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James Mangold’s Logan
Logan, the second Wolverine film directed by James Mangold and featuring the final performance of both Hugh Jackman as Logan and Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier, is a great film, without caveat or qualification, a grim, near-future Western that’s firmly grounded despite the metal claws and psychic mindquakes. What the film also is is a very definite finish; I don’t see where else the current form of the X-Men film series can go now; Logan isn’t simply a great film, but a series-ending one as well. →
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Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Apocalypse
Throughout my whole adult life, there have always been X-Men films, so when the 20th Century Fox fanfare segues into the X-Men fanfare as it does every time, I can't deny I get a little thrill from it. There's something of the elder statesman about the X-Men franchise, now in its sixteenth year without any serious rebooting or recasting; in the same time frame, we've seen three Peter Parkers, two Clark Kents, two Bruce Waynes and two sets of the Fantastic Four family. Even the Great Marvel Cinematic Universe has only been going for eight years. →
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My 2014 film highlights
My annual film highlights post, in which I highlight 20 films from all that I saw during 2014. This time I've selected from 232, and as usual the only limitation is that I saw the film last year; no restrictions on release date. The films listed aren't necessarily what I'd call the best, but I think they're all noteworthy for various reasons. I think this might be more of a downbeat list than previous years. Such was 2014. →
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Review of James Mangold’s The Wolverine
The tendency for film adaptations of superhero comics has been to provide spectacle and city-smashing action. The stakes are always high in these films; the whole of humanity or mutantkind itself is usually in danger of imminent destruction or oppression. The Wolverine, which sees the character mooching around Japan charged with protecting just a single woman, is pretty refreshing for its small-scale ambitions. →
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The Prestige
Along with Aronofsky, Raimi and Singer, Christopher Nolan is one of the very few directors who I can really rely upon. A film with one of those names attached is, to me, a guarantee that I'll be enjoying myself. →
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X-Men: The Last Stand
When it was announced that Bryan Singer had abandoned X-Men: The Last Stand in favour of Superman Returns, I was a bit uneasy. When it was then announced that Brett Ratner, who Singer had replaced, was to direct the X-Men film, I was uneasier still. When it was announced that Halle Berry was only returning if she received a bigger part, I worried some more. Finally, when it was announced that Vinnie Jones was going to star, I lost all hope. →