Movie of the Day: "Adventureland" (2009)

Well, since we did prom a couple weeks back it's now time for graduation, which will be the theme of our Movie of the Day series for the rest of the week. We start off with this sweetly satisfying and underrated movie from 2009, a film that was more than a little surprising to me because, fair or not, I can't walk into anything starring Kristen Stewart with any degree of optimism. But I'm willing to admit that she's actually pretty good in this comedy set in 1987 about a recent college grad James (Jesse Eisenberg), who moves back home to Pennsylvania and has to work at the local amusement park for the summer. It's there that he meets Em (Stewart), a too cool for school fellow employee (an attitude that actually suits her screen personality for once) and spends his time hanging out with pals while pondering what to do with his life now. This is a movie that kind of wants to be like an 80's Dazed and Confused (and it isn't on that level), but Jesse Eisenberg is completely charming as the goofy and aimless but decent James, and he and Stewart share a sweet and actually moving coming of age romance. This was a nice little gem that more people should discover.

Trailer:

TRAILER #2: "Get On Up"

Another trailer for the James Brown movie, Get On Up, still coming out in August. I hope this will be good, but I don't know- it just looks like a very old school, traditional, straight down the middle biopic to me. I could almost see it airing on HBO or something. But maybe Boseman will bring something more to it in the performance scenes.

Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "Red River" (1948)

A great western from the 40's is out today on blu-ray, and it was one that cast John Wayne in one of those darker roles that he was always so good in (see him in The Searchers for a look at his most famous twisted character). Always great as the traditional western hero, but even better as a shady antihero with ulterior motives, here he played a damaged rancher leading a cattle drive from Texas to Missouri, who grows ever more at odds with the younger cowboy he took under his wing (Montgomery Clift), when he slowly reveals how disturbed he really is. The movie has an old Hollywood copout of an ending, clearly not the natural climax the story was headed towards, but overall it's a great film from the genre worth seeking out.

Trailer (sorry about the subtitles on this one):

Movie of the Day: "The Dirty Dozen" (1967)

In honor of Memorial Day, I direct you towards the May movies, which have celebrated it all month long, but here's an extra recommendation that I didn't get a chance to note for either "In Commemoration" month. The Dirty Dozen is an awesome action film that still has the power to thrill and excite anyone who watches it. Starring Lee Marvin as a major who's assigned a top secret mission ahead of the D-Day invasion- to gather a group of the army's felons and convicts to raid a meeting where some of the top Nazi officers will be gathered, and take out as many as possible. The ragtag group consists of rebels like Telly Savalas, John Cassevetes and Charles Bronson, who are all willing to go along with the suicide mission- they may be criminals, but they're still patriots, damnit! A lot of this inspired Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds years later, and it's still an exciting precedent for the many other classic war films that followed it.

Original Trailer:

REVIEW: "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014) Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy. Dir. Bryan Singer

Bryan Singer returns to helm the latest X-Men movie and it's pretty much a winner, following in the vein of his original two entries in the series (which were my favorites) and uniting the cast of the previous films with that of 2011's reboot, X-Men:First Class, for the most complicated, convoluted X-Men tale yet. Luckily, the clever script intertwines past and present timelines in as straightforward a way as possible, and with the ever present Wolverine as our guide between worlds it turns out to be a fun, twisty and high minded injection of energy into the 14-year old franchise.

It could be argued that 2000's X-Men was the movie that kicked off the era of the perpetual superhero film that we now live in, and in this current world, with each new entry in the genre comes dwindling hope in finding something fresh in any of these comic book stories. The best of this year's crop included Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which held up a mirror to corrupted government institutions that clearly paralleled our own, and now X-Men: Days of Future Past finds some new and somewhat clever material in the time-travel genre, always a risky, loophole filled area of science fiction that threatens to boggle the mind of the viewer, as well as the time traveler in question. In this case, that's Wolverine, our steadfast and reliable central X-Man, as always played by Hugh Jackman, who somehow gets buffer and better looking with every new film. In an apocalyptic future we join up with what's left of the original crew, including Wolvie, Storm, Iceman, and of course, Professor X and Magneto, played once again by aging stalwarts Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. In this world, massive machines called the Sentinels have taken over and are targeting mutants for extinction, thereby forcing the old gang into hiding where they have to battle it out with the robots every day, prolonging the inevitable until they can figure out a solution.

Now they think they have, as DOFP is inspired by one of the X-Men comic's most famous story lines, in which mutant Kitty Pryde goes back in time to try and erase the existence of the Sentinels. Kitty Pryde is here played by Ellen Page, reprising her role from 2006's The Last Stand, although her screentime is limited, since the time traveling role in the film is given to Wolverine, and she's simply the tool through which they send his mind back to his younger self- in 1973 to be exact. Once there he must meet up with the younger mutants and get them back together to stop Mystique, who is the vessel through which the path of destruction is set. Most of the action takes place in the past, where we get to see Jackman team up with the young Charles and Erik, who are still facing the problems of their split in First Class, which this movie essentially functions as a sequel to. The standout this time is James McAvoy as the emotionally damaged young Charles, who's suffering the loss of his legs and treating it with a drug that will bring back his ability to walk while wiping out the use of his powers. McAvoy brings a charisma and energy to the role that gets a bigger chance to shine here than it did in the last film, since the screenplay gets rid of virtually all the extraneous characters in that movie, keeping just Charles, Erik, Mystique and Beast as the important mutants in play.

Fassbender is terrific again as young Magneto, and one of the highlights of this film, as it was before, is the interaction between Charles and Erik, who share a chemistry and rapport that allows us to believe they will eventually become the older and wiser versions of themselves that we're so familiar with. Jennifer Lawrence also returns as Mystique, and thankfully her role has improved since her last appearance, as the film makes her character and her choices the primary vehicle through which all future events depend. Of course, this drastically alters her part in the original X-Men movies, as this Mystique resembles virtually nothing of the villain anyone familiar with the original trilogy remembers. And given her role in creating that hellfire version of the future, what does that say about what happened to the Mystique from the old films? Did she never exist? Of all the loopy time frame questions this story line brings up, that's my biggest one- this movie actually starts off with Patrick Stewart's Xavier re-telling the story of his relationship with Mystique to mutants who all react as if they've never before heard her name, which makes no sense.

But obviously those are the kinds of nitpicks that always occur in "altering the timeline" sci-fi stories, and as such, that's hardly a reason to not see it. It's filled with the kind of action and characters that make for the best summer popcorn movies, while managing at least a little bit to challenge you to keep up with its time-bending structure. One of the best action scenes belongs to new mutant Quicksilver (Evan Peters) who nearly steals the movie in a small role where he moves at lightning quick speed and we see through his eyes what passes in less than a second for those around him (think of it as comparable to the famed Nightcrawler opening of X2). The 70's set sequences radiate a similar kind of period energy that recalls the best parts of First Class, and even gives us a hilarious Richard Nixon impersonation from actor Mark Comacho, (our 37th president was apparently in on some of the mutant-led activity during the Paris Peace Talks of '73). Best of all, the new timeline virtually wipes the slate clean on the events of the first three X-Men movies, which is tolerable if it means we can all pretend that X3: The Last Stand never took place (I know I'd certainly like to), and sets up the possibility of sequels set with either the old cast or the newbies (although I suspect aside from Hugh Jackman, any new X-Men films are likely to want the younger, fresher faces involved).

Days of Future Past gives you everything you might want in a summer action film, while asking just enough of you in return. In some movies that can be lazy, but done well, as it is here, it's a fun and rather ingenious trip back in time, and certainly the most ambitious X-Men film yet made. And hey, any artistic ambition in a summer blockbuster? I'll take it.

* * *

BOX OFFICE 5/23-5/25: 'X-Men' Sails to the Top Over Memorial Day Weekend

X-Men: Days of Future Past opened to $90 million from Fri-Sun, and seems poised to bring in about $107 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend. That's just slightly less than X-Men: The Last Stand, back in 2006 over the same holiday, which could be considered a bit disappointing for 20th Century Fox, given all the hype directed at this one. But the X-Men movies look to have a definite ceiling no matter who's in them, at least in the United States. Worldwide it's a completely different story, as DOFP has already made $171 million overseas for a $261 million worldwide total. Given that no X-Men movie has ever grossed even half a billion worldwide before, that's pretty astonishing, and it also means that any superhero movie these days is pretty much guaranteed a gigantic overseas total, no matter what it is. DOFP was incredibly well-reviewed (91% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and got an "A" Cinemascore, so it may hold better than the typical X-Men movie domestically, but we'll see.

The other new release this week bombed hard, as the Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore comedy Blended fell flat with just $14 million. It got the usual terrible reviews for an Adam Sandler movie, but his comedies are normally bulletproof in that area and he can still bring in $30-40 million openings with stuff like Grown-Ups 2. Not so with this one, despite the reunion with his best co-star, the only person he's ever had any chemistry with onscreen. Could the days of Adam Sandler's reign finally be over? One can only hope. Last week's blockbuster Godzilla fell a surprisingly steep 66% for $31 million this weekend, meaning the word of mouth on this movie was pretty harsh, but it's still likely to make at least $200 million in the end. The rest of the top five was filled out by Neighbors ($117 million total) and Amazing Spider-Man 2, which is another film that may have fell short of predictions in the U.S. but is a monster hit overseas, speaking to the troubling irrelevance of quality in foreign markets when it comes to action and franchise movies. That's an unfortunate trend.

Top 5:

X-Men: Days of Future Past- $90.7 million
Godzilla- $$31.4 million
Blended- $14.2 milliion
Neighbors- $13.9 million
The Amazing Spider-Man 2- $7.8 million

In limited release, Chef expanded to more theaters this weekend, earning $2.2 million for a total of $4.3 million, while Heaven is For Real has now grossed an amazing $86 million total. Next week it's Angelina Jolie's Maleficent and Seth MacFarlane's One Million Ways to Die in the West. See you then!

'Winter Sleep' Wins the Palme d'Or

The Cannes Film Festival jury handed out its prizes today, ahead of the fest's official closing tomorrow. Surprisingly, the coveted Palme D'Or went to the three and a half hour Turkish film Winter Sleep, directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, which received respectfully positive reaction at its premiere, but hardly ecstatic. The jury tastes though are often unpredictable at these festivals. Here's how the rest of the awards shook out:

Palme d'Or: Winter Sleep
Best Director: Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Best Actor: Timothy Spall, Mr. Turner
Best Actress: Julianne Moore, Maps to the Stars
Grand Prix: The Wonders
Jury Prize: Mommy, Goodbye to Language
Best Screenplay: Leviathan

The Cannes honors normally don't mean much for Oscars later on in the year, although I'm sure that Bennett Miller and Timothy Spall in particular will continue to be talked about in the coming months.

Cannes Roundup #2: Homesman, HTTYD2, Eleanor Rigby

The final roundup for the Cannes Film Festival takes a look at several more of the films that caught my interest over the past week and a half, although the truth is that most of the movies this year appeared to be disappointing, leaving the later, upcoming fall festivals, like Venice, Telluride and Toronto to debut the more anticipated films this year.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2- Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett. Dir. Dean DuBlois

Happily, HTTYD2 debuted to highly positive reviews at Cannes, indicating that the sequel is well on its way to becoming well received here in the U.S. when it opens on June 13th. Probably an early frontrunner for Best Animated Feature, seeing how the first one was nominated and likely would have won had it not been for Toy Story 3 that same year.

Oscar winner Cate Blanchett on the red carpet

"Going beyond the pat eco-conscious message that every kids' film has to have, 'HTTYD2' touches on how complex the emotional bond between a person and an animal can be." (Hollywood Reporter)

"This DreamWorks Animation sequel advances the story without sacrificing the integrity that defined its most atypical toon." (Variety)

"When the film flies, it soars." (Daily Telegraph)

THE HOMESMAN- Tommy Lee Jones, Hilary Swank. Dir. Tommy Lee Jones

Tommy Lee Jones's feminist western and second directorial feature received some of the mixed reviews that characterized so many films out of Cannes this year. The wildly mixed-negative reaction to it probably means it's a non-starter in terms of awards consideration and its uneven and at times surreal tone makes it sound like one of the odder entries of the festival.

"It doesn't help that Swank never finds a way into this highly unappealing character, or that Jones (Mostly phoning in the pitiable surliness) avoids delving very deeply into the story's proto-feminist undercurrents." (Time Out New York)

"Unlike other actor-directors, Jones never seems to indulge excess on the part of his cast. Though the characters are strong, the performances are understated." (Variety)

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ELEANOR RIGBY- Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy. Dir. Ned Benson

First time writer-director Ned Benson's relationship drama has been cut into three versions of the same film. Two versions of this debuted back at Toronto to warm reviews, and this new one received a measured positive response as well, more for the performances than the film itself. It's the melodramatic story of a marriage told from two different perspectives- Her and Him were the titles of the two separate films, one from Chastain's point of view and the other from McAvoy's. This combined cut is called Them and will be the one released on September 26th in the U.S. Harvey Weinstein has this movie on his fall slate and will likely push for awards attention for Jessica Chastain, who's said to have given another great lead performance (cementing her burgeoning reputation as this generation's potential Meryl Streep).

Jessica Chastain premieres her new movie

"In all its versions 'The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby' is a film of marked ambition that turns out to know a fair bit about love and loss and the various ways in which we do and don't grow up to become our parents." (Variety)

"The film really belongs to McAvoy and Chastain, who do close to career-best work here...they're never better than when they're sharing the screen." (The Playlist)

TWO DAYS ONE NIGHT- Marion Cotillard. Dir. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

The new film by the Dardennes brothers, famed French filmmakers in their home country of Belgium, premiered to a solid, highly enthusiastic reaction from the festival audience, and boasts a killer central performance from Marion Cotillard (who can't seem to land a leading role in Hollywood, sadly). It's a socioeconomic drama about a woman who has to go door to door to beg her co-workers to vote for her to keep her job over getting a pay raise if she's fired by their company. This one definitely sounds like a standout to me, so I'll be keeping and eye out for it.

"Specialists in unvarnished intimacy, the Dardenne brothers add another clear-eyed contemplation of stark social reality to their impressive output." (Hollywood Reporter)

"A powerful, finely scripted issue movie, made all the more incisive by Marion Cotillard's raw performance as a woman fighting to save her job while suffering depression." (Screen International)

Trailer:

TRAILER: "Life, Itself"

Aww. It makes me sad just seeing the trailer for this. The Roger Ebert documentary directed by Steve James (Hoop Dreams) is coming out July 4th, and was praised to the skies when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival a while back. I can't wait to see it and yet I also know it's going to have me bawling by the end. Anyone who loves movies and wants to write about movies needs no explanation as to what a towering influence Roger Ebert was, up until the day he died. I'm just glad you can still hear his voice in the thousands of reviews and essays he left behind.

FEATURETTE: "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"

In what's sure to be a much better film with the word "dawn" in the title, here's a mini-featurette showing all the motion capture that goes into creating the apes for the new Planet of the Apes movies. There's still debate being raged over whether the more and more frequently used motion capture technology should be considered acting or not. Many actors certainly don't think so, but they're probably biased and worried over what this could signal about the necessity of their jobs in the future. All I know is that Andy Serkis personally deserves some kind of recognition for all the characters he's created in the last ten years- Gollum, King Kong and Caesar didn't come from nothing.

Batman/Superman Title Revealed...

So here it is guys. Took 'em long enough, but the official title for the heavily hyped Batman/Superman movie (now complete with logo) is...Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Boy that's a mouthful isn't it? And what's with the "v" instead of "vs."? Is Batman taking Superman to court? Hopefully that profoundly stupid title will be perfectly fitting to what's bound to be one hot mess of a movie- that is if it's anything like Zack Snyder's other horrible movies, and given that he's, you know, directing, I'm assuming it will be.

TRAILER: "Magic in the Moonlight"

Woody Allen's latest is coming out July 25th and it looks to be another period fantasy comedy in the vein of Midnight in Paris (even the title looks to be trying to ride the coattails of that sleeper hit). With his last film, Blue Jasmine, being well received and leading to Cate Blanchett's Oscar win, I can't help but be skeptical of this one, simply because it's been forever since the hit and miss Allen had two decent movies in a row- but this doesn't look too bad actually. Emma Stone has recently signed on to star in the director's next movie as well, which means he liked her enough to want her to stick around. Maybe she has the comedy chops that remind him of a young Diane Keaton or Mia Farrow.