GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs

GRADE: A 

Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Michael Rooker, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Glenn Close, Benicio Del Toro, John C. Reilly and the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel
Based on the comic book by Dan Abnet and Andy Lanning

Screenplay by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman

Directed by James Gunn

I tend to enter every MARVEL Studios movie a bit skeptical. They come so frequently that it is hard not to feel that they are beating it into the ground, and each time I wonder if I'm going to be seeing the one that finally falls flat on its face. That being said, the only one of their films I have truly disliked is The Incredible Hulk, and I have not been disappointed by one of their films since Iron Man 2, which had too many characters and was more concerned with setting up The Avengers than telling a cohesive story. But since then, each movie has decidedly delivered as a top notch piece of popular entertainment, if not always a truly great film. I even stuck with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. while others wrote it off, and was very much rewarded for Imy loyalty. Still, when you put a new superhero movie at least once a year, it seems like it's got to wear out its welcome at some point.

But with Guardians of The Galaxy, Marvel seems to have taken its cue from PIXAR, which smartly chose to shake of the formula a bit with The Incredibles, even though the formula was still working at the time. Guardians really isn't a superhero movie, and though certain plot elements were teased in both The Avengers and especially Thor: The Dark World, you really don't have to have seen any of the other previous MARVEL movies to have a  blast with this silly, over the top and thoroughly enjoyable space opera. 

In 1988, following his mother's death, a young  boy named Peter Quill is abducted from Earth by the Ravagers, space-pirates led by Yondu (Michael Rooker), who eventually adopts him. 26 years later, Quill (now played by Chris Pratt of Parks and Recreation) steals a sphere-artifact only to be intercepted by the Kree, servants to the fanatical Ronan The Accuser (Lee Pace), servant to Thanos (the villain teased at the end of The Avengers, voiced here by Josh Brolin.)  Although Quill escapes with the artifact, Yondu discovers he has stolen the Ravager's prize, and issues a bounty for his capture, while Ronan sends the assassin Gamora (Saldana) after the sphere.

When Quill attempts to sell the sphere on the Nova Corps homeworld of Xandar, Gamora ambushes him and steals it. A fight ensues, drawing in two bounty hunters, the genetically-engineered raccoon, Rocket (Cooper) and the humanoid tree, Groot (Diesel.).The Nova Corps arrive and arrest the group, imprisoning them in the Kiln. The powerful inmate, Drax (pro wrestler Dave Bautista), attempts to kill Gamora for his family's murder by Ronan, who has led a slaughter of worlds in pursuit of Kree purity, but Quill convinces Drax that Gamora can bring him to Ronan. Gamora reveals that she has betrayed Ronan, and that he intends to use the sphere's power to destroy entire planets, starting with Xandar. Learning that Gamora has a buyer for the sphere, Rocket, Quill, Groot, and Gamora work together to escape the Kiln.

It goes without saying that this band of misfits become a reluctant team, and eventually, heroes.  This much is hardly a surprise. What is a surprise is just how well the film works, and how much fun it is. This is easily the cheesiest and more ridiculous major space adventure in many years, but it is so comfortable in its own skin that not only does in not matter, its actually a major part of the film's considerable appeal. The visual effects are a mixture of breathtaking and deliberately hokey, but in a way that really works (as I watched the film, more than once I found myself thinking "Ahhh, so this is what The Fifth Element played like to people who actually enjoyed it."). It's definitely the best use MARVEL has made of 3D since The Avengers.

Pratt proves to be a capable, if still highly comedic, leading man, and Saldana reminds us that despite a string of flops, she's no fluke: she's really a terrific actress with incredible star quality. But the real standouts, despite being only voices, are Cooper and Diesel as Rocket and Groot. Cooper, who never ceases to impress, is clearly having a ball stepping so far out of type, and  gives a thoroughly hilarious yet touching performance, and Diesel gets so much emotion of his line reads (despite the fact that they consists only of the words "I am Groot" that we are reminded of his early work in Saving Private Ryan and The Iron Giant, and left to wonder what he could be if he was routinely in a higher quality of film. Bautista is very effective as Drax, and Karen Gillan (Amy Pond on the BBC's Doctor Who) gives  a  memorable  turn in a role that could not be more different from the girl who waited; Michael Rooker gives a peformance that would come across as scenery chewing if it were any other actor, but works very smoothly,  and while Benicio Del Toro, Glenn Close and John C. Reilly only appear in small roles, they add a lot to the film, especially Reilly. Unfortunately, the great Djimon Hounsou (Amistad, Gladiator, Blood Diamond) is wasted in a thankless and superfluous role, and while Lee Pace (Lincoln, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and TV's Pushing Daisies) makes an adequate villain, it's a very one note villain, and one note performance. Most of this should be attributed to a script and director that never try to make him more, but so far Pace's film performances seem to denote a fairly one note actor, and this is just the latest example of the highly theatrical style that has me on the fence as to whether I find him entertaining or incredibly annoying (ultimately a bit of both, I suppose.).

Writer/Director James Gunn is at the top of his game here, which may not sound like much from a guy who's past writing credits include both Scooby Doo films and one of the worst segments of Movie 43, but it's really amazing what a genuine love of your material can do. Gunn seems to have been born to make this film, and he certainly gets the most out of it. And the soundtrack of '70's pop songs, which is a huge part of Peter Quill's character,  is surprisingly wonderful, each song feeling carefully chosen and motivated apart from being extremely catchy (the best being Hooked On A Feeling and Ain't No Mountain High Enough.). You don't have to be a big fan of this kind of music to appreciate its use in the film, because Quill's love it is so infectious, And while the movie's opening sequence, involving the tragic death of Quill's mother to cancer during his childhood, seems far too heavy for such a lightweight film, it ends up being quite effective as we realize that this is really a deeper movie about love, loss, adversity, and the inner strength one has to find to go on.


By far my biggest complaint with the film is that after seeing it twice, I still really don't have much stronger an idea of who or what Thanos is (I was among the large percentage of the audience left scratching their heads at the stinger in The Avengers.). I get that he's powerful and evil, but who IS he? What is he? Why is he?  Hopefully Avengers: Age Of Ultron (a movie that seems in desperate need of "the: somewhere in its title) will finally shed a little light on the character, though it is so packed with characters that I don't hold out too much hope. He means something to devoted comic book readers and the rest of us are supposed to just accept that.

All in all, this is a rollicking good time, and very welcome change of pace. This is a movie you will likely find yourself seeing more than once.

Guardians Of The Galaxy is Rated PG-13 for violence, profanity and vulgarity.

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs

GRADE: A +
Andy Serkiss, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Gary Oldman, Toby Koebell, Judy Greer, Kodi Smit-McPhee
Screenplay by  Mark Bomback and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver
Directed by Matt Reeves

No one expected that much out of 2011's  Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. As the press screening I went to began, everyone was making lame monkey jokes and referencing Tim Burton's wretched remake. I was entranced from the beginning, but I wondered if anyone else was. But at the moment when Andy Serkiss as Caesar said "NOOOOO!" there was an audible gasp that went through the crowd, made up entirely of often cynical members of the press. The studio rep told me after the movie that EVERY critic had said exactly the same thing I did to her. "The others may make fun of me for saying this, but I think it was a great film."

Whether this movie could possibly sustain a sequel was good question. A huge part of the appeal of Rise was the fact that the apes got to be the good guys, and the further we get into the story and the human race is wiped out or subjugated, the harder that would be. In addition, the announcement that director Rupert Wyatt  would not be returning was cause for concern. As it turns out, there was no need.

Dawn picks up a number of years later,  as human civilization has collapsed in the wake of the ALZ-113 virus, or "Simian Flu." A middle aged Caesar now leads and governs a new generation of apes, as well as most of his comrades from the first film, including Maurice the Orangutan, Rocket, and Koba (played this time by Toby Koebbell), the abused chimpanzee rescued from a science lab. Caesar's wife Cornelia has given birth to a son.


The film opens with a montage of news reports showing the collapse of human civilization in the wake of the ALZ-113 virus. A middle aged Caesar now leads and governs a new generation of apes, including some of his comrades from the ape sanctuary. Caesar leads the apes on a hunting party for deer, where his adolescent son is scarred by an attacking grizzly bear. Caesar is summoned to his home in the new ape city in the Muir Woods, where his wife has given birth to a newborn son. After ten years without contact with humans, a small party of survivors from San Francisco come across the apes. After one of their members panics, shooting and wounding a young ape, Caesar leads the apes to the human settlement and forbids them from entering the woods.

The party's leader, Malcolm (Jason Clarke, best known for Zero Dark Thirty), convinces the human leader Dreyfus to give him three days to make peace with the apes to gain access to a hydroelectric generator at a dam in their territory, which could provide power to the city. Dreyfus is distrustful of the apes, and begins to arm the survivors in preparation for war. Meanwhile, Caesar's lieutenant Koba , who had been experimented upon by humans in the past, encourages Caesar to wipe out the humans while they are desperate. Caesar, seeing a chance for peace with the humans, agrees to allow Malcolm access to the dam. As Malcolm, his wife and son work on the generator, they begin to form a bond with the apes, despite several tense situations arising from the mutual distrust of both sides.

The performances are of the highest caliber all around, especially from Serkiss and Koebell. Far lesser performances than these have won Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor Oscars, and if these two are not recognized it will be hard to take the Oscars seriously (as if it isn't already.). Motion capture acting has become an established art form, and while the effects play a big part in the movie, the performances underneath are no less praiseworthy. The relationship between Caesar and Koba is deeper than any other protagonist/antagonist in summer blockbuster since . . . well, frankly, I can't think of a summer blockbuster worthy of comparison. Koba is a little reminiscent of Wes Studi's memorable portrayal of Magua in The Last Of The Mohicans, but there is an added weight given by the close relationship and even sense of kinship between Koba and Caesar. Keobbel's performance is up there with Heath Ledger inThe Dark Knight, but in this case we understand exactly what made our villain into what he is, and while his actions horrify us, out hearts break for him.

Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes is the most impressive achievement in visual effects in a long time, rivaling even Gravity and Life Of Pi, but it is also great drama; a Shakespearean tragedy with apes, if you will. It is a profound work of art that explores the struggle between good and evil, and the nature of humanity (and it's ancestors) in ways that will stay with you for some time. The parallels between the humans and the apes and the treatment of Native Americans and Africans at the hands of the Western world are undeniable but never heavy handed and obvious in a Avatar kind of way, and we get to see that as they evolve, the apes develop both the best and worst tendencies of human nature.  This is thought provoking, insightful and moving storytelling, the likes of which we simply don't see in summer blockbusters. 

Director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) crafts the film with an expert hand, and is likely to become a major Hollywood power player, Michael Seresin's moody cinematography is beautiful and harshly atmospheric, and Michael Giacchino's score is haunting and intense.

But in the end, the biggest triumph comes down to Serkiss and Koebell, and I cannot overstate how good they are together. All of these elements mix together for not only the best film of the summer, but in all likelihood, the best of 20014. This is the kind of film that says good enough is never good enough, and raises the bar for everyone else making blockbusters.

Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes is rated PG-13 for quite a bit of violence (not graphic but some of it quite disturbing), some profanity (including one F-word), and dramatic themes.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2

Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs

GRADE: A +

Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Cate Blanchett, America Ferrera, Craig Ferguson, Djimon Hounsou, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig, Kit Harrinton

Based on the series of books by Cressida Cowell
Screenplay by Dean Deblois
Directed by Dean DeBlois

Despite Shrek beating out Monsters Inc. for the first animated feature Oscar, Dreamworks Animation was, for years, successful at the box office but critics and hardcore animation fans did not consider them in the same league as PIXAR. Movies like Kung Fu Panda made their credibility rise, but  How To Train Your Dragon was a major game changer.Dreamworks was finally a serious competitor, and the movie was as ardently embraced by adults as it was by kids, considered a genuine classic that was filled with action and heart.   

The long awaited sequel picks up five years after the Viking village of Berk has made peace with the dragons, who now live amongst the villagers as working animals and pets, and dragon races (which are sort of like Quidditch, with live sheep taking the place of the balls) are all the rage. Our hero, Hiccup (Jay Baruchael) goes on adventures with his dragon, Toothless, as they explore and map new territories. Having come of age, Hiccup is being pressed by his father, Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler) to succeed him as chieftain, but Hiccup is not convinced that this is the right path for him. 

While investigating a wildfire, Hiccup and Astrid (America Ferrera) discover the remains of a fort encased in a colossal ice formation and encounter a dragon trapper named Eret (Kit Harrington), who blames them for the destruction of his fort and attempts to capture their dragons for an insane conqueror called Drago Bludvist. The two riders return to Berk to warn Stoick about the dragon army that Drago is amassing, and Stoick orders the villagers to fortify the island and prepare for battle. Instead deciding to attempt to reason with Drago (played by Amistad's Djimon Hounsou), Hiccup flies off with Astrid and they surrender themselves and their dragons to Eret so as to be taken to Drago. However, Stoick and his dragon riders pursue and find them.

Stoick explains he once met Drago before and that he was an unreasonable madman, but Hiccup refuses to believe that war is inevitable and again flies off with Toothless. He runs into the last person he is expecting, and before long Hiccup's entire world has once again changed.

This is that rarest of sequels that satisfies on every level, and honestly the animation quality is decidedly superior to the original. While the story may be more convoluted and less memorable than that of the first film, it's a great sequel plot that not only builds on the concepts and and world created before by delves deeper into the characters and provides plenty of heart and touching moments, and a rousing finale that will have you cheering. 

The cast is uniformly terrific, with Baruchel being a delightful and truly a one of a kind presence, and Blanchett is always a welcome addition to any film. But the standout here is definitely Gerard Butler, who gives his most endearing and comfortable performance in years. True, a good deal of credit has to go to the animators, but Bulter really nails this character and reminds up why people every had enthusiasm for him in the first place (it helps that he allowed to stick with his own Scottish accent. Bulter should be treated like a modern Sean Connery: the voice is a huge part of the appeal, don't try to hide it, just let it stand.). The bullheaded and macho Stoick has grown up perhaps even more than his son since the events of the last film, and we see a wise, tender and even romantic side that is utterly engaging. This is one of my favorite voice over performances in many years. It's also great to see Hounsou, one of the most engaging presences in film, who we don't get to see nearly enough of because there aren't many roles written for African actors, break free of type casting and play a role not defined by his ethnicity. In fact, I didn't even know it was him until the credits rolled. John Powell's thrilling and lyrical musical score combined with amazing visuals (helped along by "visual consultant Roger Deakins, who may be the best cinematographer working today) combine for a magical experience.

This a perfect sequel, a perfect family film, and spectacular adventure that equal any live action film this summer.

How To Train Your Dragon 2 is rated PG for violence and adult themes (including one very sad moment that may be quite upsetting to younger children.) and a small amount of extremely mild vulgarity.

EDGE OF TOMORROW

Reviewed by Paul Gibbs


EDGE OF TOMORROW
GRADE: A
Starring Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton
Directed by Doug Liman

Yes, the new Tom Cruise sci-fi vehicle bears an unmistakable resemblance to a cross between Groundhog Day and Starship Troopers. What's surprising is how good a film that turns out to be, and what may be surprising to some is how big a part of that is a first-rate star turn by Cruise.

Cruise stars as Major William Cage, a military Media Relations in a not-too distant future where grotesque aliens called Mimics (think the xenomorphs from Aliens mixed with the Formics of Ender's Game) have invaded Earth and the best hope to defeat them is soldiers in exoskeletal battle suits. Assigned to provide coverage during an invasion, Cage balks, attempting to blackmail his way out of battle. This goes over about as well as you would expect, and Cage is demoted to a frontline troop as cannonfodder in the invasion. But when Cage dies, he ends up waking up at the beginning of the day, repeating it over and over in an endless loop. Eventually Cage seeks out the help of a legendary soldier known as the Angel of Verdun (Emily Blunt) and working to defeat the Mimics and end the loop.

Based on a Japanese novel entitled All You Need Is Kill (which sounds like stereo instructions translated from Japanese), Edge of Tomorrow (which sounds like a daytime soap opera) is clever, funny, and thrilling, providing a perfect example of what a summer movie should be. Director Doug Liman is at the top of his game, crafting spectacular battle sequences, uproarious dark comedy and sensitive character moments with equal aplomb, and he's aided immeasurably by his leading man. Try to forget all of the couch-jumping Scientology baggage and just enjoy a great movie star carrying a blockbuster like few others can, and stepping out of his stock character to play a weaselly coward who is forced to learn to become a soldier. Cruise expertly navigates the arc from the comic scenes in the first act to the physical heroics of the actions scenes to his growing attachment to Blunt's character. This is exactly why he's been one of Hollywood's top stars for almost 30 years.  The supporting cast also fairs well, with Blunt easily holding her own in her scenes with Cruise (though it's a little disappointing to see Cruise once again playing opposite an actress young enough to be his wife). Bill Paxton amusingly chews the scenery as the tough Seargant commanding Cage's unit.

In a manner someone reminiscent of James Cameron's Avatar, Edge of Tomorrow is a perhaps overly familiar sci-fi epic that is executed well enough to make us forgive its more derivative elements. The fast pace makes for a perfect summer thrill ride. The film is rated PG-13 for some profanity and a lot of violence (so much so that an argument could easily be made for an R rating for the sheer number of violent deaths, though the movie is largely bloodless.).

MALEFICENT

Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs

GRADE: C

Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Leslie Manville, Juno Temple
Screenplay by Linda Woolverton
Directed by Robert Stromberg

Nobody can create magic like Disney. And nobody can detract from that magic like they can, either.

The '90's barrage of dreadful straight to video sequels that continued into the early 2000's was suuposed to be killed when John Lassiter took over as head of animation: in fact, he specifically stated that one of the major reasons he took the job was to protect PIXAR classics from such a fate. Unfortunately, Lassiter has become a full blown Disney exec and embraced the "don't let other people ruin our stuff when we can do it ourselves" mentality. Cars 2 was PIXAR's first film to genuinely receive bad reviews, and PIXAR has shifted over to sequelizing most of its movies. Yes, Cars 2 and Monsters University were better than Aladdin: The Return of Jafar. But they weren't up to standard of the originals.  And while Disney still puts out some classics  (Frozen ranks among their best features), it's hard to shake the feeling that they will beat it into the ground someday.

The latest half-hearted "money before art" piece the studio has given us is Maleficent.  According to press releases, Maleficent "explores the untold story of Disney's most iconic villain from the 1959 classic Sleeping Beauty, and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turned her pure heart to stone."  That's a nice way of saying it throws out the original story in favoring of a cheesy and very clunky glorified TV special that clearly has no real idea behind it beyond the casting of its lead.

The young Maleficent is a preteen fairy that lives in "the moors" (even though the card says "the moops"), a magical fairyland that is basically a hybrid of Disney's straight to video Tinker Bell series and Avatar. One day Maleficent meets a young boy named Stephan and falls deeply in love. Their romance blossoms until they get older, at which point Stephan becomes a Republican and moves away to seek public office. Maleficient grows older and skinnier until she finds herself played by Angelina Jolie, and gets into a skirmish with the local king, who is trying to take over the moors (not the moops.).

Meanwhile, the ever ambitions Stephan (now played by Sharlto Copely of (The A-Team and District 9) hears the king say that, having no heir to the throne he will make whoever kills Maleficent the next king. Stephan goes back out to the moops (the moors) to see Maleficent, who is delighted to rekindle their romance. Unfortunately, Stephan has other plans, and as she sleeps, he tries to stab her in the heart, but can not go through with it. Instead, he cuts off her wings using a chain of steel (steel is apparently fairy kryptonite.). Maleficent awakens to find both Stephan and her wings gone. Yes, that's right, SHE SLEEPS THROUGH GETTING HER WINGS CUT OFF.

Driven by revenge, places an irrevocable curse upon the human king's newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora (Elle Fanning) is doomed to walk through a boring movie until she turns 16 yadda yadda death yadda yadda spinning wheel.

This is about as lazy an idea for a movie as I have seen in quite some time, and honestly the most intriguing aspect of it is the uncomfortable feeling that between the cutting off the wings off and and the whole idea of kissing girls while they are asleep that this movies sees the story of Sleeping Beauty as a metaphor for date rape.  Stephan is turned into a pretty despicable character, and while I'm all for making royalty look bad, he's simply not iteresting, and neither is Maleficent. Jolie gives an entertaining performance, but the character's rather meager motivation simply doesn't play. In general, the characters are dull and the script never delves beneath the surface, and the sense of pacing is downright awful: far too much time is spent on setting up the shallow, uninteresting "woman scorned" story between Stephan and Maleficent, while the relationship between Maleficent and Aurora, which is supposed to be what the movie is about, feels extremely rushed. The three fairies who raise Aurora are played as dimwitted and ineffectual, and for some reason their names have been changed (perhaps Disney is so famously letigious that they were afraid they might sue themselves, and honestly, they should have.).

First time director Stromberg (who until know has worked as a visual effects artist) is right at home with pretty visuals but hasn't the foggiest idea what to do with actors, even good ones, and it seems pretty clear by this point that writer Linda Woolverton (Beauty and the Beast) is a one hit wonder and we should stop acting like her presence is anything special. Maleficent seems want to pass itself off as a feminist fairy tale, but in the end we have a lead character her turns evil when she is rejected by the cute boy and turns good again when her maternal instincts kick in.

A great deal of effort has been put into visually mimicking the original classic. It's a shame that same sense of detail was not put into telling a good story.

Maleficent is Rated PG for violence and peril.

X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

GRADE A+ Starring Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Halle Berry, Peter Dinklage, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan Directed by Bryan Singer Reviewed by Paul Gibbs Rarely has a major movie franchise varied as wildly in quality as the X-Men franchise. The first two films, directed by The Usual Suspects' Bryan Singer, are about as entertaining as the genre gets and go a little deeper than usual comic book fare by adding a soulful subtext about the oppression of society's misfits. But when Singer left the franchise, these were followed by a horribly disappointing sequel and spin-off. Since then the situation has improved, but in the latest installment Singer returns, superhero-like, to fix the mistakes of the past and restore the franchise to its former glory. X-Men: Days of Future Past begins in a slightly more distant version of the franchise's Not Too Distant Future, when mutant hunting robots called Sentinels are hunting down and kill the X-Men and their kind. The X-Men, lead by Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and his onetime nemesis Magneto (Ian McKellan), conceive a bold and dangerous plan to send Wolverine/Logan (Hugh Jackman) back to 1973 to stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from setting in motion the future that brought about the Sentinels (If you don't know who these characters are, you may want to brush up on some of the previous installments before venturing forth). Arriving in the past, Logan hooks up with the younger Professor Xavier (James McAvoy) from the prequel First Class (the only really good film in the franchise not directed by Singer). But Xavier has changed, he's become a bitter, depressed shell of the man he used to be. His rundown school is now occupied only by Xavier and Beast (Nicholas Hoult). Soon our heroes decide they need the help of 1973 Magneto (played again by Michael Fassbender), who is now doing time in a maximum security prison. Singer has created a film every bit as good as his first two installments, one which balances spectacular action and effects with humor and heart. He shows again that he has a magic touch with this franchise and makes one of the very best films of his career, getting the most out of the massive budget without losing track of the humanity (mutantity?) of the story. One sequence feature the ultra-fast mutant Quicksilver would be worth the price of admission on its own. But there's much more to it than that, a well-rounded movie that's everything both an X-Men movie and a summer blockbuster should be. The principal cast members all deliver stellar performances, with Jackman returning to the lighter, funnier version of the character rather than the brooding one we saw in last summer's second spin-off The Wolverine. McAvoy and Fassbender (who is giving us something of a McKellan impersonation this time) are again excellent, with McAvoy's Xavier doing the majority of the dramatic heavy lifting along with Lawrence, whose Mystique is torn between her allegiance to Xavier and her desire to fight the humans who oppress her people. And of course it's a joy to see Stewart and McKellan in these roles again.

If you're a fan of any of the X-Men films, you're likely to love this one, easily up there with the best of them, and finally rids us of the bad aftertaste of Brett Ratner's X-Men: The Last Stand. This is the X3 we had hoped for. It's going to be next to impossible to beat as THE blockbuster entertainment of the summer, and it gives Joss Whedon reason for concern on whether his The Avengers: Age of Ultron can follow it next summer. I'll be going back to see it at least two or three more times, and thoroughly enjoying each viewing. I imagine a lot of other film goers will be able to say the same. X-Men: Days Of Future Past is rated PG-13 for violence (some of which is fairly graphic), profanity (including one use of that word which really freaks out some people and endlessly entertains others), brief nudity (Jackman from behind, and of course Lawrence in blue body paint and prosthetics) and some implied sexual content.

GODZILLA

GRADE: A
Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, David Strathairn, Elizabeth Olsen. Ken Watanabe and Bryan Cranston
Directed by Gareth Edwards
Reviewed by Paul Gibbs


As much as a year before its release, people were trying to convince me that the 1998 Roland Emmerich version of Godzilla was going to be a classic that made everyone forget those puny little dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. I was quite skeptical about the movie, and it turns out I was right. It ended up being a lackluster dud chock full of spoofy jokes that weren't funny, and is now mostly forgotten. This was one of the biggest reasons I couldn't muster up any excitement for the 2014 version, even when people tried to convince me how good it was going to be. This time, I was happy not to be right.

Gareth Edward's Godzilla begins with Dr. Joe Brody ( Bryan Cranston, a nuclear physicist conducting radioactivity research at a power plant in Japan, along with his scientist wife (Juliette Binoche) when tragedy strikes his family. 15 years later, Brody is estranged from his son Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a military man working in explosive ordinance disposal. Ford is summoned to to Japan, where his crackpot father is pursuing wild theories about what happened before. It's not long before the Brodys of course discover that the theory are not only not so crazy, but also involve three giant monsters, one of which is the legendary lizard of the title. From here the story shifts to a larger scale to include various Admirals,scientists, and people fleeing the wrath of the creatures.

The story gets off to a somewhat slow start, and it's very disappointing to see the immensely talented Cranston once more woefully underused (has any movie other than Argo really made a decent use of him?). Among the humans, only Ken Watanbe (playing Dr.Ishiro Serizawa, a Japanese scientist) makes much of an impression. But amazingly, it doesn't really matter. The stars are Godzilla himself and director Gareth Edwards, who looks to be a major presence in the future. The skill with which Edwards films and stages the action/suspense sequences recall much of the best genre work of Steven Spielberg, and yet at the same time demonstrates a creative vision of his own. This is a director who has studied and learned technique and knows how to use it in ways that put nearly all of his blockbuster contemporaries to shame. Edwards expertly blends teasing the monster (like Spielberg did in Jaws), with wowing us with the spectacle of the beast (like Spielberg did in Jurassic Park), and helps to give the big guy a presence which almost makes the blandness of some of the human characters an asset because they don't distract from the King of Monsters. The soul of the movie is the creature, and there's a lot more to him than smashing stuff. Edwards also wisely keeps the other two monster dark and lacking in facial detail to make them genuinely scary, and not all sympathetic (even to a guy like me who always wants to root for the creature). He also deftly utilizes point of view to make us feel inside the action without resorting to an excess of shakicam (yes, the 3D helps, and it's a no brainer that a giant monster is best in IMAX). The effects team of course deserves a lot of credit. They and Edwards use the effects in a way which reminded me how exciting and fun effects used to be. While the film may be lacking a bit in humor, that's understandable as they try to distance themselves from the campiness of Emmerich's version, and there is one moment that earns much more laughter than any of the groan inducing mugging of that film did.

It may be a bit thin on the side of story and character, but sheer technical skill of effects and direction, and sheer monster movie thrills, scares, cheers and fun, Godzilla is a blast. It's a movie that knows exactly what it wants to be and does it to near perfection.  It is rated PG-13 for violence.