X-Men: Days of Future Past - Marcus Rosemount Theater

I....  Well... I really wanted to like it.... But...


Must See In Theater (if your a big X-Men fan), otherwise rent it.

It wasn't bad really, but it plays a lot with history, even history kinda already established in the other films. I say kinda because apparently they found just the right sized history-hole to put this film in, and then the film in-turn takes that established history and puts it in a blender.


The gist of it:
Way future. Mutants are at war with the Humans mostly. Mutants are losing big-time due to the improved Sentinel robots taking them out. These bots were invented/created back in the very early 1970's during the Nixon era (they said the exact year, but I forget now). These bots have no metal in them (which is impossible in that era of tech). The very future versions are far improved and rather lethal, having gained the ability to adapt to their opponents powers. That ability was taken from an extensive diagnosis of Mystique's transforming ability (via autopsy and experimentation) back in the 1970's again.......   which already destroys the first X-Men movies since that never happened.

Wolverine gets MENTALLY sent back in time (his future brain/mind wakes up in his past body) to prevent the war from ever starting; discredit the Sentinels and their creator, make the President understand that Mutants aren't the enemy, that kind of thing. Kitty Pride sends him back with her newly developed power to do so (convenient that is, eh?).


I honestly don't recall a whole lot about the movie because they broke science and physics to greater and lesser degrees multiple times throughout the story once the time travel thingy got going. I have a hard time accepting, for example, that you can have a 1970's tech giant robot that can fly, detect mutants, and is generally autonomous without it containing any metal (they were built with Magneto in mind). So, well, how does the electricity work? And the computer/electronics? Sensors? Movement of servos for arms and legs? In the 70's that was all metal baby, so this is a ludicrous statement. We also see conflict between Magneto and Mystique in this, to the point that she walks away from him (wants nothing to with him at the end of the film). We know that she almost blindly follows him through the first few films in the franchise, so what the heck happened between then and now to make her so totally obedient to him?

This film feels more like an attempt to reboot the entire X-Men universe so they can get more films out it with younger actors. Much like the Star Trek reboot a few years back.

It was entertaining, and the less science and technical types will get more enjoyment out of it than I did I'm sure. We'll probably end up buying this one just to maintain the movie collection, and for the kids in the future to watch, but no other reason than that.

Cloud Atlas - Blu-Ray

OK, ok, I know this is from Blu-Ray and not the theater, but we couldn't get out to see it at the time. In fact I'm the only one out of all of us that has seen it.

That being said...

Rent it.

Not to destroy the story line for folks that still haven't seen it...
The way they jumped back and forth through the different stories or parts of stories was a bit infuriating at times, made it difficult to keep up with everything. I'm still trying to figure out what the thing in the past was that sparked the thing in the future. Was it the music? The repeating message about equality and acceptance? Honestly, I think I'd have an easier time if I ripped the movie onto a computer, and recut it to put all the same-story bits together, and then put those larger bits together in chronological order.

I found this movie hard to get through, mostly due to the already noted jumbling of timelines and story bits. The acting for the most part was fine, with a well known actor doing his best to be different in each case (and mostly succeeding) and another well known female actor seeming to reprise roles/character types that she has already done before (read: limited range of characters).

If I wathc this again (or a couple more times), I might change my mind as I start collecting and remembering enough information about each bit and segment to start piecing things together in a more coherent way.

For now....   I'd have better spent my money on something else. I bought this based on the many glowing reviews, and I'm usuaully not disappointed when I do that. In this case I kinda was.