOM
A24 2015 Color
95 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Joe Cole, Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner, David W. Thompson, Mark Webber, Macon Blair and Patrick Stewart star.
Written and Directed by Jeremy Saulnier
Rated R for strong language, violence, gore and drug use.
Green Room finally hit theaters this past weekend arriving on a wave of solid buzz. From the intense trailers and cool poster I was definitely interested from the get go. But watching the proceedings unfold left me a slight bit disappointed. Which might not be a bad thing. Let me explain. If you've seen the trailers and heard all the gossip the film is made out to be a sweaty palm inducing, goretastic horror flick. But it's actually more of a finely tuned thriller executed with realistic precision. It doesn't unfold like the standard genre film and doesn't fall into any clichés and by that alone it is an intriguing treat. The setup is simple enough a punk band playing a gig in what looks to be a sort of white supremacist club find themselves in peril after witnessing a brutal murder. They are than kept there by the brutal owner and his henchman who plan on murdering them before the night is through. What makes the film so satisfying in it's execution is how smart the characters are. When the two groups come head to head it never has the powerful zest you might have hoped for but makes up for it with sheer intelligence. The characters approach most scenarios in a proactive way most of which never have the best outcome. But it makes them likable and easy it to root for. The gore is executed seamlessly but doesn't bring anything new to the table and the film's intensity can be enjoyably overwhelming at times. It all culminates to a surprising and effective if slightly lackluster climax. My problem with the film really lied in my expectaions I honestly expected something more hardcore. And maybe in my 36th year of movie going I may have reached a point where just not as much shocks me anymore. That being said I do believe some of the charcters could have been etched out a bit more as well as their demises and the overall psychological terror could have been ratcheted up. That being said the film is solidly executed. It's well written, directed and features strong performances throughout especially from Imogen Poot and the brilliant, adorable Anton Yelchin who needs to be a big movie star already. A big deal has been made of Patrick Stewart in the press and he definitely has not played a character like this before but I don't feel it's developed enough to garner so much attention. All in all Green Room is a fun, taut, thrill ride that smartly plays against audience expectations and I strongly believe a film that will improve for me with more viewings with my adjusted expectations. Not because it wasn't as good as I expected it just wasn't the film I thought it was going to be. ****.25/5
