The Best Superhero Movie I've Ever Seen

Movie: X-Men: First Class

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Stars: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi

Rated: PG-13

Synopsis: In 1962, the world is on the brink of a nuclear war between the United States and Russia. While the countries try to find a way to resolve their conflicts peacefully, a group of people endowed with special powers known as Mutants try to force humans into their own annihilation so that Mutants can be the last ones standing as the next evolution of human beings. However, another group of Mutants, lead by Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender), are determined to stop them and save mankind.

X-Men: First Class is the prequel of the X-Men trilogy and follows the early lives of the oldest X-Men--Professor X, Magneto, and Mystique.

This movie came out in 2011 and I still remember how taken aback people were by how unexpectedly successful it was. It's no doubt after seeing this movie. The first three X-Men movies were decent but this one is an edge of your seat thriller that isn't just about "Will Magneto finally succeed in conquering the world for Mutants?", this movie deals with the Cold War and how close we were to a nuclear holocaust.

Should you see it? Yes! In my opinion, this is the best superhero movie I've ever seen, much better than the first three X-Men movies. The only superhero movies that come close are probably The Avengers and The Dark Knight.

Fun Facts:

• A sequel to this movie is in the works called X-Men: Days of Future Past that will be released in Summer 2014. And there are talks of creating a third movie, turning them into a trilogy.
• It is rumored that the original X-Men were based off another superhero team called the Doom Patrol that also dealt with a group of misfit superheroes and was introduced 3 months before the first X-Men comic was released.

Brave

Movie: Brave

Director: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell

Stars: Kelly Macdonald, Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly, Craig Ferguson

Genre: Animation, Adventure

Rated: PG

Synopsis: Merida (Kelly Macdonald) is an independent 15 year old Scottish princess who wants nothing more than to ride across the glen on her horse while firing arrows into the sunset. However, her mother, Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson) has other plans. She wants her daughter to follow the tradition of their land and marry a prince from one of the neighboring villages. This causes even more friction between the already constantly feuding mother and daughter, and in her frustration, Merida makes a wish she'll soon regret.

I saw Brave for a few reasons. 

1. It's a Pixar movie about a fierce young girl who's main purpose in a movie doesn't revolve around some guy. Not that there's anything wrong with romance every once in a while, it's just nice to see a female character as more than just a love interest.
2. Craig Ferguson. (Also, Emma Thompson, but I didn't know she was in it at the time.)
3. The animation is gorgeous! Look at that detail! You can see the fibers in her dress for crying out loud!

Source

In fact, whether you hate the movie or you love it, I think we can all agree that the animation is simply breathtaking.

I had mixed feelings about this movie. On the one hand, I cried at the end. It probably didn't help that I was seeing this with my mom and we were both just a mess afterwards. The story's main focus is on a mother-daughter relationship and because I'm really close with my mother, it really hit home for me.

On the other hand, I think it could've been better. Pixar is known for making amazing, beautiful movies like Up, WALL-E, Finding Nemo, and more, and while this movie definitely had its moments, I just expected a little more magic from Brave. Like the witch that granted Merida's wish seemed a little too cartoony. It seemed like she was thrown in there as just comic relief instead of what she really was--a pivotal point in the story.

Should you go see it? I'm on the fence about this one. It's by no means a bad movie, but considering it's Disney and Pixar I wanted it to be better. If you like animation movies you should check it out. Aesthetically, Brave is stunning. I just wish they could've done a little better job with the story telling. My guess is that they were so worried about it being perceived as just a girls' movie that they tried to please everyone and second guessed themselves and the story suffered a bit in the process.

Fun Facts:

• Steve Jobs was passionate about Brave and it was the last Pixar movie he was a part of before he passed away. There's also a dedication to him in the ending credits (video).
• Pixar invented a whole new software specifically to create and move Merida's hair.
• Pixar hides easter eggs in all of its films and Brave is no exception. During the scene where Merida meets the Witch/woodcarver, there's Sully from Monsters, Inc. and a little Pizza Planet truck from Toy Story (which has been hidden in all Pixar movies so far except for The Incredibles).

Up until now I'd been reviewing movies that are in theaters or were in theaters not too long ago, but because it's February and there are not that many good movies playing right now I've decided to go back into movies I'd seen in 2012 to continue this blog. If you have any recommendations of movies from any year you want me to see or review, feel free to post a comment below.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Movie: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Director: Peter Jackson

Stars: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage 

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure

Rated: PG-13

Synopsis: Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), a small easy going creature known as a hobbit, likes nothing more than to just stay at home and relax, and he has no thoughts of doing anything else. At least until an old wizard named Gandalf (Ian McKellen) shows up at his door, bringing thirteen dwarves and insists that Bilbo is the best person to steal back the gold and the mountain home of the dwarves that was taken from them long ago by the vicious dragon, Smaug. This begins an adventure that of which Bilbo never imagined and is the backstory one of the greatest fantasy novels of all time, The Lord of the Rings.

The Lord of the Rings movies were made a little over a decade ago and we can still see some familiar faces in this movie, like Gandalf, Saruman, Smeagol/Gollum, and even Frodo makes an appearance in the beginning (Elijah Wood has not aged a day), and yes, the Ring is back too. An older Bilbo Baggins was also in the trilogy but was played by a different older actor, this Bilbo is supposed to be about 60 years younger.

To be honest, I have heard some mixed reviews about The Hobbit. Some people loved it, especially ones who have read the novel when they were kids or teenagers, while some thought it could've been better. I'm part of the latter. It is a beautiful movie, but maybe I'm just comparing it too much to The Lord of the Rings trilogy which was full of action and a fantastic thriller, while this one felt like it could've been shortened and didn't have the same wonder as the sequel movies.

However, The Lord of the Rings trilogy was each a single movie based on an entire book while The Hobbit is one book split into three movies (about 100 pages a movie, which I think is a feat considering the first movie is almost three hours). I think when all three movies come out and I can see them one after another, it'll be much better. But just seeing the first one made me want to yell in the theater, "THAT WAS IT?"

Should you go see it? I think you should. The Hobbit, along with The Lord of the Rings, are classics and it's not like they did a bad job on this movie. They were loyal to the original story and had good actors and good effects. I just want to see all the movies together instead of having to wait a year between each movie.

Also, because it's so fantastic, here's the "Misty Mountains" song the dwarves sing to Bilbo to make him want to go on the quest.

Fun Facts:

• The names of the dwarves are: Thorin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Oin, Fili, Kili, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Nori, Ori, and Dori. Try saying them three times fast. Also, here's a little cheat sheet for the dwarves in case you're interested.
• Benedict Cumberbatch, who will play the dragon Smaug and the Necromancer in the other two Hobbit movies, plays Sherlock Holmes on the BBC network's "Sherlock", while Martin Freeman, who plays Bilbo Baggins, plays opposite of him as Dr. John Watson. "Sherlock" is also a great series if you haven't seen it, it's better than the Robert Downey Jr. movies.
• Christopher Lee, the actor that plays Saruman, is 91 years old and is the only one of the actors who met the author of the novels in person, J.R.R. Tolkien.

Les Misérables

Movie: Les Misérables

Director: Tom Hooper

Stars: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, Amanda Seyfried

Genre: Musical, Drama

Rated: PG-13

Les Misérables has many characters and backstories so I'll try to keep the synopsis short. Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) is an recently paroled ex-convict in nineteenth century France who was sentenced to jail 19 years ago for stealing a loaf of bread. Unable to find anyone who will help him get back on his feet, he is forced to become a thief to stay alive. It isn't until a clergyman shows him kindness and redemption through God that he starts to repent for the sins he has committed and start a new life with a new identity. But a justice obsessed prison officer, Javert (Russell Crowe), is determined to see him once again behind bars for breaking his parole, no matter how long it takes to catch him.

Les Misérables is a great movie. Yes, it's a musical. Yes, 98% of it is singing. BUT WAIT! Before that turns you off and makes you pass over this wonderful film know this:

1) The book from which the play was based on was by Victor Hugo, the author who wrote "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".

2) The novel has been loved worldwide since its publication in 1862.

3) The English version of the musical has been going on and off since its opening in 1985.

4) The director of the film, Tom Hooper, directed the award winning movie "The King's Speech", which is great if you haven't seen it.

5) Anne Hathaway has been nominated and won multiple awards for her portrayal as Fantine.

And last but not least:

6) I dragged my 25 year old brother to go see it and he said it was the best movie he's seen in years.

I know that some people don't really care for musicals, especially ones that are non-stop singing (the latter is me). But have you ever watched an old black and white movie like "Casablanca" or "Mildred Pierce" and get so engrossed in the story that you forget you're watching a black and white? Well, for Les Mis, there were moments where I forgot they were singing.

*Spoilers* I cried during Fantine and Valjean's deaths. My mother was next to me sobbing at the end and so were the people sitting around us. As for my brother, he doesn't cry, but he did sit there in his seat for a couple of minutes when the credits started to roll to let it all sink in.

Should you go see it? Definitely. If you're in the mood for powerful performances and a great story, then I highly recommend it. But be warned that there is talk of prostitution, death, and acts of abuse in the story. It is called The Miserables Ones, after all.

Fun Facts:

• Les Misérables is difficult for some English speakers to pronounce. It is often pronounced in English as "lay miz-er-ah-b" but the correct french pronunciation is "lay miz-ah-rab". To hear it, click here. All this trouble is probably why some people like to just stick with "Les Mis".
• Instead of recording their voices before hand like all other musical films, the cast of Les Misérables sang live so they wouldn't be restricted by a recording as they were acting their scenes on camera.
• I don't know if this is 100% true, but I've heard that in Disney's "Aladdin" right before Aladdin starts singing "One Jump Ahead", he says, "All this for a loaf of bread?" which Lea Salonga, an actress who played Eponine and Fantine on Broadway and who was also the singing voices for Mulan and Jasmine, got the writers to put in as an homage to Les Misérables.