“Everything they’ve built will fall! And from the ashes of their world, we’ll build a better one!” – Apocalypse
SYNOPSIS: With the emergence of the world’s first mutant, Apocalypse, the X-Men must unite to defeat his extinction level plan. – via IMDB
Yes! I finally went to see this. My husband wasn’t thrilled (he loves going to the cinema), but he knew it is one of the few superhero movies I will insist on seeing in the cinema. Screw that, any new movie in this franchise will have me tripping out, no matter how many installments. I know, it sounds mad. I think the reviews have been unjustly harsh towards X-Men: Apocalypse, though it is by no means a perfect movie. It definitely doesn’t have the wow factor of Days of Future Past, and the plot is a little messy (okay, maybe a dash more than a little), and there were some holes, and the pacing was a bit off. The villain, Apocalypse, was also quite disappointing in the long run. As much as I like Oscar Isaac, this was really not good. There was so much more that could have been done with this character! His rising and the X-Men battling him was so rushed and quick, his true power and danger is never really realised, which is a pity. Besides that, the cast is, as is to be expected, excellent. McAvoy is a fantastic Charles, and Fassbender, of course, delivers as the tortured Erik. I wish that the two of them had been given more screen time, if I am being honest, but I loved them when they were there. Also, Nicholas Hoult could have done with more screen time, too. Okay, I think one of the large flaws of the film is that there are a ton of characters, and none are really done any real justice. Evan Peters returns and owns as Quicksilver, which I loved. I must say though, his hit scene from DOFP was recreated here, and as entertaining as it was, it wasn’t perfect like the last one, and didn’t thrill me as much. It also felt squished in, like it was expected. Fun, but a little off. Sophie Turner really impressed me as Jean Grey (and trust me, this was something I was extremely leery about), and Tye Sheridan’s Scott Summers didn’t manage to peeve me endlessly, which in and of itself is a feat. Last but not least, I want to talk about how awesome Kodi Smit-McPhee’s Nightcrawler is. I was so stoked to see the Nightcrawler return, and to see him get such a large role was fantastic. Happy as can be! Look, he is no Alan Cumming, but he was still wonderful, and I am hoping to see more of him in future movies. Also, a young Storm? Yay! Yes, I had a total ball with all these things. I actually think this film is going to appeal more to people who love the X-Men franchise, and not necessarily newcomers. That being said, I enjoyed the story, but didn’t love it, it was flawed, but a fun film, the effects were good, but there were issues, but I would definitely recommend it for a watch. I really am such a fan of going back to see how the X-Men formed, how the relationships were, how everything was before, and I really think a great job is being done with that. I am going to stop now, before this review gets excessively long.
“Once, I was a cop. A road warrior searching for a righteous cause. As the world fell, each of us in our own ways were broken. It was hard to tell who was more crazy… me… or everyone else.” – Max Rockatansky
SYNOPSIS: An apocalyptic story set in the furthest reaches of our planet, in a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, and almost everyone is crazed fighting for the necessities of life. Within this world exist two rebels on the run who just might be able to restore order. There’s Max, a man of action and a man of few words, who seeks peace of mind following the loss of his wife and child in the aftermath of the chaos. And Furiosa, a woman of action and a woman who believes her path to survival may be achieved if she can make it across the desert back to her childhood homeland. – via IMDB
The costume design and makeup was just… so perfect for this movie.
Fury Road is more bizarre than I can even describe, but it was just so perfect!
The action was incredibly well choreographed and the fights were highly entertaining.
Fury Road was stunning to look at, and all that dust and desert captures that whole dystopian future perfectly.
Furiosa was beyond badass. Much love here for the women holding their own, let me tell you!
Immortan Joe and some of the costume design and makeup was beyond creepy. Well done to the team for that! He was also one lunatic of a villain to be facing off against, sheesh. My fiancé thinks Immortan Joe was badass and awesome as hell.
There were all these inexplicable moments laced throughout it, and cracked characters laced throughout. What a lovely day? In the middle of an enormously dangerous car chase? I’ll say!
And then, of course, we all need to take a moment to appreciate that Tom Hardy will always just be glorious.
Wow! Yes, that’s it! Wow. I was beyond thrilled when my cinema still had this in for me to go and see (it is a miracle if anything is on longer than two weeks, and my pesky exams took up all my time when this was released and I was sure I was going to miss it on big screen). This is something you want to see on a gigantic screen, stretched out massively in front of you. Why? This might be like Gravity, and let me explain that statement. Like Gravity, Fury Road doesn’t really have an in depth or amazing story (come on guys, this cannot be denied) but it looks phenomenal and is shot well and is one heck of a trip and you want a massive screen for it. Gravity looked amazing, but with no story and a smaller screen, I think I lost some of the enjoyment. After reading many rave reviews for this, I was afraid I would be disappointed. I think knowing that there was no intense story saved me from being a little bit disappointed in the movie. Ultimately, Road Fury is an epic two hour car chase across the desert with insane costumes, a rock concert on wheels and the titular Max being a side character in his own movie (more so than usual). For all intents and purposes, that alone would have been enough to bring the movie to its knees, especially seeing as Charlize Theron would take up the bulk of the screen time. You should know how I feel about our fellow South African, so I was very, very wary about seeing her. But good gravy, believe it or not, she didn’t irritate me whatsoever, and she gave a damn fine performance for a badass character. Yes, I said that. She owned this role. Then there is Tom Hardy. Obviously I am going to talk about him. While he had virtually no lines and surprisingly little screen time, I thoroughly enjoyed him and really, Hardy truly has his gorgeous moments. Hmmmm. Nicholas Hoult was adorable, as always, and his character Nux was someone that was so nasty but redeemed himself wonderfully later, Barry and Larry and all. He stole the show whenever he was on screen There were so many cool things about this movie – like the throwbacks to the older movies – and a big awesome for me were the ladies being strong – very cool, seldom done. Junkie XL wrote a great score to carry the film and it worked every step of the way, and I loved how it tied in to the crazy guitarist on his amplifier and drummer podium (I cannot stress enough how entertaining that was, made me think of Brütal Legend) and the costume design was amazing all round. Then there were the cars. That was just… those designs. Between the costumes, the makeup and those terrifying cars, you must know that the movie truly was something to look at. Fury Road was more bizarre than I can really describe, it was crazy, but is was a stroke of genius, too, even with the lacking story – it was purely an all-out assault on the senses.
“It happens, and I wish it didn’t, but that’s life, isn’t it?”
– Marcus
SYNOPSIS: Will, a rich, child-free and irresponsible Londoner in his thirties who, in search of available women, invents an imaginary son and starts attending single parent meetings. As a result of one of his liaisons, he meets Marcus, an odd 12-year-old boy with problems at school. Gradually, Will and Marcus become friends, and as Will teaches Marcus how to be a cool kid, Marcus helps Will to finally grow up. – via IMDB
So a few months back I read Dan’s review of this film, and it got me thinking back on it. There was not a lot that I remembered about it, but then I was like 12 or 13 when I last saw it. I decided that it was time to check this out again, and I am glad that I did. About A Boy is an incredibly depressing film, but also inspiring and hopeful. I got so crushed and angry watching Marcus because kids are cruel, and I was peeved as sin at his mother. It is never the child’s job to look after the parent. However, there were a few things that niggled at me. For instance, it was never explained why Fiona was so depressed, and why she attempted suicide, little things like that. Then again, I was not watching this for Fiona. About A Boy is all about the relationship that forms between Marcus and Will in both of their lowest and most desperate moments. The change that comes over Marcus is astounding now that he just has someone that takes an interest in him. He is such a sweet and adorable young boy. I think that Nicholas Hoult did an amazing job with his character. I don’t know when last I have seen Hugh Grant in a movie, and probably the first time I have watched him in anything as an adult. I don’t think I will ever understand why this man was so popular when I was younger. He sort of slipped off the radar, too. Aside from all that, I really liked what he did with his character in this, and it was lovely to watch him grow, too. Will and Marcus provided beautiful things for one another. There were a few scenes that had me laughing here, and I was particularly amused by the “Watch Yourself” bit at school, that was one thing I always remembered clearly from this. If you have never seen About A Boy, I would recommend you check it out, and if you have, it’s probably not too crazy to consider a rewatch!
“So much for dreaming. You can’t be whatever you want. All I’ll ever be is a slow, pale, hunched-over, dead-eyed zombie.” – R
SYNOPSIS: After a highly unusual zombie saves a still-living girl from an attack, the two form a relationship that sets in motion events that might transform the entire lifeless world. – via IMDB
I thought R and his way of expressing things was so dry but entertaining.
Some of the best conversational skills of all time, no two ways about it.
His desperate attempts at being human and normal were painful and hilarious.
R and Julie were so sweet, it made me laugh how he was just so out of touch with most normal things, but he really tried.
R and Julie certainly had completely different ideas about what she was doing there.
M always had R’s back, and as a zombie, dropping the “bitches” line? Priceless.
A sentiment I can totally identify with too much sometimes.
A Polaroid camera provided some sweetness and amusement all round.
This was just… yes. I really liked it.
My reaction, decently summed up.
So I finally had to watch this after both Abbi and Natasha insisted that it was fresh, new, and most certainly not Twilight. I decided it was time, and popped it in. What followed was a total surprise to me. While not my favourite zombie movie of all time (and I am with Mr O on the zombie purist thing most of the time, sorry Abbi) – I was willing to suspend all the beliefs I had about zombies to see this. I actually really enjoyed it. It really isn’tTwilight with zombies, so give it a shot if that is what kept you from looking into it. It was shot well and the acting was relatively good. R really made me laugh at times. He was lost, lonely, sad, desperately didn’t want to be what he was, and he was most certainly different from your average zombie. The message he carried across was cool, too, and his humour and outlook was really dry and drab, but it was both amusing and touching. He was very impressive in here, and I think he is an under-appreciated actor, he’s pretty good. There was a lot to like in this one. However, this was one super cutie zombie to come from the zombie apocalypse! The score worked well, too, though it is certainly not my favourite soundtrack of all time. I had a lot of fun with what the movie was saying, and John Malkovich played a real tool, really. Also, Dave Franco went from being such a nice guy to a real idiot, though when you see the history you can understand that, too. Teresa Palmer was good as Julie, she never actually started working on my nerves. She was not a barbie and she was in touch with what was going on around her, yet still she wanted love, life, and freedom. She also had nice chemistry with Nicholas Hoult. I really liked the friendship between R and M, gave me quite a few giggles. Overall, Warm Bodies is sweet, funny, and not a horror, so don’t go in watching that if you are expecting a Dawn of the Dead or Night of the Living Dead. If you watch it with no preconceived notions, and just accept it for what it is, then this will be a great little watch.
“Mutation. It is the key to our evolution. It is how we have evolved from a single-cell organism into the dominant species on the planet. This process is slow, normally taking thousands and thousands of years. But every few millennia evolution leaps forward.” – Professor Charles Xavier
In a concentration camp in Germany, 1944, young Erik Lehnsherr (Bill Milner) is separated from his Jewish family. In a panic state, he reaches out to them and through some force pulls down the metal gates. Naturally, this piques the interest of Dr Klaus Schmidt (Kevin Bacon), who brings Erik in to study him. Ordering Erik to move a coin, he expects results. When nothing happens, he orders Erik’s mother to be shot before him, which gets the powers going, and he kills the guards and wrecks the room. Erik is a changed man. Back in the states, a young telepathic boy named Charles Xavier (Laurence Belcher) makes the acquaintance of another mutant, a shapeshifter, named Raven Darkhome (Morgan Lily). She moves in with the family and becomes his foster sister.
“We are the children of the atom. Radiation gave birth to mutants. What will kill the humans will only make us stronger.” – Sebastian Shaw
In 1962, Erik (Michael Fassbender) has made it his life’s work to track down Schmidt and kill him for what he did to his mother. Charles (James McAvoy), on the other hand, has made quite the name for himself after having studied genetics. Raven is still with him, though the two seem to be slightly at odds about what mutation means to them. CIA agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) is assigned to follow US Army Colonel Hendry (Glenn Morshower), where she sees him enter the Hellfire Club. There she sees him converse with Schmidt, now known as Sebastian Shaw. With Shaw are his partners, the telepathic Emma Frost (January Jones), teleporter Azazel (Jason Flemyng), and Riptide (Álex González), a mutant who can produce cyclones. He is teleported out of there, and advocates the deployment of nuclear missiles in Turkey. Nobody at the CIA believes Moira, and she decides to take matters into her own hands. She approaches Charles for his advice on mutation, and takes him and Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) with her to discuss matters with the CIA director John McCone (Matt Craven). It does not go the way that she was expecting, and he flips out. Another CIA agent (Oliver Platt), offers that they accompany him to “Division X”, a secret facility with mutants at the core. There they meet Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult), a genius scientist.
“I’ve been at the mercy of men just following orders. Never again.” – Erik Lehnsherr
Charles meets Erik when Shaw has been tracked down (Moira’s people have found him). It seems that Erik has also finally worked out the whereabouts of his nemesis. Charles manages to rescue Erik, who damn nears drowns when attempting to pull Shaw’s submarine out of the ocean. Together they head back to Division X, where Erik meets the team. Hank explains that he has developed a machine called Cerebro, one that cal locate other mutants. Charles uses this machine with his telepathic abilities and tracks down mutants. He and Erik set out across the country to recruit these mutants to join them. They discover Alex “Havok” Summers (Lucas Till), Sean “Banshee” Cassidy (Caleb Landry Jones), Armando “Darwin” Muñoz (Edi Gathegi), Angel Salvadore (Zoë Kravitz). These kids all get together and seem to enjoy themselves, picking their mutant names and dubbing Charles “Professor X” and Erik “Magneto”. Erik sets out on a revenge mission to take down Shaw, with Charles and Moira coming along. However, Shaw is not at the designated meeting place in the USSR, and Erik flips out. Charles ultimately goes to help him, and there they capture Emma Frost. It seems that Shaw is intent on starting World War III. Returning to Division X, they find that the place has been wrecked, Riptide, Azazel, and Shaw had been there, killing everyone but the mutants. They were recruiting, and only Angel left with them. The kids are in shock. Erik gets them set on a path for vengeance, to avenge the death of Darwin, to make things right.
“Are you really so naive as to think that they won’t battle their own extinction? Or is it arrogance?” – Erik Lehnsherr
Shaw has managed to convince the USSR to install missiles in Cuba. Hank is sure that Raven’s DNA contains the cure for their appearances, and develops a cure. Erik, on the other hand, is advocating that they should be proud of being mutants, and encourages Raven to remain in her natural blue form. Charles has a mansion which he uses for them all to move to, somewhere where they can train, master their abilities. Will they be able to stop Shaw? Will Shaw succeed in starting World War III?
“There’s so much more to you than you know, not just pain and anger. There’s good in you too, and you can harness all that. You have a power that no one can match, not even me.” – Charles Xavier
An 8/10 for X-Men: First Class. This is really a favourite of mine, something I have fun with all the time. I think it was incredibly well put together and that a wonderful cast was chosen to represent the younger mutants we have come to know and love over the years. James McAvoy is a phenomenal younger Charles Xavier, and I cannot fault his performance. I liked how he managed to bring it though (especially watching him with Raven), that he was preaching something but not necessarily always practising it in his youth. He talks about being proud of being a mutant, but is always encouraging Raven to hide herself. McAvoy is an incredibly talented actor, and this was just another place he shone. Then there is Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr, and I thought that he was also just fantastic as a young, powerful and incredibly embittered man on a revenge mission of note. Kevin Bacon was entertaining as Shaw, and really was just an evil dude. I liked the effects of this movie, the back story for all the characters as well as who was cast to play them now. I liked the progression of the plot, it construed the story nicely and wasn’t too jumbled. I thoroughly enjoyed Hugh Jackman’s cameo as Wolverine in here, had me laughing. Watching Charles and Erik develop and begin their fantastic friendship was awesome. They were both at opposing ends in their beliefs, but friends down at the core of it all with an immense amount of respect for each other. Jennifer Lawrence is also a pretty cool younger Raven, and I thought she did that rather well, handling Raven’s confusion about being a mutant as well as where/how she fits in to society. A wonderful addition to the franchise, and definitely a much needed breath of fresh air.
Yes! I finally went to see this. My husband wasn’t thrilled (he loves going to the cinema), but he knew it is one of the few superhero movies I will insist on seeing in the cinema. Screw that, any new movie in this franchise will have me tripping out, no matter how many installments. I know, it sounds mad. I think the reviews have been unjustly harsh towards X-Men: Apocalypse, though it is by no means a perfect movie. It definitely doesn’t have the wow factor of Days of Future Past, and the plot is a little messy (okay, maybe a dash more than a little), and there were some holes, and the pacing was a bit off. The villain, Apocalypse, was also quite disappointing in the long run. As much as I like Oscar Isaac, this was really not good. There was so much more that could have been done with this character! His rising and the X-Men battling him was so rushed and quick, his true power and danger is never really realised, which is a pity. Besides that, the cast is, as is to be expected, excellent. McAvoy is a fantastic Charles, and Fassbender, of course, delivers as the tortured Erik. I wish that the two of them had been given more screen time, if I am being honest, but I loved them when they were there. Also, Nicholas Hoult could have done with more screen time, too. Okay, I think one of the large flaws of the film is that there are a ton of characters, and none are really done any real justice. Evan Peters returns and owns as Quicksilver, which I loved. I must say though, his hit scene from DOFP was recreated here, and as entertaining as it was, it wasn’t perfect like the last one, and didn’t thrill me as much. It also felt squished in, like it was expected. Fun, but a little off. Sophie Turner really impressed me as Jean Grey (and trust me, this was something I was extremely leery about), and Tye Sheridan’s Scott Summers didn’t manage to peeve me endlessly, which in and of itself is a feat. Last but not least, I want to talk about how awesome Kodi Smit-McPhee’s Nightcrawler is. I was so stoked to see the Nightcrawler return, and to see him get such a large role was fantastic. Happy as can be! Look, he is no Alan Cumming, but he was still wonderful, and I am hoping to see more of him in future movies. Also, a young Storm? Yay! Yes, I had a total ball with all these things. I actually think this film is going to appeal more to people who love the X-Men franchise, and not necessarily newcomers. That being said, I enjoyed the story, but didn’t love it, it was flawed, but a fun film, the effects were good, but there were issues, but I would definitely recommend it for a watch. I really am such a fan of going back to see how the X-Men formed, how the relationships were, how everything was before, and I really think a great job is being done with that. I am going to stop now, before this review gets excessively long.
The Sporadic Chronicles 