FILM REVIEW OF ''X-MEN: APOCALYPSE" (2016)

Although it isn’t coining the box office receipts that “Captain America: Civil War” commanded, “X-Men: Apocalypse” (**** OUT OF ****) surpasses “Captain America” with lavish spectacle, brinksmanship suspense, and fertile fantasy.  Part of the reason is that Twentieth Century Fox produces the “X-Men” movies, while Walt Disney Studios handles the “Captain America” franchise.  The “X-Men” franchise displays greater edge and paranoia than the formulaic, facetious, Disney Marvel franchises.  For example, the body count in “The Usual Suspects” director Bryan Singer’s latest Marvel Comics adventure “X-Men: Apocalypse” is double, perhaps even triple that of “Captain America.”  “Sherlock Holmes” scenarist Simon Kinberg and Singer have no problem with liquidating some X-Men characters.  Meantime, Disney produces Marvel sagas where few super-heroes suffer permanent injury.  The divide and take sides “Captain America: Civil War” concluded in a stalemate with Cap and Iron Man playing patty-cake.  The inescapable problem that Singer and Kinberg face in the ninth “X-Men” franchise entry is predictability.  The original “X-Men” trilogy charted the story of Xavier’s mutant super-heroes along chronological lines.  The second “X-Men” trilogy, starting with “X-Men: First Class” (2011), then “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (2014), and finally “X-Men: Apocalypse” ventures backward in time, examining the origins of various characters.  “X-Men: First Class” dealt with the 1962 Cuban Missile crisis, “X-Men: Days of Future Past” unfolded at the end of the Vietnam War in the 1970s, and “X-Men: Apocalypse” transpires in the 1980s.  “X-Men: Apocalypse” makes several allusions to “X-Men: First Class” about Professor Xavier’s romance with CIA Agent Moira MacTaggert.  Since the second “X-Men” trilogy occurs before the original trilogy, we know the principal characters are in little danger of annihilation.  Nevertheless, Simon Kinberg’s screenplays for those three films have all been imaginative, audacious, with the X-Men taking things to the brink.  Clocking in at an extensive 144 minutes, “X-Men: Apocalypse” doesn’t wear out its welcome, and Singer doesn’t short-change his packed ensemble cast.  Furthermore, the malevolent Apocalypse in his first full-blown cinematic incarnation proves to be a challenging opponent.  “X-Men: Apocalypse” qualifies as a larger-than-life but slam-bang, sci-fi supernatural saga staged with considerable intellect, wit, and panache.

 

“X-Men: Apocalypse” opens during a pharaoh’s burial ceremony in ancient Egypt in 3,600 B.C. Naturally, Singer relies on spectacular CGI special effects galore to conjure up this vast, sprawling, ceremony as the first mutant, Apocalypse, finds himself betrayed by a duplicitous cabal.  They trap Apocalypse in a pyramid, and the structure vanishes into the earth for 5,600 years until the 1980s when CIA Agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne of “Bridesmaids”) stumbles onto it.  She finds a passage that leads to Apocalypse’s burial chamber.  A cult has been struggling to resurrect the notorious lord, and Apocalypse emerges from captivity to find the world greatly altered from his day.  Dark and sinister, with tubes curving out of the back of his head, Apocalypse emerges as an ominous figure in a bizarre outfit.  He saves a Cairo street thief, Ororo Munroe (Alexandra Shipp of “Straight Outta Compton”), from two vigilantes.  Eventually, Ororo will become Storm. He recruits a fallen angel, Angel (newcomer Ben Hardy), and Apocalypse transforms Angel’s wings into steel so he has the ability to hurl razor-sharp metal feathers which are comparable to machetes.  The most important recruit that Apocalypse attracts is Magneto, Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender of “Prometheus”), who is in no mood to love mankind.  Erik has suffered another great personal tragedy.  During the intervening ten years since the events in “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” Erik has maintained a low profile as a factory worker in Poland.  Sadly, he is forced to reveal his mutant ability to manipulate metal when he saves a fellow factory worker from certain death. Unfortunately, the local authorities descend on him with bows & arrows.  Magneto flees and joins Apocalypse. Apocalypse is appalled at everything that has transpired during his protracted absence, and he decides to change everything with the help of Erik, Storm, Angel, and a “Wonder Woman” lookalike warrior Psylocke (Olivia Munn of “Ride Along 2”), who boasts both telepathic and telekinetic abilities and dresses like a dominatrix. The collateral damage that Apocalypse and his henchmen create overwhelms the entire Disney Marvel Universe.  Impudently, Apocalypse prompts all of the superpowers to launch their nuclear warheads into space where the ordinance will be useless and civilization will depend on the intervention of Professor Xavier (James McAvoy of “Wanted”) and the X-Men that are a lot younger than their predecessors.  Happily, Jennifer Lawrence reprises her role as Raven, and Nicholas Hoult returns as Hank McCoy aka Beast.

 

As exemplary as “X-Men: Apocalypse” is, “X-Men: Days of Future Past” still tops it, but the two movies differ in terms of scope.  Director Bryan Singer isn’t as enamored with the 1980s in “X-Men: Apocalypse” as he was with the 1970s in “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” He cuts back and forth between the heroes and the villains as they clash.  This extravaganza serves up one good scene after another.  Two of the best occur when Peter Maximoff (Evan Peters of “Kick Ass”) aka Quicksilver and Wolverine demonstrate their respective skills. Quicksilver embarks on a rescue mission at Xavier’s School for Gifted Children after the building comes under attack. Quicksilver darts about like a wraith snatching somebody here and seizing somebody there, before the house collapses in a pile of smoking rubble.  This scene provides some genuine levity in the middle of Apocalypse’s devastating plans to renovate planet Earth. Without divulging too much information, Wolverine’s solitary scene is as savage as it is sensational. The grand finale between Charles and Apocalypse is a drawn-out, but exciting exercise that drums up white-knuckled suspense. The evil first mutant intends to freight his consciousness into Xavier's body and then appropriate Xavier's gift to connect with everybody’s mind on the planet. While Charles and Apocalypse tangle like maniacs, the X-Men have their hands full with Apocalypse’s Four Horsemen.

If you haven’t kept up with the “X-Men” cinematic universe, you may find its plot difficult to follow.

FILM REVIEW OF ''GODS OF EGYPT'' (2016)

Hollywood has always suffered from a jaundiced perception of reality that creates discontent about its films, and “Dark City” director Alexis Proyas’ superficial sword & sorcery saga “Gods of Egypt” (**1/2 OUT OF ****) is the latest casualty.  Anybody who followed the pre-release controversy surrounding this $140 million spectacle about Egyptian mythology knows that the pillars of political correctitude have criticized it savagely it for its largely all-white cast.  Comparably, “Alien” director Ridley Scott contended with the same criticism of his Biblical epic “Exodus: Gods and Kings” for its essentially Caucasian cast.  Scott claimed he couldn’t find bankable actors of color or ethnicity to portray his characters so his film could recoup its multi-million dollar budget.  “Gods of Egypt” director Alexis Proyas and Summit Entertainment, the studio that released this 127 minute extravaganza, apologized about their whitewashed cast before the film’s release.  Nevertheless, this isn’t the first time Hollywood has clashed with the politically correct about casting the appropriate actor and actress.  Most recently, the botched fairy-tale fantasy “Pan” cast Mara Rooney as a Native American character when she was anything but Native American.  Films better and worse than “Gods of Egypt” have drawn flak from the Politically Correct fraction.  “Birth of a Nation,” “Cleopatra,” “Prince of Persia,” “Argo,” and “A Beautiful Mind” exemplify popular Hollywood films that violated the tenets of political correctness.  Casting celebrity actors rather than unknown native counterparts to attract audiences is the primary reason.  Clark Gable was far from British when he starred in “Mutiny on the Bounty” back in 1935.  Of course, a British actor would have been more credible, but Hollywood wanted a genuine star instead of an authentic Englishman.  John Wayne was miscast as the Asian warlord Genghis Khan when he appeared in "The Conqueror" in 1956.  Hollywood concerns itself about making money more than abiding by political correctness.  Occasionally, however, a Hollywood producer appeared, like Mel Gibson, who defied traditional casting protocol.  In his adventure epic “Apocalypto” (2006), Gibson hired Native American actor Rudy Youngblood to play a Mayan warrior.  Happily, Youngblood was conversant enough with speaking in Mayan to make the difference work.  In “Gods of Egypt,” Gerard Butler could have eliminated his Scottish accent, but the political incorrectness of his casting prompted neither Proyas nor Summit to recast another actor.  Indeed, miscast as he is, Butler remains a highly sought-after actor and his bankability as a star enhanced the box office potential for this mythological melodrama.

The larger-than-life exploits in “Gods of Egypt” occur before the dawn of dynastic history, and all of it is preposterously outlandish.  “Dracula Untold” and “The Last Witch Hunter” scenarists Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless appropriated the Egyptian myth "The Contendings of Horus and Set" as their source material.  Pitting the gods Set and Horus against each other with the throne of Egypt as the prize, Sazama and Sharpless have forged an above-average, often contrived, but nevertheless entertaining escapade.  Indeed, they recycle familiar conventions, but they have enlivened these shenanigans with a surprise or two.  Proyas, who also helmed “The Crow” and “I, Robot,” never lets the pace slacken, and he stages some compelling close-quarters combat sequences.   Of course, we know the young mortal heroine, Zaya (Courtney Eaton of “Mad Max: Fury Road”), never stands a chance of being condemned to death in the Underworld.  The images of the Underworld look pretty creepy as a group of living skeletons preside over the induction process.  Similarly, you also know the Egyptian Lord of the Air, Horus (Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau of “Game of Thrones”), is going to reclaim his throne that his treacherous uncle, Set (Gerard Butler of “300”), took from him after he tore Horus’ eyes out and forced him into exile.  Not only did villainous Set steal the crown from Horus, but he also stabbed Horus’ noble father Osiris (Bryan Brown of “FX”) to death in front of everybody at Horus’ coronation.  Mind you, you need not avert your eyes because this lavishly produced, PG-13 rated movie depicts these depredations in a manner shouldn’t offend anybody.   Despite some grandiosely choreographed battle sequences, “Gods of Egypt” never wallows in blood and gore.  Everything unfolds as our charismatic young hero, an “Aladdin” like thief named Bek (Brenton Thwaites of “Maleficent”), steals a dress for his gorgeous girlfriend, Zaya, so she can attend Horus’ coronation in the height of fashion.  After Set halts the coronation, murders Orisis, and then blinds Horus, Zaya finds herself enslaved to the evil Grand Architect Urshu (Rufus Sewell of “Dark City”), but she concocts a plan so Bek can steal back Horus’ eyes and restore him to his rightful position as monarch.  Urshu surprises them and kills poor Zaya with a well-aimed arrow.  A desperate Bek appeals to Horus to save Zaya. The lofty Lord of the Air calculates that he can save her before she reaches the ninth gate of the Underworld.  Secretly, Horus isn’t being entirely truthful to Bek.  Meantime, Horus’ grandfather, the Sun God Ra (Geoffrey Rush of “Shine”), wages a never ending battle against a toothy titanic worm with which Set seeks to destroy Egypt so he can acquire immortality in life. 

Most of what occurs is stuff you’ve seen before in movies celebrating legendary Greek gods, such as “Clash of the Titans,” “Wrath of the Titans,” and “The Immortals.”  The Egyptian settings, however, add novelty to this narrative.  The deserts of Australia stand-in splendidly for the Sahara Desert. The computer-generated imagery is truly exceptional, with some of the best 3-D effects.  At times, when you are admiring some of these over-the-top shenanigans, “Gods of Egypt” feels like an awesome guilty pleasure. Despite its politically incorrect casting, “Gods of Egypt” qualifies as exciting from start to finish. The spectacular CGI laden effects are dazzling enough to compensate for its standard-issue, formulaic conventions.  The shape-shifting gods who tower above mere mortals reminded me of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the “Transformers” franchise.  Some scenes that invite derision involve characters riding humongous, fire-breathing snakes or Set soaring above a battle in a sleigh pulled by giant scarab beetles.  Sadly, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau emerges as a rather lackluster hero, while Butler overshadows him in every scene. Altogether, “Gods of Egypt” is lightweight but enjoyable hokum.

FILM REVIEW OF ''EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS" (2014)

Nobody has made a landmark Biblical movie since Mel Gibson helmed “The Passion of the Christ” in 2004.  Mind you, contenders have cropped up, primarily “Noah” (2014) with Russell Crowe, but it amounted to little more than a pretender with its apocryphal allusions to the Books of Enoch with its stone angels.  “Son of God” doesn’t really qualify since its producers re-edited it from The History Channel miniseries “The Bible.”  Sadly, nothing about director Ridley Scott’s “Exodus: Gods and Kings” (** OUT OF ****) appears divinely inspired.  Scott, best known for lavish spectacles such as “Alien,” “Gladiator,” “Black Hawk Down,” and “Prometheus,” has spent $140 million on this sprawling recreation of ancient Egypt.  Admittedly, Scott doesn’t qualify as a saint.  In a recent New York Times interview, Scott said about “Exodus,” “I’ve got it fairly well plotted out. I’m an atheist, which is actually good, because I’ve got to convince myself the story works.” Not surprisingly, the secular screenplay credited to four scribes, among them “Tower Heist” duo Adam Cooper & Bill Collage, “The Constant Gardner’s” Jeffrey Caine, and “Schindler's List’s” Steven Zaillian, adopts a realistic rather than a scriptural slant to its subject matter.  Moses behaves more like Rambo rather than Charlton Heston, and our hero discovers with considerable chagrin that he isn’t an Egyptian. Comparatively, “Exodus” neither takes its cues from Cecil B. DeMille’s 1923 or 1956 versions of “The Ten Commandments” nor Mel Gibson’s subtitled “Passion of the Christ.” Certainly, nobody would expect anything less from a luminary like Sir Ridley Scott, whose last two films—“The Counselor” and “Prometheus”--excited as much as mystified audiences. Traditional believers may judge “Exodus” a questionable expense. For example, when Moses initially encounters God on the side of a mountain after a mudslide, the former finds himself dealing with an eleven-year old boy who reads him the riot act.  Later, during a subsequent confrontation with this obnoxious urchin, Scott presents the interview from two perspectives. Again, Moses is conversing to a child.  Meanwhile, Joshua eavesdrops on Moses, but all Joshua sees is Moses addressing a rock with nobody present in either human or divine form. Sure, this resembles the movie “Fight Club” (1999) where narrator Edward Norton argues with Brad Pitt, who turns out all-along to have been nothing but Norton’s hallucination of himself. If this kind of nonsense doesn’t bother you, you may enjoy “Exodus,” but I think that depicting God as a petulant punk undermines the gravity of the film. 

Basically, “Exodus” duplicates virtually everything that DeMille showed in his two “Ten Commandments” outings.  The venerable saga concerns oppression and intolerance.  The Egyptians are proud and powerful, while the Jews are poor and powerless. Moses appears and pleads for the release of his people. Predictably, the Egyptians with their architectural enthusiasm for worshipping themselves with massive monuments balk at turning the Jews loose.  Ramses and Moses remain at odds until God intervenes with ten deadly plagues that make Ramses into a believer. The Egyptian ruler releases the Jews, and they head off for Canaan.  A vindictive Ramses has second thoughts and decides to pursue Moses and his minions. The big showdown occurs at the Red Sea where Moses waves his staff and the waters recede just long enough for his people to cross.  Along rampages Ramses with murder on his mind and his army, but he doesn’t arrive in time to take his toll.  Instead, the toll takes him.  This is the stuff of which Sunday school lessons are taught and most movies about the event have depicted. Scott takes exception to several things.  He doesn’t include the adolescent years when Moses and the future ruler Ramses were playmates.  When “Exodus” unfolds, Moses and Ramses are adults and rivals to the throne.  Of course, Ramses’ noble father Seti (John Turturro of “The Big Lebowski”) thinks that Moses has a better head on his shoulders than his petulant son and confides as much in Moses.  Unfortunately, Seti points out that he cannot appoint Moses over his son.  This relationship resembles a similar relationship in Ridley Scott’s earlier epic “Gladiator” (2000) when the dying Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) preferred Maximus (Russell Crowe) to his repellent son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) for the throne.  During a savage war with the Hittites in 1300, Moses displays his martial ardor and saves the once and future pharaoh from certain death in battle. Moses serves chiefly as Seti and Ramses’ advisor.  In other words, he does all the dirty work with which neither wishes to soil their hands and clashes with a corrupt Viceroy Hegep (Ben Mendelsohn of “Killing Them Softly”) who reveals Moses’ genuine origins as a Jew. Moses goes into exile and bids farewell to Ramses. Ramses’ mother Tuya (Sigourney Weaver of “Alien”) isn’t as content as her son to let Moses off as easily and sends a pair of fiendish assassins to finish him off.

“Batman Begins” star Christian Bale and “Star Wars” actor Joel Edgerton generate neither chemistry nor camaraderie respectively as a militant Moses and a ramrod-straight Ramses.  Scott and his scenarists want us to believe that these two grew up together in the same house, but they share little in the way of brotherly affection.  Bale’s Moses relies more on the sword than the staff, and this differentiates this cinematic interpretation from Charlton Heston’s Moses.  Scott surrounds these two with a robust supporting cast, including Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, Aaron Paul, Ben Mendelsohn, and John Turturro. Sadly, they make only a minor impression.  Mendelsohn registers best as the slimy villain who gets his just comeuppance in the final reel.  The spectacular computer-generated imagery and the craggy scenery—lensed in Spain and the Canary Islands--qualify as top-drawer assets.  The film generates some unforgettable moments during the ten deadly plagues montage, particularly when the crocodiles crunch on fishermen. Clocking in at a leaden 150 minutes, the lackluster “Exodus: Gods and Kings” fares far better as a special effects extravaganza than a faith-based bonanza. 

FILM REVIEW OF ''THE GHOUL" (1933-British)

The contribution of “The Ghoul” to cinematic history is that this supernatural saga represents the earliest example of a British sound horror movie. According to the British Film Institute, the British Board of Censors added to the historical status of the film, too, when it gave director T. Hayes Hunter’s film an ‘H’ certificate for being horrific. Although it may have been horrific when it was initially shown, this long-lost hair raiser doesn’t do much to make your scalp crawl even with the presence of iconic horror star Boris Karloff. Director Pat Jackson remade "The Ghoul" in 1961 as a comedy "What A Carve Up" with Donald Pleasence, Shirley Eaton, Kenneth Connor, Dennis Price, and Michael Gough.

“The Ghoul” boasts a decent enough budget, but the story is confined presumably to London and the action takes place largely at night in and around a residence, a tomb, and a street. Clocking in at a modest 77 minutes in length, “The Ghoul” never wears out its welcome, but then it doesn’t have that much to make it welcome. Karloff spends too much time off-screen and his second death comes about far too easily. The film is not without a surprise or two here and there, but you won’t suffer from nightmares after watching this melodrama unless you are extremely squeamish. Indeed, apart from the eponymous character, nobody dies, though a couple of people are left the worst for wear. A woman is nearly strangled and another fellow is knocked down.

This atmospheric black & white British horror chiller concerns an Egyptologist Professor Morlant (Boris Karloff of “Frankenstein”) who is seeking immortality by means of an Egyptian artifact known as the ‘Eternal Light.’ Morlant believes that this amulet will throw open the gates of paradise for him and he will live forever. He wallows restlessly on his death bed while his servant informs a kindly minister, Parson Nigel Hartley (Ralph Richardson in his cinematic debut), that the good professor won’t see the light of dawn. Moreover, he adds that Morlant has pagan beliefs and has no use for a man of the cloth. “He will die in his own fashion as he has lived,” the servant states, “He is stubborn and unbending and will be so at the throne itself.”

Meantime, a stranger from Egypt, Mahmoud (D.A. Clarke-Smith”), lurks about in the shadows of London and awaits the arrival of Egyptian Sheikh Aga Ben Dragore (Harold Huth) at his apartment house. Dragore dresses like a well-heeled Englishman and loves to drink Absinthe. Mahmoud confronts Dragore and explains that he has come to fetch the ‘Eternal Light’ and return it to his native country. He is an expert knife thrower and warns Dragore to not attempt any funny business. Dragore warns him that the British authorities will catch him if he kills him. Dragore explains that he has sold the amulet to Morlant, but Mahmoud and he can get it back once Morlant is dead. Clearly, Dragore doesn’t share Morlant’s belief in the immortality that the ring possesses for its wearer.

The scene shifts to a mansion where the dying Professor Morlant warns his Scottish man servant, Laing (Ernst Thesiger of “The Old Dark House), about the consequences of being buried without the jewel! If the full moon strikes the door of his tomb and he isn’t wearing the jewel, he will rise and kill him. Before Morlant croaks, Laing carries out Morlant’s wishes but bandaging the professor’s hand with the jeweled ring on his finger. The attending physician pronounces Morlant dead from heart failure and plans go forth for Morlant’s burial. Morlant’s estate account Broughton (Cedric Hardwicke of “King Solomon’s Mines”) checks Morlant’s corpse after they have put him in an elaborate crypt and discovers that the jewel has been removed. As it turns out, Laing has stolen the jewel and concealed it in his shoe. Afterward, he hides it in a coffee jar. Morlant’s relatives show up to demand an account of his finances and things begin to happen.

Viennese cinematographer Gunther Kramph deserves the bulk of the credit with his evocative black & white photography that endows “The Ghoul” with a sinister atmosphere. Art director Alfred Junge shares some of the kudos for creating the film’s sinister, somewhat spooky atmosphere with his selection of sets. Indeed, Morlant dies—in movie time—about a quarter hour into the action, but he doesn’t make his spectacular return from the dead until some 48 minutes later. By then “The Ghoul” has lost much of its momentum, primarily because the evil professor is the most important character.

When you let your protagonist languish off-screen that length of time and dwell on supporting characters running about in a tizzy arguing about the existence of the afterlife and the significance of an amulet, you wind up undercutting the zest of the movie. Director T. Hayes Hunter shoulders the blame for this obvious flaw and his scenarists are just as guilty. However, Hunter stages with funeral scene with some aplomb and his use of Richard Wagner’s music from Siegfried's Funeral March gets it no small amount of gravity.

The logic is the usual flawed logic of any horror movie. Morlant threatens to rise from the dead if he doesn’t have the vaunted ‘Eternal Light’ on his finger, but how on earth can an ordinary human resurrect himself without the ring. Indeed, in this instance, why does he need the ring if he can walk after death? Of course, Morlant has got to walk after he dies, but the logic is pretty creaky. Interestingly, for a movie made in an English speaking country, “The Ghoul” gives some status to a pagan religion by allowing the death to walk.

Unfortunately, the details about the ‘Eternal Light’s’ power are too sketchy. We don’t know enough and the scribes are short on exposition. In the end, Scotland Yard lives up to its reputation because it captures the foreigners and gets the ring. Presumably, the film’s poor showing ruled out any chance of a sequel because Scotland Yard retains the ring.

Boris Karloff wears some sloppy looking make-up and later carves a symbol into his chest that presumably has something to do with the Egyptian afterlife. Unfortunately, Karloff is squandered as he is either floundering around in his death bed or shambling about in the mansion searching for the ring. Mercifully, Hunter keeps a tight rein on the comic relief, principally a girlfriend of one of Morlant’s cousins. Altogether, the creepy atmosphere and first-rate performances help, but “The Ghoul” wouldn’t scare a cat.