Initial Reaction: Video Review - X-MEN: APOCALYPSE & ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

The extended Memorial Day weekend is typically a rather big weekend for movies as it somewhat kicks off the real summer movie season that has already been somewhat happening throughout the month of May. With this weekend though, most kids are officially done with school and more excited than ever to do things their school schedule doesn't typically allow for. This sense of freedom was evident in our seven o'clock Thursday screening of X-Men: Apocalypse being more crowded than I expected (though the same couldn't be said for Alice Through the Looking Glass). Given Apocalypse comes on the heels of the critical and commercial success that was Days of Future Past this new installment was always going to have big shoes to fill, but even as a kind of return to the team-up super-hero movie that the first X-Men film was, but with the fresh-faced cast of First Class, Apocalypse fell short with both critics and at the box office. Estimates for the four-day holiday weekend are in and 20th Century Fox is reporting an estimated $80 million holiday weekend total, placing the film at the top of the charts, but still being considered something of a disappointment considering that total is approximately $30 million less than DOFP's four-day total back in 2014 with its three-day total ranking sixth in comparison to the rest of the X-Men franchise. As for Disney's Alice sequel things only continue to look worse as the studio now anticipates a $34.1 million four-day weekend which is well off the $60 million tracking the film was targeting heading into the weekend (and a far cry from the $116 million opening weekend the first film scored in March of 2010). Still, Charles and I saw both films this weekend and have two new video reviews for you. So, without further adieu hit the jump to see our full video reviews as well as subscribe to our channel for a new review (or reviews) each week!

On DVD & Blu-Ray: May 31, 2016

ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS Review

For a movie wholly concentrated on time, time travel, and the essence of time it sure feels like this sequel to the 2010 Alice in Wonderland is a huge waste of it. Time that is. Of course, given that 2010 Tim Burton film made north of a billion dollars at the box office it was an inevitability that we'd be getting a sequel sooner or later, but it's still somewhat surprising it has come this late. Six years have passed, a handful of other live action adaptations of classic Disney animated films have been made and yet here we are, back in Wonderland. Having not read the Lewis Carroll stories on which these adventures of Alice have been based one has to imagine that to have made as big a cultural impact as they have they were more inventive and innovative than the film adaptations we're now receiving. To say that is to say that Alice Through the Looking Glass is no more interesting or compelling than its predecessor. It wasn't without hope that this viewer walked into this six year later sequel with optimism that new director James Bobin (The Muppets) might bring something fresh and exciting to what otherwise felt like the jaded side of Tim Burton that was incarnated in his predecessor. Transforming the widely known Wonderland as perceived by the naiveté of a child Alice, Burton turned the fantasy world into Underland and gave us a darker film than expected. That was all well and good until the movie didn't really work, but Bobin has now come along to bring to life a brighter, more enticing time in the realm of Wonderland as our heroine must travel through space and time to try and save the dying of depression Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp). This brings to mind the biggest undoing of Through the Looking Glass in that its narrative drive simply isn't compelling enough to sustain its nearly two hour runtime. It becomes repetitive and as if it is searching for disparate plot strands to try and pull together a complete story. Linda Woolverton, who has made a career out of writing Disney films (including The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast), adapted Carroll's story here and while there are certainly moments of inspired humor, a few nice character moments, and grand majestic visuals by way of Bobin and the special effects team, there is no substance to the product as a whole. It is a wonder how forgettable the film turns out to be.

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE Review

At this point in the sixteen year-old X-Men franchise the only thing the film that followed the ultimate team-up/culmination of fourteen years of X-Men movies had to be was a good next adventure. Going from the high that was Days of Future Past featuring both old and new cast members with a time hopping plot that saw everything torn apart only to be put back together on a new timeline there was never going to be a way to compete, so why not just give audiences what they really wanted in a proper follow-up to First Class? Where the younger versions of the mutants we've all grown to love go on an adventure together and further solidify themselves as the X-Men? Maybe that would have been too easy. Maybe that would have been looked at as taking the road more traveled, but in following up the popular comics storyline of Days of Future Past it was immediately obvious director Bryan Singer and screenwriter Simon Kinberg thought they needed to do the same with the sequel and so they opted to adapt another popular storyline from the comics that included one of the X-Men universe's biggest bads: Apocalypse. This was a fine idea in theory and certainly had fans of the series excited for a showdown between Professor X's mutant team and the very first mutant, but seeing as how Kinberg and Singer have chosen to execute that story on the big screen it feels less like a step in the right direction and more like a recycled collection of comic book movie clichés. The whole affair feels tired, rushed, and nowhere near as layered or nuanced as the two previous films that were all in all pretty stellar. That this latest trilogy of X-Men films featuring the incredible core cast of Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, and James McAvoy goes out on such a generic note is rather disappointing, but more than that it is frustrating. It is so abundantly clear not only how much talent this cast has that is being wasted, but also how much potential this film had to be a really solid super hero flick with the same story even, but conveyed in different and more interesting ways. Fans of the genre will always be indebted to the X-Men films for jump starting the current domination of movies based on comic books, but while their counterparts at Marvel are flourishing it can't help but feel as if the X-Men are currently somewhat stunted.

First Trailer for THE SPACE BETWEEN US

Upon hearing the synopsis for the new film from director Peter Chelsom (The Mighty, Serendipity) I couldn't help but to think of the 2007 John Cusack film Martian Child which I remembered really wanting to see, but being disappointed by the follow through on the engaging premise. After watching the trailer for The Space Between Us I have the feeling this could very well go the same way as Martian Child. The premise is certainly intriguing and the trailer promises an interesting dynamic that could either play out in a very conventional manner or manage to tap into very specific, but very real emotions through what is still a fantastical set-up. I'm really hoping for the latter, but given the script comes from Allan Loeb I'm cautious to expect too much. The outcome, as with every movie, really depends on a number of factors, but Loeb has written movies along the lines of Just Go With It and The Dilemma (though I did like The Switch) so I have to wonder how much emotional insight there will be on the page for the actors and filmmakers to pull from. Maybe this is a personal project of his and there will be extra effort poured into it. I certainly hope so as this first trailer makes the film out to be a really unique idea that has some really interesting dynamics to explore and even the potential to say something impactful if not necessarily profound about the human race. Then again, it also looks like it could fall apart in the third act. As always, time will tell, but for now I'll remain optimistic as this trailer made me grin. The Space Between Us stars Asa Butterfield, Britt Robertson, Gary Oldman, Carla Gugino, BD Wong, and opens on August 19th, 2016.