MOVIE REVIEW: X-Men: Apocalypse

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Directed By: Bryan Singer

The current state of super hero movies would not be what it is without the X-Men franchise, there is no denying that. Bryan Singers first movie, released all the way back in 2000, was the first big blockbuster that showed us that Hollywood could make a really good superhero movie. Singer went on to improve on that first one with the sequel in 2003 and then would leave the franchise until 2014 when he directed Days of Future Past, arguably one of the best in the series. So his return for Apocalypse was seen as a positive. However, after seeing the film I can't help but wonder if the Bryan Singer way of making a super-hero flick has already become outdated. 

The latest installment in the franchise picks up a decade after the events of Days of Future Past, keeping with the trend of the new generation of movies and pitting this story in the heart of the 1980's. Not only does this give us a whole new opportunity for crazy new character costumes but it also brings with it a new crop of characters. For starters we have the title character, Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), who some believe to be the first ever mutant. He's been asleep for a long time and he has awoken to spread his vengeance on the world.

To do so he enlists the help of some powerful mutants, including Magneto played fantastically by Fassbender once again. After the events of the previous film he has fled into the woods to try and live a quiet life, but with him being Magneto and all the story couldn't let that happen. The way they chose to pull Erik from seclusion and onto the side of Apocalypse is one of the weakest points of the film and something I wish they had done differently. They use a cheap plot device that is meant to pull some big emotional punches but without any build up or character development the scene fails to land its mark.

Once he has his four horseman they set out to take control of the world and destroy all that has stood before them. With the human race in imminent danger once again Professor X (James McAvoy) and his X-Men are the only ones who can do anything about it. With the help of some old friends like Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), and Quicksilver (Evan Peters) as well as a few new, yet familiar faces like Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan) and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) in the students they do what they can to stop Apocalypse from enacting his ancient prophecy. 

After resetting the timeline and erasing everything that came before it at the end of the DOFP Singer and screenwriter Simon Kinberg seemed to have gotten a little over excited with their newly acquired clean slate - Apocalypse is simply trying to do too much. They wasted no time getting Jean Grey and Scott Summers back into the picture as well as bringing in, and mostly under utilized, Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Psylocke (Olivia Munn), Jubilee (Lana Condor), and Angel (Ben Hardy), who they still have no idea what to do with. On top of that all the big players return and they even force in a cameo that I'm sure you have already heard about. They could cut that entire section of the movie from the film and not miss a single beat.

In spite of all these characters they were smart enough to give the most time to the ones that mattered the most. Fassbender and McAvoy nail their parts again as Magneto and Professor X. Evan Peters reprises his role and the speedster Quicksilver and once again steals the entire movie. His big action scene is the highlight of it all and is worth the price of admission on its own. Seriously, let's give this kid his own flick, Peters completely owns the part. 

Newcomers Sophie Turner and Tye Sheridan proved to be smart casting for the parts and although they didn't get as much time to develop their story here as I'd hoped, I really liked what I saw from them and can't wait to see more going forward. Unfortunately Jennifer Lawrence gives her worst performance in the series so far coming across rather wooden in most of her scenes, thankfully she has a much smaller role than the previews would lead you to believe. Oscar Isaac also isn't given much to do in the way of acting that you would hope to get from a guy of his caliber, which was a let down.

After seeing Singer crush the end of the world scenario in DOFP watching what he chose to do here is quite disappointing. Nothing about this story brings us anything new to the superhero movie we haven't seen before, it's another apocalyptic story with a lot of flashy special effects (though there are a handful of really, really bad CG effects). Still, with a few fantastic action set piece and a handful of great performances I still came away from the theater entertained enough to justify the ticket price. 

At its highest moments the movie stands up there with the best of the series, but at its lowest points this thing is on par with The Last Stand and Origins. At moments I was cringing from the bad dialogue and at others I was totally immersed in the action (the Quicksilver scene) or a well acted character moment. So, is the Singer way of making an X-Men flick dead? not quite yet, but it's on its way there. From the way he does his opening credits scene down to his standards for action I think his way of doing these films is becoming repetitive and played out. Sure they are entertaining for a watch but with so many of these types of movies in theaters these days is that still all we need?

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!

MOVIE REVIEW: Sing Street

Sing Street (2016)

Drama, Music

Directed By: John Carney

Sitting alone in the cool dark theater this morning I had expected to see a well crafted coming of age story about a boy and a girl who fall in love. What I was treated to instead was a powerful film about the virtue of family, both blood and not, and what creating art can do for a group of kids who had no idea what they wanted out of life until they met each other. Writer/director John Carney brought to life a story that understands that family, be it loving or abusive, is something no one can avoid and it is in how they handle that family that shapes who they are going be and how they are going to get there. 

The film is set in Dublin, Ireland sometime in the 1980's and centers on Cosmo (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) and his slightly dysfunctional family. His parents fight often due to hard financial times and it is revealed early in the film that Cosmo is transferring schools because of those money issues. Although he rejects the idea at first this is where he would meet the people that would set him on the path to his future. One of those being a young girl named Raphina (Lucy Boynton) who is the driving force behind the creation of Cosmo's new band. With the help of his new friends and his older brothers adoration for music they form a band that is far better than any of them ever expected it to be, but is it enough to find Cosmo the heart of the mysterious girl from across the street?

Though Sing Street operates mostly as a basic coming of age story that sees our main character chasing his first love, it becomes so much more than that by the end of film. Once we've reached the ending and know where the story and these characters have gone it is clear that it was about far more than young love, it's about finding out who you really are and why you have become that. Cosmo isn't just changed by his feelings for this girl but also, and more importantly, by his relationships with his new friends and his brother who never really opened up to him about why his life took the path it did. 

This is where I felt my strongest connection to the film, I grew up in a large family and have a younger brother of my own so I found myself connecting to the older brother Brendan, played phenomenally by Jack Reynor. The growing relationship between the two of them throughout the story felt more real than anything else in the film. John Carney understands what a true sibling relationship looks and feels like and I believe this is one of the most realistic interpretations of that we have seen on the big screen in a long time. 

Music, or in a broader sense, art in general is used throughout the film to represent the relationships between Cosmo and each of the other characters. He is writing and creating the music in order to impress a girl he likes, while everyone he is playing with is simply there to play music with friends. Brendan uses his old record collection as an easy way to connect with his younger brother and pass on what little useful knowledge he has to help Cosmo succeed. Once he has immersed himself in the world of music, Cosmo then uses it to rebel against those who have oppressed him, like the headmaster at his new school. In every relationship formed within the film art is in some way used to represent what exactly that relationship means. 

Instead of just using a stacked soundtrack of classic rock songs to populate his film John Carney went the extra mile and had original songs written and performed throughout the movie to directly express the emotions of the story. Cosmo writes numerous songs to explain his growing relationship with Raphina while also creating songs out of anger towards his crumbling life at home and at school. This allows us to really get to know who these people are without being told the specifics of their past.

While Sing Street may not offer up any new twists or turns to the coming of age movie it takes something we already know and turns it into a story of love, passion, and family that anyone can connect too. With a diverse cast of characters that are well thought out and clearly formed throughout the film there is someone for everyone to connect to. For me, it was the older brother Brendan, for others it will be Rafina or Cosmo or any of the band members, or even the angry parents. We all have some kind of family that is directly attributed to who we are today, and this film understands that on a level we don't see often enough on screen.

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!

MOVIE REVIEW: The Nice Guys

The Nice Guys (2016)

Action, Comedy, Crime

Directed By: Shane Black

As a general rule of movie geekdom, when Shane Black makes a new film you go see that film as soon as possible. When the guy who is responsible for such films as The Monster Squad, Lethal Weapon, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang gets back behind the camera it is kind of a big deal. He took his shot at spectacle with Iron Man 3, a divisive film which I love, and now he's back with his latest film The Nice Guys. A throwback crime comedy that pits itself in the heart of 1970's L.A. to tell the story of two Private Eyes on the trail of a mysterious death of a porn star.

Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) and Holland March (Ryan Gosling) may share the same profession but they handle their business in vastly different ways. Jackson has an affinity for brass knuckles and Holland has a knack for exploiting old ladies for their retirement cash. When the two stumble upon the same case of a strange girl with connections to a famous porn stars death, they reluctantly team up to solve the case and split the payday. What they don't know is that this case goes much higher up than the sleazy 70's porn industry and they are going to have to do a lot more than just find this girl to make it all go away. 

As a film geek I am always sucked in by a story that takes me back to a past period of time in Hollywood, whether it be the golden age or whatever I love to see the streets of L.A. as they once were. The Nice Guys not only aesthetically sets itself in the 70's but by using impressive digital effects actually recreate the old streets and literally transport us back in time. Most notably with a gorgeous shot of the classic Tower Records with an amusing billboard for Jaws 2 plastered above it. 

Luckily for us this film has so much more to offer than pretty shots of a Hollywood we'll never see again. Black has crafted a classic L.A. murder mystery full of cover-up, collusion, and sketchy government activity. With every interview they take or clue they find their investigation slowly pieces together into something wildly different than they thought when taking the job. 

When we first started reading about the film some people had their reservations of the cast, sure Crowe and Gosling are A-list stars but how would they fair in a Shane Black action comedy? Put those worries to rest because they are a perfect fit and the two strike amazing on screen chemistry that makes them a hell of a lot of fun to watch. Even with this being an intelligent mystery watching them interact on screen is more interesting and enthralling than any whodunit plot. 

A large part of their chemistry is built through great comedy, if there was one thing that surprised me this this flick it's how laugh out loud funny it was from start to finish. Shane Black & Anthony Bagarozzi wrote a stellar script that achieves what even most straight up comedies don't. It kept me laughing all the way until then end, it never loses that bonkers sense of humor Black seems to do so well.

With all the spectacle at the movies these days it's easy to forget that sometimes all we want out of  a flick is a good story and great characters to fall in love with. I had an absolute blast being with these guys for two hours and could have easily sat through another sixty minutes. Gosling and Crowe are at their best here and with the chemistry they strike I can only hope well see the two together again in anything. The Nice Guys is the perfect counter-programming to all the massive blockbusters we are being flooded with this summer so get to the theater for some old school entertainment. 

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!