Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-fi

Year: 2014

Country: USA, UK, Canada

Rating:

Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry

Director: Bryan Singer

My Review: Directed by Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil, X-Men, X-Men 2, Valkyrie). Starring Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, and others. This is the third movie in the franchise. This movie is a time traveling romp through the past. Wolverine (from the present/future) teams up with the X-Men of the past in order to prevent a future that will result in the destruction of all humans and mutants. In the future, the mutants and humans who help them are all wiped out by powerful robots called Sentinels (Hmmm, wasn't the same name as the bad robots in the Matrix?). A bunch of the X-Men (led by prof X) meet-up, concoct a plan - which involves Mystique, and then they send Wolverine into the future. Because he's the only one who can withstand the damages? He has to convince a bunch of pre-X-Men, who don't really want to go along with his plan - that their survival depends on following his whack-a-doodle plan from the future. What I didn't like was the large amount of exposition. Basically, at the start of the film, 'the plan' is laid out before us in such a way that there are very few surprises from that point forward. Then there are elements in this film that evoke other films (feels a lot like Back to the Future, Terminator 2, the Matrix), sometimes that's good, but mostly it's a lack of originality. Where's the villain? All the 'bad-guys' have been recruited to act as good guys, so there's very little to 'fight' against. There was a lot of good acting and dialog, but the story - aside from being quite complicated (but already explained to us) is quite simple. The relationship between the past Professor X and Mystique is quite interesting. Days of future past was quite flashy. It was a good movie, a block-buster extravaganza, but really not as good as some would give it credit for. The plot was entirely non-contiguous an incongruent with previous X-Men movies. CGI, digital effects, and music doesn't make the movie good. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Summary: In the future, the mutants and the humans who help them are slaughtered by powerful robots named Sentinels. Professor Xavier, Wolverine, Magneto, Storm, Kitty Pryde, and her friends meet at a monastery in China and Xavier explains that the invincible Sentinels were created using the DNA of Mystique that was captured in 1973 when she tried to assassinate their creator Dr. Bolivar Trask. Xavier tells that their only chance is return to 1973 using Pryde's ability to join Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr to convince Mystique to give up her intention. However, only Wolverine can withstand the damages of the time travel. Will he succeed in stopping Mystique and the Sentinel Program, and save the mutants and their human friends from annihilation?

Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure, Drama, Action

Year: 1968

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore

Director: Franklin J. Schaffner

My Review: The original, not that ridiculous 're-imagination'. This is a classic movie. Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner (Patton, Papillon, The Boys from Brazil), based on a novel (w/same name) by Pierre Boulle, and starring Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowall, this movie spawned four sequels, novelizations, cartoons, a TV series, as well as a series of remakes starting with 'Planet of the Apes' by Tim Burton. Four Earth astronauts are set to return to earth after a long trip through space. Something goes wrong and they're awakened early. With the lone female dead, they crash land on an 'alien' planet and discover Apes in charge of Man. The social commentary is great, the music outstanding, and the story unbeatable. The ending shot of the movie is unforgettable. I give this movie a 5 out of 5.

Summary: Taylor and two other astronauts come out of deep hibernation to find that their ship has crashed. Escaping with little more than clothes they find that they have landed on a planet where men are pre-lingual and uncivilized while apes have learned speech and technology. Taylor is captured and taken to the city of the apes after damaging his throat so that he is silent and cannot communicate with the apes.

Genre: Comedy, Adventure

Year: 2000

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Breckin Meyer, Seann William Scott, Amy Smart, Paulo Costanzo, DJ Qualls

Director: Todd Phillips

My Review: Classic road trip comedy. Written (in part) and directed by Todd Phillips (Old School, The Hangover (I, II, III)). Starring Breckin Meyer, Seann William Scott, Amy Smart, Tom Green and others. The plot - Josh & Tiffany have been together since they were in grade school. They're together now - Sort of; it's one of those long distance college things. Yeah they kind where the boyfriend has a one night stand with some hot new college coed. Unfortunately, the video that was supposed to be his 'video chat' was actually a 'Sex tape'. Wait a second, oh my god! Did I just mail the wrong tape to Tiffany!? I'm dead! Unless - Unless we can get to her dorm before the tape arrives in the mail. Road Trip! Josh recruits some of his best friends to accompany him on his quest. They must get to Austin (From Ithaca, NY) before the tape gets there. With that simple plot, some great casting and a hilarious script we end up with a classic comedy. Some of the lines and situations are extremely hillarious. The narrative style and Tom Green narration in character was fantastic and fresh. So funny I bought a copy and I've seen it multiple times. I give it a 5 out of 5.

Summary: Josh and Tiffany have been together since they were kids. ENTER Beth, a sexy blonde going to college with Josh. One night, Josh and Beth hook up and make a videotape the same day that Josh plans to mail a video to Tiffany of him talking about college life. The wrong tape gets sent, forcing Josh, along with a few pals, to go to Austin, where Tiffany is, and stop her from seeing the tape. Full of laughs, you'll be sure to enjoy Road Trip.

Genre: Adventure, Drama, History

Year: 1962

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard, Richard Harris, Hugh Griffith, Richard Haydn

Director: Lewis Milestone, Carol Reed

My Review: Multiple directors (Lewis Milestone and an uncredited Carol Reed) and a screenplay by far too many hasn't ruined this movie. Based upon at least two novels, the casting of an iron clad crew is the recipe that holds this movie together. Starring Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard, Richard Harris and many others. This retelling of the tale was a lavish adventure in period and locations that set the proper stage for an epic cinematic experience. The story - In case you're not familiar - is that of the H.M.S. Bounty; leaving Portsmouth harbor in 1787, it's on its way to Tahiti in order to secure a cargo of bread-fruit sapplings (food for slaves in the British Empire's colonies). The journey is more for exploration than commerce and the crew soon chaffs at the harsh treatment of their first time Captain. Captain Bligh may be skilled at navigating the seven seas, but commanding the crew of an ocean-going vessel takes more than a steady hand on the compass. The hell onboard stands in stark contrast to the island life in Tahiti, and the return trip provides ample incentive to re-think their Captain's position. 1st Lt Fletcher Christian takes control and prevents a slaughter at sea. The mutineers set the Captain and loyalists afloat in the Pacific with their lives and little provisions. When the loyalists survive, Fletcher Christian's fate is sealed in a long-delayed trial. The color film work, widescreen location shots and huge cast of extras contrasted perfectly with the orchestral scoring and authentic period work. Filming with an actual sailing reconstruction of the original ship made this movie completely authentic in it's recreation. I give this movie a 5 out of 5.

Summary: The Bounty leaves Portsmouth in 1787. Its destination: to sail to Tahiti and load bread-fruit. Captain Bligh will do anything to get there as fast as possible, using any means to keep up a strict discipline. When they arrive at Tahiti, it is like a paradise for the crew, something completely different than the living hell aboard the ship. On the way back to England, officer Fletcher Christian becomes the leader of a mutiny.

Genre: Drama, History, War

Year: 1962

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Eddie Albert, Paul Anka, Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault, Richard Beymer

Director: Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki, Gerd Oswald, Darryl F. Zanuck

My Review: Based on a novel, this movie had four different directors, five writers, and literally scores of big name actors. Too many to list. The story of D. Day, 'The Longest Day'. The story of the Normandy invasion. Told from multiple points of view - German, British, American, Free French military, French partisan, occupied French citizens. It was told through editing matched to a clock countdown. I really liked the camera work in this movie. There were a lot of long, slow, panning shots with wide angle lenses. The camera work, black and white print, and editing were all outstanding. The soundtrack was excellent. The costumes, props, equipment, sets and locations were a sublime example of technical perfection. The details were outstanding. Not as violent as more recent movies (Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers), I feel that this movie more accurately represented the action of D-Day. No I wasn't there. Neither was Steven Spielberg, so don't go off your rocker on the violence aspects of the movie. This was a very well produced and edited movie. The special effects were excellent. No cgi was used, but the effects scenes were entirely believable. A truly spectacular war movie. The only problem with this movie was it's length and scope. While trying to give us everyone's point of view, the movie ran close to three hours long (three minutes short). It certainly tired me out. 4 out of 5. 

Summary: Tells the story of the D-Day invasion of Normandy in WWII. There are dozens of characters, some seen only briefly, who together weave the story of five separate invasion points that made up the operation.

Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction

Year: 1995

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Kevin Costner, Chaim Jeraffi, Rick Aviles, R.D. Call, Zitto Kazann

Director: Kevin Reynolds

My Review: Directed by Kevin Reynolds (The Beast of War, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Count of Monte Cristo), with screenplay by Peter Rader and David Twohy. This movie stars Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper, Jeanne Tripplehorn and others. While Waterworld may rate low on the scales of some critics, it rates up there near the top in my collection. I loved the story, the locations, the sets and the acting. While Kevin Costner may not be the best at Shakespearean prose and stage presence, he has an everyman appeal of honest reactions and earthy believability that many will never achieve. This movie has a refreshing and original story - In the far future, the polar ice-caps have melted (might be within the next ten years if you listen to the ridiculous 'Carbon Polition' pundits) and the human population is reduced to seagoing scavengers banding together to hold out against the roving bands of 'smokers' who hunt ceaselessly for 'go juice'. Dry land is a fairy tale and mankind is evolving into something that will emerge on the far side of this environmental disaster. The creation of alternate societies and desperate survival mesh quite well in a story that I've seen many times. There's a bit borrowed from the Mad Max survivalist theme, but overall this is a really good movie. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Summary: The polar ice caps have melted, and the earth is covered by water. The remaining people travel the seas, in search of survival. Several different societies exist. The Mariner falls from his customary and solitary existence into having to care for a woman and a young girl while being pursued by the evil forces of the Deacon.