Movie Review: Dark Phoenix

The first X-Men movie appeared way back in 2000. While it is far from the first comic book adaptation to hit the big screen, it seems to be the one that would kickstart the superhero saturated market we have today. Now, here we are, 19 years and 10 movies (12 if you count the Deadpool films, which I guess we probably should) in and we have reached the end of an era. Hugh Jackman has donned the prosthetic claws and coiffed his hair to play Wolverine for the last time and Disney has completed its purchase of Fox, thus making it possible to reunite the mutants with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (thus far dominated by Avengers related characters). The big question is, do you go out with a bang and do you fizzle like a dud sparkler? Sadly, in my estimation, it is the later.

Movie Review: Atomic Blonde

As soon as I saw the first trailer for Atomic Blonde, I knew I had to see it. Stylized action starring Charlize Theron? It did not take all that much to sell me on it. The question was always whether or not the film would live up to the trailer. That always is the question when I see a good trailer (of which there are precious few that genuinely get me excited). The buzz I heard around it was very much in the positive vein, so I had very little in the way of apprehension as I approached the screening. I had more of a giddiness inside as I sat down in that theater and waited for the feature to begin.

Movie Review: Split

I guess I should start out by saying I like M. Night Shyamalan films. I am sure that is going to turn away a certain percentage of you as it seems the appearance of his seems to be the punchline to an unspoken joke to many. No, I do not like all of his films, but when he is on his game, he can make a very good film. His last film, The Visit, seemed to indicate a return to form of sorts, so with the release of Split there was every reason to hope the trend would continue. I am very happy to report that the upward trend is there. Split is very good film. Perfect? No, and at times frustrating, but it is always interesting and it has a fascinating conclusion that is not a twist, but does alter the perception of what came before it.

Movie Review: Victor Frankenstein (2015)

Have you ever seen a trailer and been absolutely convinced it was going to be a terrible movie? Sure you have, probably happens all the time. Now, have you ever seen a trailer for a movie you were sure was going to be terrible but still wanted to see it? I bet that happens a lot too. Finally, have you ever gone to one of those movies and found that you actually like it? It doesn’t have to be great, just that it defied those expectations you started with and you honestly enjoy it. Well, that happened with Victor Frankenstein. I was convinced it was going to be a jokey mess and left believing it was a genuinely good movie.

Movie Review: X-Men: Days of Future Past

It is rare, at least in my experience, to see a franchise really begin to catch its stride this far in to its run. It is especially rare when you consider that said franchise did not start out all that bad, in my estimation. In fact, I thought they did a really good job with the first couple of films. 2000's X-Men and 2003's X2 were both pretty strong adaptations. Definitely not exactly like the books, but they did a good job of keeping true to the source while adjusting to the movie format. Then there was a steep stumble with X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.