Film Review: X-Men: Dark Phoenix

"The Mind Is A Fragile Thing. It Takes Only The Slightest To Tip In The Wrong Direction..."

With Avengers: Endgame showing forevermore how to successfully handle a blockbuster, superhero franchise which not only pretty much exceeded the expectations of obsessive fans across the globe, myself included, but ticked the boxes many times over in both the critical and financial categories, here we are no more than a month and a half later with X-Men: Dark Phoenix, 20th Century Fox's own "endgame" which brings to a messy conclusion, the entire X-Men franchise which began all the way back at the start of the century with a movie which in retrospect, could be argued as being the kickstarter for the comic-heavy filmic universe we find ourselves in today. With the X-Men cinematic universe being handled with less delicacy as the MCU, it's fair to say that Dark Phoenix arrives with little hype or expectation, a concluding chapter that screams with half volume a fond farewell to the alternative universe of our familiar mutated characters first introduced in X-Men: First Class, revived excellently in the franchise best, Days of Future Past, and once again in the not-so great but still watchable, Apocalypse, and with the movie attempting to revive the titular and very well regarded "Dark Phoenix Saga" from the original comics which was somewhat soiled in the franchise low, X-Men: The Last Stand, the final chapter in Fox's almost twenty year franchise is indeed a solid, by-the-numbers superhero blockbuster, but that's pretty much it.  

As per the standard of most cinematic franchises, Dark Phoenix ultimately works or doesn't work depending on how much you personally bring to it, and whilst I do not hold Fox's own superhero franchise with anywhere near as much regard as I do with the MCU, I can claim to bear a slight relationship with the film's central characters, with the likes of McAvoy (Filth), Fassbender (Shame) and Jennifer Lawrence (mother!) each returning in their respective roles, yet where the movie ultimately fails is in its' approach to both the sloppy introduction of new characters, particularly Jessica Chastain's (Zero Dark Thirty) criminally underdeveloped leading villain, and the wider universe, with timelines now completely out of whack and the effect of the predecessing movies having less of an impact when watching in retrospect. With sloppy dialogue and a highly predictable plot, Dark Phoenix is ultimately saved by the Phoenix herself, with Sophie Turner of Game of Thrones fame giving the best big screen performance of her career so far, outshining her elder Hollywood colleagues who in all honesty, seem to be waiting for the franchise to end in order to collect their well earned bonuses, and whilst a film which starts with a car crash is somewhat begging for certain similarities to be made, Dark Phoenix is by no means the worst superhero movie in the world, it just happens to be one of the more forgettable. See ya, X-Men...

Overall Score: 6/10

Film Review: The Snowman

"You Could Save Them You Know. I Gave You All The Clues And Everything..."

Tackling a subject matter light years apart from the similarly titled Raymond Briggs written animation, The Snowman, a cinematic adaptation of Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbø's best selling novel, marks the highly anticipated return of Swedish director Tomas Alfredson, whose decision to adapt his fellow Scandinavians' work from page to screen makes some sort of sense considering the dark, twisty tones of his previous work, and whilst Nesbø's novel is the seventh in a series based around the trials and tribulations of Michael Fassbender's leading character, Harry Hole, Alfredson's movie is the first attempt in bringing the author's famous detective to some sort of cinematic fruition. With good omens behind it therefore, it comes at a complete surprise to report that Alfredson's latest is unfortunately nothing more than a shockingly dire and unintentionally woeful, manufactured work of disillusioned trash, one which seems to have faltered primarily at a pre-production stage and ultimately released just for the sake of it, and when considering the talent behind it, with a cast which mirrors the impressive ensemble within Alfredson's previous, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Snowman is undoubtedly one of the most infuriatingly contrived let downs in recent Hollywood history.

Suffering from a handful of flaws which range from sloppy unprofessionalism to sinful laziness, The Snowman seems to be the spawn of awful judgement primarily from a production standpoint, with the film's narrative lacking any meaningful level of threat, coherence or substance in complete contrast to previous Scandinavian thrillers such as The Killing and the Millennium franchise, and whilst the absence of threat results in the bulk of the movie being replaced with utter tedium, the film is worsened by the bizarre comedic tendency it seems to evoke each and every time the movie slips into supposed dark territory, with awfully designed murder clips and the scene of a snowman's head being planted on the top of a deceased body resulting in a combination of sniggers rather than the nail-biting thrills I believe the novels were famous for. With editing which verges on the point of insanity and scenes which move from one to another without any sort of meaningful connectivity, The Snowman is a incomprehensible mess of a movie, and whilst the likes of Fassbender and even Alfredson to some extent can't be entirely to blame, the first entry of a supposed Jo Nesbø based franchise is a complete and utter stinker. 

Overall Score: 3/10

Film Review: Alien: Covenant

"Is It All Worth It? To Start A New Life...?"

During last week's venture to witness Ridley Scott's 1979 science fiction masterpiece Alien on the big screen for the very first time as part of a special celebration and pre-amble of all things Xenomorph, this particular screening offered the chance to reconsider 2012's Prometheus too, a movie which although was impressive in terms of science fiction spectacle and scale, offering a wider insight into the history and lore of Scott's creation and of course a marvellous Michael Fassbender, suffers horrendously from a particularly immature narrative and dialogue which would rival George Lucas for worst science fiction babble. Whilst it is always great to watch historic films on the big screen once again, Prometheus still has a vast amount of problems and forms part of Ridley Scott's recent shabby record of cinematic releases which makes you wonder whether his early successes were part of some illustrious fluke, yet with a glass half full kind of mind, the release of Alien: Covenant is undeniably an exciting chance for Scott to finally get back on some sort of track, returning once again to a franchise which is as indestructible as it is financially bankable as well as offering closure to a prequel series which has threatened to cripple the legacy of a classic sci-fi series. 

So the question remains; is Covenant a success? With a superbly created world and some interesting narrative swings, held together by some great central performances and juicy scenes of exploitation violence, Scott's latest does boast some enjoyable elements to a degree, but with a messy screenplay and an overarching sense of "we've been here before", it is with a melancholic heart that Covenant can only be regarded a major letdown, with the film seemingly battling to offer healthy amounts of fan service, with the inclusion of the Xenomorph ironically not as thrilling and terrifying as previous incarnations, with the continuation of the story which began in Prometheus, with Michael Fassbender once again the star of the show as the driving force of a second-half narrative which only adds more questions than answers in a way which is extremely unrewarding and unsatisfying. This tug of war between Alien and Prometheus is the fundamental issue underlying the messy fashion in which the story plays out and if it wasn't for the impressive visual demeanour and enjoyable performances from Fassbender and Waterston respectively, Covenant could be regarded as the weakest entry the Alien franchise has offered up yet and whilst Scott's love for this world is undeniable, Covenant adds substance to the argument that maybe it is time to leave the series alone for good, but with the film's impressive ending, such a notion is seemingly far from materialising anytime soon.

Overall Score: 6/10

Film Review: Assassin's Creed

"We Work In The Dark To Serve The Light..."

We begin our descent into the year ahead in film with perhaps the most anticipated live-action video game release in recent memory. Beginning all the way back in 2007, the Assassin's Creed franchise was a spectacular addition to the gaming world, producing more and more content with each and every new release, resulting in enough worldwide popularity to garner an inevitable film adaptation. Whilst it has almost become clichéd to stamp every video game adaption as utter, utter tripe, the signs for Assassin's Creed were excitingly upbeat considering the talent on display at the heart of the film's production, with Snowtown and Macbeth director Justin Kurzel being a subverted, interesting choice to conduct the film's leading stars, stars which include the likes of Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, both of whom were so superb in Kurzel's blood-stained Shakespearean adaptation of the Scottish play back in 2015. As a fan of the original video game franchise, something of which I suspect will be the case for the majority of the films' audience, Kurzel's live-action adaptation is a solid, if rather grim adaptation of the famous series, one which is undoubtedly his own movie, a rarity in Hollywood these days, but something of which ironically both positively and negatively effects the final cut of his latest cinematic venture. 

When convicted murderer Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) is sentenced to death by lethal injection, he is swiftly captured by the mysterious Abstergo Industries who reveal themselves as a modern-day incarnation of the religious military order known simply as the Templar Order, a secret organisation who seek the lost Apple of Eden, an object of power which they believe will cure the violent ways of human race. Tutored by the the father and daughter duo of Sophia and Alan Rikkin, portrayed by Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons respectively, Lynch is asked to connect with his ancestor Aguilar, a member of the infamous Assassin's Creed, who is key to locating the long lost object of which the Templar's seek. For those privy to the narrative of the games, the storyline of the cinematic adaptation is pretty familiar, and whilst Kurzel's stamp on the movie is incredibly on-the-nose in terms of how unrelentingly grim and dark it is, both in literal and metaphorical sense, this particular notion does play a major factor in the overall feel of the films' appeal.

On the one hand, in attempting to create a much darker and less-mainstream movie than other video game adaptations in the past, Kurzel does deserve a level of recognition. yet on the other hand, it does ultimately result in a large portion of the movie being a tough nut to break, particularly I would have thought for an audience of the younger ilk of cinema-goers. What you have therefore with Assassin's Creed is an admirable if rather flawed adaptation of a fundamentally bonkers video game, particularly in a narrative sense, and whilst the film may seem a feat for those who have played the respective video games, Kurzel's vision is one of undeniable murkiness, something of which may indeed alienate both the young as well as those who have not previously had the association with the video games that many have had in the past. We start 2017 therefore with an enigma of a movie, but one which at least bears some form of positivity for the future of live-action video game adaptations.  

Overall Score: 6/10

Film Review: The Light Between Oceans

"One Day This Will All Feel Like A Dream..."

Of the two previous Derek Cianfrance movies so far in his impressive career up to now, The Place Beyond The Pines was perhaps the one that impressed me the most; the multi-layered crime drama famous for pulling a Hitchcock and knocking off top-billed Ryan Gosling around 40 minutes into the picture and then focusing on the mistakes of the parents and the effect it has on the next generation. With Cianfrance's latest picture, The Light Between Oceans, the gloomy sense of tragic melodrama current throughout his filmography is rife once again with a fairy-tale storyline and long-winding arcs bearing a wide range of similarities to The Place Beyond The Pines but also has enough meaty plot difference to be enjoyed as a completely separate body of work. Although the storyline is gripping at times, the movie's constant need to invoke a solid state of complete, unrelenting melancholia is downright tough, ultimately leading to a piece of cinema which can easily be admired but can also easily be dismissed as just too much of a downer to be effective.

As with all Cianfrance movies, The Light Between Oceans benefits mainly from its' impressive cast, with Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander, two of current cinema's most consistent actors, leading the way in performances that are immediately believable and are responsible for adding real heart and soul to the drama unfolding on-screen. Add into the picture cameos from the likes of Rachel Weisz and The Light Between Oceans definitely has the acting stance on point throughout. Subsequently, the acting performances are unfortunately subsided by the sometimes plodding pacing of the movie which in itself is dampened by the latter two-thirds of the movie when the tone is unrelenting depression from the characters on-screen and the audience watching. What Cianfrance has with The Light Between Oceans is a perfectly solid drama, one which has stand out performances from its' two leads but one which suffers from a range of problems including its' melancholic attitude which encapsulates the drama throughout.

Overall Score: 7/10

Film Review: X-Men: Apocalypse

"I Was There To Spark And Fan The Flame of Man's Awakening, To Spin The Wheel of Civilisation..."

Like the complete cinematic geek I am, Tuesday night at my local world of cine offered the chance to not only witness the midnight showing of the latest Marvel offering but to watch a riveting triple header of mutant goodness beginning with X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past and then leading smoothly into the UK release of X-Men: Apocalypse, the newest feature from the mind of Bryan Singer, the worldwide proclaimed saviour of all things X-Men when it comes to the big-screen after the superhero mess which was The Last Stand. I mean come on, Vinnie Jones? Watching all three on the big-screen once again gave the opportunity to see who was victorious in the realms of mutant supremacy and after watching almost seven hours of Marvel mayhem, I can safely say that Apocalypse is most definitely not the best of the X-Men canon, with that torch still indeed belonging to the far superior Days of Future Past, and in a month where the release of Captain America: Civil War emphasised the staying power of a franchise as gargantuan as the MCU, X-Men: Apocalypse is somewhat of a let-down, a let-down with a whole lot of CGI destruction intertwined with moments of greatness which only remind you how previous entries into the X-Men canon have been in the past. 

Amongst the crazy amount of plot lines thrown into Apocalypse, including the introduction to a young Jean Grey and Scott Summers, played by Game of Thrones' Sophie Turner and Tye Sheridan respectively, our ever-growing team of mutants led by Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), now living life in the early 1980's, soon have to face the growing threat of the powerful Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), the world's first mutant, who has risen from his tomb after centuries of being preserved and hidden from the outside world. Capturing the powers of Magneto (Michael Fassbender) as well as a young Storm (Alexandria Shipp) to fuel his destruction, Apocalypse believes the only way to save the Earth is to first destroy it and recreate it in his own image. Cue CGI mayhem and major mutant face-offs, intertwined with rather rushed introductions to a wide range of new mutants, Apocalypse almost seems the complete opposite of Civil War, a film which rather brilliantly manages to juggle its' eye-watering cast and the introduction of new players, with the former struggling to keep up with the extraordinary demands it places upon itself. 

One of the main reasons Apocalypse falters in this regard is the titular Apocalypse, a villain with only a shallow background to start him off and a motive of destruction which seems flawed to say the least. Add into the fact it was difficult to look at the character without laughing due to the rather rubbery amount of make-up leathered on Oscar Isaac, an actor of whom I would pay to watch in anything I might add, and Apocalypse can only be regarded as having the worst villain of the series so far. Even Kevin Bacon was better. A re-hash of the slow-motion Quicksilver scene from Days of Future Past halfway through the film only strengthens the claim that after four films in the directorial chair, Bryan Singer may indeed be running out of ideas on the mutant front with Apocalypse seemingly being the end point for the man who began the franchise all the way back in 2000. As Jean Grey states after a trip to watch Return of the Jedi during the course of the film, "the third film is always the worst", and ironically, Apocalypse adheres to this assumption rather disappointingly. Civl War, you are still in the lead.

Overall Score: 6/10

88th Academy Awards: Best Actor

Best Actor

Could this finally be the year. Howard Hughes in The Aviator. Sorry, Jamie Foxx deserves that this year. How about Billy Costigan in The Departed? I'm afraid not. But how about my roles in either Django Unchained or The Wolf of Wall Street? Once again, I'm afraid not Leonardo, you just aren't good enough to deserve an Oscar. Fine. I'll find a director who will put me through sheer hell and force me to cut open a horse and sleep inside it, proper Luke Skywalker style from The Empire Strikes Back. Of course, I'm sure this isn't how the life of Leonard DiCaprio actually played out after countless times of Oscar betrayal but it does seem that his dedication to his role in The Revenant was that of a man giving all he possibly can in order to claim what has bypassed his clutches in the past. Everyone and their mum's believes it is time for Leo to win his Oscar and if somehow such did fail to occur this year, I fully believe the Leo supporting masses would violently and swiftly burn the Dolby Theatre down to the ground with Leo being the sole survivor of such a terrible tragedy. 

Extreme I know, but without even looking at the betting for this years' Best Actor category, it is obvious that Leo is the firm favourite. In fact, it is such a safe bet I would recommend putting your life savings on it. Trust me, I know these things. If however you are not privy to the odd bet or two and believe that the Oscars will continue to starve DiCaprio of his glory, the other contenders for the award include Bryan Cranston for Trumbo, Matt Damon for The Martian, Michael Fassbender for the brilliant Steve Jobs and Eddie Redmayne for the not-so-brilliant The Danish Girl.  As for those who may have been overlooked, Fassbender, if not for Steve Jobs, would have been nominated for his role as Macbeth in Justin Kurzel's cold-blooded adaptation of the Shakespearean classic, whilst it was a shame Samuel L. Jackson wasn't recognised for his eye-locking performance in The Hateful Eight, one which kept the film intriguing and captivating for its' ridiculously over-long runtime. Also, what about Jacob Tremblay's simply stunning performance in Room? Sure he's only nine but Tatum O'Neal won an Oscar at the age of ten. One to ponder upon anyhow. Here are the nominations: 

Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant

Michael Fassbender - Steve Jobs

Bryan Cranston - Trumbo

Matt Damon - The Martian

Eddie Redmayne - The Danish Girl

Next Time: Best Actress!

Film Review: Steve Jobs

"We Will Know Soon Enough If You Are Leonardo da Vinci Or Just Think You Are..."

Let's get this straight. I am seemingly one of the minority in the world where shopping in an Apple branded store for Apple branded products to me would be in similar vein to shopping at Waitrose. Sure everything looks nice and flashy, but it's price tag and lack of distinction from the norm really makes me want to shop elsewhere. With this thought in mind, I ventured into my local world of cine and into a midday screening of Steve Jobs with rather mixed expectations. On the upside, I love Danny Boyle, with his entire filmography stretching all the way back to Shallow Grave being something I will always love and cherish, and I love Micheal Fassbender, with his recent performance in Macbeth being one of my favourites of the year so far. So all in all, the signs were mixed, was Steve Jobs set to be a success in my own point of view after hearing of possible award ceremony attention heading its' way? Was Fassbender set to reel us in with his portrayal of Jobs and leave us wanting more by the end of it? After leaving the cinema my instant reaction to both questions was a sincere, yes, with Steve Jobs being one of the most entertainingly and highly engrossing written movies I have watched in recent memory.

Set in the form of three acts, each taking place before the launch of a major Jobs'-led product, Steve Jobs is a masterpiece in how, if written with extreme delicacy and understanding, a two-hour film set basically in one confined space, can become a work of art. Much like the Apple products themselves, Steve Jobs is a rife and intelligent beast, if rather fundamentally lacking in a sense of depth and scope, with Danny Boyles' latest relying heavily on the influence of Aaron Sorkin's script, a man best known for The West Wing and the simply brilliant The Social Network, a film which can draw a lot of similarities with Steve Jobs due to both having an extensive amount of the "walk and talk" nature of their scripts, a feat in which Sorkin is proudly famous for. Within the fundamental intelligence of Sorkin's script, is a heavy sense of theater and stage, giving room for the cast that includes the likes of Jeff Daniels, Seth Rogen, and particularly the one-two of Fassbender and Kate Winslet, room to go completely full on, adapting scenes of dialogue from Sorkin's script into a real sense of dramatic power and steel.

  Of course, Steve Jobs is not set to be for everyone, with its' heavy reliance on dialogue and concentration not entirely being set for mass appeal, whilst Fassbender's inhuman and simply cold portrayal of Jobs himself may be rather too alienating for some of the more humane audiences out there, yet for me personally, Steve Jobs exceeded my rather mid-level expectations twice-fold with its' flashy and intelligent script and rather brilliant performances of almost everyone involved, but with standout nods to particularly Fassbender, Winslet and Daniels, making Steve Jobs a real joyous surprise. Oscars, you may be right. Steve Jobs is a-coming.

Overall Score: 9/10

Film Review: Macbeth

"All Hail Macbeth"

Wow. Style and substance hand in hand usually results in a magnum opus of a movie for a particular director, actor, screenwriter etc, etc., and with the perfect synchronisation and combination of all things great and where everything hits top form in regards to what really makes a movie tick, whether it be the screenplay, the acting, cinematography or whatever, usually such a cinematic experience is one that will live long in the memory of not only those that watch it, but those wholly involved in its' creation. In the case of Macbeth therefore, director Justin Kurzel has developed something quite extraordinary on the face of it, a Shakespearean tragedy soaked two-fold in the dank, dark and deadly atmosphere of blood and fire, something of which could easily be mistaken for a work of art rather than a film with it already being the first film of the year to make me watch consecutively in the space of two days or so with its' sheer bravery and extraordinary execution being something remarkable and rather, out-of-this world. 

Following the classical Shakespearean tragedy of Mr. Macbeth and his scorpion-filled mind to a T, Kurzel's vision takes advantage of the blood-filled crazed tale of lust, power, greed and revenge by not only ramping up the violence to eleven, but also emphasising the eerie nature of the classic tale by use of picturesque cinematography which stylizes the film in an overly oppressive yet wholly magnanimous fashion, similar to that of Ben Wheatley's Kill List, a film so dour and ominous in its' nature that to sit through it is a rather pressing experience. Although Macbeth may fundamentally be a overtly depressing and tragic tale of traumatic proportions, Kurzel's vision of such a tale seems to take such tragedy to levels of enraged extremity, resulting in a film that inevitably will not be for everyone but for me was a beautiful and enlightening experience that was not afraid to take its' time or resort to slow-motion scenes of death and murder, all of which were signs of Macbeth's deteriorating conscious and psyche.

At the heart of the movie is two spellbinding performances by Fassbender and Coltillard as Lord and Lady Macbeth respectively, with each bringing their A-Game truly to the acting table, with Fassbender's pain-stricken King swiftly developing from the acclaimed war hero to the feared tyrannical madman in the space of just under two hours in superb fashion, whilst Coltillard's Lady Macbeth can only sit back and revel in the crazed creation of her own doing, much to her inevitable downfall. Oscar nominations I hear you say? I would have thought so, especially with the superb acting, flawless directing, art-house esque cinematography, and obviously brilliant script all combining in bringing a 21st century take on the Shakespearean classic to the big screen in glorious fashion. One of the best films of the year? Most definitely. Go check it out. 

Overall Score: 9/10 

Film Review: Slow West

Into The Wild

I recently took up the chance to add to my ever-increasing film knowledge and finally, after years of them being on my "to be watched later" list, sitting down and indulging in "The Man With No Name" Trilogy, the classic Western trio of movies including The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, featuring Mr Macho himself, Clint Eastwood. Although my knowledge of "Spaghetti Western's" in general is pretty limited to say the least, Sergio Leone's magnum opus's were pretty darn good and has led me to search out and broaden my horizons when it comes to this particular genre. How fate has intervened therefore with the release of Slow West this week, a action Western thriller featuring the brilliant Micheal Fassbender (Prometheus, Shame), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In) and Ben Mendelsohn (The Place Beyond the Pines) whilst being directed by first-timer John Maclean. With the limited amount of Westerns that are released in the current cinematic environment, Slow West had the opportunity to shine and bring fresh life into my newly-found genre of movies but with Clint Eastwood thoroughly in the back of my mind throughout, it had an uphill challenge from the start. 

The premise of Slow West is one that is very reminiscent of the Coen Brother's True Grit (and obviously the original, of which, I haven't seen) whereby the hunt for the wanted is the main direction of the character's goals with McPhee's Jay and Fassbender's Silas essentially being carbon copies of Mattie Ross and Rooster Cogburn respectively, if for a little gender change on one part. In the case of Slow West however, the hunt for the wanted is due to the absence of love in contrast to the absence of cash with Jay searching the West for his long-lost love whilst Silas constantly being at his side acting as his protector and guide. Although the film contains strong levels of action and violence throughout, it was the underlying sense of black comedic value that made it hold its' ground so astutely, with it being very reminiscent of Joel and Ethan Coen as well as Wes Anderson, particularly in moments that could arguably be classed as entering the ground of "zany". 

The film's bright demeanor throughout contrasted the fundamental dark tones of the movie in which murder, betrayal and violence are particularly rife, only adding credence to the notion of the films' aim in making light of such matters by mixing in a strong comedic undertone which, for the most part, was its' strongest moments. Fassbender is ace once again in a leading role whilst young McPhee produces a strong performance as the heartbroken teen lost in the wild. Aside from a rather predictable ending and falling on rather similar territory in terms of the Western genre, Slow West was an enjoyable addition into the Western catalogue of movies, propped up by the strong element of dark humour that was prevalent throughout. 

Overall Score: 7/10 

X-men: Days of Future Past - Review - SPOILERS

If you're a normal human, X-men Days of Future Past has managed to grab your attention. The relentless advertising campaign undoubtedly will make this instalment of X-men one of the biggest movies this year. If you're wondering if its worth going to see it, you are a sad human-being. Of course you need to see this. Days of Future Past stands as one of the best movies I have seen this year so far. With already established characters that need little introduction, jumping into the fold is easy, as long as you've seen First Class.

As you should have guessed, the story is about the extinction of mutants and the majority of the world. The extinction of the race comes down to these giant robots called "Sentinels". Programmed to trace the mutated X gene in people who will give birth to mutants and mutants themselves. So the decision is made to send Wolverine back to when Xavier and Magneto were young to unite them against the catalyst that would signal the next 50 years of war between mutants and humans. Let's be honest, we know how its going to end without seeing the movie. Yet the movie manages to disguise it and keep you guessing until the very last moment.

Over the past few days I have been sat thinking about X-men and how I'm going to review it. Everything was epic. Just looking straight at the acting, we have same of the best actors to grace our screens altogether in one group. Although some do not come into contact with each other, the Magnetos (Michael Fassbender & Ian McKellen) and Xaviers (James McAvoy & Patrick Stewart) are some of the best casting out there. McAvoy's tormented Xavier gives a whole new level to a character that was always fairly confined. His execution of lines and accent allows for real power to be portrayed in many scenes. "I don't want your future!" is one that features in the trailer but really sticks well in my mind.The there is Fassbender who I have critiqued quite a lot for many of his movies. Most recently would be the movie "Frank". I chose not to review it as it aggravated me to the point that I debated walking out of the cinema. Compared to The Counsellor, Fassbender needs good directing to push him for a good performance and its evident that the stone cold Magneto is the role for him and the directing is perfect to make it work and challenge McKellen's portrayal.

What it really comes down to is the action and excitement. As with every Marvel movie, humour is always present and a scene with Quicksilver just demonstrates the pure technical abilities and comedy style that has served them well for years. Many of the scenes with CGI are gorgeous to look at. Everything looks real and its amazing to see and it never looks fake. As if you could almost reach out and touch it. Now we have the violence and action. Fighting sentinels which are meerly computer generated must be a hard thing to do when you are on a green screen but it is executed perfectly. The scenes with Blink are incredible to see as the blend 4 or 5 different angles due to her portal abilities. We must not forget the core man of the X-men franchise; Wolverine. Now I thought he was big in his recent solo outing, yet somehow, Jackman looks like he's spent time in prison and looks like a road map for Britain. The flow of the action is great and it really is exciting. Yeah, sure there are parts I could be critical of but we don't know the true potential for the sentinels so simply cutting them in half may be harder than it seems and leaves a lot to the imagination.

Considering that I have left this to the last minute and Watch_Dogs has just plopped into my hands, I feel I should clear a few things up. This movie is amazing. But I do wonder, The Wolverine shows Logan without the metal claws at the end and in the last X-men outing, Xavier dies?...I understand the reboot of the universe and characters return can happen but in a movie it seems to much of a cheap shot. Although I would have liked to have seen more of the future it doesn't really bother me as the movie was great fun to watch and stands as the best X-men movie ever and deserves a 9/10

The Counsellor - Quicky Review - MINOR SPOILERS

Ever since the release of the teaser trailer, I was hooked. Checking back at IMDB on a regular basis to see any information about a release date, turns out you guys in America received it before us in the UK, I was only mildly peeved but then I remembered that we got Iron Man 3 and Thor so...yeah. HA!...

Anyway, after all the hype, I noticed a low score for it on IMDB and fairly mixed reviews. Trying to keep positive, we hurried to the release, only to come out wondering what on earth just happened. (Update - I just watched Prometheus and I'm just as confused). From what I can fathom, The Counsellor is about a partnership between "Counsellor" (Fassbender) and Reiner (Javier Bardem) who have expanded Reiner's already booming drug business. Something goes wrong and their cartel connections decide to go around killing them. In terms of realism, the outcome is no where near what would typically happen. Portraying everyone as philosophical, highly educated players doesn't really aid the movie in any form. If you do any research into these topics, the majority of the players have crawled from the bottom and lacked a lot of support and wouldn't experience such literature.

So, the film's story didn't make sense and the cinematography reflects this. It shows a higher interest in the way the movie looks rather than flows. You jump from America to Europe, with not so much as a warning. Time apparently passed rather rapidly but you struggle to get to grips with the lay of the
land. Visually, the movie is gorgeous. The blood, gore and shit (yes. Shit.) looks real and the crap certainly made me gag once or twice while the chopping off of the dudes head was epic. The focus and lighting on screen were beautiful and lavish set pieces really push the representation of being young and rich. Yet, there was many continuity errors throughout and they would stick out obtusely like a whore at a dinner party.

One of the redeeming factors for the film is its scripts. Even when they are being philosophical, what they are saying is strong and really resonates (even when factually wrong at points). A personal favourite is even in the trailer and said by Westray (Brad Pitt), "If your definition of a friend is someone who will die for you, you don't have any friends" - It's phrases like this that pop up continually throughout the movie and really pose moral questions in a thriller. It just doesn't fit into the perimeters of the movie, which if the story was stronger, perhaps it could have really flourished. but then you have the screen play reering it's head and pissing on the parade. We have scenes that are so obscure, not even Tarrintino would think of it. Malkina (Cameron Diaz) has sex with a Ferrari. You may be asking how, turns out rubbing your junk over the windscreen while doing the splits constitutes sex. I think the quote best describes it, "It was like one of those bottom feeders, sucked to the glass".

Swiftly moving on, my final attack is at the acting. With A-listers everywhere, top quality acting is supposed to be insured, but we do have Penelope Cruz who only gets jobs because she's willing to go that step further (sex talk with Fassbender and a weird ass opening scene of him, shall we say -  "munching the rug"). Personally, I've never been keen on her as she lacks a lot of emotion and I can't see the sexual attraction of many. My favourite was Brad Pitt, typically he gets a lot of grief for a few bad moves over the years but recently, he has stepped up his game (E.g - World War Z). Being given a cowboy middleman to play, you can't expect much from him but he oozes with swagger. The minor mannerisms make his character, from the way he puts his hat on too the way he talk. It's brilliant. At the end of the movie, Fassbender looks like he's been on a children's TV show and got gunked, spluttering snot everywhere without a care in the world. It's almost cringe worthy then he did so well up to this breakdown. Javiers accent is killer and fits the role he plays as a psycho business man. With an accent like that, I feel he can play a criminal any day, just look at Skyfall! (I guess it helps that he can act too). Oh, let's not forget Diaz who plays a psycho gold digging bitch with a wealth of knowledge and some cheetahs that fuck off when they get bored. Yeah, she played it fairly well, but I think many people could do it.

In total, the film was really weak. Most likely a flop or just about breaking even in the long run. Probably will be showing on BBC 1 at midnight in 10 years and ITV in 5. So, if you don't fancy paying for it, it's not long too wait. The movie deserves a 6/10. Putting my critical head on, you really do feel let down coming out of the movie when you haven't had it explained to you. There's very little excitement and you would think that a movie of this scale wouldn't have so many cock-ups throughout.

The Counselor Teaser Trailer!

Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz, Natalie Dormer and Penélope Cruz all appearing in a 1 minute teaser trailer for The Counselor by Ridley Scott looks to be a film to watch out for. When a lawyer gets himself involved with drug trafficking, then shit hits the fan and they are stuck to face the consequence. 

Without looking and IMDB, I can only presume that Brad Pitt is the main lead for the film, due to the fact he is an A list actor who can draw quite a crowd. Evidently, he finished filming for World War Z and jumped straight onto this project, which looks too be one of the best movies this year. With a huge cast, I hope it works out to be up for some awards. yet as this is a teaser, we have to consider that it has to reveal little but enough to create goosebumps!