While it really hasn't been that long since the last movie in the "X-Men" franchise (since 2013's Wolverine or 2011's X-Men: First Class depending on if you take the Wolverine stand-alones into account), It feels like they are finally returning to the X-Men trilogy to me. Maybe it's because they are bringing back so many of the actors from the original three movies, maybe it's because I'm nostalgic that way... or it could just be the fact that I didn't like any of the movies past "Last Stand". Don't get me wrong, "First Class" was decent, but I felt it was too different from the others to be considered part of the series. All of that is about to change however, once this year's early summer blockbuster comes out... and I predict it to be a blockbuster. Why? Well let's find out why I think "Days of Future Past" has the potential to be the best X-Men movie since X2.
On an unrelated note, I just read the rumor that Disney wants to reboot the Indiana Jones franchise with Bradley Cooper playing Indy... I am disappointed by this news.
Back on topic, I see several reasons why DoFP has potential to be good. I'm going to start with the three most obvious reasons, using pics from the most recent trailer:
REASON #1: The return of Brian Singer as director
It's no real debate that of all the five X-Men movies so far, the first two (X-Men and X2: X-Men United) were the best. Some have even said that "X2" is better than "X-Men", and I happen to agree. But that's a debate for another time. But... there's something that can be said about the fact that Singer only directed the first two, and only the first two were considered to be great (again, "First Class" came close, but fell just short for me). "Last Stand" was directed by Bret Ratner and many people were severely disappointed by it. Many fans were equally if not even more up at arms over "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", which was directed by Gavin Hood. First Class was then directed by Matthew Vaughn, and "The Wolverine" by James Mangold. Now, X-Men are finally returning to the man who made them great: Brian Singer.
Patrick Stewart and Brian Singer on set of DoFP
REASON #2: The return of original X-Men Trilogy cast
Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, and Ian McKellen in X-Men: Days of Future Past
Admit it. This is something we've all wanted. The only X-Men member who has been in every movie so far is Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, and even then he only had a ten-second cameo in "First Class". Sure, Patrick Stewart's Charles Xavier has had equally short cameos in two of the other films, and Ian McKellen's Magneto in one, but this movie brings them all back! Well, nearly all of them. Famke Janssen's Jean Grey and James Marsden's Cyclops won't make it as far as I know, since (spoilers) both characters died in "Last Stand". This time, all the important characters are coming back, including Halle Berry as Storm, Shawn Ashmore's Bobby Drake/Iceman, and Ellen Page's Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat. Even Anna Paquin returned for the film as Rogue, although sources say her only scene ended up being cut.
REASON #3: The merging of original X-Men and First Class casts
James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier in X-Men: Days of Future Past
"First Class" took the X-Men franchise in a different direction when it went back in time to focus on the relationship of young Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr (Magneto), and the formation of the X-Men. While it was a good movie over-all, "First Class" had some issues that tripped up the continuity of the other X-Men films. It featured James McAvoy as Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, and Nicholas Hoult as Beast. Now, in "Days of Future Past", the original cast of the X-Men get together to send Wolverine back in time to fix something that went wrong in the past (hmmmmm?) to prevent terrible things that happen in the future. While I get the vibe from the trailer that more time will be spent with the "First Class" cast rather than the original cast, I still think this is a very smart move to pull both casts together. This makes for a diverse and star-studded cast on both ends. Plus there's that money shot in the trailer of James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart, as shown above.
James McAvoy/Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier and Ian McKellen/Michael Fassbender as Magneto in X-Men: Days of Future Past
Now there are other reasons I think "Days of Future Past" will be great. For one, the time period they've chosen for the film highly intrigues me. They are involving Magneto and Mystique in the Kennedy assassination, and there seems to be some hints at the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon in the trailers as well.
Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique in X-Men: Days of Future Past.
I more or less already mentioned this reason while talking about the combining of the two casts, but I also look forward to the star-studded cast this film has to offer. A lot of my personal favorite actors are in this cast, including Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence, Patrick Stewart, and Ian McKellen. I've been a fan of Jackman ever since seeing "The Prestige", of Stewart since "Star Trek: Next Generation", of McKellen since "Lord of the Rings", and of Lawrence in general... I mean, c'mon. It's Jennifer Lawrence. She's hilarious just to watch apart from being a good actress.
Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Jennifer Lawrence, and Hugh Jackman in X-Men Days of Future Past
I know "Days of Future Past" was one of the original X-Men comics (or was it a graphic novel?), but I never read any of the comics. In that respect, I am viewing this at face-value just for what it is. In some ways I see that as a good thing. I have nothing to compare it to other than its previous films. As a film student, I can also analyze story elements from the trailer better than some, and what I see is effective in making me want to see it, more than just wanting to see it because it's the X-Men.
DoFP comes out May 23, 2014. I am planning on doing one of my Monthly Chronicle videos on my YouTube channel with my friend who knows more about X-Men than I do around the time the movie comes out, so if you're interested in seeing that, you should go subscribe to me! Here's the link to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Sampson9091
The time has come again for another Trailer for the next film in The Hobbit trilogy, and with that comes another Trailer Review from me! I don't know about anyone else, but this is the movie coming out this year that I have been looking forward to the most. With the success of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey last year, I have high expectations for its follow-up, The Desolation of Smaug. Peter Jackson continues to deliver good-looking footage based on the book by beloved author, J.R.R. Tolkien. Just like in my Trailer Review of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, there WILL be spoilers in this review, since the movie is based on a book and the review is geared towards those who have read said book.
Firstly, here is the trailer:
There's a lot packed into just two and a half minutes. As opposed to the teaser for the previous film, which was mainly devoted to introducing the dwarves, this does less about who the main characters are... unless you're Legolas. Anyways, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is an upcoming action-adventure fantasy sequel film based on the book "The Hobbit" coming to theaters December 13, 2013. Sequel to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, it is the continuing adventures of title character Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit of the Shire, as he journeys with a company of dwarves to the Lonely Mountain to reclaim their homeland and treasure from the evil dragon, Smaug. Starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, and Benedict Cumberbatch.
The Trailer starts out with a shot of The Lonely Mountain. As I brightened the pictures on my computer, I noticed a boat sailing towards it that I had missed while watching the trailer the first five or six times. As we see this, we hear a voice (possibly Thranduil?) asking the question, "Where does your journey end?"
We are then treated to shots of Erebor up close, and we see the dwarves climbing a statue, which I assume to be the path to the hidden door. Also, like I said above, when I brightened the images, I noticed even more. In this case, I see that at least one dwarf isn't climbing up on the axe like the rest. I think it's Bombur, which makes sense.
We see the ruined city of Dale, which we saw destroyed in the prologue of the previous film.
Here we have a shot of what I strongly believe to be the elf king's hall of Mirkwood. I am very intrigued and impressed by this image. The set bares strong resemblance to both Rivendell and Lorien, the other two elven realms we've seen in LOTR.
It is then we finally get a look at Thranduil, the elven king and father of everyone's favorite elf, Legolas. Admittedly we saw Thranduil briefly in An Unexpected Journey, but we didn't really get fully introduced to him.
And of course, one of The Hobbit's more memorable scenes is the barrel scene where the dwarves escape the elf king's halls by way of hiding in barrels. Depicted above is Bofur in a barrel.
Another image we see is Bilbo at the treetops of Mirkwood, seeing the blue butterflies. It is a moment for Bilbo, as at that point in the story, he and the dwarves have been lost in the forest for several days.
We get to see more barrel shots. Here is Dwalin, half out of his barrel going down a small fall.
Here's where the first added thing that I've notice comes along. It seems as though the elves are racing after and shooting at the dwarves. This did not happen in the book, but I guess it adds suspense.
And here is Mirkwood. A once green, lush forest, no overrun by darkness. We see Bilbo and company over to the right.
Oh hey, look. Legolas is in this movie. This doesn't bother me exactly, even though he was not in the book, because Legolas is the son of the king Thranduil, and given elves' immortality, it is plausible that Legolas could be there. I also see they have his eyes blue. They didn't do a good job keeping them blue in LOTR.
This one I had to think about. Once I realized what it is, I felt stupid. The Dwarves are in Beorn's house, and it seems one of the giant bears is trying to get in.
...And then there's this chick... the one that I'm sure had a lot of Tolkien fans scratching their heads and going "...huh???" I did some research, and found out that she is an original character to this movie named Tauriel. Not sure how I feel about this move. Jackson didn't add any original main characters to LOTR, and I'm assuming she's a main character if they are showing her THIS much in the trailer, and believe me, she's in it a lot more. I also learned that Jackson and fellow writers Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh added her because they "felt they needed a strong female character in the series". ...So is Tauriel Peter Jackson's answer to The Hunger Games' Katniss Everdeen?
Yep. She's a Katniss R.O. Seems legit.
The trailer treats us to a shot of the lake town, where the Dwarves stay and rest before taking the final trek to the Lonely Mountain.
And we're back to Tauriel and Legolas. This part confuses me a little bit. Is she also going to be a love interest for Legolas? Two characters who aren't in the book having their own little subplot? I smell some story padding.
Now, finally, we get a glimpse of the Dwarven treasure. Bilbo is sliding down on it, and that's sure to set off Smaug's OCD. (Dragons know their treasure to an ounce, according to the book).
...And we're back to Dul Guldur, (forgive me if that is misspelled). This is something I knew was coming. I knew that even back as far as when the The Hobbit was being made into just two movies (and even then I was shaking my head that it was two movies). I knew that they would explore what Gandalf was doing while he was away from the dwarves.
...Speaking of Gandalf, here's basically our only shot of Gandalf. I know he's in other shots, but this is pretty much the only shot he's in that he's actually doing something (I.E. says one line).
It also appears as though the non-cannon orcs are going to attack the elves. Mr. Voldem-orc here is still chasing Thorin and Co. for revenge.
After that tangent of things not in the book, we are brought back to the actual story, and this shot made me excited. The trailer teases us with the giant spiders by giving us just enough of a look at one.
We are also treated with our first look at Bard. I'll be perfectly honest... when I first saw him, I literally thought I was looking at Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Caribbean. He looks A LOT like Will Turner.
The final collection of action clips in the trailer give me a theory. This shot depicts Legolas and Tauriel fighting orcs (in day light, no less *facepalm*) on what I believe to be the outskirts of the forest. Since we already saw the elves attacking the dwarves in the barrels in the river, perhaps how the dwarves get away involves the orcs attacking while the elves are attacking, and the elves fight off the orcs while Thorin and Co. slip away.
As the trailer closes, my favorite dwarf, Balin, delivers the most dramatic line of the trailer in response to an off-screen dwarf asking "was that an earthquake?": "That, my lad... was a dragon."
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. BUT! Before the trailer ends, there is one last major teaser:
THE DRAGON!!!! Now THAT is a great way to end a trailer, especially since they've been teasing dragon since the first film. I lightened the image up a bit and we get to see a bit more detail of Smaug.
December 13. Another contender for end-of-the-year blockbusters. A a blockbuster it shall be! Overall, I liked this trailer a lot, but was confused a bit by the middle where they focus on Legolas and Not-Katniss Everdeen. But I'm still excited and I still going to see it. Until then, we've been there, and we will go back again when The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is released.
As I said in my pre-review, here is my Trailer Review for the upcoming movie The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. I'm not gonna lie, I am very excited for this movie more so than other movies I'm interested in seeing this year (second only to The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug). Before reading this Trailer Review, however, I must warn you: I will more than likely spoil the plot for the film. If you haven't read the book, you might want to refrain from looking at this review. You might also want to just read the book. General rule: Books are better than their movies. Unless it's The Wizard of Oz or The Prestige.
Here is the trailer itself:
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is an upcoming action-adventure film based on the novel Catching Fire by Susanne Collins that follows Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark as they tour the districts of Panem on their victory tour after winning the 74th annual Hunger Games. What they don't realize is that their defiance of the rules that they demonstrated in the Games has made them into role models for a rebellion rising in the districts. This prompts President Snow to mark them both as well as the previous Game victors as threats to be resolved in the Quarter Quell.
Okay, now onto the actual trailer.
The first clips we see in the trailer are what I'm guessing to be from the part where Katniss and Peeta are on the Victor's Tour, and I'm pretty sure this is District 11, the home of Katniss's friend/ally Rue in the previous book/film. The mayor of the town introduces them as victors...
...And out they come. Effie still looking as much like Lady Gaga and/or Nicki Minaj as ever. This scene is a good way to open the trailer, because it was the point when Katniss really starts to realize the gravity of her situation and where she now stands with The Capital.
Throughout this part of the trailer, we hear a conversation between President Snow and Plutarch Heavensbee, discussing how Katniss can easily become a threat and how she must be eliminated. Now this conversation was not exactly in the book, but the implication of something similar is suggested, seeing as President Snow has his hand in the design of the Games and Heavensbee is the Head Game Maker of the 75th Annual Hunger Games. Now from a filmmaker's standpoint, adapting a book written in
first-person present-tense is not the easiest, as the book will deal
exclusively with just one character's point-of-view and his/her
perceptions of other people's point-of-views. So for a movie like this,
adding scenes like these is simply logical so that the audience (who didn't read the book) can get a better understanding of what's going on outside of Katniss's limited perspective. You can say what a character is thinking or figuring out in his/her head in a book, but in a movie, you have to show it. So added scenes like these don't bother me one bit.
Another reason I find this piece of the trailer interesting is that it shows Heavensbee playing his double-agent cards. For those who read the books, we know that Heavensbee is secretly a leader of the rebellion, and his influence as the Head Game Maker is a pivotal plot point in the story. I think it is wise, for those who don't know the story to introduce him like this.
The trailer intercuts Snow's and Heavensbee's conversation with clips of Katniss and Peeta's appearance in District 11, leading up to the execution of Rue's family member (at least I think he was family, forgive me but I've only read Catching Fire once so far).
Katniss and Peeta are then informed by Hamitch that they are in a more desperate situation than they realize, and that to avoid more conflicts and deaths of loved ones, they must play along with The Capital's little games (lol puns). Katniss and Peeta keep making appearances as the "Star-Crossed Lovers from District 12"... but of course, Katniss can't keep it up.
At this point, we are treated to scenes of open rebellion while Gale informs Katniss that she has become the symbol of the rebellion.
In the middle of this section of the trailer is a short exchange between Katniss and her sister Prim. I'll be perfectly honest, this is the one part of the trailer I can't place to any specific part of the book.
The rebellion scenes continue on, showing the destruction of The Hub, which I don't recall being directly witnessed in the book, but hey. Like I said, you can say something in a book, but in a movie you've got to show it.
The trailer then teases us with Katniss and Gale's forbidden kiss. I'm sure all the girls out there were happy.
Following that, it shows another important point in the story: Gale's whipping.
This part shows when Katniss jumps in front of the whip for him, but I'll be honest, it looks more like he punches her full on. Maybe they picked this take on purpose as a means of misdirecting the viewers until the actual movie when they use a different take that actually shows her getting whipped in the face. Trailers are known to do such things. They are also known for covering up blood and such, not just for censorship for younger audiences, but to mislead the viewers. In the book, the whip leaves a mark across Katniss's face, which freak her make-up artists and Effie out, but no such wound is shown in the trailer. But I think this is just another case of trailers covering the blood up digitally. They did this in the Harry Potter trailers as well, pictured below:
The above shot is what is seen in the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 trailer, and below is what is seen in the actual film. See what I mean?
One of the last shots that they show is Katniss, sad in the woods. This scene could be one of three possible scenes from the book. It could be (my first impression) when Katniss meets the two escapees from another district running to District 13, or when Katniss visits the lake and meets up with Gale, or just Katniss going there on her own to be alone. Like I said, the first one of these possibilities that came to my mind was meeting the escapees.
The trailer ends by returning to Snow and Heavensbee's conversation. At this point, the Quarter Quell is hinted at, but nothing specific is shown.
November 22nd. Can't come fast enough, am I right? Overall, this was a pretty good trailer. I noticed that it left several important plot points out of the picture, which is very smart. The purpose of a trailer is to get the audience interested, to give them enough information about the plot, but not to give the plot away. Most trailers nowadays are not that good at keeping important things out of them, especially movies based on popular books. They gave a lot of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows away in their trailers. But this one has no mention of Katniss and Peeta's planned wedding, only hints at the Quarter Quell, and does not show any of the other significant characters in the second half of the book, such as Finnick, Beetee, or Johanna.
What did you think of the trailer? Are you as excited as I am? Let me know in the comments below!
