The Awesome X-Men: First Class with James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon & Rose Byrne

Posted on June 7, 2011 Written by ripitup

X-Men: First Class starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon & Nicholas Holt. Image via morfingen.com.

Warning! This review has been written for the people who have seen the X-Men movies (If you haven’t seen X-Men movies, there might be spoilers)

X-Men: First Class is the prequel to the X-Men series. We go a couple of decades back, to a time when Magneto was Erik (Michael Fassbender), and Professor X was Charles (James McAvoy), and he could walk… We get to see how the mutants were recruited by Charles to help save the humans from the common enemy Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), a man with a couple of mutants in his charge. Shaw is trying to destroy as many humans as he can because this makes him stronger, and Erik cares more about taking his revenge than helping others.

Here is how the story starts:

1940s

– The smart and telepathic Charles is born to rich but absent parents. He is living in a mansion when he meets Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), the girl who would later become Mystique. Raven had occasionally planned to hide her true (blue) colors, but Charles reveals his secret, as well as hers, befriends her and keeps treating her like a sister as they grow up.

– Erik loses both parents to concentration camps, and is kept alive by Shaw for his ability to control and move metal, an ability that surfaces when he feels extremely upset and angry. When Shaw kills Erik’s mother to guarantee the necessary amount of rage, he gains a very powerful enemy.

– Fast forward over a decade. Charles becomes a professor whose specialty is mutation, a specialty he uses to pick up girls. However, he becomes aware of the common enemy, and the existence of not-so-friendly mutants when CIA agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) pays him a visit, demanding an explanation about mutants. While most of the CIA isn’t that cooperative and understanding, an agent played by Oliver Platt takes Charles to the special unit he has built, where Charles and Raven get to meet the mutant Hank (Nicholas Hoult) and start recruiting other mutants to help America, and Russia against Shaw. Will they be able to prevent a nuclear war and stop Shaw? What will break Charles and Erik’s bond? And how will each of the mutants feel about conformity or individuality and uniqueness?

X-Men First Class is indeed a first-class prequel. It carries the right amount of emotion and character development (for the main characters), the glorious kind of action and terrific acting on all parties. To be honest, I wasn’t really excited to see it after seeing the trailer. But I am so glad that I did. The movie works so well on so many levels that the trailer just doesn’t do it justice. The movie also has fun references to the X-men movies, as well as 2 great cameos* (read below to spoil the surprise a little) from the X-Men cast.

*Hugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine/Logan, is sitting in a bar when Erik and Charles show up, trying to introduce themselves. The other mutants have been interested, whereas Logan replies “Fuck Off! “ And orders another drink.

*Erik is drawn to Raven, but he finds her too young. When he sees her in his bed, he says “Maybe in a few years…” That is when Raven turns herself to Rebecca Romjin- who has played Mystique in the series.

The bottom line is: See this movie! It has a great cast, a great story and great effects. The cameos, and the other fun references to the X-Men movies are just bonuses!

Currently rated at 8.3 on IMDB.com. A heartfelt 9 from me. Can’t wait to see it again. It also made me want to re-watch the X-men movies.

Fun Notes:

– X-Men first class was directed by Matthew Vaughn, who also directed Stardust, Layer Cake and Kick-Ass.

– One of the co-writers & co-producers is Bryan who directed the first two X-Men films.

<br>
**

Also on James McAvoy

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Swordfish starring Hugh Jackman, John Travolta, Halle Berry & Don Cheadle

Posted on February 13, 2011 Written by ripitup

Swordfish starring Hugh Jackman, John Travolta, Halle Berry & Don Cheadle. Directed by Dominic Sena. Written by Skip Woods. Image via maniadb.com

Swordfish starring Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, John Travolta and Don Cheadle

Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) is a brilliant hacker who recently got out of jail and banned from working his mojo on computers. This suits him just fine, because all he wants to do is to see more of his young daughter Holly (Camryn Grimes). Unfortunately, his ex-wife (Drea de Matteo)is an alcoholic bitch married to a porn industry king and has gotten full custody. Stanley needs a lot of money to win a court battle and he doesn’t have any. Knowing his weak point, Ginger (Halle Berry) finds Stanley to make him a dangerous offer: her boss Gabriel (John Travolta) needs the best hacker for a highly illegal job and is ready to pay Stanley millions for his services. While Stanley doesn’t want to go back to jail, “helping” Gabriel seems like the only solution. Unfortunately, Gabriel is a lot more dangerous and psychotic than Stanley first estimated, Ginger seems to be full of secrets and the F.B.I agent Roberts (Don Cheadle) – the very agent who put Stanley behind bars in the first place- is after Gabriel and wants to use Stanley to get to him. How the hell will Stanley survive and get Holly back?

Swordfish is one kick-ass action/thriller. It starts with a blast, and some dialogue that only foreshadows how crazy and well-prepared Gabriel is. John Travolta makes a great villain. And Gabriel is even scarier and more powerful than his Broken Arrow character because well, the villains and the good guys in Swordfish have some really fine grey areas. The writing is fast, the action is satisfactory and despite defying logic in some areas, it is one hell of a ride. Directed by Dominic Sena (Gone in Sixty Seconds, Kalifornia, Season of the Witch). Written by Skip Woods (Hitman, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The A- Team).

8/10 for the entertainment value.

Favorite scenes:

– When Gabriel (John Travolta) goes all ballistic to shake their tail in the street – while making Stanley drive.

– Everything about Gabriel’s getting in, and getting out plan.

Fun notes:

– Stanley’s ex-wife is played by Drea de Matteo – who played Angie on Desperate Housewives in the show’s 6^th season. She also played Joey’s sister in the Friends spin-off Joey.

– Hugh Jackman co-starred with Halle Berry 3 more times: The X-Men trilogy.

– Dominic Sena has directed Nicolas Cage twice: 2000’s action film Gone in Sixty Seconds and 2011’s fantasy action Season of the Witch.

– Nicolas Cage and John Travolta starred in Face/Off together where both of them played the villain and the good guy in the same movie.

Also on Hugh Jackman:

Hugh Jackman Trivia

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6 Hollywood Stars That Would Make 20-Year-Olds Jealous

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Hugh Jackman: My Favorite Australian

Other Don Cheadle Movies:

Iron Man 2 starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle & Scarlett Johansson

Brooklyn’s Finest starring Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke & Don Cheadle

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Pulp Fiction

6 Movies with Brilliant Casts feat. Hairspray starring John Travolta

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6 Hollywood Stars That Would Make 20-Year-Olds Jealous

Posted on January 19, 2010 Written by ripitup

Looking younger rocks. A close friend of mine hadn’t enjoyed this when he looked 19 (when he really was 27) and was asked for his ID all the time at the entrance of clubs. He is happy that he is not getting ID-ed any more but he still barely looks over 22 at his 30s and he is absolutely loving it.

Of course sometimes there is surgery but some Hollywood stars have made a habit of leaving healthier life styles, working out and looking even better and fitter than their early age. This is good news because they keep getting lead roles and even when they are cast as parents, they have enough scenes to show that they rock. What can I say? For some lucky stars, 40s are the new 30s.

Marisa Tomei

Born in 1964.

Yeah, Marisa can pull it off. She is pretty, young and just lovely in every role. She has a lot of leading roles but even when she is the supporting actress, it is always a pleasure to watch her. You can check her out in What Women Want and Someone Like You.

Terry Hatcher

Born in 1964.

Teri Hatcher is the sexiest Desperate Housewife.

In one of the episodes, Susan (Thatcher)’ s husband Mike (James Denton) gets a plumbing gig in a strip club. When Susan argues that he can’t go, Mike rebels and he claims it is an innocent act and she can’t forbid him. Of course being Susan, she finds a great way to make her point. The next time Mike has a job there, he finds Susan on the stage, stripping. She rocked! Boys, think again before going to a strip club. Because we’ve got a great way to prove our point!

I do have Thatcher’s book Burnt Toast. After all, who better to talk about being fit, healthy and making it in Hollywood?

Timothy Olyphant

1968

I already did a full post on Tim. You can find all about him here.

Hugh Jackman

1968

Have you seen X-Men Origins: Wolverine? If you haven’t, you are missing out on a great action flick. And boys, if you are interested in building solid muscles, I’d suggest buying Men’s Health magazine with Hugh on the cover. In the long run, it really would make you happier than Maxim or Playboy. ; )

Gerard Butler

1969

There’s not much to say, except: This guy rocks. He totally blew it for other guys, as Conan O’ Brien puts in one interview. Oh well, I’ll just link to my review of the Gamer featuring the trailer. Yeah, he kicks ass. A lot.

Justin Chambers

1970

Justn Chambers of Grey's Anatomy — Justin Chamber plays Alex Karev in Grey's Anatomy. His character keeps going from jackass to passionate lover, and then back to wiseass again. He also looks younger than the interns the hospital gets each season.

Grey’s Anatomy’s Alex and former model Justin Chambers will be 40 in July, but I feel bad about forgetting about him in my 6 Celebrities That Aged Really Well post. Wow. As much as 7 ( now 8) kids have caused Mel Gibson to mature too soon, it seems like Justin’s 5 kids are serving as a youth fountain. Yes, he has 5.

FOLLOW-UPs

Six Celebrities That Aged Really Well

(featuring Johnny Depp, Tim Robbins, Jon Bon Jovi, Robert Downey Jr., Keanu Reeves, Billy Joe Armstrong)

40 Somethings That Would Make 20-year-olds Jealous

(featuring Nicole Kidman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Edward Norton, Clive Owen)

Choosing Movies According to the Actor

Posted on November 21, 2009 Written by ripitup

I have a favorite video store and I just have to get in there and browse through their stuff. My friends do occasionally try to stop me so I just tell them to hang out somewhere and I go in the store anyway. Sometimes they come in and look around. Occasionally the store manages to catch up with my speed and has some promising movies I haven’t seen. When my friends ask why I pick on particular movie I give a simple answer like: “Oh, Christian Slater is in it! Can’t believe I haven’t seen this one before”. Or “it has Hugh Jackman! ” “you wouldn’t know him- but James Spader is a great actor.” One time one of my friends went: “What? You pick the movie according to the actor?” And I said yeah. I know he thought I was just being superficial and picked the movies where the leads are hot but I really didn’t bother correcting a guy whose favorite actress is Megan Fox.

A movie consists of many elements. It has the behind the scenes crew, the actors, the story…I always read the plot summary before I buy a movie but that’s hardly enough. This is the year 2009 and so many movies have been made that complete/partial originality is almost a luxury. I can follow a director but a director usually favors a genre and there are hardly many directors out there whose most work I enjoy. I mean I don’t like Quentin Tarantiono or Oliver Stone. I only liked one movie by Stone so far. I am not a fan of Brian De Palma and I like half of Spielberg’s work but I am not sure he mixes personal with entertainment well. I love Richard Donner- the guy directed a lot of my favorite Mel Gibson movies. Since directors usually shoot less movies than a famous actor appears in on average, it is statistically better to follow an actor if you like his movies. The style varies yet there is a possibility that you will enjoy his choices.
For the 90s and up until his “I- love- directing- so -much -more”- phase, Mel Gibson was a great choice. He did drama,thriller, romance,action,epic, adaptation and he did them all well. The 90s have great actors in that sense: Kevin Costner, Tom Cruise, Christian Slater… Keanu Reeves still makes good movies, and a recent fav. of mine is Gerard Butler. As for actresses, Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock have made some great movies, as well as Nicole Kidman. See how many movies it made in total? If you know the actors’ work, why not choose according to the cast?