Theatrical Releases: X-Men: Days Of Future Past

X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST || May 23rd, 2014

	With a cast including Robin Williams, Mila Kunis, Peter Dinklage, and Melissa Leo, it is hard to say “no” to “The Angriest Man In Brooklyn”, a poor quality film about a man told he only has 90 minutes to live and the path of redemption that he tries to take in that short period of time after being a difficult person most of his adult life. Dinklage pulls double duty this week, also starring in “X-Men: Days Of Future Past”, this time playing Williams’ brother to whom he tries and reconcile with. Everyone is slightly over acting but it still hard to get a bad performance out of any of these actors/actresses.	50% PROBABLY
	Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore’s third outing together, “Blended” continues Sandler’s random tangent comedy that feels too childish to be endured. With an adult storyline about two single parents trying to give the best to their children, and low brow, low hanging fruit jokes seemingly made for children, there is a strange unbalance to the film as a whole. Its only saving grace being Terry Crews as the leader of an all African chorus group, the film continues to drive the nail into Sandler’s unfunny coffin.
	Michael C. Hall continues to his ventures post-Dexter, this time playing a mullet haired redneck that in defending his home kills a man, and becomes involved in a police cover up, as Hall’s character is shown a picture of the man he killed and realizes that is not the man he killed. “Cold In July” also stars Sam Shepard also stars as the alleged victims father just released from prison who begins to stalk and terrorize Hall’s family, including the super talented Vinessa Shaw. Don Johnson also stars.	THEATER
	Combining the original trilogy with the First Class, “X-Men: Days Of Future Past” is the most star-studded venture into the lore yet, following one of the most high profile stories of the X-Men, which sends Wolverine back in time in an attempt to stop Mystique from killing the Sentinel inventor, Trask (Peter Dinklage). Juggling these characters excellently, the narrative still feels slight on most of the characters, offering very little screen-time for any one character. Matching the conflicts of almost every “X-Men” film so far, with Xavier and Magneto butting heads, as refreshing as this film may be, it still sometimes feels like a retread. With an ending that will tangle your brain (as time travel will almost always do), the film feels like a reboot to the franchise, except with the same exact cast in place.

	Morgan Freeman voices this documentary about the legendary musician titled, “B.B. King: The Life Of Riley”, which uses archival footage and interviews with fellow musicians, including Bono, Eric Clapton, and countless more, to tell the story of the man and his rise in music. Yet another addition to the documentary genre of telling stories about one man, this is another example of a man that I am simply not that interested in and although I do enjoy some of his music, his life does not come off that unique or interesting to me.	PASS
	Despite having a striking visual style, French filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky’s “The Dance Of Reality” is a little too out there for my liking, reminiscent of another fellow foreign film, “Holy Motors”. And even though I thoroughly enjoyed “Holy Motors”, this film does not have the darkness that grabbed my attention in the former. Recently featured in a documentary about his struggles with making his film “Dune”, Alejandro Jodorowsky looks to hold on to any advances in his star power by releasing this film not long after.	PASS
	“The Fatal Encounter” fails to differentiate itself from any other foreign kung-fu fare. Set in 1777, it has a strong resemblance to that of Academy Award nominated foreign film “The Grandmaster”. Jae Kyoo Lee is not a well known kung-fu director, which also does not help the case, and with no spectacle in visual styling, this film merely falls off slightly, with nothing making it stand out.	PASS
	Gore Vidal is an interesting man. Known for his liberalism and involvement in film, literature, and politics, “Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia” takes a personal look at his life through one-on-one interviews with the man himself as well as the people that knew him best. Not sure what the viewer supposed to take away from this film, and yet another addition the genre of documentary set out to chronicle almost every living person, this is not something that peaks my interest, involving no real life lessons to speak of and no real urgency. Here’s a man, here’s the life he lived.	PASS
	Starring Pierce Brosnan and Emma Thompson as a divorced couple, “The Love Punch” sees them forced back together in Paris when a company attempts to take all their money. Scheming together in order to get their money back, the couple begins to see what made them fall in love with each other in the first place and even though Thompson plays the part of the couple that does not want to get back together, coming off very much like the grumpy character in her last role for “Saving Mr. Banks”.	PASS
	Set in New York and touting to be a quintessential look at the city, “Stand Clear of the Closing Doors” is about a 13-year-old boy with Asperger’s Syndrome that gets lost in the city, using the subway system throughout the day to get even more lost. Including scenes shot during Hurricane Sandy that were written into the story, the film has a eloquence that independent films strive for, but the trailer does not quite peak enough interest to want to see it. Jesus Sanchez-Velez looks strong his role as the young boy but with no real supporting power, the film falls a bit thin.	PASS
	Too cheesy for its own good, “Words and Pictures” pits Clive Owen against Juliette Binoche in a high school setting, one teaching English, the other teaching art, as they slowly fall for one another. The problem with the trailer, however, is that it gives away almost everything, showing you that the couple eventually puts their differences aside to fall in love with one another. As excited as I am to see a resurgence in Juliette Binoche‘s career (“Godzilla” last week), she can do better than this.	PASS