LA Movie Review- X-men: Days of Future Past

   In a desolate future, androids known as sentinels force most of the mutant population into extinction. In a fight for their race, the X-Men send Wolverine into the past so he can put an end to the events which lead to the creation of the sentinels. Simon Kinberg wrote the screenplay and Bryan Singer directed the film. Hugh Jackman leads the all-star cast also featuring Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, and Jennifer Lawrence.
   There are a lot of great superhero films; The Dark Knight, The Avengers, Iron Man, Spider-Man 2, and now X-Men: Days of Future Past can be added to that list. This is a perfect superhero movie in an era filled with greats. Director of the first two X-Men films, Bryan Singer returns to direct the seventh entry in the franchise. He sets the story in the early 1970's and fills the film's atmosphere with common tropes of the time. By doing so, he makes the movie feel as though it is taking place in an altered reality, complete with its own twisted version of our country's history. Singer's film is well paced and well made. This is a well edited film too. The film's 131 minute run time never feels too short or too long. Simon Kinberg's script takes care of past continuity issues in an incredibly effective fashion. No scene ever feels unnecessary or out of place. The special effects are all terrific and the cinematography adds to the 70's feel when it has to. Bryan Singer sets a fun yet serious tone and has many characters to play with.
   The time travel element of the film allows the combination of both, the cast of the original X-Men trilogy and the cast from X-Men: First Class. While he is featured prominently, Hugh Jackman's Wolverine isn't exactly the star of the show. He plays a huge role in the film, but it is a story centered on all of the prominent members of the X-Men, unlike what the trailers for the film would suggest. This is truly a team movie. Hugh Jackman is still great at playing Wolverine, a character he has been playing for fourteen years now. My favorite performance was that of James McAvoy and his take on the hopeless Professor X.

James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart

 The screenplay and acting add so much depth to the character, making him somewhat of an addict, and someone who is tortured by his abilities. Sharing the role of Professor Charles Xavier is Patrick Stewart, playing the older version of the character. While he isn't in the film much, he is a staple of the franchise. His wiser professor X is someone who can bring out the best of people. Ian McKellen is a great Magneto but Michael Fassbender makes the role his own. While McKellen's Magneto sees the need for peace and unity, Fassbender's Magneto is much more aggressive in his beliefs that man and mutant cannot coexist. Michael Fassbender is terrific at playing villains and what makes him so special here is the fact that you can understand his cause. Jennifer Lawrence is a much better Mystique here than she was in her last outing as the character. The character's inner struggle with right and wrong gives the twenty-three year old, academy award winning actress much to work with. Joining the cast is Peter Dinklage as the creator of the sentinels, Dr. Bolivar Trask, who commands the screen whenever he is on it. Ellen Page was great in her small, but important supporting role as Kitty Pride. Peter Evans stole the show as Quicksilver. His comedic timing was great, he was a fun character, and had the best scene in the movie.

Peter Evans as Quicksilver

   There are seven films in this universe, therefore there is a lot the audience should know going into this movie. To get the most out of the experience, I believe the audience should revisit the earlier films. Days of Future Past is an ambitious film with a lot of moving parts. It does a good job of cleaning up the mess that earlier X-Men films have made, but it also works as its own complete story.This film does benefit from multiple viewings and I encourage the audience to see it multiple times.This is a fun movie, this is a great movie, and this movie is my favorite of the year so far.

5/5

LA Movie Review- Godzilla

   Man's arrogance has lead them to believe that they are in charge of the planet. They are wrong. As nature fights back against the sins of mankind, the king of all monsters emerges. The film's title says Godzilla but he is not the main focus. The main focus of the film is on U.S. Navy officer Ford Brody, who is trying to reunite with his family while trying to stay alive. This ambitious reboot of the giant science fiction monster is directed by Gareth Edwards and stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

   This movie will divide audience members who come across it. Most will argue that Godzilla isn't in the film enough, and while that is a fair argument, I believe less is more. It is true that the giant lizard is not in the film as much as you would like him to be, but that takes nothing away from the presence he had while he was on-screen. Besides, how much of the screen time did the shark actually take up in Jaws? Putting the focus of the film on Godzilla alone would have just made for mindless destruction like the terrible 1998 version. Instead by placing the focus on the human characters we see Godzilla almost as a natural disaster. That film's mistake was exposing Godzilla too much, a mistake the director here didn't make. After all, no mystique big mistake. Gareth Edwards made a wise choice by keeping Godzilla's mystique. If Edwards can make you, the audience, care for the characters, you will be more engaged in the story. We see the film through the eyes of the human characters, making Godzilla feel larger than life. Striving for realism with a flare of campiness, Gareth Edwards did a good job directing the monster flick. Together with the help of screenplay writers Max Borenstein and Dave Callaham he was able to create an experience in the cinema. They took the character of Godzilla and made him into an anti-hero, a sympathetic anti-hero at that. The three crafted a film that has a genuine big movie feel to it.

Godzilla: villain or anti-hero?

   Aaron Taylor- Johnson was the lead of the film. His character was abandoned by his family when he was a child and is unwilling to do the same to the one that he has as an adult. Johnson is a good actor and he is good in the film but some of the creative choices made for his character were questionable, as his character is written with unbelievable luck. Bryan Cranston, fresh off of Breaking Bad has a minor role in the film. He gives a performance that echoes a type of stubborn desperation that we haven't seen from the actor recently. Ken Wantanabe plays Dr. Ichiro Serizawa who is one of the too few nods to the Japanese original. Elizabeth Olsen plays Ford Brody's wife, Ellen Brody. She is a solid edition to the cast but like the titular character, isn't in the film much.

Bryan Cranston (left) Aaron Taylor Johnson (left)

   On a technical level, the film is great. This movie has some breathtaking cinematography in it. The special effects are incredible as you see so much detail in the monster and the cities. Composer Alexandre Desplat wrote a score which breathes life into the allure of monster movies. His music builds up tension and helps scale the creature. The movie is 123 minutes long and it could have been cut down to below the two hour mark.
   Godzilla is almost the anti-Pacific Rim, a 2013 summer blockbuster revolving around giant creatures attacking the Earth and humans building giant robots to fight them.While that movie had a tremendous amount of action, the human characters were all flat and forgettable. The weight of the film lies on the shoulders of the humans in this blockbuster. They used just the right amount of action here, teasing you with glimpses of battles before delivering at the end of the film. Despite this, it does ultimately leave you wanting more from it. This movie will split audiences, but over time I believe people will appreciate this version of Godzilla, even if they don't right now.
4.4/5

LA Movie Review- The Amazing Spider-Man 2

   Peter Parker juggles his romantic life with his crime fighting life while being haunted by the memory of his parents. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the most emotional and most violent of all of the films in the Spider-man franchise.

   Director Mark Webb has made only one movie outside of his Spider-Man films, and that movie would be 500 Days of Summer. 500 Days of Summer is a great movie which looks at the idea of love from the male perspective. I bring that up because that is what Mark Webb does best. This film is the most romantic superhero movie ever made. Mark Webb handles this element of the film perfectly. The relationship between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy is undoubtedly the strongest element of the movie. The chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone was terrific. You almost didn't need any action in the film because their story would have been enough. Mark Webb makes you care about these characters and makes you believe that they truly care for each other. The film is also surprisingly funny as well. Every few minutes you find yourself laughing out loud at the one of the movie's many jokes. Webb handles those two elements best but fails when juggling multiple story lines. There are a lot of characters in the movie and a lot of them don't get the appropriate amount of screen time. The screenplay written by Alex Kutzman, Jeff Pinker, and Roberto Orci crams a lot of story lines into one movie. These story lines were too much for Webb to carry and as a result many intimate moments were crammed to make room for the next subplot. This made for a very long winded and convoluted film.
   Visually the film is a mixed bag. While all the effects in the film are truly amazing, the cinematography was not. The problem was its inconsistency. Certain action scenes suffered from dreadful shaky cam while others were clear and easy to follow. The film also utilizes just the right amount of slow motion which allows the audience to bask in the glory of being Spider-man, especially in his swinging sequences. The looks of the characters were diverse in quality. The Spider-man suit has never looked better while Electro looked more like an angry cartoon character rather than a terrifying villain.
   Andrew Garfield completely outshines Tobey Macguire. Garfield is the superior Spider-Man on screen. He is charismatic, funny, and serious when he needs to be. Andrew Garfield brought a great emotional depth to the character of Peter Parker. His Peter Parker wasn't necessarily a nerd, but he was clearly intelligent. There was more to him than that. He was a friend, a son, a nephew, a lover, and a hero. Emma Stone was great as Gwen Stacy. She was more than a damsel in distress. She added so much to the film as a character that you want to cheer on. Jamie Foxx played the role of Max Dillon/ Electro. He was given a story arc similar to that of Syndrome, the villain from The Incredibles. Foxx is an obsessed fan of Spider-Man who only wants people to notice him. I found that story to be interesting even though Jamie Foxx is given some laughable dialogue. Dane DeHann is in the film and is a better Harry Osborn than James Franco ever was in the original trilogy. Sally Field isn't in the film much but makes the most of her screen time. Paul Giamatti plays the Rhino and has a very annoying Russian accent. Fortunately his appearance here doesn't take up much time and is mostly a set up for future films.
   The Amazing Spider-Man 2 does suffer from poor pacing but is still an enjoyable film. It is more entertaining than the first film but too many story lines drag down the quality.
3.5/5
   That is the rating the it was going to receive and then the final 15 minutes of the film happened. Those final 15 minutes contained an emotional gut punch of a scene. It was shocking and unexpectedly violent for a superhero movie, especially a Spider-Man movie. The movie then holds you in grief before giving you something completely opposite. As the triumphant Spider-Man theme by Hans Zimmer plays, you are given a great moment of hope that closes out the film. If you end a movie strongly then the audience will forgive you for any missteps earlier in the film. Although it is a very flawed movie, it is also a great piece of entertainment with an abundance of heart.
4/5