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WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT MICHAEL-AN AWARD WINNING ACTOR

Congratulations to the cast and crew of "12 Years a Slave" winning an Oscar for Best Picture

Michael is currently filming "MacBeth"

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Watch "The Counselor" and "12 Years A Slave" on DVD available now

Michael is set to star and produce on a film version of the video game "Assassin's Creed"

Completed projects: X-Men, Untitled Malik project

Upcoming projects Assassin's Creed, Prometheus 2, MacBeth,and more!

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X-Men Reviews 5

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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 1:44 am

http://www.wdsu.com/r/28083801/detail.html

'X-Men' Stars: New Movie Is 1st Class Story
Fassbender, Bacon Star In Fresh Beginning To Film Franchise
Tim Lammers, Contributing writer

POSTED: 1:23 pm CDT May 31, 2011
UPDATED: 2:22 pm CDT May 31, 2011

Michael Fassbender
20th Century Fox
It's been a whirlwind past couple of weeks for the stars of "X-Men: First Class," beginning with a press gathering for four days in London and then, with barely a day break in between, more time for media in New York ahead of the film's red carpet premiere.

It's only appropriate, though, that the cast of "X-Men: First Class" make appearances far and wide to talk about the film. That's because the mutants in the film are characters most everybody -- including stars Michael Fassbender and Kevin Bacon -- can relate to.

"It's a fairly serious film in the way it speaks to people who are outsiders, or people who are mistrustful of other races, genders or socioeconomic groups that are different from their own," Bacon said by phone from London. "It also speaks to the idea of accepting yourself for who you are."

Fassbender, who called in from New York, said he's been continually riveted by how the "X-Men" comics and films have been able to tell stories in a fantastical sort of way, yet be socially relevant at the same time.

"In a weird way, it's almost like the 'X-Men' stories have taken a mutant form to disguise what we as people deal with in real life," Fassbender said. "There's so much humanity in the stories. They address very universal themes."

Telling The Origins

Opening in theaters nationwide on Friday, "X-Men: First Class" is set in the 1960s, when the telepathic Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr (Fassbender) -- who can generate and control magnetism -- meet for the first time and assume the identities of Professor X and Magneto. Coming from decidedly different backgrounds, the compassionate Charles and vengeful Erik together forge a foundation to lead younger mutants who feel lost and confused in a society that mostly shuns them because of their extraordinary abilities.

Among those willing to exploit the most vulnerable of his kind is the evil mutant Sebastian Shaw (Bacon), the billionaire owner of a swank lair known as the Hellfire Club. A destructive force who can absorb and manipulate energy, Sebastian ultimately wants to eradicate humans and create a utopia where only mutants exist.

At the heart of "X-Men: First Class" is Charles and Erik's uneasy alliance against Sebastian, who is using the Cuban Missile Crisis to trigger nuclear war so he can reach his end game. Fassbender said he loved that -- like in the comics -- "X-Men: First Class" finds Charles and Erik working together and respecting each other's viewpoints despite their huge ideological differences.

"We're dealing with these very complicated and ambivalent characters. It's not your classic sort of hero and villain story with these two," Fassbender observed. "All through the comic book series we see Magneto and Professor helping each other out. Magneto helps him rebuild Cerebro and even takes over the school, even at a point where they are arch-enemies. I find that to be a very mature way of dealing with these characters.

"As we know, there are great political leaders who have opposite viewpoints, will often sit down and have lunch. But what do they speak about? What goes on behind closed doors? It's a very intriguing concept."

Honoring Previous Versions

Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy
20th Century Fox
While "X-Men: First Class" signals a fresh beginning for the film series, Fassbender said he and McAvoy very much wanted to keep intact the essence of the respect Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart created between Magneto and Professor X in the previous "X-Men" films.

"The fans really responded to what Sir Patrick and Sir Ian created for the characters. They brought an awful lot of intelligence and authorities to the roles," Fassbender said. "James and I tried to get to those same heights for our portrayals of the characters. We wanted to create that connection for those two from the moment they meet. We wanted them to feel that they've each met someone who's an equal."

While Fassbender said he was inspired by McKellen's performances as Magneto, he was encouraged by director Matthew Vaughn go a different route with the character -- a direction that would bond, for the lack of a better word, the actor with an iconic performance of another legendary actor.

"I think Sir Ian's performance of Magneto is in the ether, specifically with the authority the character brings. But in an early meeting with Matthew, he brought up Sean Connery because the film was based in the '60s and Erik was sort of this lone assassin character like Connery in an early James Bond film," Fassbender recalled. "Matthew told me, 'Sean Connery worked as Bond because he had an unusual nuance in his accent and you have something similar, so I'd like to utilize that.' At that point I realized that I wasn't going to study Ian's physicality and voice."

While Bacon didn't have any previous screen versions of Sebastian to refer to, he said he found a lot of inspiration in the comics, even though the character from page to screen had undergone a significant transformation.

"Sebastian Shaw in the comics is a very huge, muscle-bound guy with a ponytail and dresses like George Washington," Bacon said. "There was a thing in the early days of the Hellfire Club being written where everybody dressed in a revolutionary, Louis the 14th kind-of look. Now he's a '60s billionaire playboy, but a lot of the essence of the original character of Sebastian is still there since I drew heavily on the comics for my research."

Balancing Comics, Film

Kevin Bacon, January Jones
20th Century Fox
Bacon said he's well aware that diehard "X-Men" fans have scrutinized every last detail of the film during its production, and while he respects their viewpoints in relation to the comics, he said you ultimately have to find a proper balance between the original medium and its translation.

"I think we have a responsibility for sure to the fans," Bacon said. "It's the first time I've certainly worked in a situation where people are constantly blogging on the film and trying to get any update they could on what we were doing. It definitely was an interesting kind of vibe. I don't think you can please everybody ever -- I'm guessing people will go, 'Wait a second, Sebastian doesn't look anything like he does in the comics,' but on the other hand, I feel really strongly that the movie has to work beyond that."

Effectively, Bacon said, he wants "X-Men: First Class" to work for everybody.

"I want people who have never read a comic book to go and enjoy this movie. I want women who are normally not even drawn to a film like this, to go and get something from it, on an emotional level, a romantic level or whatever," Bacon said. "We had to be bold in that way. We had to be bold with our choices. We are not continuing the story -- we're going back and reinventing it in a way that I think is really clever."

And with any luck, the story of the new "X-Men" will continue, and not only because both Bacon and Fassbender had a great time making the film: Enrolling in another "X-Men" class will give Fassbender another chance to secure himself that super cool, retro Magneto helmet.

"Man, I really should have walked off with it -- I think I really messed up," Fassbender said, laughing.

Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 1:45 am

http://www.dramaticdurian.com/2011/06/x-men-first-class-movie-review.html

Wednesday, June 1, 2011
'X-Men: First Class' Movie Review
1:57 AM Igniz


1. Title : X-Men First Class
2. Release date : 3 June 2011 (United States), 2 June 2011 Malaysia)
3. Director : Matthew Vaughn
4. Starring :
James McAvoy
Michael Fassbender
Kevin Bacon
Rose Byrne
January Jones
5. Language : English
6. Genre : Action
7. Official website : First Class

The title itself tells you everything. From the classic 'once upon a time' until the surmounting feeling you will have when watching the movie; it is all first class. A flirty Professor X, an emotional Magneto, a confused Beast and a soul-searching Mystique - these are the sides of them you have never seen before, and trust me, you are going to feel these ones. Really deep.

Young Erik Lensherr/Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Charles Xavier/Professor X (James McAvoy), Raven Darkholme/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and Dr. Henry 'Hank' McCoy/Beast (Nicholas Hoult) had their fate intertwined by joining hands in creating a team of mutants in order to fight the bad Sebastian Shaw (Kevin bacon) and his devilish subordinates. They were later joined by some other young innocent mutants you might remember calling, namely, Banshee, Havok, Darwin and Angel Salvadore. Despite being better in number, their lack of experience, self-confusion, and contradiction between personal goal and intention cost them more than they could afford, and the team eventually broke apart. Thus began the never-ending battle between Professor X's X-Men and Magneto's Brotherhood. But obviously you can see this one coming since this is a prequel.

But what you have yet to see firsthand is how these mutants started to fight against each other when they were initially a team. Forget about the overused superpowers and the occasionally annoying collage-like camera tricks. Do not dream about epic wars because you will not be seeing a lot of skull-cracking and bone-crushing actions in this one, nor you will feel impressed by the costumes and the trademark pose from the later-to-be X-Men. Because this time around, you will experience a great adventure in a form of a mindblowing storytelling where as every character in 'X-Men: First Class' will have something significant to do. Remember the nonmeaningful 'annihilation' of Cyclops by his very own lover, Jean Grey/Phoenix' in 'X-Men: The Last Stand'? That was so stupid. Fortunately, that will not happen again in this movie.

And most amazingly, I would like to mention about how this movie managed to capture every little emotion produced by the involved characters. You might laugh or feel awkward at some of Charles-Erik gay-like scenes, or the moment when Raven tried to seduce Erik in bed, but that was the value of it. The origin of an enemy-becoming friendship and how it was 'achieved'. It is a wonder that a movie of this genre could actually slip in a series of emotional perfection that it was so good you would not want to miss a second. Every detail pre-empted all the questions you would have for the X-Men world, and spending 130 minutes on 'X-Men: First Class' is like entering a restaurant where you are shown the recipe behind every scrumptious meal you just had. Totally unforgettable.

And who said this movie lacks of 'Wolverine' effect? I saw him in there.

Rating: 8/10
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 1:51 am

http://reviewerswithoutborders.blogspot.com/2011/06/x-men-first-class-2011.html

Saturday, June 18, 2011
X Men: First Class (2011)


I can’t remember the first time I picked up an X Men comic, or the first version of the animated series I saw online. I do remember though, that from the onset, these were my heroes. Sure I liked the competing spiels about great power coming with great responsibility; about Gotham’s dark knight; or even the Man of Steel – but it was always this ever-changing band of mutants that garnered my loyalty. A large part of this loyalty came from the parallels I could sense between the X Men’s fight with acceptance, from outside and within, and my own gradual acceptance of my homosexuality. The movies have been quick to mine this subtext – a scene in X2 where Bobby Drake tells his parents about his mutation could just as easily be a coming out sequence in a non-superpowered movie.

There’s a lot of narrative to tell in in X Men: First Class, with its attempt at giving us a true blue origin story. And by origin story, I mean that we get a glimpse of Xavier, Magneto and Mystique as kids; we see the birth of Cerebro; of Beast’s human self before the mutation takes over full throttle; and most importantly of how Charles and Erik become allies and then part ways. We start off in a Nazi camp, with a scene that’s a direct throwback to the first X Men film, before zipping through a series of man-on-rampage missions over the decades to land us in the movie’s Cuban Missile Crisis present.

What First Class gets – and this is no mean feat considering the plotlines it’s juggling – is the central conflict about acceptance and integration in the face of human resentment to all that is different. Do you try to blend in, stifle that part of you that is different – as Hank McCoy pre his beast conversion unsuccesfully attempts. Or do you cherish who you are, proud and unabashed, no compromises made? The beauty of this movie is that for a brief moment, it lets you into the mind – and generates empathy – of the other side. The side of Magneto, the story that humans must be conquered before they conquer the other. In a series of tremendously acted sequences by Michael Fassbender, you let yourself flicker, waver, for a brief second as you question the boundaries of right and wrong. “Those men are merely acting on orders” implores Charles. But, counters Erik – it’s the same way “those men” in the concentration camps were merely acting on orders. And for a brief second, before ration and reason and good human conscience came flooding back, I thought – well. Yes!

But enough of that. This movie manages to not only engage successfully with some of its weighty questions in a manner not insulting to a paying audience, it also manages to be a big blast of fun while doing so. There’s a great sense of momentum that powers it along, as it thunders through one plotline to the next. The effects are often spectacular without being too distracting, with the climactic fight over the fate of a couple dozen missiles standing out in particular. Instead of letting itself be bogged down in too much origin-exposition, Mathew Vaughn takes the route of the zippy montage every now and then – and carries it off well.

In a movie so packed with everything, atleast something had to be given shirt shrift – and here it happens to be the younger mutants. Not that they’re bad – just that there isn’t enough of them. in the bits that theydo have, we get the tiniest of arcs – here those being as simple as then developing their abilities. Oh well, we’ll leave more for the sequel?

In the end, for all that it does successfully, First Class still isn’t the best X Men movie made – that tag continues to be held by the wonderfully crafted X2: X Men United. It’s still a great addition to the X Men canon, and goes a long way in erasing the sour taste left behind by the extremely mediocre Wolverine movie.
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 1:53 am

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What I was doing in the afternoon was seeing X-Men: First Class (2011), with which I have some arguments—it's a major-studio summer blockbuster—but the double act of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen should have been impossible to follow and James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender actually pulled it off; I'd happily watch them in a second film and I approve of neither of them being saints. Somehow I had failed to realize the director was Matthew Vaughn until we got to the end credits,1 but he styles the film like it's 1962 and he's practically canonized Charles/Erik. Also Nicholas Hoult makes an adorable Beast and it's kind of stupid that I haven't yet seen Winter's Bone (2010). Further analysis will have to wait.
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 1:54 am

http://josephrobertlewis.wordpress.com/2011/06/18/film-review-x-men-first-class-2011/

Film Review: X-Men First Class (2011)

I’ve seen a handful of reviews of this new X-Men flick and they were mostly very positive. There were comic fans who had issues with the comic characters, and there were grumpy-pants folks who had issues with some of the makeup and effects. More thoughtfully, there were social activists who praised the film’s message while criticizing the film’s content (the one black guy is the only casualty).

The X-Men franchise has always been a metaphor for social justice, originally for racial and gender issues and more recently for gay issues. And that’s all great. But that’s not the movie I saw today. Sure, there was lots of dialog about appearance and fitting in and being accepted and being dehumanized, but to me it was all part of the scenery, just “stuff that’s supposed to be there” in an X-Men movie.

For me, this movie was all about (1) Erik “Magneto” Lensherr’s personal journey from victim to vigilante to general and (2) Erik’s love/hate relationship with Charles “Professor X” Xavier. And I loved every second of it.

In fact, if I was going to play Monday-morning quarterback, I would get rid of all that X-Men stuff and just have two hours of Erik’s torturous childhood, his youth as a super-powered freelance Nazi hunter, and his conflicted awakening from obsessed loner to murderous community leader alongside Charles.

There were truly passionate and powerful moments in this film, mostly tragic but some beautiful as well. I went into the movie with few expectations except for my general enthusiasm for James McAvoy and I came out with a competing man-crush on Michael Fassbender.

Other positives: I really like period pieces and this one was very solid, and all the better because it spanned twenty years and many locations around the world. It also had some classic editing and scene cuts during the training montage, and I remember liking the music, although none of it stands out in my mind right now. And it was chock-full of cameos, from Hugh Jackman to Michael Ironside.

So I highly recommend X-Men First Class, not necessarily as an action movie (which was great), or a comic book movie (which was good), or a social justice movie (which was decent), but as a really well-acted and directed drama about tragedy, rage, sorrow, redemption, and revenge.
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 1:54 am

http://justifiedmovies.wordpress.com/2011/06/18/x-men-first-class/

X-Men: First Class

Eleven years ago 20th Century Fox and director Bryan Singer introduced the world at large to the idea of mutants living among us with the box office smash “X-Men”. Following that success a couple of years later with “X2: X-Men United”, which was an even bigger blockbuster and an even better movie. However, when Bryan Singer left the franchise to direct “Superman Returns”, some would argue the franchise lost its way with the likes of the critically maligned “X-Men: The Last Stand” and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”.

Personally, I enjoyed both of those films (as did many audiences based on their box office receipts), although I do recognize their flaws. To those critics and even some fans that were displeased with the aforementioned last two installment into the franchise, a new entry has come along to right those proverbial wrongs. That film is the critically acclaimed “X-Men: First Class” from director Matthew Vaughn (“Layer Cake”), with Bryan Singer serving as a producer this time around.

“X-Men: First Class” explores the friendship between Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender). Set in the early 1960’s, the two one-time friends and veritable leaders of the mutant race, join forces with the CIA to discover and train new mutants in the use of their powers. However, when a dangerous mutant named Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) sets into motion events that could lead to nuclear war; Charles, Erik and their team of mutant recruits must band together to save mankind.

When this film was initially announced I was excited because at the time Bryan Singer was attached to direct. However, shortly thereafter Singer was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, and eventually director Matthew Vaughn was hired to take over the reins.

It was upon this revelation that my excitement for the prequel began to wane because Matthew Vaughn had already balked at the chance to direct an X-Men feature with “X-Men: The Last Stand”. Thus, my confidence in him wasn’t exactly solid. That was before I watched his surprisingly entertaining, tongue planted firmly in cheek, comic book adaptation “Kick-@$$”.

After seeing the aforementioned film, my concern for the X-Men franchise was quickly dissipating. My thought was so long as Matthew Vaughn, and company, remained relatively faithful to the material, plus made every attempt possible to ensure this is the best in the series; then the future of the franchise would be in good hands.

So, let me say that I for one can attest that “X-Men: First Class” not only delivered the goods, but surpassed almost every one of my expectations. If you are one of the fans or critics or general moviegoers that were disappointed to some degree with any of the previous films, then this movie should easily renew your faith in the franchise.

Written by Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz (“Thor”) the story for “X-Men: First Class” is jam-packed with history for not only the franchise, but even some actual world history to boot (albeit with a comic book slant). Not to mention terrific character beats (especially for the primary cast members); plus, taking considerable care to not trample too much upon the continuity that had been established by the previous films in the series.

Admittedly there were some minor contradictions between this film and the rest of the series; however, they can be forgiven or explained away in later sequels. So I digress.

On top of all that the film boasts some very entertaining action and visual effects set pieces that are some of the best this series has ever had to offer. From the scenes of the various young mutants training to harness their abilities to the film’s climactic moments, the visual spectacle on display is well worth the price of admission.

As always the best scripts, action, visual effects, and directors and crew members are all for naught if the cast can’t step up to deliver the goods too. And this cast delivered with great ease and nearly flawless execution.

Leading the cast are two very talented actors: one is the more recognizable James McAvoy (“Wanted”) portraying Charles Xavier, and the other is the soon to be recognizable, due to this role, Michael Fassbender (“300”).

At the onset of this film you can forget some of your preconceived notions for the character of Charles Xavier that you may have gleamed from comics or the movies. Here we are introduced to a version of the character that’s willing to be somewhat ethically loose with his powers. For example, he is not above using his telepathic abilities to hit on women in bars and such.

Now, I understand that some could be turned off by this take on the character in his younger years, and therefore attempt to write off the film in the process. However, actor James McAvoy manages to portray this time in Xavier’s life with such charm and personality that you can’t help but be drawn in by him.

And when the character begins to embrace his destiny as a potential future leader of mutants, McAvoy naturally shifts gears with the character. Over the course of his story arc James begins tempering the more spirited side to Xavier with an over-bearing sense of responsibility and a strong ethical moral code that we all know from the original trilogy.

As for the future Magneto, actor Michael Fassbender portrays this younger Erik Lehnsherr with much more volatility than we’ve ever seen from the character. However, with that temperament, we also see an underlying sadness that is constantly at odds with his intense anger and aggression.

When we see those flashes of sadness come to the surface of Erik, Michael truly excels at playing them off with genuine surprise and bewilderment from the character. Seeing these moments of vulnerability seep into the role was a fresh approach to Erik that we had not seen previously.

Plus, witnessing the transition of Erik from a man consumed by vengeance and lacking any real sense of direction to a man with a mission and purpose in life was extremely satisfying and intriguing to watch.

Separately both James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender were great, but their shared scenes are simply excellent. The natural rapport the two share onscreen perfectly conveys the brotherly relationship the characters once shared in the comics.

Honestly, if the Academy was willing to take a chance on another comic book property for a potential award nomination (beyond the visual and sound effects categories), then this film and its two lead actors could easily snag a nod. Of course, this most likely will not happen, but the fact that they could be considered worthy is a testament to the quality of this movie.

Alongside the two leads are a plethora of actors and actresses delivering very solid turns, even if their characters aren’t given as much to do as the aforementioned. The two biggest standouts from the supporting cast of young mutants are Mystique and Beast, played by Jennifer Lawrence (“Winter’s Bone”) and Nicholas Hoult (“Clash of the Titans”).

These two young talents deliver strong performances, and provide a different perspective on the events of the film than that of the leads. For me, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the movie spent as much time as it did showcasing the viewpoint of the “students”; especially, since the driving force of the film was the early years of Charles and Erik.

On the villainous side of things, we have Kevin Bacon (“Hollow Man”) and January Jones (TV’s “Mad Men”), portraying Sebastian Shaw and his femme fatale, Emma Frost respectively.

Between the two, Kevin gave the stronger performance, not to mention having more to do within the story. His portrayal of Sebastian Shaw was an interesting blend of a charismatic, suave, and sophisticated business man, mixed with a cold and calculating killer, devoid of any vestige of humanity.

To his credit, Kevin could have played the role over-the-top, which seems to be the temptation for so many actors when playing characters with a clear messiah complex, but he didn’t. Instead, he opted to play things more subdued and both the character and the film benefited.

Now, a moment ago, when I said that Kevin’s performance was the stronger of the two, that wasn’t to say that January Jones didn’t deliver on her end. On the contrary, January did a good job portraying Emma, a character whose beauty belies the cold-hearted mutant she truly is.

Some have complained that January seemed too emotionless and detached, but that’s the way her character should be, so her portrayal would be accurate. It’s just so many times critics aren’t aware of the source material (I know I’m guilty of this too), and judge based solely on what they see whether that’s the way the character is supposed to be or not.

So, in the end, with all the terrific performances, excellent storytelling, and great visual effects and action sequences, “X-Men: First Class” is an outstanding movie! Serving as a perfect introduction to those who may be unfamiliar with the film franchise or its comic book source material, but also providing longtime fans another excellent entry into the franchise that easily erases any ill-will garnered from the last two installments.

“X-Men: First Class” is rated PG-13 for violence and language.
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 1:56 am

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June 19, 2011 9:29 am
X-Men: First Class Review (Opens Singapore June 1)

X-Men: First Class is the fifth of the X-Men film franchise, and it may well be the best one. X-Men (2000)? Too much historical baggage to explain who the characters are. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)? A messy mutant orgy. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)? Claw my eyes out if I had to watch the entire movie again. The only real contender for best in class is X2 (2003), which shines in its action sequences. While X-Men: First Class does not have the berserker
barrage of Wolverine (he does appear in a hilarious cameo, though), it scores an A with a great storyline and cast.


X-Men: First Class is a prequel that chronicles the beginnings of Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), aka Professor X and Eric Lensherr (Michael Fassbender), better known by his codename Magneto. Xavier, who hails from a privileged family, uses his psychic powers to forge better ties between mutants and humans, and to woo the opposite sex. Lensherr, a survivor of the Nazi regime during World War II, seeks revenge with his magnetic manipulation abilities against his mother’s killer Sebastian Shaw. Their path cross when both try to take down Shaw. Together, the two gather a group of young mutants in bid to stop Shaw’s diabolical plans to incite war between the US and USSR.

Set in the mid-1960s Cold War period, the story cleverly ties in historical events to anchor the plot. The X-Men stopped the Cuban Missile Crisis? With archived news footage of JFK and other politicians speaking, it certainly seems plausible. It further strengthens the notion that mutantkind is among us, hiding in plain sight, and gives credence to the fiction.

To those unfamiliar with the comic mythos, the early friendship the duo has before turning into arch nemeses would have been a refreshing surprise. Xavier and Lensherr may be ideological opposites, yet they remain friends, for both see the greatness in each other. Adding a tinge of cheekiness to the usual brevity of the X-Men mentor gives the heavy story to The chemistry between the actors playing the two lead characters, McAvoy and Lensherr, is just sizzling – you’d almost wish that they would kiss already.

(Sidenote: for an even better story about the Xavier-Lensherr friendship, check out the trade paperback comic X-Men: Age Of Apocalypse Prelude.)

Make no mistake, Patrick Stewart was and still is Professor X, period. However, McAvoy’s interpretation is also an inimitable one. Adding a tinge of cheekiness in his character gives a much needed levity to the dread of impending war. The prequel’s Xavier is youthful yet mature, benevolent yet fearless, and McAvoy plays it perfectly. The only peeve about this Xavier is the relentless winks at his future. Enough jokes about balding already.


Fassbender, however, is a better Magneto, as compared to Sir Ian McKellen’s version in the previous X-Men trilogy. No fault of McKellen really, for the previous three reduced Magneto to a one-sided megalomaniac. Although this younger Lensherr relies much dramatic expressions to depict the character’s terrifying side, Fassbender also explores the motivations of the magnetic
mutant, and reveals his gentler side.

First Class’ director Matthew Vaughn also sets aside room to develop a third character, Mystique. In this instalment, the young teenager struggles with her true self as a blue-skinned shapeshifter. It cries to the teenage angst of trying to fit in and look normal. The previous Mystique is the personal favourite, though – Rebecca Romjin is just too hot to be upstaged (and yes, she has a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in the film too).

Being in their early days, the heroes in X-Men: First Class are not that adept in their abilities yet. As such, a quarter of the film is devoted to how Xavier coaches them to hone their skills. Real action only happens in two scenes – the attack of Shaw and his minions on CIA to recruit the young mutants, and the climatic finale, where Shaw’s crew battles the X-Men.

The first showdown is a one-sided affair. Ordinary humans with guns against folks who can teleport and control the elements? Vaughn keeps the tension tight, focusing on the fears in the victims, thus magnifying the potential threat mutantkind signifies.

The real fun lies in the end, where the aerial battle between good guy Banshee, who can scream and fly, and bad girl Angel, a winged mutant who spits acid balls, takes place. The flying acrobatics and explosive pyrotechnics should be enough for a 3D spectacular.

However, what hooks you will not be the 1960s minimalist visuals, but the imaginative story-telling and the charismatic cast. Vaughn manages to inject enough freshness to a tired franchise that.

That, and January Jones. Nuff said.
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 1:56 am

http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/2011/06/19/xmen-class-review.html

X-Men: First Class – review
June 19, 2011
By alan

x men first class X Men: First Class reviewI’ve been getting a bit tired of the X-Men movie franchise. You may remember how disappointed I was with the Wolverine movie. So I went into this one with some trepidation, but also a secret hope that it would be good. After all, it’s directed by Matthew Vaughn, who previously directed Layer Cake, Stardust and Kick-Ass, so we have good reason to expect quality from him. And I wasn’t disappointed. X-Men: First Class was absolutely brilliant.

It’s a genesis story and tells us how the whole X-Men thing began. In essence, it’s really a Magneto story, focussing more on what made Erik Lehnsherr into Magneto than anything else, but it manages to be so much more than that. It touches on how the mutants are the children of the nuclear age and not an aberration but the evolution of humanity, thereby setting the stage for the stand-off between humans and mutants that we’ve seen in the other films.

Charles Xavier, excellently played by James McAvoy, discovers Raven (Mystique), played by Jennifer Lawrence, when they’re children. They realise they’re not alone in their weirdness and thus begins Xavier’s interest in genetics which leads him to become a professor. He’s a genius and a telepath and, through a few connections with the CIA, begins to gather other mutants together. He shows them they’re not alone and gives them a safe place and a purpose. I’m deliberately skipping a MASSIVE chunk of the story here, as it’s far better experienced through the film.

Alongside this story we see Erik Lehnsherr, forced through horrible methods by Kevin Bacon’s Sebastian Shaw, to embrace his own mutant powers, and there the seed of his genesis is planted. It turns out that Shaw is up to no good in a massive way and is trying to trigger a nuclear war. In this way the film manages to weave the plot of the mutants into the real world history of the Cuban missile crisis and it does a superb job of that. If you’re a serious history buff you might have trouble with some of the liberties taken with events surrounding the Cuban missile crisis. To this I would point out that there aren’t really mutant people with incredible super powers, so if you can suspend that disbelief and accept a young man who flies by screaming at the ground, you can let a bit of alternate history go.

The film is set in 1962 and the faith to the era and environment is really well done. The performances are top notch. I’ve already mentioned that James McAvoy was excellent as Xavier. Other stand-outs are Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique and Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy/Beast. Kevin Bacon is excellent as Shaw and creates in that character a very convincing bad guy. But the entire film is stolen by Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto. His performance is true brilliance.

The film largely focusses on Magneto’s genesis, and an integral part of that is the friendship between Xavier and Lehnsherr and how that grows and then fractures. The film does a great job of exploring that dynamic. Some of the best scenes in the film are conversations between Xavier and Magneto, which is some going for an action flick.

X Men First Class Movie Xavier Lehnsherr X Men: First Class review

The political backdrop of the missile crisis provides an excellent crucible for the bigger issues explored by this film. Always the X-Men have been about accepting difference and this film is no exception. This is particularly well explored with the relationship between Mystique and Beast, with her spending all her time trying to conceal her true appearance, while he does all he can to cure his. Eventually, of course, they face the truth of who they are and make decisions based on those realisations. The film manages to get its messages across in entertaining ways, with plenty of humour thrown in and some stellar action sequences. Also, talking of humour, there’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in this one that will have fans nerdgasming all over the place. It’s hilarious and brilliant. You’ll know it when you see it.

So there’s new life in the X-Men franchise and this is perhaps the best X-Men film yet. Well worth your time and money. I already want to see it again.

This entry was posted on June 19, 2011 at 12:25 pm
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 1:59 am

http://theinquisitiveloon.blogspot.com/2011/06/x-men-first-class-part-1.html

Saturday, June 18, 2011
X Men: First Class Part 1

Surprisingly, this is an exceptionally hard movie for me to review. The reason for this is because I liked it a lot, but having just seen it, I find myself wanting to nitpick the hell out of it. Fact of the matter is that I've read my fair share of X-Men comics. I know the characters, their personalities, the many hundreds of story arcs. I also saw the other X-Men oriented movies; I saw the trilogy as well as that travesty they called X-Men Origins: Wolverine. So I came into this well prepared, in other words.

And I can say definitively that this is one of the best comic book movies out there. The movie is stylish, sexy, and an action-packed masterpiece that largely manages to do credit to quite the ensemble cast. It takes characters we are familiar with, Professor X and Magneto, and manages to make them and their early lives quite compelling. I was skeptical that the shoes worn by Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen could be filled effectively once more, but I'm mostly convinced that James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender pulled it off with aplomb.

However, I still think that X2 (the appropriate moniker for the second X-Men film of the original trilogy) is the best of them. I hope to explain this as my review goes on.
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Mutants of another Era

X: Men: First Class shows us events from World War II and the Cold War, revealing the early lives of Professor X and Magneto. These two are widely regarded as the most powerful mutants of them all, and their clashes of personal philosophies are what make them among the most memorable of characters. Xavier wants to live in a world where mutants and humans can coexist, where they can combine efforts to make the world a better place. To that end, Xavier seeks to create teams of such powered individuals that can oppose chaotic forces and save lives. On the other hand, Magneto believes that mutants shouldn't have to work at it to be accepted into human society. He wants a world where humans either accept without reservations the presence of such individuals on Earth or a world where humans are replaced by mutants. Though it sounds harsher, Magneto's philosophy is a lot more attractive to those who want to take pride in who they are without hesitance. Both points of view are interesting and both have something in common: wanting to make the world a better place. Thus it is tragic that these two men end up fighting in the end. To my eyes, First Class' job was to focus on these two and the differences between them that end in conflict.
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The Focus

Instead, the majority of the film is focused on the threat presented by Sebastian Shaw and the Hellfire Club. This is not a bad thing, exactly. Shaw, played by Kevin Bacon, of all people, seeks power that can be found by, from what I understood, manipulating nations so that humanity would destroy itself and leave the world to the mutants. To that point, he is a mouthpiece for Magento's extremist philosophy before Magneto himself has decided firmly upon it. Shaw himself provides quite an immense threat, and it becomes clear early on that he cannot be taken lightly. Shaw and his team are vicious, dangerous, and make the X Men look like jokes; perfect for a great villain. He also serves as the target point for Magneto's hatred, which culminates bloodily at the end of the film. Everything about this guy and his team reminded me of a Bond villain, which somehow suited perfectly.

In addition, First Class shows us the early mutants and Xavier's first attempts to educate them to use their powers for good. This is often hilarious, and the movie takes a lighthearted and exciting take on things. It is hard to pinpoint exactly, but something about the movie and the mutants within it seem reminiscent of the heady days of living life to the fullest. It is almost as if the mental maturity of every mutant in the film (including Professor X, at times) is that of a horny college student. The scene where they all show off their powers and end up partying comes to mind. Professor X's hilarious womanizing also provides an example. It is bizarrely refreshing, and makes the events that occur alternate between feeling like a Bond movie and a teenage comedy.

The Nitpicking

Overall, I thought the movie was fantastic, and I would happily see it again. However, there were a number of things that killed it for me, at times.

Prime example is anything to do with the actual history of the time period. Once the story shifted to the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis, it was like being splashed with ice cold water and being forced to wake up from a pleasant dream. Up to that point, I was fully engrossed in the film and loving every second of it. But once the mutants start taking part in the Cuban insanity, I lost my connection to the movie. Maybe it is because I'm such a history nerd, but everything from that point on just screamed 'Comic Book Movie'. And it wasn't just the absurd historical revisionism (seriously, was it even necessary for them to have set it during the crisis? Why not make up your own crisis? You're already giving people superpowers for crying out loud!), it was the fact that the ensemble cast begins to fray at the edges.

Up to this point, First Class miraculously gives each and every character enough screen time to engender interest and character depth. But once the final fight begins, we are presented with dizzying battles that, while occasionally badass, simply call attention to how many characters exist and how difficult it is to give them a satisfying conclusion. Powers are zipping about like mad. People are flying around and throwing crap at each other. It was reminiscent of the absurd battles of Thor, so over the top that it made me think of smashing action figures together from when I was a kid.
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Solutions?

The fact of the matter is that, to give a movie fight resonance, it has to be personal. This is what makes the brief fight between Magneto and Shaw intense, as was the conflict between Xavier and Magneto; it is also what made every prior fight in the film engrossing. People have to be emotionally involved in some way or another for it to be epic. Having the fights on a small scale helps with this. Unfortunately, the end fight simply involved a lot of mutants who had never really met each other duking it on the beach, a mere sideshow to the act of trying to stop Shaw from... Wait, what the hell was he doing? Suckling on a nuclear reactor for power to do... what? Blow up the world? It was weird.

Anyways, from that point, I lost track of many of the characters and lost interest in them. In the end, they become subservient to the Xavier vs Magneto clash, wherein anyone who ever showed a bit of independence went with Magneto and everyone else went with Xavier. Unfortunately, even that inevitable confrontation felt a bit silly. It was a little bit hard to believe that Magneto was going to embrace the philosophy of Sebastian Shaw, the man he'd been trying to kill for years. It didn't make any sense that Magneto was going to take out his rage on humans because of Shaw; I found this bizarre because Shaw is a mutant. If anything, Magneto should have been able to understand from this that there is nothing that makes mutants inherently better or worse than humans. They can be just as bad and just as good. But nah. That would make too much sense.

But this is why I prefer X2. Even though X2 was about a whole lot more than Magneto and Professor X's differences, it still manages to do absolute justice to the conflict between them through the events that occurred throughout the movie while still doing immense credit to an ensemble cast of mutants and their own respective character developments. I think a big part of that has to do with scale and personal involvement of characters. I don't want to go into too much detail here (I can always watch X2 and review it later), but I think X2 superior because of the impressive balance it manages to keep in being thought provoking, action-packed, and able to develop characters excellently, even minor ones, despite a large cast. I feel like First Class would have surpassed this if only it had handled its own conclusion better. But maybe I'm an insane nitpicker. Who knows?
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Conclusion

All in all, I loved First Class, though the climactic end felt a tad cheapened by silly historical interference and gratuitously over-the-top comic book antics. As we've discovered through the success of The Dark Knight, comic book movies that keep us attached to a relative realism are the ones that stand out. But I'll stop harping about that.

Despite my criticisms, I would easily put First Class near the top of my list of favorite comic book movies ever. The acting, particularly of Professor X and Magneto, was enthralling. The villain, Sebastian Shaw (oh, Kevin Bacon...), was pretty awesome and intimidating. The action, for the most part, was epic comic book awesomeness. I definitely hope that they'll make a sequel for this soon. A sequel might give me the development I wanted for the other characters as well as a more refined approach to the theme they seemed to want to follow (Professor X's philosophy versus Magneto's). Okay, I need to stop myself. The movie was great! I'll leave it at that.
Posted by The Inquisitive Loon at 5:57 PM
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 2:01 am

http://aliaschick007.blogspot.com/2011/06/summer-movie-season-has-officially.html

6/18/11
The Summer Movie Season has officially started with X-Men: First Class
Posted by Aliaschick at 7:18 PM

I absolutely loved X-Men: First Class. What a great prequel to the X-Men saga. James McAvoy is perfect as Professor X. I truly believed he would grow up to be Patrick Stewart as I watched him transform the young Xavier into the adult headmaster of the school for mutants. His style, his humor, his compassion and patience completely mirror his older self and predecessor, Stewart. Kevin Bacon really seems to have fun with his role as the evil Sebastien Shaw, while Michael Fassbender as Magneto is good but not as dead on as Xavier. There were some continuity issues that I noticed that don't quite fit with the X-Men movies that have come before, unfortunately, but the movie is so good that you tend to overlook those and just enjoy the experience. SPOILER ALERT...... The movie explains the origins of Magneto and Professor X from the time they were children in the 1940's through the early 60's. Their friendship and how it disintegrated is explored through the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the first mission of the X-Men.
Continuity errors....X-Men: First Class shows that Xavier lost the use of his legs during the Cuban Missile Crisis and at the same time the two friends became enemies. However, in X-Men: The Last Stand, Xavier is shown walking with Magneto in the 1980's and they are still friends. Also, this new film states that Beast helped create Cerebro even though the first X-Men movie claims that Xavier and Magneto built it together. Even with these inconsistencies, the movie makes some nice nods to the previous films by introducing the creation of Beast, an early encounter with Wolverine as well as the beginnings of Mystique and a nod to Xavier's eventual baldness.
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 2:08 am

http://thespoilerfreemoviereview.blogspot.com/2011/06/although-i-was-excited-to-see-origin.html

Saturday, June 18, 2011
Although I was excited to see an origin story of Professor X and Magneto's relationship, I'm not gonna lie, I had some concerns about James McAvoy playing the character that the wonderful Patrick Stuart has made so iconic to us.

Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised. Don't get me wrong, I very much enjoy McAvoy as an actor, but lets face it, Patrick Stuart has some very large performance shoes to fill.

I think a big part of what made it work, is that this version of the Professor is so young compared to the Professor we've come to know in the other X-Men movies. He has more spontaneity, he's a bit of a ladies man, and although he's intelligent enough to see right away what is coming with the conflict between mutants and everyone else. With the sequels that I'm expecting with this new string of X-Men movies, McAvoy will have time to have his version of Professor X grow into the mentor and leader that we see in Patrick Stuart's portrayal.

Michael Fassbender plays Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto, and I loved him. Lehnsherr was a complicated character to play in this movie, especially once we learn what happened to him while in the concentration camp, we see just how conflicted this character is. He's not all bad, but he's afraid in, what is ironically, a very human way, of what will happen when mutants become obvious to the general public. I found the performance both subtle and powerful.

The story line for me was about what I expected from the X-Men franchise. I personally don't go to these movies expecting to have an exceptional intellectually experience, but I do expect to be entertained, and that I was.

Also, look out for some really fun cameo's in this movie from favourites from the X-Men franchise.
Will you see it?
Posted by Jade at 6:45 PM
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 2:08 am

http://pottersmoviereviews.blogspot.com/2011/06/x-men-first-class.html

Saturday, June 18, 2011
X-Men First Class
Matinée

Well after taking a few weeks off, I am finally motivated to write again. Well work is really slow so why not. I went to see this on my vacation with my sister. I have to say it was my favorite X-Men so far. I thought the film was really well cast. I am a huge James McAvoy fan. Michael Fassbender was great as Magneto, and looked much more handsome than in Jane Eyre. The cast of first class students were all young enough and talented enough that Origins can become its own X-Men series. It was also fun to see January Jones, outside of Mad Men but still in the same time period. Well why not, it looks good on her.

The special effects were generally pretty good. There were a couple of moments, as when the young Erik sends the equipment of a lab flying, that could have been better but I thought they were good for the most part. I really liked getting to see Xavier as a professor, actually teaching the young mutants. It was made a really good sequence in the movie with some fun editing and split screens. I also really enjoyed getting to see why Erik and Xavier may fight constantly but still refer to each other as old friends. I feel like I understood Xavier a lot much in this film. Magneto was obviously jaded by the separation and death of his mother. This film showed a lot more of how he became so angry with such a strong vendetta. But I think the real mystery being revealed was Xavier. Yes he can probe peoples minds, but he not only sees, but feels what they went through. He truly felt everything Erik went through. He knew exactly why Erik became Magneto, yet still had the strength to stand against him. He also wasn't angry with Mystique for siding with Magneto. He can truly understand people better than anyone else.

It was strange to see Mystique and Xavier as children. They were so close in age, yet later in life seemed years apart. Even in the other X-Men movies she seems so much younger than him. But it was interesting to see their relationship, her own identity crisis and his part in it. The reason he often didn't understand Mystique was because he promised never to read her mind.

There were some good humorous allusions in this film as well. The reference to Xavier shaving his head, Xavier and Erik finding Wolverine only to have him tell them to. . . well to say it nicer than he did, to leave him alone. But I guess that makes Hugh Jackman the only person to make an appearance in all the X-men movies.

Overall I really enjoyed this movie. Great summer movie. If they do decide to make more X-Men Origins films, I won't mind.
Posted by Adria at 3:58 PM
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 2:08 am

http://feeverte.livejournal.com/152419.html

So I saw the next X-Men
...or the first X-Men, if you want to think chronologically.

Anyway. HOW MUCH DO I LOVE X-MEN FIRST CLASS?

Like cake, I think. I think I love it like cake. With shiny sprinkles of suppressed bromance and historical icing. ♥️

Srsly, could they have cast anyone more perfect than James and Michael? They even kinda LOOK like Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart.

Anyway. Was I ever not gonna love this film, even if it's in a shallow and giggly and fannish way and not a ~deep meaningful connection~?

(Oh, yes, I categorise my movies into various relationship states. This one has the potential to be a f&#! buddy - a film I really like and will visit many a time to have fun, without actually wanting to get all serious. My other f&#! buddies include (NO JUDGEMENT PLEASE) films like Prince of Persia, RED, Iron Man, Star Trek XI and all the Ocean's films and don't even get me started on National Treasure I DON'T KNOW OKAY. I might also start doing some silly things with them (hello, FANDOM), but we're independent of each other.

There's also the summer romance - kind of like a very meaningful fling - films I love, but part with after a short while and might only see again every once in a blue moon when they message me on facebook to tell me they happen to be in town. Examples: Black Swan, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Inception and Atonement, since we're already talking James McAvoy.

Then there are the boyfriends. I love them on a deeper level, and they do stick with me long-term. Like Sherlock Holmes, Slumdog Millionaire, Pride and Prejudice, Walk the Line, The Dark Knight, Inglourious Basterds and In Bruges.

The final stage is, I guess, the husband. I use the singular because I'm not sure anything but the Lord of the Rings has reached that stage yet. Probably because I got obsessed with it at thirteen, and some boyfriends just have to stand the test of time to reach this level. Anyway, I can still quote large parts of those films by heart. That is a VERY strong indicator for this category.

Also STOP JUDGING ME I just came up with that system spontaneously and used my external HD as a reference, I CAN'T KEEP TRACK OF ALL MY LOVERS OKAY. Also, I am ENDING this now before any more ambiguity comes up.)

Back on topic, random rambling, aka My thoughts on X-Men First Class, let me show you them.

Yes, my love of it could be very great. I mean, Fassbeender. McAvoy. PERIOD SETTING. (Are the 60s already a period? WHATEVER NOT THE POINT.) BROMANCE. (Young!X and young!Maneto were totally kissing.)

Michael Fassbender speaks FOUR languages in this film. YOUR ARGUMENT IS INVALID.
Also, he kills nazis with a knife much like the one he was admiring on Til Schweiger in Inglourious Basterds. Heh.

(On that note: Nothing against him and Shaw, as they had to speak a lot of English, and Fassbender's German is actually quite brilliant. (The other guy's... isn't.) But could people please STOP CASTING NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS for German supporting roles? IT HURTS MY EARS. No-one remembers these people. BUT I REMEMBER THE ACCENT.)
(The funny thing is - I noticed this in the Schmidt/Shaw guy - English-speakers trying to speak German always have that harsh, stilted rhythm that I think is a cliché about the German language by now. They sounds like EVIL NAZIS because they just can't pronounce the stuff properly and can't handle the German intonation. lol.)

Anyway. Michael Fassbender and his Leather Jacket of RADICAL REBELLION and his Turtleneck of BROODING HOTNESS. YES PLZ. And yes, James McAvoy was very cute in his goofy righteousness, and the whole DON'T TOUCH MY HAIR THING. ALSO APPROVED.

This film also gets a lot of props for using actual, authentic historical video footage of JFK etc. I LOVE IT WHEN THEY DO THAT. And - which is how I understood it up and found pretty impressive - there is no other-ing of the Russians - the Russians and the Americans are both exactly on the same level, being played by the villain. The Russians don't jump at the thought of nuclear war. They pretty much want what the Americans want - to keep walking the line of the unstable but non-violent status quo. In a time where the COMMUNIST SOCIALIST HEALTHCARE AGENDA threatens all that is good and pure about the US (har, har), I find that nice.

However... okay, I don't know 60s fashion very well. And I know that the mini skirt originates in that period. But in general, the costumes in this movie seemed very modern. And a FAR cry from the look of, for example, Mad Men, which is set during the Kennedy years as well. SO... idk. I just noticed.

And ickle!Mystique. How cute was that in the beginning?

And really, OF COURSE the Swiss banks are chock-full of nazi money. And OF COURSE the nazi is hiding in Argentina. (By the way, the only real Germans - accent-wise - in the movie. I noticed immediately. BITBURGER, haaaaa.) And OF COURSE the place is called Villa Gesell.

I kept waiting for Erik to call out Charles on his BS, though. The guy is shamelessly f#%@#&! with people's minds, like, EVERY SECOND OF EVERY DAY. Which is TERRIBLE. If I were Erik, I'd be all RIGHTEOUS RAGE if someone just flicked through all my holocaust memories within minutes of meeting me. I mean, is it just me or would that have been an excellent argument for Erik - both to defend what he is doing (physical violence as opposed to mental violence) and to point out that Charles, while not wanting to be an Übermensch and claiming he is not superior to the humans, is totally in the habit of controlling everyone around him and really liking it?

Yeah. I kinda sympathise with Magneto, is all I'm saying. Must be the leather jacket.

I would also totally do Charles, for the record. Very Happy

Aaanyway. I'll leave you with something seen on twitter (@sarahreesbrenna, as per usual):

Professor X: I have James McAvoy's adorable face & a huge mansion. Who wants to come to my mansion & let me love them?
Professor: People just need hugs. Magneto: I don't think that's true. Professor: Do YOU want a hug? Magneto: ... yes.
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 2:09 am

http://bradleyonfilm.wordpress.com/2011/06/18/class-warfare/

Class Warfare

June 18, 2011 by bradleyonfilm

Warning: Semi-Spoilers Included

I knew when attending X-Men: First Class today with Drax and son Damian that I had to look at the film from two perspectives at once: 1) Was it true to Marvel’s X-Men comics, or at least as I knew them until the early ’80s, and 2) Was it a good movie on its own terms? To which I would answer, respectively, not much and yes, if flawed; oh, they throw in plenty of the characters and situations from the comics, but in a kind of spaghetti-against-the-wall fashion, certainly not in any organized chronological manner. They make mincemeat of the 1963 Lee/Kirby X-Men #1, of whose five original students (Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, Marvel Girl) fewer than two are seen here.

Angel is represented in name only, not as playboy heir Warren Worthington III, but as an erotic dancer (Zoë Kravitz) whose wings can be concealed much more easily than his. The only actual holdover is Beast (Nicholas Hoult), although they conflate this tale with Hank McCoy’s change to his current blue, furry form in Amazing Adventures in 1972. Supplanting his erstwhile allies in the film are Havok (Lucas Till)—with founding brother Cyclops nowhere in sight—Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence, with a clever Rebecca Romijn cameo), and Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), all of whom joined the book in later years, as well as doomed, forgettable Darwin (Edi Gathegi).

The team’s rebooted origin involves struggles both internal, between optimistic Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and pessimistic Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender), and external, opposing Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). The head of the Hellfire Club wants to trigger World War III, convinced that the resulting radiation will only make mutants stronger. The fact that Shaw killed Erik’s mother to trigger his power gives the future Magneto a revenge motive, and the fact that Shaw’s Gal Friday is a fellow telepath, Emma Frost (January Jones), gives Charles competition until Hank, still a brilliant scientist, creates Cerebro to help him track down their fellow mutants.

The memory of his Holocaust trauma makes Erik suspicious of what the CIA’s attitude toward mutants will be even if Xavier et alia help them avert Armageddon. The six credited scenarists (including director Matthew Vaughn and former franchise standard-bearer Bryan Singer) use the main story’s 1962 setting to turn these events into a backdrop for the Cuban Missile Crisis, thus providing a whole new set of nudges and winks for middle-aged fanboys like myself. Too bad they bit off more than they could chew with the characters, introducing too many to do justice to them, like explaining why Shaw’s minion Azazel (Jason Flemyng) is so much like Nightcrawler.

They’ve also juiced up Xavier’s Scottish scientist friend Moira MacTaggert into a CIA agent (Rose Byrne) who becomes a kind of X-mascot, working with the team to capture Emma and learn Shaw’s whereabouts, which at that point are with a Russian general (the ubiquitous Rade Serbedzija). The climax consists of a face-off between Soviet ships and blockading American ones led by one “M. Ironside,” while Erik finally goes head to head with Shaw. The film sets up a lot of familiar X-Men lore, if not always in a historically accurate way, and it is handled by a largely competent cast and crew, so I can recommend it to all but the most inflexible of purists.
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 2:14 am

http://kennelco.com/film_diary/2011/06/18/x-men-first-class/

X-Men: First Class
June 18th, 2011 by Kennelco in Theatrical, with the kids

X-Men: First Class (2011) movie poster

(2011) director Matthew Vaughn
viewed: 06/17/2011 at AMC Loews Metreon 16, SF, CA

It’s kind of ridiculous, the pure quantity of superhero movies that have been rolling out for the past couple of years. Marvel Comics in particular has amped up its production of movies, preparing for next summer’s Avengers movie, giving each of the characters their own solo film in the build-up. While that run is quite unprecedented and a somewhat interesting, though also deplorable marketing beast that it is, the situation of The X-Men as well as other franchises, is the “re-boot”.

While re-boot or re-imagining is the common style of re-make these days, what’s even more unusual is how short the cycles are now between one run of movies and a whole new era of directing, producing, casting to attempt to re-invigorate a franchise when it’s hit its first commercial failure.

The first X-Men series of films (X-Men (2000), X2 (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)), spanning 2000-2006 with its own one-off spin-off (so far) was a success story for Marvel and the comic book movie in general. The X-Men have long been a fan favorite, but the characters’ designs and powers would have been very difficult to create without digital special effects. And the casting of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, the comic’s most popular character, made him a star and probably helped pave the way for all comers since. But the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand, which had the feel of a final installment to a trilogy of sorts, was also a bomb of a film.

For X-Men: First Class, the re-boot does something akin to the successful Star Trek (2009) re-boot, going back to a time before the other series came together, an origin story in which the main characters are younger and more vital. Of course, the Star Trek re-boot had a clever angle of telling a story that hadn’t been told before. X-Men: First Class goes back to paint the origin of Professor Xavier (James McAvoy), Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and others, perhaps re-tweaking tales that have been told in comic books before.

They set it in the early 1960′s, centered around the Cuban Missile Crisis, with a tweak on real world history. It’s also interestingly close to the real world creation of the X-Men by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, so there is an uncanny sense of aptness in this setting.

The story is very much about how Magneto and Xavier started as colleagues and how they came to be on separate sides of a political spectrum, and eventually arch enemies. The film gets a lot from McAvoy and Fassbender, who both have charm and give the film some of its striven for depth.

It’s directed by Matthew Vaughn, who only a year ago brought out the fun and ironic superhero movie Kick-As (2010). Here he’s working with some heavy comic book lore, the origin story of one of comic-book-dom’s favorite gangs, and telling it alongside historical portents of WWII and what almost became WWIII. And he does a pretty good job of it, considering the sprawling amount of narrative that the film has to pack in.

With your average single superhero movie, one villain/one hero can make for a more balanced story, a little more time to invest in the good and the evil. When films add more and more heroes and villains they often get off-track. For a film about a team, each hero and villain needing some significant back-story to give them depth, not to mention the big build-up to when the hero(es) have to save the world in a big showdown…there is just a lot of exposition to contain in a two hour plus movie.

I took the kids, who were nonplussed about going to the movie, but they both enjoyed it. I do have to give it to Clara who observed to me that “All the characters have superpowers but the women have to take their clothes off to use theirs’.” Which is an astute feminist criticism from a 7 year old girl.
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 2:18 am

http://news4u.co.in/2011/06/x-men-first-class-movie-review-4/

X Men – First Class (Movie-Review)
Published on June 19, 2011 by admin

News4u-Entertainment Desk-courtesy toi- : The film is a prequel to all the X-Men films and traces the beginning of the mutant world. It’s 1962, the year of the Cuban missile crisis when America and Russia almost threw the world into a nuclear war. CIA agent, Moira (Rosie Byrne) hires telepathic Professor Charles Xavier’s/Professor X (James McAvoy) and a bunch of fellow mutants to work as a special force and avert the crisis which has been precipitated by the evil Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). The super army also includes Holocaust survivor Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto (Michael Fassbender) who seems to have his own motives for teaming up. He still hasn’t forgotten his bitter childhood memories….

Movie Review : Most action films may boast of loads of action but go low on story and character growth. Here’s where X-Men: First Class scores. The ka-boom stuff is all there, in heavy doses too, but it comes only when the characters have told their story and expounded their reasons to explode. What’s more, the film may be a fictional superhero story but it beautifully blends history with superpower histrionics. So much so, you actually believe — if only for a single, soppy moment — it was these special people who flew the nuclear missiles back and forth the American and Russian ships to avert a nuclear disaster. Ah! The power of cinema.

The film opens in a riveting manner with a young Erik being forced to display his special metal-bending powers in a concentration camp in Poland. When he fails, he faces disastrous consequences which plague him all his life. But this tragedy also unleashes the full fury of his super powers. Cut to 1962, when a beleaguered President Kennedy struggles to avert a nuclear crisis. Enter, the colourful band of mutants which include the enigmatic, blue-skinned Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), a shape-shifter, a tempest-tosser, a fire-thrower, an adapter, a beast and several more. Of course, the team is headed by the seniors, Professor Xavier’s and Erik who begin as the best of friends but end up as arch rivals, as the series progress.

Great action, riveting drama, real dilemmas and interesting characters, X-Men: First Class is fun all the way.
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 2:21 am

http://www.ampersandology.com/2011/06/quasi-review-x-men-first-class.html

Quasi Review, X-Men: First Class
by Jillian Butler, Ampersandology

"Adaptation is repetition, but repetition without replication." -Linda Hutcheon

Fassbender! Let him change your mind.
So I basically just saw the new X-Men movie, X-Men: First Class. In a nutshell, I didn't leave angry, which is real progress! Still, there's a lot about the film that's just...awkward; aside from the scenes between Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy, much of the story felt like a second draft revision, and the final product was still an edit or two away.

The film is grossly uneven-- the transitions between great thematic importance and haywire levity are jarring, to say the least, and play out like the annoying, high pitched fracas of the kids' table in the kitchen while the grown up are talking sensibly and importantly in the dining room. Tonally, that makes for a confusing two hours.

I wavered on the decision to see it, because I was so angry about the state of comic book movies in general and X-Men in particular. X3 managed to ruin the Phoenix Saga, which is really like the pizza of the Marvel universe--it's such a terrific story that it boggles the mind how you could screw it up. You put cheese on bread and melt it! You give too much power to a character that will later go crazy and require her own sacrifice! It's like basic math, people.

But comic book movies have long suffered from the very thing that draws people into the theater: the coolness factor. I blame CGI, mostly: much of what happens onscreen in modern comic movies have only been possible in the wake of recent computer imaging technology. So you fill the screen with marvelous displays of impossible superpowers, a dazzlnig lightshow of nifty graphics that overshadows most everything else.

But all this takes away from the fundamentals of the superhero mythos that draws young kids into the comics: the battle of being your best self versus the easiest, the struggle of difference, the burden of exception. There's a resonant cultural importance in comic books (Doubt me? read this), and most of the superhero films that get made completely bypass this altogether.

Where First Class succeeds is surprising, because it has nothing to do with the title premise. The 'first class' of the title, the kid mutants that will make up Professor X's first students at his Institute for Gifted Youngsters, are a largely lackluster bunch. It's these scenes that lost me--which is too bad, because if the franchise continues, perhaps some thought should have gone into choosing a class that was, I don't know, interesting outside of their allotted ten minutes of CGI wizardry. I mean, they're cute, but they're not the real first class, you know? Where, I ask, is the rich playboy disowned by his father for his deviation? The orphaned Alaskan boy who turns his pain into stoicism? The requisite Smurfette?

Suckas, this is the only First Class my heart will acknowledge.
No, where First Class succeeds is as an entry into the much larger and longstanding discussion that rattles through the bones of all comic book movies--the question of adaptation versus accuracy. X-Men: First Class largely succeeds as an apology to the franchise, after the wet-blanket flavouring of X3 and the responding thud of Wolverine: Origins. First Class stands as an anomaly, of sorts, given the devotion of most comic book fans and their derision towards adaptation: I think most who saw it remember the odd feeling of watching Watchmen on the screen a few years ago, and realizing that in trying to replicate Moore's vision exactly (and attempt to appease its fans) all the audacity and thrilling verve of that same vision came out in the wash. There's such a thing as being too faithful.

Let me tell you, as a former X fangirl, there's very little of this film that resembles its comic origins. But is that what matters? First Class is a tidy distillery of the comic book's message about tolerance and its opposite, fear, and I quite frankly never get tired of that. What I love about the opposing world views of the X universe is that if anyone with a critical mind can see the merit to both approaches: while Charles Xavier would reinforce the much less radical view of integrating his charges into the society that hated them, Lehnsherr took the more reactionary (but understandable) defense mechanism of an eye for an eye. It's Malcolm X versus Martin Luther King Jr., though I guarantee I'm not the first to draw such parallels. And in First Class, both viewpoints are given equal screentime, much to the film's benefit: one look at Michael Fassbender's Magneto (mmm, yes please!) and you entirely understand how he evolves into a human-hating hot mess. And Charles, well, he even start talking with that calm, wizened patronizing tone that the real Professor X uses, so there's that too!

It's for that reason this needs to be said: First Class is at its heart, one of the finest bromances put to film. Let me just say this: the film features an extended montage wherein Xavier and Lehnsherr go on little road trips to find other mutants to recruit into their little club. It's cute, an all too brief bright spot of pure win in a tonally-confused two hours. "More tea, vicar?" OMG that was awesome.

theirloveissopure.
And no joke, if the entire movie had been two hours of mini-Professor X and baby Magneto going on little mini-adventures and drinking champagne and wearing mod suits, smirking at each other (AND MAYBE MORE???) while hep music played in the background, that would have been the most rad. I would watch that movie at least eight times. In theaters. And also on Blu-Ray. Theirloveissopure!
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 2:21 am

http://greatestmoviemaniacs.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-x-men-first-class-when-i-first.html

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Review X-MEN: FIRST CLASS:

When I first saw the posters of X men first class I was way too disappointed. Then there was the trailer which brought back some confidence. Then there were some bad posters and cool trailers. I had no idea what to expect when I walked into the theatre. Mr. Matthew Vaughn I am so sorry that I doubted you from the lame posters. Let me say it loud and clear right at the beginning, X MEN first class is my most favorite X men movie (at least as of now).

X Men first class takes us back to the time when Charles Xavier used his mutant powers to flirt with girls and Eric (Magneto) had nothing but revenge in mind. The film deals with how these two young mutants together along with a few other mutants, stop Sebastian (Kevin Bacon loves the name I guess) and frost from starting off a nuclear war between the U.S and Soviet Union.

The film succeeds on so many different levels that I don’t even know where to begin. In terms of acting, James and Michael as Charles and Eric are revelations. James Mcavoy brings a kind of cool fun loving Charles Xavier to screen and gradually transforms into the confident leader that Professor X was. Michael Fassbender gives a performance as Magneto/Eric that will long remain as one of the best performances in a comic book movie ever. Every time he is on screen, something amazing happens. He is strong, silent and AMAZING. The rest of the mutants that these two go on to hire are interesting and play their part appropriately.

The movie benefits a lot from the deft writing that cleverly integrates some real events into the plot and makes it all the more interesting. Funny lines and masterful scenes are spread throughout the movie which makes it a pleasure to watch. Matthew Vaughn is a director to look out for. His “Kick Ass” handling of the action sequences (especially the one in Argentina involving Magneto) and how he manages to balance the fan boyish fun and the serious and interesting transformation of the characters are outstanding. Not for a moment he loses his control over the movie.

Although this is a near perfect film there were a few short comings. The repetition of how humans would never accept mutants and the fact that some of the side cast that lost in the crowd is the only problem I had in the movie.

X MEN FIRST CLASS is a much welcomed fresh start to the series. I really hope they continue in this pattern. I really cannot recommend this movie enough. To sum it all up in a single line, X MEN first class is just that, FIRST CLASS.

My Rating 10/10

- V

P.S: “Kick ass” was kick ass fun. First Class is First class. May be Matthew Vaughn’s success is in his movie’s titles. What’s next?

P.S 2: With the dark knight rises releasing only next summer and green lantern managing to garner negative reviews, would this end up being the best comic book movie of the year? I won’t bet against it.

Posted by GreatestMovieManiac at 12:04 PM
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 2:22 am

http://negativereel-critic.blogspot.com/2011/06/prequel-and-proud.html

Saturday, June 18, 2011
Prequel and Proud
X-Men First Class
This should have been the first X-Men film ever made. More than just a prequel, it bridged the comics and films by taking place in the same time period as the comics and providing an engaging backstory for some of the staple characters. James McAvoy (Charles Xavier) and Michael Fassbender (Erik Lensharr) had some big shoes to fill and both played their roles well beyond expectations. The film prioritizes its comic origins, which buoys it against the other X-men films, but creates a few flaws along the way. The more vibrant colors and less serious tone actually made the film more believable than the more serious predecessors. However, this loyalty to the roots do work against the film in some areas.
A production element that constantly brought the house down was the lower third titles that described the location. They were fine at first, but when "Covert CIA Facility" and "Secret Russian Airbase" popped up, I just laughed. These titles would not be out of place in a comic strip since a reader only gets a single frame to orient themselves and the words help fill in the blanks. In a movie, the viewer sees 25-30 frames per second, so they get more information about the location right away. As such, any location titles need to be more specific than just what's seen on screen. It's an odd priority where some unnecessary aspects of the comic are favored.
Emma Frost's presence really bothered me. I understand Marvel's desire to be true to their character (Frost being a member of the Hellfire Club), but the bottom line is that she was already used in Wolverine, which took place about about a decade later (during which time she somehow regressed several years). January Jones didn't really help improve the role either. I really wonder why the producers didn't use one of the other sexy telepaths, like Psylocke, to fill the same role without creating another continuity error (of which there are many).
I suspect that, although the film was officially designated a prequel, it may end up being a reboot of the films. The ending clearly set up more stories to tell and there are a number of continuity errors that keep it from meshing well with the other films.

First Class ended with Xavier becoming crippled, yet he was seen walking in both Wolverine and The Last Stand, which suggested his paralysis was relatively recent. Now, the scene where he became crippled was very well done, so I have a tough time saying whether it should have been removed.
In The Last Stand, it was shown that Erik was originally part of Xavier's Mutant Academy, as the two recruit Jean Grey together, but in First Class, they go their separate ways prior to the formal foundation of the school.
In X-Men, Xavier said Erik helped him build Cerebro, but we don't not see any such incidence in First Class. In fact, it was Beast that designed the Cerebro prototype and presumably rebuild it in the mansion later on. This error could have easily been fixed. We could have seen Erik helping to rebuild Cerebro at Xavier's mansion as a practice of his powers instead of his moving a strategically placed satellite dish around.
In X-Men, Xavier says he met Erik when he was 17, but in First Class, they didn't meet until Xavier was in his mid-twenties. Maybe they bumped into each other at Oxford.
A sharp eye will spot Stryker in the film, but he seems to be getting older and older each time we see him, despite going earlier and earlier in the timeline.
Emma Frost I've already talked about, but to be fair, the Emma in Wolverine doesn't display any telepathy and we never hear her last name.
Mystique was often nude in the other films presumably so she could easily create the clothes of the person she's assuming, which implied her chameleon abilities didn't apply to clothes, but in two scenes of First Class, she morphed the clothes she's was wearing into those of the disguise without difficulty.
Moira MacTaggert appeared in First Class as a young CIA agent and in The Last Stand as a middle-aged physician. I suppose it's possible the latter is the daughter of the other.

Despite these errors, the film succeeded where most of its predecessors failed. It kept the number of mutants to a reasonable number, unlike The Last Stand and Wolverine, which both had excessive mutants that were mostly there to show off their powers rather than be actual characters in a story. The curbed number allowed each character to have at least a little meaningful screen time in addition to using their powers. The presence of Mystique was a little left field, but her story was handled pretty well, and it looks like the origin of Nightcrawler was being set up. (For those who don't know, Nightcrawler is the progeny of Mystique and Azazel, both of whom appear in First Class). I am hopeful that there will be sequels to this film in the future, some of which could fix the continuity. Perhaps Eric and Xavier will reconcile briefly and run the school together, recruiting Jean Grey and rebuilding Cerebro along the way. Then they can have another falling out, possibly over Xavier's brainwashing of Grey, and Eric would leave. I'm sure a reason can be concocted for Xavier being able to walk during this time. If they really wanted to, they could bring Stryker in again and we could get the full story on his son. There's a lot of potential and I look forward to seeing what comes next.
Posted by Trad at 12:50 PM
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 2:23 am

http://stephenjudge.co.uk/?p=2259

Posted on June 18, 2011

Prequel Blues – My X-Men: First Class Review

In a word: Almost

The curse of the prequel has to be pre-determined events. When any film exists to just ‘bridge the gap’ to another instalment it’s immediately at a disadvantage – ask George Lucas. The audience knows how things are going to turn out – they just don’t know how. Matthew Vaughn’s valiant stab at yet another X-men instalment suffers from this – but it’s not its biggest flaw.

Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known. In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-MEN.

Let’s talk about what’s great about X-Men: First Class – easy – Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy. Both actors really bring their characters to life in a fresh immediate way. As much as I enjoyed a ‘playboy’ McAvoy, Fassbender is the true stand out. His Erik is compelling, dangerous and brilliantly physical. It’s no surprise that the character with the strongest set-up, the strongest ‘need’ and the simplest goal should prove to be the most compelling (there’s a lesson there).

Bryan Singer’s DNA is also clear – and it immediately raises the film above the likes of ‘Last Stand’ and ‘Origins’. It’s just a shame he wasn’t more involved at the scripting stage. The flow and balance of X-Men 2 is missing here – what we do get is plot – A LOT OF PLOT. For a film based on real events (The Cuban Missile Crisis) it takes FOREVER to set-up something that happened anyway – all by itself. Then fumbles the finale with a ridiculous line on a radar map exposition. How can a summer movie be so damn hard work – the curse of over-plotting and too many characters strikes again (hello Iron Man 2).

What a shame. The first 30 minutes rocks. Michael Fassbender rocks; the setting and direction are solid. But for the love of God let the film BREATH with less plot.

3/5
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 2:23 am

http://wrecktify.squarespace.com/news/2011/6/18/movie-review-x-men-first-class.html

MOVIE REVIEW - X-Men: First Class
Saturday, June 18, 2011 at 2:33PM

This summer definitely has its fill of comic book movies. The one probably at the bottom of the radar would have to be First Class. And why wouldn't it be, especially after "The Last Stand" and "Wolverine" both turned out to be failures. But "First Class" fixes the errors of the last two films, albeit adding some new ones, and really gives it the feel of a real X-Men movie and the best of the comic movies so far.

Originally, the plan was to have solo Magneto and Professor X origin movies. "First Class" is not only the origin story of Xavier and the Master of Magnetism, but the formation of the X-Men team and everything that surrounds them. It is also set in the 60's during the Cuban Missile Crisis, with a vibe of "MadMen" and even abit of the 90's X-Men animated series. It feels epic as the characters all over the globe and use their powers in many big ways. For example, Magneto, who has to be the most badass character in the film, played by the soon-to-be leading star Michael Fassbender. He is Bond with superpowers and not afraid to get what he wants, shooting guns and lifting battleships on his quest to stop Sebastian Shaw. Kevin Bacon plays Shaw in all his over-the-top, cheesy goodness, which goes with the setting as well. James McAvoy does a good job as a young Xavier, who is more smooth ladykiller than dignified leader.



January Jones as Shaw's partner-in-crime Emma Frost, though... If only we had more of her! The X-Men featured all do their best, especially one Jennifer Lawrence as Raven/Mystique and Beast, played by Nicholas Hoult. Special effects turned out great and the director, Matthew Vaughn, deserves much of the credit for the film's success. After all, he does have experience in comic movies, and a good one sat that, in "Kick-Ass". So in the end, "First Class" changes some of past movies did and adds its own story to it and really, if you're a purist, you should forgot about it all and just enjoy the movie for what it is. Sure, there are bad, extra cheese moments and some so-so acting, but not every film can be completely perfect and it doesn't mean it can't be a good time. With plenty of fun cameos, exciting action scenes, and yes, plenty of attractive people and locations to look at, "First Class" kicks much ass and a real summer movie experience.

8/10.
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 2:24 am

http://kevinssliceofinspiration.posterous.com/a-good-education-is-very-important-an-x-men-f

A good education is very important, an X-Men: First Class Quick Nonspoiler #Review by Kev

With every great story, there is an incredible beginning waiting to be told. X-Men: First Class tells the origins of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and the formation of the X-Men.

I am never going to shake the feelings of hesitation and trepidation I feel every time I walk into the theater to watch a movie adaptation of a comic book. I know that now. Luckily, there are signs I can look for that can assuage those fears.

One such sign is the involvement of writers Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz. As I mentioned in my Thor review, they are two of my favorite screenwriters and I have come to trust their contribution completely.

X-Men: First Class is how you should launch, or re-launch, a comic book adaptation franchise.

Seamlessly, moving from scene to scene, each character is introduced, mutant powers are explained, and the world at large is described in enough detail that everything seems natural and as it should be. At no time watching X-Men: First Class do you feel like you should have read the book.

The effects are spectacular. Never did I see a building or moving object or power and think “green screen” or that the FX people ran out of time.

The actors all did a fantastic job, especially Kevin Bacon who plays a Bond-ish type of mutant villain.

James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender have such a push and pull as Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr the franchise has obviously hit on casting gold. You honestly believe these two become the close friends that will evolve into the bitter rivalry we saw in X-Men.

I enjoyed this movie so much; I hope they continue it going even as far as ignoring the first four movies, moving into the 70’s and 80’s and including Dazzler (Allison Blaire) and other early mutants like Storm and Iceman.

If you have not taken the trip to the theater yet to see this film, I highly recommend you do so at your earliest convenience.

Like NOW.


Posted June 18, 2011
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 2:26 am

http://lenixleni.blogspot.com/2011/06/x-men-first-class.html

June 18, 2011
"X-Men: First Class"

I went to see "X-Men: First Class" about two weeks ago but I was caught up on dropping my phone and all, I forgot to post this.
Watching "X-Men: first class" made me realize how great James McAvoy is all over again. He was recently taking an absence from work because of his first baby. I think he is one of the best actor in his generation. For those of you who have never seen him act, you should go see "Atonement", "The Last King of Scotland", "Wanted", "Penelope" and basically everything! Some movies he did before he made it big in Hollywood such as "Rory O'Shea Was Here" and "Starter for 10" are awesome too! Even in comic book based movie, he is so committed and has such depth as Charles Xavier. The film was well done by Matthew Vaughn but I think James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender totally saved the movie! Whenever they are not in the scene, you just want to see more of them! If you still haven't seen the movie, it is worth watching it!
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 2:26 am

http://reelbytes.blogspot.com/2011/06/x-men-first-class.html

June 18, 2011
X-Men: First Class
I had high hopes going into this one. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender? YES PLEASE. (You may recall my weird crush on Fassbender from previous posts).

SPOILERS AHOY!

I was a little disappointed, to be honest. Sure, there's decent special effects and action (I sort of loved the sequence where Erik/Magneto goes into the South American bar and causes havok--HAHAHA no pun intended!!), though to be honest, I hated the effect for Emma Frost's "diamond" form--boo! I also didn't like that they had Mystique and Prof. X meet as children and become like...best buddies/brother and sister. What? If my googling skills are up to par, I'm pretty sure that's not at all what happens in the comics. SIGH.

Also, while they did develop a friendship between Magneto and Prof. X (which was bromance at its best), it ended really quickly--I had gotten the impression from the other films (which may or may not have anything to do with this one?? I'm unsure) that they were friends for YEARS and YEARS before having their falling out--I mean, we see them go recruit Jean Grey together as older men, right?

I guess that's where I'm the most confused--does this movie have anything to do with the previous three? I want to say yes, because they harken back to Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, they use the opening bit with Magneto pulling the fence at the ghetto/camp as a teenager, Wolverine makes an appearance--but then other things just don't match up (as mentioned above).

I hate when movies confuse me, so this one gets a B. SO THERE.
Posted by Cinemarella at 11:07 AM
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Post by Admin Sun Jun 19, 2011 2:28 am

http://lord-avenger.blogspot.com/2011/06/x-men-first-class-2011-review.html

Samstag, 18. Juni 2011
X-Men: First Class (2011) Review
Release: 9 June 2011 (Germany)
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Duration: 132 min
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Actors: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Lawrence


"We have it in us to be the better men."
"We already are."

Maybe you are, buddy, but you certainly aren't as cool as Ian McKellen
And that's really true. It's always hard to see new actors impersonating old characters, especially when they are as good as the original movie X-Men - we saw the same problem with The A-Team and Star Trek. Both movies were okay, but they didn't stand a chance against the originals. Same here. Charles Xavier played by James McAvoy (Wanted) is somehow special and I like him in his role as young Professor X (just his English accent was SO annyoing!), but Magneto? Michael Fassbender (Inglorious Basterds, 300, Jonah Hex) isn't a bad actor, but he certainly is unprepossessing. He has a face under millions, no real charisma that you actually feel by watching him... in fact he hasn't got anything a super villain like Magneto needs. Kevin Bacon was definitely more persuasive as villain and I only want to see him as one in the future, because he is one of my favourites since Hollow Man. But it was kind of awkward listening to him while he speaks German, at least when you actually are a German. But it's always interesting hearing that in the original version of American movies.

It's a movie for fans, who don't know much more about X-Men than the story of the three (or four) previous movies. You get to know how Magneto becomes a villain, but at least in my opinion what was much more interesting, how he gets his helmet and how Xavier ends up in his wheelchair. Plus you see some new heroes with new abilities, but the real cool ones aren't including yet, like Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, etc. In fact, they really use very little effects for a superhero movie, you see that just by watching Mystique. Most of the time, she's in a human form. Okay, you could say it's story relevant and part of her character's evolution but cut the crap, they were saving money along the way. But no harm done, the movie works good. Actually it works even better than the third X-Men, which had too MANY effects.

I liked the punks collected by Xavier and how they discovered their abilities and how childish they behaved in each other's company during the first meet and greet, but as with Magneto, they were absolutely nothing special and I can't even remember one face. Actually, I'm just remembering McAvoys and Bacons face, Mystiques blue form and the face of the russian general who gets literally mind f&%$#&. Haha, that was great. Maybe the best idea in the whole plot.

Whatsoever, not a bad movie, just enjoy when it comes to it and especially enjoy Hugh Jackman's guest appearance, it's probably one of the best I've ever seen. Really... X-treem.

= 70 %
Eingestellt von LorD Avenger um 20:02
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