DAYS OF FUTURE PAST keeps hope alive for mutants and fans alike

MILD SPOILERS THROUGHOUT 

RATED- PG-13
RUN TIME- 131 Mins
WRITER(S)- Simon Kinberg, Jane Goldman, and Mathew Vaughn 
STARRING- Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and Hugh Jackman
DIRECTOR- Bryan Singer



Synopsis taken from IMDb
The X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.




The "X-Men" films were always second to me, right after The Dark Knight trilogy. In fact, I really thought that "X-Men: First Class" was better than "The Avengers". While I'm not a fan of the Wolverine solo movies, I've liked all of the other "X-Men" films, even the third one. It's kinda sorta a tie for me between "First Class" and "X2" as the best installments, but there for a while, the series hit a rocky road for fans who had plenty to complain about. With the unsteadiness of a lot of people not liking the third movie, and then to be followed by an even less liked solo Wolverine movie, moviegoers and comic fans alike began to believe that the series had peaked. Then "First Class" landed, and it changed things up. It rebooted the franchise in a way, by introducing a new cast of old characters, and telling the origins of Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier.

PRISONERS (2013)

RATED- R

RUN TIME- 153 Mins

WRITER(S)- Aaron Guzikowski

STARRING- Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Viola Davis

DIRECTOR- Denis Villeneuve

Synopsis taken from IMDb

When Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?

First, let me start this by saying that this is definitely one that you need to watch twice to get the full effect. Due to how well you're mislead the whole film, you miss a lot of details and clues that are actually important, and end up coming into play. Once you've seen it a first time, and know how it ends, going into it a second time allows you to see the things you might have missed. That is the case with me, anyway.

It's been a long while since I've seen a really good revenge thriller outside of the 2010 Korean masterpiece, "I Saw The Devil". So, having my interest piqued with the television commercials, I decided that I'd give this one a chance. I didn't get around to seeing it in theaters, and only just saw it for the first time a month ago. But after viewing it and seeing what a powerhouse of a movie it is, I knew it was going to go on the slab for reviewing.

The story to this is a lot more psychological and deep than other recent kidnapping movies such as "Megan is Missing" (which I thought was completely tasteless). Anyway, "Prisoners" takes a look at things from the parents point of view, instead of the person(s) kidnapped. And in order to pull off such a feat, you have to have a good convincing cast, which this movie provides perfectly.

What would you do if your child was kidnapped? Would you do the right thing and wait around for the authorities to handle it, or would you take matters into your own hands? How would your marriage suffer from having a child stolen from you? Or, how would it effect your everyday life, including work and sleep? Well, all of these questions are touched up on and shown to us in a very believable manor. Which is why the film hits so hard, because it has real character reacting to a terrifying situation.

And the thing that I think I liked most about this picture, is that it isn't predictable. Most films like this you can see through and pick apart within 30 minutes, but such was not the case for me with this one. Everyone is a suspect, and because you have certain people you're weary of as a viewer, it kept me on edge. I didn't trust a single person in this one. And I was blindsided by the twist at the end.

The cast is on point in all aspects. I personally thought that Jake Gyllenhaal was awesome in this, and I don't really like a lot of stuff that he's in. But the crown on this film is Hugh Jackman's acting. That guy delivers. Jackman plays the guy that does what anyone'd want to do in his situation. Most of us would never have the guts to do what he does, but that doesn't mean we wouldn't want to.

So, even though he takes things a bit far, there's a lot of people out there who'd go even further, which makes his character easily likable and easy to relate to. As violent as he is, he's justified as far as I'm concerned. You steal someones child and you deserve all the hell in the world to come down on your head in my book. As a matter of fact, the movie actually received an NC-17 rating due to the torture, gore, and violence. So it was edited to tone down the graphic nature of it all.

For such a heavy topic, director Denis Villeneuve does a great job at exposing the realness and rawness of the situation. Very good movie. The ending left me high and dry, wanting more answers, but I really believe that it was the best way to end a near perfect picture.

So just for the sake of keeping track, you've got a good, strong story, great acting, good plot twists, lots of suspense, and a solid ending. As a matter of fact, I'll swear to the Lord that midway through the movie, I was so anxious to find out who the protagonist was that I almost pulled my phone out to Google spoilers (laugh).

If you haven't checked this out yet, do yourself a favor and give it a viewing. It's hard and has some bite to it, but it's a rewarding experience, and a very serious movie.

3.5 out of 5 stars

THE WOLVERINE (2013)

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 126 Mins
WRITER(S)- Mark Bomback and Scott Frank
STARRING- Hugh Jackman, Will Yun Lee, and Tao Okamoto
DIRECTOR- James Mangold



Synopsis taken from IMDb
When Wolverine is summoned to Japan by an old acquaintance, he is embroiled in a conflict that forces him to confront his own demons.




I figured that since I've never reviewed an X-Men film before that I should start this review off with a quick summary of my feelings towards the mutant movies. First of all, the character Wolverine is my second favorite comic book character, right after Batman. So, having grown up a fan of comics, it's always a pleasure to see Wolverine on screen. Especially when you have Hugh Jackman knocking the role out of the ballpark every time. However, I've said this to friends before, and I'll say it now: Wolverine is very much like Hannibal Lecter, but not in the way you're assuming.

They're alike because when they're mixed in with a good cast supported by a good story, they shine and are everyone's favorite. They're the character you come out of the movies talking about. However, take the mystery away from the characters by giving them their own films, and it's a different story. It's very much the case of less being more! Without any mystery, very little is left to be desired about the characters. I understand the need to give them their own backstory, because they're such iconic characters but, I'd rather see no back story than a boring and uneventful one.

Much is the case with such films as 2001's "Hannibal", 2007's "Hannibal Rising", and 2009's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". Now what do all of these films have in common? They suck! Just ask the popular consensus, not that what's popular ever meant a damn to me.

My point is, having Wolverine in a second solo film only sent off my spidey senses, and I totally skipped it in theaters. After the prior films disappointment, I wasn't holding my breath. Hell yes I was excited that the clawed savage was back on the silver screen, and hell no was I happy about it being another solo film. He by himself isn't enough to carry a movie, such was proved by the previous movie. Wolverine is at his best when he's a part of something bigger, like the X-Men.

All of that being said, this flick didn't turn out to be so bad, but it doesn't disprove anything that I've said, and I still stand by that. I'm just not overall impressed. Not to mention that towards the end it became completely predictable! Call me a Batman fanboy, but The Dark Knight Trilogy really ruined things for me. Watching this is like watching a Saturday morning cartoon. No comic book-based movies are the same to me anymore. I see the children's appeal in them, and at 26-years-old, I'm not a child. So the attention and action figures this film got is wasted on me, personally.

Unlike "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", this one actually brought something worthy to the table, and attempted to be creative and not ruin the character. I like the concept of the film, the fact that Logan is tired of living his life as an indestructible mutant, and lives like a hermit. He takes on the hobo look for a short bit, but that is all changed when an old friend of his from Japan wants to offer him the chance to rid himself of his healing ability. The same ability that Logan sees himself as cursed for having. Once he declines the offer, things go from bad to worse...

There's some non-stop action towards the end of the feature. Once Wolverine faces off against Silver Samurai is when I started to lose my interest. Although the fight scenes are pretty to the eye, they really did nothing for me. I think we've seen better fight scenes with Logan in previous films. Nothing particularly stands out to me about this flick. It's nothing memorable.

We've seen better, and we've seen worse. The thing that really killed it for me was the plot twist at the end. Completely uneventful. It just proved how these solo films are mere shells of the "X-Men" films.

I definitely don't hate this movie, and it's better than I expected. But, it's nothing more than cheap thrills to me. When going through the "X-Men" series I'm likely to skip over both Wolverine films. It's something I'd catch on the FX channel when there's nothing else on TV.

On the other hand, I cannot wait until Days of Future Past hits theaters May 23rd. If it's as good as it looks, this could be the best one yet. As it stands now, I think that First Class and X2 are the best in the series. So although "The Wolverine" wasn't very enjoyable for me, I remain positive towards the future of the series.

2.5 out of 5 stars