The X-Men send Wolverine to the past to change a major historical event that could globally impact man and mutant kind. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Bryan Singer

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Evan Peters and others

Current release date:  May 23, 2014

Here's another movie that made me go; so what!? I just don't see the purpose of this movie or what point it is trying to make. It isn't a terrible movie but still one that feels utterly pointless and therefore just isn't a very recommendable one.

Maybe I'm missing something here. Maybe there was a deeper meaning behind all of the multiple different story lines and characters but somehow I actually doubt that's the case. The movie never feels like it's pretending to be more than what it's already showing and telling you. I don't think there is supposed to be a deeper meaning behind this movie and it's simply trying to be a sweet, quiet and somewhat quirky little movie.

And on some levels, this movie still works. It's not without its charm and it really isn't an unpleasant one to watch. It's more lighthearted than heavy or serious and all of the characters are somewhat likable as well, though I don't feel that I ever truly got to know any of them. Their thoughts and true feelings are hidden from its viewers, for most part of the movie, which does in fact makes the movie a bit of a shallow one.

Not only the character development and handling feels lacking but also the story. The storytelling always makes it seem and feel like the movie is building up toward something but in the end, none of the story lines are ever really going anywhere. Nothing really gets resolved by the end of this movie and it feels like it's constantly running in circles, instead of ever moving forward with its story.

But still, I had a good time watching this movie. It's slow but it's never boring. It has a good certain cuteness to it and I liked some of its quirkiness but overall the lack of story and interesting developments and the way it was handling its characters at times still make me look upon this movie as a far from successful or recommendable one.

5/10

Watch trailer

A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother's foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his healing touch. From: IMDb.com

A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother's foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his healing touch. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Lynn Shelton

Starring: Rosemarie DeWitt, Scoot McNairy, Ellen Page and others

Current release date: 2013

An operative for an elite private intelligence firm finds her priorities irrevocably changed after she is tasked with infiltrating an anarchist group known for executing covert attacks upon major corporations. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Zal Batmanglij

Starring: Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgård, Jason Ritter and others

Current release date: May 31, 2013

A story centered on contract worker who is tasked with infiltrating an anarchist group, only to find herself falling for its leader. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Zal Batmanglij

Starring: Ellen Page, Alexander Skarsgård, Brit Marling and others

Current release date: 2013

A typical Woody Allen movie in about every way but yet you can't really call it one of his best ones really.

Typical for some Allen movies, it's not just following one or two main characters but instead a whole bunch of them, this time all set in Rome, Italy. And that's is a bit of a problem for this particular movie.

When you have many different characters, you also have many different story lines. It's a very hard thing to keep each individual storyline interesting and fun enough all throughout and to give each separate storyline just as much care and attention as the other. Well, in this case not every storyline works out very well really and the movie most likely would had been better off with one or two story lines less. Besides, it's not like it's all connected and everything that happens in this movie is serving a significant enough purpose, for the movie as a whole. As a matter of fact, it at times feels like some of the story lines aren't really going anywhere and also not everything gets wrapped up satisfactorily.

Because of its story and way of storytelling the movie also feels overlong, despite the fact that the movie is well under 2 hours short. It really does feel much longer though, which is never a good sign. It's not like the movie ever looses its focus or starts to drag. It's more that the movie does not always succeeds at being interesting and engaging enough with its different story lines and characters involved.

Despite everything, I still enjoyed the movie for what it was though. I mean, it's still cute and has a good, pleasant, atmosphere to it. It's definitely still entertaining enough, mostly due to its fine written comedy, by of course Allen himself.

Woody Allen also once more stars in this movie and I'm glad he does. There was basically no good reason for him to stop appearing in his movies and watching him act and often playing the same type of character over and over again often is the highlight of the movie. Most comedy from this movie actually probably still comes from his character as well and he definitely is a welcome addition to the long and impressive cast-list of this movie, with other actors such as Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Penélope Cruz and Roberto Benigni involved.

It's nothing too great or impressive but it's definitely still one fine movie to watch for instance on a rainy afternoon and you want to entertained by something harmless and light.

6/10

Watch trailer

(Review originally written at 2 December 2006)

I expected the worst. No Bryan Singer, the previews didn't looked very good and the critics were not exactly raving about the movie. But really, the movie was not as bad as I expected it to be. On the contrary. The movie is a good looking and spectacular science-fiction/action that is perhaps lacking in the same depth and layers the previous two X-Men movies had but it's good and entertaining enough on its own.

In essence "X-Men: The Last Stand" is a good looking and spectacular action flick. This is perhaps not what the fans hoped and expected it to be but the neutral, unbiased viewer will be surely entertained by the movie.

There are plenty of action sequences in the movie to thrill and please the viewer but even superior are the special effects. No expenses were spared, with as a result some spectacular looking action- but also non-action sequences. It makes the movie good looking and entertaining at the same time.

It's a bit of a shame that with the many new characters and different new plot lines the movie yet fails to create some depth and make the story more multiple layered and meaningful, as the previous two X-Men movies were. This is probably due to the short running time of the movie; 104 minutes. It doesn't leave the movie any room to flesh out the characters and create some more plot lines with depth and emotions. The movie is a bit shallow and simple at times. The movie has plenty of emotions in it (the death of characters, love-stories) but yet the movie fails to ever get emotional, due to this previous mentioned reason. It doesn't make the movie halve as powerful as it perhaps could had been.

The movie brings back lots of old character from the previous two movies but also introduces some new ones. This time Storm plays a bigger role in the movie just as Jean Grey, who sort of is the central character of the movie and plays a key-part. It gives the both actresses Halle Berry and Famke Janssen more chance to show their great acting skills. It has as a result that some of the characters are pushed to the back (Rogue, Cyclops, among others) though. The movie also introduces some new characters such as Beast, Juggernaut and Angel. Beast is perfectly played by Kelsey Grammar, who fits the role like a glove. And don't ask me why but I have the feeling that Ellen Page (Kitty Pryde) is going to be a big star someday. Angel seems like a sort of redundant character, since he hardly plays a role in the movie, though he is yet often prominently present. But I guess it's OK, since he'll obviously play a more significant role in future X-Men movies and this movie was merely used to introduce his character, very much like was the case with Iceman, Pyro and Colossus in the previous movie, who all also play a role again in this movie. The villains might perhaps this time not come across as intriguing and prominent as in the previous two movies but that is due to the fact that the true enemy this time in the movie is not a person but it's 'the cure'. Nevertheless Ian McKellen still impresses as Magneto, who by now surely has grown out to be one of the best and most memorable villains of this decade.

Not only the special effects look good but so does the cinematography by Dante Spinotti and so does the action editing, that always keeps the pace high and the movie interesting. The musical score from John Powell also impresses and works very well in the movie.

It all in all is one of the better and more entertaining action movies of the year, with a fantastic ending that leaves the door open for (hopefully) more sequels.

7/10

Watch trailer