Cold War Cliches..."Atomic Blonde"

Atomic Blonde (2017)

Rated R

Starring Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Eddie Marsan, John Goodman, Toby Jones, Roland Moller

Directed by David Leitch

The Story:

Agent Broughton (Theron) is the best in the business, and that business is spying. It's the height of the Cold War, and a list of double agents has gone missing, and she must travel to Berlin to retrieve it before it falls into the wrong hands. Naturally, she shouldn't trust anyone...

How do you make an 80s action thriller spy movie for a 21st century audience?

You turn James Bond into Jane Bond, and set the screen ablaze with something the audience hasn't seen before.

Except the whole list of double agents things was played out long before the 90s even ended, so it seems all so familiar, no matter how much action and great soundtrack they attach to it.

Or maybe I'm jaded because it was as good as the trailer indicated, but didn't rise to be any better than that.

Can I really blame a movie for simply repeating what has come before, 100s of times? It's not their fault the audience has seen them all already, so it's hard to reinvent the genre.

Theron makes a great action star, and I won't lie and say I won't be back again if there's a sequel.

Hopefully, there will simply be a bit more to the story to really stand out and make it a must see affair the next time around.

Final Grade: C+

Creepy Much? "Split"

Split (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula, Betty Buckley

Written and Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

The Story:

3 teenagers are abducted after a birthday party. Dennis (McAvoy) is an unusual predator though, as he has been diagnosed with 23 distinct personalities by Dr. Fletcher (Buckley). Unfortunately, there appears to be a 24th personality about to emerge from Dennis, and it may be the most dangerous one of them all.

It's easy to pick on M. Night Shyamalan's career as he's seemingly been swinging for the fences since the Sixth Sense, but cannot seem to recapture that lightning in a bottle.

Maybe that's the problem?

Quit trying.

Just keep making movies, and you don't need to throw in a "I see dead people" hook, or a 'clever twist' in the final act that makes the movie seem even better than it was.

Going down the list of movies that he's written and directed, I see only one real dud...that I've watched... and that's After Earth.

That was just a bad movie, beginning to end, top to bottom.

The rest of his catalog, the ones I've seen, I've enjoyed to some extent.

I don't think I'll ever add him to my list of favorite writers or directors of film, but his movies are always watchable and fairly entertaining.

Which leads us to his latest, which I'm purposefully not talking that much about because it is a movie that will draw you in, mostly based on McAvoy's performance.

This is his film, and it rests squarely on his shoulders, and he does an admirable job carrying it.

Just like the picture above, McAvoy slips into each character and they are wholly distinct from one another. Most are just behavioral changes or the manner in which they speak, but some even suggest actual physical changes, and it's a role that commands attention whenever he's on screen.

Equally compelling is the flashbacks of Casey (Taylor-Joy) as he tragic past is unearthed during her capture.

Not a perfect movie, but easily Shyamalan's best effort, at least for me, in ages.

Final Grade:  B-

If Only It Were The End... "X-Men: Apocalypse"

X-Men Apocalypse (2016) 

Rated PG-13

Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Oscar Isaac, Rose Byrne, Evan Peters, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Lucas Till, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Ben Hardy, Alexandra Shipp, Olivia Munn,

Directed by Bryan Singer

The Story:

En Sabah Nur/Apocalypse (Isaac) was the first mutant, he stole his powers from others like him and made himself powerful and immortal. Buried for centuries in Egypt, he is awakened in the 20th century and begins to find his new horsemen, including Magneto (Fassbender), Storm (Shipp), Angel (Hardy) and Psylocke (Munn).  It's up to Professor Xavier (McAvoy), Mystique (Lawrence) and Beast (Hoult) to recruit and lead a new team of X-Men, including Jean Grey (Turner), Cyclops (Sheridan) and Nightcrawler (Smit-McPhee) into battle to save the world

Boring.

No wait, this is a superhero movie...

Super-boring!

The one exception: the Quicksilver (Peters) scene. That's amazing stuff, and I could watch that anytime. I wish they would have done that in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but oh well, too late now.

I'm not trying to pick on Fox and say that the X-Men should move back to Disney so that we can have one cohesive universe...

But if they're listening, they should.

:)

But at least, unlike the Fantastic Four, they've been moderately successful with the movies, especially after rebooting with First Class and Days of Future Past.

I'm not sure what went wrong but I found myself consistently indifferent to this movie.

I wanted to like it, but it seemed to be in a constant state of "there's so much going on, yet nothing's really happening!" for nearly 2 1/2 hours!

So much potential, and instead it's like watching a franchise tread water until they can get to the next movie.

I'm afraid I have to say it, but when I look back on how much I enjoyed this to just about any other film in the X-Men experience, I'm unimpressed.

Plus, take into account how much I love this genre, and what the Marvel Cinematic Universe is doing, so much like Batman vs. Superman, I have to grade accordingly...

Final Grade: D+

It's All About Igor..."Victor Frankenstein"

Victor Frankenstein (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy

Directed by Paul McGuigan

The Story:

This is the story of how Victor Frankenstein (McAvoy) met a circus freak (Radcliffe) with a brilliant mind and the two became friends and even contemporaries. Be ready for a twist on the relationship that you thought you knew.

Also, be ready to be rather bored while watching it.

:)

Okay, maybe not bored. It's not that it's bad or anything, it's just rather plodding in how it goes about everything. It's a period drama that hopes to be something more, but really isn't.

By the time they get around to building the creature, the movie is just about over.

However, since this isn't really supposed to be THAT story... it's already been told a number of times.

Instead, the relationship and dynamic between Igor and Frankenstein is the focus of the movie, and their scenes together  is the highlight of the movie.

McAvoy does everything at hyper speed, making his Victor the crazy one in the movie.

Radcliffe brings soul and heart to the role of Igor who winds up being much more than just a lab assistant to Victor's plans.

Of course, when it ventures into Igor's potential love interest, I found myself happy for Igor but otherwise, didn't really care.

My guess is, they were hoping to make this feel like the updated Sherlock Holmes series starring Robert Downey Jr. by breathing life and style into a centuries old franchise.

Nice idea, but it doesn't come off as well this go round.

Final Grade:  C

It's About Time...Travel... "X-Men: Days of Future Past"

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Rated PG-13

Starring Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellan, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence

Directed by Bryan Singer

The Story:

The X-Men are being wiped out by the Sentinel program. To save themselves, Professor Xavier (Stewart) and Magneto (McKellan) join forces with the remaining X-Men, they run a risky gambit of sending Wolverine (Jackman) back in time to find Professor X (McAvoy) and Magneto (Fassbender) to try and stop Mystique (Lawrence) from making a huge mistake that will cause the creation of the Sentinels.

Confused?

Don't be.

It will all make sense before the whole thing is over.

And in the process, they build on the great work from X-Men: First Class and bring the entire X-Men franchise back to relevance and in direct competition with Marvel Studios.

Nothing like a bit of friendly competition.

If Marvel can't get their franchises all back under one roof (boooo), then I'd like to at least see them be successful and well made.

I was never really thrilled with any of the Wolverine or X-Men movies until First Class came along.

Now, with Days of Future Past, Fox resets the entire franchise and is able to go forward (or backward) and do anything they want.

Bravo, well played.


Fox better enjoy this while they can, because it is just about time for them to begin recasting all of the roles once again.

I'm not sure how many more turns in the claws Jackman has, but he's leaving some really big shoes to fill.

Good luck.

Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Enjoyed it, bought it. One of the 10 Best of 2014. Looking forward to the next installment.

Now Playing..."X-Men: Days Of Future Past"

X-Men- Days of Future Past (2014)

Rated PG-13 for language, violence, and Hugh Jackman's bum

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page,

Directed by Bryan Singer

The Story:

In the future, the war between humans and mutants is nearing its end.  What is left of the X-Men make one last stand.  If they can use Kitty Pryde's (Page) talents to send Wolverine (Jackman) back to 1973, he can avert the assassination of Dr. Bolivar Trask (Dinklage) by Mystique (Lawrence).  The government will capture Mystique and use her unique DNA to create the Sentinel program and use those weapons to wipe out mutant-kind.  Wolverine will need to reunite Xavier (McAvoy) and Magneto (Fassbender) to help him stop Mystique, and hopefully change the future.

Well, how about 20th Century Fox.

In one fell swoop, they fixed everything that was wrong with the X-Men/Wolverine franchise with a bit of a soft reset button.

All it took was a bit of time travel, and a willingness by the franchise to embrace the awesomeness of X-Men: First Class and move forward.

Initial reaction?

This is probably the best X-Men movie yet. 

I may have to watch First Class again just to make sure, but it was pretty darn good.

I was never that enamored with either of the first X-Men movies, and I didn't hate the 3rd nearly as much as every other human.

Totally disappointed with the first Wolverine solo movie, mostly for the total butchery of Deadpool.

:: sniff ::

But again,  one fell swoop, and everything can now be different.

The best parts of the movie:


1) Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver - Awesome. Hilarious.  Now that we've seen what the X-Men can do with him, let's see what Joss Whedon can do in The Avengers.

2) Blink - She was awesome, and short-lived (once upon a time) in the comics.  She was awesome in the film.

If you've abandoned the franchise at any point, come on back.  If you've never set foot in the franchise... you might get a little confused, but I think the plot is solid enough not to lose you too much, give it a try.

And yes, sit through the entire credits.  You'll be treated to a scene that does two things:

1) It sets up the next X-Men movie.
2) It answers an age old question about how something was made.

:)

And yeah, I still don't get people that get up and leave at the end of comic book films!

I felt bad for this one lady and her kids.  The husband/dad was growing impatient at having to sit and watch the credits roll.

As the credits just about finished, he told her "there's not anymore credits to put a scene into, let's go".

Jerk.

So they left, and were out of the theater just as the teaser played.

Ah well...

I think I'll have to give the X-Men the ranking of 2nd best comic-book movie of the year so far.

Moving ahead of Spider-Man 2, but trailing Captain America.

Let's see how the Guardians do in August.

Final Grade: A-/B+ range

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I'll be adding it to the X-Library this Christmas.

Don't Judge A Girl By Her Nose..."Penelope"

Fairy tales can come true...

The Story:

Penelope (Christina Ricci) is born with a curse.  Born with the face of a pig, she is cursed to look that way until she is loved by one of her own.  Her parents (Richard Grant and Catherine O'Hara) assume it's the love of a rich suitor.  Of course, all men run screaming from the room once they lay eyes on Penelope's snout.  But that all changes when a young suitor (James McAvoy) comes calling.  Is he in it for love, or the money?

Nothing like scouring the Netflix archives for movies that I've never seen/heard of.  From 2006 comes this little romantic comedy gem from writer Leslie Caveny and director Mark Palansky.  It's their first times in feature roles for either, and they do a great job.

This modern day fairy tale is pretty cute.  Ricci is far from hideous, yet that is a driving part of the film.  Rich suitors come and go, all signing non-disclosure agreements until one guy gets away without signing.

Then the hunt for "pig-girl" begins.

Enter McAvoy who is used as a plot device to capture a picture of the hideous princess for publication.

He charms her, and is taken aback at her appearance, yet does not flee.

Eventually, it all falls apart and Penelope takes off to brave the world alone.

She meets and befriends a local (Reese Witherspoon) and begins to live and enjoy her life.

And then... the curse is magically lifted, but not in any way that was expected.

Will love win out after all?

Cute stuff, and I'm glad I found it in the archives.

Final Grade: Solid B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I'd have no problem watching this one again in the future.