So I got up bright and early this morning and went and saw X-Men: Days of Future Past. When I first heard of the film and saw the previews and trailers, I thought that it would be dreadful, but after my experience today, I discovered that was not the case. Bryan Singer directed the first X-Men film, and second, and should have directed the 3rd and spinoffs as well. Between him and the writer Simon Kinberg, they produced one of the most excellent Marvel based films I've seen. It is dark, well written, a fantastic cast along with fantastic acting, and well filmed. I really enjoyed the film. Honestly, there isn't enough good things that I could say about the film currently. Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Ian McKellen, James McAvoy, Patrick Stewart, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Nicholas Hoult, Halle Berry, Shawn Ashmore, and Evan Peters (Quicksilver) all contributed to make a rather splendid film. Peter Dinklage played a great villain, although I occasionally thought of Tyrion Lannister when he spoke. The best part of the acting scenes involved Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, and Hugh Jackman; very well written. I do have to say that I was impressed. The Sentinels from the future were impressive both visually, and also as villains in the film; they came across as deadly, vicious, and effectively intelligent being essentially the perfect villains. The action sequences were dynamic, impressive, well done, interesting, and done tastefully. The music by John Ottman was equally good, and it was delightful to hear some familiar themes that he composed for the 2nd X-Men film. He also did a fine job of editing; of bringing two concurrent timelines seamlessly together. As far as action.adventure, and comic book adaptations go, I highly suggest watching this film. It was very enjoyable, but also very dark (which is how I like them) but it really makes the journey that much better. All of the films are weaved together into this one, so that was a nice touch. I'm curious to see what the new film will be like. Oh, and don't forget to stay until the credits are over as there is an interesting foreshadowing of things from the past which will impact the future. I read an article in the Wall Street Journal today about the British Foreign Minister expressing his disappointment and disgust with China and Russia for vetoing a U.N. Security Council Resolution for indicting both the Assad regime and the rebel for war crimes at the Hague. He said something to the extent that it was a travesty of of justice that these two countries opposed this course of action. I'm sure that the rebels fighting Assad are concerning themselves with what the world considers war crimes, and the same for Assad. Both factions are fighting for survival, and human behavior has shown time and time again that when the chips are down and one has everything to lose, the rule book goes out the window, as does morality and ethics. You don't have time for such civilized constructs of reality when you are fighting against a ruthless foe that is determined to utterly, and ruthlessly destroy you. Syria has become an inexcusable, violent mess of which there is no good way to solve the civil war. Egypt is still uncertain, as is Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, and also more recently Thailand. There is so much evil and hate in this world right now, no wonder films like Marvel comic book heroes are so popular; everyone wants to escape reality. God help us all.X-Men: Days of Future Past clip
Bryan Singer interview
Lucy trailer (looks very, very, very intriguing)
