X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

“You are all my children, and you're lost because you follow blind leaders. These false gods, systems of the weak, they've ruined my world. No more.”

            Ever wonder where all the superpowers the superheroes have in movies comes from? Like, heck, how did that kid get laser beams coming out of his and this girl have the ability to read minds or another girl get the ability to practically suck the life outta people with just one touch? Who was the first person to show signs of being a “mutant” or someone “special”? X-Men: Apocalypse shows the origins of where it is believed the first mutant originated and how he comes back and almost destroys the world.

            The first mutant is believed to have been En Sabah Nur (Oscar Isaac) in Ancient Egypt. He had amassed a great following and was just about to transfer his powers into a younger pharaoh when a few of his followers betrayed him. The disloyal followers caved the tomb in and buried En Sabah Nur and others in the ground for what was supposed to be for all eternity.

            Flash forward to Egypt in 1983. CIA agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) has been researching this legend of Nur. She finds an entrance to the buried tomb underneath a modern Egyptian market. When she climbs down she finds Nur Worshippers trying to resurrect Nur. They are successful. Their success brings with it a seismic wave that can be felt all around the world.

            In the United States Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) is running his school for mutants along with Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult). He has not seen his fellow mutants Erik (Michael Fassbender) or Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) in years. He has no idea where in the world they could be. In the years since they were last together Raven has been trying to save mutants around the world and Erik has been living quietly and secretly in Poland with his family.

            Nur, or Apocalypse, begins to assemble mutants to begin to make the world the way he believes it should be. He believes the world has lost its way and wants to change that. He finds a young Storm, Archangel, and Psylocke (Olivia Munn). Through some unfortunate events Apocalypse is able to recruit Erik to his cause.

            Much like Captain America: Civil War, the mutants battle each other. It is Xavier vs. Erik for some time. Xavier knows that Erik is a good man who has just had rough times and truly does not want to hurt anyone. And as in Civil War, young mutants/superheroes are allowed along to help fight Apocalypse from taking over the world.

            There are a lot of other side stories running throughout X-Men: Apocalypse but for the most part I have written up the main and most important plot of the story. The side stories are good and interesting such as the arrival of Scott Summers, the manifestation of young Jean Grey’s mental powers, Quicksilver saving everyone in the school before it blows up, and Quicksilver’s quest to find his father Magneto.

            The cast of X-Men has been great since the franchise began. Every one of the characters is perfectly cast. I still find it awesome that Jennifer Lawrence is playing a superhero. The girl is such a good actress she can literally play anything and be great. Michael Fassbender is perfection as the younger Magneto. I liked seeing Olivia Munn as Psylocke. I think she is an actress that has potential to become very good and maybe even have a future as a Sci-Fi/comic book-movie actress. I would really like to see Psylocke in another X-Men movie. When I found out Oscar Isaac played Apocalypse I was actually stunned because I could not even tell it was him! I love Isaac as an actor he is another actor I think has a great future ahead of him when it comes to his acting and the roles he can play. He has played so many different types of characters in so many different types of roles. Isaac did a fantastic job as Apocalypse. I would love to see him another action/comic book-story movie, just this time as a good guy. Rose Byrne is one of my all-time favorite actresses. She is truly so versatile with whatever role she is in and fits in so well in the Marvel superhero universe even if she does not have any powers.

            X-Men: Apocalypse was a good movie. The story was interesting and the cast and characters were awesome. The movie did not get good reviews; a lot of reviewers were on the fence about it. I can definitely see why. There is such an insane amount of generic superhero movies out now. As I mentioned, the plot reminded of Captain America: Civil War with the mutants facing off against each other. I feel like how many times can these superheroes save the world using their powers to save the world? I also see like the world needs a break from superhero movies for a while but they make so much money so that will never happen. X-Men: Apocalypse is worth seeing if you enjoy comic book and action movies. 

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt.2 (2015)

“Katniss Everdeen. A small town girl from District 12 who survived the Games and turned a nation of slaves into an army!”

            The epic Hunger Games movie series comes to a dramatic, action packed end with Mockingjay Part II.

            Mockingjay Part I left off with Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) being brought back to District 13 after he had been captured and brainwashed by the Capitol. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) had gone into to speak to Peeta and because he was so brainwashed in the Capitol to hate Katniss he attacks her and nearly chokes her to death.

            Mockingjay Part II begins with Katniss still recovering from being choked by Peeta. She is still determined to fight with the people against President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and bring down the Capitol. President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) of District 13 has her own ideas of how to use Katniss. She does not want the Mockingjay to go into battle she wants to use Katniss as a promotional and moral boosting tool.

            Katniss cannot just sit back and watch people fight and die for something she feels she started. She hears from Johanna Mason (Jenna Malone) that there is medical transport bringing supplies to the front. Katniss gets on the plane and is brought to the base. Right away she known and everyone gathers around her. Now President Coin and game maker Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) have no choice but to let Katniss in some action. They have Katniss, her friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Finnick Odair, and Cressida (Natalie Dormer) and her film crew, along with a few other soldiers are to go to the front lines miles behind the actual fighting.

            Of course this small troupe is soon under fire and desperately fighting for their lives as they move closer and closer to President Snow and his stately home.

            In the end comes peace to Panem and finally to Katniss and Peeta’s lives,

            The cast of Mockingjay Part II and just the whole series in general is amazing. The role of Katniss Everdeen could not have been cast any better with Jennifer Lawrence. It is fantastic to see a young actress not afraid to go dark places and really stretch her acting. You can tell Lawrence gives her all in role, you can see she is not afraid of doing anything with her acting and that is what made her so perfect as Katniss. Plus the girl has an insane emotional depth to her acting. This may sound odd but I nearly flipped a shit when Michelle Forbes showed up as Lieutenant Jackson. I think Forbes is also an insanely talented actress. The range of characters she has played on TV is awesome she can really play anything and kick its ass. Natalie Dormer is fantastic as Cressida. She was a bad ass bitch and I loved every scene she was in. And I gotta throw out that Gwendolyn Christie has a small part just because she and Dormer are in Game of Thrones. I wish she had been in it some more. I also very much enjoyed seeing Mahershala Ali as Boggs. He used to be on this show called The 400 and I really liked his character and I have seen him in other shows and movies and I really like his acting. So happy to see him in a big movie like this. Elizabeth Banks was stunning as Effie Trinket she was way too perfect as the eccentric character. If I go into the other actors you will be reading for two more pages and I do not want to do that to you, dear reader. Just know everyone else did a wonderful job in their roles.

            Mockingjay Part II was a perfect ending for The Hunger Games series. Really I have zero complaints about this Mockingjay or any of the movies in the series. The story is so good because it is about love and the sacrifices people make for love. Katniss was motivated to help people because she was compassionate and she loved and cared for everyone in her life. It is refreshing to read and see a story like this in literature and in movies. Go see Mockingjay Part II as soon as you can. It is definitely worth seeing in theaters. 

Serena (2014)

“I think you've taken none months to do about six months' work. But a few changes should greatly increase profitability.”

 “What did you find, wife or a partner?”

 “Both.”

            I am not really into movies that deal with crazy, jealous wives or ex-wives or the same thing with crazy, jealous husbands. That storyline just drives me up a wall because I am not a jealous or seriously crazy person. I also do not like those kinds of stories in movies because they have been made since the dawn of the motion picture industry. I went into Serena not knowing precisely what the story was about. I had read a summary somewhere and it was a good summary because it made me want to watch the movie and it also left out the jealousy/craziness aspect. Well, I must confess, even if the summary did mention that aspect I still would have watched Serena because I adore the hell out of Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.

            George Pemberton (Cooper) owns a timber mill. He makes a nice sum of money but lately he has found himself in some financial trouble and also trouble with the law. George wants to sell his business in North Carolina and move to Brazil. He would like to sell his business for a few million but it is the middle of the Depression and not many people have that kind of money.

            He goes out to Chicago for a while and there he meets Serena (Lawrence). Her family had been killed in a fire and she now single handedly owns the family timber business in Colorado. George begins to flirt with Serena because she has money but of course soon they fall in love with each other. They are soon married and he takes her back to his timber business in the middle of nowhere North Carolina. Serena proves to be an asset as she suggests some changes and even goes out to view the workers. The first person not to warm up to Serena is George’s partner Buchanan. He does not like how Serena has told him what to do. She did not tell him to do something in a harsh way, it was a suggestion and George told him to go along with it. Buchanan definitely did not like to be told what to do by a woman.

            Soon Buchanan decides to side with the local sheriff when he catches Buchanan taking money to bribe a senator. Since Buchanan is pissed off with George for bringing Serena around he decides to testify against his friend and show them the books for the company and how they are fixed. Needless to say George is pissed off that the guy he thought was his friend would betray him. George takes Buchanan out hunting out day… and if I have to tell you what happens you have obviously never watched movies in your life.

            Before George killed Buchanan, Serena told him she was pregnant. Unfortunately she loses the baby and that devastates them both. Serena, even after so many years, is still suffering from the loss of her family. This new loss is too much for her to bear. She soon has one of George’s hired help kill anyone that threatens George and their business. Serena especially targets a young woman named Rachel. Rachel had once worked on the timber yard as a teacher but left because she had a baby out of wedlock. George let her back in despite protests from Serena and a few other workers. Serena finds out that the baby is George’s and that sends her out of control.

            George manages to get Rachel their son out of the county before they can be killed. He goes back to the woods near his yard and his kills himself by attracting a mountain lion that was in the area. Serena also kills herself by setting the house on fire.

            There was a lot more to this story that was very interesting and that lead to George and Serena’s downfall.

            Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper were perfection together. I love their chemistry and they are both such great actors. I believe that without them playing the main characters the movie would not have turned out as well as it did.

            Serena was a good movie despite the story. I feel that even though it had a typical jealous wife story it played out differently than others with the same story. Both George and Serena obviously had a lot of issues both personally and professionally before they married and after they were married their issues just escalated. There were some parts of the movie and story that dragged but for the most part I liked it. Serena is currently available to view on Netflix. It is worth watching once. 

American Hustle (2013)

“She was the Picasso of passive-aggressive karate.”

            As soon as I saw the cast of American Hustle I had to see it. I did not even care if the plot was awful or if the reviews were terrible I just had to see it. I finally got to see American Hustle and it was very good and the cast was perfection.

            Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) goes to New York City from New Mexico. Through a Goodfellas- like voice over (that switches back and forth between Sydney and Irving)- she says she just wanted to be anyone but who she was and that changes when she meets Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale). The two meet at a party in Long Island one weekend and bond over Duke Ellington. Irving immediately takes to Sydney he really loves her. Sydney comes to love Irving but unfortunately for her Irving is married to a younger woman named Roslyn (Jennifer Lawrence) and has adopted her son.

            Irving eventually tells Sydney what he really does. He does own a few dry cleaning stores and some other legitimate businesses but what he really does is scam people by saying he can give them loans if they pay him five thousand dollars up front. Sydney is upset with him at first but then decides to join his scam. She creates the role of Lady Edith Greensley who has banking connections in England. The loans are never guaranteed so if the people are approved for their loans there is not a huge problem.

            One day trouble does come along in the form of Richie Dimaso (Bradley Cooper) an FBI agent. He and the FBI catch Sydney and Irving but only arrest Sydney since she took the money. Sydney is kept in jail for three days. Richie likes her and wants to help her. When Irving is allowed to see Sydney, Richie tells them in order to get off the hook they have to help catch four people in other scams. Richie wants to go after Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner) a New Jersey mayor who wants to rebuild Atlantic City and does not mind getting his hands dirty for the sake of making his state better.

            After a while the whole deal goes south once Richie starts aiming for bigger fish in his quest to become a sort of celebrity.

            The cast was brilliant in all sense of the word. I have to admit I am not really a fan of either Christian Bale or Jeremy Renner and that goes for this movie as well but they were not as bad as they usually are for me. Bale pulled off being an overweight con artist so well. I will give the man credit he really does go all out for a role and always does well. I am just not thrilled with him for some reason he does not do anything for me. Renner was totally not believable as an Italian mayor who grew up in New Jersey. Renner to be is Hawkeye or whoever he was in the Bourne Supremacy where he does not have to do too much talking. Despite not being the best choice for the role Renner oddly fit with the rest of the actors.

            This movie truly belongs to Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams, and Bradley Cooper. Seriously Jennifer Lawrence can do absolutely no wrong. The woman is so damn amazing. She is not even in the movie that much but she steals the whole damn thing! I was laughing so hard with all her scenes. The best is when she aggressively danced around the house and singing “Live and Let Die” by Paul McCartney. Lawrence is just awesome. You can see her immense talent because she just falls right into the characters. She convincingly becomes this crazy Long Island housewife. There is a scene between Lawrence and Amy Adams that just blew my mind because Lawrence just kicked its ass. In a review from the Montreal Gazette they perfectly sum up Jennifer Lawrence in this movie:

            “This should have been Adams’s ride, but Jennifer Lawrence, playing Rosenfeld’s wife, carjacks the whole movie in the last act with just a handful of scenes and takes us on a dizzying joyride to the finale.”

            And you know what it should have been Amy Adams’ movie and had Jennifer Lawrence not been casted I am sure it would have been. This is another woman with such tremendous talent. Every year this poor woman seems to be nominated for an Academy Award and she never wins when she totally deserves to. Adams has been in better movies than this and should have won for those but I have a feeling she could win something for her role here. There is a story how Katharine Hepburn told Audrey Hepburn that she would win for an inferior role after Audrey lost with Eliza Doolittle (she would eventually win for Wait Until Dark which was not that great). I have a feeling this happen with Adams with this or some time down the road (I still think she should have won for Doubt she was beyond amazing in that). What I like about Adams is that she looks like an innocent woman like I could never imagine her cursing or being half naked or fully naked and she pretty much does both in American Hustle and has done before in other movies. Maybe that is why I find Adams so great because I am always surprised by what she does in movies. Adams also gets lost in her role she becomes the characters and blows them away.

            Bradley Cooper just gets better and better with every movie he makes. He will forever be Will Tippin from Alias to me (I say this all the time and will forever do most likely with any of his movies I see). He was a good actor then (thirteen years ago!! Holy shit!) and he got better. Cooper, besides Alias, always seems to play assholes. He was an asshole here too… but so was everyone else. I hope Cooper can pull off a nomination for some award for his performance in this movie he deserves it.

            Robert De Niro, Jack Huston, and Shea Whigham make appearances. De Niro plays, what else, a mobster, looking for a piece of reconstructing Atlantic City. Jack Huston plays one of De Niro’s thugs. Shea Whigham plays some other kind of con artist as well. They all have small parts. I mention Huston and Whigham because they are/were both on Boardwalk Empire, which takes place in Atlantic City. Houston and Lawrence have a few scenes together and I have to say I would like to see them together in another movie some time.

            The costumes I liked more for the women. The 1970s were just a bad time for fashion. The clothes were so damn ugly especially for the men. Lawrence and Adams looked stunning in all the costumes they had to wear. Their costumes were all low cut and simple compared to the actual clothes from the time period. Adams looked gorgeous in all her outfits I could not even handle it. Lawrence looked like she was going to fall out of all of hers but she looked fabulous. The suits the men wore were terrible. Holy garbage they were sickening.

American Hustle was very good. I honestly did not know what to expect and I am happy I was not let down in any way. The cast was so good together, thank God otherwise I would have been let down. What I really liked about the movie was none of the characters are likeable and they are not right from the beginning. They are human they are idiots and they make mistakes. Maybe Carmine Polito is the only character you can sympathize with and that is all. David O. Russell wrote and directed the film. He said he cares more for the characters than he does plots and I am glad someone likes character more than plot. You see the care he put into writing these character and they are all enthralling and entertaining. I highly suggest going to see American Hustle for its cast, story, and all around entertainment.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

“Since the last games, something is different. I can see it.”

 “What can you see?”

“Hope.”

            The Hunger Games: Catching Fire sees Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Melark (Josh Hutcherson) the victors of the 75^th Hunger Games. There was only supposed to be one victor but Katniss saved Peeta. President Snow (Donald Sutherland) sees Katniss as a threat. Because of her actions some of the Districts are beginning to rebel. He comes to her home and tells her she better sell that she and Peeta are madly in love. If Katniss cannot convince the president everyone one she loves will be killed.

            Katniss and Peeta are sent out on a winners’ tour. Their first stop is District Eleven where Rue was from. Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) has written their speeches. Peeta speaks first. He begins to read from the cards but then goes off on his own. Katniss follows Peeta’s example and talks about Rue. An old man in the crowd whistles and holds up three fingers. Soon everyone in the crowd is doing the same thing. The Peacekeepers crash into the crowd, grab the old man, and shoot him in the head. Katniss is mortified she cannot believe what has happened to the poor man. For the rest of the tour Katniss and Peeta stick to their written speeches. The crowds in the lower Districts want them to speak their minds but Katniss and Peeta know they must play by the rules.

            Plutarch Heavensbee (Phillip Seymour Hoffam) has been chosen as the new Game Maker. President Snow wants Katniss dead. Plutarch tells the president to have patience. He will come up with a way for the people to kill her. President Snow has a better idea. He plans to have her killed in the Quarter Quell. The Quarter Quell happens every twenty-five years and it has conveniently been twenty-five years since the last one.

            Katniss is of course picked for the Quarter Quell because she is the only female from District Twelve that has won. Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) was picked. He and Katniss made an agreement that Peeta was picked he would take Peeta’s place. But Haymitch says if Peeta volunteers there is nothing he can do. Peeta does volunteer. During the interviews in The Capital Katniss comes out in Cinna’s (Lenny Kravitz) newest dress. It is a white wedding dress but when she spins around it turns into a black dress in the style of a mockingjay, the symbol of the rebellion. When Peeta is interviewed he is asked about their wedding that had to be postponed because of the Quarter Quell. In the interview he says that he and were secretly married because they are going to have a baby (which is not true but their camp thought the Quell would be halted). At the end of the interview with all the former winners they all hold hands. The feed is cut out.

            During training the winners from the lower Districts want to be allies with Katniss and Peeta. Peeta wants to be allies with the stronger ones, the Careers from District One. Katniss was to be allies with the smarter ones like Beetee, Wiress, Mags, and Finnick because they have useful skills and they are the outcasts.

            They are brought to an arena styled like an island. When they leave their pods they have to swim to get to their weapons. Peeta is almost drowned and Katniss is almost killed by a Career. Katniss and Peeta team up with Finnick and Mags and travel through the jungle surrounding the beach. They come to a part of an island that is electrified. Katniss figures out they are in a dome that keeps them in a certain area. During the nights they are chased by poisonous smoke (that winds up killing Mags) and evil monkeys. Wiress keeps saying “tick tock” and one of them figures out that the arena is like a clock and something happens in certain sections at different times.

            Beetee comes up with the idea to electrify the beach to kill the Careers. The plan almost works until one of the Careers cuts the cable line. Johanna (Jena Malone) from District Seven has been one of the allies. When the Career comes Johanna does something to Katniss’s arm creating a big gash in it. Katniss manages to get back to the tree where the lightning strikes it at a certain time and where Beetee has wrapped wire all around it. She finds a handmade dagger and comes up with the idea to wrap the wire around it and shoot it up into the electric force field.

            Katniss’s quick thinking works. The entire force field comes crashing down. She is electrocuted. As she fades out of consciousness she is picked up by a plane that is usually sent to take away the dead bodies. When Katniss comes to she is lying on the floor next to an unconscious Beetee. She walks into a room and sees Haymitch, Plutarch, and Finnick standing around a table. All three men and Peeta and some of the other former winners had been part of a plan to keep her alive. She has become the face and the hope of the rebellion.

            All the characters were once again perfect and excellently cast. My favorite casting choice in this movie was Jena Malone as Johanna. Malone always seems to play those tough girls without a care. She definitely had the attitude for Johanna. My favorite part of the movie was when Johanna gets in the same elevator as Peeta, Katniss, and Haymitch and just strips down in front of them. Jennifer Lawrence’s face was so damn funny in this scene was dying laughing. Speaking of Jennifer Lawrence… every time I see this girl in a movie I adore and admire her even more. She is such a good actress. Phillip Seymour Hoffman was such a weird casting choice. He is such an odd looking man. I seriously cannot even look at him after watching The Master it was such an odd movie and his character was so whacked out. I wondered why he was not wearing an outrageous get up like everyone else and then I though he does not even need it he is so out there already. 

            I absolutely loved Catching Fire. This was definitely my favorite books out of the series because it is when everything just completely comes undone and Katniss is a part of something she never could have even imagined. I liked the idea of everyone having hope and that hope was all driving them to do what needed to be done and it gave them all courage. All I have to say is thank the good lord I read the books so I am not waiting for the next movie to see what happens. Even if you have not read the books you have to see Catching Fire it was a fantastic movie.