X-Men: First Class

****
Release Date: June 1st 2011

In 1962, the United States government enlists the help of Mutants with superhuman abilities to stop a malicious dictator who is determined to start world war III.

Director: Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, Stardust, Layer Cake)

Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, Kevin Bacon, January Jones, Nicholas Hoult

Instead of choosing to go forward from The Last Stand and Origins, Matthew Vaughn and the Marvel team take X-Men universe right back to the beginning. All the favourites are there (albeit a prominent character, who turns up in what could be one of the best cameos ever) and it also introduces a few others that will be known by the comic fans.

The focus of First Class is mainly on Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (it doesn't take a brainiac to work out it's Magneto, played by Michael Fassbender) and how their relationship slowly burns. Their conflicting personalities bode unwell from the start.

Other mutants grow to who we know well from the previous films. Raven/Mystique, acted out by an admirable Jennifer Lawrence, and Nicholas Hoult as Hank/Beast, calm and collective hold the best back stories apart from the main two. The baddies are neglected and are not treated in the same way.

This story puts all the pieces of the puzzle together is done expertly. In the mix of this is evil mutant Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), who Erik has a personal vendetta against. Shaw is an ex-nazi who's using the Cuban missile crisis to wage war on the humans.

Fassbender and Bacon really stand out with their performances. Fassbender's uncontrolled anger is at it's best before he's even met Xavier. One moment he's in an Argentinian bar laughing and toasting, the next torturing some helpless souls.

McAvoy's Professor holds a love/hate fluctuation from start to finish. He's very self-righteous, to the point where it becomes an annoyance and drifts far from Patrick Stewart's Prof. X.

For all the money pumped in XMFC (around $160m), the CGI is sparse for such an epic film. The finale holds some of the worst of it, with a submarine smashing into the coast standing out. Hopefully imagination will trump awkward use of technology!

Overview: Far superior than the last two X-Men films, it packs a punch that most will believe 20th Century Fox have redeemed themselves.

Madela: Long Walk to Freedom

****
Release Date: January 3rd 2014

A chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.

Director: Justin Chadwick (The Other Boleyn Girl)

Starring: Idris Elba, Naomie Harris

During Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom's London premiere, Nelson Mandela passed away. Zindi and Zenani Mandela, Nelson's daughters, attended the premiere and were informed of their father's death during the screening. They were asked if they wanted to postpone the screening but they decided against it. The rest of the audience were unaware and were only told at the end. A 2 minute silence took place after out of respect. Prince William and Kate also attended the same premiere.

Biopics surge in popularity when the focused person has passed away. It's too early to tell with LWTF in this respect. A biopic about an incredibly loved idol such as Nelson Mandela will attract attention regardless of the horribly coincidental situation. This isn't a tale of Mandela's fabled life. This story has been adapted from his autobiography. This is Mandela's story, and no others.

There's a central focus on Nelson (Idris Elba) and his second wife Winnie. The film starts to pick up when Mandela is ditched by his first wife, meets Winnie and becomes a member of the ANC (African National Congress). Elba oozes this bold enigma that no other can match. His accent is spot on, with little gripe to mention. It'll be a wonder if he is neglected from the 2013 award ceremonies.

Whether you know a lot about the history of Nelson Mandela or very little, LWTF is upsetting as it is beautiful. There's a major contrast between Mandela's early life in the suburban village he grows up in to what goes on in his time in the city of Johannesburg. Mverzo (hometown) comes with glistening sun-rays that makes the area look enticing. Johannesburg on the other hand has a constant dusty sheen kicked up by all the anger and the suffering that apartheid has caused.

Mandela's 26 year imprisonment rallies the black people of South Africa. What Mandela goes through is difficult to show due to such a time frame being difficult to cover for a film that's over two hours.

Overview: Idris shines as Mandela, never taking away the man that is known. Contains heartbreaking moments that will stay with us forever.     

Red Eye

**
Release Date: September 2nd 2005

A woman is kidnapped by a stranger on a routine flight. Threatened by the potential murder of her father, she is pulled into a plot to assist her captor in offing a politician.

Director: Wes Craven (Scream, A Nightmare on Elm Street)

Starring: Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, Brian Cox

Wes Craven has come away from what feels like the umpteenth Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream sequel to make Red Eye, a small and broken up film about control, and the difference between what's morally right and emotionally accepted.

Red Eye is the term used to describe any flight occurring late at night and arriving the following morning. Just like its title, it gives little to go on, and all we know is a flight will definitely take place. Is it a post 9/11 scare? Is it a disaster movie? The first third of Red Eye is ambiguous, and happens to be the better third too.

Lisa's (McAdams) flight is cancelled. She meets Jackson (Murphy), a man who's abstruseness is intriguing and dark. A harmless interest for Lisa becomes uncomfortable awkwardness when Jackson 'miraculously' ends up seated next her; the first of many anticipated formulas. Lisa is forced by Jackson to make a decision between who lives and who dies (her Dad, who's played by Brian Cox, or a very important politician).

Now the less information we're given the better; if we're left in a state of gripping tension then as an audience we are hooked until the end. A great horror/thriller needs this. A closed narrative keeps us asking the right questions. In Red Eye's case, we could have been limited to Lisa and Jackson's actions, instead after the first half hour, little is left to the imagination.

The middle third of the film is repetitive; Lisa tries to warn others whilst Jackson stops her at every moment. The final third becomes a cat and mouse chase. It's suspenseful up to a point but the outcome is underwhelming.

At least the acting cannot be faulted. McAdams makes her situation believable and Murphy goes to show that he can play the mentally unhinged very well.

Overview: Wes Craven is one of the leading directors in the horror/thriller genre. Don't use this as an example though as it's surely not his best work.

Grown Ups

***
Release Date: August 27th 2010

After their high school basketball coach passes away, five good friends and former teammates reunite for a Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Director: Dennis Dugan (You Don't Mess with the Zohan, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Big Daddy, Happy Gilmore)

Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, Rob Schneider, Selma Hayek, Mario Bello

Grown Ups is a film that involves little thinking; you're with them to share the fun. Unwind, relax and enjoy. It's inoffensive and easy going, like most Adam Sandler films. If you like some of his earlier, better material (Big Daddy, Anger Management, The Longest Yard, Click), you'll find this a bit mediocre in comparison.

Five school friends reconcile for their basketball coach's funeral. They spend a weekend together at a lake-house. Fun times should ensue, but more often than not they don't. It's true that when male friends are together they prat around. Grown Ups doesn't make use of mans immaturity (hence its  name) and at least half of the audience would relate to this. A couple of reminiscing moments that happen are by far the funniest i.e a game involving a bow and arrow, and alternating who checks out Schneider's unbelievable beautiful daughters.

There are a few subject matters that Dugan and Sandler don't take full of advantage of, instead GU resorts to flatulence jokes and low comedy. Kevin James and Mario Bello's sex life is almost non-existent because their (too old) child still breast feeds, Chris Rock wears the skirt in his relationship and is an emotional wreck and Rob Schneider is just weird. They never break their stereotypical boundaries.

Overview: Grown Ups lacks a narrative backbone that would make this film more engaging. Here's hoping the sequel learns from its mistakes.   

Last Vegas

***
Release Date: January 3rd 2014

Three sixty-something friends take a break from their day-to-day lives to throw a bachelor party in Las Vegas for their last remaining single pal.

Director: Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure, National Treasure: Book of Secrets)

Starring: Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline, Mary Steenburgen

What would happen if the Wolfpack from The Hangover went back to Las Vegas 30 years later? It would be an amusing take on an older generation trying to party like they're still young. The outcome is funny, but safe. Men will be men, regardless of their age.

Films with a seasoned cast have been hugely successful over the last couple of years. Last Vegas has an exceptional ensemble, similar to that of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Quartet.

If you've been to Las Vegas before then you'll instantly know that Last Vegas' representation of the Strip is at times exaggerated (don't expect to get there and instantaneously party with LMFAO) and at others true to its core (being bombarded with sleazy adverts of scantily clad women at every street corner). Besides this, the story is focuses friendship, with Vegas being the backdrop.

Billy (Douglas) is has proposed to his other half, whom is a woman half his age. He rallies his three closest friends, old but fiery Archie (Freeman), married sex pest Sam (Kline) and not so warm Paddy (De Niro) to come to his bachelor weekend in Vegas, but it's up Archie and Sam to convince Paddy to come along. After much toil and drudgery, Paddy decides to join them. Little does he know that Sam and Archie 'forget' to tell him the reason why they're going.

Last Vegas may be predictable, but it's no major concern. Once united, the quartet are in full bloom, bouncing off each others mannerisms with incredible results. Archie gambles most of his pension money, only to come out the other end with a six figure sum. Sam sets out to fill a yearning need that only the opposite gender can adhere. Billy questions his marriage when he meets lounge singer Diana (Steenburgen) and Paddy finds tiny reasons to lash out at Billy over past mistakes.

If there's anything to take from Last Vegas, it's that age is never a concern. Whether you're old or young, Vegas is a place for adventure, and there are no limits. Age stereotypes dominate the scenes; the young disrespect their elders, and the majority of the laughs come from repeated subject matters i.e. age, or the inability to perform certain tasks (because of their age and health). Not to be taken seriously, this is a film that knows we all follow the same road, and growing old is inescapable.

Overview: We all laugh at the expense of others, and Last Vegas allows us to partake in this. The four main actors keep the film's head above water, never letting it fully sink.

12 Years a Slave

*****
Release Date: January 10th 2014

In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.

Director: Steve McQueen (Shame, Hunger)

Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Lupita Nyong'o, Brad Pitt

12 Years a Slave is a very powerful and moving film, with superb acting coming from many. It's not only emotionally touching but a gripping animosity that contradicts itself by being beautifully shot with raw, gripping imagery.

After being kidnapped in Washington D.C and sold in the slave trade, Solomon Northup (Ejiofor) is passed through three different plantation owners. The first is Benedict Cumberbatch's Ford, who's somewhat calm and warming towards our lead, giving him a violin to play and a kindness that's not expected.

After a run in with Ford's lackey Tibeats (Dano), Solomon is left hanging by his neck, slipping in the mud. This is a guttural long shot that never cuts quite when you think. It's there for us to take in how unpleasant slavery was, and Ejiofor does a grand job portraying it. McQueen has the camera fixated on Solomon so we can take in just exactly how he feels. Other slaves are seen getting on with their business as Solomon struggles to keep himself alive. The depth of fear and sadness stretches far. The juxtaposition of the slaves and Northup is shocking and impossible to comprehend.

The last slave/plantation owner that Solomon works for is Edwin Epps (Fassbender). Epps has a visceral temper that switches from hot to cold from the slightest of annoyances that sees Fassbender topping all personas. Epps believes that he has a strong connection with slave favourite Patsey (Nyong'o) who makes an unbelievable debut. Her character does her best to stay unnoticed, but the actress does so fine a job that makes her the most noticeable.

12 Years a Slave mixes high-spirited moments (Solomon and the other slaves come across Native Americans and watch them dance) with great sadness. Watch as Solomon struggle to keep his emotions from tumbling out and resist singing for the death of slave in the group.

Overview: 12 Years a Slave takes the dramatic edge off Django Unchained by being bolder and having a seriousness that the latter might have played with. Ejiofer, Fassbender and Nyong'o will reap nominations and awards aplenty.