X-Men Apocalypse - 7/10

I read a review of this film that said it started and finished with great action set pieces, but stalled in the middle with moving characters around the board.  I'd say this is a pretty accurate description of the film.  However, that isn't my problem with the film - it's the problem which a character herself voiced during the film, leaving a screening of Return of the Jedi: "the third film is always the worst."  Apocalypse is definitely the worst of the three "modern" X-Men films, but that's not to say it's on a par with The Last Stand; far from it.  Compared against First Class (great film, really enjoyed the period setting) and Days of Future Past (excellent film, big in scope and ambition), Apocalypse just feels a little underwhelming.  The 80s period setting doesn't really resonate in the way that the 70s setting of DoFP did, and despite having a "world-ending" villain in the form of Apocalypse (who I think is never actually named as such), the scope feels too small.  DoFP did a great job of building the tension of the two timelines, and the stakes felt tangible.  Here, Apocalypse got his "four horsemen/women" together and tore up a city, but there's no sense of the peril he poses.

Despite this, the film does seem to do a good job of showing some character evolution (no pun intended) amongst the core cast.  Mystique/Raven seems to have found a new purpose, Charles Xavier is getting on with his School, and Eric/Magneto has got himself a family.  While it's a well-worn trope used to propel his story along, the events that hang over his family are handled well and don't feel too cheap.  My only complaint with these core cast development is that many of the new characters don't get any kind of development - Angel, Psylocke, and Storm feel like they've been airdropped into the story, and get very little dialogue.  "New" X-Men like Nightcrawler, Jean Grey, and Scott Summers fare a little better.  It did take me a little while to see Jean Grey as opposed to Sansa Stark...

Overall, not a bad film but not on a par with its predecessors.

London Has Fallen

Watched on Amazon Instant Video. Sure not a blockbuster but not deserving of the low 5.2/10 on IMDB. I'd say it's a good 6.5. Nice fast action on a short-ish movie.

Gave it a 4.5.  Interesting story line but badly put together.. 

Independent's Day

 I think it's a play with "Independence Day 2" which is coming out to cinemas this week. And average IMDB is 1.7... Wow.

old3eyes: Independents' Day (2016)  Amazon Prime

 

Gave it a 4.5.  Interesting story line but badly put together.. 

 

Independent's Day

 

 

 

freitasm:

 

 I think it's a play with "Independence Day 2" which is coming out to cinemas this week. And average IMDB is 1.7... Wow.

 

It's close to Independence Day 1  but defiantly released to cash in on Independence Day 2..

Saw a few movies in the weekend.

Warcraft 5.5/10 The lore is all over the place it takes bits and pieces from Warcraft 1-3 and World of Warcraft. Plus some of the acting was a bit cheesey. Lots of tv actors.

The Conjuring 2 7.5/10 Enjoyed this, typical stuff but went on a little bit longer than it needed to.

Finding Dory 6.5/10 A fun movie but the story feels like it repeats itself throughout, again longer than it needed to be. Why do movies do this...

Just watched Look Who's Back on Netflix. Scary, after Brexit... I give it a 8/10.

Went with a friend and watched The Conjuring 2. It's not scary and a lot of the "horror" was quite predictable. But the acting was pretty good and pacing not too shabby. 6/10.

Finding Dory

Took the fam to the 3D version.  Didn't quite live up to the hype or the 5 star accolades it has been consistently receiving from reviewers.  A fair 2nd attempt to follow the first story but couldn't really find to much to get excited about, and plenty of boring bits.  Couldn't even keep my 8 year old interested the whole way through.  Predictable and sadly ho hum.  5.5/10 

Went and saw Independence Day 2. It was a solid 2/10 and that's only for some glitzy special effects I enjoyed. Movie itself is not great.

But the tickets were free so mustn't grumble... though if I'd had to pay for them I'd be asking for my money back!

radomatic:

 

Went and saw Independence Day 2. It was a solid 2/10 and that's only for some glitzy special effects I enjoyed. Movie itself is not great.

 

But the tickets were free so mustn't grumble... though if I'd had to pay for them I'd be asking for my money back!

 

Saw that yesterday.

What a Bugger's Muddle. The person who edited that film wants shooting. 2/10 on a wet rainy afternoon if your TV is broken, your Blue Ray player broken, your internet connection down and you have read every book in the house...

Geektastic:

 

radomatic:

 

Went and saw Independence Day 2. It was a solid 2/10 and that's only for some glitzy special effects I enjoyed. Movie itself is not great.

 

But the tickets were free so mustn't grumble... though if I'd had to pay for them I'd be asking for my money back!

 

 

 

 

Saw that yesterday.

 

What a Bugger's Muddle. The person who edited that film wants shooting. 2/10 on a wet rainy afternoon if your TV is broken, your Blue Ray player broken, your internet connection down and you have read every book in the house...

 

Has director Roland Emmerich ever made a movie that wasn't just a mindless popcorn flick? Not that I can recall.

Geektastic:

 

radomatic: Went and saw Independence Day 2. It was a solid 2/10 and that's only for some glitzy special effects I enjoyed. Movie itself is not great.

 

But the tickets were free so mustn't grumble... though if I'd had to pay for them I'd be asking for my money back! 

 

Saw that yesterday.

 

What a Bugger's Muddle. The person who edited that film wants shooting. 2/10 on a wet rainy afternoon if your TV is broken, your Blue Ray player broken, your internet connection down and you have read every book in the house... 

I think I'd rather read something I've already read.