Review: X-Men: Days of Future Past: Bullet Version: Multi-Colon edition

Story

• DoFP is a sequel to both First Class and The Last Stand. There are multiple references and flashbacks to both movies. At least see First Class before this.
• Does not acknowledge either of the Wolverine films.
• Tried and tested prevent-the-future-apocalypse plot that successfully connects the two X-Men series / timelines.
• Not a whole lot of action for an X-Men movie, but makes up for it with awesome scenes featuring Blink and Quicksilver.
• None of the movie takes place in present day. It phases between 1973 and 2023.
• The only actual time travel is Wolverine's (and Bishop's) consciousness being sent back into his younger self. Somehow Kitty Pryde has this power, which is news to me.
• Glaring inconsistency: Professor X died in The Last Stand, which is not mentioned at any time, even though there are flashbacks to that movie, and both Cyclops and Jean are dead. The same goes for Magneto losing his powers.
• (Spoiler) Quicksilver is the coolest new character, and has the best scene in the film. Story-wise, he nails what they ask him to do, so why didn't they ask him to join the team? I was hoping and expecting him to show up and save the day at the end. 
• New characters: Warpath, Sunspot, Bishop, Blink, Quicksilver, Bolivar Trask, Toad and Stryker return.
• M.I.A.: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Rogue, Nightcrawler, Arcangel, Angel, Banshee, Pyro, Juggernaut.

Presentation

• Effective use of suspense and tension as the glue that holds the story together. Bryan Singer is one of the masters of this; bringing him back was a great move.
• No noticeably bad performances.
• The cinematography is beautiful.
• I was expecting and hoping for at least some mention of the Fantastic Four, since Fox has that as well, but if it's there I missed it.

In the Comic:

• The years are 1980 (present day) and 2013 (the future).
• Largely Kitty Pryde and Nightcrawler's story. But the movie has no Nightcrawler at all, and Ellen Page doesn't have much screen time.
• Kitty Pryde's (not Wolverine's) consciousness is sent back to 1980 with the help of a mutant who actually has that power. Young Kitty Pryde is then embodied by her older self, who is more hostile and soldier-like. This couldn't be done in the movie due to continuity.
• (Spoiler) The end of the comic is very open-ended: nobody actually knows if the future has been saved. Might have made a better ending to the movie.

Final verdict: 4 out of 5 rebar skeletons.

The Filmburgers Podcast Episode 6

In this episode, Phil and I create mouth-noises about the 2013 Oscars, and our favourite and least favourite movies of the year.

Music: "(The Day After) The Farmer Died" by Muffler Crunch

www.mufflercrunch.com

Download Here

Intro - What's New
4:45 - Musical interlude
6:00 - Our #1
12:55 - McConaugHey!

16:00 - Our #2
19:10 - Jeff's #3
23:30 - Phil's #3
26:25 - Break for tunes
27:05 - Jeff's #4
31:05 - Phil's #4
33:10 - Jeff's #5
34:20 - Phil's #5
40:15 - More Muffler Crunch
40:50 - Least favourite movies of 2013
56:15 - Star Wars chat

Filmburgers' 2014 Oscar Predictions

There are a few left out because I haven't seen any of the nominees.

Best Picture

12 Years a Slave

Amercan Hustle

Dallas Buyers Club

Her

Nebraska

Captain Phillips

The Wolf of Wall Street

Gravity

Philomena

Best Actor

Bruce Dern - Nebraska

Chiwetl Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave

Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club

Christian Bale - American Hustle

Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street

Supporting Actor

Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips

Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave

Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

Bradley Cooper - American Hustle

Jonah Hill - The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine

Sandra Bullock - Gravity

Judi Dench - Philomena

Meryl Streep - August: Osage County

Amy Adams - American hustle

Supporting Actress

Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine

Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle

Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave

Julia Roberts - August: Osage County

June Squibb - Nebraska

Animated film

The Croods

Despicable Me 2

Frozen

The Wind Rises

Ernest & Celestine

Best Cinematography

The Grandmaster

Gravity

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

Prisoners

Costume Design

American Hustle

The Grandmaster

The Great Gatsby

The Invisible Woman

12 Years a Slave

Best Director

Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity

Steve McQuenn - 12 Years a Slave

Alexander Payne - Nebraska

David O. Russell - American Hustle

Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street

Documentary

The Act of Killing

20 Feet from Stardom

Cutie and the Boxer

Dirty Wars

The Square

Film Editing

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Dallas Buyers Club

Gravity

12 Years a Slave

Makeup and Hairstyling

Dallas Buyers Club

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

The Lone Ranger

Original Score

The Book Thief

Gravity

Her

Philomena

Saving Mr. Banks

Production design

"American Hustle"

"Gravity"

"The Great Gatsby"

"Her"

"12 Years a Slave"

Sound Editing

"All Is Lost"

"Captain Phillips"

"Gravity"

"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

"Lone Survivor"

Sound Mixing

"Captain Phillips"

"Gravity"

"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

"Inside Llewyn Davis"

"Lone Survivor"

Visual Effects

"Gravity"

"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

"Iron Man 3"

"The Lone Ranger"

"Star Trek Into Darkness"

Adapted Screenplay

"Before Midnight" - Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke

"Captain Phillips" - Billy Ray

"Philomena" - Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope

"12 Years A Slave" - John Ridley

"The Wolf of Wall Street" - Terence Winter

Original Screenplay

"American Hustle" - Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell

"Blue Jasmine" - Woody Allen

"Her" - Spike Jonze

"Nebraska" - Bob Nelson "Dallas Buyers Club" - Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack

Update on the Deus Ex movie from its writer!

Yesterday during the Super Bowl I was live-streaming and chatting on my fav movie site OneOfUs.Net (R.I.P. Spill.com), and it just happened that C. Robert Cargill, the writer of such films as Sinister and the upcoming Deus Ex adaptation (not even on IMDB yet!), was present. I was fortunate enough to get my question answered by him, (I typed it, he answered verbally) and it was the high point of my weekend. Albeit paraphrased, it went something like this:

(Another user): "How's Deus Ex coming along?"
C. Robert Cargill: "It's in pre-production. (...) We've done several drafts of the script and they're happy with it."
Me: "Do you feel pressure considering how much video game movies suck?"
C. Robert Cargill: "I did at first, and that was the big question mark as to whether we were going to take it (...) it's one of those things where we looked at it and said 'it's so easy to make the best video game movie ever made' (...) so it actually was counter (...) hopefully we can show other people how it's done."

So, uh, am I a real journalist now?

EDIT: Edited the quotes for accuracy. You can hear it below, or listen to the full audio here (at 2:48:25). 

Eight-Word Reviews: Part 44 and a 4th

If you name a movie on my Facebook page or tweet me one, AND if I've seen it, I'll 8-word review it. Warning: I'm honest.


Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Surprisingly awesome. Funniest Marvel movie yet...sorry Joss.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

HG's Kill Bill Vol.2: Good story; lacking action.

Gravity (2013)

2013's Life of Pi. Will win Best Cinematography.

Ender's Game (2013)

Wicked fun for kids geeks of all ages.

Banshee Season 1 (2013)

Bullets, boobs, brawls, repeat. 2013's BEST. NEW. SHOW.

Prisoners (2013)

(Mystic River - Eastwood) x Fincher x Fincher x Fincher x Fincher

The Way, Way Back (2013)

Boring as shit, save for Sam Rockwell's wit.

Limitless (2010, requested by Sarah L.)

Do drugs: gain superpowers, and meet Robert Deniro!

The Conjuring (2013)

"Wanna make another generic ghost flick?" "Fuck yeah!"

If I Cast It: Uncharted

Nathan Drake: (thin) Nathan Fillion (Firefly)

Non-negotiable.

Victor 'Sully' Sullivan: Bruce Campbell (Burn Notice)

Why did I refer you to Burn Notice instead of Evil Dead? Because in Evil Dead he's too young to look anything like Sully. Who else could work: Robert Deniro (the fan favourite for the role), George Clooney, John Slattery

Elena Fisher: Emily Rose (Haven)

Emily Rose? Wasn't she the chick who was exorcised in 2005 and then became Dexter's sister? Nope, turns out that the real-life Emily not only did Elena's voice in the games, but is also the non-voice-acting star of the show Haven. Anyone know if it's any good? Amy Smart also comes to mind.

Chloe Frazer: Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire)

Considering her Britishness, who else could work: Rebecca Hall, Rachel Weiss, Keira Knightly

Charlie Cutter: Vinnie Jones (Snatch)

 Just look at him. Jason Statham? He doesn't do supporting roles any more. And Vinnie is due for a role where's not a despicable asshole.

Harry Flynn: Sam Rockwell

For secondary roles, Sam Rockwell is who you cast when you want to turn a generic character into a likeable one - and he can even be a good villain. The man seems to be tailor-made for action comedies and yet rarely appears in them; he should be getting more starring gigs after his amazing performance in the tragically underrated Moon.

The Director Wore A Batsuit: Why I Think Ben Affleck Is Wrong For Batman

For some context: I loved Man of Steel and have absolutely no problem with Henry Cavill or Zack Snyder. Everyone was rooting for Zack to top everything he's ever done, and despite some of the kinks, he did just that. Man of Steel may not have been the Dark Knight that we wanted, but it still proved to be a fuckton more fun than Superman Returns, which is really what counts. But this is not really about that.

Then came the crossover announcement. So it's not the Justice League uberfilm that WB needs to fully counteract the wallet-exploding effects of The Avengers, but hey, we get a Superman-Batman mini-feud movie! They even used a Dark Knight Returns quote to make the official announcement! Fkn eh!

Wait...Ben Afflleck!? Oh shit no, bro.

When I heard, I pretty much had the same reaction as when Chris Evans was cast as Captain America. It wasn't pretty. There were casualties. But I also wanted to wait until the news settled for a bit to properly form an opinion about it instead of just banging my head on the keyboard and hitting Publish. When the Internet learned that Ben Affleck was to be the next Batman, it was so mind-blowingly maddening that I think we all went through many of the stages of beloved-franchise-defiled nerd grief. I don't know about you, but my immediate reaction was that it was a joke. Even after multiple sources reported it. That's denial. Then, of course, I got angry.

That was weeks ago. I've grown as a person since then, but I still can't admit to having reached the acceptance stage. Don't get me wrong: it's not that I think Ben's a terrible actor; it's that he is just not the right type of actor to suit the role. The fact that I still feel this way after all these weeks says something. My opinion isn't changing; it's just becoming clearer.

So, sorry Ben, but I'm going to have to stay with the "Ben Affleck is a terrible choice to play Batman" side, probably permanently. No more waiting for it to sink in. It's true, goddammit. But unlike the rest of the Internet, I can offer to you actual reasons as to why the fans are reacting the way they we are, and mine is guaranteed to be at least 97% free of words like 'pwn' and 'fag'.

Ben is not a character actor. His range is not exactly the vastest, and his demeanour is not exactly the darkest. When was the last time you saw Ol' Baffles play a mysterious, loner character? And don't say Daredevil, because he was all charisma outside the suit. Before Argo, Bartleby from Dogma was probably the most badass role he'd done, but he was still a very charismatic character, and not a huge stretch for Fleckers. Sure, he can carry a movie as a serious protagonist, but has never really succeeded in showing us a dark side. 

Ben is charming. In fact, unless I am mistaken, I think Argo may have been his first starring role where he's not trying to seduce some chick. The absolute last thing you want in your Batman is charm, and as an actor, that's really what Ben is good at and known for. Ben is much too friendly - or at least, perceived as being that way by us movie folk who have been watching him all these years - to play Batman.

One might make the argument that Bruce Wayne is a always described as a billionaire playboy, but I seriously doubt that will be an important plot point in a Superman sequel. 

Ben already played a comic book hero, and nobody liked it. Can you really blame the fans for remembering this? 

Ben doesn't have a very deep voice. Hey, we're all thinking it.

Fans prefer up-and-comers as opposed to big stars to play their superheroes. Obviously this isn't true for everybody, and there are exceptions like Iron Man, but it's a very general observation I've made when it comes to casting.  Most of us agree that the problem with Superman Returns was something other than the casting of Brandon Routh, and those who do have major problems with man of Steel aren't really targeting Henry Cavill en masse. Val Kilmer's and George Clooney's Batman "movies" are widely considered to be the worst of all time, and can you find anyone who gave the Ghost Rider movies five stars?

Maybe worst of all, Ben will spend less time directing things. And not only during filming; he'll be attending ComicCons and Bat-events all over the place. Kids want to meet the actor who plays Batman, not the director of Gone Baby Gone. Well fuck that, I want him directing things.

So, who should play Bats then, smartass? Turn on literally any movie, and chances are there is an actor in it who is better suited to don the cowl. But to answer your my question, considering the Dark Knight Returns connection, I think it would have been more suitable to hire an older actor that people are familiar with - remaining truer to the original comic (Bruce Wayne is in his sixties in TDKR), and furthering the distinction between this new franchise and the last one - someone like Josh Brolin (45), James Remar (59), or Aiden Quinn (54) would probably work. 

But since they're going with the just-entering-middle-age version, then I would have gone with an up-and-coming TV actor like Antony Starr (Banshee, age 37), Anson Mount (Hell on Wheels, age 40), or maybe even Nathan Fillion (Firefly/Castle, 42).

What do you think?

The Filmburgers Podcast Episode 5: Breaking Bub

In this episode, Phil and I make words about The Wolverine, Elysium, the 'premiere' of Breaking Bad Sesaon 5 Part 2, and some others shows that you should be watching if you're not already .

Music: "Solitary Man" by Ritual (Sweden) from their 1995 self-titled album




01:00 The Wolverine

03:25 Elysium

15:20 Music!

15:55 Breaking Bad Season 5 episode 9

30:25 Guitar solo!

31:05 Banshee

32:45 Orphan Black

35:00 Under the Dome

Co-host: Phil Fleury
Edited and produced by Jeff

The Filmburgers Podcast Episode 4: Kaijubilee

Download Here

Music: Love Junkie by Hotel Royal. The official video for the song is posted below. I know the keyboardist.

In this episode, Phil and I transmit from our giant Kaiju-fighting robots and discuss the recently-announced Emmy nominations and Pacific Rim. I am clearly tired from all the Kaiju-bashing.

00:30 - Emmy Nominations

08:50 - Music!

09:23 - Pacific Rim

18:39 - More Music!

And then, as usual, some random things & stuff & junk:

19:08 - The Wolverine / James Mangled Mangold

20:50 - Noah vs Noah? (Correction: Scott wants to do a Moses movie)

21:20 - R.I.P.D. / What Ryan Reynolds has in common with margarine

22:24 - Seventh Son looks like shit

22:42 - Only God Forgives is said to be shit

23:50 - Dead Man Down / critics are not to be trusted

25:00 - Man of Steel revisited Returns

Co-host: Phil Fleury
Edited and produced by Jeff

The Filmburgers Podcast Episode 3: Man of World War Steel

In this episode, Phil and I split out words about Man of Steel and World War Z.

Music: A Farewell To The Falcon by Cuerock

00:55 - Microphones!

03:55 - Break

04:35 - Man of Steel

23:15 - Break

24:00 - World War Z

36:55 - The end of the Cuerock song, and then the podcast

Download here