Sunday, 22 May 2016

X-Men Apocalypse (2016) review

Ermagherd look its the mans with the x's!!!

May is just jampacked with movies isn't it? Well here we have another great superhero movie from the mans with the x's or X-Men. There are many reasons to like this movie and for me personally just two reasons to kind of not like it. Look, the fight scenes did feel a little underwhelming but that might be cause this movie tried to set itself from the other two colossi, of course I'm talking about Batman V Superman and Civil War. Instead of amazing fight scenes the whole movie was dedicated to exploring more of each character except the two characters I will talk about later. Now onto the good-stuff.
Michael Fassbender can do no wrong can he?
First I have to talk about Fassbender's tortured and reluctant Magneto. The character starts out trying his best to live a normal life. Blending in and really just trying to live the way "God intended" but oh no, yokle locals had to get involved. The hurt and torture in this movie really illustrate Magneto's pain and purpose which sets him a tier above the other characters. Fassbender carries this character into the stratosphere with his perfect performance and it only gets better as the movie progresses.


The Quicksilver sequence!
I did not expect Bryan Singer to top the Quicksilver sequence from Days of Future Past (2014) but by God did he do it. This sequence was brilliant. The bulldog, how he watched out for each student with precision, and also how time was factored into the whole scene. Also Evan Peters is just the right guy to play Quicksilver, so all of that mix for a great addition to the movie.

Archangel was the harbinger of greatness
Ben Hardy had a fantastic performance as Angel even though his character was not showcased enough. He started out brash and ready to mess the whole world up but then got broken down and went back into prominence in the few scenes that were centered around him. Also, Metallica. The scene where Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), and Psylocke (Olivia Munn) are recruiting him, Metallica's "Four Horsemen" is playing in the background setting the tone perfectly. That has to be my favorite scene in the whole movie. 
They did not give Apocalypse enough sinister scenes. LOOK YOU MADE HIM SAD!!!
As my caption indicates, Apocalypse was not given enough solo scenes to really display his sinister presence. I felt like Oscar Isaac could have done so well with this character if given enough scenes to really display how ominous and scary Apocalypse can be. Other than that, Isaac did a bang-up job and I commend him for his efforts. (Not that that matters.)
Yes, I am gonna riff on Psylocke
Not necessarily on Olivia Munn's performance because she was just given a Megan Fox-esque  role. The role of "eye candy". Psylocke is much more than that. Now the only movie I've seen Olivia Munn in other than this one is Ride Along 2 where she played a similar role. There were many scenes where she was just standing there staring at various things silently, kind of like the vampires from Dracula 2000 (and for the love of God, don't watch Dracula 2000, you won't have enough bleach). 


Haha! No Entertainment Weekly watermark!
Overall I'd recommend you do actually check this movie out. The critic reviews are really unfair at this point, yet they may mellow out later when more critics see the movie. Other good things I should point out was Alexandra Shipp's arabic. It was done so well, since I have Egyptian friends who talk with a similar dialect. Also James McAvoy's performance was kicked up another notch, so thanks James. I just wished Kurt Wagner would have said "Get to the choppa!!" at one point. Also Cyclops was a bit annoying at times. Going from the high school kid we should feel bad for to just an all around prick. Eitherway this was a good movie. Four sand beheadings out of four!!




Tuesday, 17 May 2016

Bruce Almighty (2003) review

B-E-A-Utiful...
Calling this movie a laugh-out-loud classic would be criminal. Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) constantly complains about his problems in life. The anchorman job that eludes him, daily traffic, and so on. Given how everyone seems to allude to God controlling fate and all that happens, on his worst day Bruce finally snaps and tells God "The gloves are off!". This causes God (Morgan Freeman) to call Bruce to an abandoned building only to bestow upon him all his powers. Will he use his powers to help mankind or for personal gain?

Jennifer Aniston is one in this comedic ensemble
This movie is brilliant. Without really intending it, it brings together 4 amazing comedic actors that make it a delight all the way through. Jim Carrey seems in as comfortable as ever bringing about another comedy classic. Jennifer Aniston plays the innocent Grace Connelly to counter-act the movie's comedic take on the hopelessness of life itself. Morgan Freeman delivers the "God Quips" with perfection, specially with the Gandhi remark. And Steve Carell shines like always. This was one of his earliest in a extended line of golden performances. This movie foretold of his greatness. It does not stop being funny and the overall story is one with a proper start and finish. All the characters change through the course of it and it also doesn't take itself seriously which only adds to the fantastic humor. I give it 10 golden calves out of 10! (That reference was just spot-on)
Steve Carell as Evan Baxter

Morgan Freeman as God and Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan