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Seamlessly melding Marvel mythology with Western mythology, James Mangold has crafted an affectingly stripped- down stand- alone feature, one that draws its strength from Hugh Jackman’s nuanced turn as a reluctant, all but dissipated hero. That he rises to the occasion when a child is placed in his care is the stuff of a well- worn narrative template, yet it finds a fair level of urgency in this telling. For fans who are intimately versed in the franchise’s playbook (and the comic- book source material), this chapter should prove emotionally satisfying. For those who can’t recite the plotlines of all nine of the preceding X- Men films, the new feature’s noirish, end- of- an- era vibe is an involving hook.
Muscular box- office action awaits the Fox release as it makes its way around the globe following its Berlin premiere. In his final turn in one of the defining roles of his career (although, given the plasticity of the Marvel Universe, never say never to resurrections), Jackman is essentially an ex- X- Man. The year is 2. 02. As far as anyone knows, there have been no mutant births in a quarter- century, and those few who remain live in an abandoned smelting plant on the outskirts of El Paso. It’s the sort of industrial wasteland that instantly spells dystopia. Yet like all the elements of Francois Audouy’s production design, which include an Oklahoma City casino and a Great Plains farmhouse, the corroded edge- of- nowhere compound is evocative but not scene- stealing.
Those remaining few mutants number precisely three. X- Men leader Charles (a superb Patrick Stewart) is now a nonagenarian whose legendary telepathic powers are not always within his control; as with many a mere mortal, his geriatric brain doesn’t function as it once did, and the result is seizures of bone- rattling intensity for those around him. Tending to his care are Logan, now a hard- drinking limo driver whose unearthly aptitude for self- healing is on the wane, and Caliban (Stephen Merchant), an albino mutant with tracking abilities who handles domestic chores for the trio while sheltering himself from the daylight. The lives of this last- of- their- kind collective are by no means easy or serene, but they can at least count on a certain routine. Then a young girl with a ferocious gaze, Laura (Dafne Keen), arrives on their rusty doorstep, along with a wad of cash and the desperate final request of her caretaker, Gabriela (Elizabeth Rodriguez, of Orange Is the New Black), that Logan get her to Canada ASAP. For reasons that a smartphone video makes clear, Canada would be a safe haven for a child who has more in common with Logan than he’d care to admit — a connection that Charles perceives even before she reveals her Wolverine- like metallic claws and puts them to lethal use. Laura is being hunted by X- Men adversary Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) and his paramilitary cyborg Reavers on behalf of Dr.
Rice (Richard E. Grant), who heads Transigen, the nefarious bioengineering program that created her. National borders are a key factor in this story, not only because of the asylum that Canada represents. In the tradition of Big Pharma corporate villainy, Rice has evaded American legal oversight and conducted his experiments on Laura and countless other children, and the women who bore them, in Mexico.
With nods to Unforgiven and explicit references to Shane — and extended sequences of brutal violence involving those adamantium- blade claws — this newly formed trio’s trip from the Texas desert to the Dakotas taps into notions of middle America, both geographic and psychic. There’s poignancy and humor, none of it overstated, when they have to play normal during an encounter with a ranch family (Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal and Quincy Fouse).
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Charles, at his most clear- eyed and openhearted, is the catalyst throughout the sequence, which begins with his telepathic calming of spooked horses after an accident on the highway, a scene as lyrical as it is charged with emotion. That scene echoes moments throughout the film that dramatize how much easier it can be to take care of others than oneself, and how the one can lead to the other. Though the screenplay — written by Scott Frank, Mangold and Michael Green — doesn’t avoid formula or sentimentality as it proceeds, it makes its themes matter through attention to the intensifying bonds within the central surrogate family. Director of photography John Mathieson’s camerawork is keenly attuned to the story’s emotional textures, as is the fine score by Marco Beltrami, which incorporates brief churns of horror amid the melodic elegance. Throughout the film, Mathieson gives each frame a comics- based graphic impact, broody rather than cartoonish. Keen, in her first big- screen role, makes the mostly silent Laura both kinetic and inwardly coiled, a quick- study observer of a world long denied her.
And when called upon to give a vintage movie reference new resonance, she pulls it off with poetic vulnerability. Even as the film’s energy drains in the later going, much like Logan’s healing powers, and long after the fight scenes have lapsed into overkill, Jackman makes his superhero the real deal. The actor, who reportedly conceived the basic thrust of the story, takes the ever- conflicted Logan/Wolverine to full- blooded depths, and the result is a far more cohesive and gripping film than his previous collaboration with Mangold, 2. The Wolverine. It’s not just the valedictory aspect of the story. And only time will tell if we ever again see a Jackman- portrayed Wolverine. But with his limp, his scraggly beard and his reading glasses, this middle- aged version, caught between his humanity and the engineering that makes him an instrument of destruction, is the hero we need him to be. Ultimately, it’s not just Laura’s predicament that he understands, but his own.
Production companies: 2. Century Fox, Marvel Entertainment, TSG Entertainment, Kinberg Genre, Hutch Parker Entertainment, Donners’ Company. Distributor: Fox Cast: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Richard E. Grant, Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Dafne Keen, Doris Morgado, Quincy Fouse.
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Clearance Electronics & Office Movies, Music & Books Home, Furniture & Appliances Home Improvement & Patio Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry Baby & Toddler Toys & Video Games. Films // MARCH 12, 2015. Rogue One Is the First Star Wars Stand-Alone Film, Rian Johnson to Write and Direct Star Wars: Episode VIII The title for director Gareth. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (
BDSM Movie Review reviews BDSM oriented mainstream movies. JoBlo.com's Chris Bumbray reviews MINE, starring Armie Hammer. For this article, because it was as much about the building as the cuisine, my criteria for a stand-alone diner was that it had to have at least two sides exposed.
Director: James Mangold. Screenwriters: Scott Frank, James Mangold, Michael Green; story by James Mangold. Producers: Hutch Parker, Simon Kinberg, Lauren Shuler Donner.
Executive producers: Stan Lee, James Mangold, Joseph M. Caracciolo Jr., Josh Mc. Laglen. Director of photography: John Mathieson. Production designer: Francois Audouy. Costume designer: Daniel Orlandi. Editors: Michael Mc.
Cusker, Dirk Westervelt. Composer: Marco Beltrami. Visual effects supervisor: Chas Jarrett.
Casting: Lisa Beach, Sarah Katzman, Priscilla John. Rated R, 1. 37 minutes.
Rogue One Title Revealed, Rian Johnson Confirmed for Star Wars: Episode VIII“Always in motion is the future,” Yoda said. The future of the Star Wars cinematic galaxy, however, is taking shape. This morning at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, across the street from Lucasfilm, Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger hosted a shareholder meeting where he announced news regarding the first Star Wars stand- alone movie as well as Star Wars: Episode VIII. Rogue One is the title for the first film in a unique series of big- screen adventures that explores the characters and events beyond the core Star Wars saga. Rogue One will be directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) and written by Oscar nominee Chris Weitz (Cinderella, About a Boy, Antz). The first actress cast is Felicity Jones, who garnered an Academy Award nomination and critical acclaim for her performance in The Theory of Everything.
The idea for the story of Rogue One came from John Knoll, an Academy Award- winning visual effects supervisor and chief creative officer at Industrial Light & Magic. He will executive produce along with Simon Emanuel (The Dark Knight Rises, Fast & Furious 6) and Jason Mc. Gatlin (Tintin, War of the Worlds). Kathleen Kennedy and Tony To (Band of Brothers, The Pacific) are on board to produce and John Swartz (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) will co- produce. The film starts shooting this summer in London and is due for release on December 1.
In addition, Iger confirmed that Rian Johnson will write and direct Star Wars: Episode VIII. The film, which continues the saga after the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is set for release on May 2. Star Wars: A New Hope in 1. Johnson is widely considered one of cinema’s most gifted young filmmakers, having directed the modern sci- fi classic, Looper, as well as Brick and The Brothers Bloom.
He was also behind the camera for three episodes of the critically- acclaimed TV series Breaking Bad, including “Ozymandias,” which series creator Vince Gilligan named as the best installment of the show. Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman, producer of Looper, Don Jon, Brick, and The Brothers Bloom, are on board to produce, and J. J. Abrams will serve as executive producer. Star. Wars. com. All Star Wars, all the time.
TAGS: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2. Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2.