X Men: Days of Future Past- Review

Right then; X Men: Days of Future Past. Marking the return of X1 & 2 director Bryan Singer this latest installment could be considered a return to form for the franchise. It undoes a lot of the harm inflicted on the property by Brett Ratner’s golf ball sized kidney stone of a movie: X3. It does present a problem for the uninitiated, however, as the sheer amount of situations and characters you are expected to know would render it totally impenetrable to a first timer. Not an issue for me though; my geek papers are stamped and up to date. Negatives first, it was too long. But then that is such a common complaint these days it’s almost not worth mentioning. I felt that some characters that the movie was being marketed on were little more than cameos (Ian Mckellan particularly) and aside for Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine being central to the time travel plot he wasn’t given much to do beyond looking cool and veiny. Also, as much as I willed Nicholas Hoult to become more charismatic as Beast he retained a look of awkward awareness that he couldn’t match up to the big boys in the cast.

Other than that, it was a blast! It works well as a time travel movie, sticking closely to its internal logic and not attempting to explain away too much. The scenes in the future had a palpable sense of dread and tension to them; Singer cleverly showing us right at the start of the film what will happen if Wolverine’s mission fails. Fassbender and McAvoy totally own their characters and Jennifer Lawrence cast an indelible blue image on the back of my retinas which left me swooning in giddy eyed rapture like a Georgian milk maid. There is also a scene about half way through which displays such a sense of directorial and visual flair that I predict it will be discussed in media studies classes for decades to come; it really is that impressive. Ultimately though, the best thing that X Men: Days of Future Past does, is forever wipe away the stubborn winnet that was X Men 3: Last Stand from the shiny buttock crease of the franchise. Forgive me for that last metaphor; it is late.

I give X Men: Days of Future Past 7.75 Pauls out of Critoph.

A Touch of Sin- Review

The Chinese film, ‘A Touch of Sin’ from director Jia Zhangke, has been universally lauded by critics around the globe since its successful showing at Cannes last year. I liked it. It takes the form of four barely connected stories of every day folk in small town China; from a disgruntled fellow who feels his village has been screwed over by big business, to a young man drifting from job to job in search of something tangible. One thing that connects them in a cinematic sense is the occasional eruption of extremely graphic violence. This it not a movie ABOUT violence though, it merely serves as punctuation to divide the uneven prose of the character’s lives.

Not all of the stories were as strong as others and after a while it became easy to spot some quite unsubtle motifs coming to the fore. For example, there is an on going visual theme contrasting the protagonists with caged animals that started off as an effective layered metaphor but by the fifteenth lingering shot of cattle being carted off to the abattoir it rather outstayed its welcome. I get it! Our heroes are bound to an inevitable path which is out of their control! Such quibbles can be overlooked though, as at its high point it reaches a level of poetical realism which is often absent from Chinese cinema. My favourite story, concerns a routine locked woman desperately hoping her lover will leave his wife, and connected on a highly emotional level. The dull ache of love was captured in every mundane detail and search for patterns to justify her longing. I would certainly recommend this film, it may raise further in my estimation as I mull it over but for now…

I give A Touch of Sin seven Pauls out of Critoph.

Calvary- Film Review

So… Calvary. Make no mistake, this is a quite exquisite film. Starting as a dark comedy and evolving into something else entirely, John Michael McDonagh’s second feature is the best Irish film I’ve seen. Without a hint of sermonising it examines the role of religion and faith in a modern Ireland grown weary with the mistakes of the past. Brendan Gleeson is the anchor of a great ensemble cast and perfectly embodies a good man come too late into the priesthood to alter the tide of cynicism lapping at his feet.

Mixed into this is an over-arching mystery that manages to ratchet up the tension to a perfectly fitting conclusion. This truly is a wonderful film, by turns funny, suspenseful and deeply, profoundly moving.

I give Calvary nine Pauls out of Critoph.