X-Men: Apocalypse

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Bryan Singer/Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Oscar Isaac, Rose Byrne, Olivia Munn, Tye Sheridan, Nicholas Hoult, Evan Peters, Sophie Turner, Kodi-Smit McPhee and Ally Sheedy

Professor X's gang is back for another CGI carnival; X-Men: Apocalypse; director Bryan Singer's latest franchise installment. The cast for this franchise seems to be growing at an exponential rate. This time we have the ferociously talented Oscar Isaac joining the magnificently-talented Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy for a movie that is fairly entertaining but hardly distinguished. The film's propulsion operates on casting and acting power rather than solid storytelling and a riveting plot. For me, any movie starring Jennifer Lawrence, Fassbender, McAvoy and Isaac is reason enough to pay the admission price. The four actors are solid anchors for a comic book movie that resembles not only the series predecessors but The Avengers. I'm starting to confuse the respective franchises.

In the latest story, we see ancient Egypt, or an idealized, comic book version thereof. Under an enormous pyramid, a ritual is in process which will transfer the soul and power from a god-like being known as En Sabah Nur to another, thus ensuring life everlasting. But saboteurs ensure the transference fails, which destroys the pyramid; leaving Nur buried under rubble; dormant for centuries thereafter.

In present day Egypt, CIA operative Moira Mactaggert (Rose Byrne) trails a group of men who unearth an underground passage to En Sabah Nur's burial site. Mactaggert watches in dismay as the all-powerful entity is resurrected.

In another part of the world, we see Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender), otherwise known as Magneto, working anonymously in a Polish foundry; his identity concealed from his co-workers. In hiding from the world, Magneto has managed to start a family and maintain a low profile. But when he uses his powers to save a fellow co-worker, the authorities become aware of his true identity. Not long after, Lehnsherr, his wife and child are confronted in the woods by a posse of law enforcement officers with non-metallic bows and arrows. One projectile is accidentally discharged, killing Magneto's daughter and wife. Though powerless to manipulate any weapon lacking metallic properties, a chain with a medallion is used to dispatch all the officers in an efficient, lethal manner.

Meanwhile, in Westchester County, NY; Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) seeks out Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) to alert him to Magneto's whereabouts. Though a mutant, Mystique's reluctance to connected to the organization or to even be referred to as her crime-fighting appellation is acute, which contrasts sharply with Xavier's commitment to helping and guiding all mutants.

While Mystique and Xavier concern themselves with Magneto, Nur wanders Egyptian streets, observing all that has become of the world he once knew. Feeling nothing but contempt for what he sees, he initiates an agenda to cleanse the world. He enlists others with mutant powers: Storm (Ororo Munroe); a waif who sees Nur use his powers to dispatch a group of men who accost him on the city streets; Angel (Ben Hardy); another mutant whose powerful wings serve as offensive and defensive weapons and Psylocke (Olivia Munn), whose weapons of choice are dual lethal swords. Utilizing his god-like powers, Nur augments his follower's abilities; rendering them more dangerous. But the most dangerous recruit is Magneto himself, who sees Nur's plan for global destruction a goal worthy of his own.

Xavier and the X-Men become aware of Nur when he and his newly formed group infiltrate their headquarters for the express purpose of kidnapping Professor X, whose ability to detect and communicate with mutants worldwide becomes highly coveted. When Nur and his team succeed in kidnapping Xaver, Mystique becomes the reluctant leader of a rescue team which consists of Quicksilver (Evan Peters), Beast/Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult; sporting cool-looking blue hair and beard), Jane Grey (Sophie Turner), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), and Nightcrawler (Kodi-Smit McPhee), whose ability to transport himself instantaneously through space becomes highly useful. But their efforts go awry when a mutant-hating Colonel named Stryker captures the team and imprisons them in a cell in a secret facility. This subplot is kind of fun. The group discovers another famous mutant being held in the facility. Nightcrawler and Jane Grey manage to help the group escape, which leads them on a collision course with Nur and his followers, who have already begun the process of transferring Xavier's mighty powers of mind to the Egyptian God. But the group must also stop Magneto, whose augmented powers have been harnessed to destroy cities and bridges worldwide.
The latter half of the film is the inevitable battle between the X-Men and Nur's super-mutant team.

Director Bryan Singer is an old hat with Marvel movies, having directed several through his career. He coaxes a reasonably interesting story from his co-written script and gives the X-Men a formidable foe to test their powers against. Nur is an interesting villain with unbelievable power but somehow he becomes a bit bumbling during the climactic fight. What looked like an unbeatable villain early on proves to be less dangerous later in the film. What little suspense the story held was established early on but it spilled away in the second half.

It's tough blogging about superhero films because the normal critical foci; direction, cinematography, acting, etc., play second fiddle to the almighty visuals. With superhero flicks, it's CGI-uber-alles.

But in spite of the towering visual effects, some humanity manages to sprout. It seems Professor X and Mystique will forever try to convince Magneto that a spark of goodness still exists in him. The indication is that they may have succeeded, which is too bad, considering the X-Men movies are always more fun when Magneto is disgruntled and on a rampage. The series has certainly undergone a youthful makeover; younger actors have now assumed the roles of principal characters.

I think I've come to expect a McDonald's experience with the Marvel movies. One knows a Big Mac's taste will never vary, nor will anything else on a Golden Arches menu. In spite of that fact, we still return; satisfied that some things remain the same, year in, year out. To me, the analogy seems very apt. I get what I expect with superhero movies, so I'm never dissatisfied. But there is hope. Deadpool and Antman offer the genre more humorous possibilities.

Please forgive my afore-expressed editorial but I have little more to say about X-Men: Apocalypse other than it wasn't dull. If you'd rather not cough up a dozen dollars to reach the same conclusion, then might I suggest you see...uh...Captain America: Civil War?

Victor Frankenstein

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Paul McGuigan/Starring: James McAvoy, Daniel Radcliffe, Jessica Brown Findlay, Bronson Webb, Andrew Scott and Charles Dance

One might wonder, while watching Victor Frankenstein; the latest interpretation of Mary Shelley's story, why the world needed another adaptation when so many are so forgettable. Try to remember, if your memory is sound; I, Frankenstein, from 2014. That film, which starred Aaron Eckhart as some sort of superhero Frankenstein; was silly and moronic. If you can't recall the film, it's because it begged you to forget it. Director Paul McGuigan's Frankenstein adaptation isn't quite as bad but it uses every means at its disposal to be forgettable too. In fact, it would rather you didn't wait a day or two after the screening to slip your mind; it demands immediate oblivion.
Though it has a game cast; talented James McAvoy as Victor Frankenstein and Daniel Radcliffe as Igor, and a willingness to tweak the classic story, it nevertheless plays like a tiresome comic book version of Shelley's masterpiece. In fact, much of the inspiration for the story comes not from the novel but Guy Ritchie's inane Sherlock Holmes movies. The look of 19th century London and Victor Frankenstein's bewildering hand-to-hand fighting prowess made me think of Ritchie's ridiculous reimagining of Holmes; who emerged as an action hero in the director's witless interpretation.

McGuigan's story doesn't open with a shot of a castle on a hillside enveloped in stormy atmosphere, but in a circus. An enormous tent is set against the gray, dingy Victorian London skyline. Among the circus performers is a hunchback (Daniel Radcliffe); whose deformity is an indispensable part of his clown persona. When not enduring degradation, which is meted out by cruel management personnel and colleagues alike, he studies human anatomy and medicine. He also moons over the trapeze artist Lorelei (Jessica Brown Findlay), who suffers a fall during her act. Her broken clavicle, which prevents her from breathing properly, is immediately tended to by the hunchback and a patron who happens to be a doctor. The doctor; Victor Frankenstein (James McAvoy), lends his expertise though he is impressed by the hunchback's knowledge of human anatomy and his ability to diagnose the problem. They perform a temporary fix before Dr. Frankenstein offers the hunchback a place in his laboratory. Of course this means escaping from the circus, which becomes a challenge, as the management refuses to part ways with the hunchback. The two escape to Dr. Frankenstein's lab, where the hunchback's hump becomes the focus of Dr. Frankenstein's immediate attention. Through a violent, painful-looking process, the Doctor is able to cure the hunchback of his hunch and correct his severe slouch. He even assigns him the name Igor (borrowed from his former assistant) to help conceal his identity from the circus management.

The two men form an immediate bond and it isn't long before the Doctor shares the secret of his experiments and research (which we already anticipate): the creation of a man from disparate, anatomical parts, which will then be stimulated into life by harnessed electricity. The men set to work on the project and are able to secure funding from an unscrupulous investor named Rafferty (Bronson Webb), who has his own agenda. An obstacle to the project is Inspector Turpin (Andrew Scott), whose religious zealotry makes him the Doctor's hostile foe.

After Igor's make-over, he happens to meet Lorelei at a ball, where his cosmetic overhaul makes him a handsome prospect for her attentions. And while Igor and Lorelei sew the seeds to romance, Dr. Frankenstein tells anyone who will listen about his research in a stentorian voice that is one setting past irritating.

After the Doctor's first creation ends in disaster; his work draws negative attention, which forces him to move his experiments to a new location. Igor, however; becomes disillusioned with Frankenstein's work, which hastens his departure. As the Inspector becomes more aggressive in his plans to thwart Dr. Frankenstein, another attempt at creating a living, breathing entity takes place at a castle-like location. The second attempt serves as the film's climax as Igor, Turpin and Rafferty turn up at the Doctor's new laboratory. Carnage and destruction reign as the new monster vents his rage on everyone in the laboratory.

In the epilogue, we discover the Doctor; who is now a kind of fugitive, seems to have learned nothing from his ill-advised experiment. He also seems un-chastised and unrepentant.

The film's attempt to address the moral and ethical implications of Dr. Frankenstein's efforts to create life takes place during his heated exchanges with Turpin. Though the Doctor's position is ostensibly one of reason; his atheistic convictions turn out to be pretty flimsy as he makes some concessions to the existence of God.

If Shelley's novel serves as a cautionary tale about scientific hubris, McGuigan's is less a warning about scientific overreach than a warning against its suppression by the reactionary attitudes espoused by religion. That seems refreshing but the fact that Victor Frankenstein emerges emotionally and psychically unscathed from his disastrous experiment tells us he has little or no conscience and will remain the reckless, unheeding clown he seems to be throughout the film. Echoing Hollywood's negative attitudes about science, the film ultimately reinforces the notion that scientists are not to be trusted. Only Igor seems to grasp the ominous implications of their work.

Aside from the film's re-imaginings,Victor Frankenstein sinks into a morass of silliness. The look of Victorian England might be gloomy and gray but the film feels almost farcical at times. James McAvoy and Danielle Radcliffe are terrific actors but they are asked to give depth to characters that have motivations but no discernible interesting, interior lives. McAvoy's Frankenstein is an exhausting, hyperactive child who is all Id and no super-ego.

Maybe there should be a moratorium on Frankenstein films. Other than Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein, I can't think of a version that is worth re-visiting other than James Whale's original 1931 film. Though far from being the worst Shelley adaptation, Victor Frankenstein is very much like the monster the Doctor tries to resurrect; something dead that should have stayed dead.

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Ned Benson/Starring: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Viola Davis, William Hurt, Isabelle Huppert, Bill Hader and Ciaran Hinds

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them is a variation of the film's two other incarnations; Her and Him, which tells the same story but from the different perspectives of the respective characters.

The film already suffers from an unfortunate title. If one had never seen a preview for director Ned Benson's feature film debut, one could think the story a sequel to the Yellow Submarine or a film related to the Beatles.

Jessica Chastain plays Eleanor Rigby, who was christened so after her father showed up for a Beatles reunion that turned out to be a hoax. I guess we can be grateful she wasn't named after some other Beatles' song; I don't think The Disappearance of Rocky Raccoon carries the same gravitas.

After the opening scene where we see Eleanor and her husband Conor Ludlow (James McAvoy) being carried away in the throes of love, we're immediately jarred by what follows. We see Eleanor in an over-the-shoulder shot as she walks along a bridge. She stops, then disappears offscreen. A bystander becomes horrified at what he sees and runs to prevent what becomes a suicide attempt though he fails to reach her in time. She narrowly escapes death after she is pulled from her would-be watery grave.

At this point we don't know why someone so in love would try to off themselves and it is to Benson's credit that he witholds the information, which keeps us intensely curious.

Eleanor, in a delicate emotional state, returns to her parents suburban home to convalesce. Her parents; Julian and Mary Rigby (William Hurt and Isabelle Huppert, respectively) her sister Katy and her nephew provide emotional support as Eleanor recovers.

Meanwhile, her estranged husband Conor desperately tries to keep his failing restaurant in the city afloat but he finds it difficult when his friend and underachieving, uninspired and apathetic chef Stuart (Bill Hader) is more an obstruction than an asset.

As Conor tries to reestablish contact with his wife, Eleanor tries to distract herself by enrolling in a class at city college. Her professor, Lillian Friedman (Viola Davis) was once a colleague of her father's. Lillian is suspicious of Eleanor's motives for taking her course, thinking it might be a lark but accepts her anyway. The two form a friendship over the course of the semester, meeting for coffee after class.

During a moment of subtle exposition, we learn the motive behind Eleanor's suicide attempt: the tragic death of her infant son.

The film does well introducing so many characters; arranging them like satellites around the main protagonists. Eleanor is drawn into the dramas of her family, which are slowly teased out; her father's fear of not providing proper paternal support, her mother's regret about giving up her music to raise a family and her sister Katy's single parent status. But we also learn a little about the people in Conor's life, particularly his father Spencer (Ciaran Hinds); a successful restaurateur who is the object of his son's scorn for his supposed disregard for Conor's mother.

One might think the loss of a child and the subsequent frayed marriage would be enough drama for one film but story insists everyone have their story, which deal with themes of parenting or the lack thereof. This poses a problem for the director; we're asked to feel empathy for so many characters whose stories deserve more time and attention than the film can possibly devote. Though Viola Davis is a powerful presence and her character worthy of screentime, Professor Friedman is little more than a repository of world-weary wisdom for Eleanor but in the end, she dispenses very little that is useful. The same problem applies to the other supporting actors; the three H's: Hurt, Huppert and Hinds, whose stock-in-trade is playing well-rounded characters with depth. If you cast actors as talented as H3, you better serve them characters deep as the Marianas Trench. But given their limited screentime, they are still fun to watch.

The same can be said of Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy. Chastain is a riveting presence in any film. Her luminous beauty and striking red hair almost distract us from her performance, which is typically accomplished. James McAvoy is equally fine but the film as a whole doesn't utilize any of the considerable talents to great effect. It creates interesting situations and backstories but somehow it only touches on them timidly.

It's an error in judgement to sell this movie as a romance. A critic's endorsement is seen on many of the movie posters for the film that read "One of the most romantic love stories ever." Aside from being ridiculous, hyperbolic praise, the statement is also misleading. I wouldn't call a film about a couple dealing with death of their infant a romantic love story, would you? Not that a movie of this ilk needs to avoid romance altogether but this isn't Roman Holiday. Maybe I'm being too unreasonable.

And I have no idea what the Beatles' song has to do with the themes or the narrative in the movie. The use of an iconic rock song in the title smacks of a gimmicky ploy to lure a certain audience. Aside from a few references, the song plays no thematic role in the film.

But ultimately, the problem with the film isn't its silly title. One of the film's major failings is its inability to make one feel anything--aside from a little pity--for Eleanor and Conor's emotional plight and shaky marriage. But I felt little else. I wasn't even interested in the will-they, won't--they issue the final scene addresses definitively.

The song Eleanor Rigby asks, "All the lonely people, where do they all belong?" My response: in a movie that isn't emotionally flat; one better suited to the considerable talents of the cast.