Book, Film & TV Reviews
The 11th instalment in the X-Men film series and the sequel to 2016’s hugely successful superhero film, Deadpool 2, directed by David Leitch, follows the foul-mouthed mutant mercenary Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), who brings together a team of fellow mutant rogues to protect a young boy with supernatural abilities (Julian Dennison) from the brutal, time-traveling cyborg, Cable (Josh Brolin).
The tenth film in the X-Men film series and the third and final instalment in the Wolverine trilogy, Logan, directed by James Mangold, is set in 2029 in alternate bleak future where mutants are nearly all gone, as it follows an aged and isolated Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and his only companions, the outcast Caliban (Stephen Merchant) and an extremely ill Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) whose singular mind is plagued by worsening seizures. But Logan’s attempts to hide from the world and his legacy abruptly end when a mysterious woman appears with an urgent request: that Logan shepherd an extraordinary young mutant girl, Laura (Dafne Keen), to safety, as they must escape the capture of the villainous Reavers, led by Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) and Zander Rice (Richard E. Grant).
The ninth instalment in the X-Men film series, following on from 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, and again directed by Bryan Singer, X-Men: Apocalypse is set in 1983 when the first and most powerful mutant, En Sabah Nur a.k.a. Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), awakens after thousands of years. Amassed with the powers of many other mutants, which has enabled him to become both immortal and invincible, Apocalypse plans to wipe out modern civilisation and take over the world, and recruits a team of powerful mutants – including a disheartened Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Angel (Ben Hardy), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), and Psylocke (Olivia Munn) – to help him cleanse mankind and create a new world order, over which he will reign. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Professor X (James McAvoy), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), and Quicksilver (Evan Peters), return to lead a team of young X-Men – including Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) – to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction.
Marvel‘s first release of 2016, and the eighth installment in the X-Men series, directed by Tim Miller, Deadpool tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), who, diagnosed with terminal cancer and willing to do anything to spend more time with his fiance, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), undergoes a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers. Thus, he adopts the alter ego, Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humour, Deadpool hunts down Francis Freeman a.k.a. Ajax (Ed Skrein), the man who nearly destroyed his life, and his sidekick Angel Dust (Gina Carano), alongside fellow X-Men Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) and Colossus (voiced by Stefan Kapičić).
From performing Oklahoma! on stage to his numerous roles as The Wolverine, Hugh Jackman has gone from Australian TV to being one of the most popular superheroes on-screen.
Here is my ranking of his performances (not of the films themselves) to date:
(My original post was written for Filmoria, but it has been edited since then.)
With The Hunger Games franchise establishing Jennifer Lawrence as the highest-grossing action heroine of all time, it’s her first roles in the TBS sitcom The Bill Engvall Show and the independent films The Burning Plain and Winter’s Bone, for which she received her first Academy Award nomination, that made her an actress to keep an eye on.
Since then, Lawrence has won an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and a BAFTA, as well as a number of other awards, with Rolling Stone commenting in 2012 that she is “the most talented young actress in America”.
From stumbling up the stairs after winning her first Oscar for her role in Silver Linings Playbook to her adorable honesty and natural wit in interviews, Lawrence is undeniably one of the best actresses around at the minute. So let’s take a look at five of her best performances.
Here is my ranking of her performances (not of the films themselves) to date:
From the director of X-Men 1 and 2, Bryan Singer, X-Men: Days of Future Past sees the ultimate X-Men ensemble fight a war for the survival of the species across two time periods. As the characters that began our X-Men infatuation from the original trilogy of films – Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Magneto (Ian McKellen), Storm (Halle Berry), Kitty (Ellen Page), and Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) – join forces with their younger selves from the excellent prequel X-Men: First Class – Professor X (James McAvoy), Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), and Beast (Nicholas Hoult) – when Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is sent back in time, they must change a major historical event and fight in an epic battle that could save both humans and mutants.
The sixth instalment in the X-Men franchise and following the events of X-Men: The Last Stand, The Wolverine, directed by James Mangold, picks up with Marvel superhero Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) as he is summoned to Japan by an old acquaintance in a struggle that has lasting consequences. Embroiled in a conflict and stripped of his immortality, Wolverine must battle deadly samurai as well as confront his own inner demons.
X-Men: First Class is the prequel to the X-Men franchise and is directed by Kick Ass‘ Matthew Vaughn. This latest addition to the, until now, trilogy details the formation of Professor Charles Xavier’s (James McAvoy) school for young mutants, focusing on his relationship with Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and where it took a wrong turn, and explaining the origin of the rival mutant teams, introducing us to both younger characters from the previous films and to new characters as well, showcasing a handful of extraordinary new powers.
Read, Watch & Drink Coffee 