Sheep Movie Review: Dark Phoenix (2019) No Spoilers

Dark Phoenix (2019)

Jun 7, 2019
Directed By: Simon Kinberg
Written By: Simon Kinberg
Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan
Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action including some gunplay, disturbing images, and brief strong language)
Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Studio: 20th Century Fox
In DARK PHOENIX, the X-MEN face their most formidable and powerful foe: one of their own, Jean Grey. During a rescue mission in space, Jean is nearly killed when she is hit by a mysterious cosmic force. Once she returns home, this force not only makes her infinitely more powerful, but far more unstable. Wrestling with this entity inside her, Jean unleashes her powers in ways she can neither comprehend nor contain. With Jean spiraling out of control, and hurting the ones she loves most, she begins to unravel the very fabric that holds the X-Men together. Now, with this family falling apart, they must find a way to unite -- not only to save Jean's soul, but to save our very planet from aliens who wish to weaponize this force and rule the galaxy.

Maybe all the bad press about Dark Phoenix had me going into the movie with low expectations, but I enjoyed it.  I went with my husband and 18-year-old daughter. My husband agreed with me. My daughter, who isn't a big X-Men fan, wasn't as impressed with it. She said there wasn't a cohesive plot. I must have been so caught up in the awesome X-Men fighting scenes that I didn't notice the lack of plot. I thought this had the best action/fight scenes of all the X-Men movies.

The X-Men were more bada$$ compared to the other films. Beast was a flocking BEAST! Rawr! I love me some Michael Fassbender but Magneto is a fickle character. He flips loyalties way to quick. I really like the Jean Grey character...kind of got a girl-crush on Dark Phoenix. All those Cherik fans (if you don't know what that is then you aren't one and forget I said it) are gonna have fuel for that fire.

My husband and I thought it was worth seeing. It looked good in IMAX. Our daughter didn't. I haven't gotten a rating from her but I would guess she'd give it 3 or 3 1/2.

*There was no post-credit scene.

I give it 4 "X-women" Sheep

SharonS

Sheep Movie Review: Logan

Logan (2017)
Directed By: James Mangold
Written By: James Mangold, Scott Frank, Michael Green
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Dafne Keen
Mar 3, 2017  Wide
Rating: R (for strong brutal violence and language throughout, and for brief nudity)
Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Runtime: 135 minutes
Studio: 20th Century Fox
It's 2029. Mutants are gone--or very nearly so. An isolated, despondent Logan is drinking his days away in a hideout on a remote stretch of the Mexican border, picking up petty cash as a driver for hire. His companions in exile are the outcast Caliban and an ailing Professor X, whose singular mind is plagued by worsening seizures. But Logan's attempts to hide from the world and his legacy abruptly end when a mysterious woman appears with an urgent request--that Logan shepherd an extraordinary young girl to safety. Soon, the claws come out as Logan must face off against dark forces and a villain from his own past on a live-or-die mission, one that will set the time-worn warrior on a path toward fulfilling his destiny.

Went to see this with my 15 year old daughter and husband. This is not a feel good movie...my husband was a little miffed because he doesn't go to the movies to be depressed. It was a very good movie. The young star, Dafne Keen, was amazing in the action scenes. Her character was more than Wolverine was capable of handling <G>. Was it the best Marvel movie to date? No. I enjoyed Deadpool and Winter Soldier more. 

Logan gives closure to the X-men franchise as we know it. No happy ever afters for our characters. And it is very R rated for violence and language. I have't read the comics so I don't know if this was cannon.

Don't stay for after credit scenes. They put it at the beginning of the movie! I know, right? It is the Deadpool trailer you can find online...with a slightly different ending.

Should you see it in the theater vs renting...depends on how big of a Logan and Professor X fan you are. The action scenes are exciting on the big screen, but this movie is about the characters and the darker side of being a mutant.

P.S. The writers must have seen the writing on the wall (pun intended). This futuristic America has "the wall" in it.

4 "adamantium" Sheep

SharonS

Movie Review: X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Director: Bryan Singer
Writers: Simon Kinberg, Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, Bryan Singer
Stars: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence
Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of violence, action and destruction, brief strong language and some suggestive images)
Genre: Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy
In Theaters: May 27, 2016 Wide
Runtime: 2 hr. 16 min.
20th Century Fox - Official Site
Since the dawn of civilization, he was worshipped as a god. Apocalypse, the first and most powerful mutant from Marvel's X-Men universe, amassed the powers of many other mutants, becoming immortal and invincible. Upon awakening after thousands of years, he is disillusioned with the world as he finds it and recruits a team of powerful mutants, including a disheartened Magneto, to cleanse mankind and create a new world order, over which he will reign. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Raven with the help of Professor X must lead a team of young X-Men to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction.

Went to X-Men: Apocalypse with my husband and 15 year old daughter. I've never been a big fan of the X-Men franchise. For some reason I just can't buy into them and think they are cheesy...I don't like Mystique and every time she was on screen all I can think is Katniss Everdeen. All of that aside, once I got past the cheese, the movie had some really entertaining parts. But I can't figure out why Apocalypse made this great armor for three of his minions, but gave Psylocke only underwear to fight in? Hmmm.

This is a movie that benefits from a big screen. It you didn't like the 80s this might give you some regretful flashbacks. All the bad hair and shoulder pads.

All three of us were entertained so worth a matinee price. 

Best new X-Men character...  

3.5 "blue" Sheep

SharonS

X-MEN: SCHISM #1

STORY
Jason Aaron
ART
Carlos Pacheco, Cam Smith
COLORS
Frank D’Armata
LETTERS
Jared K. Fletcher
COVER
Carlos Pacheco, Nick Bradshaw, Frank Cho
PUBLISHER
Marvel Comics

REVIEW

Following off the back of Messiah Complex and Second Coming, Schism is the next big thing to shake the X-Men universe, and in this case the ramifications are more than just changes to the uncanny mutants status quo, but will shift the dynamic of the comic titles with the separation of the group into two unique titles: Uncanny X-Men #1 and Wolverine and the X-MEN.

The outcome of this event is thus a foregone conclusion, but the story isn’t about where we’re going, but how we’re going to get there. The plot operates off the basis that Wolverine, Cyclops’s go to guy for nasty wet works and combat training of the new recruits, is slowly being worn down. His relationship with Cyclops is beginning to degrade, and old grudges are coming back to the fore. Soemthing cataclysmic is coming and it is this Schism that will split the two men ideologically and fracture the X-MEN forever. Yet none of this is overly evident bar the writers intent this issue. There’s a brief flashback to the grudging relationship the pair had pre Messiah Complex (when Jean Grey was still a love to be won between Marvels two most recognisable mutants), but barring that we aren’t immediately supposed to suspect that there’s a problem. This is a slow burner, so anything but.

The issue builds off with a fatigued Logan shoehorned into bodyguard duty for Cyclops on a diplomatic mission to the U.N. during an International Arms Conference to issue a plea for the decommissioning of sentinels globally. The relationship between the pair is painted nicely by Aaron as cooperative if not amiable. They clearly don’t love each other and you can see there’s history. Exactly how it should be.
Some humorous touches lighten the gulf between the two men and you can sense that while Logan will never really like Scott very much, he respects his leadership. Similarly Cyclops sees the uses of having such a deadly asset as Logan on hand, but could never forgive him trying to steal Jean away from him.

The pair arrive at the conference and of course nothing goes to plan, with the formerly imprisoned trouble maker Quentin Quire, a mutant with a penchant for stirring it up (see Grant Morrison’s run on NEW X-MEN), bursting in and unleashing his new mutant revolution in the midst of Cyclops disarmament speech. A third party activates sentinels to gate crash the conference and Scott and Logan are left to battle the machines while Quire escapes.

This whole misfire in front of the U.N. serves as a catalyst for the U.N. leaders to unite against mutants by actively upping their sentinel’s defences in their respective countries and setting the ball rolling for a return to the bad old days for the X-Men and mutant kind in general. The use of Quires powers to disrupt the U.N. is a nice touch and doesn’t hold back on letting people know exactly how Aaron feels about our political representatives, and reaffirms humanity as the inherent bad guy against the underdog mutants.

The best X-MEN stories have always managed to show the inhumanity of amidst humans and can often be seen as moral masterpieces with a love note to tolerance, and Aaron brings in familiar tropes that light the thread for where this story’s going. Of course this is no Ordinary crisis and bigger players have a hand in the background (I’ll not spoil the surprise), but the genius of it is the playing off the tempestuous relationship of the two most recognisable and stalwart X-MEN and watching what happens to their necessary alliance come boiling point.

This is an exciting book and the relationship between Logan and Scott is thoughtfully fleshed out and given the values of old comrades despite their fundamental disagreements. The story is building into a larger arc and there is some nice wide scale ramifications (global sentinel response in various countries) and some touches of humour to balance the scale of what is going on.

Aaron has a particularly decent grip on writing Wolverine, his time on the characters solo title giving him a seasoned handle on the mutant he was born to write. That said Aaron has clearly got the same eye for character amongst the other X-crew and we shouldn’t be surprised, from the calibre of his work on books likes DC’s Scalped. Pacheco’s art is cleaner than usual and I particularly liked his return of Wolverine to a compact killing machine, as opposed to the often more slender variants of the character that we’re never in his original mandate. Overall Schism is a decent read; an in-depth plot, good characterisation and a well laid out action set piece to keep us from getting mired down by the politics. It’ll be interesting to see how this story gets to where it’s going, because it’s all downhill for the mutants from here.

Review by: Mark McCann