Johnny Depp as some sort of Inspector Clouseau/Alan from The Hangover lovechild detective. A gang of living Nazi sausages called Bratzis (seen above). Something about yoga. And two main characters that share the same first name. There’s a lot going on in the trailer for Kevin Smith’s Yoga Hosers, and none of it seems to make any sense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtcKxPeH4hY
I have loved some Kevin Smith movies (Clerks, Mallrats and especially Dogma) and not loved some (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back) but even those had their moments. This one feels like it’s entering a new phase of his career—the down-slide.
Yoga Hosers starts out feeling a like a female-led reboot of Clerks. It seemingly focuses on newcomer Lily-Rose Melody Depp and Harley Quinn Smith (AKA Johnny and Kevin’s daughters) as two social-media dependent Canadian teens, who both happen to be named Colleen and work at a mini mart. It continues into the Mall Rats/Superbad-type territory with what looks like will be a teen-coming of age story after the high school sophomore girls are invited to a senior party. There’s even a sex-predator warning about high-school senior boys.
We’re good so far. In fact, I would almost consider watching this movie at this point.
Then we’re introduced to the costumed Depp, the Bratzis and some kind of subplot involving Justin Long as a yoga instructor. The trailer bounces from teen comedy to mystery to horror film which has worked in movies like Army of Darkness. But where Darkness felt clever and new, this feels forced and silly.
Yoga Hosers is the second installment in Smith’s True North Trilogy. The first movie Tusk has 41% Rotten Tomato score. So far Yoga Hosers has a 25%. Ouch. Kevin Smith has done brilliant, groundbreaking work, but watching the trailer for Yoga Hosers reminds me that it was a long time ago, in a mini mart far, far away.
Yoga Hosers is rated PG-13 and will hit theaters July 29.
Any movie fan worth his or her salt has heard of Honest Trailers by now. They’re the videos from Screen Junkies that take any movie, no matter how beloved, and tear it to shreds in hysterical fashion. The latest victim is the R-rated superhero flick that took the world by storm, Deadpool.
And, since Deadpool is notorious for being self depricating and breaking the fourth wall, of course he would co-narrate the video alongside Honest Trailers’ own Epic Voice Guy.
Watch the full video below:
The best part of this whole thing is that Andy Signore, creator of Honest Trailers, tweeted this morning that they weren’t able to get Ryan Reynolds to cameo:
Set a reminder! Our #Deadpool#HonestTrailer drops at 10AM PST – Sadly we didn’t get Ryan Reynolds BUT I still think it’s pretty funny
On this episode of the Telly Buddies Podcast, discussion revolves mostly around the first two episodes of Game of Thrones. Aside from HBO’s big shows, we discussed The Ranch’s renewal, Wet Hot American Summer’s new anthology series, and on-set photos of Neil Patrick Harris for A Series of Unfortunate Events. Sylvester Stallone may be entering the world of television, and Superman’s home world may get its own Gotham-esqe series on Syfy.
FAIR WORD OF WARNING: The Telly Buddies Podcast often contains spoilers, as the show is meant to be an up-to-date podcast that talks about new developments. This episode contains some spoilers for Game of Thrones, Veep, and Silicon Valley.
Telly Buddies podcast is hosted by Jon Barr, an avid TV fan and writer on Monkeys Fighting Robots (if you didn’t guess). Guests this week are Andres Osorio and Simon Johnston. Artwork created by Scott Ginsberg, and intro/outro music is “Nevermind the Books,” as performed by Mourning Todds.
Telly Buddies Topics Covered (In Order)
-Sylvester Stallone as a TV Mafia Boss (3:14)
-The Ranch Renewed for Season 2 (5:02)
-John Krasinski Michael Bay Jack Ryan Amazon Show (8:03)
-Krypton TV Show (11:34)
-Neil Patrick Harris in A Series of Unfortunate Events (14:17)
-Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (17:29)
-HBO Renews Game of Thrones/Silicon Valley/Veep (24:13) CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR ALL THREE SHOWS, PLUS HOUSE OF CARDS
-Game of Thrones S06 Eps 1&2 Thoughts (34:17) CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR GAME OF THRONES, OBVIOUSLY
Do you have any topics you’d like to hear about? Send any television-related questions to tellybuddiespodcast@gmail.com. Also, follow us on Twitter @TellyBuddies, subscribe to our SoundCloud feed, and subscribe/rate/review on iTunes!
The franchise’s new games, Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon, are due out in the fall. The names of the two games were revealed in February, when The Pokémon Company trademarked them. Today, the company unveiled the new starters. While we only get a look at the two legendaries on the cover art, we have gotten in-depth insight as to the three starters.
The three starters are Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio, following Pokémon’s traditional grass-fire-water starter types. While Litten and Popplio are both straight fire and water types, respectively, Rowlet is a combo grass-flying type. It also seems possible the other two will become a dual-type in one of their two evolved states. Litten’s black cat design may hint at a dark-type development, whereas Popplio’s circus performer design doesn’t offer definite insight into what can be expected for it’s dual-type, if it indeed has one.
Other information about the new games includes new looks at the world around the games. The new region, Alola, seems to be a fictitious Hawaii-esqe region. “Alola” is a rather on the nose spin on “aloha,” the Hawaiian word used for “hello” and “goodbye,” though on the nose names isn’t anything new for Pokémon. Litten is a lit kitten, after all. Going along with the Hawaii theme, the new Professor appears to be a man named Kukui, which is a type of nut tree.
The games will be released for the Nintendo 3DS on November 18th, 2016. Pokemon GO will be released this summer, as a departure from the regular formula of games.
Kevin Smith has become something of a polarizing writer/director. Some consider his films crass and immature drivel; others look to him as a pioneer of indie filmmaking; others still just like to laugh at his fart jokes. Well regardless of how you feel, he returns this summer with Yoga Hosers, his follow-up to Tusk and the second installment in his “True North Trilogy.”
The first trailer was released today (albeit with foreign subtitles):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtcKxPeH4hY
The film opened at the Sundance Film Festival in January to (mostly) scathing reviews. It currently holds a 25% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
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Yoga Hosers will be released in theaters on July 29, 2016.
The new creative own book by writer Steven Horton (Amala’s Blade) and artist Stephen Thompson (Star Trek: Frontier) sets up a world of weird alien creatures but its intent is to tell the story of someone struggling with their humanity. They introduce a world where aliens are living together on a space station (which is referred to as a satellite, hence the title) and a lone human who telepathically records her thoughts and helps to narrate what is going on.
The narrator and main character is Lilly who is not a shapeshifter (as it’s pointed out the Chief of Police is) but instead has holographic technology which allows her to look like anyone. This enables her to take bounty hunter jobs which help to pay the bills while at the same time masquerading as a cab driver. She gets pulled into a job by the Chief but soon finds she’s in way over her head. The story has the usual setup of “Person for hire gets assignment but gets attached” laid out in the first issue. How many times have we seen this before in media in general? Still, readers never get tired of these stories as they always like to see characters glorify being a freelancer who can do whatever they want.
The plot is simple but the art really is remarkable. The backgrounds and characters helps to shape the world Lilly lives in. Thanks to Thompson’s artwork, none of the aliens featured in the issue seem like they are trying to be call backs or shout outs to other science fiction movies or series. All of them are new and have a distinct look about them. It’s refreshing to see some genuine creativeness being applied to a series.
The series seems like it’s trying to be Saga, which isn’t a bad thing at all since Saga is one of the best comic books on the market today. Though the first issue does feel a bit too standard with the plot, thanks to the fantastic creature creations and the theme of trying to find a piece of yourself after losing something, this book has the potential to be a series with a large following in the near future.
For those waiting to see initial reviews of the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse, they might be in for quite a surprise. Despite previous acclaim to the new continuity established in earlier installments, the X-Men’s latest exploits against the ancient mutant Apocalypse is not faring well, not by a long shot.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the average score is at 47%. Compared to previous films floating around the 80’s and 90’s, this is rather disheartening. Many complaints state the film suffers from a “been there, done that” mentality. Similarly, the direction of the franchise under the helm by Bryan Singer may have finally reached its definitive conclusion.
Credit: 20th Century Fox
Of course, there have been many examples of critics saying one thing, and fans another. And a film not loved by critics can be embraced by fans and eventually win naysayers over. But something tells me this is won’t be the case for this movie.
Depending on how the film performs at the box office, there might be some blessings to this affair. Similar to how Spider-Man was able to join Marvel’s MCU through an agreement between Sony and Marvel/Disney, Fox may be open to allowing Marvel’s mutant to join that continuity. It would explain the delaying of the Inhumans film, but that’s just my thought on that matter.
Credit: Marvel Comics
Then again, Fox is still holding on to the Fantastic Four’s film rights for dear life, even after the debacle of their recent cinematic endeavor last year. Personally I would love to see the mutants join the MCU since that would open many famous and endearing storylines on to the silver screen. But my pessimist side is not placing high hopes that this will bring any positive news.
What do you guys think of the recent critical reviews of X-Men: Apocalypse? Do you think this will bring something good? Is it critical hoopla?
The anime adaptation Ghost in the Shell has begun filming with the aim of releasing April 14, 2017.
I find it incredibly interesting as a human species that many of us are constantly getting distracted by the race war versus the bigger picture at hand. With all the talk of “white washing” the cast of the upcoming 2017 Ghost in the Shell live film, a majority of people are completely disregarding the fact that this beautiful anime adaptation isn’t getting writers or a director that it deserves. With the amount of Sci-Fi involved, intriguing story line and opportunities for non-stop gorgeous cinematography, this movie needs to be handled with care and not just as a marketing ploy on the infamous title.
What’s confusing to me is that Rupert Sanders who has only Snow White and The Huntsman as a full featured movie on his resume is directing film. And to make matters worse, 2 out of the 3 writers have zero experience writing in Sci-Fi as well. Kudos to Johnathan Herman for writing the screen play for Straight Out of Compton, and Jamie Moss for writing the screen play for Street Kings, but once again we have a production of people completely out of their realm. Yes, Ghost in the Shell definitely has an underlining crime plot involved, but have we forgotten that we are dealing with cyborgs and cyberpunk overtones?
Thankfully we have at least one writer, Masamune Shirow who has been involved with many of the Ghost in The Shell comics, and manga. Otherwise we have only Scarlett Johannsson with the resume of Sci-Fi to compensate in this film. Instead of starting petitions to remove actresses from this film, shouldn’t we be fighting for an overall better film production?
Even if we were to remove Scarlett Johannsson, have we forgotten completely that it takes more than just a cast to make or break a film? Or are we all too busy getting caught up in the pseudo fandom to remember that Ridley Scott’s 1982 Blade Runner was a major inspiration for the Ghost in the Shell series? Or that Ghost in the Shell inspired iconic films such as The Wachowski Brothers’ The Matrix and James Cameron’s Avatar? Do you see a pattern here, or do I need to blatantly scream: THIS FILM DESERVES AN EXPERIENCED SCI-FI DIRECTOR.
It’s no question that CGI will be inevitable but if we have visuals similar to Snow White and The Huntsman I sincerely fear that it’s going to be an utter disaster. The only way the Ghost in the Shell’s team can find redemption is if they do some major homework on how to perfect this particular this futuristic and Asian infused atmosphere.
For starters, they need to take note of the beautiful cinematography from any of Ridley Scott’s work, but primarily Blade Runner. One of my favorite aspects of the 1995’s Ghost in the Shell anime is literally the gorgeous yet intricate scenery in the animation style. This will be a very delicate matter to handle because too much CGI could instantly ruin the feel. Pretty everything in this film needs to be heavily considered when making the upcoming Ghost in the Shell release.
Another fantastic neo-noir film example comes from director Alex Proyas who was responsible for the 1994 cult classic The Crow, but for this article’s purpose the 1998 Dark City.
Or even if were to take a less serious route and look at Luc Besson’s 1998 The Fifth Element. Although the film does not focus primarily on artificial intelligence, we can’t deny its unforgettable set design and futuristic costumes.
In any event, there’s a ton of potential for the Ghost in the Shell live action film. Apart from just the handful of examples listed, there’s truly endless Sci-Fi material out there to properly bounce ideas from as well as considering how the A.I are handled in the Fallout video game series. As a fan of the original 1995 Ghost in the Shell anime as well as steadily building a strong appreciate for 80s/90s cyber punk anime style, we need less talk on who’s acting where and more so who’s directing or writing what so that such classics can land the production they truly deserve.
Last Saturday’s episode of Outlander, “Untimely Resurrection,” was jam-packed with plot development, making up lost time in a season that had a slow start. “Untimely Resurrection” featured the return of Black Jack Randall, smarmy as ever, and Claire finally telling Jamie her last juicy secret. Claire and Jamie both suspect St. Germain to be responsible for Mary Hawkins‘s rape but, as a whim of Charles Stuart‘s demanded, Jamie and St. Germain are now the most begrudging of business partners. Mark you?!Mark me!
“Untimely Resurrection” – The Recap
Sword fights and mass arrests have a way of killing a party and the Frasers‘ proved no exception. Jamie, having been released from the Bastille, returns home to find Claire sitting awake next to a dozing Fergus. Jamie explains that Duverney ordered the Captain of the Guard to release them. Unfortunately, Alex Randall is still being held since Mary’s uncle claims to have seen Alex raping her. Alex’s release will require a statement from Mary exonerating him. Claire demands that Jamie help clear Alex’s name and asks if the Duke of Sandringham could help. Jamie explains that the Duke is unlikely to vouch for Alex, having already dismissed him from service in order to avoid having any association with a suspected rapist.
Although Jamie spent the night in jail and his party devolved into a brawl, he’s certain that the Duke of Sandringham must have realized what a weasel Charles Stuart is, and must now be unlikely to fund Stuart’s campaign to claim the British throne. Jamie’s face falls, though, when Claire tells him that during the brawl Stuart left with le Comte St. Germain. Jamie orders Murtagh to investigate the nature of St. Germain’s relationship with Stuart and whether or not St. Germain was involved in the attack on Claire and Mary.
When Jamie asks Claire if she remembers anything from the attack, she describes the attackers as well dressed and having been frightened off by her. She tells Jamie that they apparently confused her for “La Dame Blanche,” whom Murtagh explained to her was some kind of sorceress. Jamie admits his responsibility, telling Claire that he claimed to be married to “La Dame Blanche” one night at the brothel Maison Elise in order to retain his manly reputation in front of Stuart while still turning down the services of one of many prostitutes Stuart had procured. Claire questions Jamie’s wisdom in claiming to be married to a witch, considering what happened to her friend Geillis Duncan, but realizes that her and Mary’s attackers likely frequent Maison Elise. Jamie swears vengeance on whomever was responsible for the attack, suspecting St. Germain.
On what appears to be the next day, Jamie is hard at work looking over a shipment of wine, and Murtagh reports that though it was easy to find St. Germain he hasn’t seen him do anything that could be described as suspicious. Following up on the attackers’ potential connection to Maison Elise, Murtagh has found that several of the brothel’s clients are members of a gang of masked aristocrats calling themselves “Les Disciples.” Murtagh further explains that the initiation into the gang involves raping a virgin, and he apologizes to Jamie for being unable to protect Claire and Mary. Jamie tells Murtagh it wasn’t his fault and orders him to focus on proving St. Germain’s involvement rather than feeling guilty.
Claire checks in on Mary Hawkins who has written a statement about her attack. She is intent upon Alex being released and describes him as a good man. Mary says she feels like a different person and ashamed. Claire ensures Mary she has nothing to be ashamed of and explains to a confused Mary that she’s unlikely to become pregnant since her attacker was pulled off in time. Mary is relieved that she won’t have to wed the wart-faced Vicomte she was betrothed to: he would never accept a “soiled bride.” In fact, she is nearly excited. Now, she says, she and Alex can marry.
Claire’s concerned. If Alex and Mary wed, what will happen to Frank, the eventual offspring of a union between Mary and Black Jack Randall? Claire considers destroying Mary’s statement that exonerates Alex but decides she shouldn’t since keeping Alex in prison can’t guarantee that Mary will wed Black Jack.
Jamie gets a visit at his wine warehouse from Charles Stuart. A typically theatrical Stuart tells Jamie that his mind is clear of its previous “feminine shackles,” and describes his new plan for funding the Jacobite rebellion. His old financiers, he says, have “shown their true colours” but he has another backer offering £10,000 sterling. Confirming Jamie’s suspicions, Stuart says his new backer is le Comte St. Germain. St. Germain wants to purchase a shipment of Spanish wine but is low on funds and in need of a business partner. Stuart will provide half the funds for the purchase of the product and earn £10,000 in profits from the retail of the wine. Stuart admits that £10,000 is not enough to raise an army but expects that it will be enough to start procuring ships, men, and other necessities. Then, after Duverney reports Stuart’s rebellion’s strength to King Louis XV, the King will see that the rebellion is a worthy investment and lend the substantial wealth of his own coffers to the cause.
Stuart goes on to say that he understands that St. Germain doesn’t support the Jacobite uprising but that he is a businessman seeking a good return on his investment. And, to safeguard against any betrayal from St. Germain, Stuart appoints Jamie to be the one in charge of arranging a buyer for the wine shipment; St. Germain and and Jamie will meet at Maison Elise to discuss particulars of the deal, what Stuart describes as “work-men’s concerns.”
In a bit of timeline management from Claire, she convinces Alex that though his engagement to Mary is based on love it is not a sensible thing for either he or Mary to go through with. Alex is freshly unemployed and as sick as ever with whatever horrible 18th-century pulmonary disorder causes him to periodically come close to coughing up both lungs. He is heartbroken but agrees with Claire that Mary deserves better than a sickly husband that may not be able to provide for her. As Claire’s voice-over explains, though, she’s not breaking the young couple up for the sake of either of their happiness, she’s doing it to ensure Frank’s future existence.
At the Maison Elise, Jamie and St. Germain’s meeting goes about the way one would expect. The two make thinly veiled threats to each other, St. Germain tells Jamie to contact him once he has a buyer. Le Comte leaves his unfinished glass of wine and tosses some coins on the table … nice guy!
Back at Chez Fraser, Claire and Jamie cook up a scheme to use certain herbs to make it look like St. Germain’s ship is again infected with smallpox. St. Germain’s shipment of Spanish wine, which Stuart plans to have Jamie sell for £10,000, will have to be destroyed along with his ship. This way Stuart will lose money on his business venture. No money, no rebellion, no Battle of Culloden, no death to Highland culture.
During a short lull in the scheming, Jamie presents Claire with an heirloom set of Apostle spoons for the baby. Claire wonders if she’ll be a good mother having no real firsthand experience of her own. Jamie reassures her that she’ll learn what she needs to in time.
The next day Claire and Jamie are at the Royal stables holding court with King Louis XV. Jamie has come to help the Duke of Sandringham check out a team of horses he is thinking of purchasing. The Duke tells Jamie he was sad to hear of Jamie’s brief imprisonment but says that the dinner party gave him a chance to evaluate Charles Stuart. Describing him as an “utter ass,” the Duke wonders how Jamie could be such a bad judge of character. Jamie brushes the Duke’s comment off by saying that he agrees with the Duke’s assessment of Stuart but believes that Charles Stuart’s father, James III, is the true King of Britain. The Duke, under the pretense of discussing horses with Jamie, describes himself as a man who likes options.
While Jamie and Sandringham discuss “horses,” Claire and Annalise walk through the gardens. Annalise comments that Claire has made Jamie into a man and then notices a different man staring at Claire. When Claire turns around she’s greeted by a very familiar face … it’s Frank and he’s traveled back in time to the 18th centu–oh sh*t, that’s not Frank, it’s Black Jack Randall! After a tense greeting, Claire tells Annalise that she isn’t feeling well and, before Claire can stop her, Annalise runs off to get Jamie. Claire tells Black Jack he should leave lest Jamie cut his throat but Randall reminds Claire that drawing a sword in the presence of the King is punishable by death.
Randall waxes poetic, remarking on the unbelievable chain of disconnected events that have brought them together at King Louis XV’s court. As Claire makes an attempt to leave, Randall grabs her arm and says, “The King, ” Claire replies, “F*ck the King,” realizing her mistake when Randall performs a very respectful bow to someone behind her, the King. Luckily, King Louis doesn’t appear to have noticed Claire’s treasonous words and, instead of upbraiding her he makes a few Royal jabs at Randall’s expense.
Jamie arrives at Claire’s side and, after a Jamie and Randall exchange some very tense banter, the King, happy to embarrass a Redcoat, convinces Randall to beg on his knees for his brother Alex’s reappointment to the Duke of Sandringham’s service. At Claire’s request, she and Jamie are excused from His Royal company but after the King has left Jamie returns to Randall and challenges him to a duel.
Jamie seems pretty pleased with himself while he and Claire ride home in their carriage. As soon as they arrive at their destination and Jamie is inside, Claire has the driver take her to the Bastille. Later we see Jamie and Murtagh discussing the particulars of the duel when Claire walks in. She tells the two Scots that Randall is in the Bastille, having sworn an accusation against Randall for the attack on her and Mary. She reminds Jamie and Murtagh that dueling is illegal in France but when Murtagh says they won’t be caught Claire orders him out of the room.
With Murtagh gone, Claire lays all of her cards on the table: Frank, she tells Jamie, is the great-great-great-great grandson of Black Jack Randall and Mary Hawkins. If Jamie kills Black Jack, Frank will never be born. Claire begs Jamie to let Randall live for a year in hopes that Black Jack will assure his line in that time. Jamie refuses, though, saying Claire is asking too much. He tells her to choose, either allow him to kill Randall now or kill him on the spot. Out of options, Claire demands that Jamie repay his life-debt to her by sparing Black Jack. Jamie, a man of honour, cannot refuse and agrees to spare Randall for a year. Claire tries to comfort Jamie but he demands not to be touched. These time flings are complicated!
“Untimely Resurrection” – My Critique
Things are moving along now! After a very slow start to Season 2 that seemed only concerned with repeatedly showing the audience that Outlander is now set in France, plot developments were flying off the shelves in “Untimely Resurrection.” Since any story is only as good as its villain, I was happy to see that the untimely resurrection referred to in this episode’s title was Black Jack Randall’s. And, since I was so wrapped up in determining St. Germain’s guilt for Claire and Mary’s attack, I didn’t consider that Randall would be returning so quickly. “Untimely Resurrection” played up the idea of St. Germain as the new villain so much that I figured Black Jack might not make a return appearance for a while.
It was also interesting to watch Claire take a more active role in manipulating the timeline in “Untimely Resurrection.” Her insistence on ensuring Frank’s future existence has already led her to make a couple of morally questionable decisions. “Untimely Resurrection” showed Claire, claiming she was acting out of concern for Mary’s well-being, insist that Alex break off his engagement to Mary. Since it’s doubtful that marrying a serial rapist like Black Jack will work out well for Mary, it’s pretty obvious that Claire is only concerned with preserving Frank’s place in history. The same is true of the deal Claire makes with Jamie in “Untimely Resurrection.” Preserving Black Jack’s life serves no other purpose than to keep Frank alive. Beyond “Untimely Resurrection,” I look forward to seeing how many lives Claire is willing to endanger in the 18th century in order to ensure Frank’s existence in the 20th.
Title: X-Men: Apocalypse Director: Bryan Singer Summary: With the emergence of the world’s first mutant, Apocalypse, the X-Men must unite to defeat his extinction level plan. — via imdb
The X-Men movies are a strange set of movies. It was the one-two-three combination of the first movie, Blade and Spider-Man that pulled the superhero genre back into the forefront of the popular culture. However, whenever I go back and watch the movie again it just doesn’t hold up by modern standards. For the time it was about as good as it could have been and X2 was better, so we got to call it great. Then X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine buried the entire franchise. I believe that Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class was the best of the movies thus far but replacing Vaughn with Bryan Singer for X-Men: Days of Future Past was not a good idea. I thought Days of Future Past was good but not great, and I was curious to see how Singer would do with this latest installment in the franchise.
X-Men: Apocalypse continues the series tradition of having great actors portraying their characters to a T, but lackluster action scenes and a general feeling of everything being anti-climactic brings down the entire movie.
A lot of people were worried about how Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) looked from the various pictures that have been coming out over the last year. I don’t blame anyone for that but I’m pleased to tell you that he looks much better in motion. Isaac does a great job moving around in that crazy costume, and despite how silly he might look the way he talks and moves immediately makes him feel dangerous. I’m not sure how comic accurate the explanation for his powers are but they make sense within the universe. The three unknown Horsemen are pretty good even if they don’t get a lot of development. Storm / Ororo Munroe (Alexandra Shipp) looks fantastic and the little bit of her character we get to know makes sense. Angel (Ben Hardy) and Psylocke (Olivia Munn) don’t fair as well. We don’t know much about who they are or what their motivations are which is is a shame because they could be interesting characters.
As far as the good guys go the new cast are all great. We get a great version of Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) who promises great things in the future. Scott Summers / Cyclops (Ty Sheridan) and Nightcrawler/ Kurt Wagner (Kodi Smit-McPhee) are both great additions to the new cast. The returning members are all comfortable in their roles by this point with the highlights still being Professor Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto / Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender). The two of them bring such interesting dynamics to these two characters that most people think of “all good” and “all bad.” Much like the previous movies we know that Magneto isn’t doing anything right but we can see where he is coming from. We know that the Professor’s heart is in the right place but he’s still fantastically arrogant and naive. Peter Maximoff / Quicksilver (Evan Peters) once again has the best scene in the movie, and while I’m not sure making Mystique / Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) into a good guy entirely works her motivations make sense within the character.
All of this should add up to a great movie but it all fell a little flat for me. The main problem I believe comes down to director Bryan Singer and that he really can’t direct action. The movie felt like it spent a lot time working its way down to the big showdown between the X-Men and Apocalypse, but by the time it rolled around it didn’t feel like the stakes were as high as they should have been. There was a large death toll in this movie but it never felt like the world was really in any danger of ending the way the movie kept telling us it was. There were a few good moments but it didn’t feel like everyone got to shine the way everyone did in the airport fight in Captain America: Civil War. The tone of the movie also felt very similar to the previous movies. The X-Men movies feel like they are in a holding pattern that they can’t seem to get out of. I’m not sure if a reboot is what’s needed but perhaps a new creative team could give this franchise the shake up it needs.
X-Men: Apocalypse is yet another good entry into the X-Men franchise. I still feel like the movies are holding back in some ways, as if they are reluctant to embrace their comic book counterparts. This cast, however, is too good to disband in a full reboot so perhaps a change in writers and director would be best. Perhaps someone else has a vision for the X-Men outside of Simon Kindberg and Bryan Singer and I think it’s time we saw that instead.
Also, no edit credits stinger during my screening.
Other information about the new games includes new looks at the world around the games. The new region, Alola, seems to be a fictitious Hawaii-esqe region. “Alola” is a rather on the nose spin on “aloha,” the Hawaiian word used for “hello” and “goodbye,” though on the nose names isn’t anything new for Pokémon. Litten is a lit kitten, after all. Going along with the Hawaii theme, the new Professor appears to be a man named Kukui, which is a type of nut tree.
